Way OT: Thinking about cord-cutting- Sling TV?
So I've been enjoying Roku a lot and was wondering if I should just get rid of my Comcast cable?
I'm paying for so much crap that I don't even watch.
Is SlingTV any good? Anyone watch games with it? That's the only thing I watch on television is sporting events. All my shows I can watch on Youtube or Netflix or "another" website.
I have a Roku stick as opposed to a player. Would getting a player be better for having Sling?
February 9th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^
This was my first football/basketball season on full streaming. It works very well and is definitely cheaper than cable. The only thing that may bug a WD on this is that generally you're dealing with a ~15 second or so delay compared to cable viewers, so you can't really read comments online while watching if you want to avoid spoilers. It's also not nearly as quick to switch between games because you have to deal with a roku app interface every time you want to change the channel instead of just hitting the return button, so it's harder to catch other games during commercials. Other than that no issues and it's been worth it for me.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:38 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^
Do they offer BTN? I didn't see it on the available list last I checked, though otherwise their selection is pretty good.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:30 AM ^
There's a BTN app on Roku and you can watch BTN if you have a Comcast login, which I would still have since I'm keeping their internet.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:32 AM ^
Not sure that having Comcast internet will give you a login to watch BTN content on the Roku app.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
Not sure if it checks credentials the same way as ESPN, but the even shittier thing is, if you have Comcast Internet, but not Comcast TV, you cannot login with someone else's Comcast login to watch. At least in my experience, it automatically detects your Comcast account (based on your IP) when you try to watch ESPN and does not let you login as someone else. I invited my brother in law to watch a game at my house (he has Comcast TV, I don't) assuming he could login with his credentials, but nope.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:34 AM ^
Actually, you can do this, but it can be a PITA to set up. You have to go into your Comcast account, and there is a setting for turning off the automatic login. Seems like it take a few minutes to actually kick in or something, especially if you get to the settings page from being automatically logged in and blocked for a streaming app. But eventually it does work, and I haven't had a problem since.
The only thing that is annoying is using the XFinitiy app to watch TV; most of the shows (at least anything live) require you to be on your "home" internet, so the app is pretty useless for me.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^
Also it depends on your location, Comcast is geographically setup, so if your "home" area doesn't carry BTN (or another station), you can't use comcast sign-in to watch. I can't as I am on west coast, and my local area doesn't carry BTN.
February 9th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 6:38 PM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
I have Time Warner (or whatever it's called now) cable and I use my friends Dish login to watch ESPN and BTN.
February 9th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
but that I wasn't paying AT&T for cable. I dropped cable in May 2016 but kept the internet. ESPN was more aggressive and stopped letting me watch live programming, but I was able to watch a few UM football games on my laptop because BTN still thought I had cable.
FWIW I had SlingTV for November-January and was able to watch the games on ESPN. I bought an antenna for ABC games though it was a pain in the ass to get it to work. Plus it was major bad luck - the first four events I watched on the antenna were losses (two WS games, UM @ Iowa, UM @OSU).
February 9th, 2017 at 9:34 AM ^
Bettery verify that. I occasionally drop cable when it suits me and my Charter login stops working pretty promptly on the apps we use, even though we keep using it for cable. The signons are specific to the programming you subscribe to.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:36 AM ^
Overe here in Wisconsin with Spectrum, in order to stream you also have to pay for the tv package.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:36 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 9:37 AM ^
Definitely not how it works. It requires a TV account and confirms you pay for that station. Vue is your way to get BTN.
February 9th, 2017 at 4:29 PM ^
When I helped my friend cut the cord a few months ago, Vue was better than Sling. Vue had the BTN and a bunch of other channels that Sling didn't. Now, things can change-- that was a few months ago, but I have been using Vue at her place with a Roku and it's been pretty great.
The only thing that drives me nuts, it's a little clunky compared to my cable tv and HD DVR. Also, some shows you have to watch with commercials and can't be fast forwarded, which drives me NUTS. I can't stand watching commercials! Vue does have a Cloud DVR though. Also, my friend's Vue doesn't let her watch Fox main network channel and a few other channels, but I'm not sure if that's a regional thing because she's in San Diego.
Anyway, Vue was better than Sling when I looked into it a few months ago.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:19 PM ^
I'm a longtime cord cutter who subscribed to PSvue for the football season (The celebration after the spring game got me totally stoked and I didn't want to mess with Front Row et al) Anyways, I cancelled the service at the end of November, they stopped charging my credit card, but I'm still getting the service for some reason. Yay free stuff.
February 10th, 2017 at 12:39 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 9:44 AM ^
Comcast internet is not Comcast TV. They allow you to stream it because you pay for the channel. If you stop paying for the channel you won't be able to stream it.
As for stick vs player, a player is always going to be better because it will have better specs than what they can cram in a low-cost stick. Both should work though.
February 9th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
Most newish SMART TVs have the player built in.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^
Instead of being a cord cutter, wouldn't that make you a cord borrower? I mean, if you are using your parents login, you are using their "cord". If your parents wanted to drop cable, you'd be out of luck...amirite?
February 9th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
So? What's your point?
February 9th, 2017 at 11:34 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 11:58 PM ^
As a longtime cord-cutter, 'borrowing' a friend's creds to watch certain things seems to be part of the landscape... for now. It's not cause we don't want to pay for it, these media companies are entrenched in the old way of doing things and don't want to change and offer easy options outside the cable/satellite companies. But they are starting to as the writing is on the wall.
I was looking at SlingTV last fall, and the difficult thing is some M games are on ESPN, some on BTN, and some on ABC. And you don't know where some of them will be aired until a week or two before so it can be a problem trying to figure out how you're going to watch some of the games. You can buy ESPN and BTN, but usually not local broadcast stations (such as in the Detroit area).
We'll look at it again this fall. One way or another, we've always managed to watch the games we wanted to watch online.
February 9th, 2017 at 11:43 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 10:29 AM ^
That's incorrect. They verify that you have BTN/ESPN/HBO/whatever on your cable subscription before those sites will give you access.
February 9th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
or else I would be able to stream ESPN using my charter login which is for internet only. Instead I usually have to watch the choppy firstrow or whatever. Not the best but no hundred dollar bill every month. You may just want to get cable for three months if you want good quality.
February 9th, 2017 at 6:26 PM ^
Playstation Vue. End of story. $34/month; every sports channel you could ever want (outside of FSD+).
February 9th, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
I've been looking into Vue. How do I get the Tigers games? Is there a work-around for this?
February 10th, 2017 at 3:07 PM ^
If you live in the fox sports detroit area, you'll get FSD...just not FSD plus. Every once in a while I miss a Wings game because the pistons will be on the primary channel.
February 9th, 2017 at 9:32 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 9:52 AM ^
I used PS Vue during the football season and thought it worked pretty well. I think I was paying $40 or $45 per month for the package that included BTN and NFL Red Zone.
I'm on Sling right now to watch the Challenge on MTV (embarrassing guilty pleasure). PS Vue doesn't have MTV, but their cloud DVR and overall quality make them the better streaming provider most of the year IMO.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^
Playstation Vue has BTN in the 34.99 package. I get that package during the three months of football season, then back to Sling TV. Comcast, never again!
February 9th, 2017 at 11:06 AM ^
I haven't used the SlingTV service in over a year, the streams were unreliable at the time but it may have improved. I've been using the PlaystationVue service since May and it is awesome! Prices are dependant on region but very reasonable and way cheaper than cable.
Some of the perks are:
Virtual DVR - Essentially you can save unlimited shows from any channel for 30 days.
Access to streaming services - FoxSportsGo, WatchESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports
BTN Network! & FSN
Overall I've been really pleased with the service. It's month to month and you can switch up your package at anytime. It's been almost a year since I cut the cord from Comcast and I don't miss it at all. One subscription will allow you to use on just about every device in your home, iOS, Android, Fire devices and Roku.
Also I'd recommend getting a Firestick or FireTV over a Roku as you can install Kodi which is a game changer but a whole separate post.
February 9th, 2017 at 11:52 AM ^
What build are you running for Kodi? My friend recently got a firestick and I installed the newest Kodi 17.0 Krypton and was unusable. I don't think most builds are not compatible with 17.0 as of last week.
February 9th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 4:11 PM ^
I've been considering PS Vue but the only local broadcast channel available is CBS. So I want to watch a game on ABC/NBC/Fox, am I still able to do this through one of the ancillary streaming services (FoxSportsGo, CBS Sports, NBC Sports)?
Also, can you still utilize the cloud-based DVR for those games?
February 9th, 2017 at 9:31 AM ^
I cut the cord recently and have Sling. I had a DVR with the cable which is the only thing I really miss with Sling - I can no longer dvr a game, start it 45 minutes late, skip the commercials and halftime and catch up by the 4th quater.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:17 AM ^
That's the only way I watch sports. I guess i'm sticking with DirecTV
February 9th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
Speaking of DirecTV, my son and I tried a Sling vs DirecTV comparison last weekend during the Michigan basketball game. DirecTV had a great HD picture, on Sling it was jittery and was no where as clear. I suspect the compression was so high that there was considerable loss of picture quality. We were using a high quality 65 inch plasma TV. Unless we were doing something wrong, the picture quality on DirecTV was vastly superior. It might not make much difference with a small display device, but it sure did on a large TV.
February 9th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 1:17 PM ^
bluebyyou,
I purchased multiple Roku 3s wired to router via ethernet and had one Roku streaming stick connected via wifi. The sports image on wired Roku's are almost always flawless like DTV. However, the streaming stick struggled with jittery picture. It was most noticable on the scrolling ticker under ESPN screen. I upgraded my wifi router, and now almost all pictures are great! I rarely see any jittery motion. It does happen occasionally on even the wired Rokus, but I cannot explain why.
So I would suggest you check your network connection, or check out someone else's who has a strong internet and local network signal. It has worked great for us.
February 9th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
This is what's keeping me from cutting. I'm addicted to my Tivo.
February 9th, 2017 at 4:15 PM ^
Playstation Vue comes with a free cloud based DVR. My only concern is that the only broadcast channel available in my area is CBS, so I'm not sure if/how I'd be able to watch games that are on ABC/NBC/Fox.