So, AT&T TV is only stereo and does not have 5.1 surround?

 

Seems to be that way though some digging around says many channels are 5.1 on FireTV but not on AppleTV. I’ll test that in a bit though the overall performance on the FireTV is not good at all IMO.

 

Hmm... it seems to be the same as Hulu-- for some reason they only provide 2-channel audio on Apple TV. So, with AT&T TV, it should be 5.1 audio when using their own box, maybe?

 

Coming back to this. I have to wonder what the hell Apple is doing with audio on the ATV that is different in a way that makes doing 5.1 audio harder. As you note, Hulu doesn't do 5.1 on ATV either.

 

Possibly. I have confirmed that it does do 5.1 audio on at least some channels on the FireTV.

 

Oh, also noticed some lip sync issues on the AppleTV. Did some googling and it is a well reported issue with the only fix a temporary one of setting the ATV to 1080p.

Supposed ATT is well aware of this and is ‘working’ on it.

 

Oh, also noticed some lip sync issues on the AppleTV. Did some googling and it is a well reported issue with the only fix a temporary one of setting the ATV to 1080p.

Supposed ATT is well aware of this and is 'working' on it.

It's been broken since November. You have to do 4K Dolby Vision or HDR, or 1080P/SDR. 4K/SDR is broken.

The osprey box forces everything to 4K/HDR, so you're stuck with terrible choices either way.

 

So the box isn’t really needed after all?

 

So the box isn't really needed after all?

No it isn't. I signed up online today, installed the app on the ATV and away I went. Then put it on the FireTV.

While ATT wants to make a big difference between ATT TV and ATT TV Now they are just the same product at different prices, channel lineups and contract or not.

 

Since ATT TV is offering free HBO/HBO Max for the 1st year, and a $100 rebate, I signed up for it today at the Entertainment level.

I don't have ATT's little box yet, so some of the things I may say might change when it gets here.

Equipment -
AppleTV4K - app performance is very good. The guide is one of the nicest I've seen on any streaming app. And there are filters to help in guide management though a bit limited.

Audio performance is worse than some streamers, mostly because the audio level is low but also because, even with their 'premium' product they couldn't bother giving 5.1 audio! That sucks!

DVR and recordings management is easy and the search function works very well. On Demand stuff seems very good though I've not played with it much. Seems to call another app for some of it and stay in the app for others. But the transition is smooth as silk.

FireTV Cube - performance is totally unacceptable! Pig slow for all functions. I wouldn't recommend using the FireTV for this at all.

I'll come back to this after the box comes in to report the good/bad/changed from apps on the AppleTV4K.

I will be interested to see how the restriction works. It is possible the limitation kicks in once you activate the AT&T TV device they send you. I didn't notice any lip sync issues with the Apple TV HD (4th Gen) with the AT&T TV app.

Your FireTV Cube performance sounds like the performance my FireTV Stick experienced to the T.

The AT&T TV device is nice and I personally preferred channels being organized by numbers rather than alphabetical. The AT&T TV channel #s are the same as D*'s.

Like I mentioned in my review and I will warn you switching between apps a lot will cause the box to crash and reload. When I was setting up Netflix, CBS All Access, Movies Anywhere, etc. I was just opening one app logging in and then moving on to the next. Doing this caused the AT&T TV device to lag and eventually reboot. Now I was using the beta box so I'm not sure if the boxes they are distributing has something different to rectify this.

No it isn't. I signed up online today, installed the app on the ATV and away I went. Then put it on the FireTV.

While ATT wants to make a big difference between ATT TV and ATT TV Now they are just the same product at different prices, channel lineups and contract or not.

Very true. I think the big difference they want to push is the AT&T TV device. They are only selling the AT&T TV device with AT&T TV even though AT&T TV Now is compatible with it.

The other big difference is how the customer interacts with the product from a customer service perspective.

• AT&T TV: You can call into a call center and speak with representatives, chat online, manage account online. You have to call to cancel the service.
• AT&T TV Now: Entirely self service, can chat with a representative if needed, no call center representatives and can cancel online without speaking to a care representative.

Also AT&T TV Now offers Entertainment - Ultimate & Optimo Mas at their regular non-promo rates but for Choice - Ultimate you don't get billed for the RSN fee. I find that odd lol.

 

I will be interested to see how the restriction works. It is possible the limitation kicks in once you activate the AT&T TV device they send you. I didn't notice any lip sync issues with the Apple TV HD (4th Gen) with the AT&T TV app.

Your FireTV Cube performance sounds like the performance my FireTV Stick experienced to the T.

The AT&T TV device is nice and I personally preferred channels being organized by numbers rather than alphabetical. The AT&T TV channel #s are the same as D*'s.

Like I mentioned in my review and I will warn you switching between apps a lot will cause the box to crash and reload. When I was setting up Netflix, CBS All Access, Movies Anywhere, etc. I was just opening one app logging in and then moving on to the next. Doing this caused the AT&T TV device to lag and eventually reboot. Now I was using the beta box so I'm not sure if the boxes they are distributing has something different to rectify this.

As I remember it, you don't have a 4K TV. Lip sync seems to be an issue with 4K on the ATV. Mine is set to 4K/HDR and the lip sync issue isn't on everything, it is a bit random.

The Cube is working a little better this morning. Still slower than the ATV, but not as pig slow as I was getting last night. It's nice to have 5.1 audio using the Cube but the Cube's audio levels are low compared to the ATV and the ATT app is also low compared to most other apps so I have to push the volume quite a bit to get something acceptable.

I really like the DVR since I control it. That was one thing I never really liked with YouTubeTV. Too messy IMO.

Trick play on the FireTV is a bit on the irritating side since during skips you don't have thumbnail to see where in the ads you are and when the show starts again, only a time indicator. However the controls work better than on the ATV.

On the ATV it tries to show the video as you move but the app isn't strong enough to handle it well and oft times get an error about internet performance. Note that all these streaming guys try to blame your internet performance for almost all issues. It is a seemingly constant refrain I see reported in many forums.

 

Curious.. Was the Fire Stick and Cube used the older generations?

 

I didn't use a stick, just the Cube. I think it is one generation old given how long I've had it.

 

HD PQ is fine with the ATT app, maybe even a tiny bit crisper than YouTubeTV or some other video apps.

I have noticed some video quirks now and then. Like a jump or quick freeze, not horrible but a bit more often than I’ve seen with other apps.

In general the product works as advertised and with my plan to keep it a year and cancel because that will make my average per month cost about $57 for a good selection of the channels I’m interested in, a free year of HBO/HBO Max and the usual 3 months of free other premiums. It makes for a pretty compelling product/price combo if the channels and so forth fit you.

ATT really needs to get off their ass and work on the app though. They are peddling this as a ‘premium’ product but the app performance is just not premium at all, in fact is at minimum a bit slower for everything compared to others.

And the box is a nice idea though reading a lot about it tells me that their $120 price point if you want to buy one is a lot on the high side. They need to get Hulu, Amazon Prime and maybe a few other apps on it too. Market it as a one-size fits all box and its value rises.

And for god’s sake cut a deal with Roku! How the hell they think that ignoring the biggest selling line of streaming boxes makes any kind of marketing sense is beyond me.

 

A side note...

Just checked on eBay and found that lots of folks think their used beta ATT boxes are worth more than you can buy one from ATT! Pure nuttiness though I’m sure some idiot will come along and pay that much!

 

A side note...

Just checked on eBay and found that lots of folks think their used beta ATT boxes are worth more than you can buy one from ATT! Pure nuttiness though I'm sure some idiot will come along and pay that much!

Overall I think they are good boxes. They might be worth their MSRP if you could use them without an AT&T TV or AT&T TV Now subscription.

However I don't think the price is good in general for a box that essentially turns into a glorified Google Chromecast once you cancel the AT&T TV/TV Now service unless your committed to having either AT&T TV or AT&T TV Now for the long term.

Some of those people on eBay are pure wackos! I guess I was lucky to get the two beta Osprey boxes I did. (One was at $60 and the other was at $80)

 

AT&T Just Lost Over 1 Million TV Subscribers -- And It's Going to Get Worse

AT&T (NYSE: T) reported 897,000 premium TV subscriber losses in the first quarter to go along with its loss of 138,000 over-the-top subscribers. The combined total makes it the third consecutive quarter in which AT&T's lost over 1 million video subscribers. The subscriber losses are absolutely staggering compared to its biggest competitor, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA).

Continue reading

 

There’s another thread talking about ATT’s financial/subscriber issues.

 

On the ATV4K the app attempts to keep full screen video that skips ahead but it doesn’t do a good job of it.

5.1 audio, well further reading from some old posts here and there indicate that there are a very few channels with 5.1 on the ATV. Unfortunately no one says which ones and I don’t fell like checking every channel.

 

Well this little trial run isn’t going as well as I had hoped for. There is only one way to describe the performance of the ATT TV app on the FireTV is ‘total crap’!

Frequent crashes, slow to do anything at all, the only plus is it has 5.1 audio. Frankly that little ATT box they have sent me better really wow me or it is back to YTTV.

ATT really needs to get off the dime and fix this app.

Oh and they might want to look and see why, when I try to watch Hobbs & it comes up and says I don’t sub to HBO, but when I picked John Wick 3 on HBO it works fine.

 

Well this little trial run isn't going as well as I had hoped for. There is only one way to describe the performance of the ATT TV app on the FireTV is 'total crap'!

Frequent crashes, slow to do anything at all, the only plus is it has 5.1 audio. Frankly that little ATT box they have sent me better really wow me or it is back to YTTV.

ATT really needs to get off the dime and fix this app.

Oh and they might want to look and see why, when I try to watch Hobbs & it comes up and says I don't sub to HBO, but when I picked John Wick 3 on HBO it works fine.

Just curious because I never tried the Fire TV Cube does it do that with the other apps? I know the Fire TV Stick is just awful in general when it comes to performance to the point I put it in my junk drawer and replaced it with a Google Chromecast on the bedroom TV. All the apps crashed frequently just like the AT&T TV app so I just thought it was the Fire TV Stick. The bad experience I had with the Fire TV Stick is one reason I decided to pick up an Nvidia Shield TV over a Fire TV Cube for the living room TV.

 

I have never been able to get 5.1 audio using any of the fire tv h/w no matter what app i tried. From ATT Now, Sling TV, ESPN or even PBS apps. Tried with the 1st and 2nd gen sticks, the Fire TV and even the 4K stick. The ONLY exception was when i got a free 7 day trial of Amazon Prime and binged-watched Longmire series. For me audio quality is more important then video quality. I spent most of the Super Bowl using the ESPN app trying to get more then 2 channel audio to no avail. The 4k stream worked fine but what's the point if you can get good audio so ended up watching the second half using OTA. Pro Logic 2 just don't cut it for me lol. The next day i bought the Nvidia Shield and now i get all audio formats including all the HD uncompressed formats and never looked back. Maybe Amazon uses some type of proprietary audio stream????

 

You know it is really irritating in the streaming world that the content providers don’t provide apps for all the major platforms. It is nice that seemingly all of them are available on the AppleTV and Roku boxes though there are some differences in how the apps work between them.

ATT chose not to have their app available on Roku though it was there in the past. They also chose not to be on Android TVs though their own box is AndroidTV. And they chose to not have Hulu & Amazon Prime on their box. And they chose not to provide an app for Xbox One or PS3/4 even though those two are probably better hardware for these apps.

Apple is good about being well supported by all the content providers but not so good about providing support for other platforms. Apple’s TV+ app is available on ATV, Roku and FireTV but not available on Xbox One and PS3/4.

You would think that content providers would want their service available on as wide a range of hardware as possible. I could simplify my media setup quite a bit if it was so. Right now, theoretically the AppleTV should be that ‘one box’, but for those of us that want audio to be as good as the video, it isn’t. Hulu & ATT don’t provide 5.1 audio on ATV though they do on other platforms. There simply is no excuse for that.

 

I think I’ve figured out why the ATT app on the FireTV is such a slug. It seems that the app isn’t caching anything, instead downloading the info each time you change the screen.

And that brings back the less than fond memories of the crappy software D* was nearly famous for! Did they ever fix Channels I Get?

 

What's interesting to me is that some had speculated the box would be required to prevent account stacking (ie to make sure the TVs using just the app would have the same IP as the main box). I wonder what prevents a customer using this at multiple residences. Is it against the terms of service for me to go to another house and load up the app?

After previously crapping on this, I'm now somewhat interested, given lparson's earlier math about the cancellation fee vs the price increase. I recently moved into an apartment temporarily and have to use spectrum, which I'm having a very difficult time getting used to.

 

Technically speaking using any of the streaming services outside of the billing address on other than mobile devices is not supposed to done. That said, most of the services aren't really doing anything about that now.

But you only get one box for free but you have 3 concurrent streams allowed so even in the house most wouldn't buy more boxes as they are a bit overpriced.

The quickest way to do the math is take the promo price, add $15 to it for the ETF, subtract whatever rebate is offered and divide by 12 to come up with true cost. Think about this, Entertainment $49.99 for year one, $93 for year two, roughly $43/month more in 2nd year, $15 beats that by a lot!

The same math works at the broader subscription levels too. And regardless of the *****ing I've done, for those that just have to have every channel or even just all the sports, ATT has it and no one else does.

I'm kind of expecting that over the next year ATT will pull their collective heads out of their butts and make some significant changes. If they don't I'm happy, if they do I'd be happier!

 

Got the ATT box and finished setup.

I’m connecting into the Xbox One to my Atmos soundbar, that way I get faked Atmos from 5.1 audio. I’ll only use the ATT box for watching ATT. That’s because ATT made the conscious choice to no have Hulu and Netflix on it. And the box doesn’t support Atmos anyway. Since ATT’s streaming service is at 720p it isn’t a big deal.

The box is smoother in operation though it is a bit slower than the AppleTV. 5.1 Audio is there as well as a thumbnail while skipping so you can manage that better. Setup is simple and doesn’t take too long. Lip sync issues haven’t showed up. HD PQ is fine though not quite as good as the app on ATV or FireTV. That could possibly be because I’m connected via the Xbox One. But it is more than good enough.

The remote is very nice though it could use backlighting. It uses RF to control the ATT box and IR to control other device like TV and/or soundbar/AVR. I killed of HDMI-CEC because it just causes issues when using the Harmony remote to switch devices and power up/down the system.

If anything changes from what I’ve said here after only using the box for a little bit, I’ll post again.

 

Got the ATT box and finished setup.

I'm connecting into the Xbox One to my Atmos soundbar, that way I get faked Atmos from 5.1 audio. I'll only use the ATT box for watching ATT. That's because ATT made the conscious choice to no have Hulu and Netflix on it. And the box doesn't support Atmos anyway. Since ATT's streaming service is at 720p it isn't a big deal.

The box is smoother in operation though it is a bit slower than the AppleTV. 5.1 Audio is there as well as a thumbnail while skipping so you can manage that better. Setup is simple and doesn't take too long. Lip sync issues haven't showed up. HD PQ is fine though not quite as good as the app on ATV or FireTV. That could possibly be because I'm connected via the Xbox One. But it is more than good enough.

The remote is very nice though it could use backlighting. It uses RF to control the ATT box and IR to control other device like TV and/or soundbar/AVR. I killed of HDMI-CEC because it just causes issues when using the Harmony remote to switch devices and power up/down the system.

If anything changes from what I've said here after only using the box for a little bit, I'll post again.

Actually the ATT box not supporting ATMOS is a huge deal. Its not just about the ATT TV app, it's about other streaming apps. Not supporting ATMOS for other apps, like VUDU/Fandango, NetFlix, etc. for those folks that want to have a single box for all their streaming apps is going to be a none starter.

 

Well now we’re talking!!

Voice search works great as does voice commands. Also transitioning between the ATT main app to say HBO Go to see something is butter smooth. And then transitioning back to the main program is just as smooth. I’m impressed!

 

Well now we're talking!!

Voice search works great as does voice commands. Also transitioning between the ATT main app to say HBO Go to see something is butter smooth. And then transitioning back to the main program is just as smooth. I'm impressed!

Nice to hear. I gave up on that as the voice commands had too much lag for me. Behaved the same on both of my osprey boxes. Either way I am using the harmony remotes. But overall the box works great with the service.

 

Well Techguy did warn me about apps! While the apps it does have work fine, switching to them or switching around using them is nearly guaranteed to crash the box!
So that tells me that the box is fine for using ATT TV but nearly worthless for anything else. Glad I’m connected the way I am as relegating it to that sole use is fine in this configuration. But it sure as hell isn’t even within sniff’s distance of being the ‘one box’!

 

Some fiddling around. I noticed some very slight AV sync issues running the ATT Box into the Xbox One with the Dolby Experience app which fakes Atmos from 5.1 surround. So I decided to change connections.

So I first connected the ATT box to my Samsung Atmos soundbar. Picture was fine, sync was spot on, but the audio reeked! Stereo only as far as the soundbar was concerned and for whatever reason I couldn’t set the soundbar to do Dolby ProLogic as I have from other devices. So that was out.

Next I connected direct to the Sony 4K 900E TV and am using optical back to the soundbar. Perfect with one oddity. If I hit the ‘home’ button on the ATT remote it also shifts the HDMI input to HDMI3 which just won’t do. Nice that the ATT remote has an input button so I can change it back where it needs to be. The other oddity is that turning on the ATT box also turns off the soundbar. And turning off the ATT box sets the TV to the home menu of the TV. Only workaround for that is to power down the whole system, which is just a single button push on the Harmony and then bringing it back up with the right selection. I know, first world problems!

 

lparsons...I'm unclear on the 5.1 issues. Could you clarify if all channels are playing 5.1 using the actual box provided and it is just some of the third party boxes having issues? I could see putting the box in the main TV room where I have a 5.1 setup, and using the app only on other TVs in the house which do not.....but would def want 5.1 on my main tv.

I'm going to think more about this. One of the things I found strange (and I sorta knew this before) is the packages aren't exactly comparable with the Directv packages......for example a couple of glaring omissions, I don't see the NFL Network (which seems really strange given Directv's relationship with the NFL) and the Big Ten Network......there may be others.

I really wish they offered a seven day trial (without the equipment) before getting locked in to a two year contract.

At this point, I really do not like Spectrum. I played more with it last night and they offer an app with a "DVR" menu......one would think that would allow you to watch your DVR while on your network, but of course not. There is literally no way to watch the DVR from other TVs in the house. No cloud solution and no whole home solution.

EDIT: I just found out I'm getting Spectrum included in my lease....so that changes a lot for me as I'm not concerned with adding an additional service now.

 

The 5.1 issue is with 3rd party boxes. Notably on the FireTV you have 5.1 and on the AppleTV you don’t. On ATT’s box you do. Don’t know if it is all channels but it is on all the ones I’ve actually checked.

BTW there is a 14 day trial. You sign up online and can use the app on your current box and they also send you theirs. Mine came in 2 days later. In the box is a return label. So if you decide to cancel before the 14 days are up you have to CALL them to do so, can’t do it online. And then you can ship the box back or turn it in at a corporate owned store. I was told about that and also found a FAQ about it somewhere. They don’t mention it on the signup page or if they do I couldn’t find it.

And yeah, the channel lineups are not exactly D* lineups.

 

Great info....thanks. I think this is worth at least trying given the 14 day grace period. I mentioned Spectrum is included in my lease, that is a base package and two basic boxes. I'm paying about $20 a month or more for the DVR service and DVR....so for me....getting rid of the spectrum DVR and adding this service would only cost me about $30 a month.

Thanks for the information on this.

The 5.1 issue is with 3rd party boxes. Notably on the FireTV you have 5.1 and on the AppleTV you don't. On ATT's box you do. Don't know if it is all channels but it is on all the ones I've actually checked.

BTW there is a 14 day trial. You sign up online and can use the app on your current box and they also send you theirs. Mine came in 2 days later. In the box is a return label. So if you decide to cancel before the 14 days are up you have to CALL them to do so, can't do it online. And then you can ship the box back or turn it in at a corporate owned store. I was told about that and also found a FAQ about it somewhere. They don't mention it on the signup page or if they do I couldn't find it.

And yeah, the channel lineups are not exactly D* lineups.

 

I test drove Spectrums Choice streaming package right before March Madness was cancel. They offer a 7 day trial but they gave me a 30 day. I picked out my 10 channels plus they give you all your locals. I was only missing the Science and American Hero's channels which are my top 2 but for $24.99 i thought it was a fair deal. I also have a 100ft antenna tower and get 4 city locals so over 100+ scan in with OTA. I canceled after my trial for a few reasons. They told me the price was 24.99 but it was really 29.99 and they added a $6 unnamed fee to my bill which i came to find out is a local broadcast fee so true per month cost was 36.99. I refuse to pay 1 penny for locals. With this package you do NOT get bundled pricing either. The other big negative is the lack of support for the app as in it only works with Windows, Samsung Android tv's and Roku and i think maybe Apple. No Fire TV, Sony Android tv's or NVidia Shield support at all. I bought a 4k Roku to test it out which now sits unused.