The branded DIRECTV STREAM box uses a more traditional remote. That means you have channel keys, as opposed to other streaming boxes (i.e. Roku) that don't have those additional keys.
You don't "need" a box. You can choose to watch on the webiste. You can also try to use a 'smart' TV that supports apps, but highly not suggested as known for poor performance, plus TV makers don't keep up with updates as they want to sell TVs.
If the question is why you need "a box", meaning a streaming device of some kind - well, that's how video streaming works. You need an app running on some device that "talks" to the streaming service. The streaming device can be something built into a "smart" TV or it can be a separate device. However, it has to be one that DirecTV has created an app for, which is not all devices and not all smart TVs. The list of devices they have apps for is here. Some work better than others - the one for Samsung TVs has a bad reputation, though I don't know if that is still as true as it once was. Also, as @Juniper notes, the TV manufacturers generally do a much worse job at keeping things up to date than the makers of the outboard devices. (As an owner of an older Samsung TV that can't run the DirecTV app, I can attest to this.)
If your question is "why do I need the DirecTV brand streaming device" - you don't - you can use any device on that list. But as noted, they designed their own device to work with their service, and using one make the service behave much more like a cable or satellite service than using a commodity streaming device (anything else on that list).
bcbsncjlj
ACE - Expert
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6.2K Messages
2 years ago
You don't unless you prefer it. You can read about the box, and it's feature on the website. Have you visited the site?
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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22.6K Messages
2 years ago
@joeharrington3
The branded DIRECTV STREAM box uses a more traditional remote. That means you have channel keys, as opposed to other streaming boxes (i.e. Roku) that don't have those additional keys.
You don't "need" a box. You can choose to watch on the webiste. You can also try to use a 'smart' TV that supports apps, but highly not suggested as known for poor performance, plus TV makers don't keep up with updates as they want to sell TVs.
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Jrandomuser
ACE - Expert
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1.2K Messages
2 years ago
If the question is why you need "a box", meaning a streaming device of some kind - well, that's how video streaming works. You need an app running on some device that "talks" to the streaming service. The streaming device can be something built into a "smart" TV or it can be a separate device. However, it has to be one that DirecTV has created an app for, which is not all devices and not all smart TVs. The list of devices they have apps for is here. Some work better than others - the one for Samsung TVs has a bad reputation, though I don't know if that is still as true as it once was. Also, as @Juniper notes, the TV manufacturers generally do a much worse job at keeping things up to date than the makers of the outboard devices. (As an owner of an older Samsung TV that can't run the DirecTV app, I can attest to this.)
If your question is "why do I need the DirecTV brand streaming device" - you don't - you can use any device on that list. But as noted, they designed their own device to work with their service, and using one make the service behave much more like a cable or satellite service than using a commodity streaming device (anything else on that list).
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