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[dskillzhtown]

I've been casually looking around at various cord-cutting options, but it still hasn't gotten to that 'a la carte' level that I would prefer.

Here's the thing. I need two channels: Bravo TV and MSNBC. My wife loves the reality shows, and I would like to have one live cable news channel. What is our cheapest route?

$35/month seems to be the best I can do with something like PSVue. Is there any other options for just getting a couple of cable channels?

The one thing that killed Sling for me was the number of streams and it's terrible performance for me. I have had Sling, Vue, and now DirecTV Now. Vue is the best bang for your buck right now, in my opinion. With that said, they all have strengths and weaknesses so you have to do some investigating and try out all of the free trials. The best thing is that none of them have contracts, so you can jump from service to service to decide what is best for you.

 

[Schlep]

The one thing that killed Sling for me was the number of streams and it's terrible performance for me. I have had Sling, Vue, and now DirecTV Now. Vue is the best bang for your buck right now, in my opinion. With that said, they all have strengths and weaknesses so you have to do some investigating and try out all of the free trials. The best thing is that none of them have contracts, so you can jump from service to service to decide what is best for you.

If you're subscribing to Sling, you really should be using a Roku. The experience on other devices varies. DirecTV Now seems like a cluster all the way around right now. I would avoid it until they sort out their technical issues.

 

[dLMN8R]

Does anyone have a full list of channels that prevent DVR from working on Sling?

Also, does Sling's DVR have the same problem as Vue, where you can't extend the recording time for sports broadcasts?

On my current over-the-air DVR setup (using NextPVR), I always add ~30 minutes to the end of football game recordings.

 

[Schlep]

Channels that do not work with Sling DVR
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, Goal Line/Buzzer Beater/Bases Loaded, SEC Network, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Freeform.

The DVR feature doesn't yet have the ability to extend recordings. It's in beta and Sling is taking suggestions.

 

[dskillzhtown]

If you're subscribing to Sling, you really should be using a Roku. The experience on other devices varies. DirecTV Now seems like a cluster all the way around right now. I would avoid it until they sort out their technical issues.

When I had Sling I used it on Roku, Xbox, Fire Stick and Chromecast. Back then the performance was crap on all the devices.

DirecTV is a mess right now in many ways. I feel if they can get it working and app sign-ins, it will be awesome, but that is a huge if.

 

[half a moon]

Does anything have CW?
I assume cbs isn't on anything because they are going solo soon with Star Trek?

 

[Drakeon]

Does anything have CW?
I assume cbs isn't on anything because they are going solo soon with Star Trek?

Xbox One has a CW App that usually has their shows on it.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Does anything have CW?
I assume cbs isn't on anything because they are going solo soon with Star Trek?

roku has CW

 

[SlackAdjuster]

I'm not sure what's up but DirecTV Now has horrible performance for me on 2 different boxes. 1 Apple TV and 1 FireTV. I know my new internet speed kinda sucks and is on the slow side but I haven't had a single problem with PSVue or Netflix, Youtube, HBOGO, etc. ever. I can't watch anything on this without it going to a black screen within 5 minutes maximum. I forget the error message at the moment.

I don't even watch much TV at all so I don't really care but it's got everyone else in the house raging. I did rage Monday night trying to watch Monday Night Football with my fantasy football Superbowl on the line.

 

[SlackAdjuster]

Reading now that I guess this is a super common problem with no end in sight.
I'll tell ya, cutting the cord for me and my family has been a complete disaster so far.

If anything, maybe we can just get used to not watching TV period and do better things with our lives, lol.

 

[Frank the Great]

Not sure I understand . . . If Direct Now sucks for you, but PSVue works fine . . . Why not just use Vue? It sounds like your problem is with Direct, not cord cutting in general.

 

[superdeluxe]

The one thing that killed Sling for me was the number of streams and it's terrible performance for me. I have had Sling, Vue, and now DirecTV Now. Vue is the best bang for your buck right now, in my opinion. With that said, they all have strengths and weaknesses so you have to do some investigating and try out all of the free trials. The best thing is that none of them have contracts, so you can jump from service to service to decide what is best for you.

Has Vue offered anything additional after losing 12-15 channels to be replaced by 2 channels.

 

[superdeluxe]

roku has CW

Roku has the app, but don't you need to have a service to actually be able to log in?

 

[Lomax]

Roku has the app, but don't you need to have a service to actually be able to log in?

No, CW's apps are free regardless. They're absolutely horribly designed though and a nightmare to use. But they are free.

 

[superdeluxe]

No, CW's apps are free regardless. They're absolutely horribly designed though and a nightmare to use. But they are free.

Thank you

 

[superdeluxe]

Does sling have access to tv anywhere apps?

 

[Schlep]

Does sling have access to tv anywhere apps?

http://help.sling.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/How-do-I-use-Sling-TV-as-authentication-for-another-app

 

[Nordic4tKnight]

Does sling have access to tv anywhere apps?

It has the major ones but no where near the amount the PlayStation Vue offers.

 

[superdeluxe]

It has the major ones but no where near the amount the PlayStation Vue offers.

Argh.

 

[SMattera]

Signed up for DirecTV Now just to try it out before they raise the price.

I can't get past all the commercials. Seriously, what a waste of my time.

I'll just keep buying season passes on Amazon to the few shows I want to watch.

 

[xxANTIMONITORxx]

Just starting with cord cutting. Is there any way to connect both an antenna and an Apple TV to an XBoX One without having to constantly switch HDMI input?

 

[SMattera]

Just starting with cord cutting. Is there any way to connect both an antenna and an Apple TV to an XBoX One without having to constantly switch HDMI input?

Why do you need the Apple TV?

There's a USB to antenna convertor for the Xbox, but I think it works as an alternative to Xbox HDMI in.

Another option is to get a Logitech Harmony remote and let it do the input switching for you.

 

[Vyer]

Just starting with cord cutting. Is there any way to connect both an antenna and an Apple TV to an XBoX One without having to constantly switch HDMI input?

I don't believe there's any way to connect an ATV to an XBOX.

If your TV supports it, the apple tv has HDMI-CEC, which means that when it powers on or you use the remote it will send a signal to the TV and it will automatically switch to the right input.

Unfortunately, for whatever shitty reason, the XBOX does not have this capability.

I have basically the set up you are asking about. MS TV Tuner to my antenna and XBOX One and an Apple TV. Like I mentioned, the atv will switch over on it's own when powered on or activated, but I have to manually change inputs to get back to the XBOX.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Signed up for DirecTV Now just to try it out before they raise the price.

I can't get past all the commercials. Seriously, what a waste of my time.

I'll just keep buying season passes on Amazon to the few shows I want to watch.

What did you expect? No commercials?

 

[SlackAdjuster]

Not sure I understand . . . If Direct Now sucks for you, but PSVue works fine . . . Why not just use Vue? It sounds like your problem is with Direct, not cord cutting in general.

Because Vue cut a bunch of channels like 2 weeks after I started using it. Of course a few of the channels they cut were exactly what my family said they really wanted before we started this whole process.

Part of my cord cutting nightmare has been just due to circumstance. Just so happens I live in a suburb but my house is unique and in somewhat of a unique location and company X offers this or that up to 2 houses down the street and stops and Company Y can only do this or that until they get this or that installed.

For ME, it's been a huge hassle. I'm sure it works just fine for most people. So my problem has been just not being able to get things streamlined and it hasn't been on my end. Cable company constantly raises rates and has a 300g data cap. I have one alterative to cable and they don't offer service where I live. PS Vue cuts channels. DirectTv Now is a shitshow. Etc. Just tired of it all already.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Because Vue cut a bunch of channels like 2 weeks after I started using it. Of course a few of the channels they cut were exactly what my family said they really wanted before we started this whole process.

Part of my cord cutting nightmare has been just due to circumstance. Just so happens I live in a suburb but my house is unique and in somewhat of a unique location and company X offers this or that up to 2 houses down the street and stops and Company Y can only do this or that until they get this or that installed.

For ME, it's been a huge hassle. I'm sure it works just fine for most people. So my problem has been just not being able to get things streamlined and it hasn't been on my end. Cable company constantly raises rates and has a 300g data cap. I have one alterative to cable and they don't offer service where I live. PS Vue cuts channels. DirectTv Now is a shitshow. Etc. Just tired of it all already.

300GB cap shouldn't be much of a hindrance to cord cutting. Cord cutting has been an exercise in accepting that certain things are going to be different. In your case, you have to think about what is most important. DTVN has them, but the service is going through some extreme startup pains. All of the streaming platforms have had them, but that is of little comfort when you are depending on it as or sole means to watch TV. I do think that DTVN will be able to sort it out, but how long that will take is the issue. We don't know.

How about getting a basic package from cable? Would that get you your Viacom channels until DTVN gets it's act together or Hulu's service launches (which is rumored to be in the first quarter)?

 

[SMattera]

What did you expect? No commercials?

No, I expected commercials. But I didn't remember it being this bad. I haven't had real paid TV in about five years. Commercials during live sports don't bother me, because I'm usually watching those with other people, and have conversions during the commercials, or post/read about the game on social media, etc. But if I'm trying to watch an episode of House Hunters, I don't want spend 20% of my time watching some dumb ads.

I don't know if it's possible, but I hope Sling TV, PS Vue, DirecTV Now, etc eventually experiment with premium tiers with less/no commercial breaks on channels where it's practical.

300GB cap shouldn't be much of a hindrance to cord cutting.

Depends on how many people you live with and how much TV you watch.

If you watch 4 hours of streaming content each day, that's about 350GBs right there. Add some web surfing, music streaming, downloading a few games and you're way over. I generally use about 600GB each month.

Rarely is a "cap" ever really a cap -- generally, the company will just charge you more -- but depending on the pricing, that can make sticking with cable the much cheaper option.

 

[dskillzhtown]

No, I expected commercials. But I didn't remember it being this bad. I haven't had real paid TV in about five years. Commercials during live sports don't bother me, because I'm usually watching those with other people, and have conversions during the commercials, or post/read about the game on social media, etc. But if I'm trying to watch an episode of House Hunters, I don't want spend 20% of my time watching some dumb ads.

I don't know if it's possible, but I hope Sling TV, PS Vue, DirecTV Now, etc eventually experiment with premium tiers with less/no commercial breaks on channels where it's practical.

I think you will see that only with on-demand viewing. Advertisers still want to see their ads in live broadcasts, no matter the platform. That is the goal of most content that isn't on a premium channel.

 

[AndyD]

I think you will see that only with on-demand viewing. Advertisers still want to see their ads in live broadcasts, no matter the platform. That is the goal of most content that isn't on a premium channel.

Yep. I think what many people want is on-demand viewing with topical playlists a little like Youtube or the Youtube Kids app.

Think boot up netflix/amazon/ondemand, browse to cooking/ home improvement/ nature/ documentaries/ crime procedurals, hit play and it mixes episodes from various shows with no commercials (except between shows). Then you vote stuff up/down and it learns from there. Right now it moves to the next episode in a series, but sometimes you would rather have 4 different holiday cooking show episodes rather than 4 episodes of one show back to back.

This both removes in-show ads and allows you to mix it up like a TV channel does. If one of the majors comes out with this and it works really well, it would help with cord-cutting, especially for those people who don't want to fiddle with a remote every 20 minutes to flip through a menu and pick something else. Just play for a couple hours without input.

 

[Luschient]

Just saw this announced.

Dish unveils a 4K Android TV streaming box with Netflix, Sling TV, and local channels

I'm not familiar with the regular Sling box, is this new Dish offering "better"?

 

[Schlep]

This isn't a Sling box that sends encoded video to another TV/your phone. This is a Sling TV/Android box that inserts antenna channels into your Sling TV lineup. Also, if you buy one, you get $50 Sling TV credit.

 

[dLMN8R]

Just saw this announced.

Dish unveils a 4K Android TV streaming box with Netflix, Sling TV, and local channels

I'm not familiar with the regular Sling box, is this new Dish offering "better"?

Unless I'm missing something, the box doesn't have DVR for live channels, so for me personally it's kind of dead in the water.

 

[AndyD]

Unless I'm missing something, the box doesn't have DVR for live channels, so for me personally it's kind of dead in the water.

I don't think it's in the DVR market, as it's $100. With a local DVR it's more of a Tivo domain.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Hulu said they will have cloud DVR on their service and include the "traditional" Hulu service with it. If they allow multiple streams, their service will be hard to beat.

 

[TheAbsolution]

Hulu said they will have cloud DVR on their service and include the "traditional" Hulu service with it. If they allow multiple streams, their service will be hard to beat.

As always it depends on the price and reliability of service, and number of channels that I'll actually watch. We'll see I guess.

 

[dskillzhtown]

The details of the Hulu service came in today - http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-live-tv-streaming-service-preview-features-photos-2017-1

The big idea here is to blur the lines between live and on-demand content. Other services have made that pitch, of course, but too often they've felt like handicapped versions of cable at a lower price point. Hulu, meanwhile, seems to be squeezing live TV into something like its existing video on-demand service, instead of making live the number one focus.

In any case, both live and on-demand shows are presented side by side. A little note within each program listing will tell you what's what, but on the home screen the two aren't siloed off into separate spheres. Irving says there's no TV Guide-style channel grid anywhere in the service.

Once you start watching a show, you can pull up a menu of related programs — again with both live and on-demand shows mixed in — or with what's coming up with that specific channel.

Though Hulu's aim is to present you with the things you like, the service still has a section for flipping through whatever's live now. Like the rest of the service, it's broken down into little subsections, and presented with a very clean look that's heavy on big graphics and letters. If nothing else, the service certainly looks good.

Seems like an entirely new approach and trying to be more of a "live content" addition to it's current platform. The YouTube clip in that article is crazy.

Edit - This was taken from another article -

Hulu will also have a built-in cloud DVR, though the amount of storage space offered isn't being announced at this time. The cloud DVR can record live programming that isn't in Hulu's existing catalog (think sports games or network TV shows from CBS), but if you choose to watch a show or movie that is airing live later that is in Hulu's catalog, it'll add the best version of the content to your queue for you.

So for example, if you see that an episode of Seinfeld is airing on TBS and you're like, ”I want to watch this later," rather than recording the TBS copy (which is syndicated, and thus, missing scenes), Hulu will grab the full version from its archive and add it to your list. The same goes for movies.

 

[Jafku]

The details of the Hulu service came in today - http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-live-tv-streaming-service-preview-features-photos-2017-1









Seems like an entirely new approach and trying to be more of a "live content" addition to it's current platform. The YouTube clip in that article is crazy.

Edit - This was taken from another article -

Sounds promising. I'll drop direcTV for Hulu

 

[dLMN8R]

I just got this antenna for over-the-air TV and it's incredible so far:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FUB4ZG8/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I used the Kinja code JVQNT9WG yesterday which brought it down to just $16 - not sure if the code is still live.

The kicker is that it comes with a built-in amplifier, which seems to make a huge difference in my house! It also has some sticky pads on it which make it really easy to mount up high on a wall.


I was previously using this antenna:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TIELEM/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It worked well, but no matter how I placed or mounted it inside, I could only get a limited set of channels at a time. So if I rotated it or moved it in such a way where one channel got stronger, other channels got weaker. Made it really unpredictable.

The new one gets all channels simultaneously, and at a stronger signal than even the best channels got at their strongest point with the old one.

 

[Lomax]

The details of the Hulu service came in today - http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-live-tv-streaming-service-preview-features-photos-2017-1

Seems like an entirely new approach and trying to be more of a "live content" addition to it's current platform. The YouTube clip in that article is crazy.

Edit - This was taken from another article -

Ugh, no channel guide is annoying. The terrible channel guide on the roku PSVue app is the worst thing about it. The entire thing I want from live TV is the ability to browse and find something to watch, if I already have something in mind I'll just watch it. It's stupid to not even have the option. Doing everything they describe here is great, but have a guide too. More options is always better.

 

[EricTheCleric]

Anyone able to get Hulu+ running after the latest update on PS4?

My app is stuck on title loading screen. I have deleted and reinstalled the app but still have the same problem.



I use it with Getflix since I live in Sweden but I did not have any issues before Christmas.

 

[xxANTIMONITORxx]

Why do you need the Apple TV?

There's a USB to antenna convertor for the Xbox, but I think it works as an alternative to Xbox HDMI in.

Another option is to get a Logitech Harmony remote and let it do the input switching for you.

I don't believe there's any way to connect an ATV to an XBOX.

If your TV supports it, the apple tv has HDMI-CEC, which means that when it powers on or you use the remote it will send a signal to the TV and it will automatically switch to the right input.

Unfortunately, for whatever shitty reason, the XBOX does not have this capability.

I have basically the set up you are asking about. MS TV Tuner to my antenna and XBOX One and an Apple TV. Like I mentioned, the atv will switch over on it's own when powered on or activated, but I have to manually change inputs to get back to the XBOX.

Hey I am late getting back to check this, but thank you both so much for your recommendations!

 

[SMattera]

The Xbox One has pretty much all the major streaming apps, except PS Vue and DTV Now (coming soon). And it has Amazon Prime Video which Apple TV doesn't have. Unless you've bought a bunch of shows/movies on iTunes, the Xbox One is a better set-top box. Just buy the media remote.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Also, found this in the Verge article about Hulu -

The base monthly subscription allows two simultaneous streams. That’s going to result in the same frustration and complaints that some consumers expressed at the launch of DirecTV Now.

But! Hulu is planning to offer an extra (paid) monthly add-on that dramatically increases the stream limit to a number where “you’d never have to worry about it,” Smith told me.

I would hope the add-on is $5 or so.

 

[SoldierOfLight]

I just discovered this thread since I saw the hauppage Xbox OTA tuner at best buy. I would've bought it but the price is pretty high up there.
Would anyone recommend buying it at retail or wait for sale?

I finally picked up an antenna at Fry's for $25 with 50 mile range. I can't believe I was paying $15-20 /mo for a year just for standard channels before getting this.
I do believe now is the best time to cut the cord for everyone. With all these apps and antennae options there really isn't any need for cable.

 

[Bgamer90]

Just starting with cord cutting. Is there any way to connect both an antenna and an Apple TV to an XBoX One without having to constantly switch HDMI input?

Yep. I have both. The Hauppauge Antenna adapter hooks into the Xbox One's USB port. My Apple TV is in the Xbox One's HDMI port. Both go through the Xbox TV app.

 

[Nategc20]

Yep. I have both. The Hauppauge Antenna adapter hooks into the Xbox One's USB port. My Apple TV is in the Xbox One's HDMI port. Both go through the Xbox TV app.

Fire set up

 

[cereal_killerxx]

So... Amazon Video or Hulu?

 

[dskillzhtown]

So... Amazon Video or Hulu?

Obviously with Amazon you are getting Amazon Prime as well, so not exactly apples to apples comparison. If you are going strictly video services, I find Hulu's UI superior and their library superior as well. Throw in the fact that Hulu will have live TV as part of it's offering soon, then Hulu would be my choice.

But like all of the services, you have to try them out and see what works for you.

 

[mrklaw]

I dismissed the idea of cord cutting because you'd at least want free to air reception with a DVR right?

But these days I barely watch anything I've DVRed and most of that would have been watchable via a catch up service. So I'm tempted to try a dry run avoiding my TiVo for a Linh and just using apps on my tv or iPad.

It's kind of a weird thing though because I wouldn't save much by cancelling. because then my internet would go up in price and it'd end up about the same as I'm paying now

 

[dskillzhtown]

I dismissed the idea of cord cutting because you'd at least want free to air reception with a DVR right?

But these days I barely watch anything I've DVRed and most of that would have been watchable via a catch up service. So I'm tempted to try a dry run avoiding my TiVo for a Linh and just using apps on my tv or iPad.

It's kind of a weird thing though because I wouldn't save much by cancelling. because then my internet would go up in price and it'd end up about the same as I'm paying now

You have to do what makes sense for you. I saved over $100/month by going to Vue and leaving DirecTV. Those fees are where they get you.