Dish Network and its Sling TV division have announced the latest iteration of their AirTV product line, adding a 1-terabyte, quad-tuner DVR to their OTA-over-WiFi device.
Retailing for $199.99, the new AirTV Anywhere builds on the legacy AirTV 2 ($99.99), which is designed to take free local broadcast TV signals from an over-the-air antenna and put them on the user’s WiFi network, where they are picked up and streamed by a compatible OTT player, such as Sling TV’s $79.99 Android TV-powered AirTV Mini.
AirTV Anywhere is also compatible with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices.
Like the AirTV 2, AirTV Anywhere is designed to work with the Sling TV service, integrating the user’s local broadcast channels into their Sling TV program guide.
The major $100 upgrade here is the addition of a DVR, which was an add-on for the dual-tuner-equipped AirTV 2.
AirTV Anywhere utilizes the Pixelworks XCode 5116 processor to transcode ATSC signals into IP video streams.
It’s exactly the kind of product development you’d expect from a satellite TV company perpetually at broadcast retransmission fee odds with station owners.
"Too many people continue overpaying for TV because they think cutting cable is too complicated," said Adam Kucera, director of sales, Sling TV. "With Sling TV plus AirTV Anywhere, Americans can unlock the best kept secret in TV—free local channels that add up to hundreds in annual savings—all while making the switch to streaming with Sling TV at the best price.”
To date, Dish and Sling TV haven’t released sales figures on their AirTV product line. With Sling TV in recession—the service lost another 56,000 users in the second quarter—it’s hard to imagine the devices are moving like gangbusters.
