On Demand "Watch Now" vs "Watch Later"

[Jim S.]

Selecting "Watch Later" used to download the show in the background so there'd be no pauses when played. Now, it apparently does nothing other than put the show in a list. I can't remember whether this was a software change or whether it coincided with me switching from DSL (where watching live was an exercise in futility) to LTE, but it's still annoying because my LTE connection still suffers from slowdowns from time to time. It's rare that the stream needs to buffer, but it DOES keep jumping between SD and HD, which is extremely annoying because the aspect ratio isn't quite the same! (Unless, of course, there's some OTHER reason why it keeps jumping between SD and HD -- it seems to happen with Starz more than anything. But I'm still quite sure that I used to be able to download the whole program before watching it, and now I can't.)

 

[CyberSpock]

I only had to watch on demand as streaming from a few sources. One of them was Syfy and when I found out that was where a movie was from I wouldn't choose it. Let alone they had commercial breaks.

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[TheKrell]

Selecting "Watch Later" used to download the show in the background so there'd be no pauses when played. Now, it apparently does nothing other than put the show in a list. I can't remember whether this was a software change or whether it coincided with me switching from DSL (where watching live was an exercise in futility) to LTE...

I don't either, but I do know for a fact that my VIP DVRs used to download and store, and now the H3 apparently will not.

 

[Tony S]

I don't either, but I do know for a fact that my VIP DVRs used to download and store, and now the H3 apparently will not.

It is not just the VIPs. My HWS used to download and store (which worked better), but now it doesn't. Dish must have changed the software at some point.

 

[TheKrell]

It is not just the VIPs. My HWS used to download and store (which worked better), but now it doesn't. Dish must have changed the software at some point.

This sucks big time. This was a great selling feature for VOD on Dish DVRs for those of us who have limited bandwidth and simply cannot watch a real-time stream. This is even true for me on 4K programs which are right at the margin of buffering all the time when watched in real time. Most of the time, my H3 just refuses to show it to me at all.

 

[CyberSpock]

When did this change?

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[Jim S.]

It is not just the VIPs. My HWS used to download and store (which worked better), but now it doesn't. Dish must have changed the software at some point.

I wonder if this happened at the same time they got rid of useful fast-forward and made the guide shorter to show us garbage? Or is it more recent? I never really did enough On Demand to pay attention to it.

 

[Tony S]

When did this change?

I don't remember exactly when it changed, but it was not recent. It has been that way for quite a while.

 

[Tony S]

This sucks big time. This was a great selling feature for VOD on Dish DVRs for those of us who have limited bandwidth and simply cannot watch a real-time stream. This is even true for me on 4K programs which are right at the margin of buffering all the time when watched in real time. Most of the time, my H3 just refuses to show it to me at all.

Maybe Dish does the download only after determining that you do not have sufficient bandwidth to watch on the fly? That is just me speculating. I don't know how it really works. I do know that on my HWS it no longer downloads, it streams on the fly.

 

[CyberSpock]

I don't remember exactly when it changed, but it was not recent. It has been that way for quite a while.

I can't verify since I recently discontinued and sent my H3 back. But a few weeks ago I did a watch later of the David Crosby documentary and it at first said its download speed while I let it download. Is this not the on demand type shows you mean?

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[pattykay]

It is not just the VIPs. My HWS used to download and store (which worked better), but now it doesn't. Dish must have changed the software at some point.

When did this change?

My Hopper Duos also used to download and store. In fact, I had a folder on each Hopper Duo with Purchased movies that I had downloaded and stored to the internal hard drive for later viewing. Earlier this year, that folder disappeared. I can still stream the movies from Dish Anywhere on my laptop. However, I get a lot of freezing, stuttering, and buffering that way. This is with Google Chrome browser.

 

[CyberSpock]

I could never understand if I reserved a video "download" (I will now put that in quotes) and didn't get around to watching it before it expired, why I had to delete/search/download. A simple Renew option would work fine.

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[Altitudinous]

On my H3 and 4K Joey, I've been checking out the Dishscapes on channel 198 on a trial. I have repeatedly chosen different "4K scapes" and I pick the Watch Later option. If I go to DVR-On Demand Free & Rented and check on that item, I get the downloading status. I've got a 25Mbps fixed wireless connection and I've seen it download these Dishscapes at speeds near my max. I have also queued multiple downloads, and when I check the status, it tells me which one is downloading and which are in queue position 2 or 3, etc. When I watch one of the downloaded items, it shows how many days left I have to watch it, starts up instantly and without any buffering. So the Watch Later function is still present and working for me.

 

[TheKrell]

On my H3 and 4K Joey, I've been checking out the Dishscapes on channel 198 on a trial... So the Watch Later function is still present and working for me.

Now that you mention it, so have I. It's the VOD stuff that won't load to disk any more.

 

[pattykay]

Channel 198 is an app, so maybe that explains the difference.

 

[Crickee]

I agree it's been quite a while since the downloads stored to H3. I can only get DSL 6 mbps "high speed" and I hate watching on demand shows since this change. I cuss a blue streak every time!

 

[Wirelezz]

In my experience it's the source of the On Demand that decides wether it downloads or streams. For instance every On Demand program I choose from Showtime or Starz always downloads to the hard drive. On Demand from the Smithsonian channel also downloads to the HD.
Conversely, On Demand programs chosen from the ON Demand button on the Dish remote (VOD) always stream, which for me really sucks because my rural WISP provider offers such slow speeds that this content is unwatchable.

 

[CyberSpock]

In my experience it's the source of the On Demand that decides wether it downloads or streams. For instance every On Demand I program I choose from Showtime or Starz always downloads to the hard drive.

Then that is why I didn't notice this. Most of my VOD was from Showtime and Starz.

Streaming is even worse if you get into a situation where it's out and reading off the disk would be the only way to watch.


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