DirecTV Now?

[gsucyclist]

Just got a questionnaire from a polling company about DTVN. From the type of questions asked, I definitely got the impression they were looking for what the major roadblocks would be to keep me from continuing my subscription. That's a good sign. And unlike most "polls", the questions asked weren't leading or twisted so you have to give a positive response. It read like they were really looking for info on issued experiences, features I want, how it compares to current service, etc. I think they may be getting the picture!!!

I completed the survey as well. I really do like DTVN, there are just some things that need to improve and things I would like to see in order to stick around. I hope they take the feedback they get from the survey and actually use it to improve the service.

 

[colodane]

After a couple weeks of intermittent usage, I'd give it a B- . For me, the two big questions to be answered in the next few months will be:
What will the DirecTv DVR service be like - performance, features, cost
What will the new Hulu service be like.

Until the above are resolved, I'm keeping my Comcast service with DVR. But, for the first time, I'm optimistic that the cord will finally be cut this year. Really like the fact that the streaming services are pay-as-you-go and can easily be added and deleted during these days of experimentation.

Thinking of a Tablo with antenna for local channels.

 

[Richard8655]

As a soon-to-be former Sling subscriber, I have to say I'm very impressed with DTVN. The picure quality is superior and the channel selection is very good. Very few issues anymore such as freezing and no error messages at all.

The only complaint is still no 72-hour rewind to catch missed programs from the last few days. They really have to fix that soon.

 

[mic j]

I usually dont do polls but I damn sure took my time out to do that one and answered very honestly

I agree about doing the polls...rarely do them. But I think the service could be a winner with some honest feedback and them implementation of improvements. Let's hope.

 

[AlliFlowers]

I hope they can come up with a work-around for streaming the local networks. After all, they can do it on satellite, so why not over internet?

 

[nburwell]

Last night was a terrible experience with DTV Now. Constant 3-5 second freezes (although the feed would continue). I ultimately fell asleep, but when I woke back up, I found the typical error message on the channel I was watching.

All these nuances are pulling me more and more toward PS Vue.

 

[d21mike]

Last night was a terrible experience with DTV Now. Constant 3-5 second freezes (although the feed would continue). I ultimately fell asleep, but when I woke back up, I found the typical error message on the channel I was watching.

All these nuances are pulling me more and more toward PS Vue.

So strange that some people have many problems and other have few problems. I am very interested in PS VUE but they are missing some channels that you can get on DTVNOW and even on Sling. And to get the most channels I would have to pay much more then I am paying with DTVNOW. But the 5 streams and DVR is very nice. My net cost with DTVNOW is $25 with the HBO Discount. I am also grandfathered in on the base price. I fully expect DTVNOW to continue to improve but like many others I have noticed some of the problems but for me they are rare. I am actually more interested in what HULU comes out with. I assume you are on the latest release 1.0.4. which I believe have improved things.

 

[nburwell]

So strange that some people have many problems and other have few problems. I am very interested in PS VUE but they are missing some channels that you can get on DTVNOW and even on Sling. And to get the most channels I would have to pay much more then I am paying with DTVNOW. But the 5 streams and DVR is very nice. My net cost with DTVNOW is $25 with the HBO Discount. I am also grandfathered in on the base price. I fully expect DTVNOW to continue to improve but like many others I have noticed some of the problems but for me they are rare. I am actually more interested in what HULU comes out with. I assume you are on the latest release 1.0.4. which I believe have improved things.

Don't get me wrong, there are times when DTV Now service works flawless for me. Then there are times like last night. I just haven't gotten consistent results. I will say that at least from my perspective, they certainly have improved the stability of the service since I signed up back in December.

Either way, I'm still paid up until March, so a lot can happen between now and then if I'm definitely going to switch.

I am on 1.0.4 version of the app.

 

[TheIntruder]

So strange that some people have many problems and other have few problems. I am very interested in PS VUE but they are missing some channels that you can get on DTVNOW and even on Sling. And to get the most channels I would have to pay much more then I am paying with DTVNOW. But the 5 streams and DVR is very nice. My net cost with DTVNOW is $25 with the HBO Discount. I am also grandfathered in on the base price. I fully expect DTVNOW to continue to improve but like many others I have noticed some of the problems but for me they are rare. I am actually more interested in what HULU comes out with. I assume you are on the latest release 1.0.4. which I believe have improved things.

Ruling nothing out, I took a look at Vue's packages, and the deal killer for me is $15 each for the premium channels like HBO. I can do without a lot of the channels in DTVN's package, but the premium channels are a must have, and DTVN's $5 price is unbeatable (and probably will continue to be after AT&T buys Time Warner), with access to HBO Go, which makes up for whatever failings DTVN has now, or hopefully not into the future.

Honestly, even though I have 100 channels now compared to the handful of watchable channels in my basic cable package, I haven't really found that much more compelling to watch.

YMMV

 

[d21mike]

Ruling nothing out, I took a look at Vue's packages, and the deal killer for me is $15 each for the premium channels like HBO. I can do without a lot of the channels in DTVN's package, but the premium channels are a must have, and DTVN's $5 price is unbeatable (and probably will continue to be after AT&T buys Time Warner), with access to HBO Go, which makes up for whatever failings DTVN has now, or hopefully not into the future.

Honestly, even though I have 100 channels now compared to the handful of watchable channels in my basic cable package, I haven't really found that much more compelling to watch.

YMMV

Yeah. I could do with less channels but my wife and I have complete opposite viewing habits. I sometimes think she is just watching live tv with commercials mostly as background. Anyway, she has to have (I really mean deal breaker) the 2 Hallmark Channels and the UP Channel (among others) but these 3 are the ones that are hard to get except with a CABLE TV Package. Sling has the 2 Hallmark (part of a $5 add-on). DRVNow has 1 Hallmark and Vue has neither. None of them have the UP Channel. My point is I need a large number of channels so that she can get her channels and I can get mine. We still get those channels on my FIOS TV Package for now. When I look at Sling I would need their $40 package plus I think 2 $5 add-ons and maybe even a $10 add-on to get all the channels I want. I really hope HULU comes out with a lot of channel options. I have already heard they will merger the current offering with the Live TV and also a DVR. And they will have User Profiles which is really nice.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

Over the last couple of days I have actually been able to watch it without a problem on freezing................Thats a good start

Yeah, it's been getting much better. It's very noticeable. Which makes me think it has something to do with the removal of the rewind feature because that's when things got better.

As for a streaming Hulu service, I have been using Hulu for years and to this day still have errors with playback no matter what device I use to watch. Android, computer, iPad, Apple TV, Chromecast...it all hangs eventually usually centered around an ad being served. So I am not hopeful for. TV service from them if they still have errors after all these years.

 

[d21mike]

As for a streaming Hulu service, I have been using Hulu for years and to this day still have errors with playback no matter what device I use to watch. Android, computer, iPad, Apple TV, Chromecast...it all hangs eventually usually centered around an ad being served. So I am not hopeful for. TV service from them if they still have errors after all these years.

I have 15 shows (current season) I watch on Hulu (no commercials) with no problems. If you watch a lot of Hulu then maybe the no commercial option would be worth it?

 

[llzel]

After a couple weeks of intermittent usage, I'd give it a B- . For me, the two big questions to be answered in the next few months will be:
What will the DirecTv DVR service be like - performance, features, cost
What will the new Hulu service be like.

Until the above are resolved, I'm keeping my Comcast service with DVR. But, for the first time, I'm optimistic that the cord will finally be cut this year. Really like the fact that the streaming services are pay-as-you-go and can easily be added and deleted during these days of experimentation.

Thinking of a Tablo with antenna for local channels.

I tried Tablo...miserable. Horribly slow, cumbersome, I returned it after a week

 

[colodane]

I tried Tablo...miserable. Horribly slow, cumbersome, I returned it after a week

Thanks for the input. I'll take it into consideration in my decision. Can you comment on how recent your experience with the Tablo was ?

Thanks!

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

I have 15 shows (current season) I watch on Hulu (no commercials) with no problems. If you watch a lot of Hulu then maybe the no commercial option would be worth it?

Nah, I can't be nickeled and dimed by all these services. It all adds up. Plus I shouldn't have to spend extra to get around a providers technical issues. Also I really don't mind the commercials. I just don't like the glitches that come with them!

 

[mac.cali]

Do the thumbnails of the programs change when you highlight over the directv now app icon? Mine have been the same shows since launch. I thought it would've changed by now.

 

[TheIntruder]

They haven't changed for me. I've had This Is Us and Designated Survivor up there since the start.

Wonder how much that billboard space costs NBC and ABC?

 

[east85]

Have other users here experienced on-demand show listings with no episodes? Seems like half of the shows listed for on demand content are missing episodes, or have no content, not even clips, etc.

 

[jdag]

Thanks for the input. I'll take it into consideration in my decision. Can you comment on how recent your experience with the Tablo was ?

Thanks!

I will PM you as I don't want to hijack this thread. For anyone that would like input on Tablo, feel free to PM me. I used it for about 2 years.

In summary...it is "fine" but very very slow/sluggish. I now use HDHomeRun + Channels app and find it significantly better.

 

[techwarrior]

After a couple weeks of intermittent usage, I'd give it a B- . For me, the two big questions to be answered in the next few months will be:
What will the DirecTv DVR service be like - performance, features, cost
What will the new Hulu service be like.

Until the above are resolved, I'm keeping my Comcast service with DVR. But, for the first time, I'm optimistic that the cord will finally be cut this year. Really like the fact that the streaming services are pay-as-you-go and can easily be added and deleted during these days of experimentation.

Thinking of a Tablo with antenna for local channels.

I am very pleased with the Tablo solution. DTVNow continues to perform poorly for me, on either wiFi or Ethernet. Constant freezes and channel errors, and the too many streams error is occasionally popping up again.

I responded to the survey that it was questionable if I would continue due to these performance issues. Hulu and Netflix never give me issues, and DTVN on iPad and Mac seems to work well. So my conclusion is the ATV app is lacking. Hopefully they are getting a clear message from users and will address the shortcomings. Lack of DVR and locals is also a big negative to DTVN. And, I wish there was an enhanced guide option to see details of movies and shows on ATV.

It will be interesting to see how the Hulu streaming service will look when it becomes available.

 

[AlliFlowers]

How soon after the initial air date do you see shows appear?

 

[2010mini]

So I've been using this since the recent nor easter took out my regular DTV service.

Not bad, but I wish I could rearrange the channels to my liking. This service needs DVR badly.

 

[Scarpad]

The streaming has most definitely improved, the VOD is still awful thou errors, and a lack of content. I most likely will go back to PS vue when my 3 months are up

 

[AlliFlowers]

Since networks are available on in certain regions, would you be able to get them if you manually entered your location instead of using your actual location?

 

[east85]

Since networks are available on in certain regions, would you be able to get them if you manually entered your location instead of using your actual location?

I don't think this is possible. One user earlier in this thread mentioned using developer mode to manually set the location system wide, though.
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The streaming has most definitely improved, the VOD is still awful thou errors, and a lack of content. I most likely will go back to PS vue when my 3 months are up

I agree, unfortunately VOD has not improved by much. There are a handful of shows I'd love to watch right now that simply refuse to play or crash the entire app. I'm looking at you, Comedy Central.