Exclusive Review: A week with DirecTV Now

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By: Dan Uff, Senior Editor / Owner

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Unlike other reviewers that reviewed the DirecTV Now Service on the day that it came out, I took my time and took advantage of the 7 day free trail period so I could give you a true, comprehensive review of the service. I will also focus on the technical end of the service (setup, streaming, etc.) instead of throwing out the rates and prices. I think you’re intelligent enough to read and consider which pricing option is best for you and your budget.

Overview:
DirecTV Now is a service that’s Internet only which provides cable TV and some Pay channels in one, convenient app. Depending upon what you’re willing to pay a month, you can get as many channels as you want. The more you pay per month, the more channels you shall receive. There is no equipment to purchase, nobody comes to your home, and no set-up fees.

Sign Up:
The sign-up for the service is quick and easy. Just go to DirecTV Now to start. During the sign-up process, you have to come up with a username and password, select a monthly pricing plan for when the 7 day free trail ends, and enter in your payment information. They take major Credit Cards, as well as PayPal.

Viewing DirecTV Now:
Their are three ways to view the programming with DirecTV Now:

Web Site.
Tablet
The DirecTV App for your streaming box (Apple TV, Xbox, etc.)

Once you’ve signed in, you’ll be presented a standard TV Guide of available local and network shows.

Navigation:
Navigating around the Guide and actual programming depends on the type of streaming box you use. I used the newest Apple TV (4th Generation) for my tests. Navigating is easy but could become a pain in the ass later, especially when you’re in a hurry to get to a certain channel.

The guide has two options – ALL CHANNELS and FAVORITE CHANNELS. These options are obvious, so I won’t get into them.

Choosing a channel is as simple as moving the cursor over the name of a program that’s on that channel and selecting it. It then gives you a “loading” screen, and then the channel is shown.

Streaming:
While this section will vary depending upon your connection speed, I found that the quality of the stream is quite good. All shows are broadcast in low, standard, and high HD and there sound is of stereo quality. Although the stream did “chock” from time to time, the broadcast was on about 98% of the time. When a channel does freeze, one can exit out of the show and then right back into it for the stream to pick up again.

Local Channels:
This section depends on your area. But what I will say is, that 2 of the 3 major networks (ABC and NBC) would be available, but CBS is not at this time and may require an additional fee for use with the network’s CBS All Access online service.

Network Channels:
Except for CBS, all of the major network channels (ABC, FOX, NBC) are available but may require an additional fee.

Pay Channels:
Currently, DirecTV Now offers two pay channels HBO and CineMax for an additional fee.

Pros:

7 Day Free Trail Period.
Easy Billing Options.
Easy sign-up.
Easy set-up.
Easy to navigate TV Guide.
Good to excellent Picture and Sound quality.
Limited picture and sound lockups.
More channel choices then basic and standard cable.

Cons:

Can block out some standard cable shows for one reason or another.
Can chew up data for metered Internet connections.
Can be slow in loading TV channels.
Needs always-on Internet connection.
Only two TVs can view channels on one account.
May say your account is over number of connection limit of access when it isn’t.
Can be hard to find cancellation information and page(s) on web site.
TV Guide can be confusing at first.

Bottom Line:
From what I can see, DirecTV Now could be a very good alternative and an affordable option for those persons who live in apartments and only have one or two TVs, and don’t wanna pay their local cable provider an arm and a leg for channels that they may not ever watch. As for a multi-family household (like mine is) this option would not be a good investment at this time – unless you have one TV that’s not connected to a cable box.