Just bought a house and after dealing with suddenlink at the place we were at before, I'm ready for a change. $220 a month for what they offer isn't worth it.

So I just bought a new TV, router, and modem for the new place, and I'm planning on getting everything set up this week. I think we still have to go through Suddenlink for internet, but what streaming service should we get?

I need my live sports first and foremost which includes the ESPN channels, Golf Channel, CBS, Fox and their sports channels, and ABC. Other than that, HBO is the only channel I can think that we absolutely have to have when GOT comes back on.

For what I need, DirectTv Now looks to have all the channels I could want. I didn't see CBS on PSVue and no HBO on YouTubeTv (from what I've seen).

We'll have a total of 4-5 TVs in the house, but I can't think of a scenario where more than 3 would be on at the same time.

For those that know more than I do about it, what should I do? Like I said, I've had suddenlink for as long as I can remember. The only streaming I do is hooking my phone up to the TV to pull up the WatchESPN app.

DirecTVNow has horrible service issues. Like it stops working randomly etc. It makes up for it with the channel line up.

For HBO, you can get it stand alone with HBO GO or as an add-on with many other streaming services. Do not let HBO be the factor that sways you.

I use YouTube TV and really like it. Before that I had the DirectTV Premier package for years. We made the switch YouTube TV because we needed to cut back on television as it will just suck you in and steal your time.

Here is a quick pro/con list from my situation.

PROs
For us YouTube TV comes locals + enough other channels to meet our minimum
You also get commercial free regular YouTube.
Unlimited DVR (stores everything on Google Servers not your HDD)
You can legally share your YouTube TV service with an additional 5 family members for a total of 6 legally subscribed accounts. Each account can watch on three devices simultaneously.

This means I legally share access with my kids. They login with their own Gmail account versus sharing a login. If you have more than three TV's and are worried they might all stream at the same time, have the kids/wife login with their own account.

You can manage parental restrictions on family accounts, say nothing over TV-14, PG, etc.

Streaming quality is awesome and reliable.

When you travel, you get the locals for the area you are in. I was just in Denver. Opened my laptop and received the local for Denver, that easy.

Lots of sports networks including the SEC network.

Price, I am still locked in @ $35 per month.

CONs
Channel selection If you want a lot of channels to select from, streaming services cannot compare to cable or satellite offerings. DirectvNow seems to have the most with VUE a close competitor in that regard.

That's really it for cons. YouTube TV has limited channel offerings. I say try it for a week for free. Then try all the others and see which one fits your wants/needs. I am really happy I switched and do not miss all the premiums or 300+ channels.

**I will subscribe to HBO GO when Game of Thrones finally comes back. That is just mean to leave us hanging.

Is it an internet issue or DTN issue?

Thanks for all the good info. What's the deal with channel selection in your opinion? Is it just because it's fairly new and down the road they'll probably offer all channels?

DTN

I'm worried there aren't enough channels for the wife with YouTube tv, with hgtv being the big one. Can you buy most of these channels like hbogo?

You might consider Hulu live. They have a pretty good selection of channels.

Yeah, they seem to have everything I would need. Any issues with the service?

Another question I had was about a Roku stick. I was under the impression you needed one to operate these services, but the guy at Best Buy said we don't because it's a smart TV. Is that right? Seems weird that they're so popular when almost every tv out there now is a smart tv.

It really depends on the "smart" tv you have. Some are pretty limited on the apps they offer. Others my have full blown Roku/Amazon Fire TV/Chromecast functionality baked right in. What TV do you have?

I personally haven't had any issues but I know some people have said they occasionally have issued while streaming sports

Sony x750f

YouTubeTV has worked well for us. It has all of the sports channels I need and allows you to stream ESPN Content for SEC+ etc. It's been very dependable and has a great interface.

You would want to make sure they have local channels in your area. There are locations where they've not rolled them out yet.

It looks like they do. We're in Bryan.

For the past 6 months at least, DTVN has been pretty good for me here. Good picture, virtually no channel problems. Aside from the useless "DVR" functionality, the service itself has been bulletproof for me.

Before then, every now and again I had issues, but minimal ones at best and no worse really than I ever had with actual cable or satellite.

I say this using Suddenlink internet (400/40) with a good router and connecting my AppleTV up via Ethernet. With these, it's been pretty damned good.

Thisguy1 said:

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Sony x750f

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Has Android TV built-in. Should have most of the streaming services available. The majors such as YouTubeTV and Hulu and Sling are pretty much guaranteed. DTVN is not (and that's pretty much the only platform it's not) so to use DTVN, you'd need an external device, such as a Fire TV device or an AppleTV or the inconvenience of Chromecasting it from your mobile, but that's a crap way to have to watch live TV honestly.

Hulu doesn't let you FF or rewind on commercials unless you pay an additional monthly fee. It's bad enough that it does it when you are watching a recording, but it also does it WHILE it's recording.

So if you are recording the Aggie game, and during commercial you flip over to another game, when you come back you still have to sit through the commercial. You can never catch up to live (unless you FF between plays). It's F'ing ridiculous.

I would use YouTube TV if I didn't have to get rid of all my Firestick HW....

We're a YouTubeTV house with two TVs with Roku Stick+s. Love it.

Our living room smart TV worked fine with YouTubeTV but we picked up a Roku Stick+ anyway so we could watch the Astros (with a workaround that's posted on the cordcutting thread) and then liked it so much we got one for the bedroom TV (which was running a first-gen Chromecast.)

** Just my opinion **

I think the YouTube TV channel count will grow but stay relatively low compared to the big streaming services like DirecTV, Hulu, and Vue. At least for a while....

It is because of most of the media is owned by a handful of companies. The link below is extremely scary when you think about who controls the information we get. I dirgess...

This will make it difficult for an outsider like Google. I think Google is doing it to be a disruptor and force competition just like they do with Google Fiber. I can see them adding more independent content than anyone else first.

Right now, Youtube TV has the best reliability and streaming permissions for multiple people. With one bill and 6 people in total allowed to have their own account.


https://www.webpagefx.com/data/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media/

Been with DTN since it existed and have had no issues outside of the first few months. For most of the time, we had 60/5 internet and now we have 300/20 and no difference. This is running through a Fire TV box with Ethernet connection.

ktownag08 said:

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Been with DTN since it existed and have had no issues outside of the first few months. For most of the time, we had 60/5 internet and now we have 300/20 and no difference. This is running through a Fire TV box with Ethernet connection.

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This. YRMV but we've been happy with DirecTV Now.

same here...just put a TV on outdoor patio and went with YouTubeTV to see how we liked it. Dropped $50 on a Roku Stick Plus for upstairs and if it goes well too, will do the same for downstairs TV and then cut Spectrum.

Combo of channels for me is perfect - any channel not on the lineup I can live without for sure, as it just wastes my time. Local channels, plenty of sports and the few main cable channels we watch should drop my monthly TV bill about $60 I think. Enough to where I can get faster internet speeds if I want and still come out ahead.

I think the thing I miss most is the speed at which you change channels. On YouTubeTV, when you select the channel you want to watch there is about a 5 second wait. With cable, it's instantaneous, so it takes some getting used to. I also like to bounce between two channels and there is no "Last" or "Prev" with YouTubeTV, so that kinda sux.

PS Vue is generally best for sports channels. At least that was true a year ago.

Try the "one week free" trials with the major streaming services and see which one you gravitate to. They all have their own styles and quirks.

We have PSVue as well (don't need a PS console) love the stream quality. YouTube doesn't have Food Network/HGTV (wife/daughter). Tried Hulu as well but didn't like the live stream. Was pixelated for sporting events but the interface was better. The commercials drove me nuts. Even on DVR shows you have commercials and if you pay for all of the add-ons PSVue is cheaper,

Biggest drawback on PSVue is the DVR. Granted you can download as many shows as you want but if you want Aggie Football you record College Football which DVR's EVERY GAME!! Completely Ridiculous but they don't have a cap other than 28 days to watch.

Most, maybe all, offer a free week or more tiral. try them all out. I sterted with sling, switched to DTVNow when they first opened up and have stuck with them. did a tiral for HuluLive but didn't like the interface.

I just started my free trial with DIRECTV NOW. Tonight. Using 4th Gen AppleTV. Can't figure out how to rewind while streaming live. Is there a trick? I'm a newbie.

*If* it allows rewind, just pause by clicking the "pad", then swipe to rewind to the spot you want, then click again or press Play.

YOUTUBE TV!

Thisguy1 said:

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I'm worried there aren't enough channels for the wife with YouTube tv, with hgtv being the big one. Can you buy most of these channels like hbogo?

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You can add the Philo app onto your device (Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, web, iOS, and Android Chrome).

• 40 more channels for $16/month, or
• 49 more channels for $20/month

That's how we get HGTV, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, TVLand, etc.

Philo also has a record feature (does not cost extra) and you can pause/forward/rewind.

https://try.philo.com/

CapCity12thMan said:

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same here...just put a TV on outdoor patio and went with YouTubeTV to see how we liked it. Dropped $50 on a Roku Stick Plus for upstairs and if it goes well too, will do the same for downstairs TV and then cut Spectrum.

Combo of channels for me is perfect - any channel not on the lineup I can live without for sure, as it just wastes my time. Local channels, plenty of sports and the few main cable channels we watch should drop my monthly TV bill about $60 I think. Enough to where I can get faster internet speeds if I want and still come out ahead.

I think the thing I miss most is the speed at which you change channels. On YouTubeTV, when you select the channel you want to watch there is about a 5 second wait. With cable, it's instantaneous, so it takes some getting used to. I also like to bounce between two channels and there is no "Last" or "Prev" with YouTubeTV, so that kinda sux.

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I have been using Youtube TV on my smart TV and chromecasts and it's pretty simple to switch back a channel. On the TV, i hit "down" and it gives me the 4 previous channels I was watching as options. Through the app on my phone when casting i can see the previous 4 channels in easy to use buttons. While I don't have a roku, I'd bet there's similar functionality.

I don't believe for my family that any premium channel (Starz, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax) is worth a year round perpetual purchase. Most of their best content can be seen in 2-3 months per show, maybe 6 months out of the year at most.
This is what I like about streaming content.

I do wish DTV Now had a better "DVR"...we can't get it to record consistently and then we'll find it recording shows we've never even watched.

That said, I pay the founder's price for it and there's no way I could convince my wife to give up Food Network/HGTV.

This forum is a wealth of information. Better than the general Internet. Thanks TexAgs.