YouTube TV's DVR features compare forably with the competition. For example, there is no DVR storage limit; as long as you are connected to the internet, you can add as many shows and movies to your library as you desire. Furthermore, recordings are sed for nine months. And with the 4K Plus add-on, you can now download recordings for offline viewing. No other live TV service I've reviewed offers this feature. You can pause, rewind, and forward through any recordings, as well as jump to specific segments within a recording too; for example, to a discussion of a particular topic in a news recording.
For comparison, Fubo and Hulu both let you record unlimited hours of content. Sling TV lets you record up to 50 hours of content for no extra charge. With all those services, you can keep your recordings for as long as you maintain a subscription.
To initiate a DVR recording, simply hit the plus button beneath any playing show or from the channel guide. To remove content from your library, click the Expand button and then the Remove button. One feature we appreciate is the ability to set up DVR recordings for specific sports teams. For example, when we clicked the Expand button on an NFL game, it allowed us to add both teams to our library. YouTube TV can then record upcoming games of those teams as they air. YouTube TV may soon offer the ability to watch DVR content offline.
All of the channels we watched had closed-captioning options, which is standard for most services. It lagged slightly behind the video stream in testing, but the subtitles seemed mostly accurate. YouTube TV includes a few options for customizing the subtitle text, including the font, font color, and background opacity, but notably, it's missing an option to change the text position.
You won't find anything like you get with Amazon Prime Video or Netflix. When this option is enabled on those services, scenes and actions are accompanied by descriptions of audible and visual events, such as if the phone rings or a character exits the room.
YouTube TV lets you enable a filter that limits the service to TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-G shows and G and PG films. However, you must set this preference on every device rather than at a profile level. Sling TV, on the other hand, lets you restrict content based on individual show and movie ratings and lock those settings with a PIN.
For more on streaming, check out five reasons to ditch your video subscription and keep cable (especially if you're interested in live TV). Learn how to pick streaming services that fit your budget, and enjoy all sorts of reality show trash. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch. The Best YouTube Channels is worth exploring for no-cost entertainment.
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