In order to determine the video codec that the DirecTV Now service is using on the Fire TV we will activate the video and audio codec overlay which will display the following codec details.

• Video codec, bitrate, resolution, frame rate (FPS)
• Audio codec, bitrate

DIRECTV NOW video codec, resolution, bitrate, and FPS on the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

The Fire TV Stick (1st Generation) is NOT supported as it does not currently have the capability to display the codec overlay.

The overlay is visible only when there is audio or video actively playing.

How to activate and deactivate the media codec overlay

According to alphanewscall.com, Hold the down and select buttons on the remote at the same time for 5 seconds. Release both buttons and then press the menu button. The developer tools menu dialog will now open as shown below.

The overlay can now be activated or deactivated by turning the Advanced Options toggle to the ON or OFF position respectively.

With the Advanced Options toggled to the ON position we can now open the DIRECTV NOW app on the Fire TV. Once the app is playing video the overlay should be displayed on the right side of the screen.

Here are the latest results for the DIRECTV NOW app running on the Fire TV.

Video codec: AVC
Video bitrate: 2412
Video resolution: 960×540
Video frame rate: 29.966

Audio codec: mp4a
Audio bitrate: 64

Note: Above results are from testing the DIRECTV NOW app on a Fire TV 4K model. Your results may vary.