- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
DIRECTV Now - Observations and Questions
Posted on 6/19/18 at 8:36 am
Posted on 6/19/18 at 8:36 am
Trying out DTV Now as a replacement to cable and had a few observations and questions after a day.
The interface needs some work but isn't as bad as some reviews made it out to be. I think my Roku remote makes it worse than it probably is. My wife will hate this the most and take some time getting used to.
Loading times throughout is probably the worst issue I've come across. Whether it's the Guide, available shows, channel selection, etc. Again, not sure if this is my two year old Roku or the GUI itself.
Channel selection and quality is great so far. I've got 45 Mbps internet and with two streams going, it never dropped out of HD that I noticed. Local channels work great. I get ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in south Houston.
No app on my Xbox sucks.
What else will I encounter as I try this out over the next few days? So far I think this has the best channel selection and price that I've found.
The interface needs some work but isn't as bad as some reviews made it out to be. I think my Roku remote makes it worse than it probably is. My wife will hate this the most and take some time getting used to.
Loading times throughout is probably the worst issue I've come across. Whether it's the Guide, available shows, channel selection, etc. Again, not sure if this is my two year old Roku or the GUI itself.
Channel selection and quality is great so far. I've got 45 Mbps internet and with two streams going, it never dropped out of HD that I noticed. Local channels work great. I get ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in south Houston.
No app on my Xbox sucks.
What else will I encounter as I try this out over the next few days? So far I think this has the best channel selection and price that I've found.
8
Posted on 6/19/18 at 8:49 am to kballa6
I think when you move to an internet based live streaming solution you will have to adjust to it being not as fast (interface) as cable. My wife did and she hates technology.
The guide has come a long way and now shows better channel/show information than before so I guess I am happy with the upgrade.
Nothing else to add, it just works. On occasion you will get an outage. Have not seen one lately.
Would not ever go back to cable.
The guide has come a long way and now shows better channel/show information than before so I guess I am happy with the upgrade.
Nothing else to add, it just works. On occasion you will get an outage. Have not seen one lately.
Would not ever go back to cable.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 9:00 am to t00f
OP, what internet server you using? What plan? I know some plans have limits of how much one can down load, but I don't know what is needed for this.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 9:00 am to kballa6
quote:
So far I think this has the best channel selection and price that I've found.
That's really the main difference between the streaming services right now. If DTVNow has the price and channel mix you like best and it's got a good app for the devices you have, you should probably go with that.
quote:
My wife will hate this the most and take some time getting used to.
I only have experience with DTVNow (set it up for someone else) and PSVue (which my wife hates unless she's using Alexa to control it), but it's a lot easier to get to the familiar cable style guide with DTVNow than PSVue, so that probably makes it the better choice for getting your wife on board too.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 9:06 am to fishfighter
Using AT&T U-Verse Internet 50. I have Unlimited usage. I'm hoping that won't change when I cancel my TV subscription. I think as long as I use their streaming service (DTV Now) I will keep the unlimited.
I expected a slower interface than cable, like you said, it's something you have to get used to. As long as I can prove that my wife won't miss her Real Housewives, she'll adjust.
I expected a slower interface than cable, like you said, it's something you have to get used to. As long as I can prove that my wife won't miss her Real Housewives, she'll adjust.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 9:11 am to kballa6
quote:FWIW, my wife is far from being technologically savvy and by her own admission, but she has adapted well to DTVNow and got used to the interface pretty quickly. Now, she will make little comments about it freezing sometimes or the glitches that come with Internet/app based TV but overall, she has adapted well which is something I was worried About.
My wife will hate this the most and take some time getting used to
Posted on 6/19/18 at 9:16 am to kballa6
quote:
I'm hoping that won't change when I cancel my TV subscription. I think as long as I use their streaming service (DTV Now) I will keep the unlimited.
I can’t speak for your situation but that was NOT the case for me. In order to keep unlimited, I had to keep cable. So, I kept the main box and downgraded to ubasic which is $19/month. I removed DVR and kept HD tv. In total, cable and internet came to $45/month. dTV is another $50 so I’m
Doing better than I was before.
After thinking about it, I’m ok with cable box because I have a backup for local news in the event DTVNow goes down and I need to get critical news updates for whatever reason.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 12:29 pm to kballa6
Outside of the frustrating outages I’ve actually enjoyed directv now. I did lose my locals with the dvr update. But I hope they never come back. They discounted my bill $15 last month and $25 this month 
This post was edited on 6/19/18 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 6/19/18 at 12:31 pm to kballa6
Welcome, I've had it since it released. Only problem is sometimes service will go down for no reason. Other then that it works wonderfully for $35 a month.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 12:44 pm to burgeman
quote:
Other then that it works wonderfully for $35 a month.
It's certainly not perfect, but I agree that it is definitely worth the $40 I pay (added HBO) when considering the price of alternatives.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 1:09 pm to burgeman
This will cut my bill in half which is what I was hoping for. Worst case scenario is I hate it and I have to go back under new terms.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 2:55 pm to kballa6
It’s not cable or satellite. But it is sufficient for my needs. I’ll never go back to traditional cable.
Posted on 6/19/18 at 7:36 pm to kballa6
It used to be nearly as fast as cable for us on the Apple TV, BUT that was before the DVR update and the new interface. Now it's so much slower. I'd honestly rather not have the DVR.
Posted on 6/20/18 at 9:33 am to Yat27
Just signed up for it. Former Directv user for years.
Quick Observations
- Channels offered is better than the competition
- Cloud DVR doesn't record all shows
- App (running on Amazon Fire TV) errors out from time to time
- Wish it would do more than 2 streaming devices but they do offer a 3rd for an upcharge
- $5 per month for HBO? That's a steal.
Interface isn't bad. I like the guide feature. App and interface can be a little clunky. Pops errors "try this function later" every now and then. Like I am running some beta software.
Noticed that I can't record some TV programs. Examples, Parton the Interruption (ESPN) and The Walking Dead cannot be setup for the cloud DVR like they can with regular Directv service. Just says "not available" when I try to set it up. I am assuming it is some licensing issue.
Outside of that, I like the price, channel selection and features. Directv Now and Sony Vue appear to be the best matches for me. Hulu a close 3rd. I plan on giving Directv Now a try for a few weeks then switching to Sony Vue just so I can determine which one is the best one for me.
Quick Observations
- Channels offered is better than the competition
- Cloud DVR doesn't record all shows
- App (running on Amazon Fire TV) errors out from time to time
- Wish it would do more than 2 streaming devices but they do offer a 3rd for an upcharge
- $5 per month for HBO? That's a steal.
Interface isn't bad. I like the guide feature. App and interface can be a little clunky. Pops errors "try this function later" every now and then. Like I am running some beta software.
Noticed that I can't record some TV programs. Examples, Parton the Interruption (ESPN) and The Walking Dead cannot be setup for the cloud DVR like they can with regular Directv service. Just says "not available" when I try to set it up. I am assuming it is some licensing issue.
Outside of that, I like the price, channel selection and features. Directv Now and Sony Vue appear to be the best matches for me. Hulu a close 3rd. I plan on giving Directv Now a try for a few weeks then switching to Sony Vue just so I can determine which one is the best one for me.
Posted on 6/20/18 at 8:22 pm to kballa6
I have had DTN for over a year and rarely use the App. I just have apps for my favorite networks and use the DTV login to access what I want on demand.
Apple has a great “TV” feature that summarizes various shows across multiple streaming services.
Apple has a great “TV” feature that summarizes various shows across multiple streaming services.
Posted on 6/21/18 at 12:22 am to Yat27
quote:
It used to be nearly as fast as cable for us on the Apple TV, BUT that was before the DVR update and the new interface. Now it's so much slower. I'd honestly rather not have the DVR.
Having the same issues here. It is almost unwatchable now for me.
Posted on 6/21/18 at 8:05 am to kballa6
Very happy with mine especially since the crazy lady with Directv who sounded high decided to discount my Directv Now plan down to $20/month indefinitely when I called to cancel my satellite service. Outside of the aforementioned nuisance outage or two I really haven’t had many problems.
Posted on 6/21/18 at 8:12 am to LSU Wayne
It always blows my mind that DTV and DTV Now appear to have no relationship. I cancelled DTV for DTVN over a year ago and I still get mail like every day from DTV saying they miss me and to come back. Seems they would know to target people who don't use any of their services. What a waste of paper.
Posted on 6/21/18 at 8:30 am to indytiger
I can see how people get agitated with the speed. After a few days I'm starting to get aggravated. One thing I've learned I can't do anymore is flip between channels a lot. When I find something to watch, I stick with it even through commercials. By the time I find something else and let it load, my original programming is back on.
Is there an easy way to flip back and forth between two channels that I'm missing? How does Favorites work?
Is there an easy way to flip back and forth between two channels that I'm missing? How does Favorites work?
Posted on 6/21/18 at 8:50 am to kballa6
You can choose channels to be a Favorite and it puts them in the 'Favorites' on the left side of your Guide. You will then have a choice on the left to look at 'Channels' or 'Favorites'. If you choose Favorites, it will only show a guide of the channels you have chosen. Great feature if you're not into Hallmark or OWN channels. Wouldn't say it's any faster than the other Guide, you just get to see the channels you want and not have to scroll through crap.
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News