AT&T TV on Android TV

[cain4355]

Why isn't the AT&T TV app available on any Android TV devices? I have multiple TV's and boxes running Android TV and don't want to have to buy another box just to run this app on my TV. When I initially purchased my subscription over the phone I was told it worked on all Android devices. This could very well be a reason I cancel my subscription.

[Elsinore]

i have a high end Sony tv and they told me the major drawback was android.  I have a much cheaper TCL Roku tv that doesn’t block directv now.  Chromecast is terrible so I think Apple TV, fire stick or Roku are a must if you buy a Sony.  The picture is great though.  

[DirectvNOWDgal]

Apple TV and Fire TV are faster than the Roku. I have all three. Love
Roku for ease.

[Shong50]

I bought the most expensive Sony Android TV costing almost $9,000 dollars. It has the updated Android TV software. But DirectTV Now does not work on the Sony. It shows the video image, but NO SOUND!!!  Occasionally with scratching noises.

AT&T was the technology leader decades ago, so disappointing that it cannot make the streaming video service produces sound to go with the video images!!!  I am in 7-day free trial period. Not sure whether I will continue, unless a solution is found.

[beww357]

Try disabling anything Dolby. DTVN does not support Dolby on all channels.

[rbrinson]

@Shong50, I subscribed to DirecTV NOW during the 2018 World Cup. I was able to side load the Fire TV DirecTV NOW apk (https://m.mediafire.com/folder/ezc6ki36dp34f/Apps) on my NVIDIA Shield Android TV. However, after World Cup, I decided not to continue the subscription. During Christmas, my wife was really wanting the Hallmark Channel, and my son was really wanting all of the specials found on Disney and Cartoon Network. I dismissed DirecTV NOW due to its lack of an Android TV app and the fact that they were experiencing a huge service outage at the time. So, I did some research, and I ended up subscribing to Playstation Vue Core. It is just a bit more expensive than DirecTV NOW, but it has all of the channels that were must haves, DVR and On Demand are included, multiple simultaneous streams are allowed, the app is available on Android TV, Android, and Roku (all of the platforms in my house), and the stream quality has been stellar. I almost went with SlingTV Orange with a few add-ons, which would have cost the same as DirecTV NOW, but the Orange package only allows one stream. So, that was a deal breaker. I encourage you to look at all of the available alternatives, paying attention to channels offered, price, DRV capabilities, and platforms supported. The alternative services listed below have Android TV apps.

• Playstation Vue
• SlingTV
• YouTube Live TV
• FuboTV

[Shong50]

Hi Rbrinson,

Thank you very much for spending time to reply with lots of helpful information!!  Deeply appreciated!!

[SeditiousJerk]

I discovered that this functionality was lacking after I had already signed up. I saw the Android support, so I foolishly assumed that this functionality would exist to use with my nVidia Shield. That was a $177 lesson I'll never make again. On top of that, their UI is ***** terrible. I hate almost everything about this, and I can't believe a company as huge as AT&T has put out such a garbage product. 

[word filter avoidance]

[lydian]

Why can't you sideload it like every other Shield user in the world? Works fine, always has.

[SeditiousJerk]

Why should I have to rig an app to work on a wildly common media platform like Android TV? I have two Shields, two Xbox Ones, and a couple of Rokus. Hulu works fine on all of these platforms and honestly, at this point, I have no idea what possible advantage this service has over them aside from NFL RedZone. It's stupid that they don't have app support for Android TV or Xbox this late in the game in 2019.

[lydian]

I agree it's s.t.u.p.i.d that they don't support Android TV, especially when their own Osprey beta box app IS Android TV. It would just be a matter of making their existing Fire TV apk available in the Play store, no changes required.

But they are m.o.r.on.s, and we have to work around it. The Fire TV apk is easy to install and runs perfectly on Android TV.

I'm curious which plan you have that still has Redzone. I thought they dropped that a long time ago. Makes me wonder if you haven't confused DirecTV NOW with streaming your DirecTV satellite service. If so, you're in the wrong forum.

As bad as DTVN NOW is, Hulu Live TV is far, far worse. No guide, terrible lineup, overpriced. They're at the bottom of my list. When I drop DTVN, I'll go to Youtube TV or Philo (if they beef up their lineup a little), or if I'm really desperate, PS Vue.

(extraneous dots are to get around the bad word filter)

[SeditiousJerk]

I think I may have screwed up and incorrectly believed that NFL RedZone was included with this service. You’re probably right and it doesn’t exist, which is just reason number 87 that I don’t like this service and will be dropping it as soon as my month is up. I signed up for the top tier package with all of the movie channel add-ons. It’s like $177 a month, which is pretty ridiculous on its own. I used Hulu’s service and didn’t have much of a problem with it, but they didn’t offer RedZone at the time, so I dropped it for PS Vue. I was pretty ok with PS Vue aside from it not working on Xbox (which I understand, competitor and all that) but their channel lineup – especially with movie channels, was pretty lacking. They also didn’t have Starz as an option in their channel lineup, which doesn’t make any sense to me. With that said, it was stable, worked on pretty much everything, had RedZone, integrated with Google Assistant and the Shields, and it was about $80 cheaper a month. At the end of the day, it doesn’t seem like any streaming service really has everything firing on all cylinders. I might just s-uck it up and find creative ways to hide the cable boxes and go back to that… the price is about the same, it works on everything, and you get way more content. I feel like cord-cutting is kind of pointless at this point unless you’re ok with limited content options. Pretty frustrating all around. I appreciate your feedback though, not sure if I’ll look into the Fire TV issue since I only have about 3 weeks left before I can cancel, but I’m glad you mentioned it.

[lydian]

I hear you loud and clear. I've got a million of my own reasons to drop DTVN. However, since I'm grandfathered in to the old lineup and price ($50), which is still actually better than anybody else's, I've got to keep hanging in there as I have for the past 3 years now until something better comes along. Like you said, every other service has some deficiency. Sports isn't a requirement for me, so at least Philo is an option.

PS Vue had a great service, lineup and DVR back in the day, but gutted their lineup a few years ago while still keeping the price high, which is why I dropped them 3 years ago.

If I had to have ALL the cable channels, sports and premiums, there really is no other option besides traditional cable/satellite. Since I'm willing to give up several things, including my sanity, to save a little money, I can hold my nose and stick with DTVN until the next price increase or they shutter the service altogether (very likely).