Issue with the DirecTV Player

Is DirecTV Player a scam or a phish? 

Whenever I'm watching DirecTV on my computer using the Firefox browser, and try to watch the FOX or FS1 channels, a window opens up telling me I need to load/update the DirecTV Player.  I go through the abomination of loading the player, and even if I close Firefox and reopen it afterwards, DirecTV tells me to load the DirecTV Player again.  Even rebooting my PC doesn't make DirecTV work right on Firefox, where I can't watch the OX and FS1 channels.  All the other channels can be viewed without requiring me to load this blasted DirecTV Player, such as ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. 

When I watch DirecTV on my Maxthon browser, it doesn't make me load the DirecTV Player, and lets me watch FOX or FS1.  So, is DirecTV Player some kind of scam or fraud?  If not, why doesn't it load the blasted player, and how come the other channels don't require me to have the DirecTV Player updated? 

Note:  I would watch FOX and FS1 on the Maxthon browser, but DirecTV on Maxthon never seems to be HD, and (Edited per community guidelines) and stops during play.  It's practically unwatchable in full screen mode.