Cord cutting - Sling TV

[Harlan Huckleby]

Too many mind-numbing paradoxes for backward time travel to work, eh?

Ya, there's the causality thing. But I don't think it is possible mathematically either. We SEE back in time regularly - no biggy - the light from the stars is very old news. If you tune your old antenna tv to a non-station, about 10% of the noise you see on your screen is cosmic background radiation coming from the beginning of the universe (a skosh later than the Big Bang when radiation could escape.)

If future super smart civilizations developed backwards time travel, we'd be seeing them show up now and then. Wait, Woodbuck, are you from the future?

Most importantly, Youtube TV is rocking my world. Unlimited cloud space to save recordings. Really nice interface. You choose your favorite sports teams and it records all their games. (With irritating problem - can't easily extend recording time with this version.) I see they have TCM channel, wasn't expect that from those anal horders. The reviews I've seen seem positive for both Youtube and your Playstation Vue. Spectrum/Charter DVR sucked so intensely that I am thrilled to enter 2018.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Ya, there's the causality thing. But I don't think it is possible mathematically either. We SEE back in time regularly - no biggy - the light from the stars is very old news. If you tune your old antenna tv to a non-station, about 10% of the noise you see on your screen is cosmic background radiation coming from the beginning of the universe (a skosh later than the Big Bang when radiation could escape.)

If future super smart civilizations developed backwards time travel, we'd be seeing them show up now and then. Wait, Woodbuck, are you from the future?

Most importantly, Youtube TV is rocking my world. Unlimited cloud space to save recordings. Really nice interface. You choose your favorite sports teams and it records all their games. (With irritating problem - can't easily extend recording time with this version.) I see they have TCM channel, wasn't expect that from those anal horders. The reviews I've seen seem positive for both Youtube and your Playstation Vue. Spectrum/Charter DVR sucked so intensely that I am thrilled to enter 2018.

Before going to bed, I like to watch youtube clips about the cosmos, so I kinda understand what ya talking about. In my wretched existence, I like to be reminded that we are but, and I'm paraphrasing Dr. Strange here, insignificant matters in an indifferent universe.

Glad you're enjoying the Youtube TV, Harlan. Glad you started this thread. Inspired me to do a little research. Just discovered that I'm eligible for the NFL Sunday Ticket streaming at NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV, or so it appears, without needing a dish. About 74 bucks a months for 4 months. Not cheap, but not bad since I wouldn't have to pay extra for shits I wouldn't watch. One week free, so gonna sign up to test it.

[call_me_ishmael]

Mother fucker. I am unable to install the Youtube TV app on Roku. Spectrum has their own streaming service, "Spectrum TV Stream." That service ONLY runs over spectrum internet service. Spectrum in turn is using their near monopoly on internet service in my area and blocking TV streaming for their competitors, Direct TV and Youtube TV. Fucking aye. I am 99% sure this is what is going on.

For Crissake. I'm moving to Russia.

Barely useful comparison of the three services:
https://geekazine.com/podcast/youtub...the-throwdown/

That would be a violation of net neutrality so I am almost certain they're not blocking other vendors. I have charter and stream DTV so no issues here.

[call_me_ishmael]

I am telling you people. Forget the Roku, get DTV Now and get the far superior Apple TV for free.

[Harlan Huckleby]

the NFL Sunday Ticket streaming at NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV, or so it appears, without needing a dish. About 74 bucks a months for 4 months. Not cheap, but not bad since I wouldn't have to pay extra for shits I wouldn't watch. One week free, so gonna sign up to test it.

I was just talking to my brother, he got that package. I was surprised, he doesn't have that much time to watch football. But he says he loves it - especially the NFL Red Zone, highlights from around the league. Is that an exclusive of NFL ST?

[Harlan Huckleby]

I am telling you people. Forget the Roku, get DTV Now and get the far superior Apple TV for free.

You might be right that Apple TV is better than ROKU, but I just never had any problem with ROKU, it doesn't lack any features or quality I want. And I'll be watching a lot on tablets, not multiple TV sets.

I saw one one reviewer kinda trash DTV for their channels and limited cloud DVR. But this shit changes from month to month, I suspect all the services are converging on similar quality. I really am thrilled by Youtube - so far.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Uhhh, Ishmael, I gotta push back a little bit more against AppleTV. It is not nearly as well supported as Roku. In fact, my two current streaming priorities - Great Courses Online & Flowrestling - have only Roku apps, nothing for Apple TV. So not an option for me.

There must be some reason you like it - the free boxes you get to setup all the TVs in your house?

I suppose that can matter. But Roku is not that expensive now. They are easy to use and do a good job. Does the Apple TV make your coffee in the morning?

[call_me_ishmael]

Yeah exactly I have an Apple TV on all 5 TVs now and it’s freat. Previously with cable we only could have it on one TV without the price skyrocketing due to multiple box leases. This new world
Of streaming is a huge money saver for us.

[mraynrand]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cord-cutters-beware-streaming-tv-prices-are-marching-higher-1536943821

[Zool]

Uhhh, Ishmael, I gotta push back a little bit more against AppleTV. It is not nearly as well supported as Roku. In fact, my two current streaming priorities - Great Courses Online & Flowrestling - have only Roku apps, nothing for Apple TV. So not an option for me.

There must be some reason you like it - the free boxes you get to setup all the TVs in your house?

I suppose that can matter. But Roku is not that expensive now. They are easy to use and do a good job. Does the Apple TV make your coffee in the morning?

If you were already in the Apple eco system, an Apple TV would make a lot of sense. If you live in google/Android eco they wouldn’t. This stuff is all going to be changing very rapidly over the next 2-3 years. If Disney finishes buying Fox and Hulu, that’s going to be another drastic shift in where content is located. The box to deliver the content is going to be homogenized in the next couple years just like what happened to smart phones.

[Zool]

That being said, sling kinda sucks. HBO, Netflix, and Prime covers 99% of my houses tv watching.

[Harlan Huckleby]

When I tried to cut the cord a few years back, it really just turned into a temporary break from TV watching. The streaming channels over Roku were a joke. Netflix - pretty lame. It was a drop off the cliff in terms of quality.

Now, I think things have kinda flipped. The picture quality and convenience of a cable TV subscription are worth it to many people, not putting that down. But if cost matters to you at all, you can add much better content to your options today through streaming. A PBS subscription is $5 per month. I wouldn't pay that on top of cable TV, but now that my base TV bill is $40, it is kinda nice to access their large archive of shows, especially for purposes of pacifying a household member. I feel ok splurging on several good services.

The reviews of the major streaming bundlers from just 6 months ago are now completely obsolete I'm discovering. They are patching holes in their offerings/services at breakneck speed. Capitalism is good, even if 3irty1 styled free markets go too far.

[3irty1]

I'm grateful for the reports from the bleeding edge of this. Seems like a decent model is finally starting to take hold. Right from the beginning of TV the technology of broadcast ensured that the advertisers were the customer rather than the TV watcher. And the expectation of free stuff has kept us in that scheme.

I've done some cord cutting in the past but its really served just to ween me off TV. Now we're the types of parents that try to conceal the existence of screens from the babies so it suits me well. For sports and Game of Thrones I've had to go to someone else's house for years. Add up all the guacamole and beer I've donated for that privilege and its probably no cheaper than whatever you guys do.

[Harlan Huckleby]

When I told Spectrum I was ending my TV service, the salesman kept arguing with me about my decision.
He wanted to know why?, why?, why? and "cost" was not good enough. It was absolutely strange, I lost my temper several times and told him to just accept my decision. Yet he pressed on. At last, I started laughing and said I admired his ability to function in such a demeaning job. His response: "We try to help people, make sure they are getting the best services. Are you sure...."

[Harlan Huckleby]

Seems like a decent model is finally starting to take hold.

We never got the promised flying cars and jet packs, but in 2018 we are indeed entering couch potato heaven. My actual internet service jumped from about 10 MBPS to 200 MBPS. Streaming quality is great both technically and in terms of content.

BTW, ESPN is offering a new streaming service for $5 per month. https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/what-is-espn-plus/

I can't figure out if this sucks, but I lean towards yes. They are putting content there that is not on ESPN3 streaming, which people are already paying for with their main bundling subscriptions. ESPN+ for now is carrying minor sports and relatively obscure stuff. But I actually might have to pay for it to feed my wrestling fetish. It just one more new expense.