Direct TV On Demand

[JJMP50]

Just got off the phone with a DTV rep and they are sending me a Cinema kit for my hd box to wirelessly connect to my router. I see that Direct TV on demand is really not on demand since you have to download content to your DVR, but has anyone had experience with this service? Over all I like DTV, but miss an ondemand service. I have Netflix streaming, but it just doesn't have enough content that I haven't already see, ie tv shows and movies.

[WxMan]

Yes. I use it all the time. Just press Menu, Search and Browse, and then On Demand. While in search and browse, I usually enter the keywords for content titles and then go on demand.

Just to clarify. DTV is not Netflix. You don't stream content off the internet like you would on Netflix. You download it. However, once a download has started you can start watching it immediately if your internet connection is not too slow that is. DTV's "on demand" really means instant access. DTV's Cinema on demand is often available in 1080p too. Using VOD or video on demand I can download TV series episodes, premium channel shows, sports events, and movies right to my HR24 receiver's hard drive and view them whenever I want. However, don't wait too long. Most d/l programs, not all, will have an expiration date, usually within a couple of weeks to a month. The PQ on DTV is superior to Netflix too. I have never experienced drop outs or time outs using DTV's on demand, but I do have a 12 Mbps broadband connection.

There is a caveat however. If your internet connection is really slow say below 3 Mbps, it could take perhaps a couple of hours and longer to download movies. When I had 3 Mbps broadband after I first got started with DTV, it took just over 4 hours to download Seven Years in Tibet off ShowTime VOD in 1080p and 5.1 surround sound. So, the faster your internet connection the better.

[enrique]

I have it as well.Havent used the on demand stuff much,but use Pandora all the time.Love it.

[Jeff R.]

I second that the Pandora functionality is great.

[avgjoe]

Did any of you use DTV's Cinema Connection Kit or just use a router connected to your wireless network like I'm thinking of doing? I also want to connect another HD (non-DVR) receiver to my network.

Joe

[English210]

I'm using DirecTV and it's just connected to the router, no other kit. When I went to whole-home DVR, they took out the non-HD box,and I just have a small receiver (about the size of a router) that is slaved off the DVR that's in another room. The downside to that is that you can't pause/rewind live tv. I may swap the equipment, in fact, so the DVR is in our 'main' room, and we have the full functionality back.

[Midwesthonky]

Did any of you use DTV's Cinema Connection Kit or just use a router connected to your wireless network like I'm thinking of doing? I also want to connect another HD (non-DVR) receiver to my network.

Joe

I have my HD DVR box connected to my router via a LAN cable. But then my router is all of 4 feet from the DirecTV box and the cables run behind cabinets. So it's not visible. But then I also added a new wire run so my Internet provider has an outlet right behind my DirecTv box since that is the primary entertainment location. My primary TV is also connected via LAN to the same router so I can take advantage of it's internet capabilities (mostly Youtube and Amazon Prime).

I can't help you with connecting another receiver to the network. I'm only running one. The other TV just gets off-air signals but is connected wireless to my network so I can use Amazon Prime, etc.