OT - PS Vue vs Sling TV vs DirecTV NOW

clemsontyger97

I'm just dipping my toe into this emerging market and am just curious if anyone has tried and liked them yet?   All seem to have their own sets of issues as I am sure will be the case while they all continue to work on their offerings.   PS Vue seems to be have a slight edge over the others at this point with a DVR, but my main concern with any of them is reliability.   So when you're not grilling, have any of you started using any of these yet to cut the cable bill significantly?

Hntnhrd

I had sling tv. If you don't have unlimited data it is cheaper to have dish.

Eggcelsior

I just did this. Dumped Concast(not a typo) Triple Play for internet only and went PS Vue. I did the 34.99 option so I could still get hockey. I essentially only watch sports so it was a no brainer. The DVR is nice, add a show to My Shows, and all available episodes are available On Demand.

clemsontyger97

@Eggcelsior How is the picture quality compared to regular cable (DirecTV, Comcast, etc)?  I don't have "unlimited" but I don't think we'd run into any issues as far as bandwidth goes.    My main concern is just having it work and not be choppy when trying to watch my shows/sports.

Nathan_C

I have the PS Vue and have no plans to go back to cable. Reliability has been pretty good, but occasionally it will freeze up for a minute or so, before it catches back up. For all I know, this is an Internet connection issue and not a ps vue issue. I would look into the channel line ups of all three and make sure your preferred channels are available on each. We use in conjunction with an Amazon Fire and Apple TV 4. I think I prefer the fire because it has a fast forward button for skipping the commercials. I also second the comment on data limits from your internet provider - if you watch a lot of TV, you will want unlimited. 

clemsontyger97

@Nathan_C   Vue lineup looks good for the most part.   Only thing that is missing are a few kids channels we need and a few others here and there.  For the most part though it has all we need.   Or at least enough to make it the leader of the pack from what I've researched so far.   

Eggcelsior

clemsontyger97 said:

@Eggcelsior How is the picture quality compared to regular cable (DirecTV, Comcast, etc)?  I don't have "unlimited" but I don't think we'd run into any issues as far as bandwidth goes.    My main concern is just having it work and not be choppy when trying to watch my shows/sports.

I've used it since 2/27 with no issue whatsoever. Full HD streaming, no lag. There was one day the app said it was down but the picture stayed on, I just couldn't change channels. Rebooting the app fixed the issue. I use it via my PS4 and streaming over mobile on my phone. Only thing is certain channels won't allow mobile streaming, but that isn't Vue's fault.

Eggcelsior

In addition, if you have a PS4(or 3), get the universal remote. Makes navigating the app much easier, especially for the technologically challenged MILs out there.

clemsontyger97

Yea I did see that noted in one of the reviews, so if I do end up going the way of Vue I would get the remote for sure.    I'm not so much worried about mobile streaming as much as just getting it to work at home via either PS4 in the living room,  internet (Chrome) in the bedroom), or some version of streaming on the other room (Fire stick, etc)

GregW

I have had Sling, I used it on my Roku 3. 
I canceled Sling when Directv Now came out. I did the 3 month prepay deal to get the free Apple TV 4.
Directv Now really was terrible for the first month or so. Frequent freezes where I had you exit the show and restart it, it was a constant problem. It is now a lot better, but still not as good as Sling.
Comparing the two services, I think I still prefer Sling. A lot of that may be due to the superior Roku 3 device. The Apple TV may be a fine streamer, but it's remote is absolutely terrible to use. It is not ergonomic to hold or use. The Roku Remote works exactly the way a remote should. (Sling is available on Apple TV, but DTN is not yet available on the Apple TV. 

I haven't tried the PS Vue, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. Especially the DVR functionality. That coming to Sling and DTN if the future.

Don't forget Youtube just announced a soon to be available payed streaming service for live tv. Hulu will also have a new live tv service soon.

When my DTN 3 month prepay ends, I will probably move on the one of the new services or maybe go back to Sling. A large factor in this is going back to a service that works with Roku.

In our home, the Hallmark channel is critical. You wouldn't believe the grief I got when I cancelled cable and lost Hallmark. Whatever service I go with it has to include Hallmark.
 

OneNole03

i have been looking at doing the switch as well and seemed to agree that Vue seemed to give the most bang for your buck. I just wish my area had more internet options instead of only my local cable provider that wants over $60 a month for internet only. 

clemsontyger97

We might be neighbors.

mtasker

I'm using roku 4 with Netflix, hulu, and sling tv.  ok so far. wish there was more "live tv".  I can't figure out how to watch the new season of outsiders on wgn. 

Herky

Another happy PS Vue user.  it was an adjustment after 15 years of Directv but we got used to it pretty fast.  The kids were a little mad when the nickelodeon channels got dropped but they found other stuff to watch.   

saluki2007

I have a smart TV in the living room so I didn't need any of those.  Use a fire stick in the bed room for my dummy TV.  Most of my TV watching comes from Hulu, Netflix or Kodi.  

My parents still have cable so I use their log-in for things like the ESPN WATCH app.  My brother's and I all "chip in" for the netflix and hulu.  I pay for the Spotify family plan, one brother pays for hulu and the other fornetflix and then just share the account log-ins.

ColtsFan

I ditched cable years ago. Use an antenna for the local stations, Amazon Firestick, NetFlix, Sling for my ESPN's and KODI...Push it all to my PLEX server and I'm able to stream from any device, anywhere

Eggcelsior

The other thing about PS Vue(at least in my area) is that they don't have CBS and only have ABC On Demand, not the actual broadcast. I may get an OTA antenna for that, if I feel I need it. I'm not worried about shows, but mostly sports like college and pro football and CBB. The nice thing about CBB is that March Madness is shown on Turner stations in conjunction with the CBS broadcast. 

clemsontyger97

Herky said:

Another happy PS Vue user.  it was an adjustment after 15 years of Directv but we got used to it pretty fast.  The kids were a little mad when the nickelodeon channels got dropped but they found other stuff to watch.   

Lack of Nick is huge drawback right now since that's primarily the channel our kids watch.   I'm not sure it's a $60 per month drawback to keep me from dropping DirecTV when the contract is up in October.   Hoping by then they've worked something out to add that one.

@saluki2007  I have Smart TVs as well but the main thing we (read: Me) need is access to college football, so I need the ESPN channels for sure.

clemsontyger97

Eggcelsior said:

The other thing about PS Vue(at least in my area) is that they don't have CBS and only have ABC On Demand, not the actual broadcast. I may get an OTA antenna for that, if I feel I need it. I'm not worried about shows, but mostly sports like college and pro football and CBB. The nice thing about CBB is that March Madness is shown on Turner stations in conjunction with the CBS broadcast. 

Yep, CBS not there is a slight drawback for me for same reason, however we have antenna for one of our spare tvs so if need-be I can watch CBS/ABC live with that.  CBS/ABC and Nick are the big ones missing for our household.   Everything else seems to be there and we'd be saving between 60-70 bucks per month with the Vue package I have in mind.   

Eggcelsior

I don't let my kids watch Nick and try to limit Disney as I FACKING HATE THE ADS. Seriously, my MIL would put on Nick Jr and when I got home from work every ad break was "Daddy, I want that!". No wonder my parents dumped cable when I was in the 2nd grade. The nice thing is, many Nick shows are on Amazon Prime TV, so they get all the Team Umizoomi (in a world that's not too far away) their little hearts desire. Granted, it depends on your kids age but many shows are available. You can get Sprout with the highest PS Vue plan(44.99 option), if your kids are still little.

saluki2007

Eggcelsior said:

I don't let my kids watch Nick and try to limit Disney as I FACKING HATE THE ADS. Seriously, my MIL would put on Nick Jr and when I got home from work every ad break was "Daddy, I want that!". No wonder my parents dumped cable when I was in the 2nd grade. The nice thing is, many Nick shows are on Amazon Prime TV, so they get all the Team Umizoomi (in a world that's not too far away) their little hearts desire. Granted, it depends on your kids age but many shows are available. You can get Sprout with the highest PS Vue plan(44.99 option), if your kids are still little.

My daughter is only 1.5 so the only thing we let her watch (or she even cares about) is Sesame Street.  I can get it over the air, hulu, or youtube.

Eggcelsior

saluki2007 said:

Eggcelsior said:

I don't let my kids watch Nick and try to limit Disney as I FACKING HATE THE ADS. Seriously, my MIL would put on Nick Jr and when I got home from work every ad break was "Daddy, I want that!". No wonder my parents dumped cable when I was in the 2nd grade. The nice thing is, many Nick shows are on Amazon Prime TV, so they get all the Team Umizoomi (in a world that's not too far away) their little hearts desire. Granted, it depends on your kids age but many shows are available. You can get Sprout with the highest PS Vue plan(44.99 option), if your kids are still little.

My daughter is only 1.5 so the only thing we let her watch (or she even cares about) is Sesame Street.  I can get it over the air, hulu, or youtube.

Yep. We used PBS Kids exclusively and when family was watching, I'd always come home to Nick or Disney. I don't use Hulu, but I'll use YouTube, the PBS affiliate, or prime/HBO go for old/new Seasame Street and Fraggle Rock/The Doozers, which is cool since it's what I watched back in the day. My kids are 5 and 3.5. I selected the HBO option with PS Vue since we do watch a lot of stuff from them and piggybacked on my parent's account. Unfortunately, HBO recently tied the HBO Go log-in into your cable subscription rather than a separate log-in, so I wasn't able to access it. 

saluki2007

Also, anyone with a Sony TV from 2016 or newer or an Android based TV (I have a sharp) you can load Kodi directly to the TV and not have to go through some sort of media device.

ToTheMax

Ditched cable a couple years ago, bought an OTA DVR and pay nothing monthly.

It obviously doesn't have as many channels as the paid alternatives.

cazzy

GregW said: I have had Sling, I used it on my Roku 3. 

I canceled Sling when Directv Now came out. I did the 3 month prepay deal to get the free Apple TV 4.
Directv Now really was terrible for the first month or so. Frequent freezes where I had you exit the show and restart it, it was a constant problem. It is now a lot better, but still not as good as Sling.
Comparing the two services, I think I still prefer Sling. A lot of that may be due to the superior Roku 3 device. The Apple TV may be a fine streamer, but it's remote is absolutely terrible to use. It is not ergonomic to hold oruse. The Roku Remote works exactly the way a remote should. (Sling is available on Apple TV, but DTN is not yet available on the Apple TV. 

I haven't tried the PS Vue, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. Especially the DVR functionality. That coming to Sling and DTN if the future.

Don't forget Youtube just announced a soon to be available payed streaming service for live tv. Hulu will also have a new live tv service soon.

When my DTN 3 month prepay ends, I will probably move on the one of the new services or maybe go back to Sling. A large factor in this is going back to a service that works with Roku.

In our home, the Hallmark channel is critical. You wouldn't believe the grief I got when I cancelled cable and lost Hallmark. Whatever service I go with it has to include Hallmark.
 

Hmm, I have been using DirectTV Now on the Apple TV (4th Gen) for around 7 weeks.  I recall it being a little tricky to find.  It was horrible at first, but stability has progressively gotten better.  I still am going to dump it, and don't see myself getting Sling or Vue. Mainly because lack of some locals and the random blackouts for some sporting events.  The Friday before the Super Bowl, I had a roof top antenna installed and I'm getting about 110 channels OTA.  Most are usuelss, but I can almost always find something to watch or have as background noise.  Combined with Couch Potato, I'm pretty golden with TV and don't see myself getting cable again.  

**Oh the Apple TV remote is horrible, but we actually love the Apple TV after downloading the Apple TV Remote app on our iOS devices.  Made it much more usable.

GregW

cazzy said:

(Sling is available on Apple TV, but DTN is not yet available on the Apple TV. 

Cazzy.....I misspoke on this. What I had intended to say was" DTN is not available on the Roku."

jeroldharter

We are about to be empty nesters and travel more. Plan to cut the cord with Dish and wing it. I guess there will be a lot of flux in programming and user experience over the next several years with people bobbing among various services. Between Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu we are satisfied except for live sports.

Eggcelsior

jeroldharter said:

We are about to be empty nesters and travel more. Plan to cut the cord with Dish and wing it. I guess there will be a lot of flux in programming and user experience over the next several years with people bobbing among various services. Between Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu we are satisfied except for live sports.

I recommend PS Vue for this too. It has the ability to cast from your phone and has all the sports channels I could want, such as the ESPNs, FS1, FS2, BTN, NBCSN, CSN, and others. Sling has a nice one too, if I recall.

andersa

PS Vue is locked to your home location so not a good choice for roaming. Sling works anywhere (with a US IP address).

Eggcelsior

andersa said:

PS Vue is locked to your home location so not a good choice for roaming. Sling works anywhere (with a US IP address).

The only channel that has been mobile-locked for me is CSN during Capitals games, which is an NHL-forced issue if I recall. I've streamed other stuff in multiple locations and my wife catches up on HBO shows commuting to work on the train. I just can't take my PS4 with me to stream as it's locked into my home wifi network, as you said - I just have to access the app on my phone or tablet. I probably would have gone with Sling had it offered CSN, which airs 75-80% of Capitals games and is basically the only thing I watch other that basketball.

andersa

My experience has been the opposite - through the Vue App on my Android phone, I've yet to be able to play anything outside the house.
However, as long as there is a separate app for the channel, like ESPN, I can log in through that app and usually get access to the content regardless of location.
I used Sling for a couple of months, but we found it a bit lacking, Vue has been a better compromise between supported channels and also being able to stream up to 5 streams vs 1 for Sling.