How to use DVR with DirecTV Now

Just hit the REC button

DirecTV Now DVR

Updated June 4, 2018: The updated DirecTV Now is now available for Roku .

Updated May 23, 2018: Have Android TV or Amazon Fire TV? You now have the updated DirecTV Now !

Since we've waited so long for DirecTV Now to get a proper cloud-based DVR, it's time to take it for a spin.

First, a reminder. The new version of DirecTV Now is first pushing out to iOS devices and on the web. It'll hit Android and Roku and Fire TV later. It's technically still in beta — and that's a fact that DirecTV Now is pretty clear about. It also means that you can't record everything. So far, the streams of local channels are off limits to us here for recording. (It's possible that might vary by market, though.)

But the mechanism itself for recording is super simple and should basically work the same way across platforms. Here's what's up:

DirecTV Now gives you 20 hours of cloud-based recording. As in you tell DirecTV Now what to record, and it'll record it for you, in the cloud, and play it back for you whenever you want using your internet connection. Recording will be saved for 30 days. If you need to keep something around longer than that, well, you'll probably just have to purchase it somewhere.

Recording on DirecTV Now

How to record on DVR with DirecTV Now

  1. Look for the REC button, either on a live show you're already watching, or on the info for a show that's coming up in the future.
  2. Press the REC button.
  3. You'll get a confirmation confirming that the recording has been set.
  4. If you want to record an entire series, hit the "Record Series" button on that confirmation pop-up.
  5. Now choose either "All episodes," or "New episodes."
  6. Press "Record series" to record the entire series.

So far it appears that you can fast forward through commercials just fine on a show that's been recorded to DVR.

To cancel a scheduled recording, just look for the REC — which will now be in red — tap it, and cancel the recording.

DirecTV Now recording confirmed

And that's it. It's as simple as can be.

To view a recorded show, go to the My Library section from the main menu, and choose whatever it is you want to watch.

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