10 hours ago 1

DirecTV Stream review: This is how you replace cable

Are you my mother? You are if you insist on having cable TV or the equivalent. I get it: That's been the default way of watching TV for the past 40+ years. But here in 2025, streaming is king, with at least half a dozen services aiming to recreate — and perhaps improve on? — the cable experience. DirecTV Stream is one of them, and one of the best, which is ironic given that it's actually a satellite TV service. (True to its name, Stream is DirecTV's streaming-based spinoff.)

Indeed, whether you're looking for a substitute for cable or for DirecTV itself, Stream is hard to beat. Its interface reflects the elegance and intuitiveness of one built on years of development, and its channel selection is superb. Of course, it's expensive, especially if your desire for extra sports content drives you to one of the upper subscription tiers, but some newly added "genre packs" — introduced just as I was wrapping up my review — might actually save you money. Here's what you need to know about DirecTV Stream.

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DirecTV Stream: What it'll cost you

A harsh truth: Most live-TV streaming services are expensive, and DirecTV Stream is no exception. The base tier (here called "Entertainment") costs $86.99 per month and includes around 90 channels. That's roughly on par with what you get from Hulu + Live TV, though that service starts at $82.99 and includes "regular" Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.

From there it's a big step up in price to the Choice package, which costs $114.99 and adds a boatload of sports channels: regional networks, ACC, Big Ten, MLB, NBA and more. Finally, DirecTV Stream Ultimate ($129.99) tops things off with still more sports and channels, including NHL, Starz Encore and FX Movie Channel.

Whatever tier you choose, you'll get all five major local networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS). DirecTV also has a couple dedicated 4K channels; the rest stream at 720p or 1080p resolution, depending on the source.

I should note one confusing aspect of DirecTV's pricing page, which gives you more details on each tier: If you click "Compare packages," you'll see each tier listed "for 24 months + taxes & fees," suggesting you have to commit to a 2-year subscription. That's not the case; that language is specific to DirecTV's internet service — I'm not sure why it's included here. It's confusing to say the least. I did verify with a company representative that DirecTV Stream is available month-to-month, with no contract required.

A screenshot of the DirecTV Genre Packs and their prices.

As noted above, just prior to my completion of this review, DirecTV rolled out Genre Packs: Four standalone, spin-off subsets of the Stream service, one each for sports, news, entertainment and Spanish-language content. Each one incorporates the same interface, video resolution, DVR features and so on, but with a smaller, more targeted channel selection.

Obviously everyone has different priorities and preferences when it comes to live TV, but I think the most interesting Genre Pack is MyEntertainment (not to be confused with the Entertainment tier mentioned above). For $35 monthly you get over 40 channels, including A&E, Bravo, Food Network, FX, History Channel and SyFy. (Curiously, there are several news channels in the mix as well — odd for an "entertainment" bundle.)

But MyEntertainment also includes subscriptions to Hulu Basic and Disney+ Basic, with Max Basic listed as "coming soon." Suddenly DirecTV is competing with the bargain likes of Philo ($28), which has more basic-cable channels but no Hulu, Disney+ or Max (and nowhere near as good an interface).

For now I'm going to keep the focus on DirecTV Stream, simply noting that while I think MyEntertainment represents a solid value, MyNews (10+ channels for $40) and MySports (25+ channels for $70) feel like the opposite.

DirecTV Stream: The best interface of any live-TV service

I tested Stream on a Sansui S55VOUG, which runs the Google TV operating system. But I also wanted to try the Roku version of the Stream app, so I plugged in a Roku Ultra streaming device. As I've discovered with other services, different platforms often have slightly different apps — and that was the case here.

For example, in the Google TV version, you can sign into your Stream account by scanning an onscreen QR code, then using your phone to complete the process. Love that. But in the Roku app, there's no code, no option to sign in via phone or computer; you have to use the onscreen keyboard and remote, which is slow going to say the least. (Pro tip: I use the Roku app on my phone, because at least then I have access to my phone's keyboard — much faster and easier than using the remote.)

On the other hand, Roku has much better playback controls: When you press the OK button on the remote, a toolbar appears with play/pause, quick-skip, fast-forward/rewind and other options — all familiar and easy to navigate. The Google TV version produces only a timeline, making it confusing to know how to pause, skip, scrub, etc.

In fact, DirecTV is a little weird in this respect (on both platforms). With other services, time-shifting live content (i.e. rewinding or fast-forwarding) is a simple matter of clicking left or right on your remote's direction-pad. Do that here and you'll actually change the channel.

These are minor nitpicks; they don't get in the way of my enjoyment of the service. Indeed, on the whole I really like DirecTV Stream's interface, which is attractive and should feel familiar to anyone accustomed to a traditional cable guide (to say nothing of DirecTV itself). The Home screen in particular is superb, with a row of recently visited channels up top, a live-stream window below that (so you can quickly see what's on those channels) and then a Continue Watching section.

The DirecTV Stream home screen is great, with live previews of your most recently viewed channels, a

When you first visit the channel guide, you're given the option to sort it alphabetically or by channel number, the latter a welcome nod to cable days (and especially helpful for finding your local stations). I like that the guide includes full-color channel logos as well; they're easier to recognize at a glance.

Another small but welcome amenity: As you scroll around the channel guide, you're treated to a detailed summary — title, time, description and a thumbnail image — for the selected show. Other live-TV streamers give you either an abbreviated summary or none at all. In addition, it's a snap to add channels to your favorites list for even faster "what's on" browsing.

DirecTV Stream's search feature works well overall, with voice support in both the Google and Roku apps, but I did encounter a minor oddity: Searching "Tom Cruise movies" produced nothing, but simply "Tom Cruise" yielded the expected results. Similarly, "action movies," nada; "action," plenty of hits.

The service also offers unlimited DVR and robust parental controls: You can create individual profiles for different family members and limit viewing based on separate TV, movie and "unrated" content ratings.

If I could change one thing about Stream's interface, it would be the full-screen ads that appear whenever you pause live TV or an on-demand movie. That's not uncommon — some other streaming services do likewise — but it's still irritating, especially given the price you're paying.

DirecTV Stream: The verdict

DirecTV Stream is by no means a bargain, and in fact it costs a few dollars more per month than rivals Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV — and that's just for the basic tier. However, if you don't need every channel under the sun (particularly sports), I highly recommend trying out the MyEntertainment Genre Pack. It is a bargain, especially considering the two (soon to be three) big-name streaming services bundled with it.

Either way, you get an extremely good user interface, which I think adds greatly to overall satisfaction. There's a five-day free trial available so you can test the Stream waters for yourself.

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