Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I've been using Plex for quite a while and was excited when I saw this today. It looks like it only works on iOS. I could get it to work on my iPad, but not through the browser on my computer or on the Roku. Looking on the internet, it is only available on iOS and android TV (not regular android.)
When I did use it on my iPad it was OK, not great. Was very slow to start up and stopped streaming sometimes while buffering.
When I did use it on my iPad it was OK, not great. Was very slow to start up and stopped streaming sometimes while buffering.
- rshetts2
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Are you referring to Plex or the HomeRun HD? Because the HoneRun HD is compatible with just about everything from what I can tell. https://www.silicondust.com/dvr-service/#devicesdobberhd wrote:I've been using Plex for quite a while and was excited when I saw this today. It looks like it only works on iOS. I could get it to work on my iPad, but not through the browser on my computer or on the Roku. Looking on the internet, it is only available on iOS and android TV (not regular android.)
When I did use it on my iPad it was OK, not great. Was very slow to start up and stopped streaming sometimes while buffering.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
So, started the process of moving yesterday and moved over the small bedroom TV. Today I connected the HD antennae to see if it works better than here. It does claim to find a lot more channels, although many of them must be showing Dark Shadows because the screen is just black. And there is still no CBS or NBC, making it only marginally useful for football.
Maybe I'll have better luck connecting it in an upstairs bedroom. Question, though. If I connect an antennae to one of the cable coax wall jacks, will the signal travel throughout the network of coax so that I could, say, connect a downstairs TV to the coax wall jack and receive the signal?
Maybe I'll have better luck connecting it in an upstairs bedroom. Question, though. If I connect an antennae to one of the cable coax wall jacks, will the signal travel throughout the network of coax so that I could, say, connect a downstairs TV to the coax wall jack and receive the signal?
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- Zaxxon
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Yes, subject to some signal loss.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I am referring to within Plex. I can directly access the HomeRun HD from just about anything. But live TV using Plex seems to work only with my iOS device, and not with anything else including the computer that runs the Plex server.rshetts2 wrote:Are you referring to Plex or the HomeRun HD? Because the HoneRun HD is compatible with just about everything from what I can tell. https://www.silicondust.com/dvr-service/#devicesdobberhd wrote:I've been using Plex for quite a while and was excited when I saw this today. It looks like it only works on iOS. I could get it to work on my iPad, but not through the browser on my computer or on the Roku. Looking on the internet, it is only available on iOS and android TV (not regular android.)
When I did use it on my iPad it was OK, not great. Was very slow to start up and stopped streaming sometimes while buffering.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Yes Plex says the DVR works on anything but live tv is Apple and android tv only. They claim more devices are coming soon. If live TV gets roku support then I will finally go for the Plex pass. Just don't see the value now, despite the fact that I love Plex.
I may give the tuner a try on its own...
I may give the tuner a try on its own...
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"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
- rshetts2
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Good to know, I was afraid you were talking about a hardware issue with the HomeRun HD. Having ordered one that wasnt news I wanted to hear. I have no issue regarding Plex, I only signed up to get the discount. Ive been using Kodi for my cord cutting for years and apparently the HomeRun HD integrates well with Kodi. Either way the main purpose for my purchase was to provide a tuner and live tv to my home network as my main PC is my media center.dobberhd wrote:I am referring to within Plex. I can directly access the HomeRun HD from just about anything. But live TV using Plex seems to work only with my iOS device, and not with anything else including the computer that runs the Plex server.rshetts2 wrote:Are you referring to Plex or the HomeRun HD? Because the HoneRun HD is compatible with just about everything from what I can tell. https://www.silicondust.com/dvr-service/#devicesdobberhd wrote:I've been using Plex for quite a while and was excited when I saw this today. It looks like it only works on iOS. I could get it to work on my iPad, but not through the browser on my computer or on the Roku. Looking on the internet, it is only available on iOS and android TV (not regular android.)
When I did use it on my iPad it was OK, not great. Was very slow to start up and stopped streaming sometimes while buffering.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
- YellowKing
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
FREE AT LAST!
We cut our cable over the weekend. Time Warner was taken over by Spectrum, and they wasted no time in hiking rates. Bill went up $20 almost immediately, with no change in service.
A buddy of mine recently canceled his, and advised me not to call them as they'd just give me the runaround. Instead, he just walked into the store with his cable box and said, "Here to cancel my service."
We did the same and the guy didn't give us any grief. Only kept my 100mb internet. Bill went from $209/month to $65. That includes cable modem rental, so I could shave off a bit more if I buy my own modem. Still debating that.
We already had Prime and Netflix, so I added Hulu Plus (no ads). At this point I don't see any real need to explore any a la carte options like Sling or PS Vue, etc. I have more than enough to watch between the big three subscription services. Also bought a Fire Stick to replace my old Chromecast just because I'm more heavily invested in the Amazon infrastructure.
My biggest regret? That I didn't do this a year ago. So far I really haven't missed anything. My biggest previous fear was that the kids would freak out with no Disney Junior, etc. That turned out to be a complete non-issue. They've found plenty of shows on Netflix to watch and haven't complained once.
One unexpected benefit - stress relief from unwatched DVR shows. Our DVR was always at around 80% of backlogged episodes. For some reason, not having to see those sitting there has been an immense relief.
We cut our cable over the weekend. Time Warner was taken over by Spectrum, and they wasted no time in hiking rates. Bill went up $20 almost immediately, with no change in service.
A buddy of mine recently canceled his, and advised me not to call them as they'd just give me the runaround. Instead, he just walked into the store with his cable box and said, "Here to cancel my service."
We did the same and the guy didn't give us any grief. Only kept my 100mb internet. Bill went from $209/month to $65. That includes cable modem rental, so I could shave off a bit more if I buy my own modem. Still debating that.
We already had Prime and Netflix, so I added Hulu Plus (no ads). At this point I don't see any real need to explore any a la carte options like Sling or PS Vue, etc. I have more than enough to watch between the big three subscription services. Also bought a Fire Stick to replace my old Chromecast just because I'm more heavily invested in the Amazon infrastructure.
My biggest regret? That I didn't do this a year ago. So far I really haven't missed anything. My biggest previous fear was that the kids would freak out with no Disney Junior, etc. That turned out to be a complete non-issue. They've found plenty of shows on Netflix to watch and haven't complained once.
One unexpected benefit - stress relief from unwatched DVR shows. Our DVR was always at around 80% of backlogged episodes. For some reason, not having to see those sitting there has been an immense relief.
- tjg_marantz
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Nice! I'm going on about 10 years myself. Had full cable for 3 months while working for a cable company when I moved out here and pvr creep is real. Making me anxious thinking about it.
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- rshetts2
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Stop debating unless you have no intention of keeping your internet for more than a year because a modem is not expensive if you look for sales and the savings will pay for it in less than a year usually. Its really easy to install and youre basically throwing money away at this point.That includes cable modem rental, so I could shave off a bit more if I buy my own modem. Still debating that.
This one, the ARRIS SURFboard SB6183 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem, works great and can be had for around $60 new. I found one on Amazon, used/like new for around $45 shipped.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
- Zaxxon
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
+1. Unless you're just trying out this internet thing, you should own your own modem. Full stop.
- YellowKing
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Awesome, thx for the recommendation. Will order one this weekend.
- LordMortis
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Zaxxon wrote:+1. Unless you're just trying out this internet thing, you should own your own modem. Full stop.
I can't speak for all providers but my provider (when last I checked like 2 years ago) insists I use a specific $270 modem or pay them $5 a month for a similar model. I think it's robbery to charge me $5 a month but with a retail ROI of 54 month, I just use the one they provide. Even though they refuse to advertise that as part of the cost of my service, I consider my monthly bill which includes a $3 cable card usage fee and $5 cable modem rental fee as part of the bill.
Is the consensus here that WOW is lying to me and I can use any cable modem and can tell them to suck it with regard to their equipment provisioning? If that is the case I will be both very happy and very pissed off.
Edit
Fuckers!
http://www.wowway.com/docs/wow/document ... y-list.pdf
Edit edit
FUCKERS!!!
https://www.amazon.com/5370-Certified-C ... b7655909dd
Last edited by LordMortis on Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Lorini
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
They might mean they'll only provide internet support if you use their modem.
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- LordMortis
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I don't see how they can do that. I can see how they would say "not our problem" as long as they can get the signal to my house but I can deal with that. I'm fairly networking savvy. Though that might be what you mean by support. I don't think they support anything past my modem as it is right now.Lorini wrote:They might mean they'll only provide internet support if you use their modem.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
AT&T lost the 'our equipment only' battle decades ago.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- stessier
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Charter rolls the modem price into the internet cost. The price doesn't change if you use your own.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
"Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet." — Elontra
- rshetts2
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I have a friend who got the same line o' crap from Wow. When I found out he was paying modem rental, I provided him with those same basic Wow links. He was not amused. He now has a Surfboard modem. He actually had an incident where he had internet issues and Wow took care of the problem. It ended up being a issue with the cable going into the house having a bad connection at the pole. As long as the problem is not a bad modem and you are using one of their authorized list, they are obligated to troubleshoot and fix the issue.LordMortis wrote:Zaxxon wrote:+1. Unless you're just trying out this internet thing, you should own your own modem. Full stop.
I can't speak for all providers but my provider (when last I checked like 2 years ago) insists I use a specific $270 modem or pay them $5 a month for a similar model. I think it's robbery to charge me $5 a month but with a retail ROI of 54 month, I just use the one they provide. Even though they refuse to advertise that as part of the cost of my service, I consider my monthly bill which includes a $3 cable card usage fee and $5 cable modem rental fee as part of the bill.
Is the consensus here that WOW is lying to me and I can use any cable modem and can tell them to suck it with regard to their equipment provisioning? If that is the case I will be both very happy and very pissed off.
Edit
Fuckers!
http://www.wowway.com/docs/wow/document ... y-list.pdf
Edit edit
FUCKERS!!!
https://www.amazon.com/5370-Certified-C ... b7655909dd
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
- Isgrimnur
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
But they're more than willing to try and sell me wifi service for $5/month.stessier wrote:Charter rolls the modem price into the internet cost. The price doesn't change if you use your own.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- McNutt
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I'm going to sign up for the Playstation Vue free trial and see if that can act as a cable replacement. It includes all the channels I watch plus local channels and I believe unlimited cloud storage for DVR features. I'll report back.
- Xmann
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
McNutt wrote:I'm going to sign up for the Playstation Vue free trial and see if that can act as a cable replacement. It includes all the channels I watch plus local channels and I believe unlimited cloud storage for DVR features. I'll report back.
I'm doing this soon as well.
With just Netflix and Amazon Prime now for 6 months, my TV watching is getting dry.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I've tried both SlingTV and Playstation Vue for a number of months, mostly on a Roku. I then got in on the $35 deal for DirecTV Now back in December. At first Directv was pretty bad, but now I must say that it is better than the other two.
Personally, I'd rank them:
1. DirecTV Now
2. Sling
3. Playstation Vue
Personally, I'd rank them:
1. DirecTV Now
2. Sling
3. Playstation Vue
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
One consideration is the number of active streams allowed. It seems like Playstaion wins there and the others can get pretty expensive if you want to go beyond two streams.
- naednek
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I have comcast telling me they won't come see me without charging me because my Surfboard 6141 is end of life.... I bought it 4 years ago. They just want me to rent their modem
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- Captain Caveman
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
You could give Hulu a spin. They have a one month free trial. There's a ton of content there... mostly TV, but some good originals (e.g., Handmaid's Tale), plus a bunch of movies.Xmann wrote:McNutt wrote:I'm going to sign up for the Playstation Vue free trial and see if that can act as a cable replacement. It includes all the channels I watch plus local channels and I believe unlimited cloud storage for DVR features. I'll report back.
I'm doing this soon as well.
With just Netflix and Amazon Prime now for 6 months, my TV watching is getting dry.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
My wife and I have done Sling and (are still on) Vue. I was quite happy with 2 months of Sling. But, the $45/month Blur + Orange package was going to be $55/month for HBO, and I would have had to air some of the sports tier(s) on in the Fall for CFB. So, we switched to Vue's best package for $55/month which includes all of the above plus Showtime as a bonus.
I believe we got in on a 12 month discount for this package, so I think it will go up next year to $65/month. Also, we are a Roku house, and the PS Vue app is pretty lame on Roku. Fully functional, but it's a watch OR browse channels situation - not both at once as it is on Sling or as it is for Vue on virtually any other device. Many like me are hoping for an improved app, which I think will be mandatory in a couple of years as Roku will by then have forced all of their channels to adapt to their new templates. Also, annoyingly on Vue, browsing live TV shows has no rhyme or reason for sorting, nor any options. This is worked around by browsing by channel, but is irritating. Ultimately, we have been happy with Vue, and its DVR feature (which is really just On Demand) is nice.
I would have been all over Direct TV now and it's $35/month early adopter grandfather plan, but there wasn't Roku support until well after that expired. If and when Sony raises us to $65/month I will consider my options. For now, Roku's streaming service and YouTube's aren't under consideration due to lacking channels we want.
As far as savings, we were paying TWC (now Spectrum) $195/month for just cable and internet. Now we pay Sony and AT&T for $125/month TV and much MUCH faster internet. If we hadn't switched beforehand, the TWC to Spectrum transition would have been the final straw. They are just bastards. I feel for people stuck with either Spectrum or Comcast.
I will say that getting channels OTA is a pain. With indoor antennae I can get all the channels some of the time, but rarely all of the channels at once, which is annoying. I really need to look into a rooftop option.
I believe we got in on a 12 month discount for this package, so I think it will go up next year to $65/month. Also, we are a Roku house, and the PS Vue app is pretty lame on Roku. Fully functional, but it's a watch OR browse channels situation - not both at once as it is on Sling or as it is for Vue on virtually any other device. Many like me are hoping for an improved app, which I think will be mandatory in a couple of years as Roku will by then have forced all of their channels to adapt to their new templates. Also, annoyingly on Vue, browsing live TV shows has no rhyme or reason for sorting, nor any options. This is worked around by browsing by channel, but is irritating. Ultimately, we have been happy with Vue, and its DVR feature (which is really just On Demand) is nice.
I would have been all over Direct TV now and it's $35/month early adopter grandfather plan, but there wasn't Roku support until well after that expired. If and when Sony raises us to $65/month I will consider my options. For now, Roku's streaming service and YouTube's aren't under consideration due to lacking channels we want.
As far as savings, we were paying TWC (now Spectrum) $195/month for just cable and internet. Now we pay Sony and AT&T for $125/month TV and much MUCH faster internet. If we hadn't switched beforehand, the TWC to Spectrum transition would have been the final straw. They are just bastards. I feel for people stuck with either Spectrum or Comcast.
I will say that getting channels OTA is a pain. With indoor antennae I can get all the channels some of the time, but rarely all of the channels at once, which is annoying. I really need to look into a rooftop option.
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"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
- rshetts2
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
A decent rooftop antenna is the key to good OTA. I tried a good well reviewed indoor one that worked ok but pixilated the picture way too often. With an OTA and the HomeRun tuner I get a ton of stations ( I live in the metro detroit area) and the signals are every bit as good as cable even in bad weather.
One thing I did find out is the Home Run works much better integrated with Kodi. Im sure its codex related and I can probably fix it so the regular Home Run program works but no real reason to.
One thing I did find out is the Home Run works much better integrated with Kodi. Im sure its codex related and I can probably fix it so the regular Home Run program works but no real reason to.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I've used a Fire TV stick and a Roku stick and both are fairly slow in navigating through apps. Does anyone have experience with the sticks and the higher-end boxes from either company? Are the boxes much faster?
- Captain Caveman
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I think the new Roku stick is supposed to be real fast.McNutt wrote:I've used a Fire TV stick and a Roku stick and both are fairly slow in navigating through apps. Does anyone have experience with the sticks and the higher-end boxes from either company? Are the boxes much faster?
I have a Roku 2, but the upgraded model from 2015 I think so it has the same guts as a Roku 3, and it's really fast on the menus. I upgraded from an original Roku and the difference was night and day.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I first tried the Fire Stick and it was unbearably slow. After a few weeks I switched to the same Roku as CC and it's been great. I think three sticks just don't have enough memory for decent streaming.McNutt wrote:I've used a Fire TV stick and a Roku stick and both are fairly slow in navigating through apps. Does anyone have experience with the sticks and the higher-end boxes from either company? Are the boxes much faster?
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- naednek
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I had the firestick and it was slow as you mentioned. I now have the 4k Roku box (the newest one) and it's so much faster, and cleaner.McNutt wrote:I've used a Fire TV stick and a Roku stick and both are fairly slow in navigating through apps. Does anyone have experience with the sticks and the higher-end boxes from either company? Are the boxes much faster?
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- EvilHomer3k
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
What is your criteria here? I would rank them Vue, Direct, watching paint dry, Sling. Sling's Windows app is complete crap. Fast forwarding and rewinding is a total crap shoot. Sling's DVR options were 0 up until recently. PS Vue is the least expensive, runs on anything that doesn't have Xbox in the name, allows more streams than anything else, and has an unlimited 30 day cloud dvr. I've been quite happy with it (though we don't watch much tv) and pay $45 per month with HBO. Is Direct that much better now than it was 6 months ago?dobberhd wrote:I've tried both SlingTV and Playstation Vue for a number of months, mostly on a Roku. I then got in on the $35 deal for DirecTV Now back in December. At first Directv was pretty bad, but now I must say that it is better than the other two.
Personally, I'd rank them:
1. DirecTV Now
2. Sling
3. Playstation Vue
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
I am basing it on the Roku app, or rather the state of the Roku app at the time I had the service. The DirecTV Now app is rather friendly and easy to use in my opinion (although it took a long time to get out.) I had Sling back in November and Playstation Vue before that. In my opinion, the vue interface was clunkier than Sling's. They may be better now, but I'm going to keep using DTV now since I'm on the original deal. Until recently,EvilHomer3k wrote:What is your criteria here? I would rank them Vue, Direct, watching paint dry, Sling. Sling's Windows app is complete crap. Fast forwarding and rewinding is a total crap shoot. Sling's DVR options were 0 up until recently. PS Vue is the least expensive, runs on anything that doesn't have Xbox in the name, allows more streams than anything else, and has an unlimited 30 day cloud dvr. I've been quite happy with it (though we don't watch much tv) and pay $45 per month with HBO. Is Direct that much better now than it was 6 months ago?dobberhd wrote:I've tried both SlingTV and Playstation Vue for a number of months, mostly on a Roku. I then got in on the $35 deal for DirecTV Now back in December. At first Directv was pretty bad, but now I must say that it is better than the other two.
Personally, I'd rank them:
1. DirecTV Now
2. Sling
3. Playstation Vue
I always had to use DTV now on my office computer. Since I have a recliner in the office it was convenient. I was getting frustrated in the wait for the Roku app, but glad I held out once it was available.
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
So, over the weekend (maybe Friday) my Comcrap streaming service stopped working. If I try to access HBO, I'm prompted to subscribe. When I try to access a broadcast channel (like NBC), I'm told "This channel is not included in your service." I called their Customer Disservice department, and was led through a string of unhelpful advice ("can you reboot your phone?" "Umm...then I wouldn't be talking to you anymore and I fail to see how that will resolve the problem since it also exists on the PC and Fire TV"). In the end, I was told she could not help me, admitting she knew little about streaming and that someone from Tier 2 support would call me back within 24 hours. That was 30 hours ago.
Black Lives Matter
- EvilHomer3k
- Forum Moderator
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
Why are you on Comcast streaming? There are other choices out there that are likely much better.
That sound of the spoon scraping over the can ribbing as you corral the last ravioli or two is the signal that a great treat is coming. It's the washboard solo in God's own
bluegrass band of comfort food. - LawBeefaroni
bluegrass band of comfort food. - LawBeefaroni
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
What else is out there for $10 that includes broadcast channels + HBO?EvilHomer3k wrote:Why are you on Comcast streaming? There are other choices out there that are likely much better.
Black Lives Matter
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- Posts: 36420
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:17 pm
- Location: Nowhere you want to be.
Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
And now this morning when I signed into the app to watch the news (the service still isn't working), the channel list started at HBO and included no networks at all.
Black Lives Matter
- gilraen
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
You have a better chance of getting help on their forums (forums.xfinity.com) than you do over the phone. Not a *great* chance, mind you, but better.Jeff V wrote:And now this morning when I signed into the app to watch the news (the service still isn't working), the channel list started at HBO and included no networks at all.
- rshetts2
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Re: Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts
They are not referred to as Comcrap for nuthin'. They gave me the streaming package as a throw in to keep and upgrade my internet speed when I called to switch providers. A few minutes of watching their service made me understand why they threw it in. Its the worst streaming feed Ive ever used. It constantly buffers and pixelates. CBS is the worst on there and the forums claim that this is due to CBS's feed and not Comcrap's stream but nothing else works smoothly either. Until they fix whatever streaming software they use, it's pretty much useless to me.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?