DIRECTV Stream was formerly known as AT&T TV, and it is an excellent live TV streaming service that lets you watch a lot of cable networks. One common question from potential subscribers is: can you fast forward commercials on the DIRECTV Stream like you are able to do on a DVR from a cable or satellite company? Sadly, the answer to that is negative. Here’s what you should understand.
No DVR Capability
Unlike other platforms such as cable or satellite-forwards, DIRECTV Stream does not have a DVR feature or even fast-forward through the commercials. It operates in a different manner than conventional service providers. DIRECTV Stream operates exclusively in a direct broadband manner, unlike other DIRECTV services that require one to have a satellite dish.
That is, without a hard drive DVR included, the streams are just the live feeds of those subscribed channels. This implies that there is no way you can use fast forward or rewind to take you through any part of the programming. This means that the content has to be watched as it is being broadcast, including the commercials.
The absence of DVR is an advantage since it does not force DIRECTV Stream to offer its service through technicians or pieces of equipment. However, it means you give up some luxuries that you might have gotten accustomed to with the previous TV provider, the DVR service.
On-Demand Library With Limited Fast Forward
However, DIRECTV Stream does provide some On Demand with over 20,000 titles to select for watching. This encompasses films and previous episodes of programs from various stations.
On Demand library can be paused, played, and has some options to fast forward/rewind. But, you cannot fast-forward or fast-skip through sections in a way that a DVR lets you do. The fast forwarding is limited in such a way that it cannot be used to bypass commercials and segmented programs.
On Demand means that you can choose when exactly you wish to view the program but it does not mean that this process is free from commercials.
No Commercial Skip Feature
Unlike some streaming DVR services like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV, there is no option to skip commercials on DIRECTV Stream.
Most of the streaming cable substitutes come with the option of a digital video recorder with your subscription which enables one to fast-forward whole commercial breaks if a program has been recorded. In this aspect, this is a major advantage over the traditional cable.
The bad news is that even with other features, this service does not offer them any commercial skip feature as of now. You have to watch all commercials during live TV or if you have to playback the TV program on demand.
Unfortunately, there are no options to set in order to fast forward or even jump over the commercials segments on DIRECTV Stream.
Consider Other Streaming TV Providers
However, if it is important for you to be able to skip commercials, then DIRECTV Stream may not offer the best streaming TV solution services such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV among others do a stream with cloud DVR and option to fast forward. In these services, recordings enable full and unrestricted fast forwarding to avoid commercials as soon as a program is over and aired live.
If you like the channel packages and pricinand g of DIRECTV Stream have specific needs for Dthe VR and commercial skipping, that may be best addressed by using a separate DVR service. For instance, the Fire TV Recast or the TiVo BOLT OTA are two devices that can work well for this purpose.
However, one disadvantage of DIRECTV Stream is that it does not have a DVR and does not allow you to fast-forward through commercials compared to competitors. Here is what you should and to choose the right live TV streaming service to suit your wants and needs.
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