Sling TV is now selling a new hardware device, the AirTV Anywhere. This is the latest AirTV device to come to market and it is designed to offer a comprehensive local live TV experience, including DVR, when coupled with other devices.
Sling TV is owned by Dish Network who also happens to own AirTV. Due to this, whenever a new AirTV device is announced, it is also one that plays extremely nicely with Sling TV. Arguably, these devices are purpose-built to complement the Sling TV experience, which might make them a little less worthwhile for those subscribing to a competing live TV streaming service.
The AirTV Anywhere is not any different, with the Sling TV announcement focusing heavily on the integration it offers when “paired” with the Sling streaming service. However, what is arguably its major selling point is the inclusion of four tuners and a 1TB DVR. With these two elements included, owners will be able to watch and record local live TV and even have those channels merged with streaming channels in the Sling TV live guide.
Adding to its feature list, AirTV Anywhere is also able to stream those local live TV channels over the home’s Wi-Fi, so that they can be watched on other devices, such as a smartphone, set-top box or smart TV. Again, if paired with a Sling TV subscription, then AirTV Anywhere owners will also be able to benefit from accessing those same local channels even when away from the home network, through the Sling app.
AirTV Anywhere not an all-in-one solution
While AirTV Anywhere looks to solve many of the pain points associated with local live TV, the device itself is not an all-in-one solution. For starters, an antenna will be needed for those looking to pick up local stations for watching and recording. Furthermore, while it does include tuners and a DVR, this is not actually a streaming device.
Therefore, consumers will still need to own another smart device or player that’s capable of streaming video to pair with the AirTV Anywhere. In this sense, it is more similar to the Fire TV Recast that Amazon sells.
Overall, this is a solution that’s very much designed to help cord cutters not only get access to local live TV channels, but also record them, and access them on many other devices. However, what may prove to be a hurdle for some is the price, considering the AirTV Anywhere costs $199.
Source: Sling TV
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