ONLY WATCH AND RECORD 4 PROGRAMS AT A TIME

BRIANATRPG · ‎08-11-2010

When I signed up for U-verse, I was informed, after the installation (and early cancellation from Direct TV), that my family can only watch (4) programs at a time (and if you are recording something, it takes the place of a watchable program). Not to mention that of the 4, I can only watch/record 2 HD programs at one time. I have 5 people in my family and 6 boxes. Therefore, I am recording stuff in the middle of the night to "speed watch" it the next evening in order to not get in the way of others watching tv programs.

If I had known this before being sold the "record 4 programs at anytime to watch on any box" propaganda, I would have never switched. Now I have to literally pull teeth to get back to Direct TV, which also has the watch a recorded program on any tv, along with watching any program on any box anytime for +/- $30 less per month. Unfortunately Uverse cost me "the no upfront costs" with them and is still costing me more money!!!!!!!!!

Moral to the story:

DON'T SWITCH TO U-VERSE IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING MORE THAN 4 BOXES AND PLAN TO RECORD AND/OR WATCH MORE THAN 4 SIMULTANEOUOS PROGRAMS (ONLY 2 OF THOSE BEING HIGH DEF) - YOU CAN'T DO IT.

skeeterintexas · ‎12-09-2007

Yeah, we know all of this...and knew it going in...guess you should've asked more questions before installation.

Caveat emptor.

bri_man_65 · ‎09-21-2007

Watching a recorded show does not take up one of your streams. You do not have to speed watch your recorded shows before your other evening shows start.

dhascall · ‎04-21-2008

Unfortunately BRIANATRPG, changing TV providers is not as simple as changing cola brands or brands of socks. There is research to be done beforehand. Maybe I'm in the minority here but I got accounts on both the UverseUsers and U-Talk forums before I switched and read up on it.

Yes there is a limit of 4 watched / being recorded streams but as has been pointed out, shows that are on your DVR can be watched and that does not count against your streams. With Comcast and only one DVR, I could only watch / record 2 "streams," so UV is much better in that regard. Direct would love you back and the $10-15 monthly each fees for all of their boxes.

Sorry but you aren't getting too much sympathy, here. We are a helpful lot here but your situation is similar to you buying a 4 seat Ford Focus for a family of 6 and then getting mad at Ford that the car is not bigger. Good luck.

RCSMG · ‎12-10-2007

BRIANATRPG wrote:

When I signed up for U-verse, I was informed, after the installation (and early cancellation from Direct TV), that my family can only watch (4) programs at a time (and if you are recording something, it takes the place of a watchable program). Not to mention that of the 4, I can only watch/record 2 HD programs at one time. I have 5 people in my family and 6 boxes. Therefore, I am recording stuff in the middle of the night to "speed watch" it the next evening in order to not get in the way of others watching tv programs.

If I had known this before being sold the "record 4 programs at anytime to watch on any box" propaganda, I would have never switched. Now I have to literally pull teeth to get back to Direct TV, which also has the watch a recorded program on any tv, along with watching any program on any box anytime for +/- $30 less per month. Unfortunately Uverse cost me "the no upfront costs" with them and is still costing me more money!!!!!!!!!

Moral to the story:

DON'T SWITCH TO U-VERSE IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING MORE THAN 4 BOXES AND PLAN TO RECORD AND/OR WATCH MORE THAN 4 SIMULTANEOUOS PROGRAMS (ONLY 2 OF THOSE BEING HIGH DEF) - YOU CAN'T DO IT.

Watching recorded programs does not use one of your streams. The only limitation is in the live video streams because there are only 4. If no programs are being recorded then 4 tvs can be on different channels and 2 others can be watching 2 different recordings all at the same time.

kryptonite · ‎04-10-2009

BRIANATRPG wrote:
When I signed up for U-verse, I was informed, after the installation (and early cancellation from Direct TV), that my family can only watch (4) programs at a time (and if you are recording something, it takes the place of a watchable program). Not to mention that of the 4, I can only watch/record 2 HD programs at one time. I have 5 people in my family and 6 boxes. Therefore, I am recording stuff in the middle of the night to "speed watch" it the next evening in order to not get in the way of others watching tv programs.
If I had known this before being sold the "record 4 programs at anytime to watch on any box" propaganda, I would have never switched. Now I have to literally pull teeth to get back to Direct TV, which also has the watch a recorded program on any tv, along with watching any program on any box anytime for +/- $30 less per month. Unfortunately Uverse cost me "the no upfront costs" with them and is still costing me more money!!!!!!!!!
Moral to the story:
DON'T SWITCH TO U-VERSE IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING MORE THAN 4 BOXES AND PLAN TO RECORD AND/OR WATCH MORE THAN 4 SIMULTANEOUOS PROGRAMS (ONLY 2 OF THOSE BEING HIGH DEF) - YOU CAN'T DO IT.

kryptonite · ‎04-10-2009

dhascall wrote:
Sorry but you aren't getting too much sympathy, here. We are a helpful lot here but your situation is similar to you buying a 4 seat Ford Focus for a family of 6 and then getting mad at Ford that the car is not bigger. Good luck.

paul416 · ‎10-10-2008

BRIANATRPG wrote:
When I signed up for U-verse, I was informed, after the installation (and early cancellation from Direct TV), that my family can only watch (4) programs at a time (and if you are recording something, it takes the place of a watchable program). Not to mention that of the 4, I can only watch/record 2 HD programs at one time. I have 5 people in my family and 6 boxes. Therefore, I am recording stuff in the middle of the night to "speed watch" it the next evening in order to not get in the way of others watching tv programs.
If I had known this before being sold the "record 4 programs at anytime to watch on any box" propaganda, I would have never switched. Now I have to literally pull teeth to get back to Direct TV, which also has the watch a recorded program on any tv, along with watching any program on any box anytime for +/- $30 less per month. Unfortunately Uverse cost me "the no upfront costs" with them and is still costing me more money!!!!!!!!!
Moral to the story:
DON'T SWITCH TO U-VERSE IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING MORE THAN 4 BOXES AND PLAN TO RECORD AND/OR WATCH MORE THAN 4 SIMULTANEOUOS PROGRAMS (ONLY 2 OF THOSE BEING HIGH DEF) - YOU CAN'T DO IT.

While you can't lump all of the reps selling this service into one bag, I can sympathize with your plight. I've been straight out lied to, had some reps not tell the whole truth. The ads on tv for U-verse tout the "record 4 shows at once", but I've never seen an ad that also states"only 2 hd shows". That is one of the features they don't make quite clear and the rep how sold me the service never explained that either. It didn't make a big difference early on, but I now have 3 hd sets and will have a 4th by years end. They need to be more upfront with potential customers.

kryptonite · ‎04-10-2009

paul416 wrote:
While you can't lump all of the reps selling this service into one bag, I can sympathize with your plight. I've been straight out lied to, had some reps not tell the whole truth. The ads on tv for U-verse tout the "record 4 shows at once", but I've never seen an ad that also states"only 2 hd shows". That is one of the features they don't make quite clear and the rep how sold me the service never explained that either. It didn't make a big difference early on, but I now have 3 hd sets and will have a 4th by years end. They need to be more upfront with potential customers.

Perhaps it would be better if they mentioned something in the small print at the bottom of the screen: "Depending on service address, customer may be able to get up to 3 HD streams."

While a few people can record three HD shows at once, some people can only get one HD stream. Saying "you can record 4 shows at once" is technically true, but it's still rather vague. It's kind of like saying "I bought a car." What kind of car? What color is the car? How many horsepower is the car? While "I bought a car" is true, it's not exactly 100%

clear.

It also appears that many people get confused by the whole "streams" issue. I do agree though, that AT&T needs to work on their "customer education" department. (I'd like to believe that some of these 'first time posters" are legit customers.)

razorback7 · ‎01-17-2010

We have 3 HD TV's and 1 SD TV. Takes a little bit of adjusting, but works fairly well for the most party. I just have to tell my wife that I am going to cut one of the 3 HD (2 recording and 1 being watched). I came from DirecTV. Had a DVR in 3 of the 4 rooms. Yes, I questioned the reps, but we work it out. My wife now, when possible, will record some HBO and ShowTime movies late at night. Or, she can record 2 HD, then I switch the 3rd to SD if that happens.

There are only 3 of us. Uverse isn't for someone who has a lot of TV's, but we have enjoyed our experience thus far. Still a learning curve. The biggest argument is who gets to watch in the Media Room haha. Our 13 yr old daughter is the one who complains the most about recording.

dhascall · ‎04-21-2008

paul416 wrote:
BRIANATRPG wrote:
When I signed up for U-verse, I was informed, after the installation (and early cancellation from Direct TV), that my family can only watch (4) programs at a time (and if you are recording something, it takes the place of a watchable program). Not to mention that of the 4, I can only watch/record 2 HD programs at one time. I have 5 people in my family and 6 boxes. Therefore, I am recording stuff in the middle of the night to "speed watch" it the next evening in order to not get in the way of others watching tv programs.
If I had known this before being sold the "record 4 programs at anytime to watch on any box" propaganda, I would have never switched. Now I have to literally pull teeth to get back to Direct TV, which also has the watch a recorded program on any tv, along with watching any program on any box anytime for +/- $30 less per month. Unfortunately Uverse cost me "the no upfront costs" with them and is still costing me more money!!!!!!!!!
Moral to the story:
DON'T SWITCH TO U-VERSE IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING MORE THAN 4 BOXES AND PLAN TO RECORD AND/OR WATCH MORE THAN 4 SIMULTANEOUOS PROGRAMS (ONLY 2 OF THOSE BEING HIGH DEF) - YOU CAN'T DO IT.
While you can't lump all of the reps selling this service into one bag, I can sympathize with your plight. I've been straight out lied to, had some reps not tell the whole truth. The ads on tv for U-verse tout the "record 4 shows at once", but I've never seen an ad that also states"only 2 hd shows". That is one of the features they don't make quite clear and the rep how sold me the service never explained that either. It didn't make a big difference early on, but I now have 3 hd sets and will have a 4th by years end. They need to be more upfront with potential customers.

And customers need to do more research and be more vigilant. I work for the Department of Defense. Years ago, I had an 18 year old who had went through Basic training and AIT and called our hotline, crying, wondering where his new car was. His recruiter promised him a new car. The kid called to get it. Broke my heart to tell him. It wasn't the Army's fault. It was the Recruiter.

The ads say record up to 4 shows at once. No misrepresentation there. It is what it is, it is what it says.

I have had heard someone mention that AT&T hopes to have 7 streams and 4 can be HD at some point but it still comes down to research.

JamesTheName · ‎06-24-2008

dhascall wrote:
Unfortunately BRIANATRPG, changing TV providers is not as simple as changing cola brands or brands of socks. There is research to be done beforehand. Maybe I'm in the minority here but I got accounts on both the UverseUsers and U-Talk forums before I switched and read up on it.

Yes there is a limit of 4 watched / being recorded streams but as has been pointed out, shows that are on your DVR can be watched and that does not count against your streams. With Comcast and only one DVR, I could only watch / record 2 "streams," so UV is much better in that regard. Direct would love you back and the $10-15 monthly each fees for all of their boxes.

Sorry but you aren't getting too much sympathy, here. We are a helpful lot here but your situation is similar to you buying a 4 seat Ford Focus for a family of 6 and then getting mad at Ford that the car is not bigger. Good luck.

Focus seats 5. Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. Or is it my 5 cents.

kryptonite · ‎04-10-2009

razorback7 wrote:
We have 3 HD TV's and 1 SD TV. Takes a little bit of adjusting, but works fairly well for the most party. I just have to tell my wife that I am going to cut one of the 3 HD (2 recording and 1 being watched). I came from DirecTV. Had a DVR in 3 of the 4 rooms. Yes, I questioned the reps, but we work it out. My wife now, when possible, will record some HBO and ShowTime movies late at night. Or, she can record 2 HD, then I switch the 3rd to SD if that happens.

There are only 3 of us. Uverse isn't for someone who has a lot of TV's, but we have enjoyed our experience thus far. Still a learning curve. The biggest argument is who gets to watch in the Media Room haha. Our 13 yr old daughter is the one who complains the most about recording.

There ya go. HBO and the other premium channels repeat the movies so often that recording a movie in HD isn't an issue...it just takes some thinking as to how to make it work. You may have to get it on at an odd hour on some channel you've never even heard of (@Max, anyone?) but you will get that movie.

And if you have the 3HD profile, remember, you can watch that 3rd HD stream on a box that isn't the DVR.

Keep in mind that Hulu and the broadcast TV channel websites (cbs.com, fox.com, etc.) are great places to watch various shows. If you have U-Verse internet, ESPN3.com airs live sports.