Every time a new version of the android DirecTV app comes out, I download it, run it, watch it lock-up, refuse to recognize my DVR, or refuse to play certain recorded content.
I think I've found at least one explanation or workaround to a recurring problem for DVR content playback where the app gives the message: "This show is not available to watch right now."
It seems that if a manually-recorded program (one where you pick the channel, the start, and the stop time) is selected for playback on the app, it gives this message. I record only the first half hour of the local hour-long morning news because the second half is generally a repeat. To do this, I set up a manually recorded timer. I was wondering why I couldn't watch these recorded segments on my smart phone, and today I did a few tests.
I recorded a segment of a show with a manual timer, and also recorded the same show as an entire "episode". The full episode would play on my android phone; the manually-recorded partial episode gave the above error message.
A workaround which only sometimes worked for me: First, download the manually-recorded segments to your device. Then play them. This workaround was good for a half-hour manual program picked from an hour show, but didn't work for an hour manual program picked from a two-hour show.
BTW, newer versions of the app seem to want to install an update to your older version of the installed app, which preserves your logon info, channel favorites, etc. However, it's been my experience that deleting and doing a clean install of the app eliminates a lot of the problems with the app locking up and not recognizing your DVR.
I think I've found at least one explanation or workaround to a recurring problem for DVR content playback where the app gives the message: "This show is not available to watch right now."
It seems that if a manually-recorded program (one where you pick the channel, the start, and the stop time) is selected for playback on the app, it gives this message. I record only the first half hour of the local hour-long morning news because the second half is generally a repeat. To do this, I set up a manually recorded timer. I was wondering why I couldn't watch these recorded segments on my smart phone, and today I did a few tests.
I recorded a segment of a show with a manual timer, and also recorded the same show as an entire "episode". The full episode would play on my android phone; the manually-recorded partial episode gave the above error message.
A workaround which only sometimes worked for me: First, download the manually-recorded segments to your device. Then play them. This workaround was good for a half-hour manual program picked from an hour show, but didn't work for an hour manual program picked from a two-hour show.
BTW, newer versions of the app seem to want to install an update to your older version of the installed app, which preserves your logon info, channel favorites, etc. However, it's been my experience that deleting and doing a clean install of the app eliminates a lot of the problems with the app locking up and not recognizing your DVR.