Used Uverse for 3 weeks..thinking of Dish now

[TNGTony]

One thing that one cannot overlook is equipment. Ergonomics, ease of use, reliability cannot be overstated! I had a friend that switched from a service to Cincinnati Bell FiOptics (the analog of Uverse in this market) and within a week switched back to his original service strictly because of how crappy/flaky he thought the FiOptics DVR was. He joked with thick irony in his voice, "Their DVR was so bad, I switched back to TIME WARNER CABLE!" The TWC DVRs are notoriously bad!

 

[Hall]

I was shocked though that at an AT&T store they cannot show you live Uverse TV

It was probably just a DVD/BD playing in a loop....

 

[KAB]

It was probably just a DVD/BD playing in a loop....

Which is a bit of a deception, if so.

 

[Hall]

I had a friend that switched from a service to Cincinnati Bell FiOptics (the analog of Uverse in this market) and within a week switched back to his original service strictly because of how crappy/flaky he thought the FiOptics DVR was.

I suspect that smaller, "local" cable companies like Cincy Bell or where my daughter used to live (Ft Jennings Telephone) and now (NKTelco - New Knoxville Telephone), have to rely on the equipment providers or some 3rd-party to develop the set-top and/or DVR software. For the highest compatibility, they have to keep things pretty simple.

The TWC DVRs are notoriously bad

It boggles my mind how poor TWC's service is as well as their equipment (on the TV side). Worse, many customers that I know are literally scared to switch or think they have no other option.

 

[TNGTony]

Cincy Bell uses a Cisco Systems box. Hardware-wise, it is rock-solid. Software-wise, it is one of the buggiest things I have ever worked with, and I had a DishPlayer 7100! That's saying something.

I have six of these boxes in our studio to monitor our channels. I have played with them and they are truly awful. And the remote control was designed by a technician completely uninterested in ergonomics

 

[mdavej]

Thanks for the reply. Funny you mentioned that! At the local AT&T store they have DirecTV and "Uverse" side by side. The reason I put Uverse in quotes is because all it was was a demo loop. No one working at the time could get it off the loop to show live TV. However, they were able to show DirecTV live no problem haha.

I don't know if Dish is nearly equal. I keep seeing many things online saying people think Dish's PQ is soft, not what it used to be, sports don't look that great, fast-moving action does not look great. I never hear anyone mention this with Direct. Everyone puts Direct above Dish in terms of PQ. That's what has me worried about Dish. All these descriptions seem to match what people say about Uverse. If Dish has same PQ as Dish, I see no reason to switch (well other than Dish doesn't affect Internet speed) either.

I actually called Direct to see about re-connect options once again. Last month they told me I'd have to pay upfront for any equipment that I wanted. I quickly said "no thanks" and hung up the phone. I called a couple of days ago, and a nice rep is tried to help me out. He said IT Dept. (?) will get back with me in a few days to see how they can help me. Direct would be my #1 choice. I'm hoping they change their mind about charging me upfront for equipment.

My store had the real deal. I could change channels, record, play, whatever, on both systems.

It's my word against another's, but I had each one for years, and unless you have super human perception, they are nearly equal. It's a fact that Dish is lower resolution, making it softer, no argument there. So it is indisputably below DirecTV. But you are unlikely to notice any difference. If I had to put a number on it, based on my normal human perception, I'd say Dish is 98%. If that tiny difference is a deal breaker, then you should definitely drop U-verse, as I would give them a 50% on motion, 95% on still. How big is your TV and how far away do you sit? That also has a big impact.

 

[maverick22]

My store had the real deal. I could change channels, record, play, whatever, on both systems.

It's my word against another's, but I had each one for years, and unless you have super human perception, they are nearly equal. It's a fact that Dish is lower resolution, making it softer, no argument there. So it is indisputably below DirecTV. But you are unlikely to notice any difference. If I had to put a number on it, based on my normal human perception, I'd say Dish is 98%. If that tiny difference is a deal breaker, then you should definitely drop U-verse, as I would give them a 50% on motion, 95% on still. How big is your TV and how far away do you sit? That also has a big impact.

Thanks for the informative reply!

So you are saying Dish is roughly 98% for "motion", whereas Uverse is 50%?

Well for sports especially, and for most "still shows" I can definitely see that DirecTV provides better PQ than Uverse. No doubt about it! I'm more picky than the average person, so if I took my mom from her house (Direct) and brought her to mine (Uverse) she probably couldn't tell a difference on most shows. She would even be able to see the difference with a basketball game though.

I have a 55" TV, and I sit about, oh I don't know, 15 feet from the TV. It does look better the further I am of course. I can watch from the kitchen and even sports look pretty good with Uverse haha. Now if I'm walking by the TV and standing right in front of it, sports look very crappy with Uverse. DirecTV even had some artifacts/blocking or whatever you call it though that close too (4-5 feet away).

 

[Yespage]

Now if I'm walking by the TV and standing right in front of it, sports look very crappy with Uverse. DirecTV even had some artifacts/blocking or whatever you call it though that close too (4-5 feet away).

Blocking, seriously? I have a hard time believing that. With Dish, some sports close up will be grainy, but not have artifacts/blocking. I would presume similar results with Directv. Oddly enough, for the longest time Univision of all channels had the best PQ on Dish for sports (football). It blew ESPN away, in my opinion.

 

[maverick22]

Blocking, seriously? I have a hard time believing that. With Dish, some sports close up will be grainy, but not have artifacts/blocking. I would presume similar results with Directv. Oddly enough, for the longest time Univision of all channels had the best PQ on Dish for sports (football). It blew ESPN away, in my opinion.

Sorry, I guess I used the wrong term. I would see a "grainy" picture as you said up close (5 feet ?) with Direct too. I'm not trying to put down Direct. I was very satisfied with the PQ! Great experience overall!

I'm so confused as to why you see so many comments about Dish having a soft picture and worse picture than Direct (especially with sports), but some say it looks almost exactly like Direct.

Maybe the people that are calling it "soft" are mainly referring to sports.

 

[Yespage]

Sorry, I guess I used the wrong term. I would see a "grainy" picture as you said up close (5 feet ?) with Direct too. I'm not trying to put down Direct. I was very satisfied with the PQ! Great experience overall!

I'm so confused as to why you see so many comments about Dish having a soft picture and worse picture than Direct (especially with sports), but some say it looks almost exactly like Direct.

Maybe the people that are calling it "soft" are mainly referring to sports.

The reasons to choose between Dish and Directv are simple:

- Price
- Channels that you want availability
- LOS access to sats

 

[ChadT41]

The reasons to choose between Dish and Directv are simple:

- Price
- Channels that you want availability
- LOS access to sats

And ewuipment features and ease. I hate my brothers genie.. And their guide doesn't make sense to me. However, if I had to leave dish, I would go DTV without thinking twice. From a dish fan, DTV does have a better resolution, but IMHO just slightly. Not enough for me to pick one over the other. Directv has the ST, and Dish hd the Hopper. It really comes down to "what are you personally looking for?"

 

[maverick22]

What is LOS access to sats? Chad, why do you hate the Genie? Also why doesn't the guide make sense?

Direct is perfect for me. It's just that money became more of a factor when my wife started graduate school. We are paying out of pocket for her classes, and time is more limited. Just didn't make sense to pay what we were paying with the little we were watching it.

Turning it off for a few months among other things we have done to save money, I am now looking at a TV provider again. However, Direct is saying they will charge me upfront for the equipment (that may change--they are supposed to call me back). I don't want to pay $299 off the bat for the Genie. If they say they I don't have to pay that I will likely go with Direct!

However, if I do have to pay for equipment, I will consider Dish. I don't get why Dish has RSNs in SD. That bothers me. Disney JR in SD & many others, no Sprouts channel, all these contract disputes, from what I hear worse PQ, and more signal problems also bother me.

The positives for Dish: I will get new customer pricing, the Hopper seems to get great reviews, possibly better than Uverse PQ, and it won't slow down my Internet whereas Uverse does.

 

[thomasjk]

Line Of Sight.

 

[KAB]

Maverick, why don't you try find find someone with Dish and check out the PQ for yourself, instead of worrying about what you've read or heard who knows where? Give it the acid test, for goodness sakes!

 

[maverick22]

Maverick, why don't you try find find someone with Dish and check out the PQ for yourself, instead of worrying about what you've read or heard who knows where? Give it the acid test, for goodness sakes!

Well I know everyone's TVs are different. I may go to a place that has it & it's really a crappy TV or have wrong settings or something. That wouldn't do Dish justice. I like going on here because I figure people have pretty good TVs and have probably looked at both satellite companies.

I'm anxious to see if Direct offers me anything decent. If not I may just give Dish a run!

 

[KAB]

I'm not gonna BS you. My brother in law has Direct anda 720p, 50 in Samsung plasma and looks as good or better than Dish on my 1080p 60" LG plasma. But not nearly enough to to entertain switching. Dish equipment, particularly Hopper, has too much going for it, IMO. As I said earlier in this thread, a neighbor has Uverse from the same head end that would feed me, I would NEVER consider it...too much "noise".

 

[maverick22]

I'm not gonna BS you. My brother in law has Direct anda 720p, 50 in Samsung plasma and looks as good or better than Dish on my 1080p 60" LG plasma. But not nearly enough to to entertain switching. Dish equipment, particularly Hopper, has too much going for it, IMO. As I said earlier in this thread, a neighbor has Uverse from the same head end that would feed me, I would NEVER consider it...too much "noise".

What is it about the Hopper you like so much?

Yeah, my Uverse definitely has noise--very noticeable the closer one sits.

 

[KAB]

What is it about the Hopper you like so much?

Yeah, my Uverse definitely has noise--very noticeable the closer one sits.

The interface, guide layout, EHD usage (not either-or like Dish), some apps, and other things you learn to appreciate once you discover them...hard to make a coherent list.

 

[JSheridan]

Sling, PTAT, Auto-Hop and on and on and on...

 

[KAB]

Yeh, I knew I was forgetting the obvious! But Alas, don't think it will help Maverick who is an over thinker.