Silly Question

LSstl · ‎12-27-2008

Hello. I am new to uverse....and pretty new to "modern" tv, actually.

With the switch to digital coming soon, decided it was time to get rid of that old Sony Black and White (not really) with outdoor antenna (really) and get a new Sony and subscribe to something. Had a hard install for the cable and dish guys, so decided on U-verse. So far, so good.....but have some basic questions.

1. Is there a way to go on-line and see each days programming?

2. What is STB?

3. Does it really make a difference what you use to connect the Receiver to the TV? In the kitchen the installer just used the red-yellow-white Audio Video cables. In the family room I think he used an HDMI connector. I think in the bedroom he used a Coax connection. Is one better than the other....should I change them? We bought new flat screens (HD-1080i) for all 3 rooms.

4. Still tinkering around with the remote and all the features. Have always been intiminated by gadgets such as that. Last night I tried setting the aspect ratio I guess it is. Went to Menu, options, etc....then went and tried to set it to 1080i BUT IT WOULD NOT STAY THERE. Any suggestions?

callmeox · ‎08-30-2007

LSstl wrote:

Hello. I am new to uverse....and pretty new to "modern" tv, actually.

With the switch to digital coming soon, decided it was time to get rid of that old Sony Black and White (not really) with outdoor antenna (really) and get a new Sony and subscribe to something. Had a hard install for the cable and dish guys, so decided on U-verse.   So far, so good.....but have some basic questions.

1. Is there a way to go on-line and see each days programming?

If you also subscribed to the internet service you can log on to your main ATT/Yahoo account and if you have a DVR, you can actually program it over the internet.

2. What is STB?

STB is short for Set Top Box. In the context here, it usually means the non-DVR Uverse converter box.

3. Does it really make a difference what you use to connect the Receiver to the TV? In the kitchen the installer just used the red-yellow-white Audio Video cables. In the family room I think he used an HDMI connector. I think in the bedroom he used a Coax connection.    Is one better than the other....should I change them?   We bought new flat screens (HD-1080i) for all 3 rooms.

For 1080i resolution, there should be no
difference between the HDMI and Component (the red/yellow/white). I'm
not sure why the installer would use coax on the other TV. Are you
sure that the coax isn't used to connect the STB back to the
Residential Gateway? If that TV is attached to the box using coax, I
would swap it out to get a better signal.

4. Still tinkering around with the remote and all the features. Have always been intiminated by gadgets such as that. Last night I tried setting the aspect ratio I guess it is. Went to Menu, options, etc....then went and tried to set it to 1080i BUT IT WOULD NOT STAY THERE.   Any suggestions?

Be sure to hit SAVE when you make that change.

SomeJoe7777 · ‎01-30-2008

callmeox wrote:

For 1080i resolution, there should be no
difference between the HDMI and Component (the red/yellow/white). I'm
not sure why the installer would use coax on the other TV. Are you
sure that the coax isn't used to connect the STB back to the
Residential Gateway? If that TV is attached to the box using coax, I
would swap it out to get a better signal.

Just to be clear, there are two RCA-type connections:

1. Component. This is the Red-Green-Blue connection labeled Y-Pb-Pr. This connection will give you an HD signal (720p/1080i). You also need a separate audio connection to go along with this, the 3 cables used here are for video only.

2. Composite. This is the Yellow connection. This connection is only SD (480i). The Red-White that goes along with this is audio L/R.

For HD pictures, you need to use the component connection plus something for audio (either Red-White L/R for stereo, or the optical digital audio for 5.1 surround), or you need to use HDMI.

callmeox · ‎08-30-2007

Of course Joe is correct. I've never been able to get the component/composite thing right without a reference. I think I've got a mental block on it.

Computer-Joe · ‎09-19-2008

LSstl wrote:
Hello. I am new to uverse....and pretty new to "modern" tv, actually.

With the switch to digital coming soon, decided it was time to get rid of that old Sony Black and White (not really) with outdoor antenna (really) and get a new Sony and subscribe to something. Had a hard install for the cable and dish guys, so decided on U-verse.   So far, so good.....but have some basic questions.

1. Is there a way to go on-line and see each days programming?

2. What is STB?

3. Does it really make a difference what you use to connect the Receiver to the TV? In the kitchen the installer just used the red-yellow-white Audio Video cables. In the family room I think he used an HDMI connector. I think in the bedroom he used a Coax connection.    Is one better than the other....should I change them?   We bought new flat screens (HD-1080i) for all 3 rooms.

4. Still tinkering around with the remote and all the features. Have always been intiminated by gadgets such as that. Last night I tried setting the aspect ratio I guess it is. Went to Menu, options, etc....then went and tried to set it to 1080i BUT IT WOULD NOT STAY THERE.   Any suggestions?

If all three TVs are identical, then I would either call and have them come back and put HDMI cables on all the TVs, or go to the store and get your own for the other two TVs. If in fact they ran coax (RF) between the STB and the TV in the bedroom, and the red, white, and yellow cables (composit) between the STB and the TV in the kitchen, both of those connection types are inferior to HDMI and are not considered HD. If all the TVs are HD but do not all have an HDMI connector your only other choice (for an HD picture) would be to use the red, green, and blue cables (component) for the video and either the red and white (stereo), or the digital optical (surround sound) for the audio connection.

SomeJoe7777 · ‎01-30-2008

Computer-Joe wrote:

If all three TVs are identical, then I would either call and have them come back and put HDMI cables on all the TVs, or go to the store and get your own for the other two TVs.

I would agree. Since you have one TV working on HDMI, we know the others will too. But don't pay through the nose for your HDMI cables.

Try Monoprice.com.

$4.74 ! Remember, friends don't let friends buy Monster.

LSstl · ‎12-27-2008

Thanks. I'm new to message boards also, but starting to feel less intimidated.

Appreciate everyones feedback.

I will changed the cabling between receivers and tv's to HDMI. Yes, I am certain all 3 are HD capable.

One thing I noticed tho,,,when I select an HD station, like our local CBS station, the little blue light is not on on the receivers. Is this indicative of anything? The green light is on around the POWER button, the small green light is to indicate "link" but the small blue light, which had been on several days ago, is not on.

Thanks.

callmeox · ‎08-30-2007

For more information on the Web Remote (and other Uverse topics) you can check out the ATT help site. If anything isn't clear, you can always check back here and we'll give you our version.

http://helpme.att.net

Log in with your ATT or sbcglobal.net account. Look for the ATT Uverse TV section. Click on that and look for Web Remote.

Let us know if you need more info.

LSstl · ‎12-27-2008

I checked the TV with the coax connection.

It appears he made a 3 foot cable with coax connectors on each end.

One end goes to the back of "STB" (how's that) and the other goes into the back of the new TV.

I'm puzzled and don't want to sound ignorant, but what exactly is the "Residential Gateway" ???

I was very curious how he was going to get cabling to this upstairs TV, and he somehow connected on to the TELEPHONE cable and ran a line from the phone outlet jack under the baseboard to where the TV is! ???

SomeJoe7777 · ‎01-30-2008

LSstl wrote:

One thing I noticed tho,,,when I select an HD station, like our local CBS station, the little blue light is not on on the receivers. Is this indicative of anything? The green light is on around the POWER button, the small green light is to indicate "link" but the small blue light, which had been on several days ago, is not on.

The blue light comes on when the U-Verse box is sending an HD feed to the TV. For this to happen:

1. The TV must be hooked up to either the component connections (Red/Green/Blue, labeled Y/Pb/Pr), or hooked up with HDMI.

2. The U-Verse box must be set to 720p or 1080i aspect ratio (Go to Menu/System Options/Aspect Ratio).

randyl · ‎10-25-2007

LSstl wrote:
I checked the TV with the coax connection.
It appears he made a 3 foot cable with coax connectors on each end.
One end goes to the back of "STB" (how's that) and the other goes into the back of the new TV.

I'm puzzled and don't want to sound ignorant, but what exactly is the "Residential Gateway" ???
I was very curious how he was going to get cabling to this upstairs TV, and he somehow connected on to the TELEPHONE cable and ran a line from the phone outlet jack under the baseboard to where the TV is! ???

http://utalk.att.com/utalk/board/message?board.id=Uverse_TV_Equipment&message.id=19026&query.id=1054...

its the heart of the system imho its your modem -gateway -wired & wireless - lan and voip if so activated....

it also support the hpna system if u are on coax for the stb.dvr devices

my slant

randy

FuzioN_1 · ‎10-22-2008

callmeox wrote:
For more information on the Web Remote (and other Uverse topics) you can check out the ATT help site. If anything isn't clear, you can always check back here and we'll give you our version.

http://helpme.att.net

Log in with your ATT or sbcglobal.net account. Look for the ATT Uverse TV section. Click on that and look for Web Remote.

Let us know if you need more info.

In addition, you can also check these two resources:

1. http://helpme.att.net/uknow - for simulations

2. help on demand or channel 411 on your tv - for videos

jericho