TV services. Help me.

[dixiehack]

Chromecast doesn't work with Amazon Prime, but otherwise I have no complaints.

 

[sgreenwell]

Gaming note - If you have a Playstation, their Vue service is pretty reasonable. It has a good package of channels, and I believe a built-in DVR and what not. It's cheaper than cable in my area, but I'm kind of stuck with cable anyway because it's the only highspeed Internet game in town. (i.e. It's $60 for Internet alone at Cox, $50 for Verizon, and only $5 to $10 to add channels on top of them.)

 

[jr/shotglass]

Found a good, up-to-date article. And yes, Vue looks like an attractive option.

There are 6 major services that let you stream live TV over the internet — here's how they compare

 

[SpeedTchr]

I keep hoping cable companies will double or triple internet prices if you don't also subscribe to their TV offerings. I'm evil that way.

 

[apeman33]

Chromecast doesn't work with Amazon Prime, but otherwise I have no complaints.

You can get around that with the screen mirroring mode. DirecTV* isn't compatible, either, but the screen mirroring mode makes it work just as well as any other app.

* - I don't know about DirecTV now; this is about the phone app.

 

[dixiehack]

You can get around that with the screen mirroring mode. DirecTV* isn't compatible, either, but the screen mirroring mode makes it work just as well as any other app.

* - I don't know about DirecTV now; this is about the phone app.

I just use the boy's Nintendo WiiU to watch Amazon. Or more correctly I can use it but seldom do because it would take an extra 30 seconds to hook everything up. #firstworldproblems

 

[apeman33]

I've noticed lately that there are a lot of people streaming pirated TV shows and sports events on YouTube. The ones that pop up on my home page the most are feeds of Family Guy, South Park and Caribbean cricket. I guess some people are taking it upon themselves to be the TV provider for the cord cutters.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Found a good, up-to-date article. And yes, Vue looks like an attractive option.

There are 6 major services that let you stream live TV over the internet — here's how they compare

I did a trial of Vue a year ago when I was looking to cut the cord. It had a good variety of channels and a good price, but the video wasn't smooth enough. Every few seconds there would be a slight catch. Could be my setup, but my WiFi bandwidth was far stronger than the level required. That was a deal breaker for me.

 

[User 11148]

I just moved off of Vue after a year, but I was generally pleased. Certain feeds -- e.g., my regional Fox Sports affiliate -- weren't quite at HD, and my local ABC affiliate is one of the few not available via Vue. There were workarounds to these issues -- the Fox Sports Go app, an OTA antenna -- that were palatable. My biggest issue, though, was that the timeshift feature (record, pause) aren't as good as "cable."

My local provider now has apps (Roku, iOS, etc.) that eliminate the need for extra boxes, and its standard package costs the same as Vue. So back to cable I've gone. If next year my "intro" price goes up, I can credibly threaten to switch and maybe avoid the upcharge.

 

[wicked]

No one wants to pay for content anymore.

Thieve away! seems to be the motto of the day.

It's funny how a bunch of us who ***** about no one buying our content are more than willing to not pay for content. It doesn't keep me up at night or anything, and cable providers are the bottom feeders of corporate America, but it is amusing.

 

[playthrough]

I ditched my DirectTV for AppleTV. Pay for Netflix and "borrow" my parents' HBO login and sister's Comcast login, which helps with WatchESPN and a few others. But don't have a way to watch football on CBS, short of paying for another service.

 

[wicked]

Log in through Xfinity's site, and IIRC the Comcast login will let you watch CBS.

 

[wicked]

I buy AAA, I get access to my ex's Amazon Prime. Someone buys Hulu, their friend buys HBO. A mom has Netflix, so the kids have access. It's pretty common in my circles.

 

[Neutral Corner]

We cut the cord a while back. Bought an HD antenna for local channels. We tend to keep Netflix and HBO Go, but when things get stale we drop one and run something else for a while. Amazon usually gives you a thirty day free trial, so you can see how you like it, or if you're feeling mercenary then watch thirty days for free and drop it. If you have Amazon Prime it is included, which is a good deal. We use Roku and like it a lot.

 

[SpeedTchr]

Time is money. You guys spend way too much time looking for ways around this ****

Mpre power to ya, though. Rock on!

 

[playthrough]

Log in through Xfinity's site, and IIRC the Comcast login will let you watch CBS.

What about on an AppleTV? What app do I use? I'm admittedly not terribly bright with this stuff; I surprised myself by just hooking up the device to begin with.

 

[The Big Ragu]

This won't be relevant for 99.9 percent of people. But it's cool. But we have split time between two homes for the last 2 years. Home # 1 has cable, which includes the sports teams I like to watch. Home # 2 has Fios with ****ty sports teams from a market I don't care about. I can stream Yankees games to Home #2 by logging in with my cable user name and password, and sending it to a Chromecast on the TV. But MSG doesn't offer streaming of Rangers games, which I like to watch during hockey season. So I put a Slingbox on the TV in Home #1 and it streams from the cable box to a TV with a Chromecast in Home #2 via the Internet.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Been using Chromecast enough to give my summary of it.

Mostly love it. I give it a solid B. Picture quality doesn't quite match cable in most cases. It runs behind the cable feed, so if you're watching a game and surfing the net, you run the danger of spoiling the next play or so. Using Twitter and Chromecast together is dangerous. You're not going to easily be able to bounce between games. It's not quite as easy as pushing a button. You need to open up another site each time you want to cast something to the TV, so that can delay things. Fortunately I have someone else's cable login, so I can stream most sports. Without that, you'll have to search for streams online. I have found most things I want to watch linked on Reddit, but they aren't always easy to find.

Plus the feed jumps quite a bit. You'll have it go back five seconds and repeat a play. Does it quite often. Then eventually jumps ahead to catch up. All things I can live with. But not ideal if you want to be the one to host everyone for the big game.

I don't know if Chromecast is what you want if you want to replace cable. You can definitely use it for streaming services and anything else you find online. But I'm using a cable login to cast most things to my TV. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to sports, this probably isn't the best bet.