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DirecTV Now Sweetens Deal: Prepay Three Months of Service for $105 and Get a 32GB Apple TV 4K at No Cost
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Hmm, it's showing 3 for me still. I'm thinking about getting it but I know I don't need it.
Still showing three months here as well. Maybe a caching thing...Hmm, it's showing 3 for me still. I'm thinking about getting it but I know I don't need it.
Debating pulling the trigger for a 2nd ATV; I'll need another in time and would like a third, but am holding out hope to string along two 3-4 month freebies after my first 4 month subscription.
my TV has optical out, but it doesn't pass 5.1 thru - most TVs (even newer ones) dont, and down-convert Dolby Digital 5.1 into 2.1 channel sound.
i dont have a receiver, i have a high end sound-bar (does a pretty solid job with simulated surround), but it doesn't take hdmi in, only optical. i've looked at the HDMI breakouts, but they all have mediocre reviews.
for the time being, i have the HDMI passing sound to the TV and dealing with 2.1 sound to the soundbar. not enough to be a dealbreaker, and i can live without DD.
Fedex is trash. Apple TV Package supposedly was out for delivery today and now it shows as pending....-___-" I just want to watch some movies tonight on my new tv!!!
I just got this deal, not so much for DirecTV but for the AppleTV.
So, first, package doesn’t take ‘weeks’ as noted by MacRumors or terms. I signed up on Tuesday. Package was in the Fedex system on Wed. Afternoon and at my door on Friday evening. Before then, I just streamed to my ATV 3 through the iPhone app, which is a bit of a pain but works.
I also just got YouTube TV (before their price went up), which as mentioned before, does have a better interface, but doesn’t have as many channels - mostly YouTube is missing tons of non-network channels. But they do have all the locals on live TV - something that DirecTV doesn’t - I only get ABC and NBC live - CBS and Fox live are not in my local market, but still have access to everything on demand (same problem with Hulu live here). Works pretty well though - and like that there is good access to all the Disney and Nick channels (for the kid). YT doesn’t have nick channels, so but if a bummer.
In the end, I’m evaluating both (and still cheaper having them both then keeping cable), but may just end up keeping YT. DirecTV desperately needs a DVR (supposedly coming in spring). YT also offers more simultaneous streams (3 vs. 2), and you access through individual google accounts (can have up to 6 total), which is good in a way, but bad in others - for example, in my house, that means wide and I have separate DVRs and seperate recommended lists and keep watching lists - good if we’re on our own devices - but not since we can only log into 1 account on the new ATV, and not when we’re tryign to put stuff on for the kiddo, where their history can be in 2 different places.
I saw one blog noting that it’s not worth going to get the ATV through the DirecTV deal cause of the service and to just get it from Apple - not sure what that means - even if you don’t ever login to watch the DTV service - far cheaper way to get the same product.
So, first, package doesn’t take ‘weeks’ as noted by MacRumors or terms. I signed up on Tuesday. Package was in the Fedex system on Wed. Afternoon and at my door on Friday evening. Before then, I just streamed to my ATV 3 through the iPhone app, which is a bit of a pain but works.
I also just got YouTube TV (before their price went up), which as mentioned before, does have a better interface, but doesn’t have as many channels - mostly YouTube is missing tons of non-network channels. But they do have all the locals on live TV - something that DirecTV doesn’t - I only get ABC and NBC live - CBS and Fox live are not in my local market, but still have access to everything on demand (same problem with Hulu live here). Works pretty well though - and like that there is good access to all the Disney and Nick channels (for the kid). YT doesn’t have nick channels, so but if a bummer.
In the end, I’m evaluating both (and still cheaper having them both then keeping cable), but may just end up keeping YT. DirecTV desperately needs a DVR (supposedly coming in spring). YT also offers more simultaneous streams (3 vs. 2), and you access through individual google accounts (can have up to 6 total), which is good in a way, but bad in others - for example, in my house, that means wide and I have separate DVRs and seperate recommended lists and keep watching lists - good if we’re on our own devices - but not since we can only log into 1 account on the new ATV, and not when we’re tryign to put stuff on for the kiddo, where their history can be in 2 different places.
I saw one blog noting that it’s not worth going to get the ATV through the DirecTV deal cause of the service and to just get it from Apple - not sure what that means - even if you don’t ever login to watch the DTV service - far cheaper way to get the same product.
@kat.hayes It's not perfect but it suits our needs. We've had it at a vacation house since January, and in May we dropped our home Comcast cable subscription. We just have DTVN now for our broadcast TV programming. Kind of nice that we can use the one subscription at two different places, beats the heck out of two cabletv bills. Kids are grown and we don't watch a whole lot of TV so the two streams included is plenty. We could add a third stream for $5 if we wished but haven't had any need.
Looks like they've dropped the three-month promo and went back to the four-month prepay to get a free AppleTV. They've also bumped the service by $5, up to $40/mo from $35.
So now the question is really whether you want an AppleTV 4K or not. If you do, it's probably not that bad a deal to get the DTVN prepay-four-months deal -- for $160 you get an ATV4K and four months service. The ATV4K isn't in any way locked or bound to the service so you can easily use it for something else instead if you prefer. COmpare to buying a refurb ATV4K for $129+tax from Apple.com -- the difference is perhaps $20 or so and gets you four months service.
Looks like they've dropped the three-month promo and went back to the four-month prepay to get a free AppleTV. They've also bumped the service by $5, up to $40/mo from $35.
So now the question is really whether you want an AppleTV 4K or not. If you do, it's probably not that bad a deal to get the DTVN prepay-four-months deal -- for $160 you get an ATV4K and four months service. The ATV4K isn't in any way locked or bound to the service so you can easily use it for something else instead if you prefer. COmpare to buying a refurb ATV4K for $129+tax from Apple.com -- the difference is perhaps $20 or so and gets you four months service.
In addition to what deeddawg said... I've enjoyed being able to record some programming. noticed a few glitches but I'm sure they will iron them out. Also, you used to only have option of two streams... if you wanted more you had to sign up for an additional account. Now.. I see you can pay $5/month to add a third stream.
my primary gripe is how on the Appletv it very frequently requires entering the password. doesn't do it as much on iphone and iPad.
In six months of using DTVN on AppleTV4K, I can't remember ever needing to re-enter credentials. Wonder what's happening with your device/setup.
Or are you talking about for AppleTV purchases and not DTVN? There's a setting for that in the ATV menus I believe.
Edit: check here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204030#appleTV
I also have the same issue, and not just on Direct TV Now. Many of the streaming apps requiring a cable sub authentication have to be re-authenticated much more often than other devices I have used.
What is weird is that my ATV4k has needed the DirecTV Now password many times, but the older ATV4 has only needed it once. It is probably just one of the many bugs in the tvOS, or the apps themselves, or some combo of both.
I am pretty sure the person you quoted is not talking about logging in for iTunes purchases, but having to re-log into streaming apps, like DTVN, way too often when compared to other devices.
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I recently did the free 32GB ATV4k with the purchase of 3 months of DTVN @ $35 a month.
I had no interest in the TV service as I don't like Live TV, I did the deal only to get the ATV4k, but the 32GB was not enough space and I need the 64GB ATV4k, so I ended up giving the 32GB ATV4k to my parents.
I told them to use the DTVN service to see if they like it, so they could cancel their expensive FiOS tv service.
They are older baby boomers, and are not very tech savvy, so I was not sure how the transition from going to a traditional cable service to a streaming service would be.
Not surprisingly, their biggest complaint is using the Siri Remote. They dislike the touch pad and the endless thumb scrolling. I hate the touch pad too in most navigation scenarios, so I was not surprised by this. I used the ATV remote learning feature and used their TV's IR remote so they would be a little more comfortable, and it works well, but sometimes they still need the Siri Remote.
What was surprising, was my parents actually using the DTVN app. I thought they would play with it for a day, give up, and go back to the FiOS that they are more more comfortable with, but they are enjoying the DTVN app. They complain that an error message pops up every once in a while, and that they have to re-enter the password often.
But, over all they are happy with it. I am pretty sure they will cancel their FiOS in a month or two.
As for my experience with the Directv Now, it was okay. It is slightly slower when switching channels then a traditional cable service, probably on the same level as a satellite service. There is definitely bugs, and I feel like I am beta testing it.
For the lowest tier plan, I feel like it has quite a bit of channels, and probably good for most people. HBO is only $5 more a month, so it is much cheaper than getting it via Comcast, FiOS, or HBO Now.
But overall, if I had to pick between an expensive traditional TV service, and Directv Now, I would drop the cable service in a second.
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Indeed, as you said I was not talking about making purchases... I was talking about having to re-log in. And it's particular to the ATV4k. I almost never have to do it with my iPhone or iPad... just the ATV4k. The irony is that it is easier to enter password on the iPhone/iPad... yet don't need to. I chatted with tech support about this... and the person claimed to have reset some setting that would eliminate the need to do this as much... but in the several weeks since, its still doing it the same. Pretty annoying.
Very odd that you're experiencing that while I am not. We use the DTVN app daily. I've not had to re-enter any passwords at all after the first time, on any of the apps.
Wonder what's different? I don't have a cable-tv account any more so any of the apps referencing a cable subscription are setup to my DTVN account rather than my old Comcast account.
What are you able to record? Are you only allowed to record certain shows/channels? Is this all saved to the cloud I'm guessing and not the actual AppleTV?
Thanks.
Thanks.
AFAIK, you can record anything you want, and it is saved to the cloud.
I have recorded a few things so far, and it works well.
Everything I've tried so far it allowed me to record. And it saves to the cloud... so I can watch something saved from any device (iphone or iPad or atv)... so far it's worked well. had a little trouble deleting saved stuff. I'll delete it... and it's gone from the list... but later it reappears...
I checked DTVNOW offers today and 
TV 4K offer is not available online anymore, even with the 4-month prepay offer from yesterday!
Is the ATV4K offer completely gone or is there a separate link?
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TV 4K offer is gone - AFIK.
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There is no live DVR function like Dish, Cable DVR or DirecTV - if you pause, you get live TV when you hit play.
No rewinding of live TV at all; not even for recording. Can rewind to the start of a show, but that is all - no DVR function, not even record.
TV 4K offer is not available online anymore, even with the 4-month prepay offer from yesterday!Is the ATV4K offer completely gone or is there a separate link?
[doublepost=1536002674][/doublepost]
TV 4K offer is gone - AFIK.[doublepost=1536003298][/doublepost]
There is no live DVR function like Dish, Cable DVR or DirecTV - if you pause, you get live TV when you hit play.
No rewinding of live TV at all; not even for recording. Can rewind to the start of a show, but that is all - no DVR function, not even record.
The https://www.directvnow.com/appletv link no longer shows a free-apple-TV offer, so it looks like the deal is dead.I checked DTVNOW offers today and
Is the ATV4K offer completely gone or is there a separate link?
Frankly, I'm surprised they kept running the offer as long as they did -- it's been live for over a year if I recall correctly.
Hmmm. It is gone. Just hoped it would be around for me to get one more this month, a very good deal.
The acts of an expanding AT&T!
It ended on Aug 30th, confirmed with a DTVN rep. It was supposed to end on the 31st but they pulled the plug on the 30th for some reason. I was actually going to jump on another ATV4K but just missed the boat