Did any of you cord-cutters get this? I just signed up. If it works, I will save $1000 off my annual bill. So far, so good.
^^Who did you have before? Yes, I have it, in addition to regular DIRECTV. <-There was a great trial offer that just ended, you got a free AppleTV ($149) for signing up for 3 months service ($105). I mainly watch it on my iPhone. I quite like it, and you can easily send content to any TV via AirPlay or a Lighting to HDMI adapter. Quite nice if you're in a hotel or somewhere with limited live TV availability. The only drawback is that my market (Dallas) only has Fox and NBC owned by the networks, which means ABC/CBS are not offered at this time. You can check and see if your network stations are offered in your local market here: att_cms_local_channels »
I can, and I'm just a regular DTV subscriber without Now. Until right now, I thought I could only stream live TV at home while on the same network, but I'm sitting here at work streaming the Dan Patrick show to my phone. Thanks for asking - you opened up a new feature for me!!
^^^ Ah true. I read the official requirements, my emphasis: • Live TV Streaming in-home only channels and remote control requires a Wi-Fi connection to your home network and a DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR (models R22, and HR20 or higher) connected to a broadband Internet connection. • DVR streaming and downloading requires Internet-connected Genie HD DVR model HR44 or higher and compatible mobile device.
One interesting benefit of DIRECTV NOW is the ability to subscribe to HBO for only $5/month vs. $17.99.
Thanks. Can I ask then, what is the benefit to having both? Did you sign up just for the good deal on the Apple TV? I actually did exactly that, and am considering the 3 months of streaming as a bonus and a way to evaluate DirecTV Now. I might switch over to regular DirecTV, but haven't decided fully yet. But I will gladly cancel after 3 months and keep the hardware. Another point is that it DirecTV Now states that you can stream over LTE without any charges to your wireless data plan. Is that also true for streaming with regular DirecTV?
Yes, the free Apple TV was a big driver for me. And my wife wanted to watch a few things on HBO, so I figured I could add it for a month @ $5, then drop. I have already tested sending iPhone/iPad out to a regular TV via HDMI, and it works fine. Or, the Apple TV app. Yes. Anything streamed over the standard DIRECTV app, or the DIRECTV NOW app, does not count against your data plan - assuming you're an AT&T mobile customer.
I joined DirecTV Now a couple weeks ago, just in time to get in on the free Apple TV and the $35/month special. I still have my DirecTV satellite subscription for one more month - I have one more payment on the NFL Sunday Ticket. I received my Apple TV and have been using that for a couple days now. So far no complaints. Crisp, clear picture with no freeze ups or choppiness. Once I cancel my satellite service it'll be money in the bank. I hear Roku will soon be coming out with a DirecTV Now app so I'll be able to use my other TVs since I have a couple Roku devices too. I also subscribe to Netflix and get Amazon Prime for free which gives me more channels and options than I can watch, but it will feel good with no cable or dish. Only down-side is no dvr, but I'll adjust.
For those of us who love classic country music, etc. DirecTV Now does have RFD-TV in its lineup so members can stream this network as well without having to order the Country Club deal.
I'm trying a free month via the new Roku app. So far, this just isn't going to work for our household. Here's why: 1) Live streaming with no dvr-type controls. Can't pause and resume a show, and after getting used to that kind of freedom, this is really a step back. 2) Commercials. Can't skip them or FF through them. No thanks. 3) On Demand. Limited number of networks and shows available. Commercials are also un-skippable when viewing On Demand. 4) Local Stations. My area gets a whopping one local (FOX). 5) Network Stations. Looks like only FOX and ABC are represented via On Demand. So no CBS or NBC shows available. 6) Limited number of networks. This isn't a negative, really, it's just part of the compromise. In order to save a few bucks, you really lose quite a lot of potential stations. If you opt for the maxed out option it's 120 networks for $70/month which is pretty close to cable TV and satellite territory. I've become so used to TV on my own schedule that live streaming or live TV just doesn't fit our needs anymore. I'd love to shave some money off our current DISH setup, but honestly the convenience of a multi-tuner DVR system is frankly just worth eating out a couple times a month less to offset the cost. One thing DirecTV Now has going for it is the add-on prices for their premium stations. For example, HBO is only $5/month additional, while STARZ is $8/month. That's a pretty reasonable alternative to cable and satellite pricing.
I tried it and dumped it after about a month. It kept freezing up on us...even though we have cable (100Mbps). No On Demand....clunky interface. and one local channel. Next!
If you are a cord-cutter than the service is very expensive, plus as pointed out you don't get DVR functions. So I didn't even try it. Now if you already have an AT&T phone plan, then it becomes cheap, but still no DVR. I'm using Playstation Vue, you get DVR service (28 days saved), and can stream 5 devices. I'm getting a decent channel selection for $35 per.
Thanks for the heads up on Playstation Vue. I'm trying it out free for a week on ROKU. So far, it's pretty good, and blows DTVN out of the water for about the same price. The bad, so far: 1) No CBS on demand. CBS isn't available in any package, so it will require adding CBS All Access for $6/month. 2) No Comedy Central. Haven't found a solution for that. 3) No channel guide. My wife likes to browse a guide to see what's coming up on live TV. There's no way to do this on PSVue. Closest thing to browsing is bringing up all Live TV, and seeing only the programs that are currently airing - which brings me to... 4) Nothing's alphabetized. My channels, my programs, Live TV, etc. are all listed randomly. This makes it very difficult to find anything. 5) No record of where you left off after watching something. If you watch an episode of a show, when you get done it deposits you within the interface you were in (show, channel) and doesn't highlight the next episode. It also doesn't mark what you just watched. It does show up in your recently watched list, but you have to navigate to that to see the episode number you just finished, then navigate back to play the next episode. Not very intuitive. There are a few more negatives, but at least PSVue is off to a decent start. I think I could make it work if it became necessary.
1) In my area they added a local CBS station, I guess that is why. 2) Yea, no biggie for me though. But I know how those things go, its weird. 3) There is a channel guide. From the PS Vue home screen arrow up until the guide icon on the upper left is highlighted. Then press enter. Its in apha order and you can't customize it. This is a slight negative, I would like to remove a bunch of stations. 4) See above. The recently viewed is set up like a que, that might be useful to you. 5) ? There is no question the DVR aspect takes some getting used to. Overall, I like the DTV better for DVR. What you have to do is mark the show as a favorite and it will start recording it immediately, even if you are in the middle. I just tried this myself. The episode will appear under "my shows." What is a negative is that you can't manipulate the recordings, meaning if you mark something as a favorite then it starts recording all the episodes. Not the end of the world. I find that PSV is far less configurable than DTV Genie, things like not being about the customize the channel guide, recordings, etc. But there are a few nice things. Oh yea, if you pause a live stream you can only do so for 4 minutes. If you need to pause for a long time then you have to be watching a DVRd show. Do Sling or Hulu let you pause a live stream for an extended period? It was about 90 min for DTV.
What PSVue app are you using on what hardware? On the Roku version, there literally is no guide. I researched it, and that seems to be one of the biggest complaints about the PSVue Roku channel. Another PSVue complaint: I added Doctor Who to My Shows prior to Saturday, and it recorded Saturday night's episode (ok so far). Then, when we watched the show on Sunday, with 7 minutes left the screen went black, and it jumped to another Who episode. I retried it several times, always the same. So we missed the finale due to this glitch. Not a great experience for the very first DVR'd show we were trying. Fortunately, we were able to finish it up properly on the DVR'd DISH version. Anyway, PSVue has some definite good points, but it's not quite ready for "prime time" in my opinion. Hopefully, the negatives get addressed in the near future, and I can try it again. I did cancel DTVN today. They have a lot of work to do on that before I'd try it again.
