Dish Network Announces "Cloud DVR" For Sling TV Subscribers;To Rival PlayStation Vue But There's A Catch

Dish Network announced that the company is testing a beta version of cloud DVR for Sling TV subscribers for free with 100 hour-long storage just hours prior to the launch of AT&T's DirecTV Now. The DVR allows Sling TV users to store content into their cloud to watch later on.

PlayStation Vue offers a similar add-on to its OTT subscription. What sets the Sling TV's cloud DVR apart is that subscribers can access the saved content for up to 28 days. Sling TV cloud DVR will be available for beta testing among single-stream or multi-stream service subscriptions including Sling Orange and Sling Blue.

While Sling TV cloud DVR function is only available to limited channels, subscribers will be able to record movies, TV shows, and other content with other features such as pause, fast-forward and rewind. Beta testers may also be able to store content on multiple programs at the same time. Furthermore, the cloud DVR will be stored in a folder for easy access. The Sling TV cloud DVR also has the ability to manage storage space, which automatically overwrites seen and older content if the storage capacity is already capped.

The SlingTV cloud DVR is still in a beta program for the time being, but Dish Network promises to listen to subscribers' feedback in enhancing the service further. The company is also mapping out future developments including storage upgrade and content security amongst others.

Dish Network's Sling TV cloud DVR beta testing will commence in December 2017 available to all subscribers starting with Roku devices first, extending to other devices in the coming months. For now, the beta service is on an invite-only basis. Subscribers who want to try the service can sign up on their website. However, Dish Network does not guarantee all applications will be enrolled in the beta program.