#SPECTRUM TV ESSENTIALS LOCAL CHANNELS DVR SERIES#
#SPECTRUM TV ESSENTIALS LOCAL CHANNELS DVR TV#

#SPECTRUM TV ESSENTIALS LOCAL CHANNELS DVR TV#

Jared Newman / IDGĬhannels can unify cable and over-the-air channels into one guide.Įven so, TV networks could certainly argue that legal or not, they don’t approve of services that scrape or record their TV Everywhere feeds, and they could try to block them or shut them down. It’s also worth noting that PlayOn has been recording video from streaming services for years, so the fair use argument might have merit. It also uses geolocation to block regional sports networks that users aren’t supposed to get. Unlike FitzyTV, for instance, Channels doesn’t stream TV Everywhere feeds from broadcast networks because it can’t provide local stations. Channels argues that scraping TV Everywhere feeds is fair use, and developer FancyBits is trying its best to avoid potential infringement issues. The other potential issue relates to the legitimacy of the service. Streaming directly from your live TV service will often get you better video quality. This is especially noticeable on sports channels (including Fox Sports and NBCSN) and news channels such as MSNBC or Fox News, where you’d expect to have smoother motion. TV networks also don’t have a great track record with video quality in their TV Everywhere feeds, with many of them topping out at 30 frames per second. The biggest problem with Channels’ approach of scraping TV Everywhere feeds is that it can’t capture every channel you might be getting with a pay TV service.

#SPECTRUM TV ESSENTIALS LOCAL CHANNELS DVR SERIES#

Jared Newman / IDGĬhannels gives you lots of options when setting up a series recording.

Although Channels is pricier than other over-the-air DVR services at $8 per month or $80 per year, integrating cable channels adds a lot of value. The app provides a traditional grid guide that you can customize with favorite channels, along with a search function for finding upcoming programs, and it has a lot of robust recording options including team-based series passes for sports. Pairing over-the-air channels with a skinny TV bundle such as Philo or Spectrum TV Essentials could be especially compelling, as Channels would provide one interface with a shared DVR.īesides, Channels is just a really slick experience overall.

Channels would allow you to combine those sources with the cable channels you’re getting through a pay TV service. With an antenna, for instance, you might be getting several over-the-air channels that aren’t available through live TV streaming services, such as your local PBS station and MeTV. Channels automatically detects commercial breaks and lets you skip over them with one click.Ĭhannels can also help consolidate multiple sources of live TV into a single app.

Spectrum tv essentials local channels dvr