With the latest version of its streaming, phone and tablet apps, DIRECTV has re-enabled and improved a feature that was part of its service for years, until it wasn’t. Starting with the new recordings you make after updating the app, you will once again be able to stream the actual recordings you have made from your home DVR rather than their on-demand counterparts. This means that you’ll be able to fast-forward through commercials. It brings the streaming app one step closer to being a replacement for a Genie client, too. I’ll show you a little of the process, but first let’s look back at where we were.
Operation Nomad
DIRECTV’s ability to take your programming with you predates DISH’s. Back in 2010, the DIRECTV team developed Nomad, a standalone device that re-encoded programming into a format that could be loaded directly onto your phone. The original review seems to have been lost when DBSTalk reorganized their site but here is a later review I created when local content was supported. Even before that, a program called DIRECTV2PC allowed you to watch local content on your computer. Here’s an early review that still exists.
Nomad had a rocky life. It was largely unloved because it took a very long time to prepare programs for transfer to your computer. The first version took about two hours to prepare a 30-minute program, including a 5-10 minute transfer to your phone. Later versions, like the renamed GenieGO 2, improved this significantly. In the end it was usually possible to transcode a 30-minute program in 15-20 minutes, but that still took a lot of planning.
DIRECTV Mobile DVR
In 2016, DIRECTV rolled out a new service where the Genie DVR itself could transcode programs to be streamed live from the home. It was called Mobile DVR and I reviewed it here. It worked a lot better but the video quality was still far worse than other streaming options, even DIRECTV’s own on-demand programs. Mobile DVR was such a non-starter that when it was discontinued three years later, practically no one noticed. Since then, the only way to get DIRECTV programming when away from home has been through on-demand.
And now, it’s back
Version 4.0.50 of the DIRECTV app quietly returns the ability to stream programs from your home DVR. When you launch the app, you’ll see something like this:
You’ll want to be on your home network when you press Link DVR. It’s almost instantaneous and you’ll get this message when it’s successful:
Starting with any new recordings, you should be able to stream most programs straight from your home DVR. However, existing recordings will still play from on-demand sources. That means you may still see this message:
Quick review
Here’s the simple fact: this feature does what it says. I can’t say if the quality is quite as good as watching live in HD, but it’s just as good as streaming from on demand. Your cell company’s “stream saver” service may cut the quality for you, but it’s very acceptable on a phone. It’s also quite good on the DIRECTV app when used on the same network.
By putting this feature in place, DIRECTV regains feature parity with DISH. DISH has had the ability to remote stream in high quality ever since their Hopper with Sling came out about ten years ago.
The bottom line is that after 15 years of trying this or that, I think DIRECTV has gotten pretty close to getting it perfect here. You can’t stream directly to a PC, but I’m not sure that’s a dealbreaker for most folks. It still doesn’t give the full Genie client experience when you’re viewing from a streaming box. But for those who just want to watch a recorded program while waiting at the doctor’s office or in a hotel finally have what they’ve been looking for.
With this function, you’ll be able to see more locally recorded programs, and forward through commercials. This takes away two hurdles that existed in the app before, and they’re certainly welcome.
The DIRECTV app is available through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and it’s free. This is a very decent benefit for DIRECTV satellite subscribers and I’m glad it’s here.
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