Streaming TV experience Hulu-Youtube-DirecTV Now

[ano]

So we have DirecTV, I think the Genie 2 with 4 TV's and we pay over $100/month for the lowest tier. Long story short, Streaming TV offerings seemed to have improved, and are much cheaper. We are looking at 3 of these; Hulu TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Now. There are a few cheaper ones, but many channels are missing.
 
We really don't watch that many channels, so I'm trying to figure which fits us best. Does anyone have experience using these, basically what its like to ditch cable/satellite and go with streaming.  How is reliability? How does the DVR work?  Etc. Etc.  What hardware do you use to watch? 
 
Any input is VERY helpful.

 

[roussell]

I tried all of those over a year ago, but ultimately decided on Playstation Vue because of the DVR, number of streams and channels that we watch. Back the. I don’t remember anything negative about the quality of any of them, just that PSVue was a better fit for us. That being said, rarely with PSVue, we will have a channel that flakes out for a few minutes, it’s pretty rare though. FWIW, I watch/record local OTA through a Tablo 4 tuner and watch everything through FireTV sticks. Internet is 200/10 through Charter-Spectrum.

I pay $55/month for PSVue and $5/month for Tablo’s guide data service

Terry


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pete_c]

Try USTVNow. 
 
It is free SD for the basic national networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, et al) and you can a la carte channels or purchase channels in bulk and it has DVR functions.
 
hxxps://watch.ustvnow.com/subscription

 

[ano]

Try USTVNow. 
 
It is free SD for the basic national networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, et al) and you can a la carte channels or purchase channels in bulk and it has DVR functions.
 
hxxps://watch.ustvnow.com/subscription

I'll look into that.  So far DirecTV Now has all the channels we watch, except one local one, so we may need an antenna. BUT only 20 hours of storage is included, which may be a deal breaker for the wife. 
 
Also, whatever we pick has to be on the TV not Computer. I don't mind a Roku or Apple TV or Fire TV if we need that.

 

[ano]

Try USTVNow. 
 
It is free SD for the basic national networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, et al) and you can a la carte channels or purchase channels in bulk and it has DVR functions.
 
hxxps://watch.ustvnow.com/subscription

Looks interesting, but two problems. First, the wife needs the local channels. We could get an antenna but then you can't record. Also the times of programs are likely not our timezone which would be a pain. And no local news.
Second, the channel lineup is very limited. We need CNN, HGTV, E!, and CNBC, as a minimum.
 
Also, when you add it all your still paying $39/month.  For $40/month DirecTV gets a whole lot more stations, and the local TV networks.

One nice thing on the free plan, however, is PBS and some limited DVR time. Most of the others don't include PBS, so that is nice. I will sign up and try it.

 

[pete_c]

Yeah here still utilize DTV and DVR relating to WAF.  I been a DTV subscriber since first implementation and used to use Tivo (Direct Tivo way back).
 
Roku now has some streaming channels and limited DVR options. 
 
Googling see that there is a device called the Tablo for recording OTA stuff.

Here still utilize an HDHomerun OTA box and for years it's been connected to MythTV running in Ubuntu Linux along with my Squeezebox server.

HD Homerun today has a DVR service / software for your recordings.

 

[ano]

Yeah here still utilize DTV and DVR relating to WAF.  I been a DTV subscriber since first implementation and used to use Tivo (Direct Tivo way back).
 
Roku now has some streaming channels and limited DVR options. 
 
Googling see that there is a device called the Tablo for recording OTA stuff.

Here still utilize an HDHomerun OTA box and for years it's been connected to MythTV running in Ubuntu Linux along with my Squeezebox server.

HD Homerun today has a DVR service / software for your recordings.

Yeah I used to have a Windows Media Center with a cable card. The provider is COX.  Then a few years back it required not only this but a two-way adapter.  Fast-forward to new and the cable company doesn't even offer cable service anymore. They have something called Contour TV which I think is a streaming service, and you have to buy their hardware. Long story short, it costs even more than DirecTV, so not really on option here.

 

[Dogman]

You could also look at Fubo TV if you like sports .  I personally have tried Sling TV, Hulu, Fubo, Direct TV Now and settled on Playstation vue due to their local station offerings and ESPN.  The I pay now is basically 60 per month.   I didn't try Youtube, however.  I have 4 tvs as well and use 3 rokus and one Nvidia shield. I like it but it is slightly different then cable or satellite so a little getting used to but not hard.  Most of them offer a week free to try and it is so easy to sign up and even better so easy to cancel unlike cable or satellite!

 

[ano]

DirecTV Now just announced they were increasing prices and slashing the number of channels. Cross that one off the list. I hear many good things about Playstation Vue. I will look into that one.  I purchased an outdoor HDTV antenna so have to install that first when it stops raining here. I tried an Indoor antenna without much luck. I'm about 32 miles from the antennas. Many of the local channels are missing from these streaming packages, so an antenna is a must. 

 

[pete_c]

Here in the midwest I have an old antenna in the attic. 
 
The antenna does direct connects to the televisions plus one connection to an HDHomerun OTA box.
 
This allow for streaming / recording of local channels to the current LAN.

 

[ano]

Depending how things fall out, an HDHomeRun OTA might come into play. Also, on March 25 Apple might be announcing a video streaming service.  Things are quite fluid at this point. 

 

[pete_c]

Still using the old MythTV box to record from OTA / HDHomerun here.  With the antenna in the attic get around 66 channels.  Most is junk TV though.
 
Old broadcasters that were doing HD on VHF are duplicating their HD channels on UHF these days.
 
I did a little blog a while ago on making a small HD antenna out of cardboard and aluminum foil which works nicely with a much smaller footprint than the regular antenna.

DIY HD Antennas made from Aluminum foil and cardboard
 
Last week purchased a small amplified HD antenna for use in the house (for family) and that works OK too. 

 

[pete_c]

Seeing local ISPs now doing Internet only deals these days at an OK price.  These deals are not tethered to television / phone stuff.
 
New deals though stifle your uploading speeds to 5Mbps until you get to the Gb range.
 
Just upgrading my modem here from an SB6120 (8X4) to an SB6190 (8X32).

 

[wuench]

I use a combination of Plex/Medusa and Charter Spectrum streaming.   The Spectrum streaming  is about $30 a month with fees ($20 advertised but hidden $9.99 local TV fee) that includes one premium HBO/Starz/Skinimax.   that is  the best TV deal  I can find in my area but it's reliability is somewhat questionable.   Charter internet is, however, pulling the whole  ever increasing price scam.  It runs on Roku/XBox One/etc but not AndroidTV. 
 
I have been working on contingency plans to switch my internet, which will include Plex/HDHomerun but still working on improving my TV signal.  I also thought about Sling Blue.   I  could find no option out there less than $40/mo for the channels I want.

 

[ano]

I'd be happy for $60/month because I currently pay over $100 for the most basic DirecTV package. $45 of that is just for hardware rental.
 
In this day of media streaming, with net-neutrality just a distant memory, its very important to use a fully encrypted DNS service. Although that certainly doesn't encrypt your data, it does prevent your ISP from spying on you and potentially slowing your streaming data. Someday ISPs will figure out how to get around that, but since today 99.999% of people don't encrypt DNS, its likely not a priority for them.  YES, a VPN service will make your transmissions 100% secure, but they have many negatives and many streaming services don't even allow them. If fact most don't.
 
So I'm not the big TV person in the family, my wife is, so she sets the requirements. 
 
So requirement 1: Receive and record local ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX channels.  I think a TIVO and antenna can do this, maybe an HDHomerun. (Can that record?)
 
Requirement 2: Receive and record a few "cable channels" like Lifetime, Comedy, CNN, Bravo, HGTV and one or two more. This is what I'm hoping with the streaming package. More recording time, the better.

Sling Blue looks pretty interesting and if you add DVR, that might work with added local channels with an antenna.
 
Getting this on more than one TV would be nice. And that's it. Any solution that doesn't meet these requirements really isn't a solution.