We thought we’d found a real Gigawidget here. The DirectTV iphone app looked promising and easy to use. So I downloaded the DirectTV iphone application and get the common 0704 error when the application runs. The error states technical difficulties. Great! It goes on to say “No local zip code was found for this account.” I jumped onto the DirectTV forums and was surprised to see their Tech Administrator posting the following solution for this same error. Basically saying he has no idea and would appreciate help solving the problem.
Note the comment where the Direct TV tech specifically says “You’re right, I have no clue.” and this part “posted that message at the behest of technical support who tells me they are anxious to get you all going. They asked me again this morning to urge those of you with difficulty to do the email reporting thing.”. Really? I can’t believe someone inside the organization hasn’t seen this post and “corrected” it! Wow!
I’m going to do a little research and see what I can find out about this problem. Maybe this app isn’t a gigawidget after all…
Addition 2-14-10
The solution to the dreaded error code 0704 on the direct tv iphone application is, just wait. No, I’m serious! Today, I launched the application, it started up, and didn’t crash with the error. I believe this is due to the iPhone app requiring the guide to be fully downloaded to the receiver before the receiver is “prepared” to take DVR signals. I suppose this is some sort of data control mechanism for process purposes. True or not, waiting 4 days solved the problem.
As a note, I prefer using the iPhone app for programming the DVR or sitting in front of the tv. It’s much quicker and intuitive.