I think it has been about 2 weeks now since we kicked cable and had AT&T install its U-verse system in our home. I really liked cable because in my experience it always gave me a reliable internet connection. Unfortunately I cannot say the same thing about DSL.
Probably the biggest negative I saw with cable was that it was too dang costly (We we paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $125-$130 a month without any premiums). Time Warner eventually came around and put out the $99 per month ‘Triple play’ offer that included more channels and phone service. The only problem I had with this plan is that we had to get their phone service, and quite frankly we have been very happy with Vonage. So that wasn’t going to work.
Right off the bat, the first feature that caught my attention was that for $114 a month, I could get EVERYTHING including internet (that would be their U400 package). Already sold! I still was not digging the fact that I had to switch back to DSL, but this price got me over that issue quickly.
The following short video covers most of the features. Now you are going to have to s’cuse the guy on this video as he is a little too excited about the service.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3bwNz-mMig&rel=1]
Other features I like:
*A Yellowpages feature that allows you to search you local phone directory that includes mapquest.
*The menu is so much clearer and sleeker than Time Warner’s
*Video rental: 2-3 day rental PLUS there were 693 videos (in my location) to choose from. Now couple that with all the included on-demand movies I get from my premium channels (We went with the U300 package [$94/mo.] which includes all the premiums except HBO and Cinemax. I could care less about Cinemax, but I wanted HBO. Adding HBO took our cost to $113), why would we ever need to go to the video store?
*Wifi – In addition to providing a WiFi router in our home, this service also includes access to AT&T WiFi spots around the country. Now THAT is cool.
Programable from any computer: Since it is IPTV, I can program my DVR from any computer connected to the internet. Let’s say I’m out and I am reminded about a program I wanted to record. No prob! Just pull out my wireless device, search the entire grid (by name, title, etc.) and select the program to record.
Cons
*Only provided with one DVR per household (although I am hearing that soon they will have it set up where you can access the DVR from any other receiver in your home). I can wait for that feature.
I also forgot to mention that as an introductory special, AT&T offered us either $100 in cash back, $100 towards our first bill, or 1-year of free HD channels (about 40 of them). I went with the free HD channels.
Now I have been on quite a few sites where folks are arguing over the picture quality compared to DirectTV. By far, it sounds like DirectTV has the best picture quality. But since my house does not have a showroom comparing the two services, the picture looks fine to me. Put it to you this way, it did not seem like a step back from the picture quality I got from Time Warner.
For now, I am glad we made the switch.
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