Sling / DTV Now / Vue

[wallyhts]

Which service are you using for your daily usage?

I'm liking DTV Now on the Apple TV it looks pretty darn good. I have several customers using Vue and love it. I'm very Curious to learn more about sling cloud service. I'm getting close to kill the $167 satellite bill I final got fiber at the house so maybe it's time

Looking forward to feedback.

 

[Ronnie-]

Its been a few months since I used Sling, and I only used it sparingly for a week then, so most of my views on it are based on the first few months of launch, which like Directv Now, would skew it to more unfavorable than not.

It did seem to have improved this last go round, with a redesigned interface and a little better PQ. Stability was better as well. At launch, like DNow, that was an issue.

For Directv now, the PQ is very good, the channel selection is great, and the speed and interface is probably the best, although thats just my opinion of course. Stability is a HUGE issue with it right now. When it works its great, and there have been improvements, but for now, I could not use it as a viable replacement.

Vue is my daily usage service. It was out in limited places before a nationwide rollout, so if there were early bugs, most did not see them.

Now, it is rock solid, and I honestly can not think of a time when the service has not worked. PQ is the best of the three to me, and stability is the best. Channel selection is very good, and there is a built in guide, although I do prefer the layout of DNow guide better.

You get more concurrent streams with Vue than the others, and the DVR is included in it.

 

[stmcld]

Which service are you using for your daily usage?

I'm liking DTV Now on the Apple TV it looks pretty darn good. I have several customers using Vue and love it. I'm very Curious to learn more about sling cloud service. I'm getting close to kill the $167 satellite bill I final got fiber at the house so maybe it's time

Looking forward to feedback.

I have never had Sling but have Vue and DNow. As of today, with the issues of DNow, Vue with stability and DVR, is the best choice as of today IMO.

 

[Zookster]

A TV service (OTT, cable, or satellite) that doesn't offer a DVR function is simply a nonstarter for me. I haven't even bothered with Sling or DirecTV Now free trials. Fortunately transitioning from cable TV to PS Vue was seamless for me as I was already deeply connected to the Playstation eco-system, as a longtime PS4 and PS3 owner, so I didn't need to buy a new device. (Transitioning my phone and internet when I cut the cord was another story.) I'm also fortunate that I get my local NBC and CBS affiliates free as part of my Vue service, so I can record shows from them as well without paying the extra $10/month (I have the $35/month plan). And losing the Viacom channels, while disappointing, doesn't really affect me.

I hope Sling and DirecTV Now step up to the plate with DVR services without jacking up the prices, though I have no delusions about Sony's ability to maintain its current pricing levels. Sony is notorious with their bait-and-switch tactics, as evidenced by their PS Plus subscription service, which at one time regularly offered relatively recent AAA titles as part of the free games collection, but now only offers cheaper indie titles.

 

[DetFan]

PS Vue for me now and, for the foreseeable future. Like others have said the no DVR on the others is a nonstarter for me.

Between that and Kodi on my fire TV I'm good. I got tired of these ridiculous prices.

 

[SpaethCo]

Having tried all 3 in recent weeks, I've settled on PS Vue as well. Apart from the DVR benefits that others have mentioned, it's also the only service of the three to have substantial authorization support for channel-specific TV Everywhere apps. Being able to auth against NBC Sports, FOX Sports Go, and apps for nearly every other network they carry provides nice options for both viewing each channel's catalog of shows and backup streaming in the event of Vue problems.

Our approach for 2017 has shifted from getting everything from DirecTV (Xtra + HBO + Showtime + Starz + NHL Center Ice) to a 3 way split: DirecTV Family Pack + NHL Center Ice for hockey, Tivo OTA for local channels, and Vue Ultra + Starz purchased directly to pick up everything in the middle including NBCSN hockey. Once the playoffs hit we'll probably upgrade to Choice again for 6 weeks; live sports is still in a place where streaming delivers better than satellite quality 95% of the time, and gives you infuriating buffering the other 5% of the time. For the savings, I'll take the annoyances during some of the NBCSN regular season games, but once the playoffs hit and viewership goes up I don't want to fight with buffering. The plan is then to suspend DirecTV from Jun - October, relying on just OTA + Vue in the NHL off season.

 

[anonymouse99]

How many concurrent streams are allowed on each of these services? Sling, DTVnow, vs PS Vue?
Do you folks have a sense of how much bandwidth is being eaten up by streaming?
Comcast has imposed 1TB limits so wondering it it would be sufficient for say an 8-hour combined household TV viewing?
Thanks!

 

[SpaethCo]

It's roughly 0.5GB/hour per mbps of streaming rate.

Sling: 1 or 3 stream(s) (depends on if the channel is in the blue or orange package) - top rate ~3mbps (~1.5GB/hr)
Vue: 5 streams - top rate ~5mbps (~2.5GB/hr)
DTVN: 2 streams - top rate ~8mbps (~4GB/hr)

Top rate assumes you're streaming with a device that will take the highest quality 720p/60fps stream.

 

[Kraven]

Which service offers the best bang for the buck? Arent early subs of DTVNOW locked in at 35$?

 

[Harry Dugan]

Which service offers the best bang for the buck? Arent early subs of DTVNOW locked in at 35$?

Bang for the buck totally relates to what one is looking for. For instance PS Vue is my slam dunk because of local CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC with no sports being blacked out. Also great DVR functions and on demand selections. I paying a lot though...$75 which gives me HBO and SHO with all their on demand channels. I like this for now because the premium channels are the live feed. I'm spending more than I want but it is winter....what the heck.

I may elect to return to HBO NOW and take a lesser Vue package in the future. The lack of viacom does not bother me....I watch my Comedy Central favorites on HULU.

I will watch new services for full local packages, DVR upgrades, and pricing.

Have a nice day!

 

[Zookster]

Which service offers the best bang for the buck? Arent early subs of DTVNOW locked in at 35$?

Assuming you can get DTV Now to work without freezing and crashing, the limited-time $35 deal is certainly the best bang for the buck if you mainly care about the number of channels you are getting.

PS Vue had a very strong lineup for their $35 package (including RSNs) before dropping the Viacom channels (they are also missing History, A&E, and a couple other biggies, while carrying some channels Sling lacks).

But as Harry Dugan, said, it really depends on your needs. For me a DVR overrides all other considerations. For others, access away from home is important, so they prefer Sling (though Vue has a mobile app and gives you access to any channel's TV Anywhere content). But for still others, no Viacom channels would be a deal-breaker.

But thanks to no contracts and equipment considerations, you can freely sample each OTT service in a trial or sign up for a month with no risk.

 

[anonymouse99]

Of all of these services, which one will actually let you watch individual streams on say your smart TV?

Meaning for example if you choose DTVN (or PS Vue, Sling), can I stream ESPN3 or "CNN go" using DTV login information?

 

[Ronnie-]

Of all of these services, which one will actually let you watch individual streams on say your smart TV?

Meaning for example if you choose DTVN (or PS Vue, Sling), can I stream ESPN3 or "CNN go" using DTV login information?

Right now I think Vue offers the most TV anywhere app access of the three.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[anonymouse99]

Thanks msmith! You're right, I found this link that shows compatible apps in a matrix ....

https://www.cnet.com/news/playstation-vue-vs-sling-tv-streaming-live-tv-compared/

Here's one that compares actual channels as of 11/29/16:
https://www.cnet.com/news/directv-now-vs-sling-tv-vs-playstation-vue-channels-compared/

 

[jegrant]

If you want "app access" Sony Vue is the way to go. Sling and DTV NOW each support fairly limited apps. DTV NOW only supports Disney owned apps (ESPN, Freeform, Disney, etc).

 

[Need]

Which service offers the best bang for the buck? Arent early subs of DTVNOW locked in at 35$?

I think my Spectrum TV Stream Plus has the best bang for the buck. If I didn't have it, I may have gone for DTVNOW. My package costs is $20 with all locals + about 15 popular cables channels (HGTV, FX, AMC, ESPN, TBS, History, Food Network, etc...) AND HBO. And no contract with a free Roku 3. And recently the Roku Spectrum TV app just added On Demand all the channels. Now I could catch up a whole season worth of local or cable TV shows.

 

[Hutch1814]

I think my Spectrum TV Stream Plus has the best bang for the buck. If I didn't have it, I may have gone for DTVNOW. My package costs is $20 with all locals + about 15 popular cables channels (HGTV, FX, AMC, ESPN, TBS, History, Food Network, etc...) AND HBO. And no contract with a free Roku 3. And recently the Roku Spectrum TV app just added On Demand all the channels. Now I could catch up a whole season worth of local or cable TV shows.

I have spectrum, what is this tv stream you talk of? I currently have dtvn and was one of the first to kill my directv for the streaming service. Growing pains were rough but has got much more stable


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[Need]

It's a cordcutter package offered to Charter Spectrum internet customer. For years I only have internet from Charter and then I started getting email about this new Stream TV package. I think their Spectrum app (on Ruku and Android) works with Charter regular TV package too, but the stream only package is just really cheap at $19.99.

 

[Need]

Okay with the AT&T $25 off DTVN offer, I think DTVN is the cheapest of them all now at $10 a month if you have AT&T unlimited plan.

 

[Gobucks]

We've been using Vue for a while now. No problems at all. DVR works great. We use a roku and an Apple TV.

We tried Sling a few times and it was buffer city. We got the Apple TV with the DirecTV now offer. That service has been bad from the beginning. After the 3 months are up its bye bye. Its to bad the channels for the price was great.

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