Sling TV adds unlimited recording to its DVR — but it still costs extra

Streaming TV services keep getting more expensive, and those subscription costs will only continue to rise in 2025 and beyond. Amid all these price hikes, the best we can hope for is that the companies behind them will continue to add new features to ease the sting of paying more. Sling TV is trying to do just that with its cloud DVR, which has removed its previous recording limits and is now “unlimited.”

“Unlimited DVR (previously called DVR Plus) will allow customers to record as much content as they want, with recordings saved for up to nine months,” the company wrote in a press release today. That endless recording freedom still requires an extra $5 each month, however; YouTube TV includes an unlimited cloud DVR in its base subscription — but that subscription costs quite a bit more. Either way, unlimited is certainly better than the 200-hour limit that Sling’s Premium DVR had before.

Here’s what the newly enhanced DVR gets you:

Unlimited DVR: Record without restrictions, whether it’s a single show or an entire season.

Exclusively on Sling: Replay top sports, TV shows and movies - even if you forget to record.

Ad-Skipping Freedom: Fast-forward through commercials or pause and rewind at your convenience.

Cloud-Based Convenience: No need for physical hardware—Sling’s Unlimited DVR is fully cloud-powered.

Cross-Device Accessibility: Watch your recordings on any Sling-supported device.

As usual, there’s the potential for asterisks or exceptions depending on what content you’re trying to save. Sling TV actually has a few different tiers of DVR depending on your needs and which plan you’re subscribed to. The simplest options are free, but unlimited DVR is not:

• Freestream DVR provides 10 hours of storage at no cost, with recordings available for up to 30 days. (Freestream is Sling TV’s FAST / free ad-supported TV service and available without a subscription.)
• DVR Free plan includes 50 hours of storage with recordings kept for nine months, also free of charge.
• Unlimited DVR offers endless storage, allowing users to record as much content as they like with a nine-month retention period.

Sling TV last raised its monthly subscription at the end of 2024. Sling Blue and Orange each now cost $45.99 per month, and the combined package is $61. The service even now has an arcade gaming component. Was anyone asking for that? Probably not. But if you’re paying through the teeth anyway, I guess any incentive counts.