DirecTV Now to rebrand under AT&T TV family.

[Scott Greczkowski]

How much bandwidth would you need to have 3 TV's going at once?

 

[comp9]

How much bandwidth would you need to have 3 TV's going at once?

according to there specs 24Mbps optimally. I would say at least 30-40 though

 

[NashGuy]

Well the CEO said it would cost less to install, but didn't say anything about charging customers less.

No, he and others at AT&T have repeatedly talked about passing along some of those savings from lower installation/acquisition costs on to the consumer in the form of lower pricing.

But look, if you have one TV you are paying $22/month less, and if you have more TVs you have to buy the client but save the $7 fees on those so setting up say five rooms (albeit limited to only watching Directv in three at once, but you could use apps on the other two which is probably realistic for families these days) would cost $50 a month less on AT&T TV versus Directv satellite. That's not an insignificant savings.

Not sure where you're getting $22/mo less for folks with a single TV, although you have a point about multi-TV households. But my guess is that the average cable/sat TV subscriber has service to something like 2.5 TVs, though.

Per AT&T's own website, it appears to me that the cost of the Entertainment package as a standalone service via DirecTV vs. AT&T TV, with a 24-month contract on either, costs the following:

• DirecTV: $65/mo in the first year, $93/mo thereafter, free online activation ($20 fee waived), bonus: $100 Visa gift card for online order (Choice and above packages also get 1 year free NFL Sunday Ticket)
• AT&T TV: $60/mo in the first year, $93/mo thereafter, $20 activation fee, no bonus (that I can find)

Since the Entertainment package does not include RSNs, there's no additional RSN fee in either case. For the prices stated, DirecTV gives you one Genie HD DVR (~200 hours HD storage, I think) while AT&T TV gives you a cloud DVR with 500 hours storage. As you point out, viewing on additional TVs costs you an extra $7 per TV with DirecTV while AT&T TV allows simultaneous viewing on 2 more additional screens in the base price but if you want the best possible viewing experience with the AT&T TV streaming box, that will set you back an extra $120 (!) per box (which can be spread out over 12 monthly payments of $10).

Should also note that same-name channel packages aren't exactly the same between DirecTV and AT&T TV, since the latter currently lacks all PBS stations and in many markets does not carry the local affiliates for The CW, My Network TV and/or Telemundo. But AT&T has been steadily filling in those local channel gaps on the streaming side and I'm sure will continue to do so in the coming months.

The contract length surprises me too, though I wonder if they would waive/reduce the contract if you don't get the lower 12 month intro pricing? But like I said, they are targeting this as an alternative delivery method for the same (or as close as they can come given contracts etc.) Directv as you get via satellite. They save money on install costs, you save money on some fees, but the commitment term seems to be equal between the two. I was expecting 3-6 months, a year at the longest.

Not sure if AT&T TV would waive the contract in exchange for waiving the first-year discount or not. They might just say to go with AT&T TV Now; it never has a contract and, for now anyway, still offers all the traditional packages such as Entertainment at the regular price from day-1. Of course, AT&T TV Now only has a crappy 20-hour/30-day cloud DVR and no option to get the AT&T TV box.

I still can't believe that this two-track system of channel packages is going to hold long-term. I think that once AT&T has finalized all of the necessary carriage contracts, they'll make Plus and Max, plus some other new options, the mandatory set of choices across all their products.

 

[slice1900]

No, he and others at AT&T have repeatedly talked about passing along some of those savings from lower installation/acquisition costs on to the consumer in the form of lower pricing.

Not sure where you're getting $22/mo less for folks with a single TV, although you have a point about multi-TV households. But my guess is that the average cable/sat TV subscriber has service to something like 2.5 TVs, though.

Well they did pass along the savings. There is no $15 advanced receiver fee or $7 per TV fee on AT&T TV, so there's the $22 you are wondering about. You still save money not paying the $7 even if you get additional clients because $7 a month over 24 months is $168 so you save $48 over the term of the commitment and save $7 a month per client thereafter. Plus you own it and can resell it on eBay to other AT&T TV customers after you leave, or (probably) keep using it as a streaming set top.

If you look back to my posts it is pretty much as I have predicted for the past year or two - same package pricing but with no $15 fee and while I wasn't sure about the $7 fee I figured most likely you'd own the clients and they wouldn't charge it. A bit surprised they are charging $120 for the C71 when it couldn't cost half that to make, but it still saves money over satellite so I guess they figured people wouldn't whine too much.

 

[NashGuy]

Well they did pass along the savings. There is no $15 advanced receiver fee or $7 per TV fee on AT&T TV, so there's the $22 you are wondering about. You still save money not paying the $7 even if you get additional clients because $7 a month over 24 months is $168 so you save $48 over the term of the commitment and save $7 a month per client thereafter. Plus you own it and can resell it on eBay to other AT&T TV customers after you leave, or (probably) keep using it as a streaming set top.

The advanced receiver fee may apply to your account but that's not how DTV prices things for new subs any more. The prices they now advertise include all the equipment and service costs for the given package with HD DVR service to a single TV. The only extra charge beyond that is the RSN fee, if applicable to your package.

See screenshot below to see how DTV is currently pricing the Entertainment package with HD DVR service to 3 TVs (one served by the Genie HD DVR, included, and two more by wired receivers at $7/mo each). The $65 package price is just for the first year. It goes to the regular $93/mo price in year two.

If you want to add wired receivers to additional TVs, it's $7/mo per TV. If you have service to 5 or more TVs, then they charge a one-time up-front fee of $49 per receiver beyond the first 3. If you prefer wireless receivers, I think there's a one-time up-front charge of $99 for the overall account, regardless of how many receivers you get.

I couldn't get the shopping cart to all fit on one screen but for some reason, this time DTV was offering me a $200, rather than $100, Visa gift card at checkout. Maybe because I was ordering service for 3 TVs rather than just 1?

At any rate, if you do the math, it comes out CHEAPER right now to get the Entertainment package as a standalone service via DirecTV satellite than via AT&T TV. While the latter charges $5/mo less in the first year, the former is offering at least a $100 Visa gift card plus waiving the $20 activation fee. So for service to one TV, your net cost in the first year is $60 less on DirecTV than on AT&T TV. Net cost in year two is the same.

If you get service to three TVs (as in the screenshot above), the net cost is $232 less in the first year on DirecTV than on AT&T TV, assuming that you purchase two additional AT&T TV streaming boxes at $120 each. In year two, the net cost is $168 more on DirecTV than on AT&T TV because at that point all your AT&T TV streaming boxes are paid for and the Entertainment package costs the same ($93) on either service, but you're still paying an extra $14/mo on DirecTV for the 2 additional wired receivers. Still though, that makes the overall net 2-year cost of HD DVR service to 3 TVs to be $64 less on DirecTV than on AT&T TV.

Maybe there's something that AT&T's website isn't disclosing on one service or the other but I don't think so. They've always been pretty straightforward about what the pricing will be each month for the full 2-year term.

A bit surprised they are charging $120 for the C71 when it couldn't cost half that to make, but it still saves money over satellite so I guess they figured people wouldn't whine too much.

Even with a one-year contract, AT&T TV ought to be giving away 2 of those boxes to customers. Or maybe offer customers a choice between a $50 Visa gift card and a free second box. With a 2-year contract, it's absolutely ridiculous that they're asking customers to pay $120 for a 2nd box.

 

[NashGuy]

They've been saying that HBO Max will formally launch in early 2020 but it may first roll out as a beta (without some features, without Max Originals, etc.) this fall. I wonder if the beta of HBO Max will launch at the same time that AT&T TV rolls out nationwide, with HBO Max being available exclusively at that point to customers who get it packaged in as a part of their AT&T TV service or their AT&T Wireless (postpaid) service. If so, that's probably when AT&T Watch TV would die, as it exists basically to be a free bonus packaged in with AT&T Wireless.

Perhaps from then until HBO Max officially launches a few months later, new customers on AT&T TV and DirecTV would have a choice of whether to sign up for the new packages including HBO Max (Plus, Max, etc.) or the old packages without them (Entertainment, Choice, etc.). And then after HBO Max officially launches around March 2020 -- at which point it's available as a standalone service to anyone -- the old packages are grandfathered and no longer available for new sign-ups.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Two year contract for one box? Each additional box is another $10 a month, and the internet to receive it is not included? And the price starts at $59 a month?

No thanks.

They are a bunch of idiots launching a product at that price point with all the other streaming options available.

Never heard of a 2 year agreement for streaming Tv Also

 

[Jimbo]

I brought up a few weeks ago that they may have a commitment and I was shot down ...
There it is ...

Do I think its right, No ...
Not with all the other streaming options having No commitment.

Will it last ?
Probably as D* has never dropped it's 2 year commitment after all this time.

It will probably cause people to NOT go thier way in a lot of instances.

 

[VictoriaFTA]

Why do you have to pay for yet another obnoxious, inferior proprietary box to use this service? This defeats the entire purpose of "streaming"

There is nothing that that crappy AT&T box they're launching for this service can do that my PC can't do 100x better.

No Windows 10 app to access the service means this is a non-starter.

 

[Jimbo]

Why do you have to pay for yet another obnoxious, inferior proprietary box to use this service? This defeats the entire purpose of "streaming"

There is nothing that that crappy AT&T box they're launching for this service can do that my PC can't do 100x better.

No Windows 10 app to access the service means this is a non-starter.

And you know this HOW ?

This box could be better than "Sliced Bread" ...
You don't know ....

I'm not saying it is, but why shoot something down thats brand new with very little info on ?

 

[Juan]

Its not your kids streaming...its cable over internet

They are a bunch of idiots launching a product at that price point with all the other streaming options available.

Never heard of a 2 year agreement for streaming Tv Also

Sent from my SM-G950U using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[NashGuy]

They are a bunch of idiots launching a product at that price point with all the other streaming options available.

Never heard of a 2 year agreement for streaming Tv Also

I agree. Well look, all they're doing right now is packaging up the DirecTV service and offering it with the same 2-year contract and about the same prices but via the internet. If DirecTV was doing OK -- and it's not, its subscriber base is going to hell in a handbasket -- then what they're doing with AT&T TV would make sense. It's basically the same service but in some ways better (advanced all-in-one box, more DVR storage, unlimited "tuners" without recording conflicts, no rain fade, no need to mount a dish) and in some ways worse (90-day DVR storage limit, some locals still missing, greater potential for service interruptions until the streaming platform matures, possibility of exceeding broadband data caps, etc.).

This is why I just CAN'T believe that what we're seeing here is the real deal in terms of how AT&T TV is going to be packaged and priced when it officially launches nationwide in a few months. I know the general opinion of AT&T isn't very high on this forum but I have to believe that they're smart enough to know that what they're offering right now isn't going to cut it as things get increasingly competitive between them and YouTube TV, Comcast and Hulu with Live TV. (In the long run, no one else matters much with regard to live cable TV service.)

 

[VictoriaFTA]

And you know this HOW ?

This box could be better than "Sliced Bread" ...
You don't know ....

I'm not saying it is, but why shoot something down thats brand new with very little info on ?

My PC can play back 8K HEVC video @ 60 FPS, stereoscopic 3D and has 10GbE direct access to a 400 terabyte NAS server in my basement.

This box will be inferior in every conceivable way. I'm shooting down this "service" for requiring hardware instead of being purely a software service like all of its competitors. That alone will doom it. Imagine if you had to buy a specific Netflix branded box from Netflix just to watch Netflix. Netflix would not have the 150+ million subscribers it has today.

 

[slice1900]

Very few people have a setup like you, so they don't care about comparisons to it and definitely don't want to run on Windows 10. They might want to run on an Apple TV or Roku enabled TV set, but few people watch TV on a PC these days.

 

[NashGuy]

My PC can play back 8K HEVC video @ 60 FPS, stereoscopic 3D and has 10GbE direct access to a 400 terabyte NAS server in my basement.

This box will be inferior in every conceivable way. I'm shooting down this "service" for requiring hardware instead of being purely a software service like all of its competitors. That alone will doom it. Imagine if you had to buy a specific Netflix branded box from Netflix just to watch Netflix. Netflix would not have the 150+ million subscribers it has today.

But here's the thing: AT&T TV won't *require* you to use their box to access the service. If you absolutely insist on not taking their box at all, well, you can opt for AT&T TV Now. But even if you opt for AT&T TV (with its much more generous cloud DVR and included 3rd simultaneous stream), you can STILL access it via the AT&T TV app on all sorts of devices: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, iPhone/iOS, Android phones, etc. AT&T TV does NOT force you to actually USE the customized Android TV box that they give you.

 

[Jimbo]

But here's the thing: AT&T TV won't *require* you to use their box to access the service. If you absolutely insist on not taking their box at all, well, you can opt for AT&T TV Now. But even if you opt for AT&T TV (with its much more generous cloud DVR and included 3rd simultaneous stream), you can STILL access it via the AT&T TV app on all sorts of devices: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, iPhone/iOS, Android phones, etc. AT&T TV does NOT force you to actually USE the customized Android TV box that they give you.

If it's an Android device, they should make it available in App form on the Google Play Store.

Btw, do either of these services from ATT (streaming wise) do 4k ?

 

[NashGuy]

If it's an Android device, they should make it available in App form on the Google Play Store.

Btw, do either of these services from ATT (streaming wise) do 4k ?

The AT&T TV app is available for Android TV from the Google Play Store as of this week. So you can install the app and use it on the Nvidia Shield TV, the Mi Box, etc.

As far as I know, neither AT&T TV nor AT&T TV Now offer any content in 4K the way that DirecTV does. But I definitely expect that to change in the next few months. AT&T TV's box natively supports both 4K and HDR, so it would be just as easy for them to stream live sports and other content in 4K/HDR as it is for the much smaller Fubo TV streaming cable service, which has been doing it for months now.

 

[Jimbo]

The AT&T TV app is available for Android TV from the Google Play Store as of this week. So you can install the app and use it on the Nvidia Shield TV, the Mi Box, etc.

As far as I know, neither AT&T TV nor AT&T TV Now offer any content in 4K the way that DirecTV does. But I definitely expect that to change in the next few months. AT&T TV's box natively supports both 4K and HDR, so it would be just as easy for them to stream live sports and other content in 4K/HDR as it is for the much smaller Fubo TV streaming cable service, which has been doing it for months now.

Can I use it on my Sony OLED with Google's Android system (without the extra box) ?

 

[navychop]

400TB NAS? Please explain.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys App. For now.

 

[NashGuy]

Can I use it on my Sony OLED with Google's Android system (without the extra box) ?

I *think* so. I read somewhere this week that the new AT&T TV app (which is used for both the AT&T TV service and the AT&T TV Now service) has been rolled out on the Google Play store for Android TV devices. So if that's true, you should be able to go into Google Play on your Sony TV and find the AT&T TV app to download and install. Try it and report back what you find.