Just got uverse and canceled Time warner

[randyl]

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hutchings2000 wrote:

Randy,

On Tech Support now. Escalation Supervisor is trying to get AM call tomorrow with Inside and Outside tech tomorrow. I am aware of David. If this is not successful, then I'll send him an e-mail.

Basic issue I left the supervisor with is, why did the capacity jump from 78% on Wed to 92% now? Also why 92% when I'm 2800' from the VRAD. Seems high for 2800'.

One question. Do you know how much the capacity would go down by dropping down to 19 profile?

Thank you for the replies!! Hope Joe gets well. O

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          dont drop down they need to fix it     for sure....  something not right...

          my slant

          randy  

[hutchings2000]

I'll fight it all I can. Thank you and good night!!!

[hutchings2000]

Hi Randy,

Could not get an earl day appointment for today, so I moved it until tomorrow 8 - 10. I currently have a cat 5 Home Run. If they can't figure out the issue, would it be worth it to suggest trying a COAX Home Run? Also, if this all fails, then I'll send a detailed e-mail to David seeking his help.

Thx,

Stan 

[randyl]

coax home run usually adds to loop lenght   imho  (reason is the diplexer and coax run get total and added rather then the short hop of a ct5 feed)

in your case a 20'  cat5 is better than a house with  total 250' of coax (total coax install)

on a coax homerun u have a feed at one frequency for inbound and a diff frequency for outbounds but i think on a total coax install the whole system adds to the equation   imho

one of the  times  rg6 coax is better is in some rfi/emi problem areas that is unique and the coax catches it where cat5 doesnt...  (so pros and cons to both platforms)   imho

they can do diff jobs in diff areas depending on the exact frequency  ...  case in point is a person real close to a strong am radio station..

living by a strong radio station that bleeds , the coax sheilding can catch and send to ground the culprit...    for  some frequency the cat5 maybe better suited...

the best person to determine best for u is the prem tech  (hes there lol with the tools to see what gives )   all we do here  is give  guesses   lol   (least me)  heck i am unemployeed  :-p)

the prem tech may  need i&r   to determine if bridge tap is there and causing havoc  (they have the better tools for that)

from my view u got to get a strong steady error free (for most part )  sync to your house with enough  free overhead  to function properly....

some thoughts  and my slant

randy

Message Edited by randyl on 02-28-2009 09:08 PM

[hutchings2000]

Hi Randy,

Do you know how to send an official complaint in writing concerning AT&T Customer Support?

I had a 8  - 10 AM appointment today. I called at 10:30 since no one had come out. After pushing hard, I was told to expect someone between 11:30 - noon. Since no one showed, I called again at 3:15 PM. The first person said they would have to check and call me back since they only had 1 phone line!!!!! So I hung up and called back. Got another support person who called dispatch. They told him that due to the weather in the Atlanta area no Techs were being dispactched today. I asked why wasn't I called and notified. No good answer. I also asked why I was told at 10:30 some one would come out between 11:30 - noon. Once again no answer. Now besides TV service which is breaking up, I also have a major issue with customer support. A simple phone call to me would have been nice!!!

%%@#$#$%^^%$#$ fill in the blanks!!!! 

[randyl]

bummer    just email david and let  him  handle  it  imho

good luck

randy

[hutchings2000]

Randy,

Just sent David a very detailed e-mail. Next appointment is set for 3/4/09 8 - 10. Told Customer Support rep that I must leave at 1 PM for a 1:30 dentist appointment, So more to come.

Thx,

Stan 

[randyl]

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hutchings2000 wrote:

Randy,

Just sent David a very detailed e-mail. Next appointment is set for 3/4/09 8 - 10. Told Customer Support rep that I must leave at 1 PM for a 1:30 dentist appointment, So more to come.

Thx,

Stan 

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         may take david a few days  dunno   ,   but when he gets to ya  he will lock in and help ya get this resolved imho

         randy

[hutchings2000]

Randy,

Last evening watched Boston Legal which was recorded at noon on Sunday on WGN 180. No break ups at all. Watched live movie Jesse Stone on WGCL 46 8 - 11, constant breakups. Don't understand except the movie was at prime time. Also watched a live show on TNT starting at 11 PM. No breakups at all. Could this has something to do with time of day and system load or broadcast frequency? 

All,

Any one else ever have this kind of behavior?

Thx,

Stan 

[halcro1]

Hello I to am dumping TWC this Friday ... Im getting the U-450 package ......hopefully all goes well Im in Milw WI

[lrdiver]

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hutchings2000 wrote:

Randy,

Last evening watched Boston Legal which was recorded at noon on Sunday on WGN 180. No break ups at all. Watched live movie Jesse Stone on WGCL 46 8 - 11, constant breakups. Don't understand except the movie was at prime time. Also watched a live show on TNT starting at 11 PM. No breakups at all. Could this has something to do with time of day and system load or broadcast frequency? 

All,

Any one else ever have this kind of behavior?

Thx,

Stan 

---

In my experience that seems to be how they occur. From time to time I will get 1 channel freezing and it is somewhat persistent while other channels are fine. I like to play with things so I keep a browser tab set to the Broadband stats,

 http://192.168.1.254/xslt?PAGE=B04&THISPAGE=B01&NEXTPAGE=B04 .

When ever this happens, I refresh the page and in almost every case there have not been any uncorrected errors in that time period. Most of the time there have not been any corrected errors either. I have come to feel that it is either the source or an issue with the AT&T network. Most of the time I don't see this at all. If I had to pick a number I would say maybe once per week. However it has been higher than that at times.

In the case of the local channels, I know the cable system has fiber links to most of the stations and they use OTA as a back-up. It may be, that at this stage of the game, U-verse is using more OTA and that may be more of an issue. It's extremely difficult to tell what the source of the problem may be.

All of the data comes to your house over the same digital link so there is no difference in broadcast frequency like with cable. The only variable as far as loading, system wide, is internet traffic or VOD. The video takes priority over the internet anyway so this should not really be an issue. Generally it has been proposed that such issues were due to system maintenance of some sort. I suppose that it might be possible for the system, AT&T network, to get overloaded due to high VOD demand. Then again, if there was not room for another VOD feed I would expect that the request would not be honored and it would not affect normal channels. I have no idea how much headroom they have. I have seen it stated some time ago that they were more worried about the capability of the "middle" of their network than the local drops. The whole issue is extremely complex and we have no visibility into what may be going on. FWIW.

Initially I was concerned over this since with my previous cable service, it was generally an indication that I was headed for months of issues with local line levels. This does not seem to be the case with U-verse. Most of the time it is a minor inconvenience but when it is persistent it does bug me.

[hutchings2000]

Randy,

Well the sage continues!!

Did send David an e-mail last week but have not heard from him yet.

I did just now send him another e-mail containing this.

Tech was no show this morning for 8 - 10 AM appointment. When a Tech did show up after 2 PM, he told me the ticket wasn't assigned to him until 1 PM. What is wrong with AT&T's dispatching? Do they even read the notes Customer Support adds? Of course no I&R Tech was called. So Inside Tech came, said it was an outside issue. By 3:30 PM it was too late to get an I&R Tech. So maybe now on Friday someone will come. 

I will also add here that I contacted Customer Service at 10:30. Was on the line with 3 different people for over an hour. 1st person told me a Tech had been assigned. But when I asked for the name and cell number of Tech, the support person clamed up!!! (Compare this answer to when the Tech said the ticket was actually assigned. Not saying Customer Support lied to me but looks like to different answers here). A supervisor also was told by dispatch that they had no Techs available to work jobs in my area today. I then gave the supervisor the names of the 5 prior Techs who have already come out to my house. Asked him to ask dispatch if there was work stoppage in Georgia or did everyone call in sick!!!! Didn't get anywhere with this approach.

 

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Hang in there you will get an answer.

[sportsman_1]

About the HD streams do you have your HDTV hooked up yet. I saw on your first post that you said you were getting one Monday.

I'm 3,000 ft away and have 2 HD streams.

[hutchings2000]

Got a call today from a person on the U Verse Executive Team. He said my issue had been bumped up to him. He shared that they have discovered an issue with backend systems in Tucker GA which would be impacting my service. When I spoke with him about the capacities I am seeing at the Gateway, he said from his tests the outside plant is pretty clean. So my capacity should not be at 92%.

The I&R Tech came back today. This Tech is really trying hard. I give him a lot of credit!!!!

He tried a few more things and will come back next week again. Currently here are my downstream capacity numbers:

NID - 63.9%

Balan - 67%

Gateway - at end of data line - 78% (Home Run is Cat 5. Total length with data line is ~20'). Would like to know how the Home Run is adding 15% to the capacity.

At Gateway - 91%

I left a message for the Executive Team member with these results.

More to come later. All comments welcome.

[randyl]

most likely the bump was from your email to  david ....   imho

randy

[hutchings2000]

Received a call from the Executive Team member to call him to schedule another visit. I spoke with him today and said that in my opinion, both the Prem Tech and I&R Tech need to be here at the same time. I said I was tired of participating in the "tennis match" of one Tech saying the problem needed to be solved by the other Tech. The Executive Team member agreed and said he would call the Techs managers to get them out here on Thursday at 8AM. So here goes again. Trying to keep thing positive. 

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

I hope it works out for you and all 3 of them show up.

[hutchings2000]

Just got a call from the last I&R Tech that was out at my house and made the capacity readings. He said he is assigned and will be out at 8 AM. Also the Prem Tech is also to be here at 8 AM. Should be a very interesting morning!!! 

[hutchings2000]

Update.

I&R Tech and 2 Prem Techs were out at the house by 9 AM today. They also had another Prem Tech in training and a gentleman associated with the AT&T Core Network who was getting U Verse exposure (my terms here). They got the capacity at the Gateway down to ~78%. Had to separate my POTS line from the VDSL service by using 2 different pairs. They also eliminated the Balan and box where Cat 5 goes to the green data line. Prem Techs also added an in-line filter after talking with the Executive Person who set up this service call. Now the in house is staying clean.

I'm going to monitor for about a week and then let the Executive contact know how it is going. Hopefully this has solved it. The next step which the I&R Tech and I discussed would be the move the Gateway to be on the inside wall from the NID. This would make the Home Run length <1'. Hope we don't have to go there to gain more capacity. Capacity at the NID is still 63% So this would get the capacity still lower if need be.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Glad they all showed up.  Hopefully your major issues are behind you and you can go on and enjoy your service.  Keep us updated though.

[hutchings2000]

Just wanted to give an update on the service.

The U Verse Executive Team member gave me a follow up call yesterday to check. This is very nice follow through!! I told him that prior to the last service call, I would rate the TV service (given the issues) 5 - 6 on a 1 - 10 scale. Now I would say 8 - 9. Given that I am at 2800', the only way to improve this would be to move the Gateway downstairs. This might yield a few percentages drop in capacity. or go to the 19 profile. I don't want to do either. But the service is much improved. There are still some minor breakups. What we have seen are "livable".  He did share that there are still periodic feed issues. So he'll call back next week. But for now (knock on wood), I believe the family is now okay with the service.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Thanks for the update.