Ok, well after seeing this post I felt obligated to add my experience as well. I switched from Time Warner cable to U-verse and kept both services attached to separate hdmi ports on my 46" hdtv with identical calibration. My wife and I could immediately see the problems with the HD picture quality (I used to drink my coffee to sunrise earth everyday) and had a couple of service calls and visits each one replacing various things and everyone left saying all they could do was working. I eventually found the uverseusers website and got in contact with David who set me up with a great tech from executive services. He was excited that I had this comparison available and coordinated things between the techs and the line guys. Maybe 3 more tech visits and he told me that the problems I am experiencing are nationwide problems due to the aggressive compression used by AT&T. I think now I am on some sort of waiting list for a "cricket", whatever that is. In the end I really switched because of the Big Ten Network, which TW has now, but I still think U-verse is better in a lot of other ways.
I think it is unfortunate that those of us who complain on Utalk and Uverseusers get the "whacko" label even though AT&T admits the problems themselves. Also, isn't it common knowledge that AT&T uses one of the smallest bitrate HD streams in the business? I do find it amazing how many people think the HD picture quality is great, but in a match up against all of the other providers I would think it would have to be near the bottom. Still, I got great customer service, the bill is cheaper, I get more HD channels and the menu system is cooler so I will probably stay. But, I don't watch sunrise earth anymore. 
RRK wrote:Ok, well after seeing this post I felt obligated to add my experience as well. I switched from Time Warner cable to U-verse and kept both services attached to separate hdmi ports on my 46" hdtv with identical calibration. My wife and I could immediately see the problems with the HD picture quality (I used to drink my coffee to sunrise earth everyday) and had a couple of service calls and visits each one replacing various things and everyone left saying all they could do was working. I eventually found the uverseusers website and got in contact with David who set me up with a great tech from executive services. He was excited that I had this comparison available and coordinated things between the techs and the line guys. Maybe 3 more tech visits and he told me that the problems I am experiencing are nationwide problems due to the aggressive compression used by AT&T. I think now I am on some sort of waiting list for a "cricket", whatever that is. In the end I really switched because of the Big Ten Network, which TW has now, but I still think U-verse is better in a lot of other ways.
I think it is unfortunate that those of us who complain on Utalk and Uverseusers get the "whacko" label even though AT&T admits the problems themselves. Also, isn't it common knowledge that AT&T uses one of the smallest bitrate HD streams in the business? I do find it amazing how many people think the HD picture quality is great, but in a match up against all of the other providers I would think it would have to be near the bottom. Still, I got great customer service, the bill is cheaper, I get more HD channels and the menu system is cooler so I will probably stay. But, I don't watch sunrise earth anymore.
You are not "Whacho" and it is all true what you say. At least you explain your pro's and con's about the service intelligently (and accurately I might add) where some others just come in to troll without adding something constructive to work with.
here is a link to test your theory maybe ? >> http://192.168.1.254/xslt?PAGE=M01 << bit rate graph
i think u keep it non personal and dont attack peeps u can prolly say what u want here and there (uverseusers)
the problems start when one fails to says its their experiences and may not be everybodys...
aka my hd quality is bad so everybodys is etc (not always the case imho)
i personally seemed to be blessed with a good clean signal and good picture quality compared to what i had... (comcast was bad here)
my take
randy
u should see the diff in a pioneer elite and a olevia at my house...
can it (uverse) be better sure , but darn good in spring tx...
fact : now i want 2 pioneers 
the pioneer was professionally calibrated ...(maybe the diff 
) j/k
sorry u dont feel the same way , your right for sure...
try out the graph when u get home and on sports and other programming... (if u want )
my take
randy
ps : try out this thread if u want http://utalk.att.com/utalk/board/message?board.id=
joatlanta wrote:What are the color settings,brightness, contrast on your pioneer elite? I assume you had to setup manual for the color temperature.
I was having a time with getting the colors right on my pioneer. And the fact that the first cable installer did not check the coxial lines.
My elite was picking up more digital noise than the other tvs.
professionally calibrated <<< couldnt tell ya as i have not fooled with it...
my son has it setup upstairs.... i watch on either an toshiba or olevia
i have watched a few programs to know its the cat's meow in quality compared to the other lcds here ...
also its a 50 " maybe that helps keep the noise etc down dunno its pretty darn clear to me ....
u have to realize i am all most 60 and wear contacts
randyl wrote:
joatlanta wrote:What are the color settings,brightness, contrast on your pioneer elite? I assume you had to setup manual for the color temperature.
I was having a time with getting the colors right on my pioneer. And the fact that the first cable installer did not check the coxial lines.
My elite was picking up more digital noise than the other tvs.
professionally calibrated <<< couldnt tell ya as i have not fooled with it...
my son has it setup upstairs.... i watch on either an toshiba or olevia
i have watched a few programs to know its the cat's meow in quality compared to the other lcds here ...
also its a 50 " maybe that helps keep the noise etc down dunno its pretty darn clear to me ....
u have to realize i am all most 60 and wear contacts
You may wear contacts but you can see well enough to be able to see the picture differences in the tvs at your house.
I myself, would like to know what ATT is doing in our area to solve the pixil issues/macroblocking. I went with ATT back in Aug, hooked up and installed between the 21-23rd. From the moment they turned it on we was getting the macroblocking. I felt sorry for the Tech, he stayed here all day, literally, just trying to get the picture good. He even called out a Line Tech that gave him a hand. They couldn't resolve the issue. The next day the Line Tech came back and said they found some major grounding issues and repaired them and left thinking the issue would clear up. Never did, called back, and don't get me wrong, support of the phone is the best I've ever had, but it isn't fixing the issue. So far since the hook up, we have had a totall of 7 service calls, the last two being the same guy not wanting to admit he was here the previous week. I'm running a LG 42 in HD 1080p LCD. I got the clearest picture through My Sons XBOX 360, and PS3, even the DvD player, just not the HD or STD, except for one time, it was IceAge:Meltdown on HBO HD and the picture was beautiful 3/4 of the show.
Two weeks ago I called very unhappy. We was promised the 1080p HD, Fiber to the house (which all I got was twisted pair ran through the worst pole tanglement anyone has seen for the whole 1500ft), all chanels, the buisness class High Speed and phone package, 200.00 cash back, the ability control our bandwidth through the modem, what a wonderful deal right!! Well well tech support on the phone told me that they would not bill us up to that point, then passed us over to billing. Well billing told us they would Credit all services till it was fixed, period. Ok, great! Well, the 7th tech came out last week, promised his Supervisor would be out to check the problem cause he couldn't get it fixed. I then plain out told him, you was here last week, you told me the same thing, why would I believe it this time, he said cause he was on the phone with him, (which he was talking to his super about the problem). Well for the 2nd time the Super neglected to come. So I 5 days go by, figured I'm gonna call (friday) and get this taken care of, and demand that a super come out and check it out, plus to find out why I haven't recieved 100.00 of my cash back? Well I check my email today and see my bill, 400.00 bill?? I'm really disappointed in the service and picture quality. I'm just not sure who to turn to. I turn to the Support number, they send a tech and we repeat the same cycle over and over . I'm about ready to cancel unless anyone could point me in a better direction....
lexi wrote:I myself, would like to know what ATT is doing in our area to solve the pixil issues/macroblocking. I went with ATT back in Aug, hooked up and installed between the 21-23rd. From the moment they turned it on we was getting the macroblocking. I felt sorry for the Tech, he stayed here all day, literally, just trying to get the picture good. He even called out a Line Tech that gave him a hand. They couldn't resolve the issue. The next day the Line Tech came back and said they found some major grounding issues and repaired them and left thinking the issue would clear up. Never did, called back, and don't get me wrong, support of the phone is the best I've ever had, but it isn't fixing the issue. So far since the hook up, we have had a totall of 7 service calls, the last two being the same guy not wanting to admit he was here the previous week. I'm running a LG 42 in HD 1080p LCD. I got the clearest picture through My Sons XBOX 360, and PS3, even the DvD player, just not the HD or STD, except for one time, it was IceAge:Meltdown on HBO HD and the picture was beautiful 3/4 of the show.
Two weeks ago I called very unhappy. We was promised the 1080p HD, Fiber to the house (which all I got was twisted pair ran through the worst pole tanglement anyone has seen for the whole 1500ft), all chanels, the buisness class High Speed and phone package, 200.00 cash back, the ability control our bandwidth through the modem, what a wonderful deal right!! Well well tech support on the phone told me that they would not bill us up to that point, then passed us over to billing. Well billing told us they would Credit all services till it was fixed, period. Ok, great! Well, the 7th tech came out last week, promised his Supervisor would be out to check the problem cause he couldn't get it fixed. I then plain out told him, you was here last week, you told me the same thing, why would I believe it this time, he said cause he was on the phone with him, (which he was talking to his super about the problem). Well for the 2nd time the Super neglected to come. So I 5 days go by, figured I'm gonna call (friday) and get this taken care of, and demand that a super come out and check it out, plus to find out why I haven't recieved 100.00 of my cash back? Well I check my email today and see my bill, 400.00 bill?? I'm really disappointed in the service and picture quality. I'm just not sure who to turn to. I turn to the Support number, they send a tech and we repeat the same cycle over and over
try david maybe ?
. In the mean time, I'll take the advice and go to "David", but that is looking like my last resort.
SomeJoe7777
SomeJoe7777 wrote:
wbdotcom,
You're quite correct, U-Verse's HD is quite subpar, even though some people may say they believe it's very good. There's several reasons that different people perceive the HD quality differently, and several reasons why U-Verse's quality is not as good as other providers:
Aggressive MPEG-4 Compression and Low Bitrate: This is the primary reason that AT&T's HD doesn't look as good as other providers. AT&T is using MPEG-4 compression at very aggressive settings, with a bitrate of 5.5 - 7 Mbps. This is considered a low bitrate for full 1920x1080 HD material. Note that this bitrate cannot be compared to an Over-The-Air signal bitrate of 15 - 18 Mbps, because OTA uses MPEG-2, not MPEG-4.
Improperly Set STB Settings: If the STB's output resolution does not match the TV's native display resolution, then there are times when there are 2 resolution conversions when there should be none. This can unecessarily soften the picture and introduce motion artifacts.
Connection / Cable Type: Component connections can soften the picture somewhat compared to HDMI.
TV Type and Quality: Some TV display technologies display the picture differently than others, especially when left on the factory picture settings. LCD TVs in particular can emphasize compression artifacts like mosquito moise.
TV Settings: This can be a large factor in how the picture looks. I will get to this later in this post.
Previous HD Experience: This is a psychological factor. If you've seen other HD providers before or very good quality HD like from Blu-Ray, you're more likely to notice the difference between those HD pictures and U-Verse's.
Personal Observation and Attention to Detail: This is not a knock or judgment against people, but there are people who will notice small details like the MPEG-4 artifacts and other people who will not notice them. This isn't because certain people are blind or certain people are nit-picky, but its just a difference in the way that people perceive things.
Importance of the Quality: I personally fall into this category. I see all the artifacts and believe that U-Verse has a long way to go to get to a nice HD picture. But it doesn't really bother me, because TV quality isn't the most important thing on my list. I purchased and keep U-Verse because the 10 Mbps high speed internet is the best HSI available in my area by a factor of 3.
One of the biggest visually disturbing things about the U-Verse HD is the patchy/blotchy appearance of areas of the picture where there is a solid shade - especially in dark areas of the picture. The blotchyness is very noticeable in these areas and in some cases can even become a different color (dark gray or black can take on a greenish tinge). This is because the MPEG-4 compression hardware that AT&T is using works reasonably well on bright areas of the picture, but its quality drops off dramatically in the dark/black areas. There is a way to minimize this artifact and hide it. First though, you have to carefully calibrate your TV. There's a few ways to do this:
1. Purchase one of the DVDs that contain test and calibration patterns (such as the Avia Guide to Home Theater or the Digital Video Essentials, reviewed here), or the Digital Video Essentials for Blu-Ray. These DVDs will help you calibrate your TV using the brightness/black level, contrast/white level, hue/color, tint/shade, and color temperature.
2. If you really want to get into it, the Spyder3TV is a hardware calibration unit that can get your TV to extreme accuracy.
3. A cost-free method is to use the test calibration patterns that are periodically shown on HDNet. I can't seem to find it in the guide, but at about 5:00 AM or 5:30 AM on Saturday or Sunday mornings, HDNet shows a 10-minute test pattern segment that can be used to calibrate the black level/brightness and white level/contrast. Unless you have a blue filter, you can't really use it to calibrate the color settings, but the brightness/black level is the most important.
Once your TV is carefully calibrated, then you can do this: Lower the brightness/black level an additional 2-3 notches. Now, I know there are purists who will say that this crushes the black levels, removes detail, etc. Yes, that is true. But this one step will hide most of the patchy/blotchy areas in the dark/black areas that are some of the most objectionable artifacts. While the picture may not be technically accurate, it is aesthetically more pleasing.
I've done this step to my TV, and that slight reduction in brightness can significantly reduce the perceived artifacting. This is especially important on LCD TVs, since they are extremely sensitive to the black level.
The root of the problem though, is the low bitrate and the need for more advanced implementation of the MPEG-4 encoding. Until AT&T improves this, you're not going to see the quality come up.
I think thats one of the best posts I have read on either forum regarding U-Verse HD. 
randyl wrote:
lexi wrote:I myself, would like to know what ATT is doing in our area to solve the pixil issues/macroblocking. I went with ATT back in Aug, hooked up and installed between the 21-23rd. From the moment they turned it on we was getting the macroblocking. I felt sorry for the Tech, he stayed here all day, literally, just trying to get the picture good. He even called out a Line Tech that gave him a hand. They couldn't resolve the issue. The next day the Line Tech came back and said they found some major grounding issues and repaired them and left thinking the issue would clear up. Never did, called back, and don't get me wrong, support of the phone is the best I've ever had, but it isn't fixing the issue. So far since the hook up, we have had a totall of 7 service calls, the last two being the same guy not wanting to admit he was here the previous week. I'm running a LG 42 in HD 1080p LCD. I got the clearest picture through My Sons XBOX 360, and PS3, even the DvD player, just not the HD or STD, except for one time, it was IceAge:Meltdown on HBO HD and the picture was beautiful 3/4 of the show.
Two weeks ago I called very unhappy. We was promised the 1080p HD, Fiber to the house (which all I got was twisted pair ran through the worst pole tanglement anyone has seen for the whole 1500ft), all chanels, the buisness class High Speed and phone package, 200.00 cash back, the ability control our bandwidth through the modem, what a wonderful deal right!! Well well tech support on the phone told me that they would not bill us up to that point, then passed us over to billing. Well billing told us they would Credit all services till it was fixed, period. Ok, great! Well, the 7th tech came out last week, promised his Supervisor would be out to check the problem cause he couldn't get it fixed. I then plain out told him, you was here last week, you told me the same thing, why would I believe it this time, he said cause he was on the phone with him, (which he was talking to his super about the problem). Well for the 2nd time the Super neglected to come. So I 5 days go by, figured I'm gonna call (friday) and get this taken care of, and demand that a super come out and check it out, plus to find out why I haven't recieved 100.00 of my cash back? Well I check my email today and see my bill, 400.00 bill?? I'm really disappointed in the service and picture quality. I'm just not sure who to turn to. I turn to the Support number, they send a tech and we repeat the same cycle over and over
try david maybe ?
lexi thats why i posted the link to david give him a shout with the info.....
TROUBLES w/Uverse or install problems
1.) Via email. attdslreports-uverse@yahoo.com When you send the email, be sure to include as much of the following information:
- Account Number
- Link to your uverse topic
- Notes on the attempt to contact the 1-800-288-2020
- posting ID or username
- Address or location
- Who the tech or support person would be contacting
- Main contact number
- Alternate contact number
- A detailed description of the problem.
Did you even notice it's a 1 1/2 yr old thread, things have changed since then as I've been on uverse since 7/08. 
Chris
__________________________________________________
Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
1-800-983-2811 to avoid Mr. Voice Recognition
I Call It Like I See It, Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
Simply a U-verse user, nothing more
