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BigTen Network launches Thursday, but will you get it?
Most HD fans love sports, and all sports fans love HD (right?), so it's only natural that every sports lovin' HD fan wants every HD sports channel they can get their hands on. The BigTen network is a big deal for sports fans, -- especially if you follow any BigTen teams -- and we love the fact that 92% of their football games get the HD treatment. But unfortunately when the channel launches this Thursday most won't be able to enjoy it, 'cause only a few providers (like DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse) have signed on. Like most of these deals, a big part is money, but some of it is the ol' basic tier Vs extended BS. So if you're in the unlucky colum, then go ahead and call your provider and if they can't get the deal done, you'd better hope you have a nice southwestern view of the sky.
AT&T's U-Verse arrives in Oklahoma City, challenges Cox
Although it seems like U-Verse rollouts are becoming entirely more common these days, the folks that call Oklahoma City home have yet to get a taste -- until now, that is. As of Monday, parts of Oklahoma City, Edmond, Moore, and Norman, were able to sign up for AT&T's IPTV-based services, and the carrier has wasted no time trying to eat away at Cox's (and DirecTV's) market share. Reportedly, AT&T is claiming that the 26 available HD channels it offers trumps Cox's lineup of 19, and the marketing spin proclaims U-Verse to simply be "cooler than cable." So for you Sooners (or misdirected Cowboys) out there, do let us know how U-Verse measures up if any of you manage to make the switch, capiche?
AT&T's U-verse to go mobile with MobiTV
Some... er, most parts of the country are waiting on any flavor of that bandwidth-thirsty U-verse IPTV to get switched on, but AT&T's already looking forward to the next big thing. As American mobile carriers get to work on various mobile TV initiatives, AT&T has apparently tapped MobiTV to play a large role in their outreach to the smallest screens; or perhaps "larger role" is a more accurate way of putting it, seeing how Cingular has been offering the California-based company's streaming video service on many of its handsets for over a year now. How exactly the mobile variant of U-verse will work is unclear -- it remains to be seen whether it'll be offered only to subscribers of AT&T's in-home U-verse service or will be launched on a broader scale -- but either way, MobiTV says they'll kick it off by offering their own content and add U-verse content into the mix as time goes on. Details haven't been finalized nor have Hancocks been issued on any contracts yet, but they deal seems as good as sealed given AT&T's and MobiTV's already tight relationship. With Sprint and Verizon having both committed to delivering mobile TV via MediaFLO and T-Mobile testing a variety of technologies, Cingular has remained a bit of an enigma; it feels good to finally have some closure, though we have to shudder a bit at the thought of clogging those sweet HSDPA airwaves with IPTV.[Via MocoNews]
U-verse HDTV rollout finally begins
Test users of AT&T's U-verse IPTV service in San Antonio with the Motorola VIP 1216 HD set top box finally got their first taste of HDTV yesterday. There are about 30 HD channels listed total although so far users report only being able to see a few of them. A wide rollout of the Motorola boxes should follow soon as well as the rest of the channels, however viewers will still be limited to viewing one HD channel at a time, per household. AT&T still anticipates offering a second HD stream over its FTTN service with future upgrades. They didn't make the October 25th release date anticipated but it's here and so far, users report excellent picture quality. Hopefully AT&T works out a second stream without going all HDLite on us.
AT&T defends HDTV via FTTN networks
AT&T is finally ready to add HD to its much-delayed Project Lightspeed (U-verse) but the project is still dogged by questions and controversy. Unlike Verizon's FiOS service which runs fiber directly to the house, AT&T is using old-school VDSL for the last mile to most of its customers' homes, and claim it will have the bandwidth to deliver high speed internet and up to two streams of HDTV. Unfortunately, some analysts disagree, seeing either a change in plans switching to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), or following DirecTV's lead and offering some sort of HDLite reduced-quality high definition. So far, AT&T is writing this off as just speculation, saying its current plan makes sense, and it is already testing HD to some customers in Houston. There's already some benefit over cable co's, with features like quad-tuner SD PVRs, but we're hoping that if things get tight they don't choose the cheap route and squeeze the HD figuring no one will notice.Read - AT&T and the Infamous Second HD StreamRead - AT&T: We're Sticking With FTTN
U-verse getting high-def service within weeks?
U-verse users, meet HDTV. We just got word that AT&T's IPTV service is going to be blessed with numerous upgrades within the next few weeks that will include HDTV support, more channels, more VOD, games, personal photos and other unannounced features. This rollout seems to be within the same speculated time frame of October 25th to coincide with the launch of those brand spanking new Motorola DVR's; whenever it does happen, though, these features will be implemented during the slow viewing times between 11 PM and 5 AM with the hope of minimizing service interruption. On a similar note, AT&T is upgrading DVRs to prep for this rollout, with customers seeing all previously recorded programs erased and all scheduled recordings canceled after October 5th. But keep in mind this is for high-def along with more content, so hopefully the ends will justify the means -- you can deal with a few Adult Swim-free nights for the greater good, right?
AT&T to launch Moto VIP 1216 U-verse box in October?
U-verse users, your time is drawing near to shed your older, simpler fiber-powered box for a hot-off-the-assembly-line Motorola unit. Make no mistake about it, nearly any U-verse box one picks up at this point is going to be an early product operating on a relatively infant technology, but you can't argue with IPTV recorded in HD (or standard def) to a 160GB hard drive in h.264. According to UverseUsers, the Moto VIP 1216 box should be rolled out to AT&T customers October 25th, with VIP 1200 "client" boxes for whole-home DVR to follow. Just watch out for what happens when Mr. or Mrs. High Definition Watcher clogs up all the bandwidth in the house watching the game in super high quality; let's hope for the sake of optimizing that very finite data pipe that the h.264 is extended to transmission from the head-end as well.[Via HD Beat]
AT&T's U-verse going HD October 25?
AT&T's fiber-based television service certainly has enough channels to launch HDTV, it seems that the concern right now is do they have the bandwidth? According to U-verse customers, they are being told to expect a new Motorola VIP 1216 HD set-top box on that date that will allow, at least to start, one h.264-encoded HD stream to the home. That means one high definition channel at a time for your house, no dual-tuners, or even dual-TVs, yet. We're sure that even one high-def channel is better than the currently zero available, but the possibility of family-wrecking battles over the remote is high: proceed with caution.[Via Broadband Reports]
AT&T's U-verse adds Showtime HD, The Movie Channel HD
AT&T's U-verse continues building steam towards its HD launch by adding the Showtime family of channels to the service. This includes both Showtime HD and The Movie Channel HD. Of course, HD over Project Lightspeed has been coming soon for quite a while now, but hopefully we are only a few months away. They've recently signed up channels like Starz HDTV, Wealth TV, Discovery HD, MTV Networks' MHD and others. That could be a very compelling package...whenever it's actually available.
AT&T's U-verse TV signs up Starz HDTV
AT&T's U-verse FTTN & FTTP service may not actually offer high definition yet, that hasn't stopped them from adding additional programming for HDTV owners. The Starz package, including Starz HDTV and video-on-demand is the latest station to sign up with the service, which we expect will roll out HD in September or so.
