Movie and TV streaming services are becoming increasingly popular these days as cable TV prices rise and more people begin cutting the cord from their providers. There is a lot to choose from, including DirecTV Now, Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube TV, and more depending on where you live. A lot of people are using these services on their smartphones or tablets, but some have been able to download an app for it on a dedicated set-top box. As DirecTV Now has begun to gain popularity, many people were wondering if they would release some hardware for it. Not only have rumors suggested that is the case, but it looks like it's also an Android TV device as well.
We first started hearing about this dedicated set-top box for AT&T's DirecTV Now service last year, but it was earlier this year during an earnings call that the company had officially confirmed it to be true. Last month, we learned that the AT&T was going to begin doing beta tests of the set-top box very soon but we shouldn't expect a consumer device to hit the market until the first half of next year. We're now seeing reports that some select DirecTV Now subscribers are being asked to test the hardware and Android TV Guide has screenshots of what the user interface looks like.
Considering Google has some strict guidelines as to what can and cannot be included in the software of an official Android TV set-top box, I personally think the user interface is quite slick. However, we do need to be reminded that this is beta software so any and all UI elements could change before it turns into an official product. We're told the current device being sent out for testing is running Android TV 8.0 with a Broadcom BCM7271 SoC inside it.