A Sea Of Red

I am growing tired of sending basically a car payment to Verizon each month for phone, mobile, cable, and internet. Any thoughts on switching to Sling or other live streaming service?

I am considering ditching the land line and cable but staying with Fios for internet and mobile. Love to hear from others who have gone this route or something similar.

There’s some good (and possibly outdated) info in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=25401

We cut our base package of Xfinity and use Playstation Vue(you don't need a Playstation to use the service.) the $50 plan gets us all the sports channels(espns, FS1, Olympic, MLB, NBA, NFL, all of em) and both HGTV and Hallmark for my wife. It has a cloud based DVR and pause functions. Additionally you can use it on up to 5 devices at the same time.

adam42381 wrote:There’s some good (and possibly outdated) info in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=25401

Good stuff. Thanks. Will explore with Verizon how much it will cost to go internet only.

I have tried them all and I fine YouTube TV to be the most reliable. there are plenty of articles out there that compares all of the streaming services so you chose the one the best fits what you want.

We just got to the end of our DirecTV contract so we are about to cut and go DTV Now. I like YouTube TV better but DTV has some channels my wife really likes.

Here is my thing. Are any of these services as User Friendly (channel surfing, Dvr, etc) as DirecTv? I’m starting to monitor what channels we watch and contemplating a cord cut. BUT I want to be able to watch my ESPN and Locals with ease and not 50 million controllers

UPDATE: I went to Reddit and looked at some threads on downgrading to internet only with Fios. Sounded like a huge hassle (have to call between 9-6, M-F). Also read up on several of the streaming services. It seems they all have their quirks. Our security system requires a costly upgrade to utilize a mobile phone, so that too was a concern.

In the end, I decided to re-up with a Verizon bundle but I did strip down our plan quite a bit. We were paying for a bunch of premiums and other random channels that we were not really using. Ended up saving $80 a month and with faster internet (claim is up to 940/880 Mbps). They also threw in a year of Amazon Prime and an Echo speaker -we already have one and it stays unplugged most of the time because my wife and youngest son (14) are convinced that Alexa is spying on us. They are probably right.

Anyway, it came down to the hassle factor which I know is playing right into Verizon’s hand......

Next I will think about trying to get the wireless plan with 5 iPhones to a manageable level. Ouch.

LU 57 wrote:UPDATE: I went to Reddit and looked at some threads on downgrading to internet only with Fios. Sounded like a huge hassle (have to call between 9-6, M-F). Also read up on several of the streaming services. It seems they all have their quirks. Our security system requires a costly upgrade to utilize a mobile phone, so that too was a concern.

In the end, I decided to re-up with a Verizon bundle but I did strip down our plan quite a bit. We were paying for a bunch of premiums and other random channels that we were not really using. Ended up saving $80 a month and with faster internet (claim is up to 940/880 Mbps). They also threw in a year of Amazon Prime and an Echo speaker -we already have one and it stays unplugged most of the time because my wife and youngest son (14) are convinced that Alexa is spying on us. They are probably right.

Anyway, it came down to the hassle factor which I know is playing right into Verizon’s hand......

Next I will think about trying to get the wireless plan with 5 iPhones to a manageable level. Ouch.

“The Hassle Factor” is a real thing. Sure you pay for it but that’s too be expected

Purple Haize wrote:Here is my thing. Are any of these services as User Friendly (channel surfing, Dvr, etc) as DirecTv? I’m starting to monitor what channels we watch and contemplating a cord cut. BUT I want to be able to watch my ESPN and Locals with ease and not 50 million controllers

YouTubeTV is probably the closest you get. I have tried them all and YouTubeTV seemed to be the closest resemblance to traditional TV.

I don't have any TV service now other then netflix but since I am a freeloading millennial, I use my dad's login to watch any live sporting event.

thepostman wrote:

Purple Haize wrote:Here is my thing. Are any of these services as User Friendly (channel surfing, Dvr, etc) as DirecTv? I’m starting to monitor what channels we watch and contemplating a cord cut. BUT I want to be able to watch my ESPN and Locals with ease and not 50 million controllers

YouTubeTV is probably the closest you get. I have tried them all and YouTubeTV seemed to be the closest resemblance to traditional TV.

I don't have any TV service now other then netflix but since I am a freeloading millennial, I use my dad's login to watch any live sporting event.

I’ve heard good things about YouTube TV. But I’m holding out until something gets as easy as Traditional TV. I do have some auxiliary TVs I might try things on though

Sat Dec 29, 2018 10:03 am:

LU 57 wrote:Any thoughts on switching to Sling or other live streaming service?

Sat Dec 29, 2018 12:48 pm

LU 57 wrote:In the end, I decided to re-up with a Verizon

Didn't wait very long, huh?

My 2¢

If you are thinking about "cord cutting" you have to break down all of the components first. Here is what it looks like for us:

Internet: We have 7mbs unlimited DSL. That is good for us <most> of the time. The issue for us is metered internet. We originally spent about $40/mo for this service, but it has gone up. Unfortunately our options for cable have been very expensive and metered... we can't (choose not to) afford to spend $100+/mo. for internet. Recently Shentel has gone to a more reasonable fee for "unlimited" internet. When our contract is up I will re-evaluate.

TV Provider: We originally went with DirecTV Now. We recieved a free Apple TV, and had the "Go Big" package for $40/mo. We were grandfathered in to that GREAT price. However, we dropped it a few months ago because the service never worked for us. NOTE: Paying for these services often provide you access to the various channel apps. For example, you can watch ESPN on the DirecTV Now app OR on the ESPN app. In our case, with our relatively slow internet, the DirecTV Now app NEVER worked right for many channels. For the most part we didn't care because the ESPN app worked well most of the time and there was the promise of access to more apps "coming soon." The latter never materialized.

We ended up switching to HULU With Live TV. We were already subscribing to HULU ($8/mo) so switching over to the full service made economic sense (Only paying for one service instead of two). When I said that the ESPN app worked most of the time, today is an example of when it didn't work for us as we would like. Too many people trying to watch the same game. (The national championship game will be better, because there will be like 8 different streams going all at once). My wife wanted to watch Michigan today, and the ESPN app was sluggish, so I switched over to HULU... it is playing flawlessly.

You really do have to research the various service providers. Your needs will be different than someone else's. Each of them have advantages. The one that is interesting to me is YouTube TV, which allows multiple users.

Other Services: We have subscribed to Netflix for years and is great for our family. They are continuing to lose rights to shows (especially disney/marval/pixar), but they are spending BILLIONS on "original programming." We also subscribe to Amazon Prime... not originally for video, but that has become a great perk.

I will sometimes subscribe to a service for a month to binge a show. I love Star Trek and just binged the new show on CBS All Access. I will wait until the end of season 2 and subscribe for another month. I'd be more inclined to subscribe regularly if they had access to some shows like Big Bang Theory (which I have never seen, but would be interested in seeing what it is about).

Phone Service: Phone service isn't related to TV for us, but it is for many of you. I think the cell providers picking up "free netflix" or "free hulu" is interesting... but so far, not at the price (or in some cases the coverage in our area).

A fellow forum member is co-owner of a wireless provider (reseller). At the time, he gave me a great deal on service. We have been mostly happy with it and I would recommend it to others. I currently pay $40/mo/line for 5GB service. Bring Your Own Phone. We are on Verizon towers.

https://www.boom.us/plans-page-2

You are right. I did not wait very long. I feel a little silly now about asking for advice. Thanks for providing great feedback.

It’s funny I have thought about switching for a long time and have gotten close a few times but have not pulled the trigger since a stint with DirectTV a number of years ago prior to widespread availability of high speed internet.

Anyway, this latest Verizon/ESPN dispute and my inability to find a way to watch the LU/UCLA hoops game had me thinking I would sign up for a Sling trial and maybe end up dropping Verizon TV and voice if all went well. I guess I got frustrated pretty quickly and realized I had too much going on with work and such to deal with the required weekday phone call to Verizon

Purple Haize wrote:

thepostman wrote:

Purple Haize wrote:Here is my thing. Are any of these services as User Friendly (channel surfing, Dvr, etc) as DirecTv? I’m starting to monitor what channels we watch and contemplating a cord cut. BUT I want to be able to watch my ESPN and Locals with ease and not 50 million controllers

YouTubeTV is probably the closest you get. I have tried them all and YouTubeTV seemed to be the closest resemblance to traditional TV.

I don't have any TV service now other then netflix but since I am a freeloading millennial, I use my dad's login to watch any live sporting event.

I’ve heard good things about YouTube TV. But I’m holding out until something gets as easy as Traditional TV. I do have some auxiliary TVs I might try things on though

I’ve done them all and YouTube TV is the closest I’ve found to the Cable TV system with DVR. I’d give the free trial a shot if you’re curious.

Yacht Rock wrote:I’ve done them all and YouTube TV is the closest I’ve found to the Cable TV system with DVR.

Do you share with other family members?

We have it on our Apple TV in our living room and in our master bedroom and on a few of our iOS devices.

Yacht Rock wrote:We have it on our Apple TV in our living room and in our master bedroom and on a few of our iOS devices.

So you have to have another device to get YouTube TV?

Makes it easier or you do

thepostman wrote:Makes it easier or you do

I mean it’s not a YouTube TV device?

No. They have the app in all of the major streaming devices.

Purple Haize wrote:

Yacht Rock wrote:We have it on our Apple TV in our living room and in our master bedroom and on a few of our iOS devices.

So you have to have another device to get YouTube TV?

It’s an app that works with most streaming devices. You can always check for compatibility first though.

Youtube TV has the best supporting infrastructure. And best User Interface.

PSVue has the best tiered options for large channel lists.

Direct Now has a good interface.

Sling is the cheapest option but is also limited in channel selection.

The above are all streaming services.

Streaming devices have their own pros and cons too.

Apple TV is best if you live on Apple devices

Roku is great otherwise.

Amazon Fire TV is an awesome option if you have Alexa enabled devices but isn't compatable with YouTube TV.

My brother in law just informed me that DirecTV Now dropped support for the ESPN app. I did some quick reading and it sounds like a contract dispute.

LU 57 wrote:I am growing tired of sending basically a car payment to Verizon each month for phone, mobile, cable, and internet. Any thoughts on switching to Sling or other live streaming service?

I am considering ditching the land line and cable but staying with Fios for internet and mobile. Love to hear from others who have gone this route or something similar.

Why are you paying for a landline in 2018/2019 if you have reliable cell service at home?

YouTube TV is the best option, but check out https://www.suppose.tv. You can pick which channels you want and several other options and it will spit out which ones are the best for you.

alabama24 wrote:Sat Dec 29, 2018 10:03 am:

LU 57 wrote:Any thoughts on switching to Sling or other live streaming service?

Sat Dec 29, 2018 12:48 pm

LU 57 wrote:In the end, I decided to re-up with a Verizon

Didn't wait very long, huh?

My 2¢

If you are thinking about "cord cutting" you have to break down all of the components first. Here is what it looks like for us:

Internet: We have 7mbs unlimited DSL. That is good for us <most> of the time. The issue for us is metered internet. We originally spent about $40/mo for this service, but it has gone up. Unfortunately our options for cable have been very expensive and metered... we can't (choose not to) afford to spend $100+/mo. for internet. Recently Shentel has gone to a more reasonable fee for "unlimited" internet. When our contract is up I will re-evaluate.

TV Provider: We originally went with DirecTV Now. We recieved a free Apple TV, and had the "Go Big" package for $40/mo. We were grandfathered in to that GREAT price. However, we dropped it a few months ago because the service never worked for us. NOTE: Paying for these services often provide you access to the various channel apps. For example, you can watch ESPN on the DirecTV Now app OR on the ESPN app. In our case, with our relatively slow internet, the DirecTV Now app NEVER worked right for many channels. For the most part we didn't care because the ESPN app worked well most of the time and there was the promise of access to more apps "coming soon." The latter never materialized.

We ended up switching to HULU With Live TV. We were already subscribing to HULU ($8/mo) so switching over to the full service made economic sense (Only paying for one service instead of two). When I said that the ESPN app worked most of the time, today is an example of when it didn't work for us as we would like. Too many people trying to watch the same game. (The national championship game will be better, because there will be like 8 different streams going all at once). My wife wanted to watch Michigan today, and the ESPN app was sluggish, so I switched over to HULU... it is playing flawlessly.

You really do have to research the various service providers. Your needs will be different than someone else's. Each of them have advantages. The one that is interesting to me is YouTube TV, which allows multiple users.

Other Services: We have subscribed to Netflix for years and is great for our family. They are continuing to lose rights to shows (especially disney/marval/pixar), but they are spending BILLIONS on "original programming." We also subscribe to Amazon Prime... not originally for video, but that has become a great perk.

I will sometimes subscribe to a service for a month to binge a show. I love Star Trek and just binged the new show on CBS All Access. I will wait until the end of season 2 and subscribe for another month. I'd be more inclined to subscribe regularly if they had access to some shows like Big Bang Theory (which I have never seen, but would be interested in seeing what it is about).

Phone Service: Phone service isn't related to TV for us, but it is for many of you. I think the cell providers picking up "free netflix" or "free hulu" is interesting... but so far, not at the price (or in some cases the coverage in our area).

A fellow forum member is co-owner of a wireless provider (reseller). At the time, he gave me a great deal on service. We have been mostly happy with it and I would recommend it to others. I currently pay $40/mo/line for 5GB service. Bring Your Own Phone. We are on Verizon towers.

https://www.boom.us/plans-page-2

Shentel internet should be legally classified as a scam. They are legitimately one of the several reasons why I am leaving Farmville.