AT&T TV review
Our Verdict
AT&T TV is priced well, but it doesn't offer a deep channel lineup.
For
- Local channels
- 500 hours of DVR
- Unproblematic, clean interface
Against
- Basic tier channel lineup is defective
- No panel support
- Shows are slow to load
Tom's Guide Verdict
AT&T Goggle box is priced well, but it doesn't offer a deep channel lineup.
Pros
- +
Local channels
- +
500 hours of DVR
- +
Elementary, make clean interface
Cons
- -
Basic tier channel lineup is defective
- -
No console support
- -
Shows are slow to load
AT&T Tv: Specs
Starting cost: $70 per month
Supported devices: AT&T Tv device, Roku, Fire Television, Apple tree TV, Apple iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TVs
Deject DVR: 20 hours
Simultaneous streams: 3
Note: This review was first published in Baronial 2020 but has been updated with new information. As of January 2021, AT&TV Now merged with AT&T TV.
Is AT&T Television a good cablevision culling? As a longtime cable subscriber, I'yard constantly looking for ways to cut the cord. Cord-cut is at present easier than ever, with half-a-dozen cable alternatives that provide live Goggle box streaming.
Finding a cable replacement with the right price and the right channel lineup tin can be tricky, though. AT&T Idiot box is an option that recently changed its name and updated its packages, so that its lowest, no-contract-required tier starts at $70 a month for more 65 channels. That puts it right in the eye of live Television set services, in terms of both price and channels.
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AT&T Tv, previously called AT&TV TV Now (and before that, DirecTV Now) , has undergone a ton of changes in the terminal couple of years. Now, its basic tier is more expensive than comparable plans on YouTube TV and Hulu With Live Idiot box, just doesn't have the robust channel lineup that those competitors boast.
Of course, you can become more channels (including HBO Max) if you invest in the higher tier packages or if y'all sign upward for a two-yr contract.
The service is fairly easy to utilize, and is available on a number of major devices — although not all of them, equally the app is missing from gaming consoles and non-Samsung smart TVs. While the interface is well-designed, I found quite a few strange quirks, not to mention some lag while navigating the guide.
For cord cutters, AT&T TV is probable less expensive than your cable bill. If you're just looking to picket local broadcast networks and some popular cable channels, so the service could be a good fit for yous. Just in full general, our AT&T TV review shows that the service needs improvement to truly compete in the live Goggle box space.
AT&T Boob tube review: Price and packages
AT&T TV packages are divided into ii types: no annual contract and a 2-year annual contract.
The 2-year contract comes with bonuses like 500 hours of Cloud DVR storage (versus the no-contract plans' 20 hours) and a lower introductory price for the kickoff year.
The no-contract plans are the ones about customers will become. Excepting the basic tier, Entertainment, they all come with HBO Max simply they differ in the number and types of channels they offer. Some have regional sports networks; others don't. The regional sports networks y'all get with each parcel depend on your ZIP lawmaking, which you can bank check hither.
Here are the AT&T Tv packages and prices.
- Entertainment: 65 channels ($70)
- Choice: ninety channels ($85)
- Ultimate: 130 channels ($95)
- Premier: 140 channels ($140)
At their price points, the Ultimate and Premier plans are substantially the aforementioned as getting a cable package; you just don't need a cable box.
These plans don't compare well to Hulu With Alive TV, which costs $65 a month for 65 channels, plus access to Hulu'southward streaming library and original series. YouTube TV is also $65 per month for 85 channels. Fubo Goggle box's Family program too costs $65, but packs a whopping 120-plus channels. On the lower stop of the spectrum are live Television services like Sling ($35 for l channels) and Philo ($xx for over 61 channels).
AT&T TV review: Supported devices
The AT&T Tv set app is available on a number of devices. You can also access it through standard web browsers on Mac and PC.
The AT&T Telly app is available to download on:
- The AT&T TV device
- Amazon Fire TV Stick, Cube, streaming player and Smart TVs (2nd gen. and subsequently)
- Android phones and tablets running version five.0 and up (Android 8 and after recommended)
- Apple Telly (quaternary generation)
- Apple tree iPhones, iPad and iTouch running iOS 11 and later (iOS 12 and afterwards recommended)
- Chromecast (2nd gen and later) and Chromecast TVs
- Roku (all devices)
- Samsung Smart TVs (2017, 2018 and 2019 models)
As you lot can see, in that location are a number of major devices missing from the listing, including Xbox and Playstation consoles. And aside from Samsung, AT&T TV is not available on other smart TVs.
That puts AT&T Boob tube behind well-nigh all of its competitors. YouTube Tv supports both Xbox and Playstation, while Hulu With Live Telly supports Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Sling and Fubo are both on Xbox. In terms of smart Idiot box support, Hulu, YouTube and Sling are all bachelor on select LG and Vizio TVs in addition to Samsung models.
AT&T Tv set review: Interface
AT&T TV'south interface is make clean and intuitive. It'southward like shooting fish in a barrel to observe the Guide, search for titles and access your DVR recordings.
We tested the app on my Apple Tv, iPhone eleven Pro and TCL Roku tv, as well as the Fire Tv Stick 4K.
AT&T TV opens on a home screen called Watch At present, which features either the aqueduct you were terminal browsing, or some other electric current program. Below the histrion, there's a section chosen What's on Now, which is exactly what information technology sounds like. But information technology's not clear how the app decides what to evidence in the player, or the order of programs in the section.
The individual prove and picture pages are barebones, containing a minimal corporeality of info well-nigh each choice's cast and premise. For case, when selecting Saving Private Ryan, it gave me a two-judgement summary that mentioned simply Tom Hanks.
The interface toggles among several other screens: Guide, Library and Discover. The Guide is a cable-like grid where you tin can ringlet upward and down to channel surf, and left and correct to come across what's airing in the time to come. There was a piffling bit of lag while scrolling through the channels, and a significant corporeality of buffering to load a show — at least four to five seconds. That may not seem similar a long fourth dimension, merely a show on Hulu With Live Television set loads in 1-2 seconds.
In one case the player screen loads, it has most of the features you'd expect, such equally the ability to interruption, record, adjust the book and turn on airtight captioning. Some live programs permit you lot to restart them from the beginning. When watching a recording, you can rewind and fast forrad — even through commercials (on many programs). That's standard on live Television services, including YouTube TV, Hulu and Fubo.
The Library screen houses your DVR content (including a listing of upcoming recordings), also equally a list of the programs y'all've bookmarked. Here, AT&T Tv set's interface is much ameliorate than Hulu With Alive TV (which is a navigational nightmare) and on a par with YouTube Television's clean design. The Library is simple and streamlined. I particularly liked the power to bookmark shows and movies that don't have upcoming airdates, so I could remember to tape them later.
The near misreckoning screen is Notice. The layout is well washed: a top card divvies upward content to scan by network, shows and movies. Below that are sections categorized by genre: popular movies, free showtime episodes (of premium network shows), animated series, truthful criminal offence series, etc. Only if the point of the Discovery tab is to, well, discover stuff to watch, then it'due south a failure. I clicked on several films in the popular movies row, only to find that I couldn't actually sentinel them. For case, The Nighttime Knight was on a channel non included in my package. That's fine; AT&T TV is trying to upsell me, like numerous other services practise. But in other cases, I had no idea why a program wasn't bachelor. Not just was there no option to record it, only I couldn't even bookmark it. When I clicked on Deadpool, I got a short four-sentence synopsis, simply no option to record or bookmark the film. And so, highlighting Deadpool in the Find surface area was totally useless.
AT&T TV review: Content and channels
AT&T Television receiver'due south basic Entertainment packet comes with more 65 channels, including local broadcasts of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, depending on your region.
The cablevision networks on offer probable include many of your favorites, such as Bravo, CNN, Comedy Central, ESPN, Play a trick on News, FX, MTV, National Geographic Channel, Syfy, TNT and VH1.
If you want specialty sports networks like NBA Boob tube and Lawn tennis Channel, y'all'll need to upgrade to one of the college-priced packages.
Equally I mentioned before, the packages aside from Entertainment come with HBO Max. Showtime comes with the height-level Premier package. Or y'all can add on those premium networks, also as Epix, the Movies Extra Pack (with new releases and more), Latino channels and international Television receiver packages.
In terms of content, AT&T Television receiver doesn't offer any exclusives or originals, unlike Hulu With Live Idiot box and (to a bottom extent) YouTube TV.
AT&T Boob tube review: Deject DVR
When it comes to its Deject DVR, AT&T TV is at the bottom of the live Idiot box streaming services pack. All plans come with twenty hours of recordings, which puts AT&T Television set backside the unlimited offering of YouTube TV and backside the l hours included with Hulu With Live TV'south bones plan. The Library screen keeps rail of how many available hours you have left in the DVR.
Information technology's a cinch to record an entire series, or just i episode or movie, and you tin can keep recordings for 90 days. You can manage and delete saved programs easily on the Library screen. Y'all can see at a glance which recordings are in progress, also as go basic info like the recording's length, original air date and channel.
AT&T Television set review: Video quality
AT&T Television set supports upwardly to 1080p resolution, depending on the channel and program. Well-nigh of the content I watched seemed to play at 720p. That'southward standard beyond alive TV streaming services, including YouTube Television and Hulu. Sling doesn't have detailed data most its streaming resolutions, while Philo streams live Television set at 720p and on-need content at 1080p.
On my sometimes-slow dwelling cyberspace connection, programs achieved Hd resolution adequately quickly in one case they loaded — around three-4 seconds — and they held steady at that resolution. Again, that's standard for live-streaming services.
AT&T Television review: Verdict
AT&T Tv set is decidedly in near the bottom of the pack when it comes to live Boob tube streaming services. It'southward more expensive than YouTube Television set, Hulu With Live TV and Fubo Idiot box, though information technology does come with more top channels than the lower-priced Philo and Sling.
The two other major drawbacks for AT&T TV are the lack of gaming console back up and the somewhat slow load times for navigation and playback. These days, a streaming service really can't afford to be unavailable on pop devices like Xbox and Playstation. And its functioning problems make AT&T Television receiver seem like a bumbling rube in the streaming landscape.
In the finish, AT&T Tv set left me feeling extremely unimpressed. Its basic Amusement package is adequately affordable, simply the higher tiers are exorbitantly priced. Of course, when it comes to channel preferences, to each their own, so if AT&T Boob tube offers all of the ones you lot need, then it could exist the right fit. But compared to the other options in the marketplace, AT&T Television receiver simply doesn't take a potent enough value proposition to stand out.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/att-tv-now
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