I like the idea of a more a-la-carte TV package (not that this is truly a-la-carte), and on its face, DirecTV NOW was a very good deal (with the base package starting at $35). The $5 per month HBO add-on (which is the best price I have seen for it) is great. However, the app is glitchy. I have it on the fire stick and on Roku, and during peak times it buffers all the time (and I have a very high-speed internet connection). So much so that it is nearly impossible to watch a show. During off-peak TV and internet use time, like during the day or after midnight it works better, but unless you are a second-shift worker, that will not do you a lot of good. it is also prone to freezing up. I have taken to using the app as little as possible and using the network-specific apps (many of which you can use the DirecTV Now credentials to sign in with) and watching the shows I want to see through those because they tend to have far fewer problems than this app.
There is also no DVR option like there is on Sling or a commercial-free option for when you are watching on-demand shows. One positive is that it has a great selection of local channels. In my area, it has the local CBS, NBC, ABC, CW, FOX, and in the middle tier package the local FOX Sports channel, which Apps like Sling do not have.
++++Update++++
They are now adding a DVR option to the app, and have seemed to upgrade the stability of the app significantly. It still does crash and kick you out of it, but much of the buffering issues have been resolved. So it is still not perfect.
There is also no DVR option like there is on Sling or a commercial-free option for when you are watching on-demand shows. One positive is that it has a great selection of local channels. In my area, it has the local CBS, NBC, ABC, CW, FOX, and in the middle tier package the local FOX Sports channel, which Apps like Sling do not have.
++++Update++++
They are now adding a DVR option to the app, and have seemed to upgrade the stability of the app significantly. It still does crash and kick you out of it, but much of the buffering issues have been resolved. So it is still not perfect.
+++Update 2 +++
I finally got sick of the glitches and freezing so I canceled my subscription to the app after a price increase which was not warranted for the quality of the product. I have no idea what it is like now. Hopefully, they fixed the issues I experienced, but the version I was using back in 2018 was definitely not ready for wide customer release.
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