OT: Cutting the Cord 2.0 - ESPN/Fox/Warner Launching Combined Sports Streamer

Post #641 » by **MickeyDavis** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:44 pm

I signed up for Sling today. Blue for NFLN and then the sportspack for Red Zone. 40% off the first month and I plan to drop after football season.

EastSideBucksFan · Post #642 » by **EastSideBucksFan** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:25 pm

Any feedback on what (non-cable/dish) has the best DVR?

I keep going back to Spectrum because the DVR is top notch

Tried Sling last year, but it forced you to still watch commercials on DVR playback.

Is YoutubeTV (or anything else) any better with their DVR?

Post #643 » by **MickeyDavis** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:32 pm

In my 4 days with Sling I'm not impressed. Picture quality is below average, I don't like the interface. I'm only going to be watching 2 channels and canceling in Feb but I can't see using Sling as my main provider.

BucksBrew · Post #644 » by **BucksBrew** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:35 pm

Playstation Vue just added DVR about 2 weeks ago that said I haven't used it yet

Features of the Vue DVR
You can record live local shows in your home area.

You cannot record shows from on-demand channels.

There are no DVR scheduling conflicts.

Episodes of your show are stored for 28 days after the episode air date.

Play, pause, fast forwarding through commercials is available.

Watch My DVR outside your home area.

If Vue doesn't have the DVR rights for a given program or channel, we’ll provide On Demand episodes in its place, if available.

I've used PSVue for the last 3 years when i started it was $35 now it's $50 for the package i use they have added stations but none i would ever watch.

I use the Core package for sports stations (NFL, NBA MLB)

Spoiler:

crkone · Post #645 » by **crkone** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:54 pm

EastSideBucksFan wrote:Any feedback on what (non-cable/dish) has the best DVR?

I keep going back to Spectrum because the DVR is top notch

Tried Sling last year, but it forced you to still watch commercials on DVR playback.

Is YoutubeTV (or anything else) any better with their DVR?

YouTube TV has unlimited DVR. As long as you record the shows with the DVR you can skip the commercials. If you watch a VOD instead, it will make you watch commercials.

buckboy · Post #646 » by **buckboy** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 4:59 pm

crkone wrote:
EastSideBucksFan wrote:Any feedback on what (non-cable/dish) has the best DVR?

I keep going back to Spectrum because the DVR is top notch

Tried Sling last year, but it forced you to still watch commercials on DVR playback.

Is YoutubeTV (or anything else) any better with their DVR?

YouTube TV has unlimited DVR. As long as you record the shows with the DVR you can skip the commercials. If you watch a VOD instead, it will make you watch commercials.

Same for Hulu

EastSideBucksFan · Post #647 » by **EastSideBucksFan** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 5:28 pm

Cool. Thank you. Will give them both a try.

wapith · Post #648 » by **wapith** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 5:32 pm

Might not be the purpose of this thread, but what are people doing for wireless plans?

I actually use Total Wireless (Verizon MVNO) which I think is great in terms of value. My wife and I share ~ 30GB / month for $60. It is basically unlimited for us since we don't even approach that limit. Service/reception has been great. Was a bit of a pain to set up (slow customer service and needing SIM card), but appreciating the savings now.

The thing is our phones are getting pretty old (2.5+ years) and battery life is really becoming an issue. Might have to switch over to a provider that has better new phone options. Or maybe just buy something off Amazon and continue with the low monthly cost of the Total Wireless plan.

What are others doing?

chonestown · Post #649 » by **chonestown** » Tue Sep 3, 2019 6:39 pm

wapith wrote:Might not be the purpose of this thread, but what are people doing for wireless plans?

I actually use Total Wireless (Verizon MVNO) which I think is great in terms of value. My wife and I share ~ 30GB / month for $60. It is basically unlimited for us since we don't even approach that limit. Service/reception has been great. Was a bit of a pain to set up (slow customer service and needing SIM card), but appreciating the savings now.

The thing is our phones are getting pretty old (2.5+ years) and battery life is really becoming an issue. Might have to switch over to a provider that has better new phone options. Or maybe just buy something off Amazon and continue with the low monthly cost of the Total Wireless plan.

What are others doing?

I rarely use my phone for anything outside text and call, but I use Republic Wireless. My plan ends up being $10/mo, but you can order data-rich plans. You also have the ability to switch your data plan up to 3X a month, so on the times I need data [usually vacations], I'm able to do so without penalty. Think I might have found out about Republic on here iirc.

Post #650 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:27 pm

My uverse went out last night and they won't be able to send a repair guy until Monday. I signed up for a free trial of PS Vue so I could catch the Liverpool game today, but I don't think I'll stick with it because it doesn't offer CBS in Madison and you cannot DVR the broadcast network channels here, which sucks and kills it for me. The service otherwise works pretty well, it seems.

I think I'm going to sign up for YouTube Live's free trial and see how it goes, too. Who knows, I might just cancel cable if I like it.

Post #651 » by **humanrefutation** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:28 am

YouTube Live seems pretty nice so far. I can see pros and cons to both Vue and YouTube Live. Vue's guide is nicer as are the multiscreen options. You also get a few extra channel options. YouTube Live has a more intuitive menu system and a better DVR. Plus its app is better.

My biggest issue with both is that I can't extend recordings on either DVR. So if I'm DVRing the Brewers game, which regularly goes over the alotted time, I have to DVR multiple shows instead of just setting a season recording with a two hour tack on like I do with a cable service. That's because all they do is keep cloud saves of individual shows instead of having a physical DVR. I get it, but it sucks for sports.

crkone · Post #652 » by **crkone** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:53 pm

humanrefutation wrote:YouTube Live seems pretty nice so far. I can see pros and cons to both Vue and YouTube Live. Vue's guide is nicer as are the multiscreen options. You also get a few extra channel options. YouTube Live has a more intuitive menu system and a better DVR. Plus its app is better.

My biggest issue with both is that I can't extend recordings on either DVR. So if I'm DVRing the Brewers game, which regularly goes over the alotted time, I have to DVR multiple shows instead of just setting a season recording with a two hour tack on like I do with a cable service. That's because all they do is keep cloud saves of individual shows instead of having a physical DVR. I get it, but it sucks for sports.

That's interesting. I don't think I've run into YouTube TV not recording full sports games with the teams added to my library.

Thunder Muscle · Post #653 » by **Thunder Muscle** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 6:05 pm

BucksBrew wrote:Playstation Vue just added DVR about 2 weeks ago that said I haven't used it yet

Features of the Vue DVR
You can record live local shows in your home area.

You cannot record shows from on-demand channels.

There are no DVR scheduling conflicts.

Episodes of your show are stored for 28 days after the episode air date.

Play, pause, fast forwarding through commercials is available.

Watch My DVR outside your home area.

If Vue doesn't have the DVR rights for a given program or channel, we’ll provide On Demand episodes in its place, if available.

I've used PSVue for the last 3 years when i started it was $35 now it's $50 for the package i use they have added stations but none i would ever watch.

I use the Core package for sports stations (NFL, NBA MLB)
Spoiler:
PlayStation Vue Core channels:

AMC
Animal Planet
BBC America
Big Ten Network
Bravo
Cartoon Network
CBS Sports Network
CNBC
CNN
Cooking Channel
Cozi TV
Decades
Destination America
Discovery
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Disney XD
DIY Network
E!
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNews
ESPNU
Food Network
Fox Business
Fox News Channel
FREEFORM
FS1
FS2
FX
FXX
Hallmark
HGTV
HLN
IFC
Investigation Discovery
MLB Network
MSNBC
National Geographic
National Geographic Wild
NBA TV
NBCSN
NFL Network
Olympic Channel
OWN
Oxygen
Pop
SCI
SEC Network
Sundance TV
Syfy
Telemundo
TBS
TLC
TNT
Travel Channel
truTV
Turner Classic Movies
USA
WE TV

So Vue includes Fox Sports North? Considering dropping DirecTV and getting their core package and getting CBS All Access and ESPN+ to compliment. If we can dvr, I could probably drop Hulu since Vue would have ABC, FOX, and NBC.

Post #654 » by **humanrefutation** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 6:39 pm

crkone wrote:
humanrefutation wrote:YouTube Live seems pretty nice so far. I can see pros and cons to both Vue and YouTube Live. Vue's guide is nicer as are the multiscreen options. You also get a few extra channel options. YouTube Live has a more intuitive menu system and a better DVR. Plus its app is better.

My biggest issue with both is that I can't extend recordings on either DVR. So if I'm DVRing the Brewers game, which regularly goes over the allotted time, I have to DVR multiple shows instead of just setting a season recording with a two hour tack on like I do with a cable service. That's because all they do is keep cloud saves of individual shows instead of having a physical DVR. I get it, but it sucks for sports.

That's interesting. I don't think I've run into YouTube TV not recording full sports games with the teams added to my library.

I can't say for sure whether they do or do not end up adjusting on the fly - I've only had it for a couple days - but from googling around, it sounds like they don't. With some sporting events, you have a solid idea of how long a game will be even when you factor in OT. But sports like baseball and basketball don't necessarily afford you that luxury, and it sounds like they don't catch that necessarily. At least with cable, I can mitigate that by adding an up to 3 additional hours to the broadcast recording.

crkone · Post #655 » by **crkone** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:26 pm

humanrefutation wrote:
crkone wrote:
humanrefutation wrote:YouTube Live seems pretty nice so far. I can see pros and cons to both Vue and YouTube Live. Vue's guide is nicer as are the multiscreen options. You also get a few extra channel options. YouTube Live has a more intuitive menu system and a better DVR. Plus its app is better.

My biggest issue with both is that I can't extend recordings on either DVR. So if I'm DVRing the Brewers game, which regularly goes over the allotted time, I have to DVR multiple shows instead of just setting a season recording with a two hour tack on like I do with a cable service. That's because all they do is keep cloud saves of individual shows instead of having a physical DVR. I get it, but it sucks for sports.

That's interesting. I don't think I've run into YouTube TV not recording full sports games with the teams added to my library.

I can't say for sure whether they do or do not end up adjusting on the fly - I've only had it for a couple days - but from googling around, it sounds like they don't. With some sporting events, you have a solid idea of how long a game will be even when you factor in OT. But sports like baseball and basketball don't necessarily afford you that luxury, and it sounds like they don't catch that necessarily. At least with cable, I can mitigate that by adding an up to 3 additional hours to the broadcast recording.

YouTube TV has a stat counter pulled from Google that you can look at during live sports that helps the DVR keep the time. The problem that arises is usually the program that is scheduled afterwards, like a postgame show, unless it's another live sports event.

Post #656 » by **MickeyDavis** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:07 pm

Better to be able to add some padding time yourself rather than hope the system will adjust. Weird that YouTube doesn't just let you do that.

M-C-G · Post #657 » by **M-C-G** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:49 pm

Hulu is very close to having it nailed...problem 1, Sunday and Monday night football appear to somehow 'strain' the feed and it gets glitchy. Problem 2, NO REDZONE CHANNEL...drives me nuts having to watch the old way.

Ryan5UW · Post #658 » by **Ryan5UW** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:54 pm

I think I'm finally ready to tell Charter to go pound sand - my bill is going up $30/mo and when I called they couldn't offer me anything better.

Looking through the steaming options - PS Vue, Hulu Live whatever, AT&T Now, Sling YouTube - it looks like from a channel standpoint, PS Vue and YouTube would be my two options. It looks like on PS Vue I can't record local ABC, Fox or NBC on the DVR and the DVR only keeps content for 28 days. On YouTube, it looks like the DVR keeps content for 9 months, but I can't find anything about recording local networks. Between these two... is one clearly better than the other? It looks like either would be fine for channels (locals, AMC, Animal Planet, Big 10, Cartoon, Discovery, ESPN/ESPN2, Food, FS WI, Nat Geo & Wild are my big ones).

Post #659 » by **Howard Mass** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:16 pm

Ryan5UW wrote:I think I'm finally ready to tell Charter to go pound sand - my bill is going up $30/mo and when I called they couldn't offer me anything better.

Looking through the steaming options - PS Vue, Hulu Live whatever, AT&T Now, Sling YouTube - it looks like from a channel standpoint, PS Vue and YouTube would be my two options. It looks like on PS Vue I can't record local ABC, Fox or NBC on the DVR and the DVR only keeps content for 28 days. On YouTube, it looks like the DVR keeps content for 9 months, but I can't find anything about recording local networks. Between these two... is one clearly better than the other? It looks like either would be fine for channels (locals, AMC, Animal Planet, Big 10, Cartoon, Discovery, ESPN/ESPN2, Food, FS WI, Nat Geo & Wild are my big ones).

I have Spectrum (Charter) here in Central Florida but my second promo ends in December and mine is going up at least $20. It went up $20-$25 after my first promo ended.

Per my calculations, I'll be able to save $70 a month by switching to Hulu Live TV or Youtube TV. My problem with Hulu TV is no NBA TV.

Have not decided which one though but if Hulu picks that up, it might be Hulu for me.

Ryan5UW · Post #660 » by **Ryan5UW** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 12:02 am

Howard Mass wrote:
Ryan5UW wrote:I think I'm finally ready to tell Charter to go pound sand - my bill is going up $30/mo and when I called they couldn't offer me anything better.

Looking through the steaming options - PS Vue, Hulu Live whatever, AT&T Now, Sling YouTube - it looks like from a channel standpoint, PS Vue and YouTube would be my two options. It looks like on PS Vue I can't record local ABC, Fox or NBC on the DVR and the DVR only keeps content for 28 days. On YouTube, it looks like the DVR keeps content for 9 months, but I can't find anything about recording local networks. Between these two... is one clearly better than the other? It looks like either would be fine for channels (locals, AMC, Animal Planet, Big 10, Cartoon, Discovery, ESPN/ESPN2, Food, FS WI, Nat Geo & Wild are my big ones).

I have Spectrum (Charter) here in Central Florida but my second promo ends in December and mine is going up at least $20. It went up $20-$25 after my first promo ended.

Per my calculations, I'll be able to save $70 a month by switching to Hulu Live TV or Youtube TV. My problem with Hulu TV is no NBA TV.

Have not decided which one though but if Hulu picks that up, it might be Hulu for me.

That was another one I was looking for - both PS Vue (Core for $55/mo or higher packages) and YouTube TV both have it. Hulu not having AMC was the main reason I ruled it out... although I should probably just punt Walking Dead and move on with my life.