OT - Another cord-trimming option: Hulu Live TV
Hulu announced a while back that it was working on a live TV streaming service to compete with the likes of Sling TV and PlayStation Vue (a "virtual MVPD" in industry parlance), and the public beta launched today: https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/03/hulu-live-tv-beta/
At launch, Hulu Live TV has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, BTN, FS1, and FS2, which covers most channels necessary to watch every Michigan football game. Notably missing in Sotheastern Michigan is ABC affiliate WXYZ (as well as NBC affiliate WDIV). However, with ABC's new affiliate clearinghouse initiative, it probably won't be long before WXYZ comes aboard. Full channel lineup info is on their website: https://www.hulu.com/live-tv
This brings the number of virtual MVPD services to five (I think): Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV NOW, YouTubeTV, and Hulu Live TV. Die cable, Die.
With HGTV and FoodNetwork.
Gee, why didn't Jim Delany think of this... or did he?!?!
For my taste. I get that it has ESPN and ESPN2 but $40/month seems way too steep. It makes sense for someone coming off a cable bill, but I'm happy at paying $8. That said, I imagine it can be a good deal if you tend to go to a sports bar to watch live sports, as one can easily spent $40 on alcohol alone in a single sitting.
He doesn't watch anything.
Netflix is around $8, that might be to which he is referring. Netflix is all I need, at most times of the year.
Netflix is up to $10 or $11 nowadays for a streaming only no-DVD plan.
Hulu with limited commercials is $8, with no commercials it's $12.
is that $8 per house or is that per TV? I'm at a point where I have 4 TV's with cable boxes.
I was intrigued by this one. I think I pay around $220/mo for internet and cable and that includes HBO, Showtime, and Starz.
I looked in my area and ABC, NBC, and Fox aren't available as options. Neither is AMC or TLC which is a big one for my wife. Internet alone would be around $80/mo for a fast connection where I live -- probably closer to $100 by the time you add all the misc fees and taxes. Adding HBO and Showtime would tack on another $30 month as a standalone service.
So by the time you're all done, you're around $170/month and you're missing at least five big networks (in my house anyways). And yes, I'm aware you can get local channels via an HD antenna.
Frankly not worth the hassle to me.
But we're getting closer.
with a cable provider. After 2 years they want up your rates and that is when we call other providers and see what they will do and usually go with someone else every 2 years and keep our cable/internet/phone bill pretty stable.
I wish I lived in an area where that was an option. But where I'm at in the northeast, its basically one provider per town.
Kinja had a good run-down of the various streaming alternatives:
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/is-hulu-live-tv-worth-it-versus-all-the-r…
Seems like PS Vue is still the best combination of cost and functionality.
Agreed. I've been on PS Vue for a year and haven't seen enough from its competitors to switch, but more options is always good for the consumer.
I currently have Vue Elite ($45/mo.) and Hulu No Commercials ($12/mo.) = $57/mo. total
Hulu No Commercials Live TV w-Enhanced DVR (because a DVR that can't FF past commercials is dumb) = $59/mo.
There are some channel trade-offs.
1) Hulu Plus doesn't appear to have NBC WDIV, Vue does. Your locals will vary.
2) Hulu Plus doesn't have NFL Network, MLB Network, NBA TV
3) Vue in general has more channels, especially the Elite package that I'm referencing. Which channels you value is obviously personal. But for me I don't see many channels that I would miss.
4) Hulu Plus has Lifetime for those with spouses that care about such things. (Vue doesn't)
cable carries it? satellite? phone line?
Internet.
and our internet comes over the phone and is very weak, almost third-world kind of weak. how does PSVue plug into or utilize that type of feed? do i have to pay any other kind of fee, or would i simply pay PSVue their monthly and go from there?
(and thank you to whomever answers this)
I use a Roku to watch channels over the Playstation Vue. There are several different ways to watch but for some reason, your computer isn’t one of them. You can find all the details on their website.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwoqvIBRD6ls…
Anybody have layer3, and could share actual price/package info and general impressions?
Get an antenna....
"W TV" or "WowTV" that I use via Roku. It is pretty good although we get ESPN Int'l channels that show cricket or camel racing instead sometimes when college football is on.
If the desired football game is being covered by ESPN but they’re showing something else on the channel, you can always watch the game online through “Watch ESPN,” or ESPN3.
This one's basic is actually more expensive than the others, from what I read.
With all the competition, it would be nice to see some price battles...
Cable really isnt the worst thing in the world... I can watch whatever I want whenever I want to. Threaten to switch to the competition every 6 months or so to get whatever the deal of the day is. I guess Im fine paying the extra 50-60 bucks to not be constantly trying to find a way to watch my favorite teams/things. The blazing internet speed doesnt hurt either.
My thoughts exactly. You still have to pay for internet, and by the time you tack on a $40 streaming service like this it isn't that much cheaper than cable.Can't put a price of convenience when everything you need is on your remote control and don't have to worry about random buffering and changes in video quality.
Probably the only reason I'd switch would be for 4k. The majority of the cable infrastructure can't even support 1080p yet let alone 4k. The NFL started using 4k cameras and have been toying with Twitter/Amazon for Thursday night games to see who can get the compression down right. It is inevitable that most TV will end up being streamed, but I'll enjoy cable until they work out all the kinks.
I have found this line or reasoning to be somewhat misguided. I had Dish Network, Direct TV, Charter and you name it over the past 10 years or so. I also always paid for internet access. So whether or not I had cable/dish I would still be paying for internet access. Therefore, in my cost/benefit analysis of PS Vue(or whatever) vs. Cable/dish, I have never assumed that my internet access costs would be the same regardless of what I did. When I dropped Dish network for $105 and gor PS Vue for $35 that was $70/month savings to me.
forget about 4k. There's a 1024GB monthly cap you'll hit reasonably quick if you streaming 2160p content from one of the over the top providers. This is by design, to cut off any real competition 5-10 years from now for services that have 2160p content
Switched to PS Vue with Roku a couple months back and haven't regretted it. I do have a question, though: I'm using a Roku 2 primarily because I'd rather have an ethernet cord than just rely on wifi. I still have buffering issues where I get the "loading, please wait" screen sometimes even with the ethernet hookup. Is this common with the Roku 2? Should I consider switching to the Amazon Fire TV instead? I know a lot of you guys use Roku so I thought I'd ask.
The Roku buffering issues occor for me periodically. I typically unplug the roku for a few seconds when it becomes an issue. I run Vue off of two Rokus and a Fire stick. I much prefer the Fire stick interface. It also seems to have a much more reliable stream.
Cat5 cable between router & Roku eliminates buffering
I sucked it up and ran Ethernet cable to my 2 main TVs. I'm running one with Roku3 and the other wtih Amazaon Fire TV. I have never had a buffering issue. I really like the Amazon Fire TV interface over Roku - you get the guide with Amazon Fire..
I have had buffering issues with my Roku stick..so I'm glad I ran Cat5 cable as this is the future...
I also have 2 Chromcasts, but do not like them as I have to use my phone as the remote - it's the reason I will not go with YouTubeTV as well. I am sure they will come out with a app for Roku/Amazon (if they are smart).
Saving $70/month with PSVue and don't miss it at all - I actually get more channels (SEC Network and ESPNnews) that I had before.
Wait, what? I just cut the cord YESTERDAY and I'm going through minor withdrawls because I can't flip channels and I have no DVR.
I don't need the DVR because I have Hulu and Netflix. But watching live sports last night on ESPN and TNT was a little rough. This sounds awesome.
...I was actually going to start a cord-cutting thread yesterday, but didn't feel like reading all of the negative comments. So I just drank instead.
I bought an antenna and Tablo a couple of years ago. The Tablo acts as a DVR for the antenna. The experience was o.k. and I could actually watch my home TV on my phone wherever I was. I ended up going back to Cable during football season without a DVR. Sports without rewind, or rather delayed watching and FFWD through commercials sucks.
What's a reasonable price to pay for just wireless internet these days? $50?
I figure I'll soon move to PS Vue or something similar, just want to know what I'm looking at for the high speed internet portion.
I pay $59.99 for 100mbps, thought about going up to 300, but I haven't had any issues so I'm going to roll with what I have. I don't do any gaming or anything like that though.
100 mbps would be more than enough for me as well.