Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Even with financial markets imploding, there is some good news out there. 

I just learned that AT&T now has more than HD Channels in every market they are in when compared to the old school cable company.

With recent expansions to the U-verse TV HD lineup, customers can now enjoy ABC Family HD, Disney Channel HD, Disney XD HD, ESPNews HD and ESPNU HD as part of their existing HD service subscription, depending on their programming package. With the additions, U-verse TV offers 100 or more HD channels in every U-verse TV market.
 
AT&T U-verse TV has two HD subscription options.

HD service is included with the U450 programming package and available for $10 a month with any other U-verse TV programming package. U-verse HD customers can get even more HD-exclusive channels with the HD Premium package for an additional $5 a month. All U-verse TV packages include HD-ready equipment, and most packages include an HD-ready Total Home DVR, which gives you the ability to record your HD programs from a single DVR and watch them on any connected TV.

For additional information on AT&T U-verse — or to find out if it’s available in your area — visit http://uverse.att.com. Customers can get more information about U-verse TV programming and television events by visiting http://uverse.att.com/uconnect.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

At first glance, the just announced i.TV free programming guide for the
iPhone would be a really handy tool for checking out the latest programming on AT&T’s U-verse.

On small problem.

In my zip code of 78209, they offer TimeWarner, Grande, DirectTV and others, but I guess someone forgot to tell them to include AT&T.

Wouldn’t it stand to reason that if AT&T sold the iPhone, provided the voice service for the iPhone, that they would have worked with the nice people at i.TV to include U-verse programming?

Comments?  alan at weinkrantz dot com

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

AT&T has  announced that its AT&T U-verse TV ranks highest in customer satisfaction among residential television customers in all three regions where it was ranked, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study.

In the annual study of television service, customers cited AT&T for exceptional performance and reliability, customer service, cost of service, billing, and offerings and promotions.

While all of these issues are important, I wonder why J.D. Power is not asking more in-depth questions about how and why users are switching to AT&T- and why.

I also think it would behoove J.D. Power to ask if users know and understand what an IP network is, what you can do with an IP network in your home, and how / why IP is a disruptive force.

Anyone out there care to chime in?

Email me: alan at weinkrantz dot com.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Now into being a 3rd year U-verse customer, I have been hearing all about the potential of true home networking.

That vision is now being put to the test with the launch of AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR, giving U-verse TV customers the freedom to play back Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) recorded programs on any connected TV in the home.

U-verse Total Home DVR is now being introduced to customers in the Bay Area at no additional charge and is planned for deployment to all U-verse TV customers by the end of 2008.

• There is no equipment to buy, no software to download, no phone calls to make.  You will be advised by AT&T when your upgrade is in place.  They do this automatically, through (what else?) the phone line that connects to your service.
• Total Home DVR works because of the HomePNA standard that AT&T has adopted.
• The real future of home networking will be on the G.hn standard –  the next generation standard for existing-wire home networking (a wired and complementary counterpart to the very popular WiFi wireless home networking standard). G.hn has targeted gigabit per second data rates and operation over all three types of home wires: coax, powerline and phone wires.

Here’s what you can do with Total Home DVR:

    — Watch HD and SD DVR recordings on other connected TVs in the home. In addition to your DVR, you can access, play, pause, rewind and fast forward any recorded SD or HD program on up to seven additional U-verse-connected TVs.  All U-verse DVRs and receivers are HD-capable.

– Pause a recorded show and pick up where you left off in another room.

– Play back multiple, independent viewings of the same recorded show on different TVs.

– Play back up to four recorded shows at once. Up to three can be HD recorded programs.

– Watch up to five HD programs simultaneously throughout the home, including two live HD programs and three recorded HD programs.

— Record more of the show you want to see with soft padding, which automatically adds 1 minute to the beginning and 2 minutes to the end of each pre-scheduled recording.

– Organize recorded content by series. Series recordings will be grouped as a single heading in the recorded TV menu, making it easier for customers to manage and select their recorded programs.

– Store up to 37 hours of HD content or up to 133 hours of SD content, which is more storage than most cable providers’ DVRs.

– Record up to four programs at once on a single DVR — another feature  that is exclusive to AT&T U-verse TV.

– Set the DVR while on the go from your PC or wireless phone. With AT&T Yahoo!® Web and Mobile Remote Access to DVR, you can schedule recordings from any Web-connected PC or compatible mobile phone (wireless service charges apply) by using your AT&T High Speed Internet account.

Photo by Alan Weinkrantz (c) All Rights Reserved.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Even though, AT&T Inc. has announced the availability of AT&T U-verse Voice in other markets, today is when the phone company as we no longer know it, is launching U-verse Voice in San Antonio, where I live and blog away.

The idea of U-verse Voice is simple:  it  brings together your AT&T home phone, wireless, broadband and TV services — all on one bill — with unique features that provide a new level of integration, convenience and control.

AT&T U-verse Voice Raises the Bar With New Features such as:

·         Combined AT&T U-verse Voice and AT&T wireless voice mail with U-verse Messaging, which provides a single voice mailbox that can be accessed from any phone line or PC.

·         U-verse Central, an online management portal that gives you the option to easily and conveniently manage your call preferences, voice mail, contacts, call history and more from any PC, in addition to the ability to control call preferences from your home phone.

·         An online voice mailbox to check, manage and forward voice mail from the online portal, much like an e-mail inbox.

·         Call History, which enables you to view your most recent incoming and outgoing calls online or to view your most recent incoming calls on your AT&T U-verse TV screen.

·         Click to Call, which will initiate a call from your home phone to any number in your Call History with one click of a mouse or the U-verse TV remote control.

·         An online Address Book that is accessible from any PC and allows you to Click to Call from your home phone, to create and share contact groups with other U-verse Voice customers or to set up distribution lists for voice messages.

·         Locate Me, a feature that provides simultaneous ringing on up to four wireless or landline numbers so that you never miss an important incoming call.

·         Traditional calling features, such as Call Screening, Call Blocking, Do Not Disturb and privacy settings. 

All U-verse Voice customers will have 911 service. Where available via the local 911 network, U-verse Voice customers will have Enhanced 911 (E911) service.

Pricing is….sort of ok, but fairly high….

U-verse TV customers can choose from two flexible U-verse Voice calling plans:

·         U-verse Voice Unlimited, which includes unlimited local and nationwide minutes to any location in the U.S., Canada or U.S. territories for $40 a month.
·         U-verse Voice 1000, which includes 1,000 Call Anywhere minutes to any location in the U.S. or U.S. territories for $30 a month.

Video to follow tomorrow….

Later today, I have a video interview with an AT&T Exec to talk about U-verse Voice.  Look for a posting on this tomorrow.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

So, how does U-verse work?
How do I get the most out of my U-verse experience?
How does my Remote work?
How do I schedule programs?
What about parental controls?
How do I order a movie?

Download the AT&T User Guide Here:
Download U-verse_Feature_Guide.pdf

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Over the last two years, I have managed to navigate, and get pretty good at reading and understanding my U-verse bill from AT&T.

Here is a handy guide which walks you through all the various charges you wind up paying.

The guide provides information on your Account Summary,  Previous Charges and Credits,  Prorated  Usage Charges, and Surcharges, like government fees that are added on to your bill.

Graphic image, courtesy of AT&T.  All Rights Reserved.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Need the AT&T U-verse Channel Guide?

Click here.

photo by Alan Weinkrantz (c) 2008
 

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

According to a Yankee group report released on Monday, Comcast os the comcastic service provider.
The Cable TV company with it’s multi service model, bundled VoIP IP Telephony services, managed increase the service, 167 percent in 2006 from 3.9 million subscribers to 6.3 million, the report said. The same report predicts that the number will reach 26.2 million by 2011.

This is certainly comcastic for Comcast given that initial service was plagued by quality concerns and the 911 issues are still lingering. But the company seems to have reached the best segment in the market. Many cable users, however, are not aware that their phone service is basd on VOIP, not the traditional copper phone wiring. In a separate 2006 survey, the Yankee Group found that only 9.5 percent of cable telephony subscribers knew what powered their phone service.

Comcast recently emerged as the telephony leader when it reported 2.4 million subscribers during the first quarter of 2007, an 813 percent increase. Those numbers bested previous champ Vonage, a broadband VoIP provider, which struggled last year after a weak IPO and patent battles with Verizon, the report said.

Despite those issues, however, Vonage still managed to add 1.2 million lines in 2006, a 75 percent subscriber increase. The company also added 166,000 lines during the first quarter of 2007.

Maintaining that growth comes with a price – about $300 to attract every new subscriber, the report said. The hefty cost of acquiring new customers likely contributed to the downfall of another broadband VoIP provider, SunRocket, the Yankee Group suggested.

Nonetheless, the Yankee Group predicts that broadband VoIP will grow from 2.8 million customers in 2006 to 6.4 million in 2011. The growth will likely be led by innovative technologies and decreased pricing, the report said.

Going forward, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) VoIP could be a major threat, the report said. This segment of the market is "almost negligible when compared with the overall consumer VoIP market" but it could explode in the coming years given ongoing fiber projects like Verizon’s FiOS and AT&T’s U-verse, it said.

Comcast Tops VOIP Providers in 2006