I Put DIRECTV STREAM to the Test in 2024! Is It Worth It?

you know I wasn't really planning to sign up for Direct TV stream this year but I am glad that I did after cancelling YouTube TV I resubscribed to Direct TV stream and discovered there's been a whole lot of changes since my last review today I'm going to share everything I learned and help you decide if it's worth it for you let's get started now we all know Direct TV as the big satellite company and recently they've been heavily marketing Direct TV via internet I know you've seen the ads stream direct TV without the at dish the first thing you got to know Direct TV via internet it is not the same as Direct TV stream Direct TV satellite and Direct TV via internet represent what a lot of people are trying to get away from in the cord cutting era you have to sign a 24-month contract equipment and most plans include a regional Sports fee for all these reasons I don't typically recommend Direct TV satellite or Direct TV via internet to most people who watch my channel now Direct TV stream is a separate service I've tested this one since it launched in 2016 as Direct TV now Direct TV stream is almost hidden you won't find any mention of it on Direct TV's homepage instead you're going to find it by going to the address on your screen I'll leave a direct link to it down below Direct TV stream offers similar Channel bundles as Direct TV with top cable networks as well as your local stations but there are some differences you got to consider most most importantly you don't have to sign a 24-month contract and you don't have to pay any hidden fees more now on the pricing and Direct TV stream it is not cheap this is a premium live TV streaming service similar to YouTube TV and Hulu live at recording time the base entertainment plan costs $7 a month more than YouTube TV but the most popular Direct TV stream plan that is the choice plan and it comes in at more than $100 a month and it includes Regional Sports networks now I resubscribed in May 2024 to redeem a limited time offer one that I shared on my channel $49.99 a month for 3 months this was a rare offer more often the service is going to offer deals like $10 off a month for your first 3 months of service you can find a link to the latest offer also a free trial that's on Michael saves deals.com so with Direct TV stream being so expensive why would anyone pay more or when they can just get YouTube TV while the rest of this video it's going to help answer that question moving on to the channel lineup like other premium cable 2.0 Services Direct TV stream offers cable networks as well as local broadcast TV stations what sets it apart well that's the availability of regional Sports networks I just touched on that and those rsns are available in the choice plan or hire so if you watch rsns and you can't get them with YouTube TV or Hulu live it makes sense why you'd consider a direct TV stream right but what about the base entertainment plan this one doesn't include rsns it does offer more than 90 popular cable TV networks as well as your local stations slightly less than YouTube TV's base plan that one has more than a 100 channels recently Direct TV stream has added some channels and removed others the best example I can think of Direct TV stream removed A&E networks from the entertainment plan that's A&E history history and lifetime if you want those channels you'll have to pay more for the choice plan or go with another service with so many TV networks struggling right now I expect more Channel changes from Direct TV stream and its competitors they've got to focus on what's still working and that's primarily Sports networks and local stations also some cable news Direct TV streams user experience well I found that it's really popular with people who want a traditional cable TV feeli and I'm going to show you the service launched this new home screen for Roku users but not all devices are going to have this new look the video screen displays the last Channel you were watching and right above that you see shortcuts to these recently watched channels further down the home screen recommendations there are also other sections of the app guide library Sports Central and On Demand I'm going to take you to the live guide next you can see there are various filters to sort the channels including your favorites select select and hold the heart next to a Channel logo then it's added to your favorites list also options here to sort channels alphabetically or by channel number more on that one later the jump today feature also handy it lets you select a day and preview the live guide up to 2 weeks in advance when you're in the live guide and select something that's coming up later you're going to see the option to record it but if you select something airing right now you'll be taken to the live programming and these options appear along the bottom of the screen you can use the playback controls to pause rewind fast forward also an option to set a recording while watching live TV Arrow up then you're going to see a list of recent channels and you don't have to return to the main live guide to switch to them if you want to return to the home screen just arrow down while watching live TV and one more feature that I like I was able to use the left in right arrows on my Roku remote and that way I could quickly flip through the channels Direct TV stream has progressively made changes to its DVR over the years it did not Ed to be the best now I think it probably is you get unlimited Cloud DVR storage you can save those recordings for up to 9 months during my latest test of the Service Direct TV stream announced it was lifting a 30 episodes Max restriction when recording a series this update still rolling out at recording time solves my one and only major complaint about the DVR some people actually prefer Direct TV streams DVR over YouTube TV because you've got more control over your recordings with Direct TV stream you can record a single episode or an entire series and if you want to you can also delete single episodes YouTube TV's DVR is All or Nothing for most recordings and that means you will not have the option to record or delete single episodes quick word about the on demand section this is separate from your library and I don't really use the OnDemand section much because the shows and movies that you find here have unskippable ads that's why you got to take advantage of the DVR if you want to skip through the ads just make sure to set a recording before it airs let's keep it moving now and with Direct TV stream you bring your own device to the service like aoku I mostly used aoku for my testing but other devices are compatible with the Direct TV app for watching on a TV set devices like Apple TV Fire TV stick Google chomecast longtime viewers may remember this it was called the Direct TV stream device I tested it out a couple years ago but the company stopped selling this device when it introduced Direct TV via internet the Direct TV stream device was rebranded it's now called Gemini here's the catch if you really want that Gemini device you need direct TV via internet the service with a contract and all those additional fees Gemini formerly the Direct TV stream device delivers the old cable feel with a number pad where you can enter the channel numbers from the live guide but I don't think it has a whole lot of other advantages over a Roku I honestly don't think it's worth it for most people the next three things you got to know quick and important updates and they're updates on things that people email me about all the time when they're asking for a free streaming TV recommendation the multiple streams policy Direct TV streams got a generous one when you're at home you can get up to 20 streams at the same time and that's across all your compatible devices not just TV sets also phones tablets and computers you can take the service with you on the go like while traveling and stream on up to three devices including two TV sets this is a lot less restrictive than some competitors and I like it I get asked all the time about picture quality so I wanted to point out that Direct TV stream includes 4K at no extra charge with YouTube TV that's extra don't get too excited though there's really not much 4K content the service has a few channels in the guide dedicated to 4K including one that has entertainment content two other 4K channels seem to be dedicated to Live Events like sports I used Direct TV stream search function and typed in 4k here you can see how few programs are available nearly all content is in HD not 4K and by the way that's true for all of the live TV streaming services Direct TV stream previously confirmed to me that it was compatible with 5G home internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon I used both of these providers for my recent test had no error messages or buffering it worked out great whether you're using a Wi-Fi or wired connection here's the official word from Direct TV stream 8 megabits per second per stream that's in use if you are looking for a new internet provider I've got a tool below you can enter your address and see the best options another update for you as I mentioned before Direct TV stream has no contracts so you can evaluate whether the service is working out on a monthly basis and just cancel if it's not working out in the past the service made you chat or call in to cancel but not anymore that's the update to cancel all you got to do is sign into your account go to manage my TV subscription cancel my service and then follow a few prompts there are a few prompts but no interaction with customer service is needed anymore know this when you cancel the service you will continue to have access to it until the end of your billing cycle so you might as well make use of it you've already paid for the month now I'm personally moving away from Big bundle services and shifting my viewing to more affordable on demand Services some free services as well but I definitely understand why people who want Regional Sports networks are going to give dire Direct TV stream a closer look if you're thinking about signing up I update limited time deals for Direct TV stream and more on Michael saf deals.com