Sling TV is sweetening its Internet-based live-TV service with a feature typically associated with more traditional cable plans: a DVR. But unlike a normal DVR, this one is based in the cloud.
Sling isn't the first Internet TV service to offer a DVR; Sony's PlayStation Vue offers one, too. However, Sling TV's cloud DVR -- which launches in beta on Monday -- has an edge: The recordings, up to 100GB worth, have no expiry date.
“Unlike other OTT [over the top] 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,” said Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch in the official announcement.
Lynch mentioning the "28-day restriction on recordings" for a good reason -- that just so happens to a key limitation of PlayStation Vue's cloud DVR service, which automatically deletes recordings after 28 days.
With that in mind, old recordings on Sling TV won't last forever. Rather than halting a scheduled recording at the 100-hour cap, the service will automatically delete the oldest "watched" recording when capacity is full.
Still, this could be an enticing feature for live TV hoarders — like those who want to save a whole season of a show and then binge-watch as soon as it's done.
Like any beta, Sling TV's service will use customer feedback and usage behavior to tweak the features, with storage options and recording protection as its first priorities. If you have a Sling TV subscription and a Roku device, you can request an invitation and start moving your DVR to the cloud.
