What is the best way to connect to directv on demand?

How to connect DirecTV to wireless modem (Century Link.) To access On Demand ?

• Before stumbling upon this problem, I've never had this problem before. When the cable guy came in and connected the new DVR up stairs I was able to watch anything On Demand. ...show more

• Answer:

  Hello! Some starting points to connect your receiver to the internet: 1) You will need a HDDVR. 2) All HDDVRs need a Cinema Connection Kit (CCK) hooked to the back. It looks like another router on a stand, black, and has 3 green lights on it, usually OR a CCK connected to the back of your router, which would be a tinier version. It will have the DirecTV logo on it. If you do not have one of these, you will need to call 1-800-531-5000 to order one. Prices vary and I know they do promotional offers on them, too. So you may be able to get it for free - $80. 3) You need to look at the model of your receiver, which you may find behind the front right panel on the receiver (push it to pop it open). If yours is a HR44-500 or HR44-700, you may connect yours WITHOUT a CCK or ethernet cable. 4) If you do not have a HR44, you may still connect your HDDVR without a CCK by using an ethernet cable from your router to your receiver. Keep in mind, though, if you use an ethernet cable, you will not be able to access Whole Home (sharing between playlists with other rooms). 5) Okay, so now that we've gone through the basics and you are connected with any of those options above, you will need to press the Menu on the remote. Go to Settings and Help > Settings > Network Setup > Restore Defaults. (After hitting Restore Defaults, you may have to press the DASH button on some models. If it asks you to, the DASH is on the remote underneath the 7 on the bottom left) The process should only take up to a minute and it will give you either of these two options: Repeat Network Setup or Connect Now. Hit Continue after you've pressed that and then you should see your network. Select yours, Continue, and then you will need to enter in the Security Key/Pass Phrase from the back of your router or if you've personalized it, you will need to type in the personalized password. You will type it in on your remote just like the old T9 texting. You have to cycle through the numbers to get letters, if you have letters in your password. Keep in mind: they are CASE SENSITIVE. Once you're done, hit the down arrow button to Continue, and if you've typed in the correct password, you should see a message that says: Congratulations! You have been successfully connected to the internet! (go to step 7) 6) If you do not see that and you see a: Problem was detected while trying to connect to the internet, or any other error message, you may need to reset your router and your receiver. You may reset the router by unplugging the router (make sure you disconnect the modem first - if you have one) for about 30 seconds and plug it back in or you may press it's reset button on the back (if it has one). Remember where I had you check the model of the receiver? That's where we reset the receiver. It's behind that front, right panel. The red button is okay to press! Just make sure you don't hold it down too long. A single press is all it needs and it will start the process. Routers are usually faster to reboot than the HDDVR, since it has a harddrive. It may take anywhere from 5-8 minutes depending on the model. Be patient, as it will return to regular programming and you may go back to step 5. If step 5 does not work again, you will need to contact 1-800-531-5000 for DirecTV technical support. There may be something going on that needs further troubleshooting. 7) Now that we are connected, you now have access to On Demand, YouTube, Pandora, and Apps! You can also connect your tablets and phones to your receiver to watch on them, as well. Keep in mind, whenever we connect for the first time, it may take up to 24 HOURS for EVERYTHING to come in. It loads slowly because there is so much content to download at first. I'll show you how to use On Demand. Let's say we have Animal Planet (ch. 282). If you go into the guide, you may look at the actual channel name itself. It should have a little, white triangle on the top right of it. That means it is an On Demand channel. Any of them in the guide that have that white triangle, you may highlight the actual channel itself and select it. It will then load up the On Demand channel for you. Over on the left side will be different options that you may select: Movies, Series, Extras. You can go through them and select whatever you wish to watch. Hit: Watch Now. It will be able to download right into your playlist. If it does not, you may need to subscribe to it (add it to your package). Another way to look something up quickly is the Smart Search. If you hit Menu on the remote, go to Search and Browse > Smart Search. You may type in T9 texting with the remote or use the left box to type in whatever show you wish to see. If you try: Big Bang Theory, it will recommend the TV show over on the right. Select it and then: Watch now. It will download it into your playlist. If you have a channel number memorized and you know it has an On Demand channel, all you have to do is type in a "1" in front of it first and it will get you straight to it without having to access the guide. So for Animal Planet instead of going to ch. 282, you'll hit: 1282. Ta-da! DirecTV Cinema is ch. 1000. It's like having your own personal Blockbuster. Many are free, some are chargeable. They are downloaded the same way as On Demand. If you download one that's chargeable, you will not be charged for it until you watch it. There will be 2 prompts so you don't accidentally order it. YouTube: That's right, you've got access to YouTube! You may find this app in Menu > Extras > YouTube. Not entirely sure if they've allowed anyone to actually access their own channel, but, you may still brows and watch clips here. Pandora: If you have a Pandora account, you will need to type in you actual account name and you will have to get a password from pandora.com whenever you first activate it. Apps: Go to regular TV. Make sure the bar at the top is gone. Hit the right arrow button. You may now see all your apps. You can download more if you go to Menu > Extras > TV Apps. Tips: For On Demand, if there was an episode that just aired today and you forgot to record it, On Demand usually gets it 2 days later. All broadcasting companies encourage people to watch the first-runs on live TV first. I hope this helps! I know there's a lot to it, but, soon you'll have it all down. This is my absolute favorite feature on DirecTV and I'm sure you guys will like it, too!