Alert: U-Verse to move FSC to U-200

Discussion in 'TV, Satellite & Radio' started by Kryptonite, May 27, 2010.

  1. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This could be huge. Right now, you MUST subscribe to either the U-300 or U-400 to get FSC on U-Verse. I know of a few people who stay away from this because they don't want to pay for the movie channels. (The U-300 includes every movie channel except for HBO and Cinemax.)


    Anyway, this is copy and pasted from the U-Verse website forums:

    U-Verse still doesn't have Direct Kick, but with the U-200, a subscriber would get:

    Univision
    Telemundo
    Galavision
    TeleFutura
    Mun2
    FSC (currently on U-300)
    ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ESPNU

    The Sports pack would include Gol TV and FSC. The Spanish pack includes those two channels as well as ESPN Deportes.
     
  2. huhe888

    huhe888 Red Card

    Oct 3, 2007
    U-Verse is a relatively small MSO as far as households are concerned.

    The key for FSI is to get the really BIG MSOs to move FSC from the sports pack to an expanded digital basic tier.

    DirecTV in particular is the key MSO for FSI to deal with. So are Comcast and COX.

    (Time Warner and DISH Network already have FSC in expanded digital basic.)

    FSC needs to get to at least 70 million households by May 2012 in order to justify what FSI paid for the US video rights to the UEFA CL.
     
  3. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As a subscriber to the U-200 tier, this is very good news for me.

    Is it July yet? ;)
     
  4. American Arsenal

    Jun 5, 2008
    Chicago, IL
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This could be good news for me if I switch from TWC to U-verse.
     
  5. yaz96

    yaz96 Member

    Aug 5, 2006
    That's great for the 1% of TV viewers that can get U-Verse! :(
     
  6. Warren Van Orden

    Feb 29, 2000
    Richmond CA
    On paper UVerse looks fairly similar and measurably less expensive than ComCast, particularly for those who choose to bundle the ISP service. And the 'multi room' DVR concept is appealing.

    Really the only reason I haven't switched is because the overprice alternatives I do have are very reliable.

    Did I miss a UVerse evaluation thread here?
     
  7. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You've missed various postings, but I don't think there's been an official thread.

    Basically, I listed the soccer channels in the first post. They do NOT have packages such as MLS Direct Kick, or NHL Center Ice. They *do* have the NCAA football and basketball packages, though.

    They do have ESPN3 access with their internet service.

    If you're a fan of premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, etc.) they have a TON of those in HD.

    The bad stuff:
    The only thing that truly stinks about U-Verse is their streaming limitations. Basically, each house is limited to four live streams, no matter how many boxes you have. If you're watching a show off the DVR, I don't believe this counts as a "stream." The signal comes from a "VRAD" which is a large silver box on the sidewalk. Depending on where you live, that determines what "profile" you're on, and that determines what your HD/SD streaming capability is. I think it also determines what kind of internet speeds you can get.

    Stream 1: Record or watch HD or SD shows
    Stream 2: Record or watch HD or SD shows
    Stream 3: Record or watch SD shows, or watch HD shows
    Stream 4: Record or watch SD shows

    The above is referred to as the "3 HD profile." Some people do not have the ability to watch a third HD show. Some people only have the ability to tune to 1 HD show at a time... Like I said, it's based on your proximity to the VRAD. This isn't "as the crow flies" but rather amount of wire used from the VRAD to your location. If the signal goes "up the street and around the corner, then down the block", obviously that may be a bit longer than it seems on paper.

    A technician can come to your house to determine what "profile" you'd be on.

    There is also no service contract, so you're free to leave at any time.

    A good thing about AT&T is that they tend to grandfather prices, so as long as you have a certain programming tier (such as the U-300 or 6.0MBPs internet), you'd be locked in. I recently took six months free upgrade of the faster internet speed. Unfortunately, when that ends, i'd have to pay $5 more per month of the speed I was previously on.


    Unfortunately, the above isn't 100% true, as they bumped me from $59 for the U-200 to $64 for the same package. However, new customers to the U-200 are getting the $67 fee. If I were to get the U-300 for any time, then bump down, i'd be in at that $67 level.
     
  8. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's always sounded to me like U-verse is only good if you're in a small dwelling. By comparison, FiOS' FTTH seems much more flexible for home owners.
     
  9. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Unfortunately, whereas you can choose from DirecTV or Dish Network no matter where you live, such does not seem to be the case with U-Verse or FiOS. There are very few places in the country where the choice between AT&T and Verizon exists.

    I have 1 SD TV and 1 HD TV. I can tune to 3 HD channels at a time, and record 2 of them. As I already said, not everyone has this capability. If I had more HDTVs and fewer HD streams, things would probably be tricky.
     
  10. Redbullsnation2012

    May 26, 2010
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Whats da big deal anyways?? Unless they add da HD version, ppl will start 2 add on. But for now its just one step closer
     
  11. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yup. Such is the case with any wired provider. Though I did read somewhere that U-Verse was working to increase the number of simultaneous channels you can watch per house.
     
  12. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Really? I was under the impression that cable TV had no such limitations, unless those "limitations" are set so high that most people wouldn't have an issue.

    An increase to the number of total streams would be nice, such as 7 or 8 total, with 3 of those being HD. They do have a lot on their plate though, with trying to get everyone on a 2 HD profile, then a 3 HD profile. There are a few, FEW, people who have reported the ability to record 3 HD at a time (screenshots have proved this.)

    They're also talking about "pair bonding," which should increase the number of total streams, but they've been talking about this for a long time though.

    They also are working on the third phase of their total home DVR service, which should allow additional set-top boxes to pause and rewind live TV.
     
  13. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    sorry to be so confusing. this:
    was meant as a response to this:
     
  14. wyountrx

    wyountrx New Member

    May 24, 2010
    Olivette/St. Louis
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's July 1 and my FSC channel is still dark. Anyone else get FSC on U200 yet?
    Kirk
     
  15. larrygiterdone

    larrygiterdone New Member

    Jun 7, 2006
    Columbus Ohio
    same here
     
  16. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    If it's STILL dark, reset your DVR and any additional set-top box you have. You can do so by pressing "menu" then selecting "options" and "restart."

    I did that about 4:30 PM ET yesterday and it worked.

    PS -- They're also giving one free month of the Sports Pack which includes Gol TV and FSE, among other channels. I'd imagine that you can wait until the start of the European seasons to add this free preview. If you're already paying for the Sports Pack, call in, and they can give you a $10 credit.

    And regarding the "stream issue" from the first page, you can get that third HD stream, but only to a TV not connected to the DVR. So, if I understand it correctly, if you only have one box, the third HD stream is kind of useless. However, a SMALL minority of AT&T customers are reporting the ability to record three HD shows at once. It appears that AT&T is in the "testing stage" of this feature.

    In system information, system resources, you'll see the following info. Whereas your numbers could vary, mine looks like this:
    WAN profile: 1 SD / 3 HD
    Ingress profile: 2 SD / 2 HD
    Egress profile: 1 SD / 2 HD

    The WAN profile is into the house. The ingress profile is into the DVR. The egress profile is OUT of the DVR and into the "Total Home DVR" system. This means that my entire house can be tuned into 3 different LIVE channels which could be either HD or SD, and an additional stream which MUST be SD.

    My DVR can watch or record 2 SDs at a time and 2 additionals which could be either HD or SD.

    Any additional set-top box (non-DVR) watching something previously recorded could watch two shows either HD or SD, and one additional which must be SD.

    Since I only have two boxes, and only one HDTV, i'll admit that i'm not a good testcase as to what the system can and can't do.
     
  17. blackhornet

    blackhornet Member

    Jun 26, 2008
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    so u-verse is more IPTV than broadcast TV?
     
  18. Kryptonite

    Kryptonite Fancy Title Here

    Apr 10, 1999
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, U-Verse works through the internet. The first post i've quoted is where the "good" stuff starts.

     
  19. wyountrx

    wyountrx New Member

    May 24, 2010
    Olivette/St. Louis
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    AWESOME! That did work, thanks. Now I'll get to watch 2 WC matches and both MLS games of the week Saturday.
     

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