Tate

February 28th, 2017 at 5:26 PM ^

Pulling the cord when I move next week. I am going with PS Vue. YouTube TV is interesting, but it seems like less of the offering for the same price. Primarily going to use a Fire TV and sounds like YT isn't building an app for their new service.

wile_e8

February 28th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^

This announcement got my interest because it has BTN along with pretty much all the other channels that carry college football - if there's another streaming service with all those, I missed the announcement. Still missing a few channels we frequently watch at our hourse, most notable for the board is all the non-CBS channels that carry March Madness. It's got me seriously thinking about cutting the cord.

stephenrjking

March 1st, 2017 at 12:56 AM ^

We had a thread about this maybe last week. A number of guys endorsed PS Vue, and that was the first I had heard that it was available on standard boxes (including Apple TV, which I have). 

Started my free trial yesterday, anticipate turning my cable box in this weekend. I can always reactivate cable, but PS Vue has the best streaming lineup I've seen and I've heard that they even carry NFL Redzone in the fall, which would mean I may never need to go back to cable again. 

Early returns are very good.

crg

February 28th, 2017 at 6:08 PM ^

I just canceled the AT&T Uverse service and now have internet only.  I am looking to get PS Vue service for upcoming fall season (do not have a PS console) and am considering buying a Firestick or Roku.  Is either better?  Honestly, I only need the live sports since we already have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime for non-live content (we have an old Wii and it streams all of those services).

JBDaddy

March 1st, 2017 at 3:37 AM ^

Streaming devices have standardized on having 1 HDMI output, so you need 1 per TV. You plug it into your TV and switch you TV to that input (hdmi1 or whatever) and the device handles displaying on your screen. It works with a remote (or your phone) to let you choose what to watch. The first time you use it you'll have to follow its prompts to connect to your wifi and log in to your various accounts (Amazon, Netflix, PS Vue, YouTube, etc). After that you just start watching. It's simple and easy.

I used ps vue last season for M and Bama football without problems. I rarely noticed pixelation or low-def quality. At the end of the season I cancelled (its month to month without contact) and won't have to pay again until this fall when I renew for football coverage again.

Bigku22

February 28th, 2017 at 7:13 PM ^

I feel like cable cutting is almost trendy these days, and people have lost sight of the cost savings just to do it or be a "cable cutter".

When you buy internet only you get upcharged (typically $40-75/month depending on speed and provider). Add in the monthly fees for things like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, YouTube, or wherever you are getting your content (call it anywhere from $10-40/month) Also if you have an HDTV subtract the optimal HD viewing experience . At the low end you're paying $60 at the high end $100.

Right now I pay $110 plus tax for my Uverse monthly with all the channels I want, 4 boxes, HD, and high speed internet.

Call me old fashioned, but the $20-40/month savings is just not worth it for me especially cause I love live sports and HD quality. If you're not a big TV person I get it, but for me the nominal cost savings isn't worth what I'm losing.

Bigku22

February 28th, 2017 at 11:08 PM ^

I understand it would be cheaper.

But cable offers these small conveniences like every channel/show in crisp HD, a well organized guide, channel surfing for a new show, rewind/fast forward live TV, last button for a quick flip, changing shows in less than a second rather than waiting for loading. On a college football Saturday im usually flipping between 3-4 games plus streaming one on my iPad next to me. It's easy to do with cable, not so much with streaming.

I'm paying extra for convenience and quality, and I'm okay with that. If I could save $100+ a month that's one thing. But for me that $20-30 I would save just doesn't make sense. There's a thousand other ways you can save that much money monthly, this just isn't it for me. I'm happy for those that are saving their hard earned money and it's working for them...while also helping keep my cable price competitive and the cable companies increasingly desperate for subscribers :).

stephenrjking

March 1st, 2017 at 1:02 AM ^

I use Charter, and I periodically cut off cable because it's not worth spending the money for something I'm not watching much. I like the idea of cord-cutting permanently but I'm not dogmatic about it, and in the past cord-cutting has meant difficult interfaces, key channels I want but can't get, and other challenges like that.

PS Vue is the first service that really has all of the sports channels I want, and it has most of the other channels we watch as well (plus the $35 tier has Bein sports, which carries a lot of other stuff I like but have never been able to get). My early impression is that it works pretty well. Perhaps not quite as nimble as my cable box, but it is close and the stream quality is awfully close to cable as well (I'm trying a free trial and I flipped back and forth between both PS Vue and my existing cable feed on the same station, there was a slight difference but very hard to detect). 

I understand the small conveniences and the flipping. It is different. But I'm looking at saving $50 or $60 a month until fall, and even with bundle savings that are available later I stand to save at least $20 a month for basically the same stuff. To me this is only realistic because I can get the ESPN channels, NBC Sports, BTN, and the Fox Sports channels. Otherwise it would be a no-go.

Maynard

March 1st, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^

PS Vue has everything you mentioned. If set up right, the quality is the same with a better sports lineup and it is just as convenient. I understand the reluctance and change is not always easy but I changed over about 6 months ago and it's the same viewing experience for me as Comcast was. It saved me around $25 a month. Not a huge difference but $300 a year is still $300 to do something else with.

uncle leo

March 1st, 2017 at 9:00 AM ^

Maybe it's just me, but when I stream ESPN on my TV to watch a different game, and then switch over to the cable feed, there's a MASSIVE difference in the watchability. The cable box is so much smoother. Not to mention, I never trust streaming in the most important moments. You never know when you can get buffering.

And in response to the person who said he gets 100 mb with his internet service, that's basically useless after a certain point. You can only accept as much as the provider can give you. It's only useful if you are a massive downloader and constantly need to download movies/tv shows whatever. Using the internet only requires a tiny amount of MB to get the page fully visible after a short time.

jeff_91121

February 28th, 2017 at 8:34 PM ^

I haven't cut the cord yet but I think PS vue is the way to go. I have a chromecast and firestick. I like the firestick better just because it has it's own remote. PS vue and kodi should be everything you ever need.  Buy your own cable modem and router and one last thing you need to rent from the cable company forever.

NightTrain5

February 28th, 2017 at 7:00 PM ^

Along the same lines, does anyone use a Streaming Wizard box? My father-in-law asked me about it yesterday because he thinks I'm a tech guru or something, but I don't know shit about anything. From quick research, it looks like the box uses an Internet law loophole to access (but not download/host) all kinds of TV services for free and doesn't charge a monthly fee as a result. So I guess it's technically legal to buy the box and own it for now, leaving an ethical/moral decision for the user. Is that about right?

uminks

February 28th, 2017 at 11:52 PM ^

I think there is $400.00 up front fee for the streaming wizard box. They get pirated movies a week after they show up at the theaters. Plus many pay for view shows are free to them. I may be looking into this. I calculate I would save $25.00 a month cutting the cord since my high speed internet service would dramatically increase without the cable package from my provider.