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Cord Cutting |OT| Now With 50% More Cable

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The Comparison of Services link in the OP will cover this later today. The guy who maintains it is at work and says he will update later.


Depends. Hulu offers some content not available on Vue. Also with Vue you may not be able to fast forward through some commercials where Hulu has the option of no commercials. Most people could probably could toss Hulu to save a few bucks if they have Vue.


PBS has free apps for Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, etc. All currently airing, and some older content, is available for free.

Thanks! That link really breaks it down!
 
Like how responsive the actual Vue program is? The Fire TV box is a far smoother experience than the sticks. The sticks aren't bad per say but the Fire TV is a better option.

Yeah. I'm just thinking of secondary tvs, if the difference in performance is worth the difference in cost. On our main TV we would have the box.
 

Jeels

Member
So GAF...I have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Playstation Vue, and HBO (for free w/ local channels + internet).

I feel like I'm spending a lot though, so it's time to drop a service.

It won't be Amazon because it comes with my prime shipping which is something I actively use. Although I rarely go into Amazon Prime Video, I do love Transprent

It won't be Netflix because they have the most content and their original programming is great

It won't be HBO

Any defense force for Hulu ?
 
i dont watch sports, so im good there

Canadian user here, im rocking with

Amazon Prime (US ver) XB1/PS4, Amazon stick-mom
Netflix X1/PS4/Amazon stick (mom uses it)
Hulu - X1/PS4/Amazon stick
HBO Now - X1/Amazon stick
Crunchyroll X1/PS4
Funimation - X1/PS4
 
So GAF...I have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Playstation Vue, and HBO (for free w/ local channels + internet).

I feel like I'm spending a lot though, so it's time to drop a service.

It won't be Amazon because it comes with my prime shipping which is something I actively use. Although I rarely go into Amazon Prime Video, I do love Transprent

It won't be Netflix because they have the most content and their original programming is great

It won't be HBO

Any defense force for Hulu ?

Well the OP i think mentioned it has a couple of additional channels compared to the Vue and some fast forwarding capability. But the only reason we were going to get HULU was to get access to network TV shows..and it appears that Vue has that on lock down at least.
 

xJavonta

Banned
Been looking at a replacement box for my TV since the Xbox One is atrociously slow and PS4 is a terrible
Media hub.

Can't decide between Apple TV (new version) or the Shield TV. I don't have Amazon Prime, so I'm not worried about that. But I can't make a decision lol
 
Been looking at a replacement box for my TV since the Xbox One is atrociously slow and PS4 is a terrible
Media hub.

Can't decide between Apple TV (new version) or the Shield TV. I don't have Amazon Prime, so I'm not worried about that. But I can't make a decision lol

Roku 4 .....i just purchased it and it has everything i wanted ....Hulu, Prime, Netflix, Vudu
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Been looking at a replacement box for my TV since the Xbox One is atrociously slow and PS4 is a terrible
Media hub.

Can't decide between Apple TV (new version) or the Shield TV. I don't have Amazon Prime, so I'm not worried about that. But I can't make a decision lol

Well Vue just came out on Roku and Sling is on there too so its a good choice.
 

ascii42

Member
Cut cable a couple months ago. Saves me $100/month. I'll probably wind up getting PS Vue during college football and basketball seasons.

Netflix is my only subscription at the moment. Just streaming right now, sometimes I get the blu-ray service when I want to watch newer movies, but I suspect Red Box is probably better for that.
 
So GAF...I have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Playstation Vue, and HBO (for free w/ local channels + internet).

I feel like I'm spending a lot though, so it's time to drop a service.

It won't be Amazon because it comes with my prime shipping which is something I actively use. Although I rarely go into Amazon Prime Video, I do love Transprent

It won't be Netflix because they have the most content and their original programming is great

It won't be HBO

Any defense force for Hulu ?

Hulu for past broadcasts + Vue for live broadcasts seems like major overkill. Why have both?
 

norm9

Member
If you're truly cord cutting, you should make it a point to watch your local channels live, thereby negating the need for Hulu. And if you absolutely need to watch a show, you buy it on Amazon streaming.

I rarely watch sitcoms and stick to stuff like Dateline and 48 Hours, which is stream able on their official sites.
 
So has there been any news on if CW shows will land anywhere besides netflix (after season end)? It really sucked to find out Hulu is losing CW shows and I would really hate to have to wait till season end for them to hit netflix. Might have to consider buying them on amazon video but that would cost a fortune and cost savings and control is the whole reason to cord cut.

Currently our household is using:

Netflix (originals mostly)
Hulu (less now without CW. Might cancel this after we finish our current Stargate and Law & Order SVU marathon. Hulu's roku app though is really fantastic. Super simple but very fast and reliable)
Amazon Prime (free shipping and some decent content/originals)
CBS All Access (when Elementary is running. I hope the new Star Trek series is good too otherwise we cancel when Elementary isn't on)

Besides those we are trying to decide between SlingTV and Playstation Vue. We have used SlingTV (orange/basic) for a few months now and unlike some we haven't had any major problems (besides the newest app being a little buggy) but they are super stingy with on demand content (which is pretty much all we do. Live is for news) and channel lineup is a little slim compared to Vue.

We signed up for Vue last night (free trial yay!) to give it a try and we are finding the Roku app UI to be messy and unorganized but for $30 the channel line up and cloud DVR is great though time will tell how good the cloud DVR is (heard some horror stories about shows starting late or not being recorded which we have never experienced with sling). Probably going to cancel sling this weekend since it reups in a day or two and keep Vue for at least a month to see if we like it better. Its pretty much got the channel line up of the $40 slingtv package but for $30. Biggest quirk we have run into is while our roku 3 box and older 1080p rokuTV have the Vue app our new Insignia 4k RokuTV does not yet its one version behind on the firmware. Supposedly update will be pushed out in a week or so. Till then I just plugged in our roku3 box to watch vue in the living room.

Meh either way you look at it though its still better than shelling out $100+ a month for cable TV! (without movie channels! Its highway robbery!)
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
So what's my best option to watch the Olympics??? Is there a service I can use on my Roku that has record/DVR options??
 

Future

Member
Just read about Hulu losing cw. That's a bummer. I'm definitely not going to a cw page to stream them.... Tv channel pages in my experience have always been the worst. Shitty ads everywhere and more than free Hulu. Ridiculous.

Guess I'll have to DVR episodes using antenna
 

jayhawker

Member
Can anyone comment on the relative image quality of Sling and Vue?

I've had sling for awhile, and it is very noticeably compressed "HD." I'm okay with that for the price, but I was wondering if Vue had better picture. Sling tops out at a little more than 4 mbps bandwidth and I've heard Vue goes up to 5.5 or so, so I thought Vue might look a little cleaner.
 

Apt101

Member
So Hulu didn't renew with CW. I see tidbits in articles mentioning the most recent five episodes might end up on the CBS app. Last time I checked the CBS app required me to have a subscription to a local cable company to play most shows? Or was that ABC? And it had ads anyways?

I'm not going to watch the shows on whatever ad-infested browser solution they'll have via CW's website, and I'm not sure if CBS will get them and whether or not it will have ads, so it looks like my viewing of all of those CW shows has ended. I'm sure I'll lost interest and may watch a few episodes on Netflix long after the season has ended, but I doubt it. I think it was dumb for CW not negotiate a better deal for in-season viewing on Hulu.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Can anyone comment on the relative image quality of Sling and Vue?

I've had sling for awhile, and it is very noticeably compressed "HD." I'm okay with that for the price, but I was wondering if Vue had better picture. Sling tops out at a little more than 4 mbps bandwidth and I've heard Vue goes up to 5.5 or so, so I thought Vue might look a little cleaner.

The stronger devices like the PS4, the Fire TV, etc. runs at 60 fps and is pretty responsive. Its also pretty crisp HD. It sometimes gets blurry for whatever issues but its very infrequent and as of the last few weeks has not happened at all.
 
Can anyone comment on the relative image quality of Sling and Vue?

I've had sling for awhile, and it is very noticeably compressed "HD." I'm okay with that for the price, but I was wondering if Vue had better picture. Sling tops out at a little more than 4 mbps bandwidth and I've heard Vue goes up to 5.5 or so, so I thought Vue might look a little cleaner.

I've been with Sling for a little over a year, and had Vue during the 7-day trial. Vue looked way better than Sling. The only reason I chose to stay with Sling was having channels that I actually watch, and not being able to watch east coast feeds.
 

Schlep

Member
So what's my best option to watch the Olympics??? Is there a service I can use on my Roku that has record/DVR options??

PS Vue.

Updated the OP with the Hulu/CW question in the FAQ.

It won't be HBO

Any defense force for Hulu ?
I would, and have, toss Hulu and HBO. Hulu during the summer is fairly useless, and HBO without new Game of Thrones and/or Silicon Valley really isn't worth $15/mo.
 

Primus

Member
6 years and counting now from cutting the cable, although the first three of those I still had digital NBC/FOX/CBS/ABC through coax as Time Warner didn't cut that off.

Time Warner Cable (300 down/30 up)
Netflix (GF's)
Hulu w/no commercials
Amazon Prime (GF's)
Crunchyroll

Did PS Vue for the last month of the EPL season, but cut it off as my area doesn't get live local channels yet. If we ever do, I'll most likely be cancelling Hulu for PS Vue.
 

vatstep

This poster pulses with an appeal so broad the typical restraints of our societies fall by the wayside.
I use PS Vue, but decided to try one of the new Sling packages since I could save a little bit of money AND I wouldn't need to use PSN to pay for my subscription, but my experience has not been very good so far. Certain channels just do not load and the image quality is noticeably worse than Vue. I really dislike Vue's Fire TV app, so Sling has an advantage in that regard, but that's pretty much it. I think I'll be sticking with Vue.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
I use PS Vue, but decided to try one of the new Sling packages since I could save a little bit of money AND I wouldn't need to use PSN to pay for my subscription, but my experience has not been very good so far. Certain channels just do not load and the image quality is noticeably worse than Vue. I really dislike Vue's Fire TV app, so Sling has an advantage in that regard, but that's pretty much it. I think I'll be sticking with Vue.


I really got to use Sling this weekend. Most of the time my viewing opportunities are sort, but this weekend I got to use it for a few hours at a time. I was watching a couple of episodes of "Alone" that were in the History channel archive. The stream stopped and buffered a few times and once it completely disconnected. I looked at ESPNU and had buffering and low quality sound for some reason. So then I went to the ESPN app and streamed it instead of Sling and it was night and day. No buffering, higher framerate, the sound was better, the overall experience was better.

Sling is cheap, it "gets the job done", but ultimately I can't see myself sticking with it when Vue seems so much better. If I pay $35 for Vue instead of the $25 I am paying for Sling, I am still saving over $100 compared to what I paid for DirecTV.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
So I went ahead and picked up an Amazon Firestick and started a Vue trial. I set it up on my guest room TV and while it wasn't "Speedy" I didn't think the Firestick performance was terrible. I then put the Vue application on my Android tablet and streamed to the Chromecast in my family room. Yeah, I am cancelling Sling. It's $10 more, but the performance is so much better. The app speed, the picture quality, the channel selection, the app itself are all so much better than Sling.

Last night I was trying to watch 'Alone' on History Channel live on Sling and the stream died right in the middle of the show and there was no way to resurrect it. I ended up watching the on-demand version after the show ended, but it still was stopping and buffering throughout. Very small sample size, but I am very impressed so far.
 

RedAssedApe

Banned
cable bill jumped another $10 this week. this song and dance you gotta do every 6-12 months to keep the same rate...sigh

wish there was google fiber in my area. naked internet is even more of a rip-off otherwise i'd jump on something like vue in a heartbeat
 
Really wish Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant would come to Canada. I see that there is a Canadian on here rockin both, who also appears to be banned, so if anyone wants to explain this to me, I'd appreciate it. I've had a VPN and can't access either because my billing address for my credit cards is Canadian. How can I get around having to use them for both of those sites?

Either way, I still get by with Netflix, and a couple sites that are probably better not shared here, plus I get my local news/CBC over the air. There are times, (especially Olympics, World Cup, etc), where I do still wish I had Cable, but it's been a good couple years now at this point since we cut the cord.
 
Should add shudder.com -- the *all horror* streaming service, which also has a "live channel" function that, should you find yourself unable to choose something to watch, will be streaming something that you can just sit back and get into, commercial free.
 

Schlep

Member
Added Shudder to OP.

naked internet is even more of a rip-off otherwise i'd jump on something like vue in a heartbeat
Remember to look into cord cutter bundles (eg. Internet+locals+HBO) or internet+locals. For instance, with Verizon, my two options were: just 25/25mbps internet ($74.99), or 25/25 internet+locals ($57.99). Dumb, but they want to count you as a TV subscriber.
 

Spasm

Member
Sling's performance on Xbox One is a travesty. Constant stuttering, buffering, low res shifting, time shifting. It is pretty unwatchable. If this would be your main client, my advice is to stay far far away.

I'll shut down the Xbox app, fire it up on PC, and it is as smooth as butter with nice, high resolution. Both are on the same 100/100 fiber network, so it's not my connection, or the service itself.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
Sling's performance on Xbox One is a travesty. Constant stuttering, buffering, low res shifting, time shifting. It is pretty unwatchable. If this would be your main client, my advice is to stay far far away.

I'll shut down the Xbox app, fire it up on PC, and it is as smooth as butter with nice, high resolution. Both are on the same 100/100 fiber network, so it's not my connection, or the service itself.


While I agree that the X1 app is crap, I am not 100% sure that Sling isn't somewhat to blame as well. I have Sling, use the Xbox app and most of the time it is a crapshow. But when I stream from my phone/tablet it turns into that same crapshow at times. Vue has none of the Sling issues you are describing. Look, I really wanted Sling to be the service for me because it was $20/month but the performance/features just aren't there at the moment.

With that said, when/if Vidgo actually comes out and DirecTV comes out with their service there may end up being a new king in town.
 
Hey guys quick question:

I currently pay 130$ a month for tv and Internet with speeds of up to 75 Mbps.

I can cut the cord and just get internet for 60$ a month for up to 25 Mbps.

Is the difference in Mbps a big difference? I have no idea. All I do is play ps4 and watch Netflix and wanna get rid of basic cable altogether.

Thx
 

onipex

Member
Was trying to get my wife to agree on dropping cable but her counter was to go work for a cable provider and have us only pay less than $15 a month for it. Can't win them all.
 

EulaCapra

Member
Anyone have PlayStation Vue for the Amazon Fire TV Box?

I have the Amazon Fire TV Stick and wanted impressions on Vue performances on the Box if you feel it's still sluggish at times or if there's no complaints. Fire Stick can get really sluggish with Vue's interface and since it's obviously Wi-Fi and not plugged via ethernet, there's some minor connection pauses. And does the Fire remote's Voice Command work on Vue?
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Anyone have PlayStation Vue for the Amazon Fire TV Box?

I have the Amazon Fire TV Stick and wanted impressions on Vue performances on the Box if you feel it's still sluggish at times or if there's no complaints. Fire Stick can get really sluggish with Vue's interface and since it's obviously Wi-Fi and not plugged via ethernet, there's some minor connection pauses. And does the Fire remote's Voice Command work on Vue?

The newer Fire TV's are on par with the PS4 performance from what I've seen. Which is probably the best "platform" for PS Vue.
 

JB1981

Member
Hey guys quick question:

I currently pay 130$ a month for tv and Internet with speeds of up to 75 Mbps.

I can cut the cord and just get internet for 60$ a month for up to 25 Mbps.

Is the difference in Mbps a big difference? I have no idea. All I do is play ps4 and watch Netflix and wanna get rid of basic cable altogether.

Thx

No odds are you weren't even getting 75mbps consistently save for an initial download boost. 25mbps is more than enough for online gaming and HD streaming.
 
i hate comcast so much.

They reach a deal to bring CSN to sling.

In a ton of areas

Except philly.

where they are based.

where they have a massive tv deal.

fuckers.
 

Applesauce

Boom! Bitch-slapped!
While I agree that the X1 app is crap, I am not 100% sure that Sling isn't somewhat to blame as well. I have Sling, use the Xbox app and most of the time it is a crapshow. But when I stream from my phone/tablet it turns into that same crapshow at times. Vue has none of the Sling issues you are describing. Look, I really wanted Sling to be the service for me because it was $20/month but the performance/features just aren't there at the moment.

With that said, when/if Vidgo actually comes out and DirecTV comes out with their service there may end up being a new king in town.

I started experiencing a lot connection issues recently on AppleTV with Sling, and it doesn't look like it's getting any better. First week was great though. If it's still bad when my trial is up I'll look into getting Vue, but I wish it was available on AppleTV.
 
I wish I could figure out how to make my stupid OTA antennae work better with TiVo. I've tried so many different things, including different antennas, different coax cables, etc.

We could probably drop Hulu if we could get it working right. I just really need CBS to stop sucking.

If only I could figure out how to pull HD OTA from the internet and stream it into my TiVo, my life would be good.
 

ascii42

Member
Hey guys quick question:

I currently pay 130$ a month for tv and Internet with speeds of up to 75 Mbps.

I can cut the cord and just get internet for 60$ a month for up to 25 Mbps.

Is the difference in Mbps a big difference? I have no idea. All I do is play ps4 and watch Netflix and wanna get rid of basic cable altogether.

Thx

The only area you'd probably see a noticeable hit is in game/update download times. I think you'd still be fine though.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I started experiencing a lot connection issues recently on AppleTV with Sling, and it doesn't look like it's getting any better. First week was great though. If it's still bad when my trial is up I'll look into getting Vue, but I wish it was available on AppleTV.

Its coming out soon, hopefully sooner or later. Its already branched out to a ton of different services in like the last 6 museums.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
I started experiencing a lot connection issues recently on AppleTV with Sling, and it doesn't look like it's getting any better. First week was great though. If it's still bad when my trial is up I'll look into getting Vue, but I wish it was available on AppleTV.

Sling is great on paper, the price is right but the performance is simply too unpredictable and unreliable.
 

Miyahon

Member
Anyone have PlayStation Vue for the Amazon Fire TV Box?

I have the Amazon Fire TV Stick and wanted impressions on Vue performances on the Box if you feel it's still sluggish at times or if there's no complaints. Fire Stick can get really sluggish with Vue's interface and since it's obviously Wi-Fi and not plugged via ethernet, there's some minor connection pauses. And does the Fire remote's Voice Command work on Vue?


App performance on the Fire TV is much better compared to the Fire Stick.

I was researching this when selecting which device to use PS Vue on since my Apple TV doesn't support PS Vue.

This video on YouTube shows the performance differences between both devices.

PS4 provides the best performance but Fire TV is the next best compared to other devices.

An update is coming to the Fire TV 2nd Gen that will bring 60 fps video for channels that support it.


https://youtu.be/-f8-jinnDA8
 
While I'm sure I won't get one, the nVidia Shield box is on sale today as part of Prime Day, and it seems to have quite good reviews as a media/streaming box in addition to its obvious uses as a gaming device. The major thing it seems to lack is Amazon, which I don't use that much anyway. I looked up the current offerings and it has pretty much everything else (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go/Now, even MLB.TV). Has anyone used this device largely for this purpose and has anything to say about it? It apparently has built-in Chromecast so it really seems to eliminate the need for most other non-consoles - and since you can stream from your PC to it it has that big benefit, too.
 

element

Member
I really wish MLB.TV didn't have local blackout :( That is pretty much the thing holding me back.

I have QNAP with 4 TB which has all my TV shows and movies. Record with a HomeRun Prime that I picked up for $5 at Goodwill. Two Fire TV with Kodi on them with the DB synced on the QNAP.

Works pretty well. Can be a little issues here and there. Overall pretty happy watching when I want to watch.
 
So i returned the Roku 4 because it was overheating and flickering after 30min ....got the Fire TV this morning off Amazon, ....anything i need to know? what this Appstarter i'm reading about with Fire TV ....
 
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