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DirecTV Now?
- Thread starter tromboneaholic
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I feel cheated! I only got 1 Apple TV and it took a week to get here!
My experience in using the service since launch has been disappointing. Service gets really bad during prime time hours and sometimes completely unwatchable. It's not my connection as I'm not the only one dealing with issues. Support has been useless and appears robotic at times. Example: Spike is not working right now, but every other channel is. First time I've seen an individual channel not work.
I'm optimistic it'll get better. Sling has it's issues at the beginning and they improved the service. I extended it for another month so that I could watch some tv.
I'm optimistic it'll get better. Sling has it's issues at the beginning and they improved the service. I extended it for another month so that I could watch some tv.
I was pretty happy with PS Vue and had only intended to get the discounted Apple TV. Now that I've used it a bit (especially after the last update), I can see making this work. It's $15 cheaper then my current plan and some of the TV apps help make up for some of the missing on-demand content. I might stick with it!
The same exact thing happened to me.
I first took the unopened box back to the AT&T store that I signed up at. They didn't know what to do with it, they tried chatting with the Directv Now people and could not get any response. I then drove home and tried the Directv Now chat and got through.
Since I had not opened the package, all I had to do was call Fed Ex and have them pick it up and send it back to the fulfillment center.
A part of me wanted to keep it, the better part of me said "send it back" as there are so many people complaining about not getting their ATV on the Directv site and being unable to use the DTVN services. The "better part of me" won out.
So after almost a month with the service, I'd say first week was pretty bad but it has gradually gotten better (a few freezes here and there, primarily during primetime). In that case I'd swipe to a different channel and then come back.
Last night was the first time I was able to watch an NBA game on NBA TV without any freeze issues. I think this service will definitely continue to clean up and make progress.
Last night was the first time I was able to watch an NBA game on NBA TV without any freeze issues. I think this service will definitely continue to clean up and make progress.
Just setup Directvnow and it works great on the Apple TV 4th generation I got when I subscribe for three months. I am going keep Sling TV until the Roku's Directvnow app is release. Roku customer service said it will be at least a couple months! Hoping for February 2017! Not use to getting so many channels (100 including Fox News Channel)! Wow! Loving it! No more watching CNN! Fair and balance news is pretty close to my political views too! No more bashing the President elect every moment either! Netflix works and Amazon too! Youtube is great too! C-Span too!
They sent me a second Apple TV as well. What a mess. I still can't get a hold of anyone to tell me how to return it. I'll bring it back to the store when I have a chance.
Yes. DirectTV will let you live and stay in the bubble if you prefer, sure. Something for everyone.
After mulling over the attractive DirecTV Now 3-month offer and free ATV, I think I'll just keep my Sling TV Orange Package with half-priced ATV.
The channels in this package are not overwhelming and the monthly charge of 20 bucks is just right. CNN is exactly what I wanted for worldwide news coverage, and some of the other channels hit the mark (History, BBC America, Travel, HGTV). It's also been extremely stable from day 1.
The channels in this package are not overwhelming and the monthly charge of 20 bucks is just right. CNN is exactly what I wanted for worldwide news coverage, and some of the other channels hit the mark (History, BBC America, Travel, HGTV). It's also been extremely stable from day 1.
I too was having issues every single night with it getting real bad during prime time. I finally got ahold of a GOOD customer service rep via chat and this is what resolved my QP1502 errors on my Apple TV 4 with directvnow. I held down the menu button on the ATV remote and pressed the volume down. This adjusted the resolution to 1080p 60hz I then closed the app and reopened it besides a few very short pauses it seemed good for the time I watched it last night... Tonight will be the real test.. Throwing this out there maybe this will resolve others 1502 errors with Apple TV also..
Im done with it. I should've known better I hated directv as a tv provider and AT&T as cell phone provider. Together I don't know why I thought they would be any better. I've been trying to watch some on demand stuff and I've had to restart the app half a dozen times to get through one show.
canceled and deleted.
canceled and deleted.
[doublepost=1482469983][/doublepost]Anyone who received two ATV, it is because the rep who signed you up did not select; "in-store pickup" when they signed you up.... I am a store manager for AT&T. smh...we told "them" this would happen.
I had a similar experience when some years ago I ordered a refurbished 24" iMac from Apple and had 2 delivered on my doorstep. The better me also could't justify keeping both, so I contacted Apple about the error. Had to drop it off at an UPS facility and because I initially had to pay for the shipping, Apple reimbursed me and gave a $50 bonus. Felt good about it.
Someone posted somewhere that the give away ends 3/31 but not sure about the $35 promo. Might want to look for that.
I didn't take a close look at the form when I signed up in store, but that sounds like something that could have been prevented simply through proper design of the signup form.
Anyway, three weeks in, I'm finding that live TV is the part that works most reliably. The two outages were the only major glitches encountered.
I did try to watch an HBO movie on demand, and found that it had stopped after a few minutes when I had left the room.
No harm, no foul, I just switched over to HBO Go, but that facet of the service is going to be need to be improved, both in terms of reliability and content.
Personally, what I find ironic is that despite the greater multitude of channels I now have available over my old basic cable package, I haven't actually found much more compelling programming to watch. Having access to hundreds of channels available has only served to dilute the concentration of good programming. YMMV.
I've tested all 3 of the streaming services this month, starting with DirectvNow, then PS Vue and finally Sling. I deleted Sling after an hour of use so that was the end of that. I did the DirectvNow 3 month prepay and got the Apple TV in return. After a few days with the DTVNow service, the novelty wore off and the lack of a DVR had me back on my Directv satellite more and more. The picture quality and overall polish of the app are impressive, but the lack of DVR, virtually non existent VOD and clumsy integration with the Siri remote are issues that I hope the AT&T engineers are working to improve.
Then I decided to give PS Vue a try.
After only about an hour into the 7 day trial I was sold. I wasn't expecting a cloud DVR to be better than my Directv 5 tuner Genie, but the PS Vue's DVR service is actually better if you can believe it. Unlimited simultaneous recordings and a visual thumbnail picker for recordings. The picture quality is superb (comparable with DTVNow fwiw). The Video on Demand library is up to date with day after live showings - I found DTVNow to be severely behind in this regard.
The ultimate thing that sealed the deal for me is when they reduced the price of their packages by $10 a month.
So, after 14 years with Directv, I just cancelled my satellite subscription and I'm moving to Vue.
I'm subscribed to the "Ultra Slim" package. I'm getting 90+ channels including HBO and Showtime, all for $55 bucks a month.
YMMV, but if you have a 4th gen Apple TV, you owe it to give PSVue a try. The beauty of it is that it's not a contract so if DTVNow ups the ante and catches up to Vue with a better DVR and shores up their VOD library, then that's good for us all.
Note: One thing that all three services are currently not up to par on (atleast on Apple TV) is a visual way to scrub VOD content. All major apps on Apple TV have this functionality except these apps. I'm hoping that since both apps are new, the scrubber functionality will improve soon with an update. The 10 second skip ahead is near useless against 3 minutes of commercial breaks. And pause and swipe is nearly impossible to guess and often ends up too far into unwatched program sections.
Then I decided to give PS Vue a try.
After only about an hour into the 7 day trial I was sold. I wasn't expecting a cloud DVR to be better than my Directv 5 tuner Genie, but the PS Vue's DVR service is actually better if you can believe it. Unlimited simultaneous recordings and a visual thumbnail picker for recordings. The picture quality is superb (comparable with DTVNow fwiw). The Video on Demand library is up to date with day after live showings - I found DTVNow to be severely behind in this regard.
The ultimate thing that sealed the deal for me is when they reduced the price of their packages by $10 a month.
So, after 14 years with Directv, I just cancelled my satellite subscription and I'm moving to Vue.
I'm subscribed to the "Ultra Slim" package. I'm getting 90+ channels including HBO and Showtime, all for $55 bucks a month.
YMMV, but if you have a 4th gen Apple TV, you owe it to give PSVue a try. The beauty of it is that it's not a contract so if DTVNow ups the ante and catches up to Vue with a better DVR and shores up their VOD library, then that's good for us all.
Note: One thing that all three services are currently not up to par on (atleast on Apple TV) is a visual way to scrub VOD content. All major apps on Apple TV have this functionality except these apps. I'm hoping that since both apps are new, the scrubber functionality will improve soon with an update. The 10 second skip ahead is near useless against 3 minutes of commercial breaks. And pause and swipe is nearly impossible to guess and often ends up too far into unwatched program sections.
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I'm going to stick it out with my DirecTV Now sub. I'm going to give them at least 6 months, maybe more. Things will eventually improve (DVR added, glitches fixed, VoD improved, single sign on support expanded). I think at $35 locked in for the number of channels there won't be much regret in the long run. Maybe it's garbage now, but this isn't a startup we're talking about here. They will eventually fix these issues. Sling was a hot mess for quite a while, it didn't stay that way forever. I'll happily gamble for the early adopter price.
Update: I never really had an issue with DTVN I just had some small hiccups with not getting a tracking number for my ATV. Overall the service is getting better I just hope they had the DVR option in place and also is it me or does the On The Demand seem weeks behind.
Overall the service is seamless.
Overall the service is seamless.
I'm not having any streaming issues. However I'm not loving DTVnow. I'm not interested in the majority of the channels. I think the best thing is I can log into ABC and won't have to wait a whole week to watch Quantico now!
As of right now, I have no intentions of keeping it after my 3 months are up. I'll have my ATV4 that I want, and for cheaper than I could walk into Apple or Best Buy to get it... and I'm getting to trial DTVnow and can cross it off my list of apps I want or need! (unless something changes in our viewing habits dramatically in the next 3 months!)
As of right now, I have no intentions of keeping it after my 3 months are up. I'll have my ATV4 that I want, and for cheaper than I could walk into Apple or Best Buy to get it... and I'm getting to trial DTVnow and can cross it off my list of apps I want or need! (unless something changes in our viewing habits dramatically in the next 3 months!)
This is pretty much where I am. I cancelled Uverse TV in October and prepaid 3 months of Sling Orange ($19.99/mo) to get a free Roku stick. I was not terribly impressed. I would have cancelled if it weren't for the fact that I could use WatchESPN with it (the main reason I got it was live sports). The stream buffers a lot and the layout doesn't really work for me.
When DirecTV Now was announced, I was skeptical, but prepaying three months in advance means you basically get a 4th gen Apple TV for $105. That by itself is a great deal so I gave it a try. It's not perfect but I'm impressed. The picture quality surpassed my expectations, I love how the guide is TV-like, switching channels is smooth and quick (like TV) and I get more of the channels I want (kids channels and sports) than I did with Sling.
DirecTV Now isn't perfect of course. They need to add a cloud DVR ASAP (Sling is already working on theirs) and I was really disappointed to see that there were absolutely no parental controls. I've tried cord cutting several times but if they add those two things, and keep their word about the pricing, I might be a customer for life.
Yeah I agree, the picture quality is really great. At times it exceeds even my cable providers feed. Something I never would have thought possible with live steaming of that much data. There are some things I would like to see addressed, and their customer service contact through only web chat leaves a LOT to be desired, but overall it's pretty good.
And with new competitors in the form of Hulu and Google on the horizon, I see the service only getting better and better. They have already released several updates to their app since launch (less than four weeks time!), so they seem very proactive about making improvements.
And with new competitors in the form of Hulu and Google on the horizon, I see the service only getting better and better. They have already released several updates to their app since launch (less than four weeks time!), so they seem very proactive about making improvements.