My Library access recordings

This is the DTV sat forum try the DTV steaming forum.

What streaming device are you using?

When did the problem start?

Have you tried resetting the streaming device? Or deleting and reinstalling the DirecTV Stream App?

I'm having the same problem. Select a recorded program to view, and I'm given a single option: delete the program. I have to back out to the library list, select the program again, and repeat this mind-numbing process sometimes more than a dozen times before, for no apparent reason, the app gives me the option of viewing the program.

I'm brand new to Directv Stream, so I just downloaded the app to a brand new Samsung TV less than two weeks ago.

Are you using the app for the Samsung Smart TV? Lots of issues with the app. 100's of issues report with the app for years. Most have opted to use external streaming devices instead of the native app.

"Are you using the app for the Samsung Smart TV?"

Not sure I understand. I downloaded the Directv Stream app to the television. Are you saying that the Directv app and Samsung TVs don't play well together? That would completely change the economics of things if I now have to go out and buy more equipment just to make the thing work....

A $30 Roku or FireStick will solve this problem. Native TV apps never seem to work very well because the TV manufacturers don't keep them up to date. 

"A $30 Roku..." My expectations were clearly too high. I know I am preaching to the choir, and I greatly appreciate everybody's help and guidance.... I previously had Spectrum with local cable box/DVR. I would have appreciated knowing from AT&T at purchase time that app on the TV, AT&T set-top box, and Roku box are NOT even close to equivalent solutions. PS - I am not a spring chicken, so all of this is well outside the scope of things in which I have immersive knowledge and familiarity.

The issue of native TV apps is not unique to DirecTV. Companies like Roku and Amazon keep their streaming devices updated much better than TV manufacturers. 

...and it has nothing to do with AT&T anymore. AT&T spun DirecTV out as a separate company over a year ago. Although they may be the prime stakeholder in the new company, DirecTV has their own management, support, and financial team separate from AT&T. No need to bring their name up in the conversation.

@curmudgeon42 

The app on the TV, on a Roku, FireTV, etc., should be roughly equivalent.  (I've never used the app on Samsung, so I can't say for sure about it.)  Reports from some years ago were that the Samsung version of the app was pretty buggy, though more recent reports are better - unclear how much better.  As noted, the external devices tend to provide better results, though I wouldn't blame all the problems on Samsung - they don't do a very good job of keeping their platform software up to date on older TVs, but they aren't the ones who write and maintain the app, and my view is that DTV should either get the app to a state where it is reasonable to use or stop claiming that they have a Samsung app.  (Some of the negative comments here about the Samsung app may be based on this older history rather than the current state.)

That all said, the one device that isn't roughly equivalent is DTV's own streaming device.  It is customized for the service, and provides a much more "cable-like" experience - it has a remote with a keypad for entering channel numbers, has other shortcut keys, has voice control, and the device comes up directly in the service rather than treating it as just another app.  Some users want (or demand) that sort of interface - others are happy with the less cable-like interface offered by the commodity devices.

I'm new to DTV Stream (and to flying without a cable box), so I didn't feel qualified to comment earlier, but I'm glad to hear someone point at least some app responsibility toward DTV. It seemed really weird to me that earlier comments had assigned complete responsibility to Samsung for the viability of the Samsung DTV app. That said, part of the problem is the scarcity of buttons on the Samsung tv remote. Not only does it guarantee additional steps to accomplish many tasks, but it forces the use of software menus whose implementation often leaves much to be desired. I have found that fast-forward, rewind, etc, for instance, are guaranteed to be hair-pulling exercises. Multiple button pushes to get moving, non-intuitive steps to stop, and guaranteed hunting and fishing because the frame rate of the preview is not granular enough.

At this point, I have all but decided to give up on the app, so the choice is between Roku and a DTV box. The DTV box wins the button count competition hands down, but it's also significantly more expensive than Roku. <Sigh>

They offer a refurbished box with a year warranty for $49. Login to your account to buy.

The recording/library issue I was having is on a 2018 model Samsung TV.  I have a 2022 Samsung TV and DTV app and no problems with the recording/library.  I have a much older Samsung that I had to buy the "cable" box since that TV didn't support the app.  It was $120 and works great.

eileenk, consider yourself lucky, because my high-end Samsung TV is one month old, which means that the DTV app is brand new as well. And in addition to the error that offers to delete a recording (and does NOT offer to let me watch it), I'm now intermittently being presented with the delete screen from the recordings list. For example:

I have recorded six episodes of a TV show. I select the series icon, expecting a screen listing the episodes. Instead, I get a screen offering to delete the series!

I may have found a solution for this problem. Although not perfect, the solution is to tap the appropriate button on the remote (as opposed to pressing and releasing). In other words, avoid pushing the button in such a way that the remote - however unjustifiably - concludes that you are holding the button down. The longer the duration of the button press, the more likely the remote misbehaves.