Will_T

I cancelled our cable tv after gradually subscribing to a few streaming services, most recently YouTube TV. I also replaced our 11 year old TV and stopped using the Roku 3. The only thing I miss is the cable DVR box and the functionality of the remote. I currently use the "Smart TV" options of my Sony XR 90J TV and it works well enough, sort of. Mainly we watch YouTube TV, Netflix, and HBO MAX. But, I really dislike being without slow motion for recorded sporting events. I also do not like the way fast forward works on anything, (sports, movies, YouTube TV's DVR,) etc. Instead of smoothly forwarding at several different speeds like the cable DVR did, the Sony remote with the apps on the TV awkwardly jumps forward in 15 second increments.

If I move away from using the Sony Smart TV function and apps of my Sony TV, and I buy a streaming box, can I get back slow motion capability with any of them? I thought I had determined that Roku took away that functionality a few years ago but Roku support still has the description of how to do it on their site (Pause, then FF button.) Even so, some users complain no slow motion or fast forwarding without skipping currently exists on their Rokus. Does the newest 2nd gen Apple TV or newest Roku have slow motion? Do either have normal fast forwarding instead of the 15 second jump?

Thanks!

Jay G.

Slow motion functionality is going to depend on the service, the device, and the app. There's not technical reason why it can't be included on every app on every device for every streaming service, but it takes time and effort to implement, so it may not get implemented in certain situations, especially if none of the companies involved are getting much feedback asking for it.

As for FF, what you're describing is due to how streaming works, and not likely to change. Keep in mind that for video on a in-home DVR, DVD, or Blu-ray, all the footage, every second, for the entirety of the recording, is stored locally, and the player merely has to scrub through it faster. For streaming services though, you're not going to have more than a few seconds stored locally as a buffer. As soon as you FF beyond that, the streaming service is going to have to download more footage, and since you're going so fast, it's only going to be able to grab and transmit a single frame every few seconds.

Maybe if you download a video within an app for "Offline mode" viewing the FF would be smoother, since all the footage would be stored locally. However, that feature's typically only available on phones/tablets, not Roku or Smart TVs.