DirecTV2PC Issues & Feedback

[Brewer4]

Ah well I'll stop wasting my time!!!!

Got a third key on another email address and that wont work either.

 

[enoree]

Same problem. Key wont work, message that cd key is invalid.

 

[satjay]

I tried the program after the software download we recived yesterday, and while my laptop did not pass all the tests I wanted to give this new technology I try . SD shows appear with no viewing problems though with HD shows, audio and video are not good at all. This could still come in handy for me now and then, I will just have to record a SD version if its something that I will want to catch on the laptop

 

[darrencp22]

There requirements are so high, most people I know wouldn't be able to use this because of that. Therefor making this feature/ service not used by many. Why cyberlink???

You get my point entirely. They created a product that can not be utilized by the masses... only computer geeks who update their hardware every year.

There seems to be this ideology that everyone should go out and buy new video cards or new machines.. We're not talking ancient Pentium 3s with 256mb of memory here. Any standard PC bought in the last 2 years should be able to play this content flawlessly. This is just the way it is if you want mass adoption.

DirecTV, find a way to make this accessible to the avg user, or dont bother at all with something half-assed. I know i'm being tough here... but this was a closed beta to select gorup of people from the other site. As a member here, i'm going to tear in pertty good as we were not given an opportunity to participate. Perhaps more level and honest feedback may have resutled in a more polished product.

 

[clint501]

The advisor states everything in the green. Software runs OK. Downloaded several VOD's that were HD. Picture gets a bit jerky or "jumpy". While watching a 29 minute HD piece it "quit" twice and went back to the menu screen. Had to restart and guess where it ended. It would be nice to have the "Resume" entry.

 

[rad]

You get my point entirely. They created a product that can not be utilized by the masses... only computer geeks who update their hardware every year.

There seems to be this ideology that everyone should go out and buy new video cards or new machines.. We're not talking ancient Pentium 3s with 256mb of memory here. Any standard PC bought in the last 2 years should be able to play this content flawlessly. This is just the way it is if you want mass adoption.

DirecTV, find a way to make this accessible to the avg user, or dont bother at all with something half-assed. I know i'm being tough here... but this was a closed beta to select gorup of people from the other site. As a member here, i'm going to tear in pertty good as we were not given an opportunity to participate. Perhaps more level and honest feedback may have resutled in a more polished product.

Looking around the net I found a post at EMediaLive.com: The Authoritative BD FAQ: VI. Compatibility which goes over the CPU requirements for play Blu-Ray content from some of the major software vendors which says:

"What type of computer CPU is required to play BD movies?
According to recommendations from CyberLink, InterVideo, ArcSoft, Nero and NVIDA, to satisfy the significant processing demands of playing BD movies a PC system must realistically be equipped with a high performance dual-core CPU (see chart). Also note that playing VC-1 and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 titles may require additional horsepower over those encoded with MPEG-2. Mac system guidelines have yet to be published."

Since we're basically talking the same thing here, decoding and displaying MPEG2 and MPEG4 1080 content for the DirecTV2PC application, it has the same requirements.

As for your rant about only the computer geeks being selected and not average users for the beta, I was selected. D* knew going in that my PC's were 2 and 4 years old and not top of the line for current systems but was still selected. I did provide feedback on my experience using this software on these system so they did know that under configured systems couldn't play back HD content, they were not working in a vacuum.

 

[basshive]

My question isn't about hardware specs, but simple functionality. Why would I want to watch TV on a PC from inside my own house?

And I'm just asking an honest question - not trying to start anything.

For me this fits the bill in a couple of ways. In my bedroom I have a H20 so I can only watch live tv. Normally thats fine but once in a while myself or the wife want to watch something from the living room dvr. Since I have the computer in bedroom hooked up to the Samsung, now we can!

I also like to take a laptop outside when I am grilling or working in the garage. I have the slingbox but this is another option for that as well.

 

[jcrandall]

Detfan - I see you're having problems with the activation key.

Do you have any other Cyberlink products installed? Some of their products conflict with each other.

Also, try again in a day or two, they may be having problems with their activation server - although I have not heard any confirmation like that.

 

[DetFan]

Yea I just tried and hour ago and it worked..Worked flawless even though according to their program it should not have..Pretty nice stuff, now if I could watch live TV like this I would be 100% sold.

 

[meStevo]

You get my point entirely. They created a product that can not be utilized by the masses... only computer geeks who update their hardware every year.

There seems to be this ideology that everyone should go out and buy new video cards or new machines.. We're not talking ancient Pentium 3s with 256mb of memory here. Any standard PC bought in the last 2 years should be able to play this content flawlessly. This is just the way it is if you want mass adoption.

DirecTV, find a way to make this accessible to the avg user, or dont bother at all with something half-assed. I know i'm being tough here... but this was a closed beta to select gorup of people from the other site. As a member here, i'm going to tear in pertty good as we were not given an opportunity to participate. Perhaps more level and honest feedback may have resutled in a more polished product.

I think you'd have more of a point if they didnt provide something up front to show people where their system is lacking. I don't see why it's unreasonable computers bought a couple years ago with 3-5+ year old parts can't run it. If you want to discuss it further a good place is probably the beta thread, and not the tech support thread. This is a hardware-intensive process, better software is likely not going to get around that.

 

[charper1]

I find it totally laughable that those people that "know PCs" are called geeks. Just because a PC was bought or built a year or two ago MEANS NOTHING; the component spec on the inside matter!

I have to laugh and grit my teeth that these non-geeks that think they know so much better and know so much about networking, decoding, PCs and what should and should not run on them. It hilarious.

 

[Harold]

Did you just leave your mouse and keyboard alone for a minute. I noticed that the bar stays when you move your mouse but goes away when it is not active.

Yea, let it run for a good 30 mins. Not sure what the deal is. For the ones who asked about sp3, I'm running with sp3.

 

[Brewer4]

My keys finally worked this morning and today. I do have to say the video is extremely jumpy even though my laptop passed all tests (its a MacBook Pro with 4 GB RAM, Nvidia 8600, Wireless N). I am running Vista natively on it with a 5.1 test score so its a fast machine. But the video is completely unwatchable. Its so jumpy and HD is just not normal flowing video. So SD is usable but comparison to Slingbox is no contest, Slingbox rules. I hope they get this to work since the concept is awesome but the chop is horrific.

 

[charper1]

Again, it should be noted (MAYBE AS A STICKY) that a PC or laptops build/speed is not the sole determining factor or the performance of this application. Ones network and running background services and processes also need to be scrutinized.


It apps like these that point out exactly why I think DBS companies should stick with just that, DBS; there are too many factors outside of their control; too many per user variables that are really not in their wheel-house to correct or worry about. Too many things for the lay-user to figure out that they have no idea what they are doing and expect their DBS company to do it because now their name is on it.

 

[Brewer4]

Again, it should be noted (MAYBE AS A STICKY) that a PC or laptops build/speed is not the sole determining factor or the performance of this application. Ones network and running background services and processes also need to be scrutinized.


It apps like these that point out exactly why I think DBS companies should stick with just that, DBS; there are too many factors outside of their control; too many per user variables that are really not in their wheel-house to correct or worry about. Too many things for the lay-user to figure out that they have no idea what they are doing and expect their DBS company to do it because now their name is on it.

OK, 1 Gbps switch backbone with wireless N at 300 Mbps and Comcast Internet with 13 Mbps down/2.5 Mbps up. So I have a really fast and robust network. I have Xbox 360 connected to my network that views HD video from my Windows Media Center. I can do that on 3 PC's simultaneously along with Slingbox running and Snapstream BeyondTV too. So its really robust.

Same laptop runs Snapstream BeyondTV in HD and Slingbox Solo with DVD quality (its not really HD) and screams. I mean screams. So this product needs work.

 

[charper1]

The comment was not direct specific to you it was a generalization toward everyone; AND your ISP connection has zero/nothing to do with this application as fare as it ability to work or not inter-home; another point everyone should know too.

 

[Brewer4]

The comment was not direct specific to you it was a generalization toward everyone; AND your ISP connection has zero/nothing to do with this application as fare as it ability to work or not inter-home; another point everyone should know too.

I knew you were going to say that about the internet. I was just pointing out my layout because I actually do Slingbox remotely too and its better than this product over that pipe.

 

[pmcode]

Hey Y'all....

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have been doin' the CE thing since I got my HR21-200 right before the SB last year. Never have I had an issue with anything (except maybe price) about D* service(since '03), and all of the CE's have worked as well as advertised.

I did the 290 update on Friday night, and everything worked great. Noticed the topic about the Directv2pc software, so I did what everybody else did, D/L'd the advisor, then the app. The advisor only gives me an issue with my video card, cause I think it is actually too new (that's a first), and my monitor, cause it doesn't support HDCP.

There were reported issues on other message boards about the server being down, so I was finally able to activate this evening. I can scroll through all my recorded shows, but get the dreaded "directv2pc cannot connect to the server. The protected content cannot be played back at this time."

Not sure where the problem may lie, so I am hoping somebody may be able to shed some light.

System Specs:
Dell Inspiron 530 - Quad Core Q6600 @2.4
3Gig Ram
640Gig HDD
Radeon HD4850 w/256Meg Ram
Westinghouse LCM-22w2
Linksys WRT54Gv4 running DD-WRTv24-sp1
HR21-200 w/1TB eSATA, hard wired to a netgear 8-port FE switch, then to the WRT54G

 

[jcrandall]

Check the network settings on your HR21, make sure it "connects to interent". Everything will need to pass the system test except "network services" which is kinda broken, but doesn't affect anything right now (think future features).

 

[schneid]

PC Audio Gone

I just noticed that my PC lost all audio after installation of DirecTV2PC. When I installed it I could get no audio with it until I clicked the left little speaker icon. I then lost interest in the product as I have dual displays and can't use it.

Yesterday I discovered my Skype audio was down and while investigating today I discovered WMP audio no longer worked either. I took the easy way out and did a System Restore to when the DirecTV2PC Advisor was installed and prior to the DirecTV2PC application install. Audio is now back as normal.

Anyone else lose all PC audio after installing DirecTV2PC?