This week on TechHive: The DVR endures, even in the age of Netflix
Sometimes I like to imagine a future where DVR doesn’t exist. Instead of wrangling with scheduling conflicts and storage limits, people should just be able to watch what they want on demand, preferably with no commercials. In other words, all TV should be more like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

But as television moves online in the form of streaming TV bundles, DVR remains a crutch. AT&T’s DirecTV Now is tough to recommend without DVR, Sling TV is scrambling to add DVR, PlayStation Vue is the best streaming bundle right now largely because of DVR. YouTube TV and Hulu’s upcoming bundle will include DVR at the outset.

While I wish the DVR would step aside in favor of easy on-demand access to everything, I’ve come to understand that the situation is too complex to be resolved anytime soon, at least for traditional TV channels. With DVR, as with everything in television, change doesn’t come easy. Read the full column on TechHive.

Weekly Rewind

New software (and maybe hardware) for Fire TV: Amazon is taking another stab at the “what to watch” problem with a forthcoming software update for Fire TV boxes and sticks. The home screen will soon sport a new a recommendations row, linking to episodes of shows you’ve been watching and other programs you might like from across all installed apps. The goal is to help people find what they want without having to dig through each app individually.

Fire TV runs a heavily modified version of Android, and the new recommendations are based on a similar system in Android TV that doesn’t always work well. But part of the problem with Android’s recommendations is a lack of participation from streaming apps. Amazon’s adoption of this feature could help popularize it with app makers, and the company is also throwing in some extra features (such as indicators for live programming and additional actions when you select an item) that could make the concept more compelling.

Now’s a good time to also mention the rumor of a new Fire TV device with 4K HDR video support. AFTVNews speculates that the device will be an HDMI dongle like the current Fire TV Stick, but with better performance, though it’ll still be outmuscled by the Fire TV box. Pricing is unclear, but don’t be surprised if matches or undercuts other 4K HDR players like the Chromecast Ultra ($70), Xiaomi Mi Box (also $70), and Roku Premiere+ ($90). I suspect we’ll find out officially soon enough.

Comcast drags on UltraHD: Speaking of 4K, the nation’s largest cable provider has delayed its rollout of the higher-resolution format to later this year. Comcast now says it wants to tie in HDR, which allows for richer colors in light and dark scenes. This necessitates delivering video over Internet protocol (IP) instead of the QAM system that most cable systems use today.

This matters to cord-cutters for a couple intertwined reasons: It demonstrates how far ahead Netflix and Amazon are in offering 4K and HDR on streaming boxes, having kicked off 4K streams in 2014 and HDR streams last year. Still, 1080p and 720p video remain the norm for most streaming services, including TV channel bundles like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. Comcast supporting 4K HDR in its cable boxes could prompt TV networks to adopt the format, which in turn would trickle to the rest of the traditional TV ecosystem.

More Catch-Up

Save More Money
Until March 30, DirecTV Now is still offering a free Apple TV when you prepay for three months of service. That brings the price to $105 with the cheapest channel package, by far the lowest price you’ll find for Apple’s streaming box. If you end up disliking DirecTV Now, you’ll just have to remember to cancel before the three months are up.

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any stories you’d like me to tackle? Need advice on your cord cutting setup? Have a success story you’d like to share? Feedback on this newsletter? Drop me a line by responding to this email.

Until next week,
Jared