Is there a way to skip commercials on DIRECTV?

Introduction Commercials are disruptive to many DIRECTV consumers and they would like to avoid them especially when viewing programs that have been recorded. However, there are certain options that are available for skipping commercials on DIRECTV’s DVR service and they are not entirely efficient. In this article, the author will review the commercial skipping options on DIRECTV and discuss some other options for the viewers.

The DIRECTV DVR Commercial Skip Feature is another product that has been developed and is marketed by this company. The DIRECTV DVR boxes contain a particular function called AutoHop that is designed to fast forward commercials during selected primetime programs of the major networks. If available, AutoHop icon will be placed in your playlist by the side of the program recordings that can be watched with one touch of the button to skip commercials. To use the AutoHop feature, you just choose the AutoHop icon during the beginning of the show and the DVR will simply fast forward through the commercials.

However, AutoHop has restrictions:

• It only works for the shows that air on ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC during primetime. AutoHop is not available on other channels and programs.

• It is only possible to watch the recorded program the following day after the live broadcast of that particular program. For instance, you cannot fast forward the commercials in a Sunday night show and join the program on Monday.

• Some networks even completely turn off AutoHop for specific shows on account of specific advertisers.

  30-Second Skip In addition to this, all DIRECTV DVRs also possess a 30-seconds-skip function which gives the viewers a chance to fast forward over commercials of 30 seconds each. To use it, simply press the 30-second tick button on your DIRECTV remote during playback of the show.

  This is more flexible when compared to AutoHop because users can decide not to like or comment on certain posts. However, manually pressing through commercials can become quite boring and tiring when one is on a long break. DIRECTV DVR cannot fast forward a fixed amount of time so as for the program to fast forward to the said number of minutes.

  Using External Streaming Devices Another way to minimize more commercials is to use a different streaming device such as Roku or Fire TV Stick instead of the DIRECTV box.

  Most of the most-watched streaming platforms either have only few or no commercials in on-demand content databases. For instance, the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video on-demand movies and shows do not include commercials.

  But if the show you want to watch is available in one of your streaming apps without ads, you can avoid the DIRECTV broadcast altogether. Just make sure it is not through a directv box input directly but through the streaming device to the television.

  The drawback is that streaming services will not have all the types of programming that are offered by DIRECTV. Perhaps some aired programs might not be uploaded to the streaming service at the time when the live season is over.

  Implementing Cloud DVR Solution With streaming TV services, sometimes the service offers a cloud DVR rather than a set-top box with a built-in DVR. YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV Stream and others offer the capability to ‘DVR’ live TV to the cloud.

  The advantage here is that most streaming services allow cloud DVR recordings to fast forward through commercials even after the program that originally aired the live show is over. This way, you can minimize commercials in your recordings without any limitations.

  The drawbacks are that cloud DVR comes at an additional cost, has limited storage capacity, and channel packages do not match traditional DIRECTV. If you wanted to retain a DIRECTV satellite or cable package, you would also have to pay for the streaming TV package as well.

  Using Streaming Sites One can also use free streaming sites to watch TV shows and movies that have no commercials. Services such as Tubi TV, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and other services contain free on-demand streaming content.

  The flipside is that free streaming sites often offer lower video quality as compared to paid services orDIRECTV. Moreover, the content libraries are typically not as vast and may only be updated with previous seasons of TV shows and movies.

  Although these sites provide links to streams which do not include commercials, quite often, you can neither capture the video, nor download it for future use. However, streaming sites could offer a way in which viewers can watch without adverts when the need arises.

  The main question that arises in this context is: Is it possible to make DIRECTV commercial free? In general, using DIRECTV boxes such as the Genie DVR does offer some helpful options for eliminating commercials, but there is no way to completely rid a show of commercials. What this means is that Directv depends on subscriber fees and ad revenues from the networks to fund the acquisition of content. Therefore, commercials will always be part of the live and recorded show broadcasts in DIRECTV.

  For consumers who want to avoid more commercial exposure, there are further options such as streaming software, cloud DVRs, and free streaming sites. Nothing can be as effective as watching programs through DIRECTV directly to get the feel of it. It is more about the customers themselves and how much of commercial viewing they are willing to take.

  Conclusion DIRECTV offers commercial skipping with a device called AutoHop and commercial skipping that is 30 seconds at a time by pushing buttons on the DVR boxes. But these features can prevent ads from things you watch but not everything you watch. Other methods include streaming devices, streaming TV packages, and free streaming sites, which allow the consumer to avoid even more commercials – but at the same time, have their drawbacks in content choice, video image quality, and program selection. Unfortunately, there is no possible way to cut off commercial completely within the context of the DIRECTV environment. It is for the consumers to decide as to which balance is suitable to them.