(06-17-2017 07:48 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(06-17-2017 07:37 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(06-17-2017 04:43 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote:  I used sling for awhile and didn't care for it as the only way you could get decent sports was to take both Blue and Orange. When you do that the only channels not on Blue are ESPN, 2 and Disney. It is rigged so you need both. Cost for both $45


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Actually if you are a hard core ACC or SEC Fan Sling Orange is great. The SEC fanboys would need to get CBS OTA.

I'm thinking about grabbing the FS1/2/CBS College Sports for FB season on Hulu or Youtube but frankly I can live without it...only $10 more a month for 3 months might make it worth it.

Be sure you try it first. I just signed up for me free trial and it's already buffered twice on the first show I am watching live. 55mbps connection tested right now on speedtest.net while I am streaming. So it's not my connection that's the problem.

Thanks.... I'll tread carefully.

I have Sling for $40/month, plus Amazon Fire Stick, Kodi and an OTA antenna. Good to go.

(06-17-2017 11:51 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  Hey everyone!
I was doing some research for my parents on finding a cheaper TV package and checking out all the OTT platforms now available since I received a notice that Direct TV Now is on Roku now.
I thought I would share my research in case it may help any of you looking to switch to a OTT platform. I spent time looking at Direct TV Now, Sling, PSVue, Hulu and You Tube. (While You Tube and Hulu aren't available on Roku or Apple TV, they are in the works)

I've focused mainly on the Sports Channels for this board, but since I did the research, I'll throw in the family stuff too since if you are like me, my wife and kid have a say.
I also focused on the lowest and second lowest tiers.

Let me add that all platforms have HGTV & Food Network on the lowest tier except You Tube TV & Fubo TV.

DirectTV Now: https://www.directvnow.com/thegoodstuff#the-full-lineup
Pro's:
4 tiers: $35/$50/$60/$70
$35 tier has ESPN/2, FS1
$50 tier has ESPN/2/U/News, FS1, NBCSN, BTN, SECN, Tennis & MLB

Family for $35 tier: Disney/jr./XD, Cartoon Network, Nick/jr/Teen/TV Land, TBS/TNT/USA.
Other for $35 tier: Turner Classic Movies and wifey bonus of Hallmark/Hallmark Movies
Access to 10k+ on demand movies and shows.

Cons:
Only can stream 2 TV's at a time.
No CBS Sports Net

Sling TV https://www.sling.com/service
Two packages: Orange and Blue.
Orange Pro's:
$20/month
ESPN/2/3. Can add $5 sports package for NBA, SECN/SECN+, Pac12, ESPN U/News, NHL, BeIN sports, Stadium (formerly Campus Insiders).

Family: Disney, Cartoon Network. Can add $5 package for Disney Jr/XD, Nick Jr/Teen/Toons, Boomerang.

Orange Cons:
Only can stream 1 TV at a time.
No USA/TNT
No Fox sports or CBS SN.
No main Nick channel

Blue Pros:
$25/month.
FS1/FS2/RSN's, NBC SN/RSN's. Can add $5 sport package containing: Redzone, NBA, NHL, BeIN Sports, Pac 12, NBC Golf, Stadium.

Family: Nick Jr., Cartoon Network, USA. Can add $5 package for Nicktoons, Teen Nick, Boomerang.
$5 package for Hallmark channels, Cooking, DIY.

Can stream 3 TV's at a time.

Blue Cons:
No ESPN channels or CBSSN
No Disney channels

You can purchase Orange and Blue together or a discount (not sure the total would be..wouldn't tell me). HOWEVER, even though you'll have 4 TV's you can stream at the same time (With combined packages), you are still are only allow 1 stream at a time for the Orange channels).

PSVUE: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/channels/
Pros:
4 Tiers: $30/$35/$45/$65
$30 tier: ESPN/2, FS1/2, NBCSN
$35 tier: ESPN U/News, SECN, BTN, Longhorn(Texas region I guess), NBA, NFL, MLB.

Family: $30 tier - Disney/jr./XD, Cartoon Network, TBS/USA/TNT
$35 tier adds TCM.

Can stream 5 TVs at a time.

Cons:
No CBSSN
No Nick Channels.

Hulu TV: https://www.hulu.com/live-tv

Pros:
$40/month
ESPN/2/U/News, FS1/2, NBCSN, NBC Golf, SECN, BTN, CBSSN

Family: Disney/jr./XD, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TCM, TBS/TNT/USA.
Access to Hulu Library of shows.

Cons:
No Pro league channels (i.e. NBA, NFL...etc)
No Nick Channels
Can only stream 2 TV's at a time.

YouTube TV: https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/?utm_sour...e&ve=34273

Pros:
$35/month
6 accounts per household, but can stream 6 TV's at a time if I understand correctly.
Stream Live TV of Major Networks...not On Demand as others.
ESPN/2/U/News, FS1/FS2/RSN'S, BTN, SECN, CBSSN, NBCSN, NBC Golf.

Family: Disney/jr./XD, USA

Cons:
Need a different account to stream on other TV's?
No TBS/TNT, Food Network, HGTV, Nick Channels.

FUBO TV: https://www.fubo.tv/welcome/channels

Pros:
$35/month
Roku available
FS1/2/RSN's, NBCSN, BTN, BeIN Sports (10 channels), Fox Soccer+, NBA, NBC Golf, Misc sports channels (Eleven Sports, FUBO TV Net, Football (soccer) Rpt TV)

Regular channels: History, USA, Bravo, FX, Hallmark, Hallmark Movies, SyFY.

Cons:
Only allows 2 TV's at a time.
No Kids channels (Disney, Nick, Cartoon...)
No common family: Food Network, HGTV, TBS, TNT.

Focus more on soccer (futbol or football depend what country).

Great Work!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

(06-17-2017 03:53 PM)goofus Wrote:  Doesn't OTT mean over the top? As in, stuff you can't get through cable tv like netflix original programming.

This stuff just sounds like alternative streaming options for content you can already get through cable tv.

We are talking about eliminating cable

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

(06-17-2017 12:52 PM)solohawks Wrote:  One thing people need to be aware of with PS Vue...if you don't get local channels in your area you are classified as a slim package and pay $10 less. If/when local channels are added in the future I would expect to see a $10 increase and upgrade from the slim pack to include your noe available local channels. To some people it's worth the increase. To others it might not be

We've had PS Vue for about 3 months, and love the price. In addition, regarding local channels:

1) You are charged for local channels according to the number of local channels available. Not every local channel is available in every market. For example, the rate in Houston is less than the rate in Dallas-Fort Worth, since fewer network affiliates are available with PS Vue in Houston at this time.

2) You receive local channels based on your IP address. I live in the Houston DMA, but my internet provider's IP is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA. So, we receive Dallas local channels via PS Vue (except ABC). That's fine with me, as I'm a Cowboy fan and would rather watch them than the Texans. For sports, I can use the WatchESPN app to pull in sports events shown on ABC. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News, FS1, FS2, and Fox Sports Southwest are available on our package with PS Vue. I also have access to the Fox Sports Go app.

http://deadline.com/2017/06/cbs-teams-fu...202117456/

CBS and CBS sports net coming to Fubo tv in July. This is the first service to make CBS sports net available on the Roku

(06-24-2017 01:41 PM)solohawks Wrote:  http://deadline.com/2017/06/cbs-teams-fu...202117456/

CBS and CBS sports net coming to Fubo tv in July. This is the first service to make CBS sports net available on the Roku

Thanks for the notice. I updated my post to include your info.

Aren'r there also some differences between which of these services allow you to pause?

(06-24-2017 08:41 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(06-24-2017 03:16 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-24-2017 01:41 PM)solohawks Wrote:  http://deadline.com/2017/06/cbs-teams-fu...202117456/

CBS and CBS sports net coming to Fubo tv in July. This is the first service to make CBS sports net available on the Roku

Thanks for the notice. I updated my post to include your info.

Also TNT is on sling Orange
Important for NBA fans

Correction made. Overlooked that one.

Outdoor Channel, Root, ESPN Classic, Altitude Sports, CSN (Comcast Sports), Pursuit Channel, The Ski Channel, Sportsman Channel, TVG/2, RFDTV shows sports like tractor pulling and rodeos, World Fishing Network, Fantasy Sports Network, TFN new sports network, MavTV mostly auto racing and Dave Despain show, Eleven Sports Network,

RSN is now Outside Sports.

I'm not seeing CBSSN on Fubo. Am I missing it, or have they dropped the channel?

(06-26-2017 01:22 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  I'm not seeing CBSSN on Fubo. Am I missing it, or have they dropped the channel?

They are adding CBSSN in July.

(06-17-2017 12:34 PM)ColKurtz Wrote:  Or, Kodi for everything and stream reddit cfbstreams from your PC or phone/tablet to TV via airplay. Free-fifty.

then, aren't you illegally watching licensed content which hasn't been paid for? This is piracy, and I'm too old to go to jail and pay fines for silly stuff.

(06-26-2017 02:11 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-26-2017 01:22 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  I'm not seeing CBSSN on Fubo. Am I missing it, or have they dropped the channel?

They are adding CBSSN in July.

Pretty much. Who is still doing this with all the cheap options available?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

(06-17-2017 05:29 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(06-17-2017 03:53 PM)goofus Wrote:  Doesn't OTT mean over the top? As in, stuff you can't get through cable tv like netflix original programming.

This stuff just sounds like alternative streaming options for content you can already get through cable tv.

It's not an official FCC term. So people use it to mean different things.

People do use it to mean different things in these conversations, but it IS a term that is broader than just video content or internet media in general. Techopedia does a good job of describing the term in its broader use:

Quote: Definition - What does Over-the-Top Application (OTT) mean?

An over-the-top (OTT) application is any app or service that provides a product over the Internet and bypasses traditional distribution. Services that come over the top are most typically related to media and communication and are generally, if not always, lower in cost than the traditional method of delivery.

So calling someone on Whatsapp instead of paying a telecom company for a telephone call is also "OTT".

http://www.multichannel.com/news/content...dle/413783

Charter offering a sports free streaming bundle for $20/month

Can add sports for $12

I should've put this post in this thread too ... didn't see it got stickied until now.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sprin...SKBN19I1JW

Quote:Sprint Corp's (S.N) talks with Charter Communications Inc (CHTR.O) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) about a wireless partnership added another layer of uncertainty to the outlook for potential deals in the cable and telecommunications sector.

Sprint, controlled by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), has entered into a two-month period of exclusive negotiations with Charter and Comcast, while putting merger talks with T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) on hold until the end of July, sources told Reuters late on Monday.

It's like I said in another thread, all the major pay TV companies and wireless companies are going to come together into three or four mega brands.

- AT&T is already solidified, with its acquisition of DirecTV
- Verizon is still out there without having acquired a major payTV company yet (I think Dish & Sling make a lot of sense ... perhaps renaming Sling to "DISH Now")

That leaves Charter and Comcast, on the payTV side, and Sprint and TMobile on the wireless side.



Perhaps the "staying alive" strategy of payTV could actually be to link it to wireless. IE, just like wireless carriers now essentially force you to have a data plan ... maybe they'll just start forcing people to have a TV plan on top of that, with no data usage for streaming TV on mobile devices in the plan?

(07-03-2017 09:37 PM)solohawks Wrote:  http://www.multichannel.com/news/content...dle/413783

Charter offering a sports free streaming bundle for $20/month

Can add sports for $12

Yeah ... if traditional payTV wants to stay in the game ... they're going to have to get on board with offering a product in the $20-30-40/month tiers, like the streaming services.

As always, bundling is their best bet to get more $$$ per customer.

(07-06-2017 01:18 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(07-03-2017 09:37 PM)solohawks Wrote:  http://www.multichannel.com/news/content...dle/413783

Charter offering a sports free streaming bundle for $20/month

Can add sports for $12

Yeah ... if traditional payTV wants to stay in the game ... they're going to have to get on board with offering a product in the $20-30-40/month tiers, like the streaming services.

As always, bundling is their best bet to get more $$$ per customer.

This ties-in the auction of the UHF channels 37 and above to the wireless carriers. Seems the could start up new viewing experiences with the wireless companies (i.e. Mobile TV).
Suck for the 1,000 or so TV Stations that have to relocate to channels 36 or lower.
http://fortune.com/2017/04/19/tv-stations-channels-faq/

However, the article also states the 4k broadcasting could be sped up...they will really boost up the OTA stations for those that can afford the equipment to broadcast in uncompressed 4k. Most antennas sold already are 4k ready.

The spectrum "channel" (frequency range) nowadays doesn't have to be the same as the TV channel (number).

So "Channel 45" branded TV station can actually be located at "channel" 22 in frequency, while your TV is "tuned" to 45.1.