AT&T's DirecTV Now to Gain Cloud DVR and Revamped User Interface

[Coffee50]

Don't hold your breath. I signed up and got me free Appletv when the service was launched. They promised a Roku app and a DVR feature over six months ago. Still waiting....

I still have the service but the interface sucks and is buggy. Don't have high hopes. It almost seems the app development team was a bunch of amateurs. Horrible.

They do have a Roku app now....It did take longer than they said, but it is up & active now.

 

[Porco]

Thanks to those who tried to explain this to me. I guess I understand the reality of the situation better, even if it seems somewhat surreal and ridiculous to me(!). I hope this is all useful for anyone who uses it.

 

[Steve686]

That's a nice bonus, even though I have their new unlimited plan, but they still say they'll slow down my wireless after so many GB.

Being able to use it on my iPad, iPhone, Macbook and Apple TV is pretty convenient.

I lost the AT&T chat log that I saved from a session about 2 weeks ago. I started a chat because I had concerns that my data would be slowed at the 22gb mark since I live in congested Florida. I was in DC at the time for the 4th and was using my data pretty heavy along with my 10gb of included tethering to stream movies at the hotel on my Apple TV that I brought since the wifi was pretty bad. I was assured that my 22gb of data and 10gb of data were separate entities, and that each of my 3 lines were good for the 22/10.

In the end, the agent I was chatting with actually informed me that AT&T would NOT actually slow my data down at or after my allotted 22gb. I don't know what to think but I have to say after using about 25gb with 2 days to go in my billing cycle, I have not had any issues whatsoever streaming HD video through my MLB app or Netflix at any point in the day or night.

 

[vabello]

I lost the AT&T chat log that I saved from a session about 2 weeks ago. I started a chat because I had concerns that my data would be slowed at the 22gb mark since I live in congested Florida. I was in DC at the time for the 4th and was using my data pretty heavy along with my 10gb of included tethering to stream movies at the hotel on my Apple TV that I brought since the wifi was pretty bad. I was assured that my 22gb of data and 10gb of data were separate entities, and that each of my 3 lines were good for the 22/10.

In the end, the agent I was chatting with actually informed me that AT&T would NOT actually slow my data down at or after my allotted 22gb. I don't know what to think but I have to say after using about 25gb with 2 days to go in my billing cycle, I have not had any issues whatsoever streaming HD video through my MLB app or Netflix at any point in the day or night.

They state your speeds *can* be slowed after 22GB in congested areas. If you're not on a congested tower, there's no reason to expect your speeds to slow down after 22GB on the unlimited plan.

 

[kuwxman]

We've had DirecTV Now since the beginning and have been happy. $35/month for tons of channels + free HBO. Nothing to complain about there.

 

[SRLMJ23]

We've had DirecTV Now since the beginning and have been happy. $35/month for tons of channels + free HBO. Nothing to complain about there.

Same here. Very happy with the service and the price!

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

They have licenses that allow them to stream the songs

Yeah I get that. That wasn't my question.

With music streaming you can just pin a song (record it) and listen offline anytime you want. The streaming service is not storing a seperate copy of the same song on vast server farms for each user. In fact, they are letting the user download a copy of the song and store it on their own device which is a even more liberal use.

Meanwhile the TV industry says no...if a user wants to record a show, you need a seperate copy of the same show for every single person stored at the streaming companies HQ. That is illogical and makes no sense.

Airing live is different from streaming on demand whenever the customer wants. A license for the former does not necessarily include a license for the latter.

Why? Why is airing live different than on demand? Same steaming service, comes down the same pipes just literally at a different time of day. Why should that be treated differently? Further then are shows in the "on demand" section which are treated differently from a "cloud DVR" recorded show. So we end up with three tiers really. Live, on demand library and marked "recorded" by user in the cloud, all for the same TV show. It's stupid.

 

[Steve686]

They state your speeds *can* be slowed after 22GB in congested areas. If you're not on a congested tower, there's no reason to expect your speeds to slow down after 22GB on the unlimited plan.

No kidding. As I said, the agent said they WILL NOT slow my data throughput down. Whether congested or not, I was told not to worry about it. I live in the Miami and this area is what I would definitely consider congested as far as data use. People walking, driving, or dining are the most head down phone using data hogs I have ever been around. My data well after 22gb has never faltered or slowed to where I can't stream HD video.

Whether this is related to my average monthly data usage or the fact that I pay over $315/month for my cellular bill, I don't know.

 

[Rigby]

Meanwhile the TV industry says no...if a user wants to record a show, you need a seperate copy of the same show for every single person stored at the streaming companies HQ. That is illogical and makes no sense.

As already explained above, they have to do it to circumvent limitations of the licenses they have in case they haven't bought the right to stream on demand from the content owners. "DVR" recording is a legal loophole.

Why? Why is airing live different than on demand? Same steaming service, comes down the same pipes just literally at a different time of day. Why should that be treated differently?

It's just a different license. If I allow you to broadcast my channel live, that doesn't automatically include the right to stream all shows shown on the channel on demand.