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A cord-cutting wish list for 2018.
Although cutting the cable TV cord can save you lots of money—and provide non-monetary benefits as well—there’s always room for improvement. Hardware can get better, channel bundles can get more flexible, access to the content you want can get easier.

To that end, here are eight things I’d like to see from streaming and over-the-air video in 2018, a year that’s likely to record numbers of people abandon traditional pay TV services.

Although a la carte cable channels are still just a fantasy, 2017 brought unprecedented fracturing of the TV bundle as audiences dwindled and networks entered panic mode. The most notable example: AMC, Discovery, A&E, and Viacom, all frustrated over their exclusion from various streaming bundles, got together to launch Philo, a $16-per-month sports-free streaming package. I’m hoping that at least one other network—or group of networks—peels off its own streaming service in 2018. (It could end up being Discovery, which is reportedly considering a bundle with its newly-acquired Scripps channels for as little as $3 per month.)

While plenty of solutions already exist for recording free broadcast channels, they all have at least one major flaw. Tablo DVR doesn’t support full broadcast TV video quality or surround sound, while the Tablo Engine software for Android TV doesn’t stream video to other devices. Plex DVR lacks a grid-based channel guide, and Emby is a hassle to set up. Channels DVR has an awesome ad-skipping feature, but it’s pricey and only works on Apple devices. No product is ever perfect, but hopefully this year’s over-the-air DVR offerings will come closer.