Sling TV, Dish’s OTT TV service, has unleashed a mix of updates and enhancements for its app on Roku devices, leading off with in-app upgrades that enable subs to purchase add-on packages, premium channels and the service’s relatively new cloud DVR option.

UPDATE: Sling TV, which ended 2017 with 2.2 million subs, confirmed that it will roll out these features to other supported TV-connected platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV at a future date, but here’s a quick rundown of what else is part of the Roku upgrade:

-Add VOD to MyChannels: Subs can add VOD “channels” from programmers such as Nat Geo Wild and Fandor, as well as from NBC and Fox (for Sling Blue customers who don’t live in a market where the local live  TV feeds from those networks are available.

-Quicker access to channels set as “Favorites,” indicated by a heart in the guide, which are now appearing first at the top of the service’s grid guide and on the left of the channel guide, and the new Micro Guide.

-A new Micro Guide that that reduces the size of the guide that appears while a sub watches a show.

-Updated arrow controls that are part of the updated full-screen video navigation functionality. Pushing up on the D-pad will bring up the Micro Guide, and pushing down on it will call up the old guide.

-Safe Exit: Pressing the exit button on the Roku remote will issue a pop-up that gives subs the option to go back to their show or movie instead of leaving the service.

-Binge On: In an apparent homage to a term originally coined by T-Mobile, the updated player view for Sling TV on Roku will automatically go back to a show’s “franchise page” after they’ve completed an on-demand show title.

Adding a new focus on linear TV feeds from its content partners, Amazon has released an update for Fire TV devices that features a new “On Now” row and an integrated live channel guide.

The update, offered to subscribers to Amazon Channels (Amazon’s aggregated collection of subscription OTT video offerings), provides quick access to live TV streams to programmers such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz. 

The update also supports Amazon Alexa, enabling users to navigate and tune into those live feeds with their voice by uttering, “Alexa, tune to HBO Family,” or “Alexa, go to Showtime,” for example.

The On Now row offers a glance at what is currently on and allows users to watch a preview of the live channel. Selecting a channel instantly launches the live player on the Fire TV device.

Among other additions, a new “Recent” row now captures the last live channel and VOD titles that the user viewed. The integrated channel guide lets viewers browse what shows are live and what will be coming to those channels in the next 14 days.

If a move toward field trials offers any indication, TiVo appears to be inching toward the wider rollout of a new user interface code-named “Project Hydra.”

Margaret Schmidt, TiVo’s chief design officer and vice president of product development, recently tweeted that the company was seeking people to try it out, directing them to a web page with more detail about the field trial and a way for consumers to sign up for it.

If you haven't owned/used @TiVo in the last 10 years, we'd love your help testing something new: https://t.co/XwHGYAGMzT

— TiVo Margret Schmidt (@tivodesign) June 6, 2017

A TiVo official confirmed that this is for a beta trial of the Project Hydra user interface. Vodafone España was the first operator partner of TiVo’s to deploy the interface for a new 4K-compatible set-top box.

TiVo has not announced a date for the wider launch and expanded availability of the new UI, but the beta test site notes that TiVo is targeting a new software release for “late 2017.”

Update:Gadget blogger Dave Zatz points out that the release timing is far behind the original schedule: 

Late 2017 only puts it one year behind schedule. ;) https://t.co/Yt6L3agCG8

— Dave Zatz (@davezatz) June 9, 2017

TiVo presented some details on its redesigned and streamlined interface in February, noting that operators will have the ability to customize it with their branding and through the use of different colors. It will offer a more unified look and feel across different devices.

This video overview from Schmidt explores some of the features, noting that operators can customize the menus, and that a new strip along the bottom of the UI presents recommended programming that’s based on viewing behavior by time of day and the day of the week.  

Also included is something Schmidt refers to as a “trade-up experience” in which the viewer can use the arrow keys to drill down into content. Clicking right shows what programming the other tuners on the box is pulling in, left pulls up the user’s favorite channels, down presents the prediction strip, and up offers a presentation of what’s on different channels, including what’s on now and what’s coming next.

The new UI also borrows a page from TV’s past with support for a standard grid guide, an option that Sling TV recently added to its interface.

RELATED: Sling TV Gets a Grid Guide

Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT-TV service for cord-cutters, has rolled out “phase one” of a new and improved  user interface to the Roku platform, a move that follows similar UI updates for Sling TV on Amazon Fire devices, the Xbox One, the Android TV platform, Web browsers and Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.

“Similar to our previous UI updates, this means Roku subscribers will experience our new channels guide, giving you faster access to our thousands of hours of on-demand content, plus easier navigation through our live channels,” Ben Weinberger, Sling TV’s chief product officer, explained in this December 1 blog post.

Among the additions is a “filter ribbon” that lets viewers find channels by category from the UI’s mini guide view, and changes and enhancements for the Roku remote, which now features a Sling TV button. 

For example, Weinberger noted that Roku no longer allows app developers to assign functions to the remote’s “star” button, so users can now press the “OK” button from the full screen to pull up the Sling TV menu.