[size=5]It looks like DirecTV is having some sort of issues with their ON DEMAND service, as we received this email a short while ago:[/size]
**We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our DIRECTV on DEMAND service, which has required us to halt recently delivered titles from being made available to customers. DIRECTV Engineering is actively working on resolving this issue, at which point we will expedite the delayed titles.
** Our primary focus is to ensure that your Homepage remains on-air, so that customers can continue to access your available library of titles. We will reach out to you as soon as possible if we encounter a situation where we are unable to extend a current on-air Homepage without updating the featured titles and/or Homepage posters.
[size=4]We are aware from some of the posts by DirecTV users that our content is also affected by this problem. Hang tight guys, we’ll post any update DirecTV sends us to let you know when they’ve resolved this little issue. Thanks![/size]
I watched both replacement YUA! episodes and both were clean. I haven’t watched the replacement Gintama or Eyeshade 21 episodes yet so I can’t report on them. Hidemari Sketch ep. 3 had a weird shake in a few scenes but was not too bad. It looks like DirecTV on Demand has resolved whatever the hiccup was.
Gintama 1 and 2 are ok but the replacement eps 3/4/5 are still jittery.
And all the Eyeshield 21 replacements are still jittery. However, they’re not double image-unwatchable jittery anymore.
For the free Video-On-Demand (such as Channel 1889), ‘Add to queue’ has been replaced with ‘Record’. The yellow button, and all of its sub-functions (‘Move to top of queue’ and ‘Rearrange queue’) are gone.
Update: See comments from Newshawk in the follow-up postings.
The ‘Queue’ is only used for DirecTV Cinema; it no longer has anything to do with the free-via-the-Internet Video-On-Demand.
Under ‘Manage Recordings’, the ‘Queue’ has two submenus, the new one being ‘Preferences’.
Set a limit for the number of programs from your Queue that can be in the Playlist at one time. Watch, delete, or keep one of these programs to receive more.
Menu -> Manage Recordings -> Queue -> Preferences: Keep at Most: 5 (or 10 or 1 or 3).
[strike]If you have five or more VOD items in the Playlist already, the default is to not download anymore until one of those five have been deleted. You can go to Queue Preferences to bump that limit up to 10.[/strike] ***** VOD items that are delivered over the Internet (such as The Anime Network) do not use the ‘Queue’. The ‘Queue’ is used by DirecTV Cinema (including pay-per-view VOD items that are not on Channels 120-199).
Too bad we did not receive any information about these new features. I saw nothing in TVmail or e-mail.
I noticed some changes, but mine doesn’t appear to have a set limit. I was able to download 12 episodes, mostly from TAN but also others, with no problems.
Joe, that is for a new feature of DirecTV Cinema. HD DVR owners who do not have internet access can now download a limited number (but about 400 titles, IIRC) of DirecTV Cinema titles via a satellite-delivered DirecTV On Demand. You place the titles you want downloaded in the playlist and when they come up on the satellite they are automatically downloaded. Since the satellite space is limited, the number of DirecTV On Demand titles you can queue at one time is limited to prevent frustration. Internet-delivered DirecTV On Demand is not affected. I’ve been running beta software versions beyond the latest national release and have no problems scheduling all the ANOD titles at once.
Joe, that is for a new feature of DirecTV Cinema … satellite-delivered DirecTV On Demand.[/quote]
Thanks for that information. It explains why having the limit set at 5 did not prevent me from queuing up 17 VOD-via-broadband episodes. They go straight to the Playlist since the Queue is used for something else now.
I do have Internet access, and everything on my DirecTV Cinema list is pay-per-view. Are you saying that people without Internet access are getting free VOD via DirecTV Cinema?
Joe, that is for a new feature of DirecTV Cinema … satellite-delivered DirecTV On Demand.
Thanks for that information. It explains why having the limit set at 5 did not prevent me from queuing up 17 VOD-via-broadband episodes. They go straight to the Playlist since the Queue is used for something else now.
I do have Internet access, and everything on my DirecTV Cinema list is pay-per-view. Are you saying that people without Internet access are getting free VOD via DirecTV Cinema?
-Joe[/quote]
Since I am also on broadband DirecTV On Demand I do not know, but I believe the only things available via the satellite only DirecTV Cinema DOD are PPV movies. The Satellite only DOD does not have all the channels that broadband DOD does.
