Streaming TV advice

ttkpga said:
So we finally cut the cord.  Went with Hulu + Live TV.  It's been about a month and we don't miss all of the channels we never watch on Cox cable.  Hulu pretty much has all of the channels we want.  I did go with an upgraded modem and then added a Meshforce whole home wifi system with 3 pods.  So far we have had no issues with connectivity, only issue has been our inexpensive Vizio smartcast tv needs to be power cycled about every 3 days.  I think that is more a tv issue than network issue.

My question for the gurus out there is, I currently have all 3 of my smart TV's connected via wifi, one of my wireless pods is right by the living room tv, if I connect via ethernet to this pod instead of wifi, will I improve my picture  and streaming capabilities?
Click to expand...
I'm doing my annual process of getting TV for the Husker games. Has Hulu Live allowed fast-forwarding of recorded shows yet? I'm basically down to Hulu Live (because my wife would watch some regular Hulu shows) and YouTube TV.

 
Dropped Dish last Friday after work and the wife picked Hulu Live cause her friend swears by it and my brother has it and likes it. 

Told the wife today that I wanted to go with YouTube (been doing the free trial) and drop Hulu Live for the fact that you can not fast forward through basic stuff. This was a HUGE deal breaker for me.
 

Recorded College Gameday and went to go rewatch it cause my son had a soccer game and when it got to a commercial I couldn’t fast forward through the commercials. Also the other night I was watching Atomic Blonde and I paused it because my sons step dad came to pick him up. Came back to resume the movie and once it got to a commercial I couldn’t fast forward through that either. Who’s bright idea was it to not incorporate a basic feature of fast forwarding through commercials?

I like the UI of YouTube TV over Hulu and YTTV offers IFC where Hulu doesn’t but Hulu has an East and West for both TBS and TNT stations which was cool. Hulu has ESPN College Extra which I’m not exactly sure what it is...maybe a college NFL red zone channel type of thing? 
 

YouTube TV UI just looks more polished and thought out than what Hulu TV provides. YouTube TV’s guide is very similar to Dish and you can browse and see what will be provided on that channel 2-6+ hours later. Hulu would only show up what was being played within that hour. So when I got back from officiating last Friday night I had to search Nebraska to find the game so I could record it which was then deleted when I got back from the game haha. 
 

All and all I don’t miss Dish and I’m saving about $40+ dollars a month. Almost coming up on a week since Fox removed their programs off of Dish. 
 

I’m watching Hulu and YTTV on my Apple 4K TV

 
Dewiz said:
Dropped Dish last Friday after work and the wife picked Hulu Live cause her friend swears by it and my brother has it and likes it. 

Told the wife today that I wanted to go with YouTube (been doing the free trial) and drop Hulu Live for the fact that you can not fast forward through basic stuff. This was a HUGE deal breaker for me.
 

Recorded College Gameday and went to go rewatch it cause my son had a soccer game and when it got to a commercial I couldn’t fast forward through the commercials. Also the other night I was watching Atomic Blonde and I paused it because my sons step dad came to pick him up. Came back to resume the movie and once it got to a commercial I couldn’t fast forward through that either. Who’s bright idea was it to not incorporate a basic feature of fast forwarding through commercials?

I like the UI of YouTube TV over Hulu and YTTV offers IFC where Hulu doesn’t but Hulu has an East and West for both TBS and TNT stations which was cool. Hulu has ESPN College Extra which I’m not exactly sure what it is...maybe a college NFL red zone channel type of thing? 
 

YouTube TV UI just looks more polished and thought out than what Hulu TV provides. YouTube TV’s guide is very similar to Dish and you can browse and see what will be provided on that channel 2-6+ hours later. Hulu would only show up what was being played within that hour. So when I got back from officiating last Friday night I had to search Nebraska to find the game so I could record it which was then deleted when I got back from the game haha. 
 

All and all I don’t miss Dish and I’m saving about $40+ dollars a month. Almost coming up on a week since Fox removed their programs off of Dish. 
 

I’m watching Hulu and YTTV on my Apple 4K TV
Click to expand...
I just got YTTV a couple months ago and I like it. It's also really good about changing the length of the recording to match the actual program. So far it's accurately recorded about a dozen games that went over time and it extended out to exactly the end of every game.

While YTTV allows you to fast-forward DVR shows, you cannot skip commercials during on-demand content. So far I've just had a single 30 second ad in the middle of each on-demand shows. I just mute the TV until the ad ends, so it's not too bad.

I'm not sure if I want to pay the $50/month after football season is over though.

 
RedDenver said:
I just got YTTV a couple months ago and I like it. It's also really good about changing the length of the recording to match the actual program. So far it's accurately recorded about a dozen games that went over time and it extended out to exactly the end of every game.

While YTTV allows you to fast-forward DVR shows, you cannot skip commercials during on-demand content. So far I've just had a single 30 second ad in the middle of each on-demand shows. I just mute the TV until the ad ends, so it's not too bad.

I'm not sure if I want to pay the $50/month after football season is over though.
Click to expand...


Just a friendly FYI, make sure you're going to the 'Select a Recording' bar below the program image and selecting the DVR option (the programs recorded will say DVR on the lower-right corder, whereas the Video On-Demand option will be flagged as VOD). 

We had this problem initially until we realized we were only selecting the program itself--IIRC, it defaults to the VOD. 

Also, some providers *COUGH*CBS*COUGH* only allow you to watch the VOD option with commercials until a week or so after the DVR recording was captured. It's some major league bulls***, but those are CBS' requirements. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Scratch one option off the list. I always though tying it to the PlayStation brand was a terrible idea, too many people would hear that name and think it's something gaming-related, or that it's just for PlayStation owners, when neither was the case at all. Terrible marketing decision.


 
Last edited by a moderator:
I already have a 247 subscription so I'll have to check this out.  But I thought I'd throw it out there for anyone else who might be interested.


 
Toe said:
Scratch one option off the list. I always though tying it to the PlayStation brand was a terrible idea, too many people would hear that name and think it's something gaming-related, or that it's just for PlayStation owners, when neither was the case at all. Terrible marketing decision.
Click to expand...


Apple is looking for content for Apple TV, there have been multiple rumors about Apple buying Sony to  have that on their platform and create a live TV package bundle.  Now Sony is announcing the cancellation of their streaming service.  As C+C Music Factory said, 'Things that make you go hmmm'.  

Apple could be a major player in TV streaming services if they were to introduce a live TV package and buy Sony.   Apple is launching their streaming video service for $4.99 on Friday.   If they go further and bundle with Live TV with TV+, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade for say $50.00/month, especially if they have Sony catalog to include, it would be an amazing deal.   It would generate billions for Apple and all but eliminate Spotify, Pandora and Netflix.    As a consumer, I could get everything I'd want with a Disney + bundle and an Apple bundle.   And it would still be nearly half of what I would pay a cable provider.

And as an added bonus, if this does play out, all of Marvel movie rights revert back to Marvel Studios, if Apple TV (or anyone else) buys Sony.  Why is that great?   Marvel gets the rights back to all of their Spider-Man characters to include in any future MCU movie or TV show. 

 
@sho So far, Apple has hardly anything in the way of content. From what I've seen, I probably wouldn't bother even though it's only $5/month. Might as well just stick the the free services like Pluto, Crackle, IMDB TV, Xumo, Tubi, and The Roku Channel. Though they're supposed to be producing a series based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation, which I'd be interested in seeing.

 
Toe said:
@sho So far, Apple has hardly anything in the way of content. From what I've seen, I probably wouldn't bother even though it's only $5/month. Might as well just stick the the free services like Pluto, Crackle, IMDB TV, Xumo, Tubi, and The Roku Channel. Though they're supposed to be producing a series based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation, which I'd be interested in seeing.
Click to expand...


You're 100% correct, right now they have nothing.   But if they acquire Sony, which there have been a lot of rumors about, and then they tweak Playstation Vue and call it Apple Live or something, then bundle it with their music and new arcade platform, they could be major players.   For them, it's all about acquiring a catalog and going for Sony would be a nice way to create a catalog and get into the streaming arena.

 
sho said:
Apple is looking for content for Apple TV, there have been multiple rumors about Apple buying Sony to  have that on their platform and create a live TV package bundle.  Now Sony is announcing the cancellation of their streaming service.  As C+C Music Factory said, 'Things that make you go hmmm'.  

Apple could be a major player in TV streaming services if they were to introduce a live TV package and buy Sony.   Apple is launching their streaming video service for $4.99 on Friday.   If they go further and bundle with Live TV with TV+, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade for say $50.00/month, especially if they have Sony catalog to include, it would be an amazing deal.   It would generate billions for Apple and all but eliminate Spotify, Pandora and Netflix.    As a consumer, I could get everything I'd want with a Disney + bundle and an Apple bundle.   And it would still be nearly half of what I would pay a cable provider.

And as an added bonus, if this does play out, all of Marvel movie rights revert back to Marvel Studios, if Apple TV (or anyone else) buys Sony.  Why is that great?   Marvel gets the rights back to all of their Spider-Man characters to include in any future MCU movie or TV show. 
Click to expand...


To clarify, Apple is only looking to buy Sony Picture (~$35b), their movie distribution and publishing arm, *NOT* the entirety of Sony (~$85b). Sony used to have a lot more assets, but they sold them off in their pre-PS4 fire sale to stay solvent.

And this is something that folks have speculated about for a while re: Apple. I think as far back as 2018 when the rumors first appeared about Apple looking at making and distributing their own content, this was seen as a logical next step (especially since Apple has ~$240b cash on hand currently). 

Re: Spidey rights, I believe those revert back to Disney/Marvel--I don't believe they stay with whomever purchases Sony Pictures, IIRC. 

As for Vue, the problem the Vue platform is toxic to potential buyers is that Sony had to sign carrier deals that are proprietary to Sony and don't transfer in the event of a sale--so whomever would buy Vue would need to renegotiate all sorts of deals over again for the channels on the platform, which puts the buyer in a rather unenviable position--be bent over the negotiating table, or tell current customers you're cutting content?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dewiz said:
Dropped Dish last Friday after work and the wife picked Hulu Live cause her friend swears by it and my brother has it and likes it. 

Told the wife today that I wanted to go with YouTube (been doing the free trial) and drop Hulu Live for the fact that you can not fast forward through basic stuff. This was a HUGE deal breaker for me.
 

Recorded College Gameday and went to go rewatch it cause my son had a soccer game and when it got to a commercial I couldn’t fast forward through the commercials. Also the other night I was watching Atomic Blonde and I paused it because my sons step dad came to pick him up. Came back to resume the movie and once it got to a commercial I couldn’t fast forward through that either. Who’s bright idea was it to not incorporate a basic feature of fast forwarding through commercials?

I like the UI of YouTube TV over Hulu and YTTV offers IFC where Hulu doesn’t but Hulu has an East and West for both TBS and TNT stations which was cool. Hulu has ESPN College Extra which I’m not exactly sure what it is...maybe a college NFL red zone channel type of thing? 
 

YouTube TV UI just looks more polished and thought out than what Hulu TV provides. YouTube TV’s guide is very similar to Dish and you can browse and see what will be provided on that channel 2-6+ hours later. Hulu would only show up what was being played within that hour. So when I got back from officiating last Friday night I had to search Nebraska to find the game so I could record it which was then deleted when I got back from the game haha. 
 

All and all I don’t miss Dish and I’m saving about $40+ dollars a month. Almost coming up on a week since Fox removed their programs off of Dish. 
 

I’m watching Hulu and YTTV on my Apple 4K TV
Click to expand...


I just cancelled Hulu + Live TV for this same reason. It is an extra $10 to get rid of that. Instead, I'm going with YTTV for only $5 more and what I'm told is a better UI. 

 
I've been a streamer nearly 3 years with DirecTV Now, now called  AT&T TV Now, HuluLive and now YouTube TV  and YTTV is by far the best streaming service on the market.  I love the interface, on screen guide and other on screen graphics.

For those not interested in sports, I highly recommend Philo, no sports, 50 plus channels for $20.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
FYI for any fellow YTTV subscribers out there:

Got seriously puzzled why the JMU - NDSU game kept getting an error last night at the very end of the game before I remembered there was a Google - Disney dispute over access to the latter's networks.

Last night YTTV's access to those channels expired and they're currently in a standoff over money. Obviously not going to fly with the girls playing for a championship tonight against those damn Badgers.

For anyone in a similar boat, FuboTV has all the Disney networks (including ESPN2 for the match tonight) with a 7 day free trial available. I believe Sling also has a free trial if you start an account via an app instead of the web but we've burned ours already.

Fubo it is for the match tonight. Quality good so far it seems. The question becomes what we do long term if the two sides can't come to an agreement quickly. We may have to pivot to another provider.

 
Back
Top