Roku has released a software update for Roku TVs that now allows users to pause live TV. It works for over the air (OTA) TV, which means this is a grand feature for those looking to get rid of the cable box yet hold onto the ability of pausing and playing back content at their own discretion.
Users can pause TV up to 90 minutes and continue watching, fast forward until it catches back up to the live broadcast or rewind again as far back until the point pause was initiated. A USB drive is required to be inserted into the TV for this function to work and the TV will let you know if you insert a drive that isn’t fast enough (as long as you opt to buy any recent USB 3.0 flash drive of any flavor, you should be fine). It does require a live antenna feed and will not work with streaming content such as sports apps.
You cannot schedule recordings like a normal DVR, but the ability to pause live TV is a major step in smart TVs. You never know if they will roll out additional features like scheduling in the future.
This update has already begun rolling out to Roku flavored TVs (ie, TCL and Sharp). This does not include the external Roku devices.
