DIRECTV's TV Apps have always been a bit of a mixed bag. There were a lot of apps available but not all of them were really high in quality. Their servers were frequently overloaded and that meant performance delays and errors. DIRECTV has just launched its new TVApps and they look and act great. The apps themselves are fully rendered in HD and they work quickly, with new features, too!
The apps platform will launch for all DIRECTV HD receivers, DVRs, and clients (including Genie) with the next software release. Unfortunately, most of the old apps (and the old App store are gone, leaving only the four most popular apps. We expect more apps to roll out in the coming months.