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Tutor

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5 Messages

Saturday, October 29th, 2011 1:11 AM

Some Shows Won't Play on iPhone 4S / App Flaw

I just got my Nomad device yesterday.  For the most part it seems to be working.  However, so far three programs that I downloaded to my iPhone will not play.  They downloaded fine, and I can tell they are there because I can scroll through the programs, but they will not actually play.  When I push play they stay paused.  All three programs play fine on my PC, and other shows play fine on my iPhone.  All three shows happen to be from Fox Soccer Channel.  I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it, but it is interesting that they are all from the same network.

 

So far I have tried the following:

- Deleting and downloading the shows

- Deleting the iPhone app, rebooting the phone, and reinstalling the app

- Deleting the shows from both my iPhone and PC and downloading again

 

Off topic, but also critical, is the fact that the iPhone app does not run in the background and allow multitasking.  This is a big enough inconvenience that I will probably return the Nomad box during my 30 day window unless it is resolved.  It is not practical for me to keep the Nomad app up with no access to my phone, e-mail, and other apps while I wait for shows to download.

Teacher

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13 Messages

13 years ago

You may already know this but just in case... your iphone/PC doesn't have to be on when the programs are "preparing". Only when they're actually downloading.  The download portion should only take about 8 minutes for a 1hr show over WiFi.

 

Regarding multitasking on iOS... I'm not sure that Apple allows full-rate file transfers to take place in the background. I don't think this is DIRECTV's choice but more of an iOS limitation. 

Tutor

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5 Messages

13 years ago

Thanks for the reply.  I am aware of how the app works.  That still means if I am loading enough shows for a round trip flight, it could take almost an hour. To tie up all of my iPhone features that long is not acceptable, especially when the download in progress restarts from the beginning when the app is reopened.

Regarding iOS limitations, I'm not sure I buy that.  I also subscribe to Rhapsody, which allows me to download subscription music for use when I am offline.  It definitely transfers the music in the background while multitasking.

On Oct 30, 2011, at 8:19 PM, DIRECTV Technical Help Forums<> wrote:

Notification of Reply

Teacher

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13 Messages

13 years ago

Then I definitely think it should (and may) be added in future updates of the app.  I agree, it's important that it be able to download in the background.

 

As for the downloads restarting from the beginning when the app is reopened... it works that way on a PC so I believe we'll be seeing that on iOS in future updates.

 

Let's keep sending DIRECTV these ideas, I know that they read these forums.

Mentor

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41 Messages

13 years ago

Can you tell me what programs will not play (program name and channel number).

Also, the issue about the app having to be in the foreground for the download (not prepare) step is an Apple requirement. The complaint about tying up the phone should then also apply to the Sync function in iTunes. Consider the DOWNLOAD step the same as SYNC. As one other person said this is a relatively short duration of time...equivalent to iTunes moving the same amount of data.

Tutor

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5 Messages

13 years ago

Fox Soccer Channel (619) is the problem.  Shows attempted so far were a couple of English Premier League matches, and Premier League Review Show.

 

Regarding the need to have the app in the foreground, I stand corrected.  I retested my Rhapsody app, and it does behave the same as the Nomad app when it comes to downloading content.  I just never noticed that it was stopping and starting since each track is so short.  I will refrain from spewing my Apple rant regarding the closed and proprietary nature of their OS. All I will say is that this is the reason I stayed away from iPod / iPhone / iPad / iMac / iPoop for so long.

 

Nomad is very cool; I just think it could be even cooler.  Thanks for your help.  Smile

Expert

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20.7K Messages

13 years ago

I'm no Apple expert but the iPhone and iPad are small devices and I'd guess with the communication portion active all the time, the devices simply don't have the horsepower to run any sort of download App as a background duty.  It wasn't until fairly recently that full size desktops could accomplish that with any sort of efficiency.  My i7 with 12 GB ram does it nicely.  I also notice that a hard wired computer will download a program about twice as fast as a WiFi iPhone.

Tutor

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5 Messages

13 years ago

UPDATE:  I was able to download and view (on my iPhone 4S) the latest Premier League Review Show on Fox Soccer Channel (619).  The only change I made (and it is a big change) is that I installed my upgraded DVR that arrived on Saturday.  Maybe my old DVR was the problem?

 

I was originally testing the app out with an old R22-100, and now I am using a new HR22-100.  That would also mean I am converting now from the HD version of channel 619, rather than the SD.

 

If I run into more problems I will update this thread.


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