AT&T's DirecTV Now service will soon gain a Cloud DVR service in addition to a wealth of other features, the company officially announced on Thursday, July 13. Cloud DVR is just part of a whole parcel — a larger platform upgrade for the company's cord-cutting audiences.
AT&T DirecTV Gets Cloud DVR
AT&T also announced plans to unveil a next-generation video platform this fall, which it will release first to DirecTV Now customers later this summer. Cloud DVR, on the service's most anticipated features, lets users save shows and films for later viewing. DirecTV Now launched without the feature, oddly, though AT&T did promise at the time that it would arrive later on.
"We all want easy and quick access to our content, regardless of where, when or on what device we watch it," said David Christopher, AT&T Entertainment Group's chief marketing officer, who adds that developing a single video platform lets it push out features and improvements more rapidly. "[I]t will be simple and consistent wherever you watch — TV, phone or tablet."
AT&T DirecTV: Interface Changes
The company also intends to give the service a new paint job, introducing a brand-new user interface that can deliver a "consistent look and feel" across all AT&T on-demand video services. The company has yet to show detailed screenshots depicting the prettier interface, though it said it would allow customers to give feedback on the design.
AT&T DirecTV: Upcoming Features
The next-generation video platform will add support for many features going forward such as pausing TV, parental controls, both of which will launch later this year. AT&T also plans to roll out user profiles, offline playback, and 4K HDR resolution by 2018.
AT&T DirecTV Now
AT&T first unveiled DirecTV Now in 2016 under a number of pricing tiers, beginning at $35 per month for access to more than 60 channels. At present, the service offers a selection of live channels either in 4K or HD quality, in addition to 30,000 on-demand content. Customers didn't warm up to the service that well in light of the platform's frustrating glitches upon launch. Still, AT&T managed to pull in more than 200,000 subscribers in the first month.
The arrival of Cloud DVR and other aforementioned feature could tick DirecTV Now's subscriber count upward. Interested users may try a beta version of Cloud DVR sometime this summer before it launches publicly. The company has yet to share details on eligibility for this beta.
Again, AT&T's next-generation platform launches sometime this fall to both DirecTV Now and DirecTV companion app customers.
