WEBVTT - DirecTV Now Adds Cloud DVR For All

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<v Speaker 1>DirecTV Now pushes out a bunch of new upgrades, including

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<v Speaker 1>a new cloud DVR. I'm Rich Demiro. This is Rich

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<v Speaker 1>on Tech Daily. DirecTV Now is kind of like DirecTV

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<v Speaker 1>but without the hassle of installing a satellite dish or

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<v Speaker 1>signing up for a two year contract. You sign up online,

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<v Speaker 1>you download an app to your phone or set top box,

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<v Speaker 1>and you're good to go. I've been a subscriber since

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<v Speaker 1>day one of DirecTV Now. It launched back in November

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty sixteen, and it's been a pretty rough go

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<v Speaker 1>up until now. And the only reason I kept the

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<v Speaker 1>service this entire time is because I pay thirty five

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<v Speaker 1>dollars a month for one of their top packages, including

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<v Speaker 1>just about every channel, and they've been promising a cloud

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<v Speaker 1>DVR since day one. Well, that day has finally come

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<v Speaker 1>and DirecTV Now has relaunched their service with lots of

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<v Speaker 1>new features, including that cloud DVR that so far seems

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<v Speaker 1>very impressive. So for starters, the apps have an entirely

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<v Speaker 1>read his look. Think about it. For years, the cable

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<v Speaker 1>companies got to have a pretty big say on what

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<v Speaker 1>everything looked like and worked like on screen menus, the

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<v Speaker 1>boxes they deliver to customers, and of course the remote controls.

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<v Speaker 1>But now they really only get to control the app

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<v Speaker 1>that has to be installed on an Apple TV, Roku

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<v Speaker 1>or fire TV, and of course the remote control that

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<v Speaker 1>goes along with it. So it's a bit trickier for

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<v Speaker 1>these companies to design a user interface when they don't

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<v Speaker 1>have a dedicated channel up or down button or a

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<v Speaker 1>DVR list button on their remote, so keep that in mind.

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<v Speaker 1>This was very evident in the original design of direct

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<v Speaker 1>tv Now, but I'm happy to say the new app

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<v Speaker 1>looks and feels a little bit better. Your most watched

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<v Speaker 1>channels and favorite programs are right front and center when

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<v Speaker 1>you log in, Plus the video you're currently streaming stays

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<v Speaker 1>playing as you browse around the service. The program grid

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<v Speaker 1>has also changed. You might like it, you might not.

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<v Speaker 1>It has much more colorful station logos and more information

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<v Speaker 1>about a program that you want to watch when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to on demand. This was a really sore point

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<v Speaker 1>of the service, especially for my wife, who basically gave

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<v Speaker 1>up trying to watch any shows on demand. DirecTV Now

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<v Speaker 1>says they have twenty five thousand shows on demand, but

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<v Speaker 1>now they should actually work because in the past there

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<v Speaker 1>have been lots of problems, like when you'd get to

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<v Speaker 1>a commercial break, it would just skip back to the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of the show every time, which was very annoying.

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<v Speaker 1>DirecTV now says they've added more capacity to on demand,

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<v Speaker 1>so if you've had problems with it before, presumably it

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<v Speaker 1>should work better now. Plus they also say they're going

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<v Speaker 1>to get new episodes of shows on select channels added

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<v Speaker 1>right after they air. Arguably the biggest new feature is

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<v Speaker 1>the true Cloud DVR, which AT and T is quick

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<v Speaker 1>to point out is still in beta. This means that

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<v Speaker 1>they're just not going to take responsibility for any errors

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<v Speaker 1>you might encounter. So if you lose your entire season

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<v Speaker 1>of Legion, no worries. It's in beta, we warned you.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I've sampled the DVR for just a bit on

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<v Speaker 1>my Apple TV and my iPhone, and I can say

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<v Speaker 1>it seems like AT and T did their homework here.

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<v Speaker 1>It is legit. Recorded shows load super fast, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can skip to any part of the recording instantly, and

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<v Speaker 1>you can also jump ahead in fifteen second increments, which

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<v Speaker 1>is really handy if you're one of those commercial skippers.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything is stored in the cloud, all of your recordings

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<v Speaker 1>and customers get twenty free hours of recording time. Shows

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<v Speaker 1>are kept for thirty days, so if you do the math,

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<v Speaker 1>that's really not that much. These are not amazing numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>but what it does allow is AT and T to

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<v Speaker 1>upsell us so you can get more recording time and

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<v Speaker 1>more storage time that is already in the works. You

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<v Speaker 1>can pay to get one hundred hours of cloud DVR

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<v Speaker 1>and ninety days of storage for an extra ten dollars

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<v Speaker 1>a month. There's also another add on they're offering. If

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<v Speaker 1>you need an extra stream, you can now get that

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<v Speaker 1>for an extra five dollars a month. DirecTV now has

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<v Speaker 1>a limit of two simultaneous streams, so if you want

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<v Speaker 1>to watch in three rooms at the same time, you

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<v Speaker 1>can upgrade for that. One more new feature, you can

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<v Speaker 1>watch local channels while you're on the road. Now. Previously,

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<v Speaker 1>I learned this the hard way. I was in a

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<v Speaker 1>hotel room. I go to look at ABC or NBC

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<v Speaker 1>and guess what they were not even on the program grid. Previously,

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<v Speaker 1>you can only watch your local channels when you were

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<v Speaker 1>at home. If you were traveling, you were just out

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<v Speaker 1>of luck. But now when you're traveling you will get

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<v Speaker 1>access to the local channels in the city that you

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<v Speaker 1>are in, So keep this in mind. It's not the

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<v Speaker 1>same channels that you have at home, but it will

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<v Speaker 1>be the Fox, NBCABC or CBS station that's just broadcasting

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<v Speaker 1>to the area you're in. The local channel Now. This

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<v Speaker 1>is kind of a sore topic for me because the

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<v Speaker 1>TV station I'm on KTLA Channel five in Los Angeles

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<v Speaker 1>still isn't on direct tv now at all. But I'll

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<v Speaker 1>gladly watch other local stations when I'm traveling. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>that's one of my favorite things to do when I'm

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<v Speaker 1>on a trip is tune in and see what all

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<v Speaker 1>the local news stations are like. It's kind of fun.

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<v Speaker 1>So how does DirecTV Now compare to the other cord

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<v Speaker 1>cutting services out there? Well, I think it's now the

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<v Speaker 1>best since it offers the most channels and the most

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<v Speaker 1>DVR features. YouTube TV they have the great DVR feature,

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<v Speaker 1>but kind of a lesser channel selection. Sling as a

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<v Speaker 1>limited DVR and limited local channels, and Hulu has good

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<v Speaker 1>locals the DVR but not so great for user interface

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<v Speaker 1>and PlayStation view still hanging in there and that's a

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<v Speaker 1>solid offering as well. Directorv nows new features are available

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<v Speaker 1>right now on iOS but you do have to update

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<v Speaker 1>your apps to get them, and as usual, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know why this happens all the time, but they are

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<v Speaker 1>coming soon to Android, Roku and fire TV. No timeframe

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<v Speaker 1>was given for that, but hopefully it's sooner than later.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much for listening to the podcast. I would

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<v Speaker 1>love it if you left me a rating and review

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<v Speaker 1>in the Apple Podcasts app if you like what I'm

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<v Speaker 1>doing here, that helps spread the word and get the

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<v Speaker 1>podcast in front of more eyeballs and I guess more

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<v Speaker 1>ears too. I'm Rich damiro links to everything I talk

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<v Speaker 1>about here on my website. Just go to richon tech

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<v Speaker 1>dot tv. I'll talk to you real soon.