SlingTV/ Roku?

3,616 Views | 31 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Vernada
CS78
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Anybody have this set up? I'm getting tired of spending 45 minutes on the phone fighting with directv on pricing every 6 months. Looks like I can get almost the same channels through sling for $45 that I'm paying direct $145 for.

How user friendly is Roku? Any better options?

Will my wife and kids hate me?
irock2513
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AG
Roku is stellar... simple, quick interface on their new devices (stick, ultra, etc).

Though simple, it's not the most visually appealing interface. I think Fire TV has the best looking interface, though it (for obv reasons) gives the majority of its screen real estate to Amazon content
chigger
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AG
Roku's are awesome. We've been using them for about 8 years. My wife loves it with Netflix so much that she is the one asking me to drop DIRECTV now. Probably will in the next month or so. Kind of waiting to see what YouTube does.
fcag
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AG
I just noticed the other day that whatever the latest update to the iPhone Roku app was, it now has just about the full interface on my phone. So I can click on netflix, amazon prime, etc directly from my phone without having to navigate to them on the tv.
DanHo2010
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AG
Switched from Directv to sling/roku a year and a half ago, never looked back
JBAggie00
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Roku has a nice simple interface. I recently switched to Amazon Fire and haven't looked back. Nothing wrong with Roku but the Fire feels like the best streaming option and I'm entrenched in Amazon services.
stridulent
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AG
You can also consider Playstation Vue as an alternative to SlingTV. I found the streams to be more reliable. Compare the prices and see what fits your needs.
FL_Ag1998
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AG
Roku + Playstation Vue = all you need
Bone6
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I love Sling on Roku. My Sling App on my Macbook Pro leaves a lot to be desired (surprisingly).
The Collective
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AG
Tried out Vue on my old PS3... seemed adequate but wasn't blown away. Picked up a Roku and it was enough to make me cut off Dish for good.
permabull
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AG
The Fife
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The free version of the Roku you can get when you sign up with Sling TV sucks. Take the deal where you get $50 off a better model instead.
aggie_wes
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AG
Just did this last month. Saving about $90 a month over what I was paying for Uverse.

Got an premiere+ in the living room, the new Roku stick in the guest room, and a Roku TV in the game room.

So far, so good.
jay040
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Question for you - Since you have both a Roku and Firestick, do you have a preference as to which one you use? Does one perform better than the other?
jdubd34
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AG
Just FYI, there's not really any reason to wait on google or other future options. You can get a free trial on psvue or sling, and they are month to month so no contracts to worry about.
cr
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I tried it but dropped it...

no local channels.

Yes, I tried an HD antennae but could not get one of the major channels and it was not convenient.


I now have Dish Flexpak for $35/month. And I can add or drop bundles like ESPN, SEC, etc... on the fly for a single day if I want, to catch a game for example.
LOYAL AG
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AG
I live in CS outside of the Suddenlink footprint and have a WISP internet connection. We dropped Dish for Roku+Sling about two months ago. Live sports is mediocre but I don't know if that's my internet which is comparatively slow or if it's Sling. I've heard that Sling doesn't allocate enough bandwidth to live sports but I have similar problems with WatchESPN as well which I why I think it's my internet. I haven't tried locals yet as there's really nothing I need them for except SEC Football so I can't comment on that. For any content where the source can provide a buffer it's been more than good. We buy the $20 orange package and added to $5 sports pack. Add to that Netflix, Hulu and Amazon and we've been golden.
BEaggie08
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AG
jay040 said:

Question for you - Since you have both a Roku and Firestick, do you have a preference as to which one you use? Does one perform better than the other?
I have a new Apple TV (thank you DirecTV Now) in the living room, a 4k Fire TV Box in the Master Bedroom, Fire Stick in the kids playroom, and a Roku 3 in the guest room.

I will say this, I like the Apple TV the best, but it doesn't support Amazon Instant Streaming natively. You can AirPlay from your phone or tablet, but that is lame. Luckily, the built-in smart features on my TV do support Amazon, but it is definitely a big hole in the content for Apple TV.

Next the Fire TV Box beats out the Fire Stick. It just works smoother and more reliably. The box has a stronger WiFi radio and can support more apps without becoming bogged down. I will say that I recently factory reset the Fire Stick and only loaded the essential apps (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, PLEX, Vue, Kids Cooking) and plugged it into the wall rather than the USB on the TV, and it has been working well. Apparently the TV supplies enough power to run it, but not enough to run it well.

The Roku works fine, but the presentation just seems a little stale to me. Also, it doesn't have voice search or dictation, which sometimes comes in handy on the other devices.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to help.
02skiag
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Alexa, which comes with the fire tv and stick, is pretty neat. If you have amazon prime you can tell it to play pretty much any song and it will start right away. You can also tell it any show or movie and it will pull it up with the streaming options.
permabull
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AG
LeanderAg
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AG
So, do these options that yall have talked about (Roku, Vue, etc) provide the ability to watch all the football games live? (SEC Network, CBS, ESPN, etc)

The only reason we have Dish is to watch the games. I really want to get rid of it. Thank you!
jay040
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The tv service providers are Sling, PS Vue, or DirecTV Now.

You can watch those services on either a Roku or Fire device (or playstation).

As far as sports, if the package you pay for from providers covers the SEC Network, ESPN, Fox Sports, you're good. As far as CBS, NBC, Fox goes, to watch live sports on those local stations it depends on if the tv carrier has reached an agreement with your local market. I'm switching back to Vue next week, and I'll have CBS and Fox. ABC and NBC I can watch ondemand tv shows, but no live sports. I'll rely on Watch ESPN or antenna for those.

You can go here to see if you're getting local live channels or on demand.

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/channels/
LeanderAg
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AG
Ah, I see. Thank you!
LeanderAg
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AG
Came home and cancelled our Dish! Feels great!
permabull
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AG
rynning
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AG
I have DirecTV + TWC / Spectrum Internet going the same coax cables in my house. (It took me a while to figure out how to do this using splitters.) I've been thinking about switching to Sling TV and even the $20/month deal has all I want, except for local channels. Then I found this:

Will I be able to swap out the dish for the antenna as shown in the video with my existing wiring? I have a feeling the answer is no...
koadie
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stridulent said:

You can also consider Playstation Vue as an alternative to SlingTV. I found the streams to be more reliable. Compare the prices and see what fits your needs.


My wife and I are buying a house and are doing this
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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AG
aggie_wes said:

Just did this last month. Saving about $90 a month over what I was paying for Uverse.

Got an premiere+ in the living room, the new Roku stick in the guest room, and a Roku TV in the game room.

So far, so good.
do you mean Ultra ( vue ) ? See after posting you mean roku premier +. Does that require a special tv?
aggie_wes
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AG
Yeah. Roku premiere+. I have Ethernet at the TV so I got the premiere+ because it supports wired internet. The others don't. No, doesn't require a special TV. Hooks up with HDMI just like all the others.
aggie_wes
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AG
deal on Roku
BEaggie08
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AG
rynning said:

I have DirecTV + TWC / Spectrum Internet going the same coax cables in my house. (It took me a while to figure out how to do this using splitters.) I've been thinking about switching to Sling TV and even the $20/month deal has all I want, except for local channels. Then I found this:

Will I be able to swap out the dish for the antenna as shown in the video with my existing wiring? I have a feeling the answer is no...
I don't see why not.
Vernada
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AG
jay040 said:

Question for you - Since you have both a Roku and Firestick, do you have a preference as to which one you use? Does one perform better than the other?
I have both and use the Firestick. Had the Roku first so we were 'use' to that, but I just like the firestick better.

We also have a Tivo which has apps for Amazon, Youtube, Hulu, and Netflix.

So I guess technically we use the Tivo the most, firestick on the secondary TV next, and the Roku has been used once in the last 6 month - and only then because I knew it already had the PBS channel installed and I didn't want to figure out the Firestick had PBS.
Vernada
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rynning said:

I have DirecTV + TWC / Spectrum Internet going the same coax cables in my house. (It took me a while to figure out how to do this using splitters.) I've been thinking about switching to Sling TV and even the $20/month deal has all I want, except for local channels.

Will I be able to swap out the dish for the antenna as shown in the video with my existing wiring? I have a feeling the answer is no...
It shouldn't be a problem.

When I canceled my Direct they came out and only removed the receiver leaving the dish in place.

I took an RCA Antenna and just mounted it to the arm of the dish using some zip ties. The cable running to the dish already ran directly to my TV so it worked perfectly.
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