We currently have Comcast for both TV and Internet service. We are in the process of buying a new home in an area that Comcast does not serve. We have the option between AT&T Uverse or Charter. In terms of Internet service, Charter would be faster as they offer 30Mbps service as opposed to the 18Mbps available through AT&T. However, AT&T is less expensive, which will be important as with upgrading homes comes an upgraded mortgage payment

In any rate, for those of you who have or had Uverse, can you give me the scoop? We have two TVs and will possibly have a 3rd in the near future. I'm interested in their wireless receiver for our 2nd and future 3rd TV. Do you sacrifice picture quality with the wireless receiver? Is it better to bite the bullet and use wired receivers?

Also, how does watching TV affect Internet service? With CATV, your Internet service and TV service use separate frequency bands. How does it work with Uverse? Is bandwidth for TV service above and beyond the Internet service tier you select?

 

Fios

 

I wish!

 

I've been trying to get UVerse for years. Those bastards will service the house 6 doors down, but not mine. Anyway, from what I've seen of it the cable quality is decent and viewing does not affect internet. Their remote viewing app is leaps and bounds ahead of what my cable company offers. Beware of the special offers and contracts though. They will put you on a 2 year contract at a discounted rate, after which it will get monumentally more expensive and they don't tend to negotiate. At least that's what I've heard.

 

I'm OK with a contract.

I did some Googling around and I've read mixed things about their IPTV affecting Internet bandwidth. Apparently AT&T over-provisions the link and reserves anywhere from 6-10Mbps for IPTV, which roughly equates to one HD stream. Anything more than 1 HD stream and some people say they notice their Internet bandwidth decrease while others say they don't notice a significant impact. I had also read that they only allow you to record 2 HD and 2 SD programs simultaneously (4 recordings total), which kinda bites...but that article was from 2010 and may not be accurate. We've become accustomed to Comcast's X1 DVR which lets us record 4 HD programs and watch a 5th. It wouldn't bother me, but it may bother the wife.

Hmm...

 

Good luck/have fun trying to cancel your Comcast service.

Listen to the Comcast customer service call from hell | PCWorld

 

They have no argument because they don't service the area I'm moving. A friend of mine was in a similar situation a few months ago. He knew Comcast didn't service where he was moving, so to avoid any confrontation he called to "transfer" his service. When they discovered that it couldn't be done, they tried to charge him a cancellation fee, but he argued about that and they dropped the fee. Hopefully my experience will be similar!

 

Never had any problems. TV quality is good and it doesn't mess with the internet...

And they offer faster data... ~45Mbps.

Who is your cell service with?

 

The fastest Internet tier they offer in the area our new home is located is 18Mbps, which I'm told is more like 24-28Mbps but they reserve the bandwidth above 18Mbps for their IPTV/VoIP services.





I have cell service through AT&T, but I don't want them touching my plan! I used to work in public education and am still under that contract, so I get a decent discount .

 

That sucks. Means fiber is too far away I assume. Remember, this isn't shared bandwidth like cable. So when primetime hits you shouldn't feel the network load quite as bad.

 

Yep. I think we will give it a shot and see how it works out. I don't think it will be too bad.

I'll sure miss the 100Mbps I'm currently getting through Comcast, though!