After 24 hours with DirecTV now...

[Pere845]

glad I didn't cancel my DirecTV account completely and we are now back on it as the first 24 hours with DirecTV now were a total disaster. Buffering, channels the family couldn't live without, and they didn't know how to navigate the whole damn thing. Safe to say that streaming is not for everyone and DirecTV needs to realize that killing off its satellite side is going to be a total disaster. I know it's an expensive bill but I will gladly pay it rather than going through the pain that is streaming...

 

[bobvick]

glad I didn't cancel my DirecTV account completely and we are now back on it as the first 24 hours with DirecTV now were a total disaster. Buffering, channels the family couldn't live without, and they didn't know how to navigate the whole damn thing. Safe to say that streaming is not for everyone ams DirecTV needs to realize that killing off its satellite side is going to be a total disaster. I know it's an expensive bill but I will gladly pay it rather than going through the pain that is streaming...

How fast is your connection? I’ve tried DirecTV Now before and never had problems with buffering. Regarding the channels, did you not notice the channels that you needed were not in the package you chose?

 

[Pere845]

How fast is your connection? I’ve tried DirecTV Now before and never had problems with buffering. Regarding the channels, did you not notice the channels that you needed were not in the package you chose?

Our plan is 150 megabits and it still buffered and when I checked the channels I swore Telemundo was included for my grandmother which it was not and also another reason why it wasnt going to work. explaining how to work a Roku and app to a 69 year old is actually pretty difficult..

 

[bobvick]

Our plan is 150 megabits and it still buffered and when I checked the channels I swore Telemundo was included for my grandmother which it was not and also another reason why it wasnt going to work. explaining how to work a Roku and app to a 69 year old is actually pretty difficult..

I can see the problem with your mother in law, Roku’s are different. My parents had a hard time catching on to theirs. I would think 150 Mbps would surely be more than enough. I wonder if your provider is throttling it in anyway.

 

[Kirk1233]

I look forward to the possibility of DTV delivered over IP. The real DTV, not DTV Now. A real DVR with all of the real channels you can get from the bird...

 

[bobvick]

I look forward to the possibility of DTV delivered over IP. The real DTV, not DTV Now. A real DVR with all of the real channels you can get from the bird...

I don’t think it will have a ‘DVR’ in the same way your HR24, 34, 44, etc.. has a DVR. It will be cloud based. The ‘box’ AT&T will use, the C71KW, is already out, being beta tested by DirecTV Now users that volunteered to test.

 

[Jimbo]

I can see the problem with your mother in law, Roku’s are different. My parents had a hard time catching on to theirs. I would think 150 Mbps would surely be more than enough. I wonder if your provider is throttling it in anyway.

150 is WAY more than needed ...
Is it hardwired or wi-fi ... ?

 

[osu1991]

WiFi and number of simultaneous connections to the router are most likely the bottleneck. I had better luck with a fire tv than I did a Roku, when I tried directvnow early on.

 

[RandallA]

Three FireTVs here with 70 for mbps speed for Internet, rarely see buffering with Directvnow. I must say I did see buffering earlier last year but not anymore.
I wouldn’t recommend Directvnow to my 80 years old mother though. Streaming is not for everyone.

 

[bobvick]

WiFi and number of simultaneous connections to the router are most likely the bottleneck. I had better luck with a fire tv than I did a Roku, when I tried directvnow early on.

I have a gigabit fiber connection and have my Roku, AppleTV, and NVidia Shield hardwired. I have no trouble with them. I have a couple of Roku streaming sticks on some other TVs, and they do seem to be a bit slower sometimes than the hardwired boxes. I never thought about the wireless vs Ethernet though.

 

[Pere845]

150 is WAY more than needed ...
Is it hardwired or wi-fi ... ?

WiFi probably why

 

[comp9]

glad I didn't cancel my DirecTV account completely and we are now back on it as the first 24 hours with DirecTV now were a total disaster. Buffering, channels the family couldn't live without, and they didn't know how to navigate the whole damn thing. Safe to say that streaming is not for everyone and DirecTV needs to realize that killing off its satellite side is going to be a total disaster. I know it's an expensive bill but I will gladly pay it rather than going through the pain that is streaming...

This killing of the satellites is a decade if not more away. Don’t use that to factor into any decision you have now

 

[comp9]

WiFi probably why

Less reliable

 

[Sparkman]

Three FireTVs here with 70 for mbps speed for Internet, rarely see buffering with Directvnow. I must say I did see buffering earlier last year but not anymore.
I wouldn’t recommend Directvnow to my 80 years old mother though. Streaming is not for everyone.

My 80 yr old MIL uses Directvnow and other apps on her Fire stick. Calls with questions every once in awhile, but handles it pretty well overall.

 

[SpaethCo]

How fast is your connection? I’ve tried DirecTV Now before and never had problems with buffering.

It’s important to keep in mind that these services are built on top of Content Delivery Networks — which are nothing more than hundreds of servers distributed across different geographical regions.

Your overall experience is a combination of your streaming device, your local network, your ISP, the connection between your ISP and the network hosting the CDN, and the capacity/demand of the CDN server you hit.

That’s why these threads are going to produce so many different experiences. There are a ton of variables, and most of them are completely out of your control. If you’re in a CDN region with capacity issues, you can have 10gig fiber to your house, with all wired endpoints, and it’s not going to help one bit.

 

[Kirk1233]

I don’t think it will have a ‘DVR’ in the same way your HR24, 34, 44, etc.. has a DVR. It will be cloud based. The ‘box’ AT&T will use, the C71KW, is already out, being beta tested by DirecTV Now users that volunteered to test.

I thought they were releasing a true DTV experience, all the channels, etc, over IP, separate from DTV Now.

 

[Jimbo]

I thought they were releasing a true DTV experience, all the channels, etc, over IP, separate from DTV Now.

They are, later in the year.

 

[slice1900]

I thought they were releasing a true DTV experience, all the channels, etc, over IP, separate from DTV Now.

They have to have someone test it, and having Directv Now customers test it makes sense because they can compare their experiences with Directv Now to the new service. If they asked Directv satellite customers to test it they'd end up with some people who had terrible internet connections who would give them worthless feedback, because their problems would have to do with their own connection not with the service. If they have properly working Directv Now, Directv can at least assume their internet connection is good enough to work for the new service.

 

[Jimbo]

They have to have someone test it, and having Directv Now customers test it makes sense because they can compare their experiences with Directv Now to the new service. If they asked Directv satellite customers to test it they'd end up with some people who had terrible internet connections who would give them worthless feedback, because their problems would have to do with their own connection not with the service. If they have properly working Directv Now, Directv can at least assume their internet connection is good enough to work for the new service.

I am a D* Sat sub with a decent internet set up ... will they ask me to try it out for them (and an employee to boot) ?
I don't see that call coming anytime soon.

 

[slice1900]

I am a D* Sat sub with a decent internet set up ... will they ask me to try it out for them (and an employee to boot) ?
I don't see that call coming anytime soon.

How do they know which satellite subscribers have good internet? They need a "control" for this testing to eliminate network problems on the customer/ISP side, which Directv Now provides. If customers see problems with the new IP service but Directv Now works fine, then Directv can assume it is a problem with the new service. If they see problems with the new IP service and Directv Now also has problems, Directv can discount those and assume it is a problem on the customer end (and if it were up to me I'd kick them out of the test, because you don't want noise in your results)