# Considering switching to DTV Stream, what are pros and cons?



## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having its own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
Are channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
Do guide/menus look the same?
How well does the recording to the cloud work?
The dish on my house doesn't bother me a bit, but it would be cool to take it down, if the overall experience is equal, for the most part, AND, no hiccups with the receivers and all that.

Anyway, you get the idea, any feedback is appreciated, especially from anyone that made the same switch.

Thanks in advance!


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Have a look at this 137 page topic on this subject.









ATT TV (DIRECTV Stream) - a little review


Since ATT TV is offering free HBO/HBO Max for the 1st year, and a $100 rebate, I signed up for it today at the Entertainment level. I don’t have ATT’s little box yet, so some of the things I may say might change when it gets here. Equipment - AppleTV4K - app performance is very good. The...




www.dbstalk.com


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

b4pjoe said:


> Have a look at this 137 page topic on this subject.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you. Will check that out.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having their own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
> My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
> And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
> Channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
> ...


Experience is definitely not equal. You get way less channels since streaming is about skinny packages. You should jot down all the channels you must have as a lot of people that go streaming need multiple providers which means multiple apps, multiple UIs, paying for channels twice, having 2 different DVRs, multiple bills, multiple CSRs, etc. Also if your isp has a data cap, better watch out there...

If you have 1 TV and use the DTV loyalty program, you'll come out WAY ahead with DTV
2+ TVs + loyalty program YMMV depending on your packages and any extras
If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> Experience is definitely not equal. You get way less channels since streaming is about skinny packages. You should jot down all the channels you must have as a lot of people that go streaming need multiple providers which means multiple apps, multiple UIs, paying for channels twice, having 2 different DVRs, multiple bills, multiple CSRs, etc. Also if your isp has a data cap, better watch out there...
> 
> If you have 1 TV and use the DTV loyalty program, you'll come out WAY ahead with DTV
> 2+ TVs + loyalty program YMMV depending on your packages and any extras
> If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much


The OP is talking about Directv Stream. There is not "way less channels". The only channel I don't have that I would personally watch is NFL Network, and that is a moot point this coming season. The DTV "loyalty program" is just as applicable to DTV stream and I am paying a LOT less with four TVs than I would be with satellite. 

"If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much"......huh?


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

raott said:


> The OP is talking about Directv Stream. There is not "way less channels". The only channel I don't have that I would personally watch is NFL Network, and that is a moot point this coming season. The DTV "loyalty program" is just as applicable to DTV stream and I am paying a LOT less with four TVs than I would be with satellite.
> 
> "If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much"......huh?


Yeh sledge is usually spot on. Not sure wtf he was talking about there


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

raott said:


> The OP is talking about Directv Stream. There is not "way less channels". The only channel I don't have that I would personally watch is NFL Network, and that is a moot point this coming season. The DTV "loyalty program" is just as applicable to DTV stream and I am paying a LOT less with four TVs than I would be with satellite.
> 
> "If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much"......huh?


Yeah, I haven't looked closely yet at the channel comparison, and I don't watch football at all. There are a handful of channels we'd 'have' to have. I only watch some basketball. My concern is if the picture quality is the same, pretty much. I do need to compare the channels. I have the preferred xtra right now.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

raott said:


> There is not "way less channels".


For those who prize channel counts above all else, there is indeed a huge disparity. DIRECTV Stream's PREMIERE package boasts "140+" channels while the PREMIERE satellite product claims "330+". There are absolutely some channels missing on the streaming product (though certainly not the full 190 channels if you're willing to record).

Lest you get all wound up about my choice of the top-tier package, consider that Stream's Entertainment package claims "65+" channels and satellite's package says "160+".


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

raott said:


> The OP is talking about Directv Stream. There is not "way less channels". The only channel I don't have that I would personally watch is NFL Network, and that is a moot point this coming season. The DTV "loyalty program" is just as applicable to DTV stream and I am paying a LOT less with four TVs than I would be with satellite.
> 
> "If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much"......huh?


Science - choice & higher
Magnolia - ultimate & higher
CW not available in LA
No WGN
If you need the WAF w/ LMN, that's ultimate & higher
Logo for the occasional Married w/ Children re-runs
Happens to be missing the ONE PBS channel I watch

to name a few

"RSN fee of $15" -- i.e. the entertainment package doesn't have sports, so if you want sports, you have to go to the $89.99 package.

No OTA integration either which I use frequently

Aside from Science & PBS & CW, the others I listed aren't must haves.

And as always, you're ignoring the fact that Cox has a data cap. Getting rid of the data cap is still $50/mo.

Even if I didn't have the data cap or stayed under it, I'd lose several must have channels. And why would I pay $89.99 NOT including tax for something I'm not happy with when I can pay the $91.13 INCLUDING tax for Preferred Xtra + local HR54 + OTA integration I'm paying now?


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

raott said:


> The OP is talking about Directv Stream. There is not "way less channels". The only channel I don't have that I would personally watch is NFL Network, and that is a moot point this coming season. The DTV "loyalty program" is just as applicable to DTV stream and I am paying a LOT less with four TVs than I would be with satellite.
> 
> "If you watch a lot of sports, you probably won't like streaming too much"......huh?


Yeah, I haven't looked closely yet at the channel comparison, and I don't watch football at all. There are a handful of channels we'd 'have' to have. I only watch some basketball. My concern is if the picture quality is the same, pretty much. I do need to compare the channels. I have the preferred extra right now.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> Science - choice & higher
> Magnolia - ultimate & higher
> CW not available in LA
> No WGN
> ...


You need a drink. No where did anyone say anything about you switching and what your costs were.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> Yeah, I haven't looked closely yet at the channel comparison, and I don't watch football at all. There are a handful of channels we'd 'have' to have. I only watch some basketball. My concern is if the picture quality is the same, pretty much. I do need to compare the channels. I have the preferred extra right now.


PQ is a lot better


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

compnurd said:


> PQ is a lot better


That is good to know, for starters.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

compnurd said:


> You need a drink. No where did anyone say anything about you switching and what your costs were.


Oh, sorry. I thought we were discussing how people supposedly save money on streaming while getting all the same channels .


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> Oh, sorry. I thought we were discussing how people supposedly save money on streaming while getting all the same channels .


I sort on wondered that, as it would be nice to possibly get everything I get with the preferred xtra right now, and maybe spend a little less. If it was even close, and I could get rid of my two HR's, and take dish off my house, and have equal or better picture quality, I'm most likely in.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> Science - choice & higher
> Magnolia - ultimate & higher
> CW not available in LA
> No WGN
> ...


Magnolia and Science are on both, at the same package level. I'm not going to bother cross-checking the rest since you were 0 for 2 on the first two I checked.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

raott said:


> Magnolia and Science are on both, at the same package level. I'm not going to bother cross-checking the rest since you were 0 for 2 on the first two I checked.


Wrong again. You're 0 for 2 on reading comprehension.

Science is choice and higher
Magnolia is ultimate and higher

Now you're claiming that choice = ultimate? Guess you're also claiming that $105 for ultimate and losing locals and ota equals and/or beats $91 for Preferred Xtra and having locals + ota?

You've also never explained why you hang out on a forum about a service that you don't even have instead of watching all your low cost, high quality streaming content lmao. Did a directv tech snake your girl or something? or did DirecTV fire you? you're way to obsessed at converting people.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> I sort on wondered that, as it would be nice to possibly get everything I get with the preferred xtra right now, and maybe spend a little less. If it was even close, and I could get rid of my two HR's, and take dish off my house, and have equal or better picture quality, I'm most likely in.


The simple answer is check the DirecTV Stream package line ups and if you're saving $$$ then you're saving $$$. If you're not, then you're not.

Gotchas are:


no OTA integration
you may or may not be missing locals in your zip
you may or may not have data caps with your isp

If you don't have a data cap and don't care about OTA and you've got all your channels in the skinnier packages, then you'd be saving money.

You won't match the channel counts of Preferred Xtra with streaming.


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> The simple answer is check the DirecTV Stream package line ups and if you're saving $$$ then you're saving $$$. If you're not, then you're not.
> 
> Gotchas are:
> 
> ...


Yeah, it will depend solely on the channels we care about. I don't use OTA. I do have a Terabyte cap with Xfinity, not sure if we'd go over.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

SledgeHammer said:


> Oh, sorry. I thought we were discussing how people supposedly save money on streaming while getting all the same channels


There does seem to be a trade off between subscribing to a full service MVPD and a low price streaming service (or collection of streaming services) but DIRECTV Stream is not a low priced service.

Not every DIRECTV Satellite package has an equivalent DIRECTV Stream package so there will be a few channel differences (especially if focusing on grandfathered packages). The big savings on streaming comes from the lack of fees. The higher price with fees of DIRECTV Satellite can be balanced out by the credits people can get when they complain about the price. The lack of commitment can be a benefit (although being out of contract only matters when one wants to leave without penalty).

People should do a comparison based on the channels they actually watch and how they watch them.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Another question related to pricing is whether you have AT&T for an internet provider. Bundling with DIRECTV SATELLITE gets you (at least it did) $20 off internet. Once unbundled, the price of internet goes up. I don’t know whether that discount stays if the switch is made to DIRECTV STREAM.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> Yeah, it will depend solely on the channels we care about. I don't use OTA. I do have a Terabyte cap with Xfinity, not sure if we'd go over.


My friends have Stream with 4 TV’s and have yet to go over there 1TB cap


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## Curtis0620 (Apr 22, 2002)

FYI, even though Directv Stream does not have my local CW, all the shows are available OnDemand.


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## Mike Lang (Nov 18, 2005)

Keep in mind if you leave a TV on most of the day and have a data cap, you may get hit with extra data fees.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

DIRECTV STREAM Channel Lineup PDF

DIRECTV Satellite Channel Lineup PDF

I did a comparison of the Premier packages on both services.

Any channels that have both the East and West coast feeds will not have the west coast feeds on Stream, ie...HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, Disney, BET, TBS, TNT, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Nickelodean, OWN, etc.

Other chnnels missing from Premier on Stream are BYU TV, CTN, Daystar, DTV HD SportsMix, ESNE, ESPN College Extra, EWTN, FLIX, GEB America, GOD TV, HBO Zone, Hillsong Channel, Hope, HSN 2, i24 News, IMPACT, INSP, Both ION East and West, JBS, Jewelry TV, Jewish Life TV, Link TV, Living Faith Network, MAVTV, MoreMAX, MovieMax, NASA TV, Next Level Sports, NFL Network, NHK, NRB, Outdoor Channel, Pursuit, QVC 3, Russia Today (I think it has been removed from SAT now), SBN, STARX Cinema, STARZ Comedy, STARZ Edge, Starz in Black, TCT Network, The Movie Channel East - West - Xtra EAST HD, Thriller Max, Trinity Broadcast Network, Victory.

On my local channels I would lose the CW channel which I rarely watch, and MeTV which is watched by family members but most of that content can be found for free on Pluto.

It has been a couple of months since I did the comparison so some things might have changed since that time or I may have missed a thing or two. If I did I'm sure someone will point it out. For my viewing habits I would not lose any must have channels moving to Stream. West coast feeds are not important to me. The only reason I'm not switching to Stream at this time as I have $69 per month in credits with satellite right now. If I can't get similar discounts when those run out I will probably leave satellite at that time.

Loyalty program mentioned for satellite previously? Yes they have one. No you are not guaranteed anything from it. You may get a discount you may not. You may need to try multiple times to get it. You may still not get it. It is not written in stone you will get discounts.


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## Curtis0620 (Apr 22, 2002)

If you subscribe to HBO on Dirertv Stream you have access to the HBO MAX streaming app.

As for ESPN Extra, you can use the ESPN app to get access to those.

All using your Directv Stream credentials.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

compnurd said:


> My friends have Stream with 4 TV’s and have yet to go over there 1TB cap


I don't use streaming and my typical internet usage is 300GB-400GB a month and I'm one person. Can't imagine how a household with an average 4 people wouldn't go over it. I don't even know how I use that much data without streaming.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> Any channels that have both the East and West coast feeds will not have the west coast feeds on Stream, ie...HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, Disney, BET, TBS, TNT, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Nickelodean, OWN, etc.


While a lot of people probably don't notice or care, this a HUGE selling point to me. I live on the west coast and I LOVE that I get east coast nationals on DirecTV. If I went to cable (and I also tried T-mobile's short lived TVision) I'd have west coast nationals. Why do I care? cuz it shifts all the shows I watch to 5-9pm vs. 8-12pm. So I've got recordings to watch after dinner and I don't have to wait til the next day. 

When I tried TVision, I hadn't thought about the time difference and I was IMMEDIATELY annoyed. It was one of the main reasons I cancelled along with the PQ and potential for going over on data.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> On my local channels I would lose the CW channel which I rarely watch, and MeTV which is watched by family members but most of that content can be found for free on Pluto.


I only watch Penn & Teller and Whose Line, but why go to a solution where you have to make compromises or lose functionality? Especially if you aren't saving money which is YMMV.

I certainly wouldn't go to OTT where you need multiple providers, multiple bills, multiple apps, multiple DVRs and don't even get me started on YouTube with their stupidest DVR of the century award where you can't even delete stuff lol.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> Wrong again. You're 0 for 2 on reading comprehension.
> 
> Science is choice and higher
> Magnolia is ultimate and higher
> ...


I am looking at the current channel lineups as advertised on the website. 

On Directv, Magnolia is only available on Ultimate and above which costs $99 a month. On Stream, Magnolia is also only available on Ultimate and above and costs $89 a month.

On Directv, Science is only available on Choice and above and costs $80 a month. On Stream, Science is only available on Choice and above and costs $75 a month. 

So again, I have no idea what argument you are making. BOTH channels are available on Stream. BOTH channels are in the respective packages on the Stream AND Directv, at a LOWER cost on Stream. 

Clear now?


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## msglsmo (Dec 27, 2015)

Soulweeper said:


> Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having their own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
> My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
> And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
> Channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
> ...


I switched last year and never looked back. Quality is the same. Only downside is no channel numbers on streaming apps, but there is if you use their box.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

raott said:


> I am looking at the current channel lineups as advertised on the website.
> 
> On Directv, Magnolia is only available on Ultimate and above which costs $99 a month. On Stream, Magnolia is also only available on Ultimate and above and costs $89 a month.
> 
> ...


What in the world are you talking about? You're about 0 for 7 on this post.


I get Magnolia on Preferred Xtra which is $91.13 AFTER taxes
Science is on Preferred Xtra as well, as is WB, _ALL_ my locals and a bunch of other channels I don't get on Stream. (about TWICE).
Choice on Stream is $89.99/mo BEFORE taxes, not $80 as you claim.
Stream doesn't support OTA

What's not clear? That at the end of the day after taxes, Preferred Extra is about the same price as Choice on Stream. Except on Stream, I lose a lot of channels, lose OTA and have to worry about data caps.

Clear now?


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## Curtis0620 (Apr 22, 2002)

Also, check out youTubeTV, Hulu with Live TV and FuboTV


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> While a lot of people probably don't notice or care, this a HUGE selling point to me. I live on the west coast and I LOVE that I get east coast nationals on DirecTV. If I went to cable (and I also tried T-mobile's short lived TVision) I'd have west coast nationals. Why do I care? cuz it shifts all the shows I watch to 5-9pm vs. 8-12pm. So I've got recordings to watch after dinner and I don't have to wait til the next day.
> 
> When I tried TVision, I hadn't thought about the time difference and I was IMMEDIATELY annoyed. It was one of the main reasons I cancelled along with the PQ and potential for going over on data.


According to the PDF comparison it looks like everyone gets the East feeds. It doesn't say anything about if you live on west coast you will get the west coast feeds. Maybe someone using Stream in the west can tell if you get the east or west feeds. Maybe it will give you the west feeds if you live in the west. For TBS and TNT it just says TBS and TNT and doesn't specify. On the premium it actually says HBO East, Showtime East, etc...



SledgeHammer said:


> I only watch Penn & Teller and Whose Line, but why go to a solution where you have to make compromises or lose functionality? Especially if you aren't saving money which is YMMV.
> 
> I certainly wouldn't go to OTT where you need multiple providers, multiple bills, multiple apps, multiple DVRs and don't even get me started on YouTube with their stupidest DVR of the century award where you can't even delete stuff lol.


Money being equal I will stay with DirecTV but the money is not equal if the loyalty discount doesn't come through on the sat. Multiple providers, multiple bills, multiple apps is not a problem. I can walk and chew gum at the same time. And there isn't multiple DVR's unless you subscribe to multiple services that have a DVR. I would not be doing that or you would paying as much or more than just keeping DirecTV Sat.


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## upperdeck (8 mo ago)

so as someone who has had directv since the primestar take over.. i have 10+ rvcrs. the thing that we do is segment the whole home piece. So my wife who watches mostly in the living room/bedroom can record shows and watch them and i can watch shows i record in the game room/office and the shows dont fill up the dvr.. the kids then can record their own stuff as well. Never went to the hopper like device like Dish because of this and never went to Directvs solution because they didnt allow 10+ rcvrs..
I have a couple wireless connectors pre-connected to my house segments as well.. So if we go on the deck and throw a tv out there we just plug in the device we want and we get that persons dvr shows..


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> What in the world are you talking about? You're about 0 for 7 on this post.
> 
> 
> I get Magnolia on Preferred Xtra which is $91.13 AFTER taxes
> ...


Preferred Xtra doesn't seem to be an option on the DirecTV website. Are you grandfathered into a package no one else can get? If so you are not doing a fair comparison.


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## DanoP (Sep 29, 2006)

Everyone is looking for something different. No contract on Stream so just grab a month and try it out. You'll need a streaming box. Suggest Roku if you don't have it already. It's cheap and good for this purpose. I use AppleTV 4k on one and a Roku Ultra on another. I left Stream last week. I had the Ultimate package and think TV in general is too expensive. Signed up with YouTube TV instead. Far fewer channels but how many do you actually watch. Stream will give you the RSNs, YTTV will not. Stream has begun to offer new customers free unlimited DVR while YTTV has always had it. Though I think recordings drop after several months. Stream in my experience is a bit glitchy. I will sometimes get bumped out of programing and into the main menu. The DVR recordings don't always run smoothly. YTTV is better IMO. Picture quality. Surprisingly good on both. The boxes upconvert to 4k and while it's not true 4k it looks quite good. In the end you'll just need to try it out. Stream is the most expensive I believe because of the RSNs. It is not the best value IMHO.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> What in the world are you talking about? You're about 0 for 7 on this post.
> 
> 
> I get Magnolia on Preferred Xtra which is $91.13 AFTER taxes
> ...


Oh FFS go back to your initial post and the initial response to mine. Have a good day.


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## dhkinil (Dec 17, 2006)

Soulweeper said:


> Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having their own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
> My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
> And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
> Channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
> ...


I had it directv satellite and decided to switch because the streaming service was about $100/month cheaper. I got rid of it. Unless things have changed you don't have channel numbers without their boxes, a minor annoyance and believe me their boxes aren't all that great, ours frequently needed to be reset. Theirs is a cloud DVR, a bigger annoyance. They delete after 90 days, but somethings I want to binge and 90 days may not quite make it. More important, like live sports, do they run over, too bad because you can't pad a recording. Finally, we had two boxes, both had to be replaced. We weren't given info on how to send the first back and when we finally got the info I tracked the package to their intermediate's warehouse where it arrived well ahead of the 30 day window but sat for a long time so they charged me and it took at least an hour of arguing to get the $100 fee dropped. The second went back a day after I recevied the replacement. They had it two days later but billed me the same day. They said I had not gotten it back to them in 30 days. they were right, it wasn't 30 days it was three. I had a lot of math and I am pretty sure 3 is less than 30. Again a lot of screaming and I even offered to e mail them the webpage where I could show them. They finally said they would waive the charge as a one time offer of good will.


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## MIchael Risch (Jul 25, 2020)

"More important, like live sports, do they run over, too bad because you can't pad a recording" 

It took 39 posts, but I found my dealbreaker...


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## LoweBoy (Sep 16, 2006)

We swapped over a year ago and have really liked the service. After being with Directv since 2000 we tried YouTube TV for 3 months and we not happy with that service so we swapped to Directv Stream. It’s has been great and has provided us every thing we care to watch for $107 a month. When I had Directv I was at the $170 mark for 5 TVs. Now that we are on the streaming side we can access up to 20 devices in the house. Now we don’t have that many but I can easily get up to 7 with stuff going on throughout the house on a weekend or people coming over. The other real nice part is the access to take it with you, I think it’s 3 streams away from home. I use it a lot from my phone or IPad or even take a Fire Stick when I travel. My only gripe is the delay, it kills me when I get a game alert from my phone before seeing the action on the tv. But, to be honest I have gotten past that at this point. And for OTA I also purchased an HDHomeRun that fills in that gap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> According to the PDF comparison it looks like everyone gets the East feeds. It doesn't say anything about if you live on west coast you will get the west coast feeds. Maybe someone using Stream in the west can tell if you get the east or west feeds. Maybe it will give you the west feeds if you live in the west. For TBS and TNT it just says TBS and TNT and doesn't specify. On the premium it actually says HBO East, Showtime East, etc...


Yeah, that was my point. I _love_ getting east coast feeds on the west coast. It fits my schedule better. If I go to Cox, they'll give me the west coast feeds. TVision also gave me west coast feeds.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

MIchael Risch said:


> "More important, like live sports, do they run over, too bad because you can't pad a recording"
> 
> It took 39 posts, but I found my dealbreaker...


Live sports auto pads if it runs longer than being scheduled. Or so people that use Stream have said. Or you can manually pad it by scheduling the show after it to record.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> Preferred Xtra doesn't seem to be an option on the DirecTV website. Are you grandfathered into a package no one else can get? If so you are not doing a fair comparison.


Preferred Xtra has never been an advertised package. It's basically Total Choice+ or whatever they call it now with a couple of sports channels removed to get rid of the RSN fee (which is like $9/mo in California). It's always been a package you have to call in for that they created for people like me that hate sports and didn't like that I had to pay $9/mo for it, but we couldn't get a decent package without it. Although I think they won't let you get it anymore. It's also not $91.13 "MSRP". I'm quoting what I pay for it on the loyalty program.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

dhkinil said:


> I had it directv satellite and decided to switch because the streaming service was about $100/month cheaper. I got rid of it. Unless things have changed you don't have channel numbers without their boxes, a minor annoyance and believe me their boxes aren't all that great, ours frequently needed to be reset. Theirs is a cloud DVR, a bigger annoyance. They delete after 90 days, but somethings I want to binge and 90 days may not quite make it. More important, like live sports, do they run over, too bad because you can't pad a recording. Finally, we had two boxes, both had to be replaced. We weren't given info on how to send the first back and when we finally got the info I tracked the package to their intermediate's warehouse where it arrived well ahead of the 30 day window but sat for a long time so they charged me and it took at least an hour of arguing to get the $100 fee dropped. The second went back a day after I recevied the replacement. They had it two days later but billed me the same day. They said I had not gotten it back to them in 30 days. they were right, it wasn't 30 days it was three. I had a lot of math and I am pretty sure 3 is less than 30. Again a lot of screaming and I even offered to e mail them the webpage where I could show them. They finally said they would waive the charge as a one time offer of good will.


Things have changed for most of your post except the part about channel numbers only being available with their box.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

raott said:


> Oh FFS go back to your initial post and the initial response to mine. Have a good day.


See ya! Til the next time you try to convince me that going from a $90 package that is great to $90 package that is complete and utter garbage is a good move! So same time next month?


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> Preferred Xtra has never been an advertised package. It's basically Total Choice+ or whatever they call it now with a couple of sports channels removed to get rid of the RSN fee (which is like $9/mo in California). It's always been a package you have to call in for that they created for people like me that hate sports and didn't like that I had to pay $9/mo for it, but we couldn't get a decent package without it. Although I think they won't let you get it anymore. It's also not $91.13 "MSRP". I'm quoting what I pay for it on the loyalty program.


On the DirecTV website they only list Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate, and Premier for both services. It is useless to compare to a package that one can't get any longer.

Thanks the info. Your comparison is not relevant to about 99% of people.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> On the DirecTV website they only list Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate, and Premier for both services. It is useless to compare to a package that one can't get any longer.
> 
> Thanks the info. Your comparison is not relevant to about 99% of people.


Uh, not really since the OP has Preferred Xtra too!


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## B. Shoe (Apr 3, 2008)

Soulweeper said:


> Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having their own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
> My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
> And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
> Channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
> ...


Hello, @Soulweeper . I’ve been streaming-only since September 2018. There’s a lot of arguing going on here about specifics like cost/channel counts/what channels are available/etc. Once you’re done swimming through all of that, let’s talk what really matters.

The biggest thing about switching from a satellite to streaming boils down to *whether you’re open to learning a new system*. Is it going to be exactly like your experience on satellite right now? Nope. Is a Cloud DVR the same as your current DVR? No, but you’ll adjust and figure it out. Is the overall experience going to be somewhat similar? Eh, close enough that you’re not entirely reinventing the wheel. There’s nuance and changes with streaming that will catch you off-guard at first. I experienced it when I switched off DIRECTV. But, like any change in your life, you get used to things and decide whether it’s best for you and your individual situation. There were things I thought were “must haves” when I switched off streaming. Nearly four years later, I don’t miss those things at all, and found features that I actually enjoy more than what I previously had. But that’s just me.

And you might not like it, and that’s perfectly okay. Some people love the satellite life, and that’s cool.

In short, give the trial services a try and don’t touch your DIRECTV remote for a month when you do. Besides, it’s just TV.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> Uh, not really since the OP has Preferred Xtra too!


OK I missed that. He is in the 1% that it might be relevant too. So there is no current channel comparison he can compare it to. Same as you.


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## pappasbike (Sep 19, 2006)

Mike Lang said:


> Keep in mind if you leave a TV on most of the day and have a data cap, you may get hit with extra data fees.


That’s a significant concern. I’ve never been able to come up with a streaming-only package that would include what we currently watch the way we watch, and save money. It always adds up to the same or higher cost and loss of convenience. I foresee in the future that all these services will essentially transition to more or less be what the typical cable/fiber service is now. The individual streaming services like Disney, Discovery, Peacock will just be additional channels on your service provider’s system. Add or delete as we all do with other premium options - HBO, Starz, Cinemax, etc. Those channels could be streamed as some are now on our Fios tv service.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> OK I missed that. He is in the 1% that it might be relevant too. So there is no current channel comparison he can compare it to. Same as you.


1%? lol Preferred Xtra is one of the most popular packages DirecTV has. Although neither of us has package popularity numbers to back it up either way, I'd put money down that its a lot more then 1%. It wasn't advertised, but anybody who called in to complain about RSN fees was offered it and anybody who did a simple Google search would have found it.

Your "what's listed on DirecTVs site today" argument is completely irrelevant. If somebody doesn't have DirecTV today, it's unlikely they are going to sign up for it now. You know, losing subs and all .

Anybody that's had DirecTV for any reasonable amount of time is on a discontinued package since they change them every 3-5 years or so.

Comparing what an EXISTING DirecTV sub is _actually_ paying vs. what a new sub to DirecTV would pay is what's irrelevant.


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

harsh said:


> For those who prize channel counts above all else, there is indeed a huge disparity. DIRECTV Stream's PREMIERE package boasts "140+" channels while the PREMIERE satellite product claims "330+". There are absolutely some channels missing on the streaming product (though certainly not the full 190 channels if you're willing to record).
> 
> Lest you get all wound up about my choice of the top-tier package, consider that Stream's Entertainment package claims "65+" channels and satellite's package says "160+".


The extra channels are pretty much all music channels and latino channels. However, if you want the out of market sports, you'd need to stick with Satellite otherwise you'll get only a couple of your local fox sports / Balley channels. As far as the channels 99.9% of viewers watch on a daily basis. there's not much if any difference. The Stream Choice package has pretty much every channel the Satellite choice package has with the exception of about 80 music channels and 35+40 out of market fox sports affiliates. However I've found that usually about half the fox channels are playing the same event, so you're really just getting a lot of extra fluff.


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## JFR (Apr 13, 2009)

As a DTV subscriber for over 20 yrs, I tried it about a yr ago. And switched back after about a week. I don’t know if any of these have changed since then but what I didn’t like was the interface and experience using the DTV Stream Box Vs DTV Receivers....

The dual tuner and buffer was different, as soon as you switched to the other tuner “Tuner B” you would loose the buffer happening on “Tuner A”, so you could not switch back and forth and rewind if you missed anything.
I think the overall buffer was shorter than DTV.
The GUI “guide” was different and showed less channels.
I forget some of the other things missing but he overall GUI interface was behind what DTV has traditional offered. 
I want to get rid of the SAT dish, if they ever update to the same experience you get with the current DTV DVR boxes I’d try it again.


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

Been with DTV Satellite since 2005,
I just upgraded to the Genie 2 with 4 new wireless clients, I was grandfathered in on the Extra All Included package with Sports Extra and Showtime, no contract.
I'm getting about 75.00 per month in discounts (only for 12 months so I'm sure I'll have to call in to renegotiate pricing). I'm paying about 100.00 per month, which isn't too bad.
If after a year DTV will not renegotiate pricing (my cost would go up close to $200.00 per month), I will just go with a streaming service and move on.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

James Long said:


> There does seem to be a trade off between subscribing to a full service MVPD and a low price streaming service (or collection of streaming services) but DIRECTV Stream is not a low priced service.


DIRECTV Stream is arguably the highest priced live TV streaming service.


> Not every DIRECTV Satellite package has an equivalent DIRECTV Stream package so there will be a few channel differences (especially if focusing on grandfathered packages).


There are four standard packages for both the Stream and satellite products: ENTERTAINMENT, CHOICE, ULTIMATE and PREMIERE. Going below 65 channels opens the door to much cheaper services.

The fact that the lineups are smaller in the Stream packages has an impact on the real savings.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

harsh said:


> DIRECTV Stream is arguably the highest priced live TV streaming service.
> There are four standard packages for both the Stream and satellite products: ENTERTAINMENT, CHOICE, ULTIMATE and PREMIERE. Going below 65 channels opens the door to much cheaper services.
> 
> The fact that the lineups are smaller in the Stream packages has an impact on the real savings.


Its also the most like traditional service.

Many folks (including myself) hate the OTT DVRs.


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## Curtis0620 (Apr 22, 2002)

Directv Stream is the only streaming service that has Bally's Sports channels


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

We switched from DirecTV Satellite to DirecTV Stream late last year due to trees beginning to block our satellite signals. In other words, we really didn't have a choice. But I haven't regretted the switch one bit. We have 1Gig fiber internet at home, so no issues with streaming bandwidth. Picture quality is great. Channel lineups more than meet our needs. Being able to use a variety of streaming devices, both at home when traveling, is a big PLUS. We're traveling in our RV right now and I can watch all my channels and recordings using a Roku or my iPad. And, with the iPad, I get the locals where we're traveling, not my home locals (it just depends on if the device supports location services). And we're saving nearly $100/mo because we don't have to pay the extra $7/mo for each box. I honestly can't think of any Cons. I wish we would have made the switch sooner.


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## DanoP (Sep 29, 2006)

I highly recommend this interactive site for anyone considering streaming service. 









Suppose... you could design your perfect TV service


Suppose lets you select your favorite TV channels, searches billions of combinations of cable, satellite and streaming TV services, and finds the best for you.




www.suppose.tv





You can compare streaming services easily along with prices and packages.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

DanoP said:


> I highly recommend this interactive site to anyone considering streaming services.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


WARNING: the list on the left is your PREFERRED channels. You then have to "heart" you MUST HAVE's on the secondary list.

And when I heard a few locals and a few mainstream channels, what do you know? it tells me to go to DirecTV lol.

Mostly cuz no streaming provider carries all locals.


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## cwpomeroy (Aug 8, 2007)

Short Comment. Was a long time DTV customer. Had top package and 6+ receivers/DVR's. Switched to DTV Stream and haven't looked back. IMHO, better picture, ZERO technical issues as opposed to having frequent issues with the SAT boxes. Love streaming out of the house. Likely missing a few channels here and there, but haven't missed anything that mattered to me. The streaming boxes include my other streaming services into one box and one remote which is fantastic for visitors. etc.. Saving a bunch of money to boot. I have nothing but positive things to say.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

cwpomeroy said:


> Short Comment. Was a long time DTV customer. Had top package and 6+ receivers/DVR's. Switched to DTV Stream and haven't looked back. IMHO, better picture, ZERO technical issues as opposed to having frequent issues with the SAT boxes. Love streaming out of the house. Likely missing a few channels here and there, but haven't missed anything that mattered to me. The streaming boxes include my other streaming services into one box and one remote which is fantastic for visitors. etc.. Saving a bunch of money to boot. I have nothing but positive things to say.


Duh, of course you're saving a bunch of money, you went from DirecTV Premiere to a skinny package. If you don't need the channels now, why did you need them then? You could have saved a bunch of money by downgrading to a more appropriate package too.

Same way I saved a bunch of money by getting rid of my Lambo and buying a civic lmao.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> Duh, of course you're saving a bunch of money, you went from DirecTV Premiere to a skinny package. If you don't need the channels now, why did you need them then? You could have saved a bunch of money by downgrading to a more appropriate package too.
> 
> Same way I saved a bunch of money by getting rid of my Lambo and buying a civic lmao.


Dude. Seriously. Let it go. You keep responding to everyone who isn’t addressing you attacking them for there choices. No one is calling you out here


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## Curtis0620 (Apr 22, 2002)

Not all the receiver fees.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

compnurd said:


> Dude. Seriously. Let it go. You keep responding to everyone who isn’t addressing you attacking them for there choices. No one is calling you out here


Dude, you need to get one of those drinks you keep talking about. Nobody is attacking anyone except you. Comparing a skinny package to premiere is ridiculous cuz they're not even remotely the same.

And P.S. you're calling me out every chance you get for some reason. Are you taking over for raott or something?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

SledgeHammer said:


> And when I heart a few locals and a few main stream channels, what do you know? it tells me to go to DirecTV lol.


It does seem a bit odd that Stream typically offers only a subset of the DIRECTV satellite locals. In my market, there are six local channels on DIRECTV Stream and DIRECTV offers ten.

No category is spared when you're trying to make and apples to apples comparison.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

harsh said:


> It does seem a bit odd that Stream typically offers only a subset of the DIRECTV satellite locals. In my market, there are six local channels on DIRECTV Stream and DIRECTV offers ten.
> 
> No category is spared when you're trying to make and apples to apples comparison.


And with an HR54 you can also integrate with OTA. Main local that seems to be missing everywhere is CW. Maybe they don't allow it on streaming so you go through them?


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## DanoP (Sep 29, 2006)

SledgeHammer said:


> WARNING: the list on the left is your PREFERRED channels. You then have to "heart" your MUST HAVE's on the secondary list.
> 
> And when I heart a few locals and a few main stream channels, what do you know? it tells me to go to DirecTV lol.
> 
> Mostly cuz no streaming provider carries all locals.


Click on the channels you want to watch. The carriers are lined up in columns and if it isn’t carried you see a blank. If you want a carrier moved to the beginning of the column list you simply pin it to the beginning. No ‘warning’ needed it’s a simple common sense comparison tool showing who carries what, lol.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

DanoP said:


> Click on the channels you want to watch. The carriers are lined up in columns and if it isn’t carried you see a blank. If you want a carrier moved to the beginning of the column list you simply pin it to the beginning. No ‘warning’ needed it’s a simple common sense comparison tool showing who carries what, lol.


Ya, its a helpful tool unless you only click the "would be cool to have" list . Then its showing you a bunch of providers with missing channels. Was just pointing out there's a second step to select your must haves.


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## johndoe99515 (12 mo ago)

I have had DTV for 15 years or so. I live in Anchorage, moved about 18 months ago to the NW side of town. I have DTV and reception is fine on 101 and 103 but during summer I lose 99 from time to time. I am down in a hole shooting across the street and my suspicion is I am getting some interference from trees up on a hill behind my neighbor's house, can't do anything about that. I have the dish on a 6 foot pole and I'm gonna ask the installer if he thinks I would gain anything by putting the dish on the roof or a taller pole. We'll see.

All that said, I have a streaming service as a backup. I started with a local vendor that sucked, switched to Hulu Live which was just okay and now I am with YouTube Live or whatever it is called.

YT seems to work better but there are some inherent compromises when you compare streaming with a sat box.

1. The channels you get are probably lower but no big deal.

2. PQ looks about the same. I have several TVs, main one is a state of the art OLED LG 83, have a 3 year old 75 Sony in the bedroom. Can't really tell.

3. I _think_ YT does a slightly better job with surround sound.

4. I assume all these plus/minuses apply DirecTV Stream.

Now the minuses and they are significant:

1. Guide is really hard to navigate, so is search.

2. Playback, in a word, sucks. No 30 sec skip, very limited ability to join in progress and start from the beginning. What the streamers want to you do is wait for the recording to finish and then watch all of it, use the FF to skip. Doesn't work all that well.

3. Much higher percentage of missed recordings.

4. Some of like to save recordings for months and years, streamers don't like that.

5. I like to jump back and forth from a recording to live and back to the recording. Election nights, for example. Halfway through 'Barry,' let's tune to CNN for a bit and then back to 'Barry.' With a physical hard drive, this is easy. Watch 'Barry,' punch 202 and it goes to CNN. Then punch previous and we're back. Major project on streaming.

6. Lots of good programming on HBO and Showtime. With DTV, go the recordings or punch the channel. With streamers like YT, you may have to exit the app and go to the Showtime app and start over.

There is no substitute for a physical hard drive with a sophisticated and highly developed software package. It ain't cheap. Neither is steak and German sports cars.


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## riprecked (Oct 11, 2009)

I was a satellite customer for a long time. Switched to streaming a couple of years ago and have tried all of the services. I have a 1 GB fiber connection and the latest Apple TV.

Directv stream was a disappointment for me, left it about 5 months ago. Channel selection is very good, cost is so-so. Worst part was PQ which is anywhere from good to terrible. Directv seems to be behind in bandwidth allocation for certain events/channels. The app on AppleTV is also not great, crashed a lot, didn’t remember last channel on each TV, and DVR was rough.

Currently with YouTube TV and am very happy. Less channels and no RSNs can be a bummer, but PQ and DVR are excellent. i bought ESPN+ to help with my sports needs. 

Nothing perfect right now. Wish Directv would get their act together. Even the websites are a mess after the AT&T split.


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

jal said:


> Another question related to pricing is whether you have AT&T for an internet provider. Bundling with DIRECTV SATELLITE gets you (at least it did) $20 off internet. Once unbundled, the price of internet goes up. I don’t know whether that discount stays if the switch is made to DIRECTV STREAM.


No, we switched to Xfinity about 3 years ago, way better service. 6mbps was best AT&T could do, and even at that, it was sporadic.


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

msglsmo said:


> I switched last year and never looked back. Quality is the same. Only downside is no channel numbers on streaming apps, but there is if you use their box.


Yeah, I would definitely use their boxes, especially knowing that. Thanks!


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## DanoP (Sep 29, 2006)

Soulweeper said:


> Yeah, I would definitely use their boxes, especially knowing that. Thanks!


i Have the Osprey and don’t like it. Read the Reddit thread for the lowdown.


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## anex80 (Jul 29, 2005)

I have a bit of a complex regarding MVPDs in that I switch providers often, so I feel I’m uniquely qualified to comment on this post. Just in the past two years I’ve had DirecTV, Dish Network, and currently subscribe to DTV Stream and FuboTV. With that said, here are my thoughts on the topic and the OP’s initial questions.


Picture quality is by far the best on DTV Stream. If I had to rank the four services I’ve had most recently, I’d say DTVS is #1, followed by DTV Sat, Fubo, then Dish Network way behind in 4th.
The cost savings with streaming often comes from the lack of fees. Package prices are typically similar but not having to pay receiver fees, broadcast fees, RSN fees, etc., etc., can really add up.
For me, the only channel I miss on DTV Stream is NFL Network. Everything else I watch is available and about the same price as I was paying with Dish. DTV Sat would be significantly more expensive if I didn’t play the call-every-year-and-haggle-for-a-lower-price game. At least with streaming you don’t have to do that. WYSIWYG.
Channel numbers are the same across DTV Sat and DTV Stream, but only usable if using their proprietary DTV Stream box. I have two of these boxes and love them! They are the best experience for DTV Stream with Apple a close second. If you want a similar feel to cable or sat, DTV Stream with their streaming box is the way to go.
Guide does not look the same, but I prefer the DTV Stream guide to DTV sat. YMMV
I’ve never had any problems with recordings. There are obviously no tuner limits and timers auto-extend for live events like sports. FF & RW displays a large thumbnail of where you are in a program. These are even available while watching an event that is still recording, which I’ve found is not always the case in the streaming world. Unlimited DVR is standard, but they limit you to a max of 9 months storage and only 30 episodes of a single show, so there are still limits.



Hope this helps! For me, DTV Stream is the way to go…at least for now. Knowing me, I’ll likely switch to something else before the year is out, but that’s not a knock on the service. That’s just a quirky trait of mine and the fact that I’m never satisfied. LOL


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

SledgeHammer said:


> And with an HR54 you can also integrate with OTA.


This is not really an option anymore given the abysmal availability of suitable OTA tuners.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

DanoP said:


> i Have the Osprey and don’t like it. Read the Reddit thread for the lowdown.


I have 11. For watching TV they are the best. I don’t use them for anything else


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

harsh said:


> This is not really an option anymore given the abysmal availability of suitable OTA tuners.


I’m calling BS- your comment is abysmal. I have OTA on every receiver I have and get 3 markets. We use it to record our everyday local channel programming to avoid the average two times or so a year we get rain fade, or when the signal thru DTV momentarily goes dark for a period of time.

You need to stop commenting on things like this when you don’t even sub to the service.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

codespy said:


> I’m calling BS- your comment is abysmal. I have OTA on every receiver I have and get 3 markets. We use it to record our everyday local channel programming to avoid the average two times or so a year we get rain fade, or when the signal thru DTV momentarily goes dark for a period of time.
> 
> You need to stop commenting on things like this when you don’t even sub to the service.


I think he meant you can't buy am21s new anymore and the LCC is trash. I tried it as an attempt to reduce clutter in my entertainment center, but had constant DD dropouts.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

codespy said:


> I’m calling BS- your comment is abysmal. I have OTA on every receiver I have and get 3 markets.


You failed to comprehend what I posted. I clearly stated that _availability_ was abysmal, not the device itself.

DIRECTV (nor Solid Signal) doesn't have any to offer and eBay is currently listing three LCC units ($69.99 to $79.99). eBay lists a few AM21s if that's what it required and they're even more expensive ($107.69 - untested to $167).

Then there are those with Genie 2 DVRs that have no OTA options at all.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

harsh said:


> You failed to comprehend what I posted. I clearly stated that _availability_ was abysmal, not the device itself.
> 
> DIRECTV (nor Solid Signal) doesn't have any to offer and eBay is currently listing three LCC units ($69.99 to $79.99). eBay lists a few AM21s if that's what it required and they're even more expensive ($107.69 - untested to $167).
> 
> Then there are those with Genie 2 DVRs that have no OTA options at all.


Whatever. eBay always has AM2x's for sale for over 15 years now, and the prices are lower that just a couple of years ago. I tested the free market back then with a couple I sold new in box with no reserve, snagged just under $300 for each of them. Yea they used to be $50 at DirecTV.com until they sold out in late 2016. Does eBay have hundreds of them? No, but there's always some for sale, especially as more subs cancel or upgrade to the Genie 2- in which virtually everyone knows you cannot integrate OTA with that IRD.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

I’d like to hear more from others who use DIRECTV Stream about the picture quality. That is the most important factor for me in choosing a video provider.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

Curtis0620 said:


> Directv Stream is the only streaming service that has Bally's Sports channels


And that's the only rub I have with switching to YouTube TV from DirecTV (3 HR-20 receivers, 1 non DVR). I'm paying $200+ a month (Premier). I only watch maybe 20-30 channels & most of those are local subs through my OTA AM21 tuner. I just recently retired and our kids just graduated college and moved out. If I go the YouTube TV route, I'll have to piggyback off a friend's cable tv account to receive Bally Sports Midwest if I want to watch my Blues.


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## B. Shoe (Apr 3, 2008)

jal said:


> I’d like to hear more from others who use DIRECTV Stream about the picture quality. That is the most important factor for me in choosing a video provider.


We've got a whole 137-page thread on the Internet Streaming Services board with users that are subscribed and should be able to best answer questions. Come hang out over there and I think you'll find what you're looking for.



sd72667 said:


> And that's the only rub I have with switching to YouTube TV from DirecTV (3 HR-20 receivers, 1 non DVR). I'm paying $200+ a month (Premier). I only watch maybe 20-30 channels & most of those are local subs through my OTA AM21 tuner. I just recently retired and our kids just graduated college and moved out. If I go the YouTube TV route, I'll have to piggyback off a friend's cable tv account to receive Bally Sports Midwest if I want to watch my Blues.


I'm also a YouTube TV subscriber who piggybacks off family for Bally Sports Midwest. Is it a little inconvenient, in comparison to other options? Sure, but it's not the end of the world and you adjust. I've learned how to best flip back and forth between a Bally's app and something else (or, if it's a rough night for the Blues/Cardinals and you just want to be able to peek in, put the game on your tablet while watching something else on your TV!)


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

Like I said on my earlier post, I'd like to rid myself of DirecTV (Customer since 1997'ish) but it will be hard. It's like having a friend with benefits aka "F**k buddy" and moving on from her and her friend to get married to a different girl (Okay not exactly the same)
Here are a few reasons I'd like to switch from DirecTV to DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV or Hulu TV:
1) Slow as **** channel surfing (Yes I have several old HR-20 units hardwired & want no part of Genie wireless)
2) Extra gouging fees for HD, DVR and each receiver per month ($7 each)
3) I'm sick of calling every 6 months to reduce my bill after "discounts" expire
4) My wife has complained about the eyesore dish on the roof forever (Canceling will shut her up, but I doubt it 😁)
5) The dreaded Rain Fade (If I upgraded to the Genie, the dish would probably have a stronger signal by having a newer LNB/Dish)
6) I'm recently retired and trying to reduce bill so I can justify spending money on other hobbies like building a time machine or joining a Barbershop Quartet for Mimes.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

Last night, I sign up for a 7 day free trial of the FRNDLY TV app that I saw on ME-TV's home page. They are in cahoots with several of the sub directory channels that I can't receive on my giant OTA antenna due to trees IE Heroes & Icons, Decades and GET-TV. It's the only streaming service that offers ME-TV. You get 30+ channels, HD & unlimited Cloud DVR on the Classic plan for 9 bucks per month. They also have several channels that I watch on DirecTV like INSP, FETV and a few others. I do like that you can watch On Demand tv shows and FFW through the commercials unlike Tubi, Pluto and Roku free apps, well because they are free apps. So far the app is really good.

Pros: Guide is easy to navigate. Channel flipping has almost no delay. You can restart any live TV show back to the beginning. You can cancel anytime on their website! The PQ is excellent so far.
Cons: There is no Live TV button in the guide. You can't back out of the guide to Live TV. You have to select a Live show, On Demand, My Recordings, Search or Settings. When you use the guide, it always resets back to the original setting instead of highlighting the current Live Show you are viewing. The channel banner is at the bottom instead of the top. I'd like to see the banner at the top but it's not a deal breaker. The FRNDLY TV name is bad and needs a better name.

Overall it's like spending money on an add on with DirecTV etc... I may keep FRNDLY TV and pair it with YouTube TV.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

{Deleted}


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

B. Shoe said:


> We've got a whole 137-page thread on the Internet Streaming Services board with users that are subscribed and should be able to best answer questions. Come hang out over there and I think you'll find what you're looking for.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm also a YouTube TV subscriber who piggybacks off family for Bally Sports Midwest. Is it a little inconvenient, in comparison to other options? Sure, but it's not the end of the world and you adjust. I've learned how to best flip back and forth between a Bally's app and something else (or, if it's a rough night for the Blues/Cardinals and you just want to be able to peek in, put the game on your tablet while watching something else on your TV!)


I like the cut of your jib 😁 I'm lucky enough to have a three TV setup in case I want to watch multiple games. I have all my DirecTV receivers and two Firesticks running through an 8x8 Matrix that is HDMI hardwired out to several rooms. I use two Firesticks to watch NHL on ESPN+ Once I get rid of DirecTV hardware, I'll probably add another Firestick to the complicated streaming equation. I also bought an Amazon Recast and run my OTA antenna through it. There is a steep learning curve trying to figure out how to implement apps into the guide with OTA channels. The Recast has a functional DVR (hardware not Cloud) that allows me to DVR local and sub local channels. My electronics are all housed inside a closet on the backside of my "Mancave" and it looks like the underbelly of a TV Network Production Truck. I had to install two AC Infinity Rack fans because the temps were equal to Chernobyl. Getting rid of the antique DirecTV receivers will cool it down considerably.


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## B. Shoe (Apr 3, 2008)

sd72667 said:


> I like the cut of your jib 😁 I'm lucky enough to have a three TV setup in case I want to watch multiple games. I have all my DirecTV receivers and two Firesticks running through an 8x8 Matrix that is HDMI hardwired out to several rooms. I use two Firesticks to watch NHL on ESPN+ Once I get rid of DirecTV hardware, I'll probably add another Firestick to the complicated streaming equation. I also bought an Amazon Recast and run my OTA antenna through it. There is a steep learning curve trying to figure out how to implement apps into the guide with OTA channels. The Recast has a functional DVR (hardware not Cloud) that allows me to DVR local and sub local channels. My electronics are all housed inside a closet on the backside of my "Mancave" and it looks like the underbelly of a TV Network Production Truck. I had to install two AC Infinity Rack fans because the temps were equal to Chernobyl. Getting rid of the antique DirecTV receivers will cool it down considerably.


That's wild, but impressive. It's just a one television home here. You should start up a thread in our Internet Streaming Services board showcasing the setup sometime when it's all said and done.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

jal said:


> I’d like to hear more from others who use DIRECTV Stream about the picture quality. That is the most important factor for me in choosing a video provider.


Picture quality is excellent.


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## HiDefGator (Nov 20, 2005)

Soulweeper said:


> Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having their own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
> My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
> And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
> Channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
> ...


I used Directv for 25+ years. I dropped them a couple of years back for YouTube streaming service. I was paying for 4 DVR's and I was the only one watching it. Streaming only has a few downsides. It takes more steps to turn on the channel you want to watch. But on the upside I can watch my streaming service anywhere I want with little effort. For a while before covid I was working out of an apartment in one state and living in another. NO need to pay for TV two places. Just used my same streaming service wherever I am that night. Go somewhere on vacation, take it all with you. I've never once looked back and wished I was still paying Directv.

my 2 cents. SAT is done. Don't be the last one out the door.


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## dismdaletwo (Dec 3, 2011)

johndoe99515 said:


> I have had DTV for 15 years or so. I live in Anchorage, moved about 18 months ago to the NW side of town. I have DTV and reception is fine on 101 and 103 but during summer I lose 99 from time to time. I am down in a hole shooting across the street and my suspicion is I am getting some interference from trees up on a hill behind my neighbor's house, can't do anything about that. I have the dish on a 6 foot pole and I'm gonna ask the installer if he thinks I would gain anything by putting the dish on the roof or a taller pole. We'll see.
> 
> All that said, I have a streaming service as a backup. I started with a local vendor that sucked, switched to Hulu Live which was just okay and now I am with YouTube Live or whatever it is called.
> 
> ...


On #5, could you do this by using DTV Stream and ChannelsDVR?


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## back40 (8 mo ago)

i was a 20+ year DirecTV customer - we had mid grade packge - 11 recievers, 1 DVR. No Movie Channels or sports upgrades. Our bill was $247.00 a month. I compared all streaming packages, Youtube, Fubo, Hulu but the only package that gave us ALL the same channels we had less music, was DirecTV stream. It works fine. The UI needs some work, but in general, it get's the job done. We are saving $150.00 per month. No brainer.


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## The Oxy Kid (Mar 2, 2016)

Switched to DTV Stream and haven't looked back. IMHO, better picture, ZERO technical issues as opposed to having frequent issues with the SAT boxes. Love streaming out of the house. Likely missing a few channels here and there, but haven't missed anything that mattered to me. The streaming boxes include my other streaming services into one box and one remote which is fantastic for visitors. etc.. Saving a bunch of money to boot. I have nothing but positive things to say.

[From O.K.]
Stupid question time: Is Direct Stream the same as U-Verse, just renamed?

O.K.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

The Oxy Kid said:


> Stupid question time: Is Direct Stream the same as U-Verse, just renamed?


No.


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## cwpomeroy (Aug 8, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> Duh, of course you're saving a bunch of money, you went from DirecTV Premiere to a skinny package. If you don't need the channels now, why did you need them then? You could have saved a bunch of money by downgrading to a more appropriate package too.
> 
> Same way I saved a bunch of money by getting rid of my Lambo and buying a civic lmao.


well respectfully, I went from top package to top package. What is saving me money is the receiver charges and all of the other misc line items. Whole home, HD fee, etc etc. All of which are archaic holdovers they used to pad the bill. Yes, maybe I’m missing a few duplicate channels and one or two ‘main‘ channel’s But i used the savings to pay for some streamers and I still come out ahead. This isn’t a right or wrong thread.im just sharing my experience.


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## EastBayBob (8 mo ago)

I am a long term customer of DT. I have a high end home theater system. I use DT for local channels, CNN, MLB and other news channels. My wife and daughter watch some other channels. I use Apple TV to stream Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+ HBO Max, and Prime. I have three DT boxes and we are hooked up to Genie. If I switched to Streaming Direct, would I be able to get local channels? If not are most people using a roof antenna for local. I hate the idea of drilling a hole in the roof for an antenna. Is the ease of switching channels the same as satellite? Is there a wait every time I change the channel. I have stayed in some houses with Roku streaming and I hated it compared to watching satellite. Just slow switching channels, may have been hooked up to Sling Network, not sure
I just started reading this forum and I read that Hulu on Apple TV does not stream 5.1. I watch a lot of Hulu, would I do better with the 4K Roku box instead of Apple TV or does the latest Apple TV box stream Hulu in 5.1? Thanks


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

dismdaletwo said:


> On #5, could you do this by using DTV Stream and ChannelsDVR?


DIRECTV Stream is listed as one of the TV Everywhere services supported by the Channels DVR. Someone else will have to speak to whether or not recording or working with the Stream DVR feature is possible through Channels DVR.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

EastBayBob said:


> I am a long term customer of DT. I have a high end home theater system. I use DT for local channels, CNN, MLB and other news channels. My wife and daughter watch some other channels. I use Apple TV to stream Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+ HBO Max, and Prime. I have three DT boxes and we are hooked up to Genie. If I switched to Streaming Direct, would I be able to get local channels? If not are most people using a roof antenna for local. I hate the idea of drilling a hole in the roof for an antenna. Is the ease of switching channels the same as satellite? Is there a wait every time I change the channel. I have stayed in some houses with Roku streaming and I hated it compared to watching satellite. Just slow switching channels, may have been hooked up to Sling Network, not sure
> I just started reading this forum and I read that Hulu on Apple TV does not stream 5.1. I watch a lot of Hulu, would I do better with the 4K Roku box instead of Apple TV or does the latest Apple TV box stream Hulu in 5.1? Thanks


Follow this link and then click the link for REGIONAL SPORTS & LOCALS and enter your zip code on the next page to see what locals you will get.









DIRECTV STREAM Channel TV Lineup | Local, RSN & National


Compare DIRECTV STREAM TV channel lineups including national & local TV networks, and Regional Sports Networks (RSN).




www.directv.com


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## EastBayBob (8 mo ago)

Thank you b4pjoe. I can get my local news channels which is what I want. Thanks again


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

HiDefGator said:


> Streaming only has a few downsides. It takes more steps to turn on the channel you want to watch.


In what way, compared to how I get to a channel now? Just curious.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

cwpomeroy said:


> well respectfully, I went from top package to top package. What is saving me money is the recover charges and all of the other misc line items. Whole home, HD fee, etc etc. All of which are archaic holdovers they used to pad the bill. Yes, maybe I’m missing a few duplicate channels and one or two ‘main‘ channel’s But i used the savings to pay for some streamers and I still come out ahead. This isn’t a right or wrong thread.im just sharing my experience.


Yes, but Stream Premiere is not equal to DirecTV Premiere. Stream is 140 channels and Satellite is 330 channels and they usually throw in NFL Sunday Ticket on the sat side. While I couldn't care less about football, and you may not either, that's an expensive add on. Either way, Stream is $150/mo and Satellite is $215/mo base. So before you even start talking about line items, you're already saving $75/mo just by downgrading your package to less then half the channels and lost Sunday Ticket, etc.

So the point was, if you're cool with losing those 190 channels now, then you could have just downgraded the package on satellite to something more appropriate and saved a ton of money there.

That said, I don't like the line item fees any more then you do, and I've always said that outlet fees don't even make sense on sat because its "free" for DirecTV vs. cable or fiber where you need the infrastructure on the backend.


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## ZQRZY (Oct 7, 2017)

I would strongly recommend keeping your satellite dish. You always want to have your Internet and your television coming through completely “Separate Pipes". When you get your television through your Internet Service Provider you are now 100% dependent on a very complicated and fragile infrastructure to get your television. In my own neighborhood about two years ago everyone here lost ALL Internet service for 9 weeks (Verizon). At least I had my DIRECTV satellite dish so I could continue to get television. I get a flawless 1080p and 4K Picture using my satellite dish. There's no electronics in between the satellite in space and my receiver in my home. I have also found you have the ability to back up shows you like onto DVD or Blu-ray. This is often not possible with a streaming box.
KEEP YOUR SATELLITE DISH.


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## cwpomeroy (Aug 8, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> Yes, but Stream Premiere is not equal to DirecTV Premiere. Stream is 140 channels and Satellite is 330 channels and they usually throw in NFL Sunday Ticket on the sat side. While I couldn't care less about football, and you may not either, that's an expensive add on. Either way, Stream is $150/mo and Satellite is $215/mo base. So before you even start talking about line items, you're already saving $75/mo just by downgrading your package to less then half the channels and lost Sunday Ticket, etc.
> 
> So the point was, if you're cool with losing those 190 channels now, then you could have just downgraded the package on satellite to something more appropriate and saved a ton of money there.
> 
> That said, I don't like the line item fees any more then you do, and I've always said that outlet fees don't even make sense on sat because its "free" for DirecTV vs. cable or fiber where you need the infrastructure on the backend.


i don’t doubt the channel count you quote, but I’d bet the majority of those differences are immaterial to an average viewer.. Other than the NFL network, I couldn’t tell you what’s different. Other than losing a bunch of duplicate movie channels that I would happily swap for streaming subs (redirected savings). To each their own, but I found the switch a great deal. Not to mention how much it’s simplified all of my tv locations and wiring closets. I ripped out a ton of wires etc.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> Yes, but Stream Premiere is not equal to DirecTV Premiere. Stream is 140 channels and Satellite is 330 channels and they usually throw in NFL Sunday Ticket on the sat side. While I couldn't care less about football, and you may not either, that's an expensive add on. Either way, Stream is $150/mo and Satellite is $215/mo base. So before you even start talking about line items, you're already saving $75/mo just by downgrading your package to less then half the channels and lost Sunday Ticket, etc.
> 
> So the point was, if you're cool with losing those 190 channels now, then you could have just downgraded the package on satellite to something more appropriate and saved a ton of money there.
> 
> That said, I don't like the line item fees any more then you do, and I've always said that outlet fees don't even make sense on sat because its "free" for DirecTV vs. cable or fiber where you need the infrastructure on the backend.





ZQRZY said:


> I would strongly recommend keeping your satellite dish. You always want to have your Internet and your television coming through completely “Separate Pipes". When you get your television through your Internet Service Provider you are now 100% dependent on a very complicated and fragile infrastructure to get your television. In my own neighborhood about two years ago everyone here lost ALL Internet service for 9 weeks (Verizon). At least I had my DIRECTV satellite dish so I could continue to get television. I get a flawless 1080p and 4K Picture using my satellite dish. There's no electronics in between the satellite in space and my receiver in my home. I have also found you have the ability to back up shows you like onto DVD or Blu-ray. This is often not possible with a streaming box.
> KEEP YOUR SATELLITE DISH.


The percentage for someone to lose their internet for 9 weeks has to be extraordinarily low, especially when the internet is of the highest priority up there with electricity, shelter, food and water for most/some people. A person can't logically base their decision to stay with DirecTV Sat Dish over DTV Stream solely on a random poster's lengthy internet outage. BTW, unless a person lives in Bumf*ck USA where there's no wireless cell phone internet, a person can hotspot a device to receive the internet and then would be able to stream to their subscription tv service if indeed their wired internet service was out for awhile. Now a natural disaster aka Tornado, Typhoon, Godzilla is a different matter. Of course I may be bias since I plan on dumping my DirecTV Sat Dish in the next month for a tv streaming service.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> Yes, but Stream Premiere is not equal to DirecTV Premiere. Stream is 140 channels and Satellite is 330 channels and they usually throw in NFL Sunday Ticket on the sat side. While I couldn't care less about football, and you may not either, that's an expensive add on. Either way, Stream is $150/mo and Satellite is $215/mo base. So before you even start talking about line items, you're already saving $75/mo just by downgrading your package to less then half the channels and lost Sunday Ticket, etc.
> 
> So the point was, if you're cool with losing those 190 channels now, then you could have just downgraded the package on satellite to something more appropriate and saved a ton of money there.
> 
> That said, I don't like the line item fees any more then you do, and I've always said that outlet fees don't even make sense on sat because its "free" for DirecTV vs. cable or fiber where you need the infrastructure on the backend.


You keep harping on channel count. You know that channel number includes all of the music channels If you take out music shopping channels and duplicate channels there is I believe a less then 10 channel difference between the 2


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

sd72667 said:


> The percentage for someone to lose their internet for 9 weeks has to be extraordinarily low, especially when the internet is of the highest priority up there with electricity, shelter, food and water for most/some people. A person can't logically base their decision to stay with DirecTV Sat Dish over DTV Stream solely on a random poster's lengthy internet outage. BTW, unless a person lives in Bumf*ck USA where there's no wireless cell phone internet, a person can hotspot a device to receive the internet and then would be able to stream to their subscription tv service if indeed their wired internet service was out for awhile. Now a natural disaster aka Tornado, Typhoon, Godzilla is a different matter. Of course I may be bias since I plan on dumping my DirecTV Sat Dish in the next month for a tv streaming service.


Yup. If my internet goes out then I just use my phone as a hotspot and stream away!


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

compnurd said:


> You keep harping on channel count. You know that channel number includes all of the music channels If you take out music shopping channels and duplicate channels there is I believe a less then 10 channel difference between the 2


By duplicate channels, you mean instead of having 10 Cinemax's you have 2? and instead of having 17 HBO's you have 4? And instead of about 65 sports channels you have about 25? And you don't have Sunday Ticket? And missing some locals? and missing OTA? Sure, I guess, if you consider that "the same".

Nobody ever said the guy wasn't saving money, but saying you're saving money when you aren't getting the same thing is not a valid comparison. Thus I told you how I'm saving A TON of money by trading in my lambo for a honda civic and if your argument is that you aren't missing having the lambo and your new civic is good enough, well, you could have ALSO saved a ton of money by downgrading your lambo from an aventador to a gallardo.

For a guy with 19 TVs and the sports bar of the neighborhood, you'd need 65 sports channels + Sunday Ticket to power that anyways .

It's basically the same false argument some people make when they include dropping PP in the switch.

Either way, as I've ALWAYS said, it really depends on if you're keep an ACTUAL equivalent package, not including PP in the diff and the number of TVs you have. If you have 1-2, you're breaking even on the cost, but losing channels and functionality (so you're not breaking even, you're paying the same for less) while if you have 19 TVs you'd save a lot on outlet fees.

And saying you need PP for remotes or wiring is ridiculous since unless you're calling them every week, you can usually get it comp'ed.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

compnurd said:


> You keep harping on channel count. You know that channel number includes all of the music channels If you take out music shopping channels and duplicate channels there is I believe a less then 10 channel difference between the 2


The only significant channel missing from Stream I noticed was NFL Network which is fast becoming less significant every day.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> By duplicate channels, you mean instead of having 10 Cinemax's you have 2? and instead of having 17 HBO's you have 4? And instead of about 65 sports channels you have about 25? And you don't have Sunday Ticket? And missing some locals? and missing OTA? Sure, I guess, if you consider that "the same".
> 
> Nobody ever said the guy wasn't saving money, but saying you're saving money when you aren't getting the same thing is not a valid comparison. Thus I told you how I'm saving A TON of money by trading in my lambo for a honda civic and if your argument is that you aren't missing having the lambo and your new civic is good enough, well, you could have ALSO saved a ton of money by downgrading your lambo from an aventador to a gallardo.
> 
> ...


I am not missing any locals and I haven’t had Sunday ticket in years nor could I care less about it And since it’s only got one more year on Directv who cares anyway My Apple TV will power it fine after next year And OTA is integrated fine into my TV’s. To be fair also no one signing up for Directv Sat is getting OTA anymore anyway


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## krel (Mar 20, 2013)

Soulweeper said:


> Yeah, it will depend solely on the channels we care about. I don't use OTA. I do have a Terabyte cap with Xfinity, not sure if we'd go over.


I belive that you can spend extra for unlimited data. I know they charge extra if you go over the terabyte


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

compnurd said:


> I am not missing any locals and I haven’t had Sunday ticket in years nor could I care less about it And since it’s only got one more year on Directv who cares anyway My Apple TV will power it fine after next year And OTA is integrated fine into my TV’s.


CW is missing in LA as are some PBS stations. I couldn't care about sports period, but I figured you needed them for your sports bar lol. Yeah, my TV can do OTA too, so could a set top box. I much prefer having it all wrapped up in a nice pretty little bow where I have an one stop shop guide and can record stuff all in one place. To be fair, it seems like OTA searching on the HR54 doesn't work, so that's a thumbs down. I wish the LCC worked better then the AM21 since the AM21 is huge, but its garbage. I sold my LCC on eBay and went back to my AM21. I forgot how much I got for it though.



compnurd said:


> To be fair also no one signing up for Directv Sat is getting OTA anymore anyway


Is *anybody* signing up for sat anymore? While its the best solution for me, I'm not naive enough to say its the path forward, assuming DISH doesn't buy it at some point.


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## COTC (Apr 27, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> Duh, of course you're saving a bunch of money, you went from DirecTV Premiere to a skinny package. If you don't need the channels now, why did you need them then? You could have saved a bunch of money by downgrading to a more appropriate package too.
> 
> Same way I saved a bunch of money by getting rid of my Lambo and buying a civic lmao.


I had been with DirecTV since 1997. They moved me five times during that period. I had six DVRs and a slave off the Genie. I loved DirecTV. I live in Florida now and when a storm hits and the power flickers, I would have to go around and reset everything including the Swim adapter and all of the DVRs. It just got to be to annoying.

So, I switched from DirecTV dish Premiere to DirecTV Stream Premiere and my costs were cut in half and the picture is better due to the up-scaling the FireTV Cube does. I am very happy.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

So I’m now running a trial of DIRECTV Stream. Any difference in PQ from satellite is hard to discern. The one annoyance is that it takes about 10 seconds for the picture to stabilize and be crisp. Until then, it jutters and the image quality is not great. I’ve tried it on Apple TV and the Samsung app.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

jal said:


> So I’m now running a trial of DIRECTV Stream. Any difference in PQ from satellite is hard to discern. The one annoyance is that it takes about 10 seconds for the picture to stabilize and be crisp. Until then, it jutters and the image quality is not great. I’ve tried it on Apple TV and the Samsung app.


Avoid the Samsung app at all costs. It’s garbage


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

krel said:


> I belive that you can spend extra for unlimited data. I know they charge extra if you go over the terabyte


Yeah, I have Cox and we have a 1.25TB cap. Yeah, sure we can spend extra for unlimited data. On Cox that "extra" is $50/mo !!. Seeing as HR54 + Preferred Xtra + OTA is already a few dollars LESS then Stream Choice and Stream Choice is lesser functionality, I'd have to have 8 - 9 TVs before just breaking even on the costs of unlimited data and STILL lose functionality and channels. Sorry, no sale. Lmao.


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## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

Since about 1997, I've had almost every provider possible here in California. Dish, DirecTV, Cox, Spectrum, Uverse, AT&T TV and now DirecTV Stream.

They all have their pros, cons and quirks. Other than the picture quality, I was actually happy with Uverse. I feel it was an underrated service.

Over the past couple years we've had AT&T TV/DirecTV Stream off and on. We've had it for over a year now on this current run and we're happy. Picture quality is good and we get the channels that we want. I was able to renegotiate promo pricing again for this year so it works out fine. We also have cell service with AT&T, so we get HBO free along with HBO Max.

My biggest issue that I had was finding the right streaming device that fit my needs. I tried almost all of them. The Osprey box, the latest Apple TV 4K, the latest Roku Ultra, Fire TV 4K stick and the Fire TV Cube. After going back and forth through them all, I settled on the Fire TV Cube. To me, if provides the best balance of picture quality, UI and functionality.

If you just use the Osprey box to watch TV and change channels, it's OK. If you want to use it as an all-in-one streaming device, it's absolutely awful. It's horribly slow and laggy, and doesn't support Dolby Atmos, Vision, etc from what I recall.

I'm not in the Apple ecosystem, so the Apple TV 4K just didn't fit my needs. It came down between the Fire TV Cube and Roku Ultra. At first I thought it was placebo, but the Fire TV Cube has noticeably better picture quality compared to the Roku Ultra. The Roku Ultra has this weird watercolor look to the picture. Just not as clean.

Now if only the Nvidia Shield officially supported the DirecTV Stream app, I would definitely get one of those. That's the only thing holding me back. 

Sorry for the long post, but I haven't visited this forum in forever!


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## mattb (Apr 29, 2002)

jal said:


> I’d like to hear more from others who use DIRECTV Stream about the picture quality. That is the most important factor for me in choosing a video provider.


I was a "Legacy' DirecTV Now which became ATT Now then ATT TV then finally "DirecTV Stream" Customer. I thought DTS had the best picture quality. I currently have Sling because DTS just got too expensive (I was paying around $20 a month when it first launched and when I cancelled, I was paying almost $80 a month and that was with the limited DVR). Sling's Picture quality is not as great, but I only need "streaming" for live news (CNN) so Sling fills that void for around $40 a month compared to DTS $80.

I do miss DTS's guide though - and I also got my 'locals" via DTS which Sling does not have. All in and I think DTS is the 'best" cable/satellite like streaming service out of all the streaming options out there (Youtube TV, Sling, Hulu Live etc..)


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## juliob61 (Apr 18, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> And when I heart a few locals and a few main stream channels, what do you know? it tells me to go to DirecTV lol.
> 
> Mostly cuz no streaming provider carries all locals.


By the same token, DirecTV doesn't carry any local subchannels, and a couple of those are must-haves for me. I have to use an OTA antenna regardless of who I use for nonlocal channels.


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## MitLei (8 mo ago)

SledgeHammer said:


> WARNING: the list on the left is your PREFERRED channels. You then have to "heart" your MUST HAVE's on the secondary list.
> 
> And when I heart a few locals and a few main stream channels, what do you know? it tells me to go to DirecTV lol.
> 
> Mostly cuz no streaming provider carries all locals.


YoutubeTV does


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

juliob61 said:


> By the same token, DirecTV doesn't carry any local subchannels, and a couple of those are must-haves for me. I have to use an OTA antenna regardless of who I use for nonlocal channels.


Yep. I watch Cozi once in a while and a few of the other retro channels. If you have a OTA antenna, then you can integrate local sub channels into your DirecTV system with a LCC or AM21 add on box. Full guide and DVR functionality vs. getting another box like a Tableau. Assuming of course you don't have the HS17 . Works great with the HR54.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

MitLei said:


> YoutubeTV does


No it doesn't. No CW and they are missing the PBS I care about. And I'll never in a million years use YouTube TVs asinine DVR. Imagine not being able to record a SINGLE episode or being able to delete stuff. Who thought that up?


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## batwingz (Oct 28, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> WARNING: the list on the left is your PREFERRED channels. You then have to "heart" your MUST HAVE's on the secondary list.
> 
> And when I heart a few locals and a few main stream channels, what do you know? it tells me to go to DirecTV lol.
> 
> Mostly cuz no streaming provider carries all locals.


I had been a DTV customer since they put up the first SD satellites. Through the years I added a total of 14 receivers to our account spread between our home, beach house, motorhome and houseboat. With the exception of 4 H25's, the rest were all current DVR's. We had the premier package with just about everything they offered. The $325.00 monthly bill and ridiculous add on fees made me think enough was enough.

I researched my options and ended up buying 14 FireStick 4K devices and moved to Youtube TV and lost NOTHING and GAINED many other channels, many in 4K. Slight learning curve for the wife and kids but for the time $200.00 reduction in price we have everything and more. Guide response is super fast and the DVR recording everything is a plus in my opinion. You never miss anything, it does not take up any local space and is available ANYWHERE you have a FireStick on your account. 

Face the facts, DirectTV SUCKS and is a major ripoff. It is amazing how I tell them to fly a kite and all the crazy taxes and fees go away and I still have the same if not better coverage! What business in this world has you pay upfront for a receiver (($200.00 from Solid Signal) and then have to give it back to the AT&T communist. I am not bitter, just kicking myself for being that stupid to have kept DTV for that long. 

I would absolutely not consider the streaming offering either. FYI, their whole demise started when AT&T purchased D...;all down hill from there.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

batwingz said:


> Face the facts, DirectTV SUCKS and is a major ripoff. It is amazing how I tell them to fly a kite and all the crazy taxes and fees go away and I still have the same if not better coverage! What business in this world has you pay upfront for a receiver (($200.00 from Solid Signal) and then have to give it back to the AT&T communist. I am not bitter, just kicking myself for being that stupid to have kept DTV for that long.
> 
> I would absolutely not consider the streaming offering either. FYI, their whole demise started when AT&T purchased D...;all down hill from there.


Sounds like you're super bitter lol.

* If you want 14 TVs, then neither satellite nor cable is for you and never has been. Don't see why you're blaming DirecTV since DISH and every cable company on the planet has per outlet fees.

* As for your complaining about $200 SS prices, that's also on you. That's SS ripping you off. You didn't do your research on how to get the boxes cheaper. Ever since they stopped selling boxes in stores, I've gotten all my DVRs free, HR24 and HR54 and again, your situation isn't normal since almost nobody has 14 TVs and that's not even a supported installation.

* Returning the box? duh, that's why they call it LEASED. Do you get to keep your car at the end of lease? Nope. You also have to return boxes at DISH and cable companies too.

* Also funny how you're claiming you didn't lose anything by going from Ultimate to YouTube TV. Hard to take your rant seriously when you make that claim. If you don't need all the channels in Ultimate, why didn't you just downgrade your package to something more comparable to YTTV?

But again, for 14 TVs streaming is the cheapest solution since everything else would have you pay per outlet fees.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> Yep. I watch Cozi once in a while and a few of the other retro channels. If you have a OTA antenna, then you can integrate local sub channels into your DirecTV system with a LCC or AM21 add on box. Full guide and DVR functionality vs. getting another box like a Tableau. Assuming of course you don't have the HS17 . Works great with the HR54.


You left out the fact that DirecTV's guide doesn't recognize many of the sub channels when using the OTA AM21 tuner. I can't speak for the LCC since I've only used the AM21. There is a painful workaround that's really not a solution. Example: I have 25-2 that is LAFF and 31-2 that is a PBS sub. DirecTV shows 25-2 as "Regular Schedule" in the guide instead of LAFF. I had to input a couple different zips of cities in the Antenna setup/Initial setup that has LAFF on 31-2 so I could see LAFF in my guide. It isn't the end of the world, but I do like to know what the hell I'm watching so I can complain about it to my wife. Btw, I never watch LAFF because well, it sucks. It took WEHT and DirecTV a few years just to get COZI-TV to show up correctly on 25-3.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> CW is missing in LA as are some PBS stations. I couldn't care about sports period, but I figured you needed them for your sports bar lol. Yeah, my TV can do OTA too, so could a set top box. I much prefer having it all wrapped up in a nice pretty little bow where I have an one stop shop guide and can record stuff all in one place. To be fair, it seems like OTA searching on the HR54 doesn't work, so that's a thumbs down. I wish the LCC worked better then the AM21 since the AM21 is huge, but its garbage. I sold my LCC on eBay and went back to my AM21. I forgot how much I got for it though.
> 
> 
> 
> Is *anybody* signing up for sat anymore? While its the best solution for me, I'm not naive enough to say its the path forward, assuming DISH doesn't buy it at some point.


Does the AM21 work with HR-54? I'm still old school with the HR-20 receivers and the AM21 OTA tuner. I did buy a USB 1x4 switcher to run the AM21 USB cable into it so one of my other receivers can still have access to local sub channels if I'm rebooting or clearing cache on my main HR-20. The USB switcher comes in handy if I'm recording a sub channel during a reboot. I have all my receivers going into an 8x8 Matrix. I can't miss Adam-12 or Gomer 😁


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

sd72667 said:


> You left out the fact that DirecTV's guide doesn't recognize many of the sub channels when using the OTA AM21 tuner. I can't speak for the LCC since I've only used the AM21. There is a painful workaround that's really not a solution. Example: I have 25-2 that is LAFF and 31-2 that is a PBS sub. DirecTV shows 25-2 as "Regular Schedule" in the guide instead of LAFF. I had to input a couple different zips of cities in the Antenna setup/Initial setup that has LAFF on 31-2 so I could see LAFF in my guide. It isn't the end of the world, but I do like to know what the hell I'm watching so I can complain about it to my wife. Btw, I never watch LAFF because well, it sucks. It took WEHT and DirecTV a few years just to get COZI-TV to show up correctly on 25-3.


I haven't had any missing guide info on sub channels, so not sure what's going on there. My main issue is that search doesn't seem to work.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

sd72667 said:


> Does the AM21 work with HR-54? I'm still old school with the HR-20 receivers and the AM21 OTA tuner. I did buy a USB 1x4 switcher to run the AM21 USB cable into it so one of my other receivers can still have access to local sub channels if I'm rebooting or clearing cache on my main HR-20. The USB switcher comes in handy if I'm recording a sub channel during a reboot. I have all my receivers going into an 8x8 Matrix. I can't miss Adam-12 or Gomer 😁


It works with the HR44 and the HR54, not the HS17. Maybe using the USB switch is what's messing up your guide info?


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

krel said:


> I belive that you can spend extra for unlimited data. I know they charge extra if you go over the terabyte


Yep, that happened to a friend of mine, who does have DTV Stream. I think they pay an extra $30 a month, and it's unlimited. But they also go to sleep with the tv on, on purpose. That's literally how they sleep, every night, lol.


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## batwingz (Oct 28, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> Sounds like you're super bitter lol.
> 
> * If you want 14 TVs, then neither satellite nor cable is for you and never has been. Don't see why you're blaming DirecTV since DISH and every cable company on the planet has per outlet fees.
> 
> ...


Sledgehammer, Obviously you can read but are slow in comprehending the written word. 

1- At the beginning and for many years boxes were purchased up front and NOT leased. That was added later on in the contract when there were few options. Typical of many of the unexplained contract changes DTV threw at all of us.
2- I had ultimate because we DID watch most of the channels in the package and did not care to downgrade and lose a feature set. Enlighten me, what did I give up.
3- Not supported? Had a SWM16 installed for the last 15 years and DTV never had a problem with it.
4- What I do not miss.... Super slow guide speeds every time DTV pushed an update and rain fade. I have fiber into my house with 5G backup on my HA firewall with failover and my internet (Youtube) has never gone down. 
5- I received my share of free receivers over the years if committing to another 2 years. Also bought receivers on sale at a substantial discount, you are not unique. Offering another lease analogy, I purchase a car, pay monthly for the finance payment and then receive a letter telling me that they decided once the loan was paid... I would need to return the car when done using it or pay them a fee for not returning. That is what DTV did. 
6- Bitter no. I enjoyed the service and it was a good relationship for 25+ years.... the last few days was the crappy part. ZERO Customer service.
7- Keep convincing yourself that DTV is the best and stick with a dying technology. I bet you still have a Sony BETAMAX in your AV rack!
8- I have a brand new, never activated in the box HR44 if you are interested. If not it will make a dandy paper weight.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

batwingz said:


> Sledgehammer, Obviously you can read but are slow in comprehending the written word.
> 
> 1- At the beginning and for many years boxes were purchased up front and NOT leased. That was added later on in the contract when there were few options. Typical of many of the unexplained contract changes DTV threw at all of us.
> 2- I had ultimate because we DID watch most of the channels in the package and did not care to downgrade and lose a feature set. Enlighten me, what did I give up.
> ...


You're bitter at everybody lol.

1. No kidding. They stopped selling boxes in stores like what, 15-20 yrs ago? Took you a long time to figure that out. Any box you bought at the store, like the HR10-250 is long obsolete. Solid Signal has always been a rip off and is a separate entity.
2. But you say you don't need those channels now
5. 2 yrs is only if you have an installer / truck roll. Self install is a 1 yr contract. Weird how you don't care about contracts for your cell or other stuff. You act like DirecTV is the only company with dumb contracts.
7. Oh no... insult my vcr now! lmao
8. No, I don't want your hr44, I have a HR54 I'm happy with

You still haven't explained why I'm paying LESS on sat then I would be by going to streaming? AND getting more!

As I've told you and others repeatedly, if you have a lot of TVs, then sat/cable is not for you. You are acting like DirecTV is the only company with per outlet fees. You know what percent of the population has 14 TVs? effectively 0%.

If you told me you had 14 TVs, well, first I'd roll my eyes because who needs that many TVs, but then I'd be the first one to tell you to go to streaming at the very least for all your TVs that you rarely use.


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## DanoP (Sep 29, 2006)

While recording on YTTV last night I noticed a record buffer built into the live channel playback. DTV does not give your this nice convenience. If you want to start at the start of the program you'll need to go to your recorded library.


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

SledgeHammer said:


> Yes, but Stream Premiere is not equal to DirecTV Premiere. Stream is 140 channels and Satellite is 330 channels and they usually throw in NFL Sunday Ticket on the sat side. While I couldn't care less about football, and you may not either, that's an expensive add on. Either way, Stream is $150/mo and Satellite is $215/mo base. So before you even start talking about line items, you're already saving $75/mo just by downgrading your package to less then half the channels and lost Sunday Ticket, etc.
> 
> So the point was, if you're cool with losing those 190 channels now, then you could have just downgraded the package on satellite to something more appropriate and saved a ton of money there.
> 
> That said, I don't like the line item fees any more then you do, and I've always said that outlet fees don't even make sense on sat because its "free" for DirecTV vs. cable or fiber where you need the infrastructure on the backend.


Very misleading, the Satellite package doubles up on the same channel but counts it as a separate channel. Example Fox News 360 and Fox News On demand channy1360! Same channel, but counted twice in the overall number of channels. Also dozens of music channels and duplicate locals from other markets. Look at networks not channel numbers


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

DanoP said:


> While recording on YTTV last night I noticed a record buffer built into the live channel playback. DTV does not give your this nice convenience. If you want to start at the start of the program you'll need to go to your recorded library.


Directv and Directv stream both buffer live channels


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

New to Directv doing streaming I think I read somewhere no 4K on Directv streaming only available on Sat? Is this true? What 4K channels exist? Left Dish Hopper due to how buggy updates made the DVR used to be solid years ago but the last couple of years bugs introduced never fixed.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

WynsWrld98 said:


> New to Directv doing streaming I think I read somewhere no 4K on Directv streaming only available on Sat? Is this true? What 4K channels exist? Left Dish Hopper due to how buggy updates made the DVR used to be solid years ago but the last couple of years bugs introduced never fixed.


Channel 104 is the dedicated 4K channel (documentaries, concerts, movies etc...). 105 & 106 has 4K sports. 107 & 108 has pay per view 4K movies.


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## Keniff (Nov 25, 2013)

I dont know why I'm suddenly getting notifications of activity, but caught your back and forth. Batwings wrote that they have 14 TV's across 2 homes, an RV and a houseboat. Sledgehammer writes as if they have 14 in one home. Not that it would be a bad thing, maybe they have a mansion. I have 4 TVs in my one house. Only watch the one in my office on occasion but like to have it there. That's a painful $7 a month Joey rental that should have paid for itself years ago, but I just haven't been able to pull the plug on it for the convenience; even though I have a digital re-broadcast device that will beam an HD signal from another room....I sill have to do more than press one button to get that on, so I'm lazy

Biggest problem I have with any dish service is I live where there are trees, a lot of them. I'm actually spending money to have trees limbed up so I can keep my Dish Network service even tough they are terrible nickel and diming us. I know this is a DirecTV Stream conversation, but seems like comparisons are fair enough. We like the setup we are used to, and streaming isn't all its cracked up to be unless one loves or at least has no problem with commercials. Sure there are some commercial free options, like Hulu and the cloud DVRs but we are used to what we are used to and my wife has a say. When I was looking for alternatives for streaming because Dish was flaking due to line of sight issues, to me YouTubeTV looked like the best option for us because of the unlimited DVR. Except it only holds for 9 months. I have DVR recordings from years ago on my Dish hard drive I still watch sometimes, and with cloud DVR, if your internet is down for any reason you dont have access to it. Having the hard drive, as long as you have power, you can watch anything on the DVR locally. Plus Dish anywhere covers you like a streaming servce you can use on most devices anywhere AND stream hard drive DVR content from your home. YouTubeTV has A LOT more channels than the basic Flex Pack from Dish we have now...but we can barely find anything we both want to watch even when we had more channels!

I detest commercials. If I'm paying good money for a service, having to watch commercials is an insult. I feel like a fool sitting there watching them. We watch almost nothing live as a result. When we do watch, we can watch much more, much faster as a result.


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## Keniff (Nov 25, 2013)

WynsWrld98 said:


> New to Directv doing streaming I think I read somewhere no 4K on Directv streaming only available on Sat? Is this true? What 4K channels exist? Left Dish Hopper due to how buggy updates made the DVR used to be solid years ago but the last couple of years bugs introduced never fixed.


The Hopper DVR is the one thing I haven't had any problems with. Some Joey connectivity issues here and there though. Always seems to happen at 3AM when I need the TV to help get me back to sleep


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## kristina (Nov 12, 2007)

I’m a 20+ years Directv customer who relies on DVRs for almost all programming. I have a TB drive on both my Genie and my old receiver (HR21?). Anyway, my issue with going to streaming is losing the ability to skip commercials. If the DVR is cloud-based, doesn’t it force you to watch ads, just like when you watch a program on demand, or am I wrong?


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

I have DTV Stream. My experience with it using DTV streaming box and remote is positive. I have tried YTTV and Fubo TV, and they both are good. However, the DTV Streaming remote makes all the difference for me. I've had DTV satellite service and prefer the streaming service, not because of cost, but more importantly, consistent service. I don't have to worry about service interrupted because of rain or snow, or even problems with minis. I have 3 TVs connected and not one single issue. Picture quality on my 65" Sony OLED is fine, no problems there. I have more than enough channels to satisfy the wife and I. Yes, I am a satisfied DTV Streaming service customer who loves what he has.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

kristina said:


> I’m a 20+ years Directv customer who relies on DVRs for almost all programming. I have a TB drive on both my Genie and my old receiver (HR21?). Anyway, my issue with going to streaming is losing the ability to skip commercials. If the DVR is cloud-based, doesn’t it force you to watch ads, just like when you watch a program on demand, or am I wrong?


You can FF commercials with the DirecTV Stream Cloud DVR.


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## Gauntlet (Sep 10, 2011)

I was a long time DIRECTV customer, mostly happy. Switched to DTV Stream concurrently to test it out. It was better but then tried YouTube TV and found that to be vastly superior. YT interface is smooth and virtually zero latency. If you’ve got the bandwidth I highly recommend it.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Keniff said:


> I dont know why I'm suddenly getting notifications of activity, but caught your back and forth. Batwings wrote that they have 14 TV's across 2 homes, an RV and a houseboat. Sledgehammer writes as if they have 14 in one home.


No idea, but If he has 14 TVs across 2 homes on the same account, that's a violation of TOS .


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Gauntlet said:


> I was a long time DIRECTV customer, mostly happy. Switched to DTV Stream concurrently to test it out. It was better but then tried YouTube TV and found that to be vastly superior. YT interface is smooth and virtually zero latency. If you’ve got the bandwidth I highly recommend it.


I have 1Gbps internet, but Cox has a data cap that costs $50/mo to remove, so I have to factor that into the cost of switching to streaming.


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## DanoP (Sep 29, 2006)

compnurd said:


> Directv and Directv stream both buffer live channels


Every service does if your remain on a channel. I'm talking about changing channels and going back to the channel being recorded. It does not keep the recorded material in buffer. Not with Apple TV 4k or a Roku. I don't know about the Osprey...I won't use it since it does poorly as a streaming device beyond DTV Stream.


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## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

kristina said:


> I’m a 20+ years Directv customer who relies on DVRs for almost all programming. I have a TB drive on both my Genie and my old receiver (HR21?). Anyway, my issue with going to streaming is losing the ability to skip commercials. If the DVR is cloud-based, doesn’t it force you to watch ads, just like when you watch a program on demand, or am I wrong?


That's incorrect, you can fast forward recorded content.

*EDIT* Didn't realize someone already answered this. Carry on...


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## itzme (Jan 17, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> You can FF commercials with the DirecTV Stream Cloud DVR.


is there a 30 second skip and 3 sec back skip like the HRs have?


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## texascat2 (Jul 16, 2011)

I'm using FuboTV, it has everything I need.


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

batwingz said:


> 8- I have a brand new, never activated in the box HR44 if you are interested.


If I decide to stay with satellite, I might be interested. I thought they don't allow activation of owned receivers anymore though?? I heard that awhile back.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

itzme said:


> is there a 30 second skip and 3 sec back skip like the HRs have?


There is 15 sec forward and i think 8 back


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> If I decide to stay with satellite, I might be interested. I thought they don't allow activation of owned receivers anymore though?? I heard that awhile back.


They dont its useless to you


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

kristina said:


> I’m a 20+ years Directv customer who relies on DVRs for almost all programming. I have a TB drive on both my Genie and my old receiver (HR21?). Anyway, my issue with going to streaming is losing the ability to skip commercials. If the DVR is cloud-based, doesn’t it force you to watch ads, just like when you watch a program on demand, or am I wrong?


That's a good question, I'd like to know that as well.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> That's a good question, I'd like to know that as well.





kristina said:


> I’m a 20+ years Directv customer who relies on DVRs for almost all programming. I have a TB drive on both my Genie and my old receiver (HR21?). Anyway, my issue with going to streaming is losing the ability to skip commercials. If the DVR is cloud-based, doesn’t it force you to watch ads, just like when you watch a program on demand, or am I wrong?


You can FF/REW just like a normal DVR on recorded content.... On Demand has ads like it does on every service


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

b4pjoe said:


> Channel 104 is the dedicated 4K channel (documentaries, concerts, movies etc...). 105 & 106 has 4K sports. 107 & 108 has pay per view 4K movies.


Are you talking Sat or Streaming? Not seeing a 104 for streaming. Is there 4K content on DTV streaming?


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

compnurd said:


> They dont its useless to you


Figured as much. Not sure if that was due to the AT&T takeover, but I'm assuming so. Part of me died when they bought them, lol. I hate AT&T, with a purple passion.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

WynsWrld98 said:


> Are you talking Sat or Streaming? Not seeing a 104 for streaming. Is there 4K content on DTV streaming?


Sat. No 4K for Stream yet.


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

b4pjoe said:


> Sat. No 4K for Stream yet.


Any discussion of them including any 4K content for streaming?


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Not that I know of. It would require 25 MBPS for each 4K stream.









Streaming Video Data Usage: What Internet Speed do I Need to Stream?


Streaming video data usage: How much bandwidth and speed do you need for streaming online video? What about data caps?




www.gvec.net







> *Ultra HD Streaming Video Data Usage*
> 
> Also known as 4K (2160p), this resolution uses five times more data than HD video and requires at least 25 Mbps of bandwidth.


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## fudpucker (Jul 23, 2007)

Reading this with interest.

My situation: First, I dont get emotionally caught up in trying to prove this or that is superior. Different things for different people. I first got Directv when we moved cross country in 1996. Over several moves, I got my hardware upgraded to the newest stuff. We still call recording space that can fast forwarded past "bloopage" because the first DTV DVRs were Tivos and they had a bloop sound when you FFed them. I had Directv all the way through 2010 (or 11, can't remember.) We moved and Directv did not have the local networks in HD, but Dish did, so we changed over to Dish after about 15 years with Directv. We liked Dish, but after a couple of years or so Directv got me to switch the the Genie and two minis (we have 3 TVs) system by offering Sunday Ticket for free. I'd gotten it for free for years but they started getting more picky about giving it away for free.

The Genie system back then had a number of quirks I did not like and the forums had answers like "You just have to ignore that and do this) etc." We went back to Dish and the Hopper 3 and two Joeys and MUCH preferred just about everything in the Dish system, so no desire to go back.

Bloop forward to 2019. Big job change, cross country move, got into a new house, decided we'd use YoutubeTV until we had time to get Dish installed in the house again. We preferred the Dish software, DVR system, etc. but we figured out the YTTV system. Lower price and my wife loved that we could move all of the TVs to anywhere in the house she wanted (or the sunroom) without any cables attached. I loved the month to month with no contract. We got all the channels that were important to us (until they dropped the RSNs, as did most people) and we briefly sunbscribed to Philo also to get the 3 or 4 channels YTTV didn't carry, but they've picked those up now.

We always assumed we'd go back to Dish, but the good of YTTV has outweighed the bad. And I'm not going to sign up for a two year contract again, because things come out every month it seems and I want the flexibility of not being "stuck" with anyone. If you've got a quality service, you shouldn't be afraid to let people leave without a penalty.

I'm looking at Directv Stream (I'm always looking!) and may try it out for a couple of months in parallel with YTTV. The one thing that had held us back is only keeping DVR shows for 90 days, but apparently that is now 9 months. We watch most shows via recordings. The other issues is that we use the YTTV app on our 2020 Sony Bravia 950H's, and when I compare performance via that app vs. Apple 4k 21, Rouku Ultra, Shield TV, and CCWGTV, the app performance is as good as any of those, so we just use the TV apps and the one Sony remote. Directv Stream does not have an app for the Sony TVs. 

So for us, we will probably keep our YTTV and also sub to Directv Stream for a couple of months, and switch back and forth between them, side by side, and see what we prefer. That's the great thing about no contracts - you can switch back and forth without any penalty. I'll never go back to the two year contract Dish (or Directv, but I'd already left them for the Hopper 3/Dish system.) As for "superior" - we've always had the higher end packages (though not "highest") because DTV and Dish always put 3 or 4 of our must-have channels on the higher tiers, not because we needed or wanted 70-80% of the other channels (blocks of religious channels, blocks of shopping channels, blocks of other language channels,etc.)

I'll be interested to see how Directv Stream (without the Osprey box) compares to YTTV in my living room, side by side.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> Not that I know of. It would require 25 MBPS for each 4K stream.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It is possible, some other streaming services stream in 4K


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

fudpucker said:


> Reading this with interest.
> 
> My situation: First, I dont get emotionally caught up in trying to prove this or that is superior. Different things for different people. I first got Directv when we moved cross country in 1996. Over several moves, I got my hardware upgraded to the newest stuff. We still call recording space that can fast forwarded past "bloopage" because the first DTV DVRs were Tivos and they had a bloop sound when you FFed them. I had Directv all the way through 2010 (or 11, can't remember.) We moved and Directv did not have the local networks in HD, but Dish did, so we changed over to Dish after about 15 years with Directv. We liked Dish, but after a couple of years or so Directv got me to switch the the Genie and two minis (we have 3 TVs) system by offering Sunday Ticket for free. I'd gotten it for free for years but they started getting more picky about giving it away for free.
> 
> ...


To get the most out of DTV Stream, I suggest buying DTV streaming box with remote control. I've had YTTV and Fubo TV and that DTV remote for me is _the_ difference.


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## jammer0910 (Jan 24, 2007)

Soulweeper said:


> Been a DTV customer since '97, and am considering switching to the streaming service. A friend has it, and loves it, but he never had DTV via satellite. I like the idea of each of our 3 tv's having their own box/remote, as right now I have our dining room tv coming off an HDMI splitter from the bedroom, which works fine, but there are occasional handshake issues, but that's a minor hiccup.
> My biggest concern would be the picture quality....is it the same?
> And packages.....do you get more for the same money, or equal?
> Channel numbers the same? Minor detail, just curious.
> ...


I too have been a Directv satellite customer since '97. Switched to Directv Stream early this year and have not regretted it. We tried Fubo, Youtube tv, Sling, and a few more and for us it was a no brainer. We have Ultimate pkg. (and it is cheaper than we were paying) and now they have upgraded our cloud DVR service to unlimited. The guide is similar to Directv satellite and the channels are pretty much the same. I like the way when you watch a live sporting event, if it runs over, it records it without you having to add time to the recording or recording the next couple of programs. I does it automatically. With the Ultimate pkg. we get the regional sports ntwk. that no other streaming service offers. We bought AT&T stream device and it is so easy to use. We can use voice commands to find programs & networks. It puts Netflix, HBO Max & Amazon Prime right on the guide. You don't have to have a streaming device if you don't want it. You can use a smart TV and get the Directtv Stream app and do much of the same stuff. You have unlimited streams so you can watch anywhere. I would never go back to Directv satellite. Hope this helps.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Cavicchi said:


> It is possible, some other streaming services stream in 4K


The link I posted says that 4K needs as much as 5 times that of HD. DTV Stream HD requires 8 mbps. 25 mbps is a little over 3 times. Neflix says it needs a steady internet connection speed of 15 megabits per second or higher which is only about twice as much ad DTV Stream HD. I supposes how much they compress it down would be the determining factor. Yes it is possible but maybe DirecTV doesn't want to have a stream take up as much bandwidth as 2, 3, or 5 times as much as HD. I asked someone from the Office of the President recently about if 4K would ever come to Stream and the answer was "good question, I don't know".


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

jammer0910 said:


> I too have been a Directv satellite customer since '97. Switched to Directv Stream early this year and have not regretted it. We tried Fubo, Youtube tv, Sling, and a few more and for us it was a no brainer. We have Ultimate pkg. (and it is cheaper than we were paying) and now they have upgraded our cloud DVR service to unlimited. The guide is similar to Directv satellite and the channels are pretty much the same. I like the way when you watch a live sporting event, if it runs over, it records it without you having to add time to the recording or recording the next couple of programs. I does it automatically. With the Ultimate pkg. we get the regional sports ntwk. that no other streaming service offers. We bought AT&T stream device and it is so easy to use. We can use voice commands to find programs & networks. It puts Netflix, HBO Max & Amazon Prime right on the guide. You don't have to have a streaming device if you don't want it. You can use a smart TV and get the Directtv Stream app and do much of the same stuff. You have unlimited streams so you can watch anywhere. I would never go back to Directv satellite. Hope this helps.


RSN's are included in all packages from Choice on up.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> The link I posted says that 4K needs as much as 5 times that of HD. DTV Stream HD requires 8 mbps. 25 mbps is a little over 3 times. Neflix says it needs a steady internet connection speed of 15 megabits per second or higher which is only about twice as much ad DTV Stream HD. I supposes how much they compress it down would be the determining factor. Yes it is possible but maybe DirecTV doesn't want to have a stream take up as much bandwidth as 2, 3, or 5 times as much as HD. I asked someone from the Office of the President recently about if 4K would ever come to Stream and the answer was "good question, I don't know".


Maybe sometime in the future it will be available. I would especially like it for movies, like their 4K Cinema.


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

SledgeHammer said:


> I have 1Gbps internet, but Cox has a data cap that costs $50/mo to remove, so I have to factor that into the cost of switching to streaming.


Same here. I think it's $30 with Xfinity.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

Soulweeper said:


> Same here. I think it's $30 with Xfinity.


That's interesting as I have 500 Mbps and unlimited data with my local cable company, Blue Ridge Cable.


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

Really no need to delete something from the YTTV cloud. You can just go to the most recent one to find the newest program. It’s really a non-issue, unless you’re a little OCD and just wanna clear everything out.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

ccccsdad said:


> Really no need to delete something from the YTTV cloud. You can just go to the most recent one to find the newest program. It’s really a non-issue, unless you’re a little OCD and just wanna clear everything out.


Nope . If I'm bored, I can scour the next 6 hrs of my DTV guide in a few minutes and quickly record an episode of this or an episode of that and come back later and I have a few episodes in my recordings list. I then watch and delete.

With YTTV, they think that means I want to watch the whole series. Sorry, no. I don't watch to watch 200+ eps of Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, The Office, etc. I want to watch ONE episode that I felt like watching that day and I don't want to spend an hour looking for it through 200 eps. Some clown once suggested I jot down the season & ep # so I can find it faster haha. Yeah, I'll get right on that.

My way takes a few minutes, your way (YTTVs way) takes an hour.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> Maybe sometime in the future it will be available. I would especially like it for movies, like their 4K Cinema.


Why? Just rent whatever movie in 4K from one of many services that offer this


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

compnurd said:


> Why? Just rent whatever movie in 4K from one of many services that offer this


Yes, that can be done as well. Still, wouldn't hurt to have it on the guide.


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## ZQRZY (Oct 7, 2017)

Soulweeper said:


> If I decide to stay with satellite, I might be interested. I thought they don't allow activation of owned receivers anymore though?? I heard that awhile back.


They will activated for you, but you MUST speak to a supervisor. I have several brand new, never used, never activated, DIRECTV (genuine) TiVO THR22 units I purchased years ago from authorized DIRECTV retailers (Weaknees). This is before AT&T purchased DIRECTV and ruined them. The TiVo interface is *vastly* superior to the DVRs made by DirecTV. From time to time I've gotten them to activate the THR22 for me. The regular people that answer the phone don't know how to do it. But the supervisors do. The THR22 is a great unit if you want to back something up to DVD or Blu-ray.


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## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

Cavicchi said:


> To get the most out of DTV Stream, I suggest buying DTV streaming box with remote control. I've had YTTV and Fubo TV and that DTV remote for me is _the_ difference.


The only bummer is that for anything other than DirecTV Stream, that box is absolute trash. That's what keeps me from using mine.


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

SledgeHammer said:


> Nope . If I'm bored, I can scour the next 6 hrs of my DTV guide in a few minutes and quickly record an episode of this or an episode of that and come back later and I have a few episodes in my recordings list. I then watch and delete.
> 
> With YTTV, they think that means I want to watch the whole series. Sorry, no. I don't watch to watch 200+ eps of Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, The Office, etc. I want to watch ONE episode that I felt like watching that day and I don't want to spend an hour looking for it through 200 eps. Some clown once suggested I jot down the season & ep # so I can find it faster haha. Yeah, I'll get right on that.
> 
> My way takes a few minutes, your way (YTTVs way) takes an hour.


I agree it doesn't make sense that you can't erase something, I was just pointing out, you can easily find the latest episode recorded, because, well it will be the latest one recorded. So unless you just feel a need to clear out the list, I'm not sure why there would be an issue. I have more of an issue with the fact if you're recording a sporting event and it runs over, you're screwed.

I have DirecTV and have had since 2005, nothing touches the user interface as far as I'm concerned, however the price is getting to the point where I just might have to dump it for YTTV and save myself $100.00 a month and just learn to live with it. Right now I'm paying 110.00 per month and that's with 75.00 per month in discounts (12 months only), once those fall off, if I can't renegotiate the pricing again, I'll get YTTV. Yeah I know DTV has 350 channels and YTTV only has 80, but of the 350 DTV has, about 150 are music, Spanish and repeat on demand channels like 206 is ESPN and 1206 is ESPN on demand, same channel, counted twice. As far as the networks most people watch YTTV has about 95% of them, the others you can get an app for and watch the same programming a day or two later.


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

GioGambino said:


> The only bummer is that for anything other than DirecTV Stream, that box is absolute trash. That's what keeps me from using mine.


The DTV box, has a major issue, when you change channels the picture takes about 10 seconds to become completely clear. There's some kind of weird buffering going on. It's subtle but distracting to some. This issue doesn't happen with the app when used with FireStick or Apple TV, it does however happen when using a ROKU device. Leads me to think there's something in the way the ROKU and DTV boxes process the signal that's causing this, otherwise why wouldn't see the same issue with the Fire Stick and Apple TV?


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

ccccsdad said:


> I was just pointing out, you can easily find the latest episode recorded, because, well it will be the latest one recorded. So unless you just feel a need to clear out the list, I'm not sure why there would be an issue.


I thought I explained . On stuff that's in syndication, if I'm bored on a Saturday, I might want to watch a random episode of some show with hundreds of episodes. I do that all the time. If I want to watch season 5 episode 7 of The Big Bang Theory because I saw it in the guide and I remembered it was funny, I can't do that easily on YTTV. I'd have to record it, then remember S507 when I come back in a few hours and my library is full of 200 episodes. On DTV, I just see the one ep I recorded in "drive by" mode.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

ccccsdad said:


> The DTV box, has a major issue, when you change channels the picture takes about 10 seconds to become completely clear. There's some kind of weird buffering going on. It's subtle but distracting to some. This issue doesn't happen with the app when used with FireStick or Apple TV, it does however happen when using a ROKU device. Leads me to think there's something in the way the ROKU and DTV boxes process the signal that's causing this, otherwise why wouldn't see the same issue with the Fire Stick and Apple TV?


Are you going through an AVR? What you're describing reeks of "you're letting the devices switch resolution which requires a full resync of the video chain".


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

It does it on my TV in my bedroom that has nothing but an HDMI running from the Roku into the TV. My sister recently got it at her home and has no AVR and it’s doing it. Several posters in here have said they were having the same issue. Again if it’s a problem with the AVR, why is it not doing it with Apple TV, and fire stick? Only with Roku and the DTV device


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

GioGambino said:


> The only bummer is that for anything other than DirecTV Stream, that box is absolute trash. That's what keeps me from using mine.


Well, it's like buying a DTV Satellite DVR, when that option was available. I Bought the box because I considered it an investment. I had YTTV and Fubo TV and DTV Satellite service and wasn't satisfied with any of them. So I took the chance on DTV Stream and glad I did! I knew using anything other than the DTV box with remote was not going to satisfy me.With the DTV box you can favorite channels and see both station letters and numbers--your choice as to which order. The remote is fantastic in that it makes the whole experience more enjoyable, at least to me. 

I don't have any issues changing channels.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

ccccsdad said:


> The DTV box, has a major issue, when you change channels the picture takes about 10 seconds to become completely clear. There's some kind of weird buffering going on. It's subtle but distracting to some. This issue doesn't happen with the app when used with FireStick or Apple TV, it does however happen when using a ROKU device. Leads me to think there's something in the way the ROKU and DTV boxes process the signal that's causing this, otherwise why wouldn't see the same issue with the Fire Stick and Apple TV?


I haven't noticed any issues changing channels. I do remember with DTV satellite service there was occasional buffering issues aside from other issues caused by rain or snow.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

I can also add that using Previous button on remote brings up last channel super fast!


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

It


Cavicchi said:


> I haven't noticed any issues changing channels. I do remember with DTV satellite service there was occasional buffering issues aside from other issues caused by rain or snow.


It’s there. Turn to a channel that has some text scrolling, Watch it for about 10 seconds, you’ll see it.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

ccccsdad said:


> It
> 
> It’s there. Turn to a channel that has some text scrolling, Watch it for about 10 seconds, you’ll see it.


If I have to look for an issue, then I'm not concerned about it. Are you implying DTV Satellite service doesn't have any issues?


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## ccccsdad (Oct 26, 2018)

Cavicchi said:


> If I have to look for an issue, then I'm not concerned about it. Are you implying DTV Satellite service doesn't have any issues?


Oh brother. Ignore time.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

ccccsdad said:


> Oh brother.


Have no idea what that means--I don't have a brother, and I sincerely doubt you are my sister.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

ccccsdad said:


> It does it on my TV in my bedroom that has nothing but an HDMI running from the Roku into the TV. My sister recently got it at her home and has no AVR and it’s doing it. Several posters in here have said they were having the same issue. Again if it’s a problem with the AVR, why is it not doing it with Apple TV, and fire stick? Only with Roku and the DTV device


I see it with streaming quite often as it takes a few seconds to build up the cache. I don’t have DTV Stream so not sure if we are talking about the same thing but I see what sounds like what you are saying while streaming through TV apps, ATV apps, and Fire TV Cube apps. Just the nature of streaming. Even see it when streaming on pc’s and Macs.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> Yes, that can be done as well. Still, wouldn't hurt to have it on the guide.


And pay Triple? Directv Stream doesn’t support PPV in anyway so I would never expect that


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

ccccsdad said:


> It
> 
> It’s there. Turn to a channel that has some text scrolling, Watch it for about 10 seconds, you’ll see it.


The only time I ever see this is when turning the box on for the first time. There is maybe a 3 second buffer build then it’s fine even when changing channels


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Cavicchi said:


> It is possible, some other streaming services stream in 4K


Fubo is an example of the live streaming service that offers 4K content.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ZQRZY said:


> The TiVo interface is *vastly* superior to the DVRs made by DirecTV.


Regrettably, the THR-22 is the only TiVo option for DIRECTV and it is horribly dated.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

compnurd said:


> And pay Triple? Directv Stream doesn’t support PPV in anyway so I would never expect that


Who said anything about paying extra? You  
Suppose they did support PPV? Or maybe they gave the option for it? Whatever, an option, just like TV packages is up to the customer to accept or reject.


harsh said:


> Fubo is an example of the live streaming service that offers 4K content.


Yes, I know, I had Fubo TV service. The occasional 4k content did not impress me, nor do I miss it.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

compnurd said:


> The only time I ever see this is when turning the box on for the first time. There is maybe a 3 second buffer build then it’s fine even when changing channels


I don't think that's what he wants to hear.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> I don't think that's what he wants to hear.


I think it’s exactly what he wants to hear


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> Who said anything about paying extra? You
> Suppose they did support PPV? Or maybe they gave the option for it? Whatever, an option, just like TV packages is up to the customer to accept or reject.
> 
> Yes, I know, I had Fubo TV service. The occasional 4k content did not impress me, nor do I miss it.


The customer does have the option. Download the Vudu app and rent the movie for 5 bucks instead of the north of 10 bucks Directv cinema charges


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

compnurd said:


> I think it’s exactly what he wants to hear


We shall see....


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Cavicchi said:


> Yes, I know, I had Fubo TV service. The occasional 4k content did not impress me, nor do I miss it.


That's the lamentable state-of-the-art on live streaming services at this point.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

compnurd said:


> The customer does have the option. Download the Vudu app and rent the movie for 5 bucks instead of the north of 10 bucks Directv cinema charges


What kind of DTV customer are you? One that wants their money going to Vudu as opposed to DTV? Shame on you!


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Cavicchi said:


> What kind of DTV customer are you?


Don't confuse "customer" with "fanboy".

Acknowledging that one service may not meet everyone's needs is an eminently defensible position.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

harsh said:


> Don't confuse "customer" with "fanboy".
> 
> Acknowledging that one service may not meet everyone's needs is an eminently defensible position.


Well, whatever, but I will say I don't use fans--I have central air. Now, if someone wants to provide relief, as in a fan, then so be it. I agree with him that DTV service is not for everyone


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## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

ccccsdad said:


> The DTV box, has a major issue, when you change channels the picture takes about 10 seconds to become completely clear. There's some kind of weird buffering going on. It's subtle but distracting to some. This issue doesn't happen with the app when used with FireStick or Apple TV, it does however happen when using a ROKU device. Leads me to think there's something in the way the ROKU and DTV boxes process the signal that's causing this, otherwise why wouldn't see the same issue with the Fire Stick and Apple TV?


It also does that on my Fire TV Cube, but it's only when I first open the DirecTV Stream app. It lasts maybe 5 seconds and then clears up. It doesn't happen on channel changes from that point forward. 



Cavicchi said:


> Well, it's like buying a DTV Satellite DVR, when that option was available. I Bought the box because I considered it an investment. I had YTTV and Fubo TV and DTV Satellite service and wasn't satisfied with any of them. So I took the chance on DTV Stream and glad I did! I knew using anything other than the DTV box with remote was not going to satisfy me.With the DTV box you can favorite channels and see both station letters and numbers--your choice as to which order. The remote is fantastic in that it makes the whole experience more enjoyable, at least to me.
> 
> I don't have any issues changing channels.


With streaming devices, you can also favorite channels and sort the guide either by A-Z or channel numbers. I do exactly that, so I'm not missing anything there. 

The reason why I don't use the Osprey box is because I also use Plex, Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime frequently. That is where the Osprey is a joke. Super laggy, no Dolby Atmos or Vision support, etc. 

But if it works for you, that's all that matters!


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

GioGambino said:


> It also does that on my Fire TV Cube, but it's only when I first open the DirecTV Stream app. It lasts maybe 5 seconds and then clears up. It doesn't happen on channel changes from that point forward.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have HBO Max on my guide, it is one of the channels, and works fine for me with the DTV box and remote. The remote does other things like retrieving last channel, mute, Home, etc.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> It works with the HR44 and the HR54, not the HS17. Maybe using the USB switch is what's messing up your guide info?


I just added the switch a few months ago and the local guide issues started from day one years ago when I installed the AM21. It's not just a me problem, but an issue for many customers. DirecTV blames the local stations and my locals blame DirecTV. I think it mainly happens in smaller markets.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

sd72667 said:


> I just added the switch a few months ago and the local guide issues started from day one years ago when I installed the AM21. It's not just a me problem, but an issue for many customers. DirecTV blames the local stations and my locals blame DirecTV. I think it mainly happens in smaller markets.


I seem to have all my local channels with DTV Stream.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

sd72667 said:


> I just added the switch a few months ago and the local guide issues started from day one years ago when I installed the AM21. It's not just a me problem, but an issue for many customers. DirecTV blames the local stations and my locals blame DirecTV. I think it mainly happens in smaller markets.


Some of the issues definitely stem from the source having issues. Garbage in, garbage out as they say.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> Some of the issues definitely stem from the source having issues. Garbage in, garbage out as they say.


That calls for some kind of garbage collection service.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

Cavicchi said:


> I seem to have all my local channels with DTV Stream.


Can you hook up an LCC OTA tuner to the DIrecTV Stream box or you talking about locals that DirecTV spot beams back to customers? I'm speaking of local sub channels IE ME-TV, COZI-TV, GRIT etc... Some of my local subs aren't listed in my guide, so I have to enter in different city zips for stations that have the same digital channel number as my local sub. It's complicating and a time consuming to figure out what cities have the same digital channel as my local sub channel.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

sd72667 said:


> Can you hook up an LCC OTA tuner to the DIrecTV Stream box or you talking about locals that DirecTV spot beams back to customers? I'm speaking of local sub channels IE ME-TV, COZI-TV, GRIT etc... Some of my local subs aren't listed in my guide, so I have to enter in different city zips for stations that have the same digital channel number as my local sub. It's complicating and a time consuming to figure out what cities have the same digital channel as my local sub channel.


Grit is not available on DTV service, Dish has it. I have same locals as my cable company offers, at least as I remember. I don't use any type of OTA service. My locals are streamed from DTV Stream. My locals may have different channel numbers, but that to me is irrelevant.


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## realmmarlys (8 mo ago)

ZQRZY said:


> I would strongly recommend keeping your satellite dish. You always want to have your Internet and your television coming through completely “Separate Pipes". When you get your television through your Internet Service Provider you are now 100% dependent on a very complicated and fragile infrastructure to get your television. In my own neighborhood about two years ago everyone here lost ALL Internet service for 9 weeks (Verizon). At least I had my DIRECTV satellite dish so I could continue to get television. I get a flawless 1080p and 4K Picture using my satellite dish. There's no electronics in between the satellite in space and my receiver in my home. I have also found you have the ability to back up shows you like onto DVD or Blu-ray. This is often not possible with a streaming box.
> KEEP YOUR SATELLITE DISH.


Remember not all of us can clear off a Satellite dish when inclement weather is about. I use to have DirecTV Satellite, it was great! Lotsa chnls to choose from. Beautiful picture and sound...etc. BUT I cannot clear the Dish, not at all.
With DirecTV Stream I do not have to worry of what the weather is or of how I will clear the dish.

I am thankful for the DirecTV Stream service. I just wish they would work out some more of the bugs, and that it did not cost so very much $$$.

Thanks for reading my post,
mmarlys


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## 5 ACES (Dec 27, 2007)

Man, I was a die hard DirecTV satellite dish owner, that bought every package available. Price increases was what ultimately ended my love for the dish and DirecTV. I now have IPTV, which I won't mention which one because I'm not sure if it's allowed to be mentioned on here or not, and I am pretty sure this particular IPTV provider is not 100% legal. I say this because we now get every channel that DirecTV offered (5,100 channels currently), every PPV event that is on that night, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings etc, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. How much? $25 per month for 2 TV's, $35 per month for 4 TV's. It blows any satellite offer out of the water, channel wise and price wise. The cons though are not being able to record which I haven't setup yet, internet bandwidth is pretty high when using IPTV, and the shows do tend to buffer from time to time which can be annoying. Plus, like I said above, I don't think it's 100% legit as I do not see how so much can be offered for such a low price. All you need is a 4K Firestick and a hard drive with the adapter to setup recording from the Firestick. It's the best thing that I have done in a long time, and we love what channels you can watch. Italian, Spanish, Russian, China, you name it they are there! 5,100 channels currently and locals are included! I just hope it lasts!! lol


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

realmmarlys said:


> Remember not all of us can clear off a Satellite dish when inclement weather is about. I use to have DirecTV Satellite, it was great! Lotsa chnls to choose from. Beautiful picture and sound...etc. BUT I cannot clear the Dish, not at all.
> With DirecTV Stream I do not have to worry of what the weather is or of how I will clear the dish.
> 
> I am thankful for the DirecTV Stream service. I just wish they would work out some more of the bugs, and that it did not cost so very much $$$.
> ...


Very true. Also, even with a heavy rain, There service can be interrupted. I remember the minis would occasionally have to be reset. I too am thankful for DTV Stream. I can add the price to me is fine, much less than their satellite service.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

5 ACES said:


> Man, I was a die hard DirecTV satellite dish owner, that bought every package available. Price increases was what ultimately ended my love for the dish and DirecTV. I now have IPTV, which I won't mention which one because I'm not sure if it's allowed to be mentioned on here or not, and I am pretty sure this particular IPTV provider is not 100% legal. I say this because we now get every channel that DirecTV offered (5,100 channels currently), every PPV event that is on that night, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings etc, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. How much? $25 per month for 2 TV's, $35 per month for 4 TV's. It blows any satellite offer out of the water, channel wise and price wise. The cons though are not being able to record which I haven't setup yet, internet bandwidth is pretty high when using IPTV, and the shows do tend to buffer from time to time which can be annoying. Plus, like I said above, I don't think it's 100% legit as I do not see how so much can be offered for such a low price. All you need is a 4K Firestick and a hard drive with the adapter to setup recording from the Firestick. It's the best thing that I have done in a long time, and we love what channels you can watch. Italian, Spanish, Russian, China, you name it they are there! 5,100 channels currently and locals are included! I just hope it lasts!! lol


I just saw a police car drive up to your house.


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## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

Cavicchi said:


> I have HBO Max on my guide, it is one of the channels, and works fine for me with the DTV box and remote. The remote does other things like retrieving last channel, mute, Home, etc.


I do those functions with my Harmony remote. However, we do use the Osprey in the bedroom. My girlfriend usually watches in there for the most part and she likes the more traditional experience.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

5 ACES said:


> Man, I was a die hard DirecTV satellite dish owner, that bought every package available. Price increases was what ultimately ended my love for the dish and DirecTV. I now have IPTV, which I won't mention which one because I'm not sure if it's allowed to be mentioned on here or not, and I am pretty sure this particular IPTV provider is not 100% legal. I say this because we now get every channel that DirecTV offered (5,100 channels currently), every PPV event that is on that night, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings etc, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. How much? $25 per month for 2 TV's, $35 per month for 4 TV's. It blows any satellite offer out of the water, channel wise and price wise. The cons though are not being able to record which I haven't setup yet, internet bandwidth is pretty high when using IPTV, and the shows do tend to buffer from time to time which can be annoying. Plus, like I said above, I don't think it's 100% legit as I do not see how so much can be offered for such a low price. All you need is a 4K Firestick and a hard drive with the adapter to setup recording from the Firestick. It's the best thing that I have done in a long time, and we love what channels you can watch. Italian, Spanish, Russian, China, you name it they are there! 5,100 channels currently and locals are included! I just hope it lasts!! lol


LOL…sure.


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## realmmarlys (8 mo ago)

Hello Everyone,

Jst overall if the show or movie your watching fills the screen than it is in SD (Standard Definition) and not HD (High Definition). If the show or movie is broadcasted to you in HD than you would have the black bar on top and a matching one on the bottom. The picture would be in the middle of your screen than.

Is this correct? Or can you have something in HD and it still fills the screen?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank You,
mmarlys


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

GioGambino said:


> I do those functions with my Harmony remote. However, we do use the Osprey in the bedroom. My girlfriend usually watches in there for the most part and she likes the more traditional experience.


I also have a harmony remote and use it for my IQ Air MultiGas air cleaner. Yes, I also love that traditional experience. But, there is more for me than just that. The last channel recall, Home, List, Guide, Input, Apps, etc. buttons make the experience more enjoyable.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

realmmarlys said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> Jst overall if the show or movie your watching fills the screen than it is in SD (Standard Definition) and not HD (High Definition). If the show or movie is broadcasted to you in HD than you would have the black bar on top and a matching one on the bottom. The picture would be in the middle of your screen than.
> 
> ...


My TV upscales pretty much everything I watch to 4K, and it fills the screen. By the way, 1080i is HD, as is 720p.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

sd72667 said:


> Can you hook up an LCC OTA tuner to the DIrecTV Stream box or you talking about locals that DirecTV spot beams back to customers? I'm speaking of local sub channels IE ME-TV, COZI-TV, GRIT etc... Some of my local subs aren't listed in my guide, so I have to enter in different city zips for stations that have the same digital channel number as my local sub. It's complicating and a time consuming to figure out what cities have the same digital channel as my local sub channel.


No, only the HR series boxes and you need an OTA antenna. It just integrates all the sub channels into the DVR guide and recording, etc.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> LOL…sure.


Yeah, its a pirate site lol.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

realmmarlys said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> Jst overall if the show or movie your watching fills the screen than it is in SD (Standard Definition) and not HD (High Definition). If the show or movie is broadcasted to you in HD than you would have the black bar on top and a matching one on the bottom. The picture would be in the middle of your screen than.
> 
> ...


No. If SD is sent correctly as 4:3 you'll have bars on the side. HD and 4K may fill the screen or may not depending on the aspect ratio.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> Yeah, its a pirate site lol.


Yeah definitely...if it exists which I have my doubt. 5,100 channels. Every PPV event, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. $25 - $35 per month. Yeah sure.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> Yeah definitely...if it exists which I have my doubt. 5,100 channels. Every PPV event, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. $25 - $35 per month. Yeah sure.


Don't believe it, it's not 35 dollars a month, it's 45 dollars a month


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

5 ACES said:


> How much? $25 per month for 2 TV's, $35 per month for 4 TV's.





Cavicchi said:


> Don't believe it, it's not 35 dollars a month, it's 45 dollars a month


That is not what he said.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> That is not what he said.


So what do you want from me? I said 45, he said 35, and my next door neighbor said 55.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I was quoting what the person said. Not you or your neighbor. Personally I don't think what the original poster said even exists. Or if by chance it does it won't exist for long.

If you do a google search for IPTV the first result is a site claiming it has over 30,000 channels so I guess those sites do exist. MY guess is they are constantly on the run. You couldn't pay me to try a service like that.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> I was quoting what the person said. Not you or your neighbor. Personally I don't think what the original poster said even exists. Or if by chance it does it won't exist for long.
> 
> If you do a google search for IPTV the first result is a site claiming it has over 30,000 channels so I guess those sites do exist. MY guess is they are constantly on the run. You couldn't pay me to try a service like that.


Oh, I agree. I wouldn't touch that either.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

5 ACES said:


> Man, I was a die hard DirecTV satellite dish owner, that bought every package available. Price increases was what ultimately ended my love for the dish and DirecTV. I now have IPTV, which I won't mention which one because I'm not sure if it's allowed to be mentioned on here or not, and I am pretty sure this particular IPTV provider is not 100% legal. I say this because we now get every channel that DirecTV offered (5,100 channels currently), every PPV event that is on that night, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings etc, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. How much? $25 per month for 2 TV's, $35 per month for 4 TV's. It blows any satellite offer out of the water, channel wise and price wise. The cons though are not being able to record which I haven't setup yet, internet bandwidth is pretty high when using IPTV, and the shows do tend to buffer from time to time which can be annoying. Plus, like I said above, I don't think it's 100% legit as I do not see how so much can be offered for such a low price. All you need is a 4K Firestick and a hard drive with the adapter to setup recording from the Firestick. It's the best thing that I have done in a long time, and we love what channels you can watch. Italian, Spanish, Russian, China, you name it they are there! 5,100 channels currently and locals are included! I just hope it lasts!! lol


So it's not 100% legit? Is it 99% legit? My experience in life is that when something isn't 100% legit, it means it's 0% legit or 100% not legit. We all have buddies who swim in that pool of pir*cy and they always tell us how great it is and push us to join in. No thanks (been there done that in the days of the ECM signals etc... circa 1999-2002) Hell, I have 200-300 channels now on my Premier package. I maybe watch 20 channels and I mostly watch sub channels that I get on my AM21 tuner. Btw, I don't give a porcupine's ass how people watch TV, legal or not.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

SledgeHammer said:


> No, only the HR series boxes and you need an OTA antenna. It just integrates all the sub channels into the DVR guide and recording, etc.


Thanks, the reason I asked was because my Amazon Recast is an OTA tuner that works with my Firestick. I thought maybe it was possible for the DirecTV Stream box to integrate an OTA tuner as well. If they did that, I'd think about transitioning over from DirecTV to DTV Stream instead of going from DTV to YouTube TV.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

sd72667 said:


> So it's not 100% legit? Is it 99% legit? My experience in life is that when something isn't 100% legit, it means it's 0% legit or 100% not legit. We all have buddies who swim in that pool of pir*cy and they always tell us how great it is and push us to join in. No thanks (been there done that in the days of the ECM signals etc... circa 1999-2002) Hell, I have 200-300 channels now on my Premier package. I maybe watch 20 channels and I mostly watch sub channels that I get on my AM21 tuner. Btw, I don't give a porcupine's ass how people watch TV, legal or not.


There are 100% legal IPTV services like the one that comes included with LG TV's.

XUMO-Powered Channels for LG smart TVs

It is nothing like what the guy described in his post though.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> I was quoting what the person said. Not you or your neighbor. Personally I don't think what the original poster said even exists. Or if by chance it does it won't exist for long.
> 
> If you do a google search for IPTV the first result is a site claiming it has over 30,000 channels so I guess those sites do exist. MY guess is they are constantly on the run. You couldn't pay me to try a service like that.
> [/QUOT





b4pjoe said:


> There are 100% legal IPTV services like the one that comes included with LG TV's.
> 
> XUMO-Powered Channels for LG smart TVs
> 
> It is nothing like what the guy described in his post though.


Yes you are correct, but I was referring to Aces' post and his use of semantics concerning IPTV Piracy legalities 😁


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## blazewon (Oct 4, 2006)

I tried DTV Stream but had issues with crashing on my Apple TV Devices. I did save money vs traditional DTV and the advantage of the stream is not crashing when it rained which is a lot during spring / summer.

The biggest advantage of Stream is local sports as YouTube TV has had their issues with Bally Sports. Otherwise I like YTTV better for DVR and mobile access.


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## Michael Freeman (Aug 26, 2020)

I just recently activated my Directv Stream account back up. I had tried Directv Now way back when it started and it stunk. Was very buggy. So, I went to YTTV which just works. Then I believe they renamed the service AT&T Now and I tried it again, this time with an Osprey box. It worked better, but still buggy especially on the ATV app. The Osprey box made it much better, but my sports events kept getting cut off so I went back to YTTV which handles sports very well. Yesterday, I decided to try out the Directv Stream service (yeah I know they're all the same). I will say it's gotten much better than it used to be. The ATV app used to be very buggy, but they seemed to have gotten most of the bugs worked out and it works very well now. I dusted off my Osprey box and tried it again and it works just fine. Supposedly they're handling sports better, so I'm going to test it out. I mainly want to see if it will handle a Nascar race which often goes over the allotted time. 

One of the main reasons I'm trying to switch is I want the MSG and YES channels, which YTTV doesn't offer. And I don't want to go back to regular cable. I've always felt Directv Stream was a diamond in the rough. But I also felt like I was paying to be a beta tester for a buggy product. But, so far I'm liking the service now and it seems to be working much better. Now if they can just get CW and ME-TV in my area then I'd be all set.


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## B. Shoe (Apr 3, 2008)

sd72667 said:


> Btw, I don't give a porcupine's ass how people watch TV, legal or not.


PREACH.


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## djmaxwell (Jun 24, 2010)

ccccsdad said:


> The DTV box, has a major issue, when you change channels the picture takes about 10 seconds to become completely clear. There's some kind of weird buffering going on. It's subtle but distracting to some. This issue doesn't happen with the app when used with FireStick or Apple TV, it does however happen when using a ROKU device. Leads me to think there's something in the way the ROKU and DTV boxes process the signal that's causing this, otherwise why wouldn't see the same issue with the Fire Stick and Apple TV?


I use the box and do not have that issue.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

b4pjoe said:


> I was quoting what the person said. Not you or your neighbor. Personally I don't think what the original poster said even exists. Or if by chance it does it won't exist for long.
> 
> If you do a google search for IPTV the first result is a site claiming it has over 30,000 channels so I guess those sites do exist. MY guess is they are constantly on the run. You couldn't pay me to try a service like that.


They 100% do exist, I have friends that have them and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. However, those services’ customers are encouraged to use a VPN for a reason. It’s not for me, I don’t care of the savings.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Yes in the second sentence of the quote you grabbed I said they do exist after doing a google search. But you know what they say about things that appear too good to be true?


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> Yes in the second sentence of the quote you grabbed I said they do exist after doing a google search. But you know what they say about things that appear too good to be true?


They're not "too good to be true". They ARE true. You just don't know how long they'll be around before they bail or they get shut down by the authorities.

Not sure how the guy expects a VPN will help him when both the IPTV pirate site and the VPN provider have his legit info and CC info, etc. haha. Back when DirecTV "testing" used to be a thing, that's how DirecTV went after end users. Through the credit card records they gained after each raid and then you got sued for $5k.

And if you're going that route, why would you even pay for it? Plenty of places to get it for free... without having to provide your CC info.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> And if you're going that route, why would you even pay for it? Plenty of places to get it for free... without having to provide your CC info.


Agreed.


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## c073186 (Feb 7, 2013)

Maybe this has been answered but I could not find it - on DirecTV's Stream box, if you hit the PREV button on the remote, can that alternate between live channels and recordings? For example, if you are watching a recording and hit PREV to go to the last channel you were watching, then hit PREV again, do you go back to the recording or does it only work between live channels? Likewise, if you are watching a recording, then start watching a different recording, does PREV alternate between those two recordings?


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## ingeborgdot (May 23, 2007)

I'm late to the party, and have read most of these, but my eyes are tired, so I'll just ask. Does the streaming service offer NFL Sunday Ticket? My wife won't live without the ticket. Thanks.


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## anex80 (Jul 29, 2005)

c073186 said:


> Maybe this has been answered but I could not find it - on DirecTV's Stream box, if you hit the PREV button on the remote, can that alternate between live channels and recordings? For example, if you are watching a recording and hit PREV to go to the last channel you were watching, then hit PREV again, do you go back to the recording or does it only work between live channels? Likewise, if you are watching a recording, then start watching a different recording, does PREV alternate between those two recordings?


Yes, it goes back and forth between channels and recordings if that’s the last thing you played.


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## anex80 (Jul 29, 2005)

ingeborgdot said:


> I'm late to the party, and have read most of these, but my eyes are tired, so I'll just ask. Does the streaming service offer NFL Sunday Ticket? My wife won't live without the ticket. Thanks.


Neither Sunday Ticket, NFL Network, or NFL Red Zone channels are available on the streaming service. Many are speculations this will change for the 2023 season as The NFLST contract expires at the end of the 2022 season.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

ingeborgdot said:


> I'm late to the party, and have read most of these, but my eyes are tired, so I'll just ask. Does the streaming service offer NFL Sunday Ticket? My wife won't live without the ticket. Thanks.


No


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## ingeborgdot (May 23, 2007)

Well, it looks like we stay with our satellite service. Thanks.


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## leww37334 (Sep 19, 2005)

Gauntlet said:


> I was a long time DIRECTV customer, mostly happy. Switched to DTV Stream concurrently to test it out. It was better but then tried YouTube TV and found that to be vastly superior. YT interface is smooth and virtually zero latency. If you’ve got the bandwidth I highly recommend it.


so how does programming compare?


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## STEVED21 (Feb 6, 2006)

c073186 said:


> Maybe this has been answered but I could not find it - on DirecTV's Stream box, if you hit the PREV button on the remote, can that alternate between live channels and recordings? For example, if you are watching a recording and hit PREV to go to the last channel you were watching, then hit PREV again, do you go back to the recording or does it only work between live channels? Likewise, if you are watching a recording, then start watching a different recording, does PREV alternate between those two recordings?


You can also push the up arrow and see the last 9 channels/shows you watched.


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## sd72667 (Aug 25, 2008)

ingeborgdot said:


> I'm late to the party, and have read most of these, but my eyes are tired, so I'll just ask. Does the streaming service offer NFL Sunday Ticket? My wife won't live without the ticket. Thanks.


According to the Google Machine, NFL ST is not currently available with DirecTV Stream.


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

So how does one determine the local channels available? Is there somewhere you can enter a zip and get the info? Been DTV customer since 97 and will be moving soon. Don’t want a dish on my new roof and I’m tired of the high price. Looked at YouTube tv but it doesn’t have History and 1 or 2 other channels we want. Seems like dtv stream may be right for us but need to be sure of the locals. YTTV has the locals at our new home.


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## chuckf500 (9 mo ago)

hdtvluvr, you can enter your zip code on this web page to see what locals are are available in your area.
DIRECTV STREAM Channel TV Lineup | Local, RSN & National


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## mbausch (Feb 18, 2008)

compnurd said:


> You can FF/REW just like a normal DVR on recorded content.... On Demand has ads *like it does on every service*


No, most services remove ads completely once you get their premium service. I believe YouTube removes ads entirely. Now if YouTube doesn't show you ads, you can't say "like it does on every service." They represent a huge market share for streaming content. Even if nobody else did that, still more than half of the streaming on earth is YouTube.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

mbausch said:


> No, most services remove ads completely once you get their premium service. I believe YouTube removes ads entirely. Now if YouTube doesn't show you ads, you can't say "like it does on every service." They represent a huge market share for streaming content. Even if nobody else did that, still more than half of the streaming on earth is YouTube.


YouTube premium and YouTube TV are two different services. On demand on YTTV shows ads


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

ingeborgdot said:


> Well, it looks like we stay with our satellite service. Thanks.


ST isn't hard to get through the ST streaming service, but it is expensive and probably not worth switching, until at least after this year when the DirecTV exclusive expires.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

mbausch said:


> No, most services remove ads completely once you get their premium service. I believe YouTube removes ads entirely. Now if YouTube doesn't show you ads, you can't say "like it does on every service." They represent a huge market share for streaming content. Even if nobody else did that, still more than half of the streaming on earth is YouTube.


Well, at least they don't replay the same ONE ad 7 times like DirecTV VOD does lol.


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## eddieras (Aug 31, 2007)

guys- just jumping in on this - i read all 13 pages (!) but need some assistance. i've been a long time DTV sat subscriber - about 20 years. Center Ice every year and all the RSNs so i can watch pre/post game shows on MSG - i'm a Ranger fan and also watch some college hockey on the RSNs. I only watch hockey, as far as sports go. I'm looking to get out of this huge monthly bill. i currently have the XTRA pack, plus Sports Pack, 2 receivers and pay $176/ month. I'm looking at the Entertainment Package for streaming. Couple questions. Looks like my Sony Bravia does not have the app in the google play store - l searched, but nothing. so i would have to get the streaming box, correct? or can i sideload an APK for teh streaming app?? i'm reading mixed things on the streaming box. is it easy to use? I have a home theater and currently use a Harmony remote, so my wife is easily able to watch what she wants - whether DTV or apps. also- how do they determine your RSNs and local channels? is that based on billing zip code? can i change that "location" time to time or once i select my region, i'm stuck with that region??

Frankly, i've been looking to leave for a couple years, but every time i start the research i get so overwhelmed and i shelve the idea. I also have OTA antenna and living in Chicago i have a ton of OTA channels (no OTA DVR tho). I'm open for any and all suggestions! thanks!


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

eddieras said:


> guys- just jumping in on this - i read all 13 pages (!) but need some assistance. i've been a long time DTV sat subscriber - about 20 years. Center Ice every year and all the RSNs so i can watch pre/post game shows on MSG - i'm a Ranger fan and also watch some college hockey on the RSNs. I only watch hockey, as far as sports go. I'm looking to get out of this huge monthly bill. i currently have the XTRA pack, plus Sports Pack, 2 receivers and pay $176/ month. I'm looking at the Entertainment Package for streaming. Couple questions. Looks like my Sony Bravia does not have the app in the google play store - l searched, but nothing. so i would have to get the streaming box, correct? or can i sideload an APK for teh streaming app?? i'm reading mixed things on the streaming box. is it easy to use? I have a home theater and currently use a Harmony remote, so my wife is easily able to watch what she wants - whether DTV or apps. also- how do they determine your RSNs and local channels? is that based on billing zip code? can i change that "location" time to time or once i select my region, i'm stuck with that region??
> 
> Frankly, i've been looking to leave for a couple years, but every time i start the research i get so overwhelmed and i shelve the idea. I also have OTA antenna and living in Chicago i have a ton of OTA channels (no OTA DVR tho). I'm open for any and all suggestions! thanks!


You don't have to use Streaming box but I recommend it for most enjoyable experience.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

eddieras said:


> guys- just jumping in on this - i read all 13 pages (!) but need some assistance. i've been a long time DTV sat subscriber - about 20 years. Center Ice every year and all the RSNs so i can watch pre/post game shows on MSG - i'm a Ranger fan and also watch some college hockey on the RSNs. I only watch hockey, as far as sports go. I'm looking to get out of this huge monthly bill. i currently have the XTRA pack, plus Sports Pack, 2 receivers and pay $176/ month. I'm looking at the Entertainment Package for streaming. Couple questions. Looks like my Sony Bravia does not have the app in the google play store - l searched, but nothing. so i would have to get the streaming box, correct? or can i sideload an APK for teh streaming app?? i'm reading mixed things on the streaming box. is it easy to use? I have a home theater and currently use a Harmony remote, so my wife is easily able to watch what she wants - whether DTV or apps. also- how do they determine your RSNs and local channels? is that based on billing zip code? can i change that "location" time to time or once i select my region, i'm stuck with that region??
> 
> Frankly, i've been looking to leave for a couple years, but every time i start the research i get so overwhelmed and i shelve the idea. I also have OTA antenna and living in Chicago i have a ton of OTA channels (no OTA DVR tho). I'm open for any and all suggestions! thanks!


The box is the best experience, but I also have no real issues with the app using a firestick, so that is another option. I'm not sure how the RSNs and locals are determined, I would assume by billing address but I can't say for certain.


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## eddieras (Aug 31, 2007)

thanks guys! are there different types of boxes? is buying from directv the only option - $120.  Is this the current/ most current model? AT&T C71KW-400 DirecTV Now


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

eddieras said:


> thanks guys! are there different types of boxes? is buying from directv the only option - $120. Is this the current/ most current model? AT&T C71KW-400 DirecTV Now


I just received a refurb from them $50 a bit scratched up but saving $70


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

eddieras said:


> thanks guys! are there different types of boxes? is buying from directv the only option - $120. Is this the current/ most current model? AT&T C71KW-400 DirecTV Now


As WynsWrld98 mentioned, refurbs are available and IMO is probably the way to go. You can get boxes off of ebay, but you run the risk that, if they have not been updated in some time, they will not function. Something about the IP address the box looks for having been changed. I think there are a few posts on that issue.


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## eddieras (Aug 31, 2007)

thanks again guys- i find this so daunting! all the streaming options (not just dtv), trying to figure out how to watch my NY Rangers, while living in Chicago. I know i can get ESPN+ (been a center ice subscriber for over 20 years) but i also want to watch pre and post game on MSG. For my sat, i pay for the RSNs to get those shows. I don't really want to bump up to the more expensive plan just for that one station. i'm thinking of subscribing with a NY address so i get MSG as my 'local' RSN. Is this doable with Directv streaming?


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

eddieras said:


> thanks again guys- i find this so daunting! all the streaming options (not just dtv), trying to figure out how to watch my NY Rangers, while living in Chicago. I know i can get ESPN+ (been a center ice subscriber for over 20 years) but i also want to watch pre and post game on MSG. For my sat, i pay for the RSNs to get those shows. I don't really want to bump up to the more expensive plan just for that one station. i'm thinking of subscribing with a NY address so i get MSG as my 'local' RSN. Is this doable with Directv streaming?


I think, just by happenstance can shed some light on the "home" location. 

I had a quick power outage last night. I just turned the box on and I'm getting a "too many streams" message stating that I'm only allowed two streams outside my home. (My other boxes are working fine). It allows me to set a new "home" location. When I went to do that, it warned me I could only do this four times in a twelve month period.....and also told me my IP address and billing address didn't match my home location, or something to that effect. 

It ended up fixing itself, but what I gathered from that, is your "home" location looks at both the IP and billing address to see if they match up.


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## eddieras (Aug 31, 2007)

raott said:


> I think, just by happenstance can shed some light on the "home" location.
> 
> I had a quick power outage last night. I just turned the box on and I'm getting a "too many streams" message stating that I'm only allowed two streams outside my home. (My other boxes are working fine). It allows me to set a new "home" location. When I went to do that, it warned me I could only do this four times in a twelve month period.....and also told me my IP address and billing address didn't match my home location, or something to that effect.
> 
> It ended up fixing itself, but what I gathered from that, is your "home" location looks at both the IP and billing address to see if they match up.


hmmm... interesting. thanks for posting that!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> You don't have to use Streaming box but I recommend it for most enjoyable experience.


Using any box except the dedicated box is brutal. I tried a Cube and an ATV during the five-day free trial and you _can_ watch but there's not much else you can do. I gave up on the free trial and bought five boxes on eBay for about fifty bucks a piece and they work very well. The Osprey remote is a superb remote. A bit too small and the black buttons on a black remote make it hard to use in a dark room. I know they are backlit but you have to press a button to get the buttons lit, if they had a button on the side as the peanut D* remotes have it would be easier to use. 

No complaints about the streaming service, I got the boxes and started using it, and I couldn't believe how easy it is to use. The picture is better, the remotes are better, programming the DVR function is easier, and there's really nothing to complain about. After using the streaming service for a week, I canceled my sat service and sent two DVRs back. There's no real downside to the service that I can see.


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

The back light on the remote times out very fast looked in menus to see if there's a, way to configure it but found nothing. Anyone know?


----------



## The Oxy Kid (Mar 2, 2016)

b4pjoe said:


> No.


How is it different? (Other than streaming vs. the box?)


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Uverse: an IP multicast client that requests the channel or "stream" desired.

DIRECTV Stream: uses Internet connection to deliver the TV programming to your TV or other compatible device. It means it uses Internet Protocol for delivery of videos.


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

DBSTalk Forum







www.dbstalk.com





I just checked Orlando zip codes and channel 18 (CW) isn’t listed. Would there be a national feed for CW on the streaming guide? Any way I could get it? I even tried the Clermont zips which is where it is broadcasted from.


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

hdtvluvr said:


> DBSTalk Forum
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've yet to hear anyone getting it. I'm in Tennessee and don't get it.


----------



## mjwagner (Oct 8, 2005)

Rich said:


> Using any box except the dedicated box is brutal. I tried a Cube and an ATV during the five-day free trial and you _can_ watch but there's not much else you can do. I gave up on the free trial and bought five boxes on eBay for about fifty bucks a piece and they work very well. The Osprey remote is a superb remote. A bit too small and the black buttons on a black remote make it hard to use in a dark room. I know they are backlit but you have to press a button to get the buttons lit, if they had a button on the side as the peanut D* remotes have it would be easier to use.
> 
> No complaints about the streaming service, I got the boxes and started using it, and I couldn't believe how easy it is to use. The picture is better, the remotes are better, programming the DVR function is easier, and there's really nothing to complain about. After using the streaming service for a week, I canceled my sat service and sent two DVRs back. There's no real downside to the service that I can see.


I wish they would work on the UE on non-dedicated streaming devices. Unless and until the UE is close (I don’t care about channel numbers and also wish even displaying them on the guide was an option and I don’t use any OEM remotes) DTVS is a non-starter for me. Although in all honesty I’d guess the service still wouldn’t appeal to me as it seems their design point is to duplicate/mimic the traditional sat/cable experience as closely as possible. Nothing wrong with any of that it’s just not for me.


----------



## Curtis0620 (Apr 22, 2002)

hdtvluvr said:


> DBSTalk Forum
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You get CW on demand only 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

mjwagner said:


> I wish they would work on the UE on non-dedicated streaming devices. Unless and until the UE is close (I don’t care about channel numbers and also wish even displaying them on the guide was an option and I don’t use any OEM remotes) DTVS is a non-starter for me. Although in all honesty I’d guess the service still wouldn’t appeal to me as it seems their design point is to duplicate/mimic the traditional sat/cable experience as closely as possible. Nothing wrong with any of that it’s just not for me.


The UI on the firestick isn't bad and is greatly improved from when it started. For those that are concerned about it, channel numbers are displayed as an option .


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## mjwagner (Oct 8, 2005)

raott said:


> The UI on the firestick isn't bad and is greatly improved from when it started. For those that are concerned about it, channel numbers are displayed as an option .


So you can turn the display of channel numbers off in the guide? I didn’t see that reported before. That would be a good sign for me. What would be the biggest difference(s) in the UX between using the app on a FireTV device vs using the dedicated box? I’d be particularly curious about DVR functionality. Thanks.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

mjwagner said:


> I wish they would work on the UE on non-dedicated streaming devices.


I think the more common term for what you're talking about is "UX".


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## mjwagner (Oct 8, 2005)

harsh said:


> I think the more common term for what you're talking about is "UX".


It’s what I meant to type…see my follow-on post directly above yours.


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

jal said:


> I’d like to hear more from others who use DIRECTV Stream about the picture quality. That is the most important factor for me in choosing a video provider.


 I have 1 GB internet, But anyway the PQ I feel is the best out of Fubu , Hulu , And YouTube. I recently just switched from YouTube and, yes Directv stream is much more $. But I feel it’s still a better value over all. The app is fast on my Roku Ultras . Reminds me of having regular cable or satellite.

I haven’t had direct tv in 10 years but it certainly brings back memories with channel placement. There definitely is cheaper alternatives , But I definitely feel it’s the best layout, easiest to use, Snappy , and best PQ and it’s nice to have 20 in home feeds or 3 remote.

Plus now unlimited recording space too. I’m right at $96 w/tax for Choice ,which my Basic plus cable is now $124.95 and that’s not including any DVR. Hulu I was at $98 per month for commercial free which absolutely sucked honestly. Don’t know why Hulu gets so much Praise. The interface and layout is pathetic. And it always has some hand shake issues with its live tv.
Fubotv was good , But they were lacking most of my RSN sports channels and they always kept giving me the wrong FOX which was annoying And I was still paying $90 with their RSN fees and the additional packages I needed. 
YouTubeTV was really good overall, and definitely the cheapest under $70 but was missing a lot of content I watch. But they did have NFL network which I’m Hoping Directv adds. But PQ was Ho Hum nothing to bragg about even their 4K was sad compared to Netflix . 

So Yes I’m definitely impressed by Directv stream. I’ve tried it a few times in the past and it was by far the worst. But this time I think they have something here.


----------



## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

Is the DTV streaming box capable of outputting 4K and Atmos such as from Netflix?


----------



## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

WynsWrld98 said:


> Is the DTV streaming box capable of outputting 4K and Atmos such as from Netflix?


4K yes, Atmos no. I don't currently have Netflix, so somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

GioGambino said:


> 4K yes, Atmos no. I don't currently have Netflix, so somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.


Thanks. I guess I'll stick with my Apple TV 4K for Netflix.


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## GioGambino (Oct 18, 2008)

WynsWrld98 said:


> Thanks. I guess I'll stick with my Apple TV 4K for Netflix.


I tried some titles on Disney+ that I know for sure have Atmos tracks and they wouldn't play in Atmos. It also doesn't show the Atmos logo on the title screen which means it's not supported. When I use my Roku Ultra or Fire TV Cube, the logo shows and Atmos plays.


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## realmmarlys (8 mo ago)

Troch2002 said:


> I have 1 GB internet, But anyway the PQ I feel is the best out of Fubu , Hulu , And YouTube. I recently just switched from YouTube and, yes Directv stream is much more $. But I feel it’s still a better value over all. The app is fast on my Roku Ultras . Reminds me of having regular cable or satellite.
> 
> I haven’t had direct tv in 10 years but it certainly brings back memories with channel placement. There definitely is cheaper alternatives , But I definitely feel it’s the best layout, easiest to use, Snappy , and best PQ and it’s nice to have 20 in home feeds or 3 remote.
> 
> ...


I feel exactly the same way as this above Author. I have tried Hulu with Live TV. Could not stand the layout or interface. Tried YouTube TV. Good price but lacked the content tht I truly wntd. So I have a really good pkg with DTV. Great guide and superb layout. Remote wrks great but btns not as intuitive as can be. Pressing the Google btn to ask for something with your voice doesn't always brng up what I want. Easier to type out in the search engine what I want. Wish that they would make Osprey accept the Hulu app. Wish that when u call customer service that they could say how much space is Osprey. !TB? I don't know and customer service won't say.

Just like the satellite dish but with out the weather issues, as much. Bad weather seems to affect the internet wherein I live. When we have high winds come through out region the internet often has issues than. Don't understand why...not totally, but wind issues throwing off the internet is still a whole better than a satellite dish covered in snow and more snow fall expected.

Jst wsh it weren't so very expensive.

Wouldn't it be nice if DirecTV gave everyone a break on their subscription for a few mths. Like say $20 off your bill for three mths? In the wake of sky high never seen before gas prices, and a 40 yr. high on groceries...wouldn't this be nice.

I know this will never happen. Just day dreaming now.
mmarlys 

I now hve the Premier lvl of DTV Stream. I love it, for the most part. PQ is


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

realmmarlys said:


> I feel exactly the same way as this above Author. I have tried Hulu with Live TV. Could not stand the layout or interface. Tried YouTube TV. Good price but lacked the content tht I truly wntd. So I have a really good pkg with DTV. Great guide and superb layout. Remote wrks great but btns not as intuitive as can be. Pressing the Google btn to ask for something with your voice doesn't always brng up what I want. Easier to type out in the search engine what I want. Wish that they would make Osprey accept the Hulu app. Wish that when u call customer service that they could say how much space is Osprey. !TB? I don't know and customer service won't say.
> 
> Just like the satellite dish but with out the weather issues, as much. Bad weather seems to affect the internet wherein I live. When we have high winds come through out region the internet often has issues than. Don't understand why...not totally, but wind issues throwing off the internet is still a whole better than a satellite dish covered in snow and more snow fall expected.
> 
> ...


I’m pretty lucky with my internet . Extremely stable and reliable. I have 2 Eero pro 6 and my house pretty small 1000 sq ft. So my coverage is excellent. It cost $110 a month for my GB and Eeros. I could drop my internet down to save money but 400 mbps is $60 and I’m sure that’s more than adequate. But I just haven’t.
But 1 time we had a bad amp at the end of my road that kept causing cut outs randomly and it took them 3 weeks to finally figure it out and isolate it . That sucked. But It definitely works during any weather without issues. Even power outages under 6 hours . After 6 hours I believe their battery back up runs out . Oh well
I see the Directv stream box’s have a more advanced remote, I’m assuming you can type the channel number in directly. That would be a nice feature. But definitely happy with Directv stream. Currently I get $15 off per month so I’m just under $81 with tax.


----------



## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

Soulweeper said:


> Yeah, it will depend solely on the channels we care about. I don't use OTA. I do have a Terabyte cap with Xfinity, not sure if we'd go over.


I have unlimited but 2 (sometimes 3 when my oldest is home from college) of us use average of 1.3 Tb per month total. I’ve had a high of 1600 and a low of 900 gbs monthly since 2019 since I started streaming only. When I had landline cable in 2017–19. I was averaging 350 gb per month. So it will go up significantly


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

realmmarlys said:


> Wish that when u call customer service that they could say how much space is Osprey. !TB? I don't know and customer service won't say.


It has 16 GB storage.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

realmmarlys said:


> Wish that when u call customer service that they could say how much space is Osprey. !TB? I don't know and customer service won't say.


Customer Service doesn't exist to support comparison shopping. There are much better (and more authoritative) resources for such information.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

harsh said:


> Customer Service doesn't exist to support comparison shopping. There are much better (and more authoritative) resources for such information.


turns out $5/hr doesn't really encourage go-getterness


----------



## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> turns out $5/hr doesn't really encourage go-getterness


They are probably paying those people in the Philippines/India/Taiwan/Pakistan $5/week.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

SledgeHammer said:


> turns out $5/hr doesn't really encourage go-getterness


I would imagine that most companies very actively discourage their Customer Service Representatives from engaging in off-script information dissemination. Goal number one is to get the customer off the phone and giving out tidbits of trivia is in direct conflict with that end.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

harsh said:


> I would imagine that most companies very actively discourage their Customer Service Representatives from engaging in off-script information dissemination. Goal number one is to get the customer off the phone and giving out tidbits of trivia is in direct conflict with that end.


when I worked in tech support (and hated talking to customers lol) -- and this was in the 90's so the modem days -- our go to move to get customers off the phone was to just blame it on the firmware and PHYSICALLY mail them out new EPROMs (like I said 90s lol) and hope it either fixed the issue or they got someone else when they called back.


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

///


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

New DTV Stream customer having a problem deleting recordings not being deleted. I go into a group such as House Hunters has 20 recordings, as I delete items the recordings disappear and count decrements as it should but then when I go back to the whole list of recordings it shows 20 recordings for House Hunters, go back into the group and sure enough all 20 are in the group.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

WynsWrld98 said:


> New DTV Stream customer having a problem deleting recordings not being deleted. I go into a group such as House Hunters has 20 recordings, as I delete items the recordings disappear and count decrements as it should but then when I go back to the whole list of recordings it shows 20 recordings for House Hunters, go back into the group and sure enough all 20 are in the group.


There was a glitch with the DirecTV Stream a couple of nights ago that caused this. Should be fixed now. 

If you're still having this problem, let us know what Streaming Device you're using. Try resetting it.


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

litzdog911 said:


> There was a glitch with the DirecTV Stream a couple of nights ago that caused this. Should be fixed now.
> 
> If you're still having this problem, let us know what Streaming Device you're using. Try resetting it.


Still having problem last night, it's a reconditioned DTV box I received from DTV a week ago.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

WynsWrld98 said:


> Still having problem last night, it's a reconditioned DTV box I received from DTV a week ago.


What happens if you delete via DirecTV Stream on your PC or tablet?


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

litzdog911 said:


> What happens if you delete via DirecTV Stream on your PC or tablet?


Ww just moved in don't have any of that setup and phone app doesn't provide functionality to delete programs.


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## Mike Lang (Nov 18, 2005)

Anyone who leaves at least one TV on all day every day with Stream have some real world monthly data stats?


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

Mike Lang said:


> Anyone who leaves at least one TV on all day every day with Stream have some real world monthly data stats?


I mean thats hard to do , The Roku will shut off after 4 hours of inactivity and actually so do most tvs now days. 
And honestly who can physically watch tv for 24 hours a day lol. 
I get it would be interesting to see. But streaming for 8 hours a day x3 would give you the idea your looking for.


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

This was total from last month, And last week .
I only have streaming services no. Cable or satellite tv. 
Directv Stream for live tv.








m


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Troch2002 said:


> This was total from last month, And last week .
> I only have streaming services no. Cable or satellite tv.
> Directv Stream for live tv.


900GB? that's it? for a full time streamer? I usually do around 300-400GB a month with no streaming. Just work and daily browser usage. No gaming either. There are a few Youtube channels I watch, but thats the extent of my streaming.

Makes sense though. As an experiment, I once tried leaving on 8 Chrome windows open playing Youtube 4K nature videos for an hour and my daily usage that day was only like 50GB.

But 50GB x 30 = 1.5TB and that'd go over my data cap on Cox, but that'd be the equivalent of watching 4K for 8 hrs a day.


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

SledgeHammer said:


> 900GB? that's it? for a full time streamer? I usually do around 300-400GB a month with no streaming. Makes sense though. As an experiment, I once tried leaving on 8 Chrome windows open playing Youtube 4K nature videos for an hour and my daily usage that day was only like 50GB.
> 
> But 50GB x 30 = 1.5TB and that'd go over my data cap on Cox, but that'd be the equivalent of watching 4K for 8 hrs a day.


 That’s a lower month, Normally it’s 1.2 -1.3 TB a month for 2 of us. My highest month ever was 1.6TB . And that was before my 2nd daughter went off to college. I’ve been streaming only since February 2019. And I stream 4K sometimes but not majority of the time though because honestly it isn’t that much better to use that much extra data. That’s my opinion. Only so many Nature shows to watch over and over . And I tried NFL games in 4K from YouTube and Fubo and I was unimpressed. Good HD is more than adequate for streaming. Everyone is so hung up on 4K and yet the content that available is minimal.[/QUOTE]


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

Just to add, My Cable company Top 3 plans are unlimited so I don’t really have those worries . But what I did as a new full time streamer is just monitored it and just made sure I stayed under my 50GB per day. And honestly It wasn’t that hard. What really racks up the data and download PS4 or Xbox updates or setting one up for the first time. That uses a lot at once . But online gaming itself uses like nothing. If I was you I would test it out with a cheaper live tv service like frndly or Philo and see what it would be like before you spend $70-$150 and find out 3 weeks in your out of data. 
My cheapest unlimited data pack is 400mbps at $88 The plan I have is 1 GB it $120 but I also have to pay $10 for 2 Eero pro 6s. Which have been absolutely flawless. I never have reliability issues streaming.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

WynsWrld98 said:


> Ww just moved in don't have any of that setup and phone app doesn't provide functionality to delete programs.


I can manage recordings using the DirecTV Stream App on my iPhone and iPad.


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

Won't le


litzdog911 said:


> I can manage recordings using the DirecTV Stream App on my iPhone and iPad.


Won't let me delete programs with the Android app


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

b4pjoe said:


> You can FF commercials with the DirecTV Stream Cloud DVR.





compnurd said:


> There is 15 sec forward and i think 8 back


So, how to you get to the 15 sec forward and 8 back? Is it the same IR signal that the Satellite DVR's used? I have that programmed into a URC remote.



Curtis0620 said:


> You get CW on demand only
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


So, how do you get CW on demand using the Directv stream box? Or for that matter, any on demand channels?


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

hdtvluvr said:


> So, how to you get to the 15 sec forward and 8 back? Is it the same IR signal that the Satellite DVR's used? I have that programmed into a URC remote.
> 
> 
> 
> So, how do you get CW on demand using the Directv stream box? Or for that matter, any on demand channels?


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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

hdtvluvr said:


> So, how to you get to the 15 sec forward and 8 back? Is it the same IR signal that the Satellite DVR's used? I have that programmed into a URC remote.
> 
> 
> 
> So, how do you get CW on demand using the Directv stream box? Or for that matter, any on demand channels?


----------



## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)




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## Troch2002 (May 8, 2016)

The Rokus say back 15 and ahead 30


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

Thanks for all that information!


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## EastBayBob (8 mo ago)

I am a very long time Direct TV customer. I have the genie system with 3 boxes for three rooms. I have 4K Apple TV where I stream HBO Max, Netflix, Prime, and Hulu. If I drop Direct Satellite and switch to their streaming service will I need to buy a Direct streaming box for DVR capability in each room? With the streaming box Apple TV will not be used with Direct, is that right? I mostly watch the news shows and sports and local TV with Direct and Apple TV for Netflix, etc for the rest for streaming. Is streaming any more complicated than watching satellite, I don't want to make it complicated for my wife. Thanks


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

The general consensus seems to be Stream is best when used with the DirecTV Stream box/remote as it simplifies selecting channels as you can use the channel numbers as you did on Satellite. Using the app on Apple TV you will not have the option to use channel numbers. The DirecTV Stream box can also install those same apps and be used from there. Some users say it doesn't work as well on the DirectTV Stream box as a dedicated streaming box like the Apple TV. You can use the cloud DVR with or without the dedicated DirecTV Stream box.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

EastBayBob said:


> I am a very long time Direct TV customer. I have the genie system with 3 boxes for three rooms. I have 4K Apple TV where I stream HBO Max, Netflix, Prime, and Hulu. If I drop Direct Satellite and switch to their streaming service will I need to buy a Direct streaming box for DVR capability in each room? With the streaming box Apple TV will not be used with Direct, is that right? I mostly watch the news shows and sports and local TV with Direct and Apple TV for Netflix, etc for the rest for streaming. Is streaming any more complicated than watching satellite, I don't want to make it complicated for my wife. Thanks


The streaming version is much easier to use, but there is a learning curve. If you're used to the sat version you shouldn't have any problems with the streaming version of D*. The remotes are different but they are more responsive than the satellite version's remotes. Using anything but a dedicated remote is a nightmare. Yeah, you can use the Apple remote but it doesn't have the features the Osprey remotes have. I didn't want to buy the boxes but it quickly became apparent that I needed them. You're concerned about complexity? The sat service is the more complicated service, streaming is much easier. The DVR function is so easy to use it's almost ridiculous. 

Simply put, you won't be sorry if you make the switch. I never thought I'd give up my DVRs, all it took was a couple of days with the streaming service and the DVRs were disconnected. 

There are some complaints I could make but it's a new service and it's gonna take some time to get all the little problems solved. I'm satisfied.


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## bonscott (May 1, 2007)

What is the PQ and Audio in streaming vs satellite 1080i? Dolby Digital? Is there an impovement?


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

Hey Rich

I made the switch about 3 weeks ago. Moved to Florida and with the weather, didn't want to deal with the lost sat signal. My only dislike so far is the length of time recordings are saved. I liked to record a season of a new show and see if it "made" it before getting invested. Now I can't do that.

What are your complaints?


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## Teetertotter (Jul 23, 2020)

We have 3 tv's. Will the 3 DTV stream boxes connect via Wi-Fi, direct to the ATT gateway? 
Question 2: Or need a Video Bridge, like I have for DTV satellite, for the other 2 tv's?


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Teetertotter said:


> We have 3 tv's. Will the 3 DTV stream boxes connect via Wi-Fi, direct to the ATT gateway?
> Question 2: Or need a Video Bridge, like I have for DTV satellite, for the other 2 tv's?


Yes they can connect wirelessly or via ethernet cable if you have them. No video bridge needed.


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## Teetertotter (Jul 23, 2020)

@b4pjoe Okay, Thank you.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

bonscott said:


> What is the PQ and Audio in streaming vs satellite 1080i? Dolby Digital? Is there an impovement?


Essentially the same as DirecTV Satellite. DirecTV just delivers whatever native resolution the networks provide. For HD channels, that's either 720p or 1080i. And DD5.1 audio is provided if the network delivers it.


----------



## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hdtvluvr said:


> Hey Rich
> 
> I made the switch about 3 weeks ago. Moved to Florida and with the weather, didn't want to deal with the lost sat signal. My only dislike so far is the length of time recordings are saved. I liked to record a season of a new show and see if it "made" it before getting invested. Now I can't do that.
> 
> What are your complaints?


The remote is annoying. While the performance is far better than I expected, the damn thing is too small and it has black buttons on a black remote. In a dark room, it's hard to see which buttons are which. If it were backlit as the old D* remotes are, with a button to turn the backlight on it would be much easier to use. 

I have no issues with the length of time the recordings are kept; nine months isn't bad. 

Aside from the remote, I think it's a much better service than the sat service. The DVR function is so easy to use it's almost ridiculous. 

I can't get any of my sound systems to work with this setup, my AVRs and soundbars aren't recognized. I have to call and see if I can get some help with this.

All in all, I think it's great. A major upgrade to the satellite service. I tried it on a whim and after comparing a couple of baseball games I stopped using my DVRs. Totally.


----------



## krel (Mar 20, 2013)

b4pjoe said:


> Yeah definitely...if it exists which I have my doubt. 5,100 channels. Every PPV event, every sports package in season like Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings, world channels for every country on earth, every series ever made, and every movie you can think of, including current theatre showings. $25 - $35 per month. Yeah sure.


LOL the cops will be at his door


----------



## I WANT MORE (Oct 3, 2006)

Any chance in Hell they add NFL Network before the season starts?


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

I WANT MORE said:


> Any chance in Hell they add NFL Network before the season starts?


no


----------



## Steveknj (Nov 14, 2006)

So I'm someone who has been a long time Sat person, and switched to D Stream and then back. There are a few reasons I switched back, mostly around family stuff.

No CW locally in NY Metro - sure, you could watch On Demand (and be forced to watch ads), but my son watches pretty much every superhero show on the CW so this was a NEED for us. When we first signed up for stream, we were able to compensate for that using a combination of the now defunct Locast and Channels DVR. Sure it cost me an extra few bucks a month but it worked. But with Locast's demise it became a huge problem. We tried some indoor antennas and HD HomeRun and an outdoor antenna in my attic, but it wasn't consistent enough to keep it. At the time there was also no PBS, which I believe there is now. 

A couple of other reasons I switched back. No NFL Network, no EC/WC versions of channels (I like watching some of the channels on West Coast time, especially if I miss something I wanted to watch.) The idea that ALL my channels are in one place. And lastly, no way to pad shows and sporting events. Auto pad worked about half the time, not good enough for me. There's nothing worse than watching a game, getting towards the end, and the game cuts off. IF they fix these issues, I would absolutely go back.

Here's what I liked about Stream. PQ was as good if not better than DirecTV. The Osprey box was very responsive and still used channel number (I rarely used the apps as I have much better solutions for streaming that support things like Dolby Atmos). The DVR, with the exception of the lack of padding and the auto delete after a certain time, was exceptional to me, especially the trick play I used (shorter skip and rewind times work great and are more precise). And lastly it wasn't SO much cheaper that paying the few extra $$ for the complete experience of Sat was not worth it.


----------



## PNGento (3 mo ago)

MIchael Risch said:


> "More important, like live sports, do they run over, too bad because you can't pad a recording"
> 
> It took 39 posts, but I found my dealbreaker...


On sports, I just record the following program on the same channel, JUST IN CASE. It is a habit now to do that.


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## I WANT MORE (Oct 3, 2006)

Their most recent ad touts automatically recording sporting events that run over.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

I WANT MORE said:


> Their most recent ad touts automatically recording sporting events that run over.


Thats been enabled for a longggg time now


----------



## djmaxwell (Jun 24, 2010)

I WANT MORE said:


> Their most recent ad touts automatically recording sporting events that run over.


It doesn't do anything for the shows that follow the sporting event.


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## Cavicchi (Oct 28, 2008)

I think DTV stream is the best streaming service. I have tried Fubo and You Tube for comparison. You Tube drove me nuts trying to delete a recorded program. You will find that is very easy with the DTV Stream. While it is possible to lose Internet service and thus no TV service, satellite service isn't perfect, snow, rain.....

We have 3 TVs with mine using the DTV box and the others using Roku Ultra. I find the box enhances the overall experience along with the included remote, which I prefer over Roku remote. DTV Satellite does have more channels and more options, and sometimes I get the itch to go back. But, then I remember the snow and rain and resulting no TV. Also, I am not interested in wireless TV of any kind. 

The DTV DVR was great, don't recall the model. It was extremely quiet and performed well. The only issues I had aside from weather were the occasional loss of Whole Home service, minis needing to be reset. If I were to go back, no wireless or moca or any other such tech, and don't need whole home either. The wife never records and doesn't know how. We are seniors and she has trouble swiping to answer phone calls on the Samsung Z Flip. I told her to just open phone to answer. She is old but very strong. Not only did she open phone but separated it into two pieces, screen and cover now no longer get along.


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## hanz_erichson (Jan 19, 2007)

jal said:


> Another question related to pricing is whether you have AT&T for an internet provider. Bundling with DIRECTV SATELLITE gets you (at least it did) $20 off internet. Once unbundled, the price of internet goes up. I don’t know whether that discount stays if the switch is made to DIRECTV STREAM.


Read through all 17 pages of this thread looking for an answer to the above question. I'm in a similar situation -- have an older internet plan with DIRECTV Satellite so I have no data cap. I'd like to cancel satellite, and sign up with DIRECTV Stream with a new email account (to get unlimited dvr that "migrating" from satellite to stream won't get you).

I can make a guess/assumption about what AT&T would do to my internet plan in this case, but since it is AT&T, any guess would probably be a waste of time. So, has anybody gone through this situation and can say what happened? I asked ATTHelp on twitter but have yet to receive a response.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Cavicchi said:


> You Tube drove me nuts trying to delete a recorded program.


Haha! I keep bringing this up anytime people try to convince me to cancel DirecTV and go to YouTube. YouTube has the worst DVR I've ever seen in my life. Imagine not having basic functionality like being able to delete a recording! Imagine not having basic functionality like being able to record a single episode. NO YOUTUBE! I don't want to watch all 300 episodes of Friends! I just want to watch the one I recorded!



Cavicchi said:


> is possible to lose Internet service and thus no TV service, satellite service isn't perfect, snow, rain.....


I've only had it go out once or twice in 20 years.



Cavicchi said:


> DTV Satellite does have more channels and more options, and sometimes I get the itch to go back. But, then I remember the snow and rain and resulting no TV.


My parents lost their internet for almost a full day. They were left without TV, Internet and Landline. All they could do was watch recorded shows.

I once lost my internet for 2+ days. Called Cox repeatedly over the time period and eventually contacted the mayor about them taking so long to repair it.


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