3Screens

AT&T Disrupts Cable and Satellite Guys With More and More and More and More HD Programming. Alan suggests you hunker down during the economic downturn, feed the kids TV dinners and enjoy the world in HD

Starting  the day before President McCain - I mean, President Obama gets to take over the reins of our country, U-verse TV customers will receive up to 30 new HD channels at no additional charge as part of their existing HD service subscription, depending on their programming package.

AT&T has just announced additional HD programming with  more than 30 new HD channels and new international programming packages for Chinese, Polish, Russian, French and European-sports audiences.

With the additions, U-verse TV offers more than 75 HD channels — exceeding the HD channel lineups offered by the major local cable providers in every U-verse market.

The newly added HD channels include several regional sports networks, premium movie channels, and popular national sports, news, women’s, shopping and lifestyle networks. (Refer to the full list of HD channel additions at the end of this release.) HD service is available for $10 a month with any U-verse TV programming package. All U-verse TV packages include HD-ready equipment, and four of the five packages include an HD-ready Total Home DVR. Total Home DVR is being rolled out to all U-verse markets by the end of this year.

U-verse TV is also introducing more HD options on Nov. 10 with a new HD Premium package. Featuring Universal HD, MGM HD and Smithsonian Channel HD, the new tier can be added to an HD service subscription for an additional $5 a month. More channels will be added to the HD Premium package in the future.

AT&T is also expanding the ethnic programming available on U-verse TV with several new packages for its diverse customer base including:
 
·         Mandarin Package, featuring CCTV-4, CTI-Zhong Tian Channel, Phoenix InfoNews and Phoenix North American Chinese Channel, for $35 a month. CTI-Zhong Tian Channel can be ordered a la carte for $12 a month, and CCTV-4, Phoenix InfoNews and Phoenix North American Chinese Channel are available a la carte for $10 a month.
·         Polish Package, featuring TV Polonia and TVP Info, for $25 a month. TV Polonia can be ordered a la carte for $20 a month.
·         Russian Package, featuring RTR Planeta and Channel One Russia, for $25 a month. Each channel is available a la carte for $15 a month.
·         TV5MONDE, featuring programs from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and Quebec, for $10 a month.
·         Setanta Sports, featuring exclusively live European and international soccer, rugby and other sports, for $15 a month.

The new international packages are available starting Nov. 10 and can be added to any U-verse TV core programming package.

As part of this month’s expansion, U-verse TV customers also gain access to several new standard definition channels: The Outdoor Channel, NASA TV and, as part of Paquete Español, WAPA America and V-me. Paquete Español features 24 Spanish-language channels for $10 a month with any U-verse TV core programming package.

THE FOLLOWING HD CHANNELS ARE BEING ADDED TO THE AT&T U-VERSE TV LINEUP:
 

@Max HD
5StarMax HD
ActionMax HD
Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD
Comcast SportsNet New England HD
Encore HD
Fox Business Network HD
Fox News Channel HD
FSN Detroit HD
FSN Florida HD
FSN Midwest (Kansas City) HD
FSN Midwest (St. Louis) HD
FSN Ohio (Cincinnati) HD
FSN Ohio (Cleveland) HD
FSN Prime Ticket HD
FSN South HD
FSN Southwest (Dallas) HD
FSN Southwest (Houston) HD
FX Network HD
FX Network HD – West
Hallmark Movie Channel HD
HBO Latino HD
HBO Signature HD
HBO Zone HD
HBO2 West HD
Lifetime Television HD
Lifetime Television HD - West
MoreMax HD
Outdoor Channel HD
OuterMax HD
Planet Green HD
QVC HD
Showtime 2 HD
Showtime Extreme HD
Showtime Showcase HD
Speed HD
SportsSouth HD
SportsTime Ohio HD
Starz Comedy HD
Starz Edge HD
Sun Sports HD
The Travel Channel HD
ThrillerMax HD
TMC Xtra HD
Weather Channel HD
Wmax HD

Photo courtesy of AT&T

 

CNN HD Delivers Superior Visual and Audiory Experience - Someone From AT&T Should Contribute to Wikipedia's CNN HD Entry...

CNN HD is now available on AT&T U-verse and I've been tuning in and checking it out.  Here is a very good story from TVTechnology.com which elaborates more on the transition CNN made to go to HD.

Currently, American Morning, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Anderson Cooper 360 and In The Money are in HD.  I was watching Anderson Cooper 360 in HD tonight, and it really does change the game for me.

I find myself going from tuning in and out to CNN to now watching special programs that are now visually and audibly much better. 

It's interesting to note that there is an entry in Wikipedia, TimeWarner and Cox are mentioned as those carrying the programming, but no one from AT&T has updated it....maybe someone should....

Note that AT&T is totally left off here...

AT&T Reaches 100,000 Customer Milestone; Alan Celebrates With Free Milkshake Offer at The Olmos Soda Fountain

The phone company as we no longer know it,  today announced that its U-verse TV service has surpassed 100,000 customers, marking another significant milestone for the nation's largest deployment of Internet Protocol-based television (IPTV) in the US.

AT&T's network currently passes approximately 5 million homes, condos, cribs, and apartments, with service available to nearly half of those households.  So do the math:  there's a current potential of 2.5 million homes they could plug into-   today.

Celebrating With 10 Free Milkshakes at the Olmos Soda Fountain

In recognition of this milestone, I am offering the first 10 AT&T employees who stop by our editorial offices at the  Olmos Soda Fountain , a free milkshake. 

You can be the Chairman & CEO, the CFO, or the guy who does all the legal stuff.

You can be an installer.  You can work at the call center. 

It really does not matter. 

Note:  if you are on the Board of Directors, you can certainly go by and visit Betty, but you'll have to pay your own way for a milkshake.  This is only for real AT&T employees.

But Wait - There's More!

In addition to today's announcement, AT&T outlined plans to enhance the U-verse TV experience by rolling out compelling new interactive features and content beginning later this month.

AT&T U-verse customers will soon begin receiving several new features that further differentiate U-verse TV from cable-based services, including:

    -- AT&T U-bar, which brings Internet-like content to the television screen
       in the form of customized weather, stock, traffic and sports information.
    -- YELLOWPAGES.COM TV, an intuitive new way to search for local businesses and other information using http://www.yellowpages.com.
    -- AT&T Yahoo! Games, available on the television screen, including Sudoku, Solitaire, JT's Blocks, Mah-Jongg Tiles and Chess.

But Wait. There's Even More...

In addition to these new features, AT&T U-verse TV will soon launch new content, including more High Definition (HD) channels. This expanded lineup builds on AT&T's already robust channel offerings. New channels scheduled to be added by the end of this year include Lifetime Movie Network HD, History Channel HD, Animal Planet HD, TBS HD and Versus/The Golf Channel HD. 

Memo to the programming guys at the phone company:  when are we getting Sundance?

Photos by Alan Weinkrantz (c) 2007

Mainstream Media Continues to Review U-verse - Too Much Focus on "Just TV"

The L.A. Times' Jim Granelli has a fair and balanced review on AT&T's U-verse service.

My only real critique of Jim's review (and others that I see) is that they are too focused on the TV experience - and not on the whole enchilada: the notion of getting your TV / PC / Wireless service from one provider - and yes for those of you who think I am a pro-AT&T bigot, you can do likewise with Verizon.

Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but if you are going to compare spec to spec and feature to feature on Cable vs. Satellite vs. IPTV, there will never be a best choice. 

One will always have something the other does not have. 

And as for price, I have found that you can drive yourself crazy on comparing pricing because much of it depends on your local market.

To me, this is not about TV, but rather having several things:

    1.  An alternative to cable and satellite.
    2.  The notion that you are disrupting the traditional way of getting TV
    3.  Getting HD over IP (way too cool)
    4.  Saving money on bundled service offerings
    5.  More competition

U-verse Review by Alan Weinkrantz

As AT&T rolls out its U-verse service, I get quite a few emails and I can track Google searches for the term "U-verse Reviews."

I've been reveiwing and playing with U-verse for almost one year.  In fact, May 16, will start my second year as being a U-verse customer.

Way back when in the dark ages (May of 2006) they did not offer HD. 

Fast forward a few centuries (November of 2006) they started to offer HD - and it worked.

And it still works.

So my suggestion to you is this:

1.  Give U-verse a try.

2.  Invest in a good HD TV if you don't own one already.

3.  Try the U-verse 400 package for thirty days and see if you like what you get in terms of programming and service.  This offering has more than 175 of the most popular channels including
49 premium movie channels like HBO® and Cinemax®, and nine of the most-watched
sports channels; plus local channels and 18 digital music channels.

4.  If you decide not to go to IPTV, then call you local cable of satellite provider that you are with, and ask them for a price reduction to keep you as a customer. 

I did it, and TimeWarner knocked 30% off my price.  (I had both AT&T and TimeWarner for a few months during my initial trials).

I did this not because it was a cable or satellite replacement.

I did this because I wanted to see what the future of broadcast TV would look like and have a chance to view more HD programming.  I also did it because I am trying to think about the ways we will view and create content on our TV, our PC, and Wireless devices.

Thus the name of this blog, 3Screens.

P.S. if you really want to get more into this, read Shelly Palmer's book, Television Disrupted.

Internet TV May Pose Threat To Cable Companies By Decade's End

Found over at Jeff Pulver's blog:  Internet TV pay post threat to cable companies by decade's end.

Jeff brings up a compelling point: much like traditional phone companies (like AT&T / Verizon) are losing wireline cusomters, and shifting to net and cell based services, cable stands to lose out in the same way.

Read Jeff's post here.

Disclosure: in my day job of running a PR firm, one of Jeff's company, Network2 is one of clients.

TimeWarner DVR With Bonus Porn!

Check out this story in Gizmodo about a TimeWarner customer who got a DVR that already had recorded porn!

Don't Forget- Coverage of the Masters Golf Tourament Comes to Three Screens Starting Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, you'll be able to watch AT&T's first ever three-screen event, The Masters (as in golf) via your TV, PC, or Wireless Device.

One really good place to watch the latest news and view is to keep up with the event on AT&Ts Blue Room sport's portal.

Screen shot is the property of the phone company as we no longer know it.

This Week at 3Screens.net

This week at 3Screens.net, I am going to broadcast a series of interviews from last week's  VON  Spring 2007 (Voice on the Net and Video on the Net) conference in San Jose.

I decided that rather than writing a long winded pontification of what I learned, I thought it would be more effective to simply document a series of 16 interviews I captured on video.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

What you will see this week on this blog are interviews with some very amazing, very talented, very creative, and very purposeful artists / businesspeople who are creating their own channels on the Web with on-going, serialized content. 

This week you will see a recent college graduate who brought his 80 year old grandmother to VON where he films her in her kitchen keeping the traditions of Judaism with ---- cooking (of course).  You'll also see a Hippie Gourmet, another who helps make time for sex and gets sex done, and a young couple from Montreal who's created an on-going sci-fi show, Galacticast.

I also have interviews with a few industry executives.  For disclosure purposes, in my day job, our firm also represents and handles PR for Network2.tv.  Jeff Pulver and Chris Brogan have very good and insightful blogs on the subject, and I also encourage you to search VON07 in Technorati to search for other VON related blog posts, photos, and of course videos.

Finally, let me leave you with one thought- especially the 20 million consumers I hope reach:  you and not AT&T, TimeWarner, Comcast, Verizon, BT and all the other cable / IPTV providers have the power to shift the balance of who really is in charge of the future of video on demand.   Jeff has a video post where he interviews Jim Southworth, which is worth watching.

Stay tuned this week.  I welcome your feedback and comments - alan at weinkrantz dot com.

Thanks for watching!

John Dvorak Comments on the Comming IPTV Wars

I've been a long time fan of John Dvorak for almost 20 years.   In my day job, I've had the pleasure to work with John, pitch him on story ideas and he's been good enough to cover some of our clients.

John writes to -- and for the millions of people I hope to reach in this blog.   

He and I were just at the VON Spring 2007 conference in San Jose and has a well articulated post on what he calls "The Coming IPTV Wars."

John talks about freeing the customer, and illustrates how (like Jeff Pulver says) on the Internet, Video is just an application. 

Worth Reading.