# TV APPS almost worthless?



## T-Mac (Feb 16, 2012)

I've had D* for a month now and have found the success rate of TV APPS to be less than 50%. Lots of service unavailable messages.

The only thing I ever try to use is the weather app. Now it's become a (bad) habit just to push the right arrow to see if it works. Sometimes it does, most of the time it does not.

Is this just a poorly executed feature or do I have less success than other users that needs to be looked into further.

HR34
H25
deca module connected by ethernet to router


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

TVApps is the wave of the past.... something else will eventually take its place.


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## Crimson (Dec 9, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> TVApps is the wave of the past.... something else will eventually take its place.


Was it ever even a wave? I've never used them, and I've never seen anyone else with DTV ever user them. Seems like a failure of the past that will hopefully be replaced by something that people want to use.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

If there's any performance hit associated with TV Apps, I'd love an option to disable it, because I don't use it either, except when I accidentally hit 'right' on the wrong screen. Almost as bad as accidentally hitting ACTIVE! 

Same goes for Scoreguide. I'm a big sports fan, but I don't use it and if it would speed things up by disabling it, I'd love that option.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Apparently my comment was misconstrued. Let me be more clear. TVApps development has stopped. Something else will take its place.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

I would trade all the TV apps, Pandora and YouTube just to get single point of management of recording! Well that and consistent speed!


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## T-Mac (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks guys. This is what I suspected.


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## jedi34 (Oct 8, 2008)

I'm with the OP. I liked (but didn't love) TV app's. But, over the past several weeks, it's much more miss than hit. I like the weather option, and I have a couple NBA teams on it, to tell at a glance when a team that I like will be playing or the score of their game.

I was glad to see this thread. I was thinking my problems with it were related to my internet access.


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## Barry in Conyers (Jan 14, 2008)

TVApps was a decent idea that was poorly implemented and never really supported. It has been "hit and miss" for a long time and seems to be getting worse. My impression is that DirecTV has reduced server capacity or assigned internet bandwidth, but the error messages make it difficult to be sure. Perhaps there are conflicts with the recent firmware releases.

If TVApps is replaced by "something else", I hope DirecTV comes up with a better approach than using VPN to handle the data.

Just my opinion, YMMV.


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## allenn (Nov 19, 2005)

TV Apps are like Media Share, never fully baked. Too bad! I am looking forward to what D* is cooking up next. Best wishes!


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## Rtm (Oct 18, 2011)

allenn said:


> TV Apps are like Media Share, never fully baked. Too bad! I am looking forward to what D* is cooking up next. Best wishes!


Same with nomad


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## Racer88 (Sep 13, 2006)

The one thing DirecTV's code monkey department is best at...

Half assing most everything they do...


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## ts7 (Nov 1, 2011)

"lparsons21" said:


> I would trade all the TV apps, Pandora and YouTube just to get single point of management of recording! Well that and consistent speed!


+1


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## kvine24 (Apr 13, 2012)

Puppy of the day app... Makes tv apps worth it


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## moghedien (Dec 3, 2007)

T-Mac said:


> I've had D* for a month now and have found the success rate of TV APPS to be less than 50%. Lots of service unavailable messages.
> 
> The only thing I ever try to use is the weather app. Now it's become a (bad) habit just to push the right arrow to see if it works. Sometimes it does, most of the time it does not.
> 
> ...


I was getting this error recently, and changing the DNS Server setting(under 'Network Setup' - Advanced Setup) to 8.8.8.8 (Google) seems to have fixed it


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## lacubs (Sep 12, 2010)

mine with the scoreguide will disappeared and reappeared every 6 months, and i love the tv apps and the scoreguide, but unfortunately they are useless!


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## unixguru (Jul 9, 2007)

They are just the silly result of Product Managers aka bean counters trying to be "competitive". Everybody is doing it so it must be important, right?

My new Sony "smart" tv is full of the same garbage. Software "updates" every few months - you can almost be certain they have nothing to do with video quality, just patching these garbage apps.

I also have a Mac Mini connected. Gee, wonder which of the 3 devices I'm going to use to do "app" things? There is NO question.

Really, D*, are there no other requested features that are more important?????


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

All of these Feature just Slowed Down my DVRs so I Quit Using Them as they were pretty useless.

I get Weather on my PC every morning when I log on along with Music and I have Pandora, etc. on my DVD Player so just let me have a Fast DVR such as my HR24-500s and I Am Good To Go!!! :hurah:


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

They're not "almost" worthless. To me they're totally worthless. I get so ticked when I accidentally hit the right arrow and have to wait for that garbage to load.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

T-Mac said:


> I've had D* for a month now and have found the success rate of TV APPS to be less than 50%. Lots of service unavailable messages.
> 
> The only thing I ever try to use is the weather app. Now it's become a (bad) habit just to push the right arrow to see if it works. Sometimes it does, most of the time it does not.
> 
> ...


Nailed it.

As everyone is expanding the use of the Internet, DirecTV TVapps have been stagnate for years.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Aside from forums like this I wonder how many people actually knew the Apps even existed?


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

TBlazer07 said:


> Aside from forums like this I wonder how many people actually knew the Apps even existed?


Anyone who's accidentally hit the right arrow.


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## TXD16 (Oct 30, 2008)

I like and use TV Apps regularly to:

1. Quickly check current weather, forecast, and radar
2. Use ScoreGuide on any channel, rather than just the sports channels
3. Monitor availability of CE firmware
4. Occasionally check out "What's Hot!"

In short, I find it a useful little app.


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## fireponcoal (Sep 26, 2009)

My installer knew nothing about the D* apps when I brought the subject up to him.. He was district manager of some sort as well.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

zkc16 said:


> I like and use TV Apps regularly to:
> 
> 1. Quickly check current weather, forecast, and radar
> 2. Use ScoreGuide on any channel, rather than just the sports channels
> ...


I get the Weather first thing in the morning when I wake up and get on my PC.

I could care less about Scoreguide as I can find scores online or in the paper the next day.


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## cjaredscott (Dec 21, 2011)

Most of the TV Apps are worthless to me. I like the Engadget app, but there need to be more news apps like Engadget (such as CNN, NYTimes, ABC News, CNET, etc.).

But, the weather app is pretty good.


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## ub1934 (Dec 30, 2005)

NOAA weather Radar was good but it is now grayed out on my HR 22-100 & has been for the last five months but still works & shows up on their web site on my tv apps ?


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## T-Mac (Feb 16, 2012)

Over the weekend I removed the broadband deca adapter and connected my HR34 directly to my router (the HR34 can bridge internet to other receivers and provide whole-home dvr functions simultaneously).

To my surprise, the TV apps work much better now. The weater app is the only one I care to use, but it pulls up faster and consistently without any connection error messages.


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## spaul (Jul 19, 2009)

I found the TV apps were great for us Philadelphia sports fans that are shut out of our home teams games 99% of the time.I depended on them to check scores while watching a non sports channel that couldn't use score guide with red button.Hopefully something in the future as mentioned will replace it or possibly make the score guide available on non sports channels too.


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## west99999 (May 12, 2007)

Just FYI there are known issues with TV apps not working right now. If yours are not working don't attempt to fix them you are wasting your time.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

west99999 said:


> Just FYI there are known issues with TV apps not working right now. If yours are not working don't attempt to fix them you are wasting your time.


To clarify if you get a 301 error it's possible that there is not anything that you could do on your end to resolve. However if you're not getting a 301 it's possible that you could have a problem that you could resolve. It's also possible that you could get a 301 and then it starts working without changing anything.

The bottom line is there is a known issue as stated above which should be resolved soon but that doesn't mean that it's causing every possible problem out there.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

I was getting the 301 error on all my HR24's since 0x5cb loaded up last Saturday. I decided to change network services configuration today from 'automatic' to 'manual' using the default values.

TVApps worked immediately.

I still like and use Weather Radar, quick scores of local sports, and Weather Channel Cities because it shows the temp immediately in the box.

For whatever reason my wife likes the horoscopes.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

I suspect like several other features...we may see some further evolution of the TVapps functionality somehow...so perhaps the interruptions are a result of behind-the-scenes work along those lines? :shrug:


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## spaul (Jul 19, 2009)

Thanks for input I am getting the 301 error code lately and tried reboot to no avail . Beyond that I'm not looking to fool around with settings as mentioned before this latest problem the apps have been very hit or miss for a couple of months now.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

spaul said:


> Thanks for input I am getting the 301 error code lately and tried reboot to no avail . Beyond that I'm not looking to fool around with settings as mentioned before this latest problem the apps have been very hit or miss for a couple of months now.


It does seem that connectivity for TVApps has been sporadic of late....my HR24's got the same 301 message...and then this past week...suddenly started working again fine (no changes on my end).


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## ub1934 (Dec 30, 2005)

Wish i could still get NOAA weather radar it's been grayed out for 4 or 5 months now but still shows up on my tv apps on their web page but does not show up on my HR 22-100 to add new apps.


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## Huskie_2009 (Jan 12, 2009)

ub1934 said:


> Wish i could still get NOAA weather radar it's been grayed out for 4 or 5 months now but still shows up on my tv apps on their web page but does not show up on my HR 22-100 to add new apps.


My app still works for me. Maybe delete it from your receiver and re-add it again?

I'm surprised DirecTv still has Apps turned on. It was a good idea at first but not implemented to be something more than just a static graphic.

I'll stop myself now before I get into any trouble here.


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## fr8tmastr (Jun 29, 2008)

spaul said:


> I found the TV apps were great for us Philadelphia sports fans that are shut out of our home teams games 99% of the time.I depended on them to check scores while watching a non sports channel that couldn't use score guide with red button.Hopefully something in the future as mentioned will replace it or possibly make the score guide available on non sports channels too.


Isnt that the truth! Hardly ever get to watch the Flyers


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