Review: DirecTV App for the iPhone

Program Record

I can’t say enough about this new DirecTV app that was released a few weeks ago.  It’s fast and it works better than their clunky web interface. It’s so great to be able to think of a show and instantly look it up and have it record on any of your DVR’s.  Once you have this functionality, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

You can do a search by program name, channel or time. You can also specify which of the DVR’s in your house that you wish to record to (I recommend changing the default names to Other and then use something that’s more personally descriptive like Theater or Kid’s Room).

The logos display for all of the channels that have logos to make them easily identifiable and it will show all instances of shows, including whether or not the show is in HD. It’s a little tricky because DirecTV mirrors some of the channels locally but the app is smart enough to record from the correct channel when there are multiples present.

This level of integration has really only been possible with the ubiquity of the app store and Apple’s willingness to provide development tools.  It certainly helps that there are millions of iPhone users now as well. All in all I’m glad that different companies are choosing to develop useful and interesting apps. The future is now.