cutting the cord / streaming tv thread

[Intl.Aperture]

I stand by YouTube TV. During my trial period, it greatly outperformed Sling and Hulu -- note that PS Vue and DirectTV Now don't have apps for the Xbox, so these were non-starters.

If you're considering one of these services, I'd recommend starting a few 7-day trials and deciding based on your experience.

I use Sling and have been very pleased with the product. What do you prefer on YouTubeTV?

 

[92tide]

It's worth it if ESPN shows college football and basketball. Otherwise, it's nothing special.

true. the only time i watch espn (or cbs for that matter) is if bama is playing football

 

[CharminTide]

I use Sling and have been very pleased with the product. What do you prefer on YouTubeTV?

It's primarily about the performance at my location. Sling had buffering issues during primetime. Hulu was worse, and their interface was unintuitive (I believe it's being redone, however). Youtube never had buffering issues. I do prefer Youtube's DVR feature, but that wasn't the dealmaker for me.

But that's just at my location, and I wouldn't extrapolate this to be the case everywhere. Anyone interested in streaming services should do the free trials and see how performance compares on their ISP.

 

[92tide]

It's primarily about the performance at my location. Sling had buffering issues during primetime. Hulu was worse, and their interface was unintuitive (I believe it's being redone, however). Youtube never had buffering issues. I do prefer Youtube's DVR feature, but that wasn't the dealmaker for me.

But that's just at my location, and I wouldn't extrapolate this to be the case everywhere. Anyone interested in streaming services should do the free trials and see how performance compares on their ISP.

i generally had a fairly decent go of it with hulu live. at least here, we were still using the beta version and the interface was really clunky, but i eventually figured it out. the biggest problem i had was that sometimes it didn't automatically take me to the live stream of the game and either put me at the beginning of the broadcast or at the point where i switched the channel. so going back and forth didn't really work well and on the times when the game would have to start on espn u because of previous games running long it could take a while to find the feed. i hope they get that worked out.

 

[RTR91]

[h=1]The new ESPN+ service will launch on April 12, cost $4.99/month[/h]

 

[92tide]

[h=1]The new ESPN+ service will launch on April 12, cost $4.99/month[/h]

this doesn't seem like a great option

However, it still doesn’t get you ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc. For that, you’ll still need to subscribe through a different TV provider.

 

[RTR91]

this doesn't seem like a great option

Yep. Struggling to see the point in spending $5 a month on it.

 

[TideMom2Boys]

So we decided to cut the cord and I wanted to bring this thread back up to ask a question. I think we have decided with Hulu Live as I already had a Hulu subscription for regular streaming. So, it was a no brainer to try it out with them first...this will save us over $100 a month (we had a bunch of HD/DVR boxes and movie channels..etc)


Local channels I get with Hulu are FOX and NBC. I get the ABC primetime shows on demand which is fine.


My question is for the first Alabama game on ABC...is that usually available in the WatchESPN app? And the CBS games, we can just get the CBS subscription for the small fee during CFB months?


I tried a digital antenna and that couldn't pick up anything on multiple tvs. I could only get the CW and some other channels I didn't want.

 

[Bazza]

So we decided to cut the cord and I wanted to bring this thread back up to ask a question. I think we have decided with Hulu Live as I already had a Hulu subscription for regular streaming. So, it was a no brainer to try it out with them first...this will save us over $100 a month (we had a bunch of HD/DVR boxes and movie channels..etc)


Local channels I get with Hulu are FOX and NBC. I get the ABC primetime shows on demand which is fine.


My question is for the first Alabama game on ABC...is that usually available in the WatchESPN app? And the CBS games, we can just get the CBS subscription for the small fee during CFB months?


I tried a digital antenna and that couldn't pick up anything on multiple tvs. I could only get the CW and some other channels I didn't want.

You must be way out in the boondocks if you couldn't get ABC with a digital antenna. Are you sure you had a good one and it was set up properly?

Did you go through the website?: https://www.antennaweb.org/

 

[TideMom2Boys]

You must be way out in the boondocks if you couldn't get ABC with a digital antenna. Are you sure you had a good one and it was set up properly?

Did you go through the website?: https://www.antennaweb.org/

I just put my zip in and it says only 4 channels. That is basically what I got. LOL That is sad..I am just in south Shelby county. Maybe that is why the cell towers suck out here too.

 

[Bazza]

I just put my zip in and it says only 4 channels. That is basically what I got. LOL That is sad..I am just in south Shelby county. Maybe that is why the cell towers suck out here too.

Ouch! Sorry to hear that. I'm sure you have other options.

Here's mine (doesn't hurt to be about 30 miles from Orlando):

New Smyrna Beach, FL, USA
Up to 57 channels from 19 over-the-air stations may be received at this location.

 

[TideMom2Boys]

Hmm I did some more research tonight and found that YouTubetv has the local channels and all the sports channels that I need. I am thinking of getting that and trying that first instead of the Hulu Live. It is actually cheaper at $40 a month. (Hulu was $58 total with the options I chose) I did a free trial and the local channels are crystal clear with youtubetv.

 

[RollTARDIS]

Hmm I did some more research tonight and found that YouTubetv has the local channels and all the sports channels that I need. I am thinking of getting that and trying that first instead of the Hulu Live. It is actually cheaper at $40 a month. (Hulu was $58 total with the options I chose) I did a free trial and the local channels are crystal clear with youtubetv.

I use YouTubeTV and I’ve found that it is the best service for both programming and stability of the stream for me. They also tend to have the big 4 local channels. I previously used PlayStation Vue, but they got too expensive, started losing channels, and experienced growing pains which I experienced as a lot of buffering and errors. That’s a shame because I liked it best for about a year.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I use YouTubeTV and I’ve found that it is the best service for both programming and stability of the stream for me. They also tend to have the big 4 local channels. I previously used PlayStation Vue, but they got too expensive, started losing channels, and experienced growing pains which I experienced as a lot of buffering and errors. That’s a shame because I liked it best for about a year.

So you have no problems with buffering or quality of picture on live sporting events with youtubetv? I'm very interested in reading people's experiences because I'm so wanting to cut my DirectTV "chord".

 

[UAH]

So you have no problems with buffering or quality of picture on live sporting events with youtubetv? I'm very interested in reading people's experiences because I'm so wanting to cut my DirectTV "chord".

I have been on YouTubeTV for six months with a standard WOW cable internet modem that is wired directly to my ROKU box. My picture quality does decline on weekends when cable usage increases. I have lost feed on live programming a couple of times and have been forced to restart the channel. The feature I like the most is the online VCR which allows me to place programs in my library and play back which allows me to skip through commercials. I tend to believe that YouTubeTV is the current best option for cutting the cord.

 

[Its On A Slab]

I have been on YouTubeTV for six months with a standard WOW cable internet modem that is wired directly to my ROKU box. My picture quality does decline on weekends when cable usage increases. I have lost feed on live programming a couple of times and have been forced to restart the channel. The feature I like the most is the online VCR which allows me to place programs in my library and play back which allows me to skip through commercials. I tend to believe that YouTubeTV is the current best option for cutting the cord.

Wonder if YouTubeTV is available on Amazon Fire? I know Amazon dropped the YouTube app last year.

 

[UAH]

Wonder if YouTubeTV is available on Amazon Fire? I know Amazon dropped the YouTube app last year.

My quick scan says probably not! Looks like Amazon Fire is allied with DirectTV.

From YouTube TV:

Our TV app is available on:

• Android TV
• Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X
• Samsung & LG smart TVs (2016 models and newer)
• Apple TV (4th generation) and Apple TV 4K
• Roku: All Roku TVs, Roku Ultra, Roku Streaming Stick+, Roku Streaming Stick (3800x, 3600x), Roku Express/Express+ (3910x, 3900x, 3710x, 3700x), Roku Premiere+, Roku Premiere, Roku 4, Roku 3 (4200x, 4230x), and Roku 2 (4210x).

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I have been on YouTubeTV for six months with a standard WOW cable internet modem that is wired directly to my ROKU box. My picture quality does decline on weekends when cable usage increases. I have lost feed on live programming a couple of times and have been forced to restart the channel. The feature I like the most is the online VCR which allows me to place programs in my library and play back which allows me to skip through commercials. I tend to believe that YouTubeTV is the current best option for cutting the cord.

Thank you for sharing your experience. This seems to be the common complaints I hear from people who use internet tv, regardless of the provider. For me, until this gets to be a less frequent complaint. I will stick with paying higher prices for programming.

 

[NationalTitles18]

No youtube app on Amazon Fire. I believe the options are viewing in silk or firefox browsers, but not native app.

 

[CrimsonForce]

So you have no problems with buffering or quality of picture on live sporting events with youtubetv? I'm very interested in reading people's experiences because I'm so wanting to cut my DirectTV "chord".

I have DirectTV and thought about doing the same but every year when they increase my bill to $120 and I call to cancel they give me a $60 credit for 12 months which brings my bill down to $60. Just not much money to be saved from $60 which includes 3 TVs hooked up, HD DVR, streaming capability etc. Only hassle is having to call once a year to get them to lower the bill. If they don't lower it one day I'll probably switch to streaming but it's going on 7 years and they've always provided these credits when I call to cancel. I really don't have any complaints with DirectTV other than having to call once a year when the credits fall off..