OT: Tired of my satellite/cable bill. Help

[Jamal Mercer]

Just curious, wondering if anyone here uses sling TV or anything similar? And whether you like it or not. Positives and negatives..

I am obviously a huge sports fan and really can't do without watching Kentucky basketball on live television. Or the NFL for that matter.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[KentuckyCat420]

Bump. Same issues here

 

[GLR5555]

My TV goes out alot. Sure wish my neighbor would pay his bills on time.

 

[FanofUK]

Sling tv is pretty cheap and awesome,watch espn is your friend as 80% of our games are on Espn 1 2 or SECN. this is all depending how tech savvy you are. would not recommend anything for someone in thier 50's or higher that struggles using an iphone or ipad lol

 

[StubbornPenny]

Playstation Vue will give you the closest feel to having a traditional cable setup. You'll have DVR and live rewind/pause, and all that jazz. They've recently eliminated some viacom channels, but all your sports stuff will be there.

 

[TBCat]

I'm in the process of changing as well. I've tried Sling and Playstation Vue. Vue sucked but it had the only DVR option at the moment. Sling actually works well but you'll have to come up with something for local channels. Also their packages are weird. It's not like other services where you get upgraded packages. Each package with Sling is totally different. With Blue you get the Disney and ESPN channels but not Fox and some others. With Orange you get Fox but not ESPN. You have to get Blue+Orange to get both.

Sling is beta testing a DVR service so it will be out soon to the general public. Right now I'd have to say Sling is the best option. Excellent picture quality and much better guide. Easier to navigate than Vue. Once the DVR service comes out it should be a legit replacement for cable. I'm about to kill Directv in favor of Sling.

 

[ThwKentuckyKid]

How long of a ladder can you acquire?

 

[poppycat]

My cable bill (Comcast) with all the sports is about the
price of 2 game tickets per month ($120).........I see all UK
games.....FB & BB..........and 30/40 per mo of good BB,
......no long lines....no crowd.........no one blocking my vision
....Lazy Boy....no line at concession stand......no rude fans
....60 seconds to bedroom after a late game......that's a +
........ain't life grand.........( being age 75 can change a man)

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

Drop cable entirely and pick up SlingTV Orange with Sports package for $25/mo Nov-Mar. I had been using someone else's DirecTV login info to get WatchESPN but they've shut that down, so next season I'm going to do Sling during basketball season. Football I go to the home games and one road, and can find somewhere to watch a few road games.

 

[CatsFan4Evr]

I got a Fire TV package for Christmas. It may or may not have been jailbroken. (Kodi is the best thing ever.) SlingTV is great.

 

[Hoskins21]

Kodi on a new Fire Stick is best. You can watch everything at anytime.

 

[Whatever25]

I've had SlingTV for over a year now, so I can give you a pretty good pro/con list.

Pros:
Cheap - $20/month for basic package that comes with around 40 channels. Basically every channel I ever bother watching on satellite. Add the sports package for $5 more and you get all ESPN's as well as like 10 other sports channels I never watch.
Watch Anywhere - It's an app, so I can watch TV at home on my TV, IPAD, or smartphone. That's awesome so I can watch TV from anywhere, even work. Keep that last part quiet.
Easy to Setup - No installation guys coming that you have to wait on all day because they gave you an eight hour window. You just download the app, sign up, and start watching.
Good Customer Service - I've called them several times, and they've always solved my problem quickly. Never had to wait forever for someone to pick up the phone either.

Cons:
Need Good Internet - For it to work properly without any buffering I had to upgrade my internet to the highest speed available. I didn't mind because it makes everything else in my house that uses internet faster too, but if you just have basic speed you might not get good streaming with this.
No DVR - If you're one of those people who likes to record shows and watch them later, they currently don't have this feature. I've never had a DVR, so I'm not missing anything but it turns some people off to this.
Lags behind Satellite - When watching games, the stream comes in about a minute or two slower than satellite. So everyone will know the outcome of the game before you do. Like I can get on my ESPN app and see that UK has scored about 30 in game seconds before we actually do. (I totally cheat on close games so I know if we lose or not. Never told my wife though. lol)
Can't watch different shows at same time - So you can download the app on multiple TV's but you and your wife for instance can't watch different shows at the same time. The only way to do this would be to have multiple SlingTV accounts, which would cost you another $20. It's not an issue for me, but it could be for people who don't watch TV together.

All in all I love Sling. Saved me $100/month, and I get everything I want from TV anyways. They usually offer a free week trial. You should give it a shot and see if you like it.

 

[TankedCat]

recently switched over to Spectrum after years of DTV for their $90 bundle. Its a complete POS but I get 100mpbs internet so I can live with it for the next 12 months.

Sling and DTV both have options although DTV's online setup is losing money for them so they aren't going to offer this pricing when they get a stable number of subscribers.

Also use Kodi with IPTV. You can subscribe to online IPTV providers that offer 300 -1000 channels for around $90 year. But its buyer beware. You may get a call from the FCC educating you on DMCA laws. If you're not familiar with Kodi (or what it runs on - Amazon Fire, Android TV, Raspberry Pi, etc.,) take 30 minutes to read up on it. Kodi is probably the biggest reason people choose to be cable cutters (or never cable). Also plan on paying $30 - $60 a year for a good VPN

I believe in 12-15 months the norm is going to be cloud based DVR, internet based subscriptions. Everyone will be using devices like Amazon Fire, Roku, Android TV or the like and using Apps from the provider.

Internet pricing will depend on competition (support Google Fiber) to the cable companies and how net neutrality is handled.

 

[killaCk]

Internet TV options are endless. The real question is how much live TV do you watch?

I have used Kodi on my android TV box along with Watch ESPN and there is nothing I cannot watch. I dont watch a lot of live TV so its ideal for me. Plus, if we have a game on SEC network (not on espn) ill just hook up my computer and plug in the HDMI cable to my tv from laptop and stream it from BWO.

Really depends on how much you appreciate the convenience of clicking and instantly seeing results via cable. Having DVR instantly ready to watch and having tons of options. Internet TV is not as user friendly and simple. Thats the only thing I have had to get used to. Helps me not waste time getting stuck at the TV for hours watching something stupid.

 

[theGspot_rivals384545]

Sling TV sucks to be honest. Tried it and hated it. However, DirectTV launched their streaming service called DirectTV now a couple of months ago and it's pretty awesome. You can choose from several packages and most all offer the full espn and fox sports channels. And I do mean FULL!! You can also add HBO and cinemax for $5 bucks each. They offer a 7 day free trial so I would give it a look. No taxes or additional fees either.

 

[DelkBowl]

Sling tv is pretty cheap and awesome,watch espn is your friend as 80% of our games are on Espn 1 2 or SECN. this is all depending how tech savvy you are. would not recommend anything for someone in thier 50's or higher that struggles using an iphone or ipad lol

Thiskay:

 

[pikespeak1]

Just curious, wondering if anyone here uses sling TV or anything similar? And whether you like it or not. Positives and negatives..

I am obviously a huge sports fan and really can't do without watching Kentucky basketball on live television. Or the NFL for that matter.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I've had sling. Now I have DIRECTVnow. Direct is better. I'll never go back to regular cable or satellite.

 

[TankedCat]

ATT owns DirecTV .

Time Warner wants to merge with ATT.

If that merger goes thru then it will be interesting how they integrate Satellite, Cable and wireless into bundling options.

 

[theGspot_rivals384545]

ATT owns DirecTV .

Time Warner wants to merge with ATT.

If that merger goes thru then it will be interesting how they integrate Satellite, Cable and wireless into bundling options.

It's not Time Warner Cable that is merging with AT&T, it's Time Warner INC, which is completely separate. TWC cable was just acquired by charter spectrum.

 

[TankedCat]

It's not Time Warner Cable that is merging with AT&T, it's Time Warner INC, which is completely separate. TWC cable was just acquired by charter spectrum.

really? dag...I was hoping for big things from that merger.

 

[theGspot_rivals384545]

really? dag...I was hoping for big things from that merger.

The SEC would never allow AT&T to acquire a cable company at this point. Especially one as large as TWC. Would give them way too much power and control over the market, essentially monopolizing it.

 

[MrKentucky]

I have sling and I'm considering dumping it just because I hate being behind, plus the picture quality isn't as good as DTV.

 

[JDHoss]

Had one of these for about 2 years now. We used to pay Charter $185 a month for internet & cable. We now pay $50 for internet, and I added Sling for $25, but I'm probably going to drop Sling and just go with the Rhino. Sports? every NBA/NFL/MLB game, and practically every college football/basketball/baseball game that is televised. I'm sitting here right now watching Boogie's debut with the Pelicans with as good of a HD picture as you would on cable.

http://myredrhinotv.com/

 

[KyCatFan_rivals45723]

I have sling and I'm considering dumping it just because I hate being behind, plus the picture quality isn't as good as DTV.

Picture quality is fine for me. It isn't 4K, but it is HD. I run it with 50 Mbps Internet along with Netflix, YouTube, and Xbox One at the same time and no issues except occasional minor hiccups on ESPN, but no issues on any other channel.

 

[GnarlsBarkley]

I have a fire stick with kodi but I don't feel like I'm getting the most out of it. What are some of your favorite add-ons?

 

[louisvillesux]

I have a fire stick with kodi but I don't feel like I'm getting the most out of it. What are some of your favorite add-ons?

ultimate whitecream

 

[TankedCat]

ultimate whitecream

LOL

my .02

its starts with the fusion addon

and install Exodus from that

http://bestforkodi.com/install-exodus-addon-kodi/?

then go with
installing the Simple IPTV client

http://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:IPTV_Simple_Client

and subscribe to the facebook IPTV page after that

https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldwideiptv/

learn about creating and installing .m3u lists.

Reddit also has an active m3u sub group that keeps people up to date on PPV and the like.

but as I sad earlier - invest in a VPN and learn how to use that first.

if you're feeling really bold after that, check out fire phantom - http://fpiptv.com/

 

[cricket3]

With the popularity and low price of streaming cable paying for IPTV, plus using a VPN, plus running the risk of the streams not working/getting shut down is pointless.

Sling/PSVue/DirecTV Now for live TV
Exodus on Kodi for on demand movies and TV shows
SportsDevil on Kodi for PPV or out of market sports

^ That takes care of about 99% of people's TV needs.

 

[TankedCat]

With the popularity and low price of streaming cable paying for IPTV, plus using a VPN, plus running the risk of the streams not working/getting shut down is pointless.

Sling/PSVue/DirecTV Now for live TV
Exodus on Kodi for on demand movies and TV shows
SportsDevil on Kodi for PPV or out of market sports

^ That takes care of about 99% of people's TV needs.

whether they pay for IPTV streaming or not, if you're touting Exodus and PPV events, I'd still go with a VPN.

ymmv

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

I have a fire stick with kodi but I don't feel like I'm getting the most out of it. What are some of your favorite add-ons?

 

[jwheat]

I got a Fire TV package for Christmas. It may or may not have been jailbroken. (Kodi is the best thing ever.) SlingTV is great.

So has it been jail broken or not

 

[funKYcat75]

I totally cheat on close games so I know if we lose or not.

What kind of monster are you?

 

[TankedCat]

I don't know about Sports Devil - I haven't had an opportunity to use it - but one thing about IPTV and m3u lists is the access to live sports locally. Its essentially what DTV does with the NFL package. You get 100-200 local TV stations across the nation to watch the local sports team live. I guess for the NFL package you would need to focus on finding CBS and Fox

 

[Whatever25]

What kind of monster are you?

I can't stand it. If you could then you are a tougher man than me. If the game is tied with 30 seconds to go on my TV, and I know for a fact the game is actually already over. I'm totally looking to see if we won or not.

 

[funKYcat75]

I can't stand it. If you could then you are a tougher man than me. If the game is tied with 30 seconds to go on my TV, and I know for a fact the game is actually already over. I'm totally looking to see if we won or not.

If I can avoid social media, I can/will watch a DVRd game two hours after the fact. Usually thanks to my kids' activities or church stuff, I'll miss a midweek game from time to time.

 

[bigblue11_rivals177692]

I'm using Playstation Vue and it's been great. Especially since we got the new FireTV box yesterday. It streams at 60 megs and really smooths out sports and those little tickers that scroll on the bottom. It will also work for some 4K which doesn't really apply to me. Have it for the FireStick as well and it's great on everything except for sports because it only streams at 30 megs. So now the stick has been relegated to the lesser used tv in the bedroom.

35 bucks a month for 60+ channels including the main sports ones I wanted/needed, ESPN family, SEC Network, Golf Channel, and Fox Sports Ohio. I looked at Sling as well but it just didn't seem to give you as much bang for your buck. The packages vary by location however. They just recently added WKYT and WYMT as live local channels as well. The other locals are On-Demand programming only. You can use up to 5 different devices as well and can create your own profiles similar to Netflix. I also use the Kodi app.

One thing of note and I'm not sure if this applies to the user who said Vue was awful, but don't use a Roku box for Vue. For some reason it really does suck on that device.

 

[KyCatFan_rivals45723]

I have a Roku Streaming Stick (the $50 ish one, not the cheaper one) and Vue is also horrible on it. The interface sucks on there. Plus my son has an Xbox One that he does his streaming on and I am sure they won't offer an app to use the competitors service on it. Those are the main reasons I went with SlingTV.

 

[throatpoker]

If you have internet, then just connect a coaxial to your tv. All channels free including sec network

 

[vhcat70]

Have to have a DVR. I'm not watching anything live between commercials & for sports, replays or injuries. For a 3.5 hr FB game, I start watching about an hr before end time & catch up to live with about 5 minutes left in game. Or, if it's worthless, delete long before end.

 

[jtrue28]

If you have internet, then just connect a coaxial to your tv. All channels free including sec network

you serious, Clark?