Home Entertainment

Roku Devices to Get Sling TV’s New Cloud DVR Service First (MESA)

Select users of Roku TVs and streaming players will be the first consumers to get access to the new Sling TV Cloud DVR service when a beta program starts in December, Dish Network’s Sling TV subsidiary said Nov. 28.

“We plan to roll out the DVR to additional devices in the coming months, but we haven’t announced which devices,” Sling TV spokeswoman Lacretia Taylor said. At launch, the beta program will be free, she told the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA). But she didn’t say how much Cloud DVR will cost when it rolls out after the launch.

Sling TV customers can request an invitation to participate in the cloud DVR beta Cloud DVR and it will be available across all Roku devices to beta customers who subscribe to the single-stream service, Sling Orange, and/or the multi-stream service, Sling Blue, the company said. Subscribers using Roku devices can request the invitation by submitting their current Sling TV credentials to sling.com/dvr. Selected subscribers will then receive a confirmation at their subscriber email address with additional steps required to activate the cloud DVR functionality, it said.

“Unlike other OTT services, we’re delivering a true cloud DVR with no 28-day restriction on your recordings, marking another win for Sling TV and our customers,” Sling TV CEO Roger said in a news release. He pointed out that Sling TV launched its over-the-top (OTT) service two years ago.

Cloud DVR features will include the ability to record movies, as well as TV show episodes or full series, with the ability to pause, rewind or fast-forward recorded content, the company said. But DVR functionality will not be available on all channels, it said. Other features will include: the ability to record multiple programs simultaneously, with no recording conflicts; DVR content integrated directly into Sling TV’s “My TV” screen for immediate access to recordings; and automatic managing of DVR space to make room for new recordings by deleting the oldest watched recording when capacity is full.

Additional features will follow. “Sling TV will continue to evolve the cloud DVR throughout the beta time period based on customer feedback and usage behavior,” the company said. DVR features planned for future development include the ability to upgrade storage space and protect recordings, it said.

The Sling TV OTT service has been available to devices including not only Roku TVs and other smart devices, but Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV devices, Android and iOS mobile devices, the Xbox One game console, and Windows and Apple computers. Glaringly absent from that list are devices including the PlayStation 4. “We haven’t announced any additional devices for Sling TV, but will continue to expand our supported device lineup in the future,” Taylor said.