I just got Playstation Vue with the Elite Slim package ($45 a month) which includes FOX (OSU game), ESPN, ESPN2, and BTN. Games on ABC are the only part that I haven't figured out yet.
If you have a Roku/Firestick, wouldn't the WatchESPN app get you the ABC games as an "ESPN3" option? That's how I watched the NBA Finals.
I've been wanting to move from cable to PSVue for some time, but the local channel thing has kept me from pulling the trigger. Yes - as noted in the comment above, you can access the games/shows on broadcast networks via other apps (ESPN3, NBC Sports, etc.), but then you can only watch live or once the game is posted for replay sometimes hours after the conclusion (it's like a VCR, but worse). Full DVR functionality for all channels is the most important thing for me because I like to start the game 45min after kick so I can skip commercials/half time and be live at the end of the game. Once this is solved, my cord will be cut. Until then, it's a premium worth paying for IMO.
& that is an excellent suggestion. I will get this WatchESPN app. Where do they sell it?
Get the ESPN app. You can enter PSVue as your provider, and it gives you access to all of ESPN's programming, including their ABC live games.
Thanks GoBlue!
It's called an antenna. It will get you all the local channels.
Not always - I can't get a signal at all at my house. I've tried a variety of antenna, in a variety of locations around my house, and nothing.
And if he's already joining PSVue, he can easily get the ABC games for free.
This can definitely be a pain; not all HD antennas are the same for sure.
My parents tried a RCA one and got 5 channels. I let them borrow mine, they got 30 channels. Same placement. Same cost range. I've had luck with the TERK ultrathin indoor HDTV Antenna. Ranges from $25-50 depending on the current sale.
I do have problems with the NBC stations though on some days but mainly it's a distance thing. Perhaps your house is just a bit too far.
Not always. I have a roof-mounted antenna with a booster and rotator in AA. I can only get Fox 2 from November to April - when the leaves are off the trees. Weird, but according to cord-cutter sites, not uncommon for being 30-40 miles from the transmitter. (And I think Fox Detroit OTA is on VHF, not UHF like almost everyone else.)
In the early days of HDTV, the only way to get HD channels was over the air. I went to Radio Shack (RIP) and bought a nice channel master antenna with an inline signal amplifier and installed that bad boy in my attic. Need the signal amp given I am over 30 miles from the broadcast antennas in Chicago. I finally disconnected from the antenna a few years ago when DirecTV dropped support for external antennas on their HD receivers/DVRs.
One (specific) catch. If you, like me, are in or around Philly, you need to be right in the heart of center city because ABC broadcasts on old fashioned VHF as opposed to all the other stations on UHF, so I don't ABC on my antenna.
To answer OP, lots of options but from what I've seen PS Vue is really good one. You should have a Roku to put whichever service you decide on to run the various apps (Amazon, Netflix, HBO Go, PS Vue, etc.)
You can also get Fox Sports Detroit (or whatever your local Fox Sports Station is) and local news through Vue. If my apartment complex didn't provide free cable, I would hands down take Vue.
Does anyone know if Toledo get FSD through Vue, or if I'd get the crappy Cleveland version that will not allow me to watch the Tigers?
I would say yes. I'm in Adrian, and according to the FCC, my local market is Toledo. I'm able to watch Fox Sports Detroit, so I suspect that you're good.
So you pay $45 a month for the Vue Package and what $40 a month for internet? At that point why not just call your local provider and get on their promational packages?
If promotional packages don't work, pack your lunch once a week for work and use the savings towards cable.
I'd love to not have Comcast, but at this point, the alternatives aren't there yet.
I just got Uverse (U300 package) with internet for $105. Install is next week. Hoping the quality is as good as Comcast. At the price, it doesn't make sense to cut the cord. I'll save maybe $20 on my monthly bill.
Why do people call psvue or similar services cord cutting? You are just getting a smaller cable package. Its not like you get to select each individual channel as an a la cart option and psvue is still paying distribution fees.
You are cable downsizing, not cord cutting.
you're not getting cable (i.e. cord), you're live streaming content (i.e. magical interwebz through the air).
Yep. Cut the cable cord, get streaming video over the internet via the cable cord. Wait...
Their business model apparently now relies on their customers laziness. Their service is overpriced at your existing rate. You threaten to go elsewhere, they say they don't care and won't change the price hoping you're too lazy to go through with the threat. You then go elsewhere.
One week after I quit fios they had a door to door rep asking if I wanted to come back and cancel my current provider I had just switched to.
So their policy is we don't negotiate with terrorists (those who dare ask for a lower price).
Then after you leave they want to offer a lower price and have you come back.
What do I need to look for in regards to having the appropriate internet speed/data/whatever to be able to use Vue efficiently?
Even if cable is the same price, they make you sign a contract and force you to use their crappy proprietary equipment.
Because I'd be locked into paying $85/month as opposed to being locked into $40/month and paying $45/month for 2-3 months and then cancelling.
1. As already mentioned, contracts and install fees can be a PITA.
2. Cable box rental fees really, really add up. They were 50% of my total bill the last time I had FIOS.
Mine works great when I need it. I only use it on the rare ocassion a storm knocks out DirecTV. Anytime that has happened, this antenna has worked perfectly. I got the one with the 50 mile range.
My understanding is that PSVue includes local network affiliates for most major markets. If you live out in the boonies, well, same as it ever was I suppose...
Does the Cloud DVR function work well with BTN and/or ESPN? From what I've read, you can't view DVR'd content outside the home or out of town. However, you can DVR anything except HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, which is no biggy since they're all available On Demand.
Alternately, do the PSVue credentials work for DVR'ing content using something like the TiVo Roamio? Then in theory you could go anywhere out-of-home and watch a recording.
Cloud DVR isn't bad actually.. you select your 'favorite' shows and it records them anytime they come on.. ALL of them. Keeps them for 30 days then deletes the oldest. No, you can't view any DVR'd content anywhere else, as far as I know. You can get an over the air antenna for locals though.
Never had issues with any channels. Not sure about TiVo Roamio but I've been pretty pleased with it, been almost a year. Biggest drawback for me is lack of local channels and I can't keep recordings indefinitely. I get basically all the same channels as I did with DirecTV, the ones I watched anyway, save a few.. and I save like $100/mo. The drawbacks have been offset by Netflix, Hulu and any of the other network apps and the savings, of course.
No, it doesn't have the convenience of watching stuff anywhere on any device or keeping your recordings but if you're looking for cost cutting I've found it to be worth the small hassles.
WatchESPN app for ABC games but I've had issues with it, always buffering and rarely in HD. Not the internet connection either as every other streaming service is crystal clear... you could get an over the air antenna for locals though, I've been considering that for next season.
Another one?!?
How often is it necessary to discuss "cord cutting" on this site? Can someone assemble a table of options and post it as a diary or put something on the menu bar for chrissakes?
The options and pricing for cord-cutting tactics change roughly every month.
Playstation Vue/Sling TV/Youtube/Hulu and an HD antenna. There, done.
This. Well.. I'm 31 so not exactly this, technically.
I pay $45/month for internet. I purchased an Apple TV, then use my parents' cable login for all of the channels/apps. I, too, share my Netflix/Amazon Prime logins with them.
The only tricky thing is Apple TV doesn't have a BTN app... yet. However the workaround is if you have an iPhone you can open the BTN2GO app on that, then Airplay it on your Apple TV. You can do the same Airplay workaround if you have a MacBook.
Then I'm relatively close to all of the local TV stations in our area so I purchased an antenna and it works pretty well.
It's not a perfect setup, and good luck trying to get anyone 50+ years old to understand how to use it, but it has saved me $75/month for the past year now. What's almost worth more to me, though, is never having to call and negotiate my rate with these companies again.
Oh, plus the "sticking it to them-ness" of all of this. That's always fun.
I was offered the option to cut the cord but what came before freaked me out so much that I let the doctor do it.
Why is that a thing? It's weird and gross (and I'm a biologist!). Should I go in and grab the placenta too?
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-pulling-cable-plug
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/how-do-cord-cutters-watch-michigan-games
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/way-ot-thinking-about-cord-cutting-sling-tv
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-question-cord-cutters
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/ot-cutting-cord-playstation-vue
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-another-cord-trimming-option-hulu-live-tv
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-cutting-cable
Edit: But as MGrowOld said below me, this industry changes very quickly so was really posting these links to be helpful. ....if we're talking about "bootleg streams", I use VipBox
Yes this is a topic that's been discussed several times HOWEVA......
1. It's a relevant topic that lots of people are interested in
2. Technology moves quickly so this is one area where recomendations posted 6 months ago may not be relevant today
3. It's peak OT season (we still have content on the first page of the sidebar from two days ago)
I've read all those other posts as well, but I value having the updated questions and recent experiences.
Personally, I plan to activate the PSVue option in August (just a couple months now). This helps to validate that plan or not, as new user experiences come forth. I don't recall ABC being a problem in my area, so I might need to double-check that.
I'm also interested to hear from others how the cloud-based recordings work, because I simply can't stomach live TV.