Re: Do not switch to U-Verse TV from DirecTV!!

Uniblurb3 · ‎09-14-2009

Believe another thing which may be misleading in Directv's "Whole Home DVR Service" can be seen in the fine print at the bottom of the link. "Limit three (3) remote viewing at a time on HMC receiver.". This is the HR34 DVR.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/technology/hmc_receiver

There's also a $20/month charge for using this HMC receiver/DVR broken down by: "Requires HD Access ($10/month), DVR service ($7/month) and Whole Home DVR Service ($3/month)". And this does not include the cost of the HMC receiver itself.

I realize with U-verse you do need to pay a similar HD access fee ($10/month) if you want HD service. Also additional STB's are $7/month but there's no charge for the DVR itself in packages of U200 and higher. There's also no charge for "DVR Service".

One of my main gripes with Directv is you have to buy their equipment, it is not yours to own, and you have to return it if you cancel service. I saw where this fairly new HMC receiver (HR34) is $399 but for new customers they are offering a $300 rebate/promo so the cost is $99 after rebate. Of course you have to sign up for a 2-year contract to receive this offer. I wonder if existing customers have to pay the full price of $399 for this HMC receiver? Maybe they do give them some type of price break, don't know, but what I saw with Directv is when you upgrade any equipment you start a whole new 2-year contract.

No thanks and I'll just stick with U-verse.

ERIC8585 · ‎09-02-2010

So U-Uverse comes out to three dollars cheaper in the HD/DVR cost. Not that bad, but I noticed I'd be paying considerably more than I do now after the 24 month DirecTV intro pricing. I don't mind being limited to three remote viewings as I only have 3 total TVs in the house - and really only 2 that are regularly used.

The problem I have with U-Verse is the over compression, which is especially annoying when watching sports or action movies. I am considering switching to DirecTV for the TV service and keeping U-Verse internet. The two things making me think are the price increase and the lack of being able to pause and rewind live TV with non-DVR receivers.

U-Verse pros:

-Cheaper

-Pause/rewind live TV

-Didn't have to pay $99 for the DVR

-Wired - no weather issues, although I live in the S.F. Bay Area so I don't think that's much of a concern?

DirecTV pros:

-Better HD PQ

-Record 5 shows at once with the HMC DVR

-No sharing of U-Verse internet bandwidth unless I am watching On-Demand

-Dual buffers

-No "stream" limit (e.g. if I'm recording 5 shows on the DVR I can still watch another HD channel on a separate receiver)

-Greater DVR storage capacity

-Slow motion (I'm assuming)

Uniblurb3 wrote:
Believe another thing which may be misleading in Directv's "Whole Home DVR Service" can be seen in the fine print at the bottom of the link. "Limit three (3) remote viewing at a time on HMC receiver.". This is the HR34 DVR.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/technology/hmc_receiver

There's also a $20/month charge for using this HMC receiver/DVR broken down by: "Requires HD Access ($10/month), DVR service ($7/month) and Whole Home DVR Service ($3/month)". And this does not include the cost of the HMC receiver itself.

I realize with U-verse you do need to pay a similar HD access fee ($10/month) if you want HD service. Also additional STB's are $7/month but there's no charge for the DVR itself in packages of U200 and higher. There's also no charge for "DVR Service".

One of my main gripes with Directv is you have to buy their equipment, it is not yours to own, and you have to return it if you cancel service. I saw where this fairly new HMC receiver (HR34) is $399 but for new customers they are offering a $300 rebate/promo so the cost is $99 after rebate. Of course you have to sign up for a 2-year contract to receive this offer. I wonder if existing customers have to pay the full price of $399 for this HMC receiver? Maybe they do give them some type of price break, don't know, but what I saw with Directv is when you upgrade any equipment you start a whole new 2-year contract.

No thanks and I'll just stick with U-verse.

Uniblurb3 · ‎09-14-2009

If you want to compare cost increases, which you said is one on the main reasons you may be leaving U-verse, you best look at Directv's "on average of only 4%" increases on Feb 9, 2012. U-verse price increases increases for TV service are not anywhere close to 4% this year. In fact my U450 is only increasing by $2 which is a 1.7% increase.

http://www.directv.com/2012pricing/2012PNP0112IPINGMJ792GMENG.pdf

Some U-verse users see compression artifacts and some don't. I'm not saying you aren't seeing them but I don't see them on my Sony 60" HDTV even in fast moving sports. The PQ with Directv used to be a lot better than U-verse but over the past few years I've seen U-verse catch up to them, at least in the Mid-West area where I'm located.

I'd probably still be a Directv customer if I didn't lose the HD signal in any type of inclement weather. I had their service for 7-8 years but once I upgraded to HD service the constant loss of the HD signal was just unbearable. I've never lost my HD signal with U-verse and have found it to be super reliable over 3+ years.

While maybe they give you an initial deal on the HMC receiver/DVR ($99) when you sign a 2-year contract you may want to check how much you will have to invest in buying HD receivers for your other TV's. I'd much rather lease additional STB's from U-verse at $7/month than buy equipment I don't own.

Also U-verse will replace any faulty DVR's and STB's at no cost for the equipment. Sometimes they will charge a "truck roll fee" for the tech to replace them but most all the time you can have this charge waived if you call them.

With Directv you better sign up for their $5.99/month "Directv Protection Plan" or you will be paying full costs for equipment replacements in addition to the residential calls/tech charges.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/technology/protection_plan

I won't even go into the problems I had with Directv when I cancelled their service early due to their failure to provide service/HD signal and you can read it towards the end of the below post.

http://forums.att.com/t5/Features-and-How-To/Do-not-switch-to-U-Verse-TV-from-DirecTV/m-p/2941961#M2...

Up to you if you want to go the Directv route and good luck.

ERIC8585 wrote:

So U-Uverse comes out to three dollars cheaper in the HD/DVR cost. Not that bad, but I noticed I'd be paying considerably more than I do now after the 24 month DirecTV intro pricing. I don't mind being limited to three remote viewings as I only have 3 total TVs in the house - and really only 2 that are regularly used.

The problem I have with U-Verse is the over compression, which is especially annoying when watching sports or action movies. I am considering switching to DirecTV for the TV service and keeping U-Verse internet. The two things making me think are the price increase and the lack of being able to pause and rewind live TV with non-DVR receivers.

U-Verse pros:

-Cheaper

-Pause/rewind live TV

-Didn't have to pay $99 for the DVR

-Wired - no weather issues, although I live in the S.F. Bay Area so I don't think that's much of a concern?

DirecTV pros:

-Better HD PQ

-Record 5 shows at once with the HMC DVR

-No sharing of U-Verse internet bandwidth unless I am watching On-Demand

-Dual buffers

-No "stream" limit (e.g. if I'm recording 5 shows on the DVR I can still watch another HD channel on a separate receiver)

-Greater DVR storage capacity

-Slow motion (I'm assuming)

Uniblurb3 wrote:

Believe another thing which may be misleading in Directv's "Whole Home DVR Service" can be seen in the fine print at the bottom of the link. "Limit three (3) remote viewing at a time on HMC receiver.". This is the HR34 DVR.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/technology/hmc_receiver

There's also a $20/month charge for using this HMC receiver/DVR broken down by: "Requires HD Access ($10/month), DVR service ($7/month) and Whole Home DVR Service ($3/month)". And this does not include the cost of the HMC receiver itself.

I realize with U-verse you do need to pay a similar HD access fee ($10/month) if you want HD service. Also additional STB's are $7/month but there's no charge for the DVR itself in packages of U200 and higher. There's also no charge for "DVR Service".

One of my main gripes with Directv is you have to buy their equipment, it is not yours to own, and you have to return it if you cancel service. I saw where this fairly new HMC receiver (HR34) is $399 but for new customers they are offering a $300 rebate/promo so the cost is $99 after rebate. Of course you have to sign up for a 2-year contract to receive this offer. I wonder if existing customers have to pay the full price of $399 for this HMC receiver? Maybe they do give them some type of price break, don't know, but what I saw with Directv is when you upgrade any equipment you start a whole new 2-year contract.

No thanks and I'll just stick with U-verse.

ERIC8585 · ‎09-02-2010

I was reading the horror stories about DirecTV customer service as well. Sounds like I won't be going with them. I might look into Dish Network. Thanks!

Uniblurb3 · ‎09-14-2009

Actually I didn't even post the correct link to my horror story when I cancelled Directv which can be read here.

I'm not quite sure why compression artifacts show up for some and not others. Maybe the signal is better in different parts of the country amongst all the other variables? I suppose you've tried about everything to try and correct them?

Good list of the pros/cons of the 2 different services, you're welcome for the info, and good luck.

ERIC8585 · ‎09-02-2010

Hmm I'm pretty sure I don't have any signal issues. Maybe they use different encoders and/or bitrates in different parts of the country? That's the only reason I can think of. I have the 32/5 profile and the 24/3Mbit Internet (1,400 ft. From VRAD). Both TV and Internet have been stable and I've only had one internet outage in two years that I know of - everyone in the bay area seemed to be affected.

Oh and I have a 58" Panasonic Plasma VT25

Uniblurb3 · ‎09-14-2009

You're on the same profile as me (32/5) and distance to the VRAD is close to the same (1325' here). While my Sony KDS60A3000 (LCoS) has excellent PQ maybe your high-end Panasonic Plasma VT25-58" is much better/faster in picking up the compression artifacts than my set. While this article is a couple years old (2010) congrats on, "Panasonic VT25 Plasma wins HDTV Shootout".

I know we've seen some users in the forum where they never were able to solve the artifact problems on high-end sets. Guess you fall into this category and know the U-verse signal is highly compressed. On the other hand one of our CL's in Detroit (Chris/mibrnsurg) has a high-quality plasma HDTV and sees no artifacts, even in watching high-speed NASCAR racing. This is the type of example why I brought up maybe the signal quality varies depending on which part of the country a user is located.

We don't need to turn this U-verse/Directv thread into an in-depth PQ discussion. You see what you see, you have to do what you have to do, and good luck whatever you decide.

NormChar · ‎10-05-2010

Another recent DTV converter here. Let me start by saying I am happy with my switch. However, there are some features that I miss, that I hope UVerse adds down the road.

Also, I'm open to the idea that I'm still really new to UV, so my system may not be set up perfectly.

1) Being able to rewind live content after watching recorded content. For instance I often will watch DVR content while a game is on in the background on live tv. So after watching my recorded content, I could rewind the live TV up to 2 hours if I wanted too. Whereas with UV, when I return to live TV, that is the starting point for live tv.

2) Showing the timeline while quick fastforwarding on DVR. This is really minor. But I found it was easier to keep up with where you were in a program when FF through commercials.

3) The quick forward button for the DVR seems to be set to 25 seconds and doesn't seem to always register multiple taps. While DT's was set to 30 secs. So if you knew in general a commercial break was going to be 2 minutes, you could easily hit the quick forward button 4 times to get back to live programming.

4) Slow motion viewing from pause view. Slow mo was obviously most useful for sporting events. But I also used it for movies and tv shows too.

aviewer · ‎03-11-2010

1) I believe you can do that - rewind the live for at least an hour - The key is that the other TV is on for the amount of the rewind. Previous converts were looking for the second show in a second hidden buffer . THat is not available.

2) FF shows the timeline. I use it. I use it for the Sunday morning show on CBS - the first nine minutes are news and previews, then the first article starts. Skip shows only a curved arrow.

3) quick forward or skip. I used to use this but gave up because most commercial breaks are too long & some are short.

4) I would like to see slo mo too. And, how about PIP.

NormChar · ‎10-05-2010

1) That's good to hear! I'll test it again. The first time I tried it didn't work.

2) and 3) The skip feature was what I was referring to. It seems a little slacking. It doesn't show up on the timeline. It also doesn't seem to capture multiple taps very well. Like I said, with DTV being 30 secs, it was fairly accurate that you could hit it 6 times if you thought the commercial break was going to be 3:00 minutes.

JefferMC · ‎11-16-2009

Yeah, skip isn't what I had hoped it to be either. It seems to process the first Skip request completely before it will look for a subsequent one. The time skipped seems to vary slighly. I just use FF.

DirectTV and Cable DVR's normally have two tuners. Often if the second tuner is "idle" it will continue to buffer the last channel watched. The U-verse DVR doesn't speculative buffer content; unless you've asked for a recording of it or have it tuned on one of your sets, it won't be buffered. As aviewer mentioned, you could turn another TV on to that channel which would allow some level of buffering. I'd recommend you record both channels you have interest in, which would let you easily switch back and forth keeping your place in each. I've watched two simultaneous college football games this way. Took about 4 1/2 hours and I didn't miss anything in either game.

I often DVR a game to watch after a slight delay so I don't know the results ahead of time. But with two games, the efforts of the broadcasters to keep you up to date on all the games can give you more info than you want, which is why I was switching back and forth so as not to learn too much from highlights or crawlers.

aviewer · ‎03-11-2010

I can see where the two tuner method is great for swapping between games.

The U-verse recording two games could replace it if the last button allowed swapping. I tried that & find it treats recording as one channel & will only swap with the last live channel.

Maybe att could use the IR signal from one of the colored buttons to swap between two recordings.

My preference with the current support is - I do not want to rewind. I have the two TVs set to one game & swap the primary TV between the game and a recording (when the adds are on the game). The second TV alerts me to hit the last button.

You could view two games simultaneously & just swap the audio via the two mute buttons.

ERIC8585 · ‎09-02-2010

Just record both games. Who needs a separate buffer?

NormChar · ‎10-05-2010

It's more of an impulse thing. If I was currently watching a game live(or anything for that matter), then decide to watch recorded content, it would be convenient that after watching the recorded content that you are able to just rewind the live content. Kind of like, "oh yeah, this game was on before I started to watch the recorded show. Let me see what I missed".

It's just a little confusing to me that I'm able to record 4 events at the same time, but am unable to watch a single recorded event while keeping track of live tv at the same time.

But for a planned event, I agree, just record it. No problems there.

texasguy37 · ‎05-18-2009

NormChar wrote:

It's more of an impulse thing. If I was currently watching a game live(or anything for that matter), then decide to watch recorded content, it would be convenient that after watching the recorded content that you are able to just rewind the live content. Kind of like, "oh yeah, this game was on before I started to watch the recorded show. Let me see what I missed".

It's just a little confusing to me that I'm able to record 4 events at the same time, but am unable to watch a single recorded event while keeping track of live tv at the same time.

But for a planned event, I agree, just record it. No problems there.

It's the different between cable TV and satellite TV compared to IPTV. With cable TV and satellite TV, all channels are delivered to you at the same time. With IPTV, only those channels that you record or tune to are delivered to you.

aviewer · ‎03-11-2010

I was going to suggest that the U-verse IP TV could keep delivering the live channel if there was a way to direct it to. Maybe a new button. Then I realized the button already exists - it is the record button. LOL

texasguy37 · ‎05-18-2009

LOL. Yes, it is the RECORD button.

happyharry · ‎10-13-2010

These discussion could go on forever - there are generally ways to simulate features but it is still a missing feature. For those who think recording is the answer to all - if you had the double buffering that DirecTv has you'd realize the benefit. If yu had the buffering that DirecTV has even when "turned off" you'd realize the benefit.

If you've never had both it is hard to compare. Sure U-Verse has some benefits (cost, working in bad thunderstorms) but from a feature standpoint U-Verse just doesn't cut it. Are those features important to you - maybe not - and maybe you have work arounds - but those features are missing from U-Verse.

NormChar · ‎10-05-2010

I know I can be hard headed, and perhaps being a new user I haven't completely grasped the total IP functionality. But I don't believe that answers how you can record 4 programs(4 feeds) at one time, but you can not watch recorded content and keep live tv active(2feeds).

texasguy37 · ‎05-18-2009

NormChar wrote:

I know I can be hard headed, and perhaps being a new user I haven't completely grasped the total IP functionality. But I don't believe that answers how you can record 4 programs(4 feeds) at one time, but you can not watch recorded content and keep live tv active(2feeds).

That just means that you don't understand how IPTV works and how it is different from cable TV. Give yourself some time to understand, and it will make sense.

aviewer · ‎03-11-2010

NormChar - The reason you can record four programs but cannot access a previously live program for a second buffer is - it was not programmed to work that way.

If there were a driver to add the software the last live channel could go on for 90 minutes.

Would you automatically kill it if another TV needs a channel or would the other TV be blocked?

There is a theory that the auto sleep feature is there to keep un-viewed channels to a minimum on the main feed. If the hidden buffer were in place it would add significantly to these channels.

I would think that the few people that need the sleep mode turned off could do it. Like wise it might be nice if the people that need the hidden buffer could turn it on.

NormChar · ‎10-05-2010

aviewer wrote:
NormChar - The reason you can record four programs but cannot access a previously live program for a second buffer is - it was not programmed to work that way.

If there were a driver to add the software the last live channel could go on for 90 minutes.

Would you automatically kill it if another TV needs a channel or would the other TV be blocked?

There is a theory that the auto sleep feature is there to keep un-viewed channels to a minimum on the main feed. If the hidden buffer were in place it would add significantly to these channels.

I would think that the few people that need the sleep mode turned off could do it. Like wise it might be nice if the people that need the hidden buffer could turn it on.

Thanks aviewer. I believe that's how my original comments started. That it seems to be a downside of the UV dvr compared to my experience with the DTV dvr.

Having said that, I didn't mean for my original comments to be perceived as complaining about my overall Uverse experience. I am quite happy I made the change. Was just trying offer some opinions, from a recent DTV converter, to possibly make the Uverse experience even better.

NormChar · ‎10-05-2010

aviewer wrote:

There is a theory that the auto sleep feature is there to keep un-viewed channels to a minimum on the main feed. If the hidden buffer were in place it would add significantly to these channels.

I would think that the few people that need the sleep mode turned off could do it. Like wise it might be nice if the people that need the hidden buffer could turn it on.

Also, so that I can better understand, what's the advantage of having sleep mode turned on?

aviewer · ‎03-11-2010

NormChar - RE: Also, so that I can better understand, what's the advantage of having sleep mode turned on?

I was trying to say that it is possible that one of the drivers for both the "sleep mode" and "no ongoing buffer" is to keep the aggregate number of live streams to a minimim ((i.e. bandwidth management of the "pipe").

There is, also, mention that it is a "power saver mode" but there are posts saying measurements do not show any significant difference.

There is no known advantage to the customer. It does curtail unused steams blocking other TVs, but the timer is too long to count that as an effective feature.