What's the major hurdle of getting locals streaming? We can get them for free over the air...why not streaming?

Wow, I missed it.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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What's the major hurdle of getting locals streaming? We can get them for free over the air...why not streaming?

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The internet allows conversation. OTA doesn't. When I do on demand, I'm telling some app to go over the internet and get a particular set of bits for viewing. It then downloads and renders those to me.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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What's the major hurdle of getting locals streaming? We can get them for free over the air...why not streaming?

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Technologically, it's not difficult. It does require some resources, but is eminently doable.

Licensing is the hold up. For the locals, they have to license the content they broadcast from the nationals. That content is only licensed in OTA and cable/satellite forms typically, and even then, each different form of distribution requires different licensing, down to sometimes HD/SD retransmission versus SD only. Sometimes the locals are changed/removed from satellite for the same reason.

For this, the streaming services need to negotiate with the locals AND the nationals to get the licensing to work right.

Edit: It's this reason, why I would like the idea of an OTA receiver / network retransmitter type of device. Sling has something close with the AirTV, but it's most deeply integrated with SlingTV services. I have something similar with a SiliconDust receiver which my Plex system picks up and records from and my AppleTV through Channels views. That would help negate the streaming service needing to license the locals, but can introduce more complexity.

nwspmp said:

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Boo Weekley said:

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Psychag said:

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I've had Vue for several months. I'm going to try YTTV since it should have all major networks. I want to be able to watch Sunday Night NFL.

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Doesn't Vue have NBC all other major networks? On their channel lineup it shows the local stations for these channels. Is there something I am missing?

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Each service has varying levels of local channel access due to licensing and streaming rights. Typically, most of the streaming services does have the national brand (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc) shows on-demand, but the actual local channel streaming varies by service and by local area.

For example, I have DTVNow and just got local streaming in B/CS about two weeks ago for CBS, NBC and Fox. No ABC local but On-Demand streaming.

Sling TV at the same location has only Fox On-Demand and NBC On-Demand.
YouTube TV not officially available here.
Can't look up PSVue at work; gaming is blocked?

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I tried the YTTV free 7 day trial and I live in B/CS. It's definitely available here. Got all the channels they offer and all the locals including ABC.

Questions for those that streamed live tv last year. Were all the college games available? What resolution were you able to watch the games? Were the games available in 5.1 Dolby? I have Directv Now and my main tv has the Apple TV and all the other TVs in the house have Fire Tv pendents. My internet is currently 10 meg but for a little bit more a month I could get 50 meg. With football season coming up I am concerned about dropping my Dish Network. I appreciate all of the info and advice I get on cutting the cord.

Switched to Vue last year and had zero problems watching the games I could with DTV. I did my free trial the first weekend of College Football and forced myself to stream all of them unless I truly wasn't able to. No issues and cancelled DTV the following Monday and never looked back. Resolution is 1080 I believe. Looks as good to me as DTV did, but I also don't have a $7k TV in a dedicated media room, so there's that.

I have all of the ESPNs as well as WatchESPN access, FS1, BTN, Fox Sports SW, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and all of the locals. I also think we have the LHN in case you're interested in watching Vince Young highlights and sausage pool parties.

Really, the only difference I have now from DTV is instead of turning on a TV and receiver and watching TV, I turn on a TV and fire TV and then launch an app. I also have about $90 extra in my pocket each month.

Fox, ABC, ESPN, and their sister stations are all 720p regardless of satellite, cable, or streaming.

Any higher resolutions (1080i or p, 2160p) you are seeing are simply upscaling by the respective media box.

That said, I'm viewing ESPN (720p native) upscaled on a Roku 4K (2160p/4K) to my 4K Vizio sets, using PS Vue service and it looks great.

No college football blackouts last year. Different story for Astros & Rockets as they have regional TV deals that can interfere with national airings.

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No college football blackouts last year. Different story for Astros & Rockets as they have regional TV deals that can interfere with national airings.

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The only national airings that I've found to be blacked out are games shown on MLB and NBA Networks. Anything on ESPN, TNT, ABC, or FOX are not blacked out.

Heismenberg said:

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nwspmp said:

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Boo Weekley said:

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Psychag said:

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I've had Vue for several months. I'm going to try YTTV since it should have all major networks. I want to be able to watch Sunday Night NFL.

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Doesn't Vue have NBC all other major networks? On their channel lineup it shows the local stations for these channels. Is there something I am missing?

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Each service has varying levels of local channel access due to licensing and streaming rights. Typically, most of the streaming services does have the national brand (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc) shows on-demand, but the actual local channel streaming varies by service and by local area.

For example, I have DTVNow and just got local streaming in B/CS about two weeks ago for CBS, NBC and Fox. No ABC local but On-Demand streaming.

Sling TV at the same location has only Fox On-Demand and NBC On-Demand.
YouTube TV not officially available here.
Can't look up PSVue at work; gaming is blocked?

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I tried the YTTV free 7 day trial and I live in B/CS. It's definitely available here. Got all the channels they offer and all the locals including ABC.

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That's good. When I tried to sign up (it was a few months ago) it still wasn't available here. I guess they consider us as part of the Waco market?

Can you watch college football on the on demand channels that PSVue and the like offer? For example...could i watch a game live on ABC?

easttexasaggie04 said:

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Can you watch college football on the on demand channels that PSVue and the like offer? For example...could i watch a game live on ABC?

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If Vue doesn't have ABC in your area, you should be able to watch any game aired on ABC on the WatchESPN app.

What about NBC or CBS?

garc said:

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aggiechugger said:

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This is my last month of Dish Network. I believe I will be going with Hulu live tv as my streaming service. I can get all the local channels with Hulu (no way to get OTA local where I am). As of right now I have a Fire Stick but I am thinking about getting either the new Fire cube or the Roku Ultimate.

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One thing to note: right now, Hulu Live does not have a guide for the Roku. I hear they are working on it.

The current Hulu UI for Roku is not good imo. I use Hulu on my android phone to see the guide.

Other than that, I'm pleased with it.

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Did you happen to watch any world cup on hulu live? quality good?

Do you only use a Roku? Would be interested in how the UI is with FireTV products (Stick, Cube)

easttexasaggie04 said:

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What about NBC or CBS?

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Not sure about those, but you may be able to watch them if your Vue subscription gives you access to the NBC and CBS Sports apps. I know Vue gives me access to the Fox Sports app, which has the national Fox broadcast games (except for NFL) as well as FS1 and regionals.

nutmegger_aggie said:

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garc said:

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aggiechugger said:

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This is my last month of Dish Network. I believe I will be going with Hulu live tv as my streaming service. I can get all the local channels with Hulu (no way to get OTA local where I am). As of right now I have a Fire Stick but I am thinking about getting either the new Fire cube or the Roku Ultimate.

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One thing to note: right now, Hulu Live does not have a guide for the Roku. I hear they are working on it.

The current Hulu UI for Roku is not good imo. I use Hulu on my android phone to see the guide.

Other than that, I'm pleased with it.

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Did you happen to watch any world cup on hulu live? quality good?

Do you only use a Roku? Would be interested in how the UI is with FireTV products (Stick, Cube)

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Excellent quality.

The only issue I have every once in a while is that the video and audio tracks get out of synch.

I only use Roku. I have lots of other channels that are not part of any streaming service, so I'll most likely stay with Roku because of that. For example, NBC has an OD channel for Roku. So I can watch most NBC stuff after the fact. I do have an OTA antenna to get HD NBC live, but unless it is sports or something, I don't really have a need for it. I'm ok watching non-sports content after the fact.

I wonder if eventually, the content providers will simply have their own live/OD channels for the main hardware platforms and not be bundled with Hulu or the other aggregators.

Well it would appear that my call to Dish Network to cancel my service had results. I had a retention rep call me this afternoon about what it would take for me to stay with Dish. I explained to the rep that the bill had gotten too high and I was going to stream tv instead. The rep got my monthly bill down below $87 a month without any changes in programming or amount of tvs hooked up to Joeys. Dish must be feeling the pinch of people leaving.

We live in BCS and use 4K AppleTvs in multiple rooms, and we have been PSVue customers for several months now with no complaints. This last month we tried out YouTubeTV and will discontinue that. We continually fought audio issues, playback issues, picture freezing up, etc. It became very frustrating so we are going back to PSVue. While it is nice that YouTubeTV has all the "locals" live, we don't feel it is worth the headache and all the problems that come with the app. The menu/guide is easier to navigate with the PSVue as well.

I've been on PS Vue for the past 2 years, but I'm annoyed with them because the price is going up $5 per month after I've lost half my locals.

I could drop Vue and switch to Philo TV and the new Spectrum steaming service for $38 per month. However, I cna't find any reviews on the Spectrum service. Has anyone tried them yet?

Thanks

ok so......

I get an email last night from Hulu claiming that they've added the long awaited channel guide to the Roku device, which btw, is one of their top 10 enhancement requests on the User Voice (UV) site.

I'm pumped about it and immediately turn on the tube to check it out. Nothing has changed.

I call Hulu.

The lady has to walk me through it since it's not intuitive and it ends up that there is still no guide; just a feature that, when watching a live channel, you can see what is on that channel in the future.

I tell her that's not what the UV request was about. She says yeah I know. We are still working to get the guide on Roku.

My 2 year contract is up with Directv and my bill increased about $40. I would like to dump them completely, but access to college football and the Astros are a must. So... with that in mind am I stuck with Directv? I just don't see any other way I can access the Astros since they are on AT&T Sports Net. I'm sure I could call, threaten to cancel, and get a pretty good deal for 2 years...

We have a fire stick on every tv with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. So, the only reason I have have Directv anymore is for sports.

From what I see, it looks that way.

Since they own both, I assume that ATT will put that sports channel on DirectTV Now at some point, but don't see it at the moment.

jah003 said:

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My 2 year contract is up with Directv and my bill increased about $40. I would like to dump them completely, but access to college football and the Astros are a must. So... with that in mind am I stuck with Directv? I just don't see any other way I can access the Astros since they are on AT&T Sports Net. I'm sure I could call, threaten to cancel, and get a pretty good deal for 2 years...

We have a fire stick on every tv with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. So, the only reason I have have Directv anymore is for sports.

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Access to college football has been discussed on this thread numerous times.

My post from above...

Another

Some stuff about the Astros

Really, all you need to ask yourself is if watching the Astros is worth it to you. At ~$90/mo savings, it wasn't worth ~$1100/mo to have the game on as background noise most of the time. Once playoffs start, they're on national broadcasts anyway and you will have those channels.

Signed up for Directv NOW. Gonna give it a few days to make sure I like it before I cancel corded Directv. Seems like every channel I would need for college football is available. Astros are gone, but it's worth the savings.

I've been on PS Vue for the past 2 years, but I'm annoyed with them because the price is going up $5 per month after I've lost half my locals.

I could drop Vue and switch to Philo TV and the new Spectrum steaming service for $38 per month. However, I cna't find any reviews on the Spectrum service. Has anyone tried them yet? If I'm on a promo price for internet with Spectrum and then cancel their TV service will it effect my internet price?


Update -
A redditor with the username "charteremployee" stated "Yes. If you cancel the tv your internet should move to full price."

Is ATTSW App on amazon fire or Xbox one or chromecast?

aggiechugger said:

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Well it would appear that my call to Dish Network to cancel my service had results. I had a retention rep call me this afternoon about what it would take for me to stay with Dish. I explained to the rep that the bill had gotten too high and I was going to stream tv instead. The rep got my monthly bill down below $87 a month without any changes in programming or amount of tvs hooked up to Joeys. Dish must be feeling the pinch of people leaving.

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Keep in mind Dish owns Sling Media and in turn streaming Sling TV.

Looks like for now they're keeping them as totally separate brands (unlike Direct TV satellite & DTV Now). Dish satellite is for their premier service and rural areas. Don't forget how many homes don't have access to internet or cable in rural America. Then Sling as their cost cutting streaming service. Pretty smart to have all 3 camps covered.

I canceled Dish almost a year ago, and they never mentioned Sling to me. Eventually I think their retention departments will need to do this.

For those of you who canceled Direct TV satellite, did they bring up Now?

I did a trial of YouTube TV recently to see how it compares to my AT&T Uverse. I liked YTTV except that the remote usage was through my Apple TV remote, which was terrible for channel surfing. I like the traditional remote where I can enter any channel number at any time to get to a new channel faster. Is there a better way around this that I'm not aware of with YTTV? Thanks.

Is there not a way to add a favorite channel list? Vue has that feature and it's pretty handy for channels we watch 90% of our TV on (locals and sports).

Which package?

I am looking at the $50/month and want to know the final cost with taxes. We currently have Hulu Live advertised at $40, but final bill is actually $47

AgMarauder04 said:

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Which package?

I am looking at the $50/month and want to know the final cost with taxes. We currently have Hulu Live advertised at $40, but final bill is actually $47

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Taxes are like a typical purchase. You don't have the extra fees that the government gets with satellite or cable. Vue is/was $45/mo and final bill was like $48 ish.

aTm2004 said:

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AgMarauder04 said:

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Which package?

I am looking at the $50/month and want to know the final cost with taxes. We currently have Hulu Live advertised at $40, but final bill is actually $47

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Taxes are like a typical purchase. You don't have the extra fees that the government gets with satellite or cable. Vue is/was $45/mo and final bill was like $48 ish.

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Ok, so $50/month is probably $54. Thanks.

Anyone have input on Directv now?

AgMarauder04 said:

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aTm2004 said:

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AgMarauder04 said:

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NWhich package?

I am looking at the $50/month and want to know the final cost with taxes. We currently have Hulu Live advertised at $40, but final bill is actually $47

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Taxes are like a typical purchase. You don't have the extra fees that the government gets with satellite or cable. Vue is/was $45/mo and final bill was like $48 ish.

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Ok, so $50/month is probably $54. Thanks.

Anyone have input on Directv now?

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I signed up when it was grandfathered in at $35. It's been a flat $35 every month thus far, but will go up to $40 next month. So is the tax built in?

More on the Hulu Live guide for Roku....

It must not have been updated on my unit when I talked to the lady at Hulu.

I brought it up today and the UI was different.

To my knowledge, you still have to be watching a live show to bring it up; I could not figure out how to invoke it outside a live show.

It superimposes the guide over your show. It will show all or recent channels. It shows what's on now and the next show following the current one in typical guide format with channels on the left, time across the top and shows in the cells.