I’m thinking about ditching my $140 Direct TV, but I have a couple of issues/questions.
We really love football, but not the local team, so we get Direct TV’s Sunday ticket during football season. My google foo has come up with mixed results as to the availability and cost of a similar service. DTV owns the rights to satellite broadcast of games out of area and I get mixed answers as to a) can I get this Sunday ticket streaming without being a Direct TV subscriber; b) If I can, do I need a box. c) if streaming, is whatever app I need available on the amazon fire stick?
With all the services, which is the best. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime, but I’m wondering if there are any services that offer same season viewing of network shows, multiple viewers (e.g. I understand Sling only allows one stream where Netflix allows two), better content, etc.
My review shows some services allow viewing same season shows for up to two days after broadcast. Sometimes with or schedules, that’s not enough time. Are there relatively inexpensive streaming DVRs that allow you to capture streamed video to watch on demand.
Anyone have the Mohu leaf antenna? I hear they are excellent. ANy feedback or helpful advice?
I can’t help much as I am still attached via the cord but I’ve been doing some research. A lot of people are not aware of playstation Vue, DirecTV Now, and YouTube TV which is now available in some markets. May be worth looking into. All of these are available through Roku or similar devices.
Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and the major sports package of your preference (NFL, MLB.tv, etc.)
Sports across the board are still a little spotty on independent streaming, but are the driver (unfortunately) for the “cable package” streaming now rolling out. News is similarly a little shaky if you’re used to 24-hour talking heads, but can be found.
Put up an OTA antenna for $30 and you probably have both covered.
Hulu has many current shows from many network and cable providers. It may meet your need for catching up on network shows. They have a commercial-free option for a few dollars more. CBS shows aren’t on Hulu because CBS has their own streaming service.
I don’t think there’s a DVR which will record streaming content. DVR’s will record antenna and cable signals. Tivo has an antenna-only DVR for $300 which does not require a subscription. But there are many other cheaper DVRs which have different levels of reliability and ease-of-use.
To find out what you can get with an antenna, there are many websites which will tell you which TV channels you can expect to receive based on your address.
CBSN is CBS’s streaming news channel and is available without a subscription.
PlutoTV is a streaming channel which combines a bunch of the free streaming channels into a single TV guide. You can browse and go to channels just like you can on DirectTV.
the current nfl contract with the major broadcast and cable outlets ends in 2021, and the current buzz is that the nfl plans to mainly broadcast the games just on the nfl network after that, with some high profile (superbowl) and preseason teasers on broadcast tv.
You don’t need to record most streaming content. It’s all like “on-demand” - prerecorded and at your convenience.
The growing intersection of live-stream content on streaming and the need to record it somehow has a couple of solutions, none of which are quite mature. But again, most live content will be centrally recorded for later on-demand playback, as in the libraries of recent and classic baseball and football games the specialty channels provide.
My NFL mobile app lets me stream live games provided I am on Verizon’s network. So if you have an unlimited data plan with Verizon, there may be a way.
We just got Sling, of which I’m a huge fan. For $20 a month, you get 30+ cable channels. For $25 you get 40+ (including your local Fox Sports). There’s no commitments, so you aren’t locked into a contract and can cancel and start at any time, as often as you’d like. For a while we were registering for the free week trial period with different email addresses (shh!) when we wanted to watch a Walking Dead or something. Now during baseball season, we’re happily paying for it.
Sling gives you access to a lot of live cable channels, but a ton of on-demand stuff too.
by nfl network, i dont mean the cable channel that it currently is. i forsee, as do many others, that the nfl network will be a standalone crossmedia platform, offering direct to customer access to the games and other shows. you prob WILL NOT be able to watch football on your tv (without access to nfl network) after 2021
We cut the cord about three years ago. We have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. We also have a digital antenna for free local channels and, of course, YouTube.
The two biggest things I miss are surfing and schedule. Sitting on the bed, folding clothes, I can no longer flip through the channels and go “OOh, Smokey and the Bandit! I’ll put that on for silly background noise.” I now have to consciously want to watch Smokey and the Bandit, find it on one of the services (if it’s on one,) and play it. A lot of time investment for that movie.
As for schedule, Monday night used to be WWE RAW is WAR night.Even if I was out and DVRed it, I knew what I was going to be watching Tuesday night.
I have never seen a single second of Game of Thrones. Not because it doesn’t sound good, but I actually have to look for it, find it, and watch it (and maybe pay extra for it.) In a way, it’s good, because I now watch less TV then ever. It’s just too much of a hassle now. It actually makes watching TV harder. Instead of flipping through the channels and finding unknown or forgotten gems on the schedule, you have to be looking for “Show A,” find “Show A,” meanwhile totally blanking on “Show B,” which you would have enjoyed more, if you had seen the cable guide description and clicked on it.
We cut it last year. (I dont miss the huge price for what we got) I miss DVR, I miss a few other things but overall, most of the channels we liked to watch became reality tv. Too much money for that crap. Reduced us to reruns mostly. I can do that OTA programming
I cant get NBC for some reason. We get other channels that are further away. We’ll have to get that antenna up higher.
Also being able to surf for a channel while watching something else and seeing what the other programs are about
There is a guide on line so it helps but its not the same
In case someone has not found the guide-its not perfect but adequate
In respect to NFL on Verizon phones, Iphones can also be connected via a HDMI-Lightning adapter (I assume Andriod does something similar) and play on the TV, also Apple TV can do this wirelessly. It does appear that is the only ways I get the Verizon app to play on the TV (Chromecast does not work with the app in the iPhone). It appears
Also I have to add I assume it works like that for NFL programming, I know it works that way for Verizon Fios channel, Verizon wants to lock it down to the phone only but Apple allows the screen mirroring function apparently outside the app’s ability to prevent it.