OT: Chord Cutting Recommendations
Open question to the board and looking for suggestions.
My wife and I are contemplating cutting the chord and ditching Comcast. With football season on the horizon I get very apprehensive about potentially missing games.
My thought was to keep the internet and go the Playstation Vue route. Does anyone have any experience there or better recommendations?
I've used YouTubeTV for about a year now and have been very happy with it. A lot cheaper than what I was paying for cable before, and I can easily cast to any TV in my house now without having to run any wires or anything.
I had tried the free trial of Hulu Live prior to that and couldn't stand the buffering. No issues with that on Youtube.
From what I hear PS Vue is about just as good, so I guess it just depends on your preference.
I haven't really had any issue missing games or anything like that, so I don't think it's something you need to be too concerned about.
Does Youtube TV have EVERYTHING needed to watch EVERY Michigan game? When I had Vue I didn't have live ABC and ended up having to pirate stream a good portion of the games last year.
I just renewed my PS Vue subscription yesterday (I keep it through football season, then drop it in late January every year).
Before doing that, I was totally convinced I'd rather have YoutubeTV, but then found out that it just does not work at all on an Amazon FireTV device, and I have 4 of those, each customized with a VPN and Kodi and capable of every other service I want, so I didn't want to re-invent that wheel and ended up back with Vue.
I wasn't upset with Vue in the least - I just wanted to try out another service and YTTV looked like the best alternative price-wise that had all the football channels I want.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
I've been doing the same with PS Vue (via Roku box) for a couple years. I tend to cancel after Jan, but it takes them a long time to actually deactivate the account. I'm still getting free PSVue right now.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
It depends where you live. I live in Grand Rapids and I get live ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. I took the device up north with me and didn't have any of those when I tried to watch.
August 6th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
You don't need live ABC on PS VUE to watch games that are on ABC. Just login to the Watch ESPN app with your Vue credentials. Problem solved. Source: Don't have live ABC on Vue and have been using this method for the past few seasons. There has yet to be a Michigan game I haven't been able to watch.
August 6th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
Watch ESPN is worse than pirate streams. I have great internet and it is completely unwatchable.
That's interesting because my experience has been completely different using WatchESPN for the past 4 or 5 seasons. Never had any issues and the quality has always been great.
August 6th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
I haven't done the research this year, but the answer was yes last year. I only had an issue one game last year where Fox ran a baseball game over ours and put our game on some obscure channel for the first quarter. I might have even had that obscure channel, I didn't look (watched the game on tape delay and didn't realize the programming change until it was too late.)
August 6th, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
It does depend on where you live. At least in metro-detroit you get all the major networks, but I do know some cities I have been to sometimes have one of the major providers missing (it automatically switches you to the local channels depending on where you are.)
ESPN, B10 Network, FS1, and all of that are standard for all subscribers.
I am "assuming" you have ESPN with PS Vue? You can download the ESPN app and watch any ESPN/ABC game on it as far as I know - unless locals are blocked on it.
But how’s your internet bill? I wanted to switch from Xfinity Comcast to YT TV but my internet was going to increase to a level that made the costs essentially the same.
August 6th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
I'm fortunate enough to live in an area where we have a lot of choices for internet, so every year I call and ask for a continuation of the promo rate, or if they don't, i just switch to a different provider. Since it is only a modem they have to swap, it's not too painful and doesn't take very long, but i've only had to do that once in the last 4 years.
Right now I've got xfinity internet and pay about $40/month. So that + YT, it's about $75 total.
Chord? Are you British?
OP's firm (obvi not him/ her) was contracted by the Big Cable Lobby to get intel.
As someone who used to use PS Vue and recently switched to Youtube TV, I think either way is the right option. I left PS Vue because they were taking away live ABC in my area, so I made the switch. Youtube TV has extremely good quality streams. If you're using a fire stick, then PS Vue works, but if you are using a device that offers Youtube TV I highly recommend.
Does Youtube TV have EVERYTHING needed to watch EVERY Michigan game? When I had Vue I didn't have live ABC and ended up having to pirate stream a good portion of the games last year.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
Just get a set of rabbit ear antenna that is amplified for like $30 from Best Buy and get all the local channels that way.
Thats what i do with my psvue subscription.
Co-signed. I did the same thing for similar reasons. YouTube TV offers almost exactly the same channels plus all the locals for $5 cheaper.
Youtube TV is best followed closely with PSVue. Both have BTN, so you’re good there.
No need to purchase an HD antenna for any local channels then? Sounds like YouTube TV is the way to go.
*then
We did same for this reason. Generally happy with YouTube TV via Xbox.
August 6th, 2018 at 12:44 PM ^
Where do you live that has no ABC? In the Ann Arbor area, I have all of the channels.
A couple of points to consider.
#1 Try and hook your primary viewing TV to an ethernet cable - it will perform better than with WiFi. Using WiFi alone (before I used the ethernet cord) the Michigan basketball games were so crappy with their video quality that I couldn't always tell if the ball went through the hoop.
#2 Do you have kids that stream? I have kids that stream and then up and leave their device while it is streaming (my wife does that too). Why I ask it because HD streaming eats up your data - you said you had Comcast - I have Comcast and they will punish you for using too much data with their data limits to try and force you back to their TV services by making you pay a lot more for your data.
#3 I've had both YouTube TV and DirectTVNow...with both I experienced problems of buffering (a lot less with YouTube TV), getting logged out or trouble opening the app (or ESPN app) and taking minutes to get back in, in the middle of a World Cup game YouTubeTV was down for over half an hour, losing internet for a few minutes (on Comcast's end and because my wife was vacuuming and unplugged the wifi router), etc... I ultimately switched to satellite, because I was sick of Comcast demanding I pay high amounts for streaming data and the internet/app glitches that I routinely had.
#4 YouTubeTV is better for Michigan viewing - it has every local channel and DirectTVNow does not - at least in my area. They both have the ESPNs and FSN....but for example my DirectTVNow wouldn't have the Notre Dame game on NBC nor would it get the CBS games - YouTubeTV does get those local channels.
With directv now you have to install the nbc app for some reason. You still have access to watch but only through the nbc app. Also depending on your provider they supply modems to negatively impact streaming. I went ahead and bought a nighthawk router to get around this problem since i also do online gaming. However any 3rd party router should help with this issue. I no longer buffer with directv now and havent in anout 4 months. Also directv now does have cbs and cbs sports
August 6th, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
+1, for the good tips. DirectTVNow didn't have CBS in my area when I had them awhile back, smart of them to add them. Also good to know that Notre Dame home games are on the NBC app.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
Wait really? We get access to the regular NBC app through our DTN subscription? I know they give us the NBCSN but that's almost worthless.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
Yeah just have to enter you dtn login info and youre good to go. Thats how i watched the hall of fame game if you really want to call that a game but it was football so oh well
Also, LOL. Let's talk about this instead of anything that matters. Ben? Got any super cool car posts?
Don’t cut too many chords or you music will be all fucked up!
August 6th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
You only need 3 chords to get by - Just ask John Fogerty since most CCR songs were pretty simple.
I gotta say. Despite all the boo-urns about the new mgoblog site layout, I still love this place.
I saw “chord” in the title of this thread and knew you guys would deliver. Bravo people!
I can't speak for the other options, but I just cut the cord for Hulu Live (running it using a Firestick). Results have been mixed so far. The Hulu Live service is confusing - I pay for "no commercials," but for some stupid reason "no commercials" doesn't actually mean no commercials. It only means no commercials on the base Hulu package options. What they don't tell you is that Hulu Live gives you the option to stream more shows than the base Hulu package, and for many of those you still have to watch commercials. This would be ok, except there's no way to distinguish what shows are strictly Hulu Live options, and which ones are base Hulu options, until you start watching and are forced to sit through 3+ minutes of commercials every 10 minutes.
I find the Firestick setup not very user friendly. For example, when searching for movies to watch, there is no way to tell what you can watch for free via Prime/Hulu/Netflix until you open the option up, only to find that you have to rent it for $6, or whatever.
Other than those gripes, it works fine as a cable replacement and is much cheaper. I'm not sad I cut the cord, because F all of the telecom companies.
What’s the best way of doing it without a smart tv?
I have ps vue but my PS4 is on the fritz and I’m thinking about not replacing it.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
We use an AppleTV with DirectvNow and it's fantastic. We also used our Chromecast with DTN up until recently when an update to the app caused an issue with casting to Chromecast. I'm assuming they'll get that worked out eventually.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
I have PS Vue on a refurbished Roku and on two Firesticks. I bought a firestick on the last Prime Day for $20. Both devices work fine for me. I have Ethernet in my walls but Wi-Fi works fine. Only the Roku is hardwired. I have the adapter for Ethernet on one of the Firesticks but there is no difference in speed of Wi-Fi or Ethernet. My house is a big ranch style with the router in the basement.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
Fire tv with an Ethernet net cord connected directly to the box.
Music theory allows for a minor chord with an added sharped 7th, but it sounds like crap. That's the one I would cut.
YouTube TV is great. I am not proficient with technology and figured I'd stick with Direct TV indefinitely, but I got sick of paying $150 / month for TV. Now I only pay $40 and have every station I need including BIG 10 Network. They also have a guide that is similar to what people of my age (50) are accustomed to seeing which is why I selected YouTube over Hulu & Roku.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
Comcast wants to charge $150/month for internet now in order to make up lost revenue because of internet cable providers. The Blast plan is $100/month. They want to add $50 to that bill for unlimited data. My wife works from home. A large amount of data is necessary.
We have PlayStation Vue. I am about to switch to Direct TV or something. It is ok but I need live sports and it doesn't offer it very well. It lags and can be a few minutes behind which means I can't look at my phone for fear of txt from friends ruining the game/future play. Also I had friends over to watch football and had issues with it. Now I am hesitant about throwing parties. It's great for non football season. Also DVR won't let you watch show until it is completely over. So I can't record Game Day and do lawn house work ect then watch and fast forward and catch up.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
What device are you using? I haven't had any of these issues you mentioned other than lag. All television lags behind the game in real time. The only problem I have is the pause isn't long enough. I haven't had any issues watching a game that was still recording.
I've had PSVue for the last two year, and for the most part I have really enjoyed it. I suggest looking carefully into it see if it has all of the channels you want, especially what you will/won't get locally and if they will require you to make any upgrades for specific channels. I have the base package and get ESPN, ESPN2, NBCSports, FS1, FS2. The last two years they have given me a free upgrade (I haven't even asked, they just gave it to me) from July to Feb with and additional sports package so I get the BigTen network, NFL network, etc.
Additional pluses are the unlimited cloud DVR. You can record as much as you want, the only limitation is that things that you record only stay for around a month. The fact that it is month to month. We stopped it last spring as we weren't using it much. It was very easy to stop service and then start it up again when we wanted to.
Bottomline, I like it, but check it and compare it to other options.
Is the ND game on NBC or NBC sports? Are those the same thing?
Game will be on NBC. It is not the same as NBC sports. They are two different stations, very much like FOX and FS1 are different stations.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
Correct it will be on NBC. However, I have been able to watch a lot of content televised on NBC/FOX/ABC with my PSVue login information. I use Amazon Fire TV with the PSVue app. If something is on a NBC/FOX/ABC I am usually able to watch it on the NBCSports, FoxSportsGO, or ESPN apps using my PSVue login info. This isn't 100%, but typically if something is on NBC, I can see it through the NBCSports app. That's how I'm hoping to watch the ND game, but I will say of all these, NBC seems to be the most fickle with what is and is not available on their app.
Thanks for this thread OP, I was curious about the same thing.
Recently found out YTTV is not available in my area yet so I was looking at alternatives. Was considering DTVnow, but on the channel lineup it says NBC (ND game) is on demand only. Is this true? Can you get live NBC with DTVnow?
August 6th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
You can get live NBC/CBS/ABC/FOX with a good antenna.
I tried DirecTV Now and Playstation Vue. Love PS Vue. DVR capabilty is very good. They have several BTN feeds plus all the other football watching channels. I have Comcast in Florida and now no longer have BTN.