How Live TV Services Compare To Each Other

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ledhead11

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Thanks for the article. Been telling the family we might be switching things up and this will really help with research. Internet and antenna seems to be the only sensible affordable combo for the future.
 

timetravelingtrevor

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Great write up. I currently use YouTube TV, and I am mostly satisfied with it. Only downsides are the strange sports blackouts and the lack of Roku support. I used PS Vue and Sling for a couple months each, and was not dissatisfied with either. I think that once YouTube TV is supported on Roku it will be the way to go. But it all depends on what you want out of the service.
 

Zach_61

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Go in depth. Psvue has a dvr as does sling. However, psvue dvr is better as it adds all the shows recorded and the on demand shows in order with the option to sort by seasons. You were correct in its ability to be utilized on multiple devices, then you make it sound like its ps devices only. Directv now is the more expensive. Ive only tried the psvue trial and was everything i needed for 45$ a month.
 

bloodroses

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Using Sling blue here @ $25/m. The problem with many of these streaming services is once they start charging above a certain amount, it becomes cheaper just to have cable TV alongside your internet (for Charter, Comcast, etc). Sling has most of the channels I want, outside the 'big 5' (abc,cbs,nbc,fox,cw). I use either an antenna or ustvnow for that.

The main reason I use Sling is because of the free Roku I got when I initially signed up and the convenience. Otherwise, I would just piggy back off of my parent's charter account for my streaming needs.
 

Mike and Catt

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I agree with Zach. I've tried them all except Hulu with Live TV and ended up picking PS Vue every time. Yes all the others have their own little things to entice you to pick them but I personally think PS Vue has everything I need for $54.99 a month. I mean don't get me wrong you did a really good job describing each one. I just personally think your take on PS Vue wasn't bias. On top of what Zach said regarding the DVR, that when you select a show to be added to My Shows it records the entire series as they air, both new and old episodes on top of whatever their respective networks provide for On-Demand. Then there's the 5 profiles you can create for everyone in your family, which allows you to have separate DVRs and favorite channels. They also have a traditional guide for all the channels, which allows you to be able to go 5 days in the past and vice versa all with a little PIP of whatever you happen to be watching in the upper right corner of the guide. There's also a new feature that provides sports scores to pop up as they happen and recently completed events. There's an Auto Profile Login so each device can be set to that person's profile instead of having to choose each time you start the app. Which is great, we stream thru Amazon Fire TV sticks in our living room and mine and my wife's bedroom TV's and the boys use a Roku on their TV. Which the experience is a little different on the different brands of devices. Roku could do a little more to make it more like how it is on the Fire TV. Which Sony claims the ultimate experience is when you use a PS system. Then there's an awesome little feature Inactivity Timeout which if your ISP has you on a data cap this would come in handy. It's self explanatory, you can choose between 1-10 hours for each device to stop streaming after a set time of Inactivity. Then once you wanna come back and resume watching simply click the Okay that pops up on your screen (provided you didn't turn off the device or exit the app) stating your device timed out due to inactivity and it picks up wherever you left off, unless it's live and you didn't have the show added to My Shows already. The DVR allows you to fast forward and rewind. Which with Sling and YouTube TV you can do this as well, however with YouTube TV you're forced to have to sit through ads, which come in 2-5 ads per section, which it's usually split into around 5 segments. As for using PS Vue on the go you can watch certain On-Demand shows and channels but yes, you can not watch Live TV or your DVR. There's also the ability to use your PS Vue login credentials to logon all the different network apps (ie. Science Channel app, NBC app, etc). The full list is on PS Vue's website but I think it's like 50 some different apps. Which Sling, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV do not allow for that. DirecTV NOW does but it's only a couple. That for me is really cool because some of the apps have more stuff in them that you can't access through On-Demand. Effectivily this service is almost like whichever cable/satellite service we've all had in the past, just without the ridiculous fees, equipment and contracts locking you in. Which I mean this service was created for cord cutters, which to me means cutting the cord from big cable/satellite not cutting the cord from your home. I have a family of 4 and my wife and I work full-time, so when we're home that's when we watch TV. The ability to watch Live TV outside my home doesn't really appeal to me or my family. Don't get me wrong we're all tech savvy and can't live without our phones and other devices and yes it's cool to be able to do it but in my opinion watch TV at home. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few features but I think I listed the things you really didn't cover on, which again you did a really good job. I'm not knocking on that, I just felt there needed to be a little more in depth explanation on all the different things PS Vue has to offer. I'm all for PS Vue if that hasn't been apparent lol. Thanks.
 

bloodroses

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Informative read Mike and Catt. :) I didn't add the quote due to length. I would suggest breaking it up though with some carriage returns since I had to highlight the text to be able to follow it. :)
 

TheFivePack

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Why are your PS Vue prices incorrect? I pay $34.99 a month with no taxes, just a flat price for their 2nd tier (of the 4) plan. I'm in Louisville, KY. I just looked at their site and had my coworker in Dallas do the same and we see PS Vue pricing at $29.99, $34.99, $44.99, and $64.99.
 

nathanielmott

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The prices aren't incorrect--for my area, at least. There appears to be some discrepancy based on location. (Or perhaps on some other factor.) Here's a screenshot of the PlayStation Vue pricing page that I took after I read your comment:

XbR5RQF.jpg
 

BigD1

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If Vue provides all live streams for the local channels, then I think it is an extra $10 charge. I get a few local channel live streams, and the rest of the local channels are on demand, so that's why I pay $29.99 for Access Slim.
 

Martianman68

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Yeah, I also pay $64.99/mo for Vue and get HBO and Showtime with it. That's really the main difference b/w Elite and Ultra--you save like $2-$3 if you wanted HBO & Showtime. We are going with both for now but may ratchet back to Elite and add HBO.

This new Hulu service feels like it nickel and dimes you to death. We are just starting out with dumping Dish, so we are feeling our way through the services--my wife (and my parents when they vist) wanted that "guide", which the Vue DTVNow are about the only ones that have that. I would go with Sling, but man that interface is just not good.
 
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