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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2026 17 By Steve Beno Living with an app. You no doubt remember my scintillating column on cord cutting — good-bye Spectrum, hello DirecTV. I want to be clear (aren't I always?!), DirecTV still offers satellite service but that, like cable TV, is a disappearing business. So, they developed a cloud service called DirecTV Stream. You access it via their app. Now I have used what I'll call "TV apps" to include any app through which you can tune into a TV station, whether it's a local network affiliate or a cable TV channel like ESPN or AMC. My first was TiVo which is really a unique guide overlaying a standard cable subscription; the app was used in conjunction with the TiVo DVR. That app was excellent. Alas, TiVo is no longer supported by Spectrum or Frontier. TiVo does offer a streaming app (available on most devices like a Roku or a modern TV which offer the ability to access streaming apps like Netf lix). I decided to use the DirecTV app. I've mentioned in past articles that I have a Roku streamer, and it does support the DirecTV app. But Roku was designed for apps like Netf lix, Prime, and HBO Max, not for traditional TV. Since the Roku remote doesn't have a number keypad, you can't easily access a specific TV channel. It turns out that DirecTV stream is compatible with a piece of streaming hardware called the Gemini, and it has numbers on its remote. (I will spare you the saga of how I got a streamer designed primarily for Bluetooth control to work with my IR- (infrared) and IP- based system. Trust me; you'd have to have been in the A/V programming business for years to pull it off.) Up until last year I've always had a DVR (digital video recorder) or, before that, a VCR. I hate commercials. I record everything I watch so I can speed through commercials. One of the freedoms of not using social media is the ability to start watching a recorded football game 60 to 90 minutes after it has started and not know the real-time score. This allows me to watch the action, skip the commercials, and finish the game pretty much when it actually ends. I've known for some time the existence of cloud-based DVRs. But their limitations made them a poor substitute for an actual DVR. YouTube is the most successful cable TV substitute. I signed up, but it took only a day to see that it couldn't match the features I've grown used to. That brings me to the DirecTV app. Even though this particular column appears in 2026, I wrote it in September '25 at the beginning of football season. Just as I've done with the Spectrum TV and TiVo apps in past years, I set up recordings for my favorite teams – USC, Rams, Chargers, and Chiefs (Martha is a Mahomes fan). But this time I discovered a nice feature of the DirecTV app that the others lacked. As usual, I could set a recording for a single game or sign up for a season series. That latter choice means games on that station at that time. That's of no interest to me. But I was also given the option to follow either of the teams playing in the game I was setting up. So, with that one selection, DirecTV will automatically record every game of the team I choose regardless of date, time, and station. Being a born skeptic, I had to look at the guide for a week in the future. And sure enough, recordings for all my teams were set up. I like how nicely the DirecTV iPhone app guide responds to finger swipes without the lags of other apps. That's true also when I select a specific channel. The app lets me select a show up to 12 days in advance. I like how quickly and nicely it displays my library of current and upcoming recordings. So, as you can see, I'm sold on DirecTV Stream (not satellite) as a replacement for Spectrum (it's cheaper and better) and maybe even for Roku since the Gemini box can access all the popular streaming apps. Of course, any streamer needs an internet connection. That's a separate subscription; I found Frontier much cheaper than Spectrum. If you use an app you'd like to share with others, let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! TV Apps

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