Mobile DVR service with a DIRECTV HR24? Don’t count on it

Let’s set the record straight. A few other enthusiast sites have reported that it’s possible to use DIRECTV’s Mobile DVR service with an HR24 DVR. The results are said to be pretty bad, but at least you get something.

I’m not going to deny that it’s possible, but it’s not something you really actually want to try. First of all it seems you would still need a DIRECTV Genie DVR in your system, and then it would try to stream the content from the HR24 by passing it through the Genie DVR. I’m not so sure that will ever work well. It works ok when sharing content throughout the home, but streaming is another thing altogether. So while it may work for a few people in a sort of herky-jerky way, it’s not going to work well for everyone, ever. That’s the message I get from some friends who definitely know this sort of thing.

I can say confidently that the mobile DVR service itself will never come to the HR24 DVR. HR24 may have seemed like the new hotness in 2010 but let’s be honest… by today’s standards it’s kind of slow. In fact, due to its age I would not expect any new features to be rolled out on that platform, ever, and I fully expect that it will find its end of life a year or two after AT&T rolls out its next generation platform, whenever that ends up being.

If you only have an HR24 DVR, don’t fret though; you can still access the tens of thousands of DIRECTV programs available on demand through the DIRECTV apps for smartphones and tablets. These stream from DIRECTV’s servers and not from your home DVR. There’s an excellent chance that the programs from your playlist are there anyway.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.