ATT Uverse

[diamondcobra]

I just switched from my cable provider to ATT Uverse last night.  Some things are nice, and some things really frustrate me, and I was wondering if anyone else is using uverse and has any input.

What I like - my house was not wired for ethernet, so having directors everywhere I had a tv wasnt an easy task and I never did it.  With uverse, every set top box has an ethernet jack that is connected to the home network using my existing coax lines, so I can plug a director into it and it is online.  If I want a TV where I have ethernet but not coax, I can connect the stb to my ethernet, and I have TV.  I like that I can schedule recordings from the web or on my phone, and that I have a ton of new HD channels.

What I dont like - The problem is that like LMCE, Uverse wants to be the dhcp server, and whever I plug anything (even a wireless router) into a uverse box, ATT's gateway shuts down my network and changes my IP addresses and then puts the 'rogue' router as DMZ.  I am still trying to see if there are some settings I can use in the gateway's config screen.  Also, each set top box has svideo, video, hdmi, composite, etc., except you can only use one at a time.  So if I have my projector connected to hdmi, I cannot use the svideo out - anyone know a way around this?  With my old comcast box, I could use both, so I had an old tv connected via svideo in front of my treadmill, and the projector displaying in my living room.  Also, with my old comcast service, I was not limited by the HOUSe as to how many hd channels could be watched or recorded.  I had 4 comcast dvr's and each could watch/record 2 hi-def channels simultaneously.  With uverse, your house can only have two hd feeds, so if one person is watching hi-def in the bedroom, another person is watching hi-def in the livingroom, and you have something set to record, then one person gets kicked off.  Really frustrating now that all the good shows are about to begin.  They are claiming that a new 'whole home DVR' solution will be available within the next couple months, so that anything recorded on the ONLY dvr they allow you to have can be seen in any room with a stb, but they have been promising this for over a year.

My installer hinted that the 160gb drive in the dvr could be replaced with a larger one and I could have more recording space, and that he has done installations for people using MCE's.  I cant figure out how to make this work for me, mostly because of the networking issues - any help out there?


The gateway they provided is a 2Wire 3800HGV-B, their 'extenders' are Motorola VIP1200, and the dvr unit is Motorola VIP1216.  The gateway has a digital 'phone' line connected to it, and it's coax out is connected to your house.  It is also your home's dhcp server and an 802.11g router.

[JimmyGosling]

I don't have any solutions for you, but I do appreciate you posting your concerns with the ATT service.  They've been stopping by my place the last couple of weeks and trying to get me signed up.  While I'm still on the fence, this provides some of the real world implementation knowledge that I like to have before buying.  If you have any other concerns/problems please do post them.

[GeSo]

Hello,

AT&T Uverse just arrived to my area. I was just about to order thier service until I read this post. Has this issue been resolved, if not how does ATT acting as the DHCP affect how the CORE functions?

Also in the LinuxMCE video the kitchen system only has a monitor and media director.  Do I only need a set-top-box connected to the CORE? If so does the CORE has multiple TV Tuner cards?

[JimmyGosling]

I realize this is a very old topic, but I thought it would be worth mentioning my experience with ATT and perhaps answer this long dead question:

As the OP stated, both wanted to act like the DHCP server and it did put my Core into the DMZ.  This did not effect how it operated internally.  MDs still looked to my Core for an IP and still booted up without any problems. 
Keep in mind the MDs don't plug into the ATT router, they plug into the switch under the Core.

However...
I still have not successfully gotten external access to my Core.  I've opened up the firewalls both on the Core and supposedly the DMZ on the ATT router is open.  No outside connection though.  I'm still looking for answers to the cause/resolution.

[huh]

I too recently switched and had the same DMZ problem.  I was able to authorize my core as the dmz but it seemed that randomly- hours and sometimes days later I would get a browser page open up that said AT&T found a dhcp behind the gateway and wanted to use it as my gateway- oddly this ip wasn't used on my network by a device.   Phantom nic I guess

At any rate- to the point.  I called AT&T about an unrelated problem and the customer service rep was able to change a setting on the gateway to authorize a dhcp server behind the gateway.   Not sure if it is set as the dmz, but it took care of the problems I was having with the gateway discovering new dhcp servers.

I asked where he changed the setting because at the time I thought my gateway was bad (turns out um at the our edge of the max 2500 ft).  He told me that he couldn't reveal all of his secrets.   We had been joking around though the conversation, so I don't know if it is a setting that is only available to CSRs or hidden somewhere in the gateway setup pages that ileep missing....   Pretty sure it's the former.