I use Sling, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, and when neccesary, stream from unsavory sites. For example, there’s a show that the network has been advertising the heck out of so I decided to have a look. Last week I watched season one on Netflix, and last night turned to on demand to start season two. Except they’ve already taken down the first two episodes. The ones that introduce a major new character and are a flashback answering many questions about the show’s premise. So I have a few choices: 1. Start season two on episode 3 and spend the rest of the season confused because I missed some important exposition, maybe find some kind of summary online. 2. Wait a year for season two to get to Netflix. 3. Wait a year for season two to come out on dvd (only I don’t buy series I haven’t seen). 4. Stream the first two episodes from an unauthorized site and then switch back to the paid sites to watch the rest. 5. Quit watching the show. Mind you, I was paying for Sling and on demand back when those episodes were aired, I just didn’ get to them in time. The networks create this conundrum by choosing to have only a few of the most recent episodes available on demand instead of the whole season. And why spend money advertising the show when there’s no legal way for viewers to catch up?
@moondrake not judging cuz I have done the unsavory sites, but you do have an option 6. You could buy said missing episodes from itunes, Google play so on. For a couple of bucks it beats have to screw the unsavory sites.
@f00l Also, about HBO that’s good to know. I’ll subscribe to them for a month or two when the current season of Game of Thrones ends so I can catch up via on demand.
@racampbell1 If you’re looking for a streaming-only solution, consider Sling TV powered by Dish Network. No satellite service or equipment is necessary. It’s a standalone streaming service offered by Dish: http://www.sling.com/
It’s basically an alternative to PS Vue as a contemporary programming streaming service. Picture: cable, or satellite service, but fully streamed via the interwebs.
I use Netflix for older stuff, and Playstation Vue for the current stuff. It’s actually pretty nice – 50 channels for $30 a month, including taxes and fees. Can’t beat that.
Could someone please explain to me what these options are? I use an antenna. I know what cable is (LOL) and Netflix as one of the people I stayed with had that, but all this other stuff I am not sure what it does, what you need, does it show broadcast shows…? Since I couldn’t afford this stuff I removed envy by trying not to find out about what I was missing.
@Kidsandliz so they are called OTT (over the top) video service providers… currently they are:
SlingTV (owned by dish network)
Playstation Vue (PS Vue owned by sony)
and
DirecTVnow (owned by direct tv)
They are streaming services that are delivered over the internet… so if you have broadband internet with no/high usage limits you can use them to get what you would normally get via cable or sat tv.
SlingTV - no dvr service but a pretty nice on demand library for some channels - logins for most of the network apps (dvr service currently beta testing on roku devices)
PS Vue - cloud dvr service (allows you select show which it then stores on their servers for you to vue and skip commercials no size limit but time limit of 28 days) - good on demand library - logins for most of the network apps
DirecTVnow - no dvr, pretty poor on demand library, no logins for most of the network apps (to be fair its new so this all might change eventually they claim they will launch dvr service in 2017)
also coming soon to the OTT game:
Hulu is currently testing their OTT service (you can sign up for the beta here: http://hululive.com/ )
Youtube will be bringing its OTT service out this year as well (not many details yet).
also rumors say amazon will be reselling some OTT provider eventually as well.
oh and forgot to mention… no contracts. basically you can come and go as you please… unlike the “special price deals” on cable and the forced contracts on sat.
ps vue will even keep your “my shows”/dvr intact if you come back within 30 days (although the ones that would have expired will still expire).
this makes for a lot of choice for us consumers, and will hopefully drive the price down for the traditional providers (cable sat iptv)… who are over charging like crazy right now.
@Kidsandliz I was really confused as well, especially about Roku. So this is how it works for me. I subscribe to Sling, which is a tv provider. It uses your internet, so you have to have a decent speed internet. For $20 a month you get 30 channels. These aren’t local channels, although i do get NBC on demend. I pay $30 for the next tier as it has a lot of channels I watch, USA, Sci Fi, BBC America, etc. Through Sling you can also subscribe to premium channels like HBO. Right now, when you subscribe to Sling, they will send you a Roku. It’s a small device with a remote that has dedicated buttons for services. Mine has Sling, Amazon, Netflix and Hulu buttons. I just push the button and it opens the service. I’m subscribed to Netflix and Amazon, but not Hulu, so I can’t use the Roku for Hulu, but it works as the remote for the other three. This was especially great for me as my older equipment would it connect to Amazon so I was not able to use Prime Video previously.
I use PS Vue and currently am testing DirecTV now.
I am keeping PS Vue (grin).
(also prime video because of prime, and normally hbo now but curently am using hbo go because of the $5 add on while testing directvnow. in the past ive used slingtv and I turn on netflix and hulu from time to time as needed holler if you have any questions).
I have DirecTV, stream Amazon Prime (lousy selection of movies there) and listen to Pandora for music if I don’t want to put an album on.
The only cable service here is ‘Wave’. It goes out when the wind exceeds 12mph.
Maybe I’ll check put what else there is available!
@thismyusername That’s why I’ve got DirecTV. It still works when the power goes out (we have large genset). Our power failed 10 times last yr. Living in the sticks has it’s drawbacks sometimes.
netflix, amazon prime, fandangonow (get free rentals from T-Movile thru their T-Mo Tuesday apps pretty regularly). Not really into most TV shows, those I do watch I follow on netflix or amazon (Once, Death in Paradise, Murdock Mysteries, Man in the High Castle, BBC Sherlock to name a few). Have no patience for the commercials, and am not so vested in most story lines that I can’t wait until the next season comes out on one or the other…
Thanks for starting this thread so I can hate on CBS All-Access. (They ought to be sued for deceptive trade practices; the “all” sure is thin on the ground.)
My wife likes a lot of the CBS shows and “All Access” has an annoying habit of dropping early episodes in the season and only keeping the most recent 5 or 6. So, e.g., Criminal Minds: She wants to binge-watch the season. Forget it. Not a chance.
It’s like they are actually encouraging us to bootleg episodes. They may as well include a link to Pirate Bay in their app.
Also, I’m declaring jihad on Scripps networks. The mobile apps for Food Network, HGTV, etc… are HORRIBLE. And they’re tied to your “cable” subscription, so you can’t watch what you want, when you want, on your phone or tablet without a cable subscription. Plus, they insert beaucoup ads – mostly house ads to download the app or watch other Scripps channels – that can’t be skipped.
My wife and I travel a great deal, so we’ve cut the cord and have a lot of experience in this. Some services are “ok”; most are “meh” and many of them totally suck.
If asked, I’d say we watch more Netflix than anything. Followed by Amazon Prime. Hulu for many series.
Tried DirecTV Now. Tried Sling. Thinking about Vue. The problem with these is, no real “on-demand” feature or DVR capability.
I hope the broadcast companies can pull their collective heads out of their collective asses soon. It’s almost as though they don’t want us to watch their shows. The sooner they figure out that “appointment TV” is dead, the better for everyone.
@j37hr0 I think the broadcast nets are going to have to get on board with streaming or get lost as people’s viewing methods sweep past them. They are already losing a huge amount of ad revenue because they are geared toward viewers watching during the initial broadcast and that’s an ever shrinking population. I don’t mind commercials, but I am not going to be chained to the sofa during specific hours to watch my shows. With Sling I almost never watch the “on right now” stuff because the odds of me turning on the TV exactly on the hour are about 1 in 60.
I still use comcast with Tivo service. Probably not the most cost effective, but it works very well. The new commercial skip button with tivo is a very nice feature. They also have a quick mode that I love for dateline, 20/20, gold rush or other non sitcom type shows. Cuts an hour show down to like 36 minutes.
I just use netflix and torrents. I also don’t want anyone who uses adblockers on legit sites to tell me how torrents are bad.
I use Sling, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, and when neccesary, stream from unsavory sites. For example, there’s a show that the network has been advertising the heck out of so I decided to have a look. Last week I watched season one on Netflix, and last night turned to on demand to start season two. Except they’ve already taken down the first two episodes. The ones that introduce a major new character and are a flashback answering many questions about the show’s premise. So I have a few choices: 1. Start season two on episode 3 and spend the rest of the season confused because I missed some important exposition, maybe find some kind of summary online. 2. Wait a year for season two to get to Netflix. 3. Wait a year for season two to come out on dvd (only I don’t buy series I haven’t seen). 4. Stream the first two episodes from an unauthorized site and then switch back to the paid sites to watch the rest. 5. Quit watching the show. Mind you, I was paying for Sling and on demand back when those episodes were aired, I just didn’ get to them in time. The networks create this conundrum by choosing to have only a few of the most recent episodes available on demand instead of the whole season. And why spend money advertising the show when there’s no legal way for viewers to catch up?
@moondrake
I don’t think HBO removes episodes. They have stuff going way way back.
I’ll prob unsubscribe from sling. I got them for the election and haven’t turned them off yet.
Aside from that, I don’t watch enough for it to matter. I get my TV from the internet. Currently, it’s all legal and above-board and all that.
@f00l The network in question isn’t a pay channel, but it is a cable channel, one of the ones I get thru Sling.
@moondrake not judging cuz I have done the unsavory sites, but you do have an option 6. You could buy said missing episodes from itunes, Google play so on. For a couple of bucks it beats have to screw the unsavory sites.
PS what’s the show, you have me really curious?
@f00l Also, about HBO that’s good to know. I’ll subscribe to them for a month or two when the current season of Game of Thrones ends so I can catch up via on demand.
@racampbell1 If you’re looking for a streaming-only solution, consider Sling TV powered by Dish Network. No satellite service or equipment is necessary. It’s a standalone streaming service offered by Dish: http://www.sling.com/
It’s basically an alternative to PS Vue as a contemporary programming streaming service. Picture: cable, or satellite service, but fully streamed via the interwebs.
@ruouttaurmind Here’s a site with a really useful chart. I was going to post the chart here but it is a huge image so I’m just putting a link.
http://www.techhive.com/article/2909572/streaming-services/sling-tv-channel-guide-all-the-programming-and-all-the-restrictions-all-in-one-chart.html
@moondrake Quite a few do, indeed, offer on-demand capability. Good chart! Thanks for the link.
@ruouttaurmind here is the PS Vue spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FipfKvmctFxzX1dWpUxf94wMbmwyXQq6Ym5cRdV5TAc/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=0
here are the directvnow logins list:
https://help.directvnow.com/hc/en-us/articles/215395423-Can-I-use-my-DIRECTV-NOW-account-to-sign-in-to-network-sites-and-mobile-apps-
I use Sling, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.
Netflix, YouTube, Funimation Now, Crunchy Roll.
I use Netflix for older stuff, and Playstation Vue for the current stuff. It’s actually pretty nice – 50 channels for $30 a month, including taxes and fees. Can’t beat that.
Could someone please explain to me what these options are? I use an antenna. I know what cable is (LOL) and Netflix as one of the people I stayed with had that, but all this other stuff I am not sure what it does, what you need, does it show broadcast shows…? Since I couldn’t afford this stuff I removed envy by trying not to find out about what I was missing.
@Kidsandliz so they are called OTT (over the top) video service providers… currently they are:
SlingTV (owned by dish network)
Playstation Vue (PS Vue owned by sony)
and
DirecTVnow (owned by direct tv)
They are streaming services that are delivered over the internet… so if you have broadband internet with no/high usage limits you can use them to get what you would normally get via cable or sat tv.
SlingTV - no dvr service but a pretty nice on demand library for some channels - logins for most of the network apps (dvr service currently beta testing on roku devices)
PS Vue - cloud dvr service (allows you select show which it then stores on their servers for you to vue and skip commercials no size limit but time limit of 28 days) - good on demand library - logins for most of the network apps
DirecTVnow - no dvr, pretty poor on demand library, no logins for most of the network apps (to be fair its new so this all might change eventually they claim they will launch dvr service in 2017)
also coming soon to the OTT game:
Hulu is currently testing their OTT service (you can sign up for the beta here: http://hululive.com/ )
Youtube will be bringing its OTT service out this year as well (not many details yet).
also rumors say amazon will be reselling some OTT provider eventually as well.
oh and forgot to mention… no contracts. basically you can come and go as you please… unlike the “special price deals” on cable and the forced contracts on sat.
ps vue will even keep your “my shows”/dvr intact if you come back within 30 days (although the ones that would have expired will still expire).
this makes for a lot of choice for us consumers, and will hopefully drive the price down for the traditional providers (cable sat iptv)… who are over charging like crazy right now.
@Kidsandliz I was really confused as well, especially about Roku. So this is how it works for me. I subscribe to Sling, which is a tv provider. It uses your internet, so you have to have a decent speed internet. For $20 a month you get 30 channels. These aren’t local channels, although i do get NBC on demend. I pay $30 for the next tier as it has a lot of channels I watch, USA, Sci Fi, BBC America, etc. Through Sling you can also subscribe to premium channels like HBO. Right now, when you subscribe to Sling, they will send you a Roku. It’s a small device with a remote that has dedicated buttons for services. Mine has Sling, Amazon, Netflix and Hulu buttons. I just push the button and it opens the service. I’m subscribed to Netflix and Amazon, but not Hulu, so I can’t use the Roku for Hulu, but it works as the remote for the other three. This was especially great for me as my older equipment would it connect to Amazon so I was not able to use Prime Video previously.
Here’s a link to Sling’s free Roku offer:
http://tinyurl.com/ze4bpfw
Edit: and you can watch Sling on your portable devices as well.
@thismyusername @moondrake Thanks for enlightening me.
I use PS Vue and currently am testing DirecTV now.
I am keeping PS Vue (grin).
(also prime video because of prime, and normally hbo now but curently am using hbo go because of the $5 add on while testing directvnow. in the past ive used slingtv and I turn on netflix and hulu from time to time as needed holler if you have any questions).
Lots of choices listed above.
I have DirecTV, stream Amazon Prime (lousy selection of movies there) and listen to Pandora for music if I don’t want to put an album on.
The only cable service here is ‘Wave’. It goes out when the wind exceeds 12mph.
Maybe I’ll check put what else there is available!
@daveinwarsh remember these are OTT so if the internet connection goes down when the wind blows, so will the OTT providers
@thismyusername That’s why I’ve got DirecTV. It still works when the power goes out (we have large genset). Our power failed 10 times last yr. Living in the sticks has it’s drawbacks sometimes.
netflix, amazon prime, fandangonow (get free rentals from T-Movile thru their T-Mo Tuesday apps pretty regularly). Not really into most TV shows, those I do watch I follow on netflix or amazon (Once, Death in Paradise, Murdock Mysteries, Man in the High Castle, BBC Sherlock to name a few). Have no patience for the commercials, and am not so vested in most story lines that I can’t wait until the next season comes out on one or the other…
Thanks for starting this thread so I can hate on CBS All-Access. (They ought to be sued for deceptive trade practices; the “all” sure is thin on the ground.)
My wife likes a lot of the CBS shows and “All Access” has an annoying habit of dropping early episodes in the season and only keeping the most recent 5 or 6. So, e.g., Criminal Minds: She wants to binge-watch the season. Forget it. Not a chance.
It’s like they are actually encouraging us to bootleg episodes. They may as well include a link to Pirate Bay in their app.
Also, I’m declaring jihad on Scripps networks. The mobile apps for Food Network, HGTV, etc… are HORRIBLE. And they’re tied to your “cable” subscription, so you can’t watch what you want, when you want, on your phone or tablet without a cable subscription. Plus, they insert beaucoup ads – mostly house ads to download the app or watch other Scripps channels – that can’t be skipped.
My wife and I travel a great deal, so we’ve cut the cord and have a lot of experience in this. Some services are “ok”; most are “meh” and many of them totally suck.
If asked, I’d say we watch more Netflix than anything. Followed by Amazon Prime. Hulu for many series.
Tried DirecTV Now. Tried Sling. Thinking about Vue. The problem with these is, no real “on-demand” feature or DVR capability.
I hope the broadcast companies can pull their collective heads out of their collective asses soon. It’s almost as though they don’t want us to watch their shows. The sooner they figure out that “appointment TV” is dead, the better for everyone.
/rant
Whew! I feel better now!
@simssj Sling actually does have on-demand service. DVR capability is in beta.
@ruouttaurmind
Can anyone use it?
@f00l With a paid monthly fee, yes.
Xfinity X1. Yeah, yeah. I know. I also use HBOGO, Amazon and Netflix (Only 4K and HDR content available, really) VUDU.
Don’t really watch broadcast network programming.
@j37hr0 I think the broadcast nets are going to have to get on board with streaming or get lost as people’s viewing methods sweep past them. They are already losing a huge amount of ad revenue because they are geared toward viewers watching during the initial broadcast and that’s an ever shrinking population. I don’t mind commercials, but I am not going to be chained to the sofa during specific hours to watch my shows. With Sling I almost never watch the “on right now” stuff because the odds of me turning on the TV exactly on the hour are about 1 in 60.
I still use comcast with Tivo service. Probably not the most cost effective, but it works very well. The new commercial skip button with tivo is a very nice feature. They also have a quick mode that I love for dateline, 20/20, gold rush or other non sitcom type shows. Cuts an hour show down to like 36 minutes.