Options for pausing OTA feed

Question

Hi all,

I tried searching and didn't find anything, but would appreciate confirmation or advice here:

We just replaced an older TCL w/ Roku with a new Sony X950H w/ Android TV. Longtime Android phone user, excited to have it on the TV, blah blah blah. The old TCL had a really slick feature when you put in a usb drive, it would automatically enable live OTA pause/record functionality for up to 90 minutes. We found it incredibly useful as a free DVR-lite solution, skipping commercials, watching shows if we were cooking, etc. I ignorantly assumed this was just a nice feature that modern smart TVs had.

Fast forward to now, when my wife is asking why our giant shiny expensive new TV can't pause. Is there any way to replicate this functionality without a new subscription, dongle, tuner, or something else? It seems ridiculous that a 2016 $300 TV has a core useful SW feature that a 2020 $1500 TV does not, so I'm hoping we can fix this through an app or some other workaround.

Thanks in advance!

Dlinefivenine · Accepted Answer

On the Shield tv I downloaded an app called Live Channels. It does this. Have access to that app?

strausy · Answer

Not built in, but I use a Sling AirTV device with a USB drive. Don't use it much for pausing, more for DVR. I can also watch OTA on any device with the free Sling app.