[James Long]

YouTubeTV's RSN status is a little odd from what I read. Dropped some, kept others, but all for some short period of time. So the RSNs may be an issue for them going forward.

If I recall correctly the coverage area of each RSN was part of the issue (RSNs not available everywhere where their local teams are in market). It is hard to keep track of all the caveats.

 

[James Long]

Doesn't YouTube (or one of the other services) automatically extend?

That would be one of the bonuses of a cloud service. Someone at the system can mark the actual beginning and end of each program and adjust the recordings for the customer - often retroactively if the live feed is fully buffered.

 

[James Long]

The potential is to work better. With a home DVR a tuner needs to be available for each customer to make the decision when to record what. With cloud DVR a stream can be captured 24/7 and split out to the actual programming when there are delays. The potential end of Sunday night TV schedules being destroyed in Eastern/Central times by Sunday afternoon sports running over. The potential is there.

 

[James Long]

Although home recorded content can be marked for limited playback (generally applied to PPV content) having a recording on your DVR generally means the recording will stay on your DVR, playable until deleted. Most streaming services have time limits that are shorter than hardware failure or replacement rates. Some have enforced policies where DVR content has been replaced by VOD content (including forced commercials). There are roses and thorns on both sides of the issue.

 

[James Long]

As I said, roses and thorns on both sides. A home DVR works when the Internet is down. We could go back and forth all day - please accept that neither method is perfect.

 

[James Long]

Now, that said, yes, AT&T has made some *really* dumb moves (buying DTV) and their marketing/branding strategy seems to be constantly in flux and confusing to lots of folks.

We would not be talking (much) about AT&T if they had not purchased DIRECTV and grown their business. AT&T was struggling to launch an OTT service and bought DIRECTV specifically to have the larger customer base needed to negotiate contracts that would make an OTT service profitable. I believe that things didn't quite go as planned ... renegotiating contracts was not easy and satellite subscriber losses over the past few years have weakened their negotiating position - but I believe that AT&T is in a much better position to have a successful OTT service after the DIRECTV purchase than they were before the DIRECTV purchase.

 

[James Long]

D* also provided AT&T a nationwide TV service at a time when using streaming was not thought of.

Starting an OTT service was specifically mentioned in 2014 as part of the reason why AT&T wanted to purchase DIRECTV. (And SlingTV started in 2013 ... so companies were not only thinking of OTT, they were doing it.)

Also for the tech used for AT&T TV, AT&T TV Now & AT&T WatchTV I wouldn't be surprised if it was something D* was already working on prior to the AT&T-DirecTV purchase.

Yep. The platform they are using now is based on the one DIRECTV developed. While they were late to launch (not launching DTV now until a year after the merger closed) DIRECTV deserves the credit for AT&T having a product to sell now.

Many mistakes were made along the way with branding and price points - AT&T can have credit for the mistakes.

 

[James Long]

That is the "technology level" being targeted by AT&T TV ... the channels the customer wants organized by channels and linear schedules. On demand can be available, but that interface can't be the main way to watch TV.

4K UHD HDR DV doesn't matter so much to a customer base that would probably connect the AT&T box to a SD TV if it has those outputs.

 

[James Long]

Well now, this is strange. I've always held the mic button down to do the Google Assistance. But my finger slipped off the button and it made it work much quicker. Tried a half dozen times just push/release and then talk and it is quicker.

I swear the instructions says hold the button down.

Different equipment, but I hold down the button - speak - and release the button when I am finished speaking for the device I have with a button. Talking after the button release is ignored. My Google Nest device does not have a button so I just speak after saying the wake up phrase. Perhaps AT&T's implementation is listening after the button is released.

 

[James Long]

I would think the pandemic would raise numbers for things like TV subscriptions since people are spending way more time in their homes in front of the boob tube. Plus, of all the "cable tv style" options out there for those who want that, AT&T TV is the safest since they'll ship the equipment to you for self install with no cable pulls, dishes, ground blocks, splitter and connector changes needed since all you need is an existing internet service, which of course most if not all do.

AT&T is competing against no commitment services at a time when there is a lot of uncertainty. Statistically, Americans have made less money and have less to spend. There are enough other options that a high priced package with a commitment can be avoided.

 

[James Long]

My post was in response to the thought that the pandemic would raise TV subscription rates. Statistically, that did not happen.
Traditional Pay TV lost 5-6 million subscribers last year and 3.4 million in the first half of this year. AT&T's new offering fits "traditional".

Consumer income is down this year. Consumer spending is down this year. AT&T has chosen the harder path.

 

[James Long]

It doesn't. It will auto extend but reviews say it doesn't work

We have had reports on our forum of YouTube adjusting start and stop times of programming (mainly due to sports overruns).

Not the feature we are accustomed to on satellite receivers and other home based DVRs where one sets their own padding and extensions. But it serves the need when program times do not match scheduled times.

 

[James Long]

It sounds like you agree with the reasoning ABC and FOX chose for frame rate over pixels per frame.

 

[James Long]

ABC and Fox surely didn't have streaming in mind when they chose 720p.

Digital broadcasting is streaming. Not IP packets, but still a compressed digital encoding.

You'll let us know the next time you see a network sports production truck that shoots 720p native, won't you?

Probably parked next to the one doing native 1080i in today's environment.

 

[James Long]

It is a choice. Way above your pay grade. Don't worry about it.

 

[James Long]

Your failure to read is noted. I noted that ABC and Fox chose that format and commented that the poster who I was responding to apparently agreed with that choice. I did not express my opinion as to whether 720p or 1080i is or was the best choice for sports programming. You also seemed to miss the point that a native 1080i truck would be as rare as a 720p truck in today's environment (although there is always old junk to deal with in the broadcast industry). But that point was more nuanced. (BTW: It isn't the truck that "shoots" video, it is the cameras. But that is a nit pick.)

 

[James Long]

"Customers can stream the best collection of live and on-demand programming on devices they already have, or they can get our exclusive AT&T TV Stream device to enjoy enhanced features and functionality."

Or as quoted the day before on another news site:

"Customers can stream the best collection of live and on-demand programming on devices they already have, or they can get our exclusive AT&T TV streaming device to enjoy enhanced features and functionality."

The capitalized "AT&T Stream device" vs "AT&T streaming device". AT&T may not be calling it "Stream" either. I'd like to see the name from a reputable source (news media is not a source) before calling the box by that name.

 

[James Long]

LOL, OK. Are CNet and Dallas Morning News reputable enough for you?

By definition, no. News media is not a source. The source would be Vince Torres --- who is quoted at least three different ways in the linked articles. How can the quote be accurate when different reporters quote him as saying different words?

When you put words in quotes and attach a name the words should be what the person said.

 

[James Long]

I wonder, once AT&T finally gets a deal done (soon?) to shift DirecTV at least partially off their books, if they'll put more focus on AT&T TV and improving it so that it no longer falls short of DirecTV in certain ways.

It depends on what is sold if anything is sold (finding a buyer willing to pay what AT&T wants has not been easy).

The recent restructuring of AT&T's Communications Segment split "Video" out and created a ready to sell business. While anything can happen, it would be easier to sell the video group than split if further.

 

[James Long]

Each service likely has its own separate set of engineers and technical operations employees but it's not clear to me at all that strategic top-level decisions (in terms of channels, features, pricing, etc.) are made separately for each service without consideration of the other. In fact, it very much looks to me like AT&T TV is simply the next-gen iteration of/replacement for DirecTV. I think that's always been the way AT&T management has conceived and talked about it.

Perhaps it is the negative that is throwing people off.

It is clear that AT&T wanted to merge UVERSE and DIRECTV and expand into OTT streaming. It was clearly stated when they made their offer for DIRECTV. I believe they had the expectation that once merged they could add 20 million DIRECTV subscribers to 5 million UVERSE subscribers and get a much better deal for both UVERSE (which was paying a lot more than DIRECTV for channels) and for their proposed streaming services. People outside of AT&T seemed to expect the same lineup on all three services ... and it has taken a while to get close to that goal (with some content still not on all three platforms).

AT&T combined financials for UVERSE and DIRECTV ... they reported subscriptions separately until two years ago. Unfortunately until the last quarter AT&T also combined broadband with UVERSE and DIRECTV - now they have a Video category where all three platforms are together separate from the rest of AT&T (including financial reporting). It is still one reporting unit - so the successes or failure of one of the three platform is buried in the performance of the other platforms.

AT&T is still struggling with getting one lineup across all platforms. But there are more indications that one team is running "Video" than DIRECTV being separate.