Pros and cons?
Is it good for watching college games -- recording options to not miss end of games (adding time to record)?
Best plans or other streaming options?

been on YouTubeTV now since the beginning of football season. 3 TVs total - two with Roku Streaming Stick+ and the other is a RokuTV. My internet speed is 400/100.

Pros:

• channel listing is perfect for me...local channels, lots of sports options and some obligatory major cable networks. That is all I really need.
• Recordings take a little bit to get used to how they are added to your "library" but once you do add something to your library, the management of those shows with regard to whether you have watched them and the duration is great.
• different Google accounts have their own recording/library...and the amount of "library" space I believe is unlimited.

Cons

• UI has a learning curve...at least for me it did. That might be more due to roku driving it...not sure
• I wish there was a way I could go directly to say channel A, or channel B. You have to go to the channel menu and navigate up/down until you find your channel.
• There is no "last" button, for when you want to go bounce between two games. Again - this might be more a roku thing.

I've been using it for the last year. I tried other streaming services and I think this one is the most consistent.

If you use the phone app with a Chromecast you can jump between recently viewed channels. I think the last 4.

To add onto recordings they do a really good job of knowing when a program runs long by default. I've never had to manually extend a recording when the show runs long

Definitely a roku thing, same with apple tv.

My android shield tv has last 3 maybe 4 channels when the FF/ Rewind pulls up while on a channel. Makes for quick switching. And I believe it goes back to where you last left off unless recording and then it asks from start or live.

I think it varies from device to device. On one of the newer Roku sticks, there is a list of previous channels. On my new Samsung tv, it does not have a list of previous channels.


Other Pros:
- It has the local major affiliates (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC)
- You can watch it from anywhere, and it changes the local affiliates based on your location. You only need to "check in" to your home location once every 3 months. Other services like Hulu only work at your home address unless you pay for upgraded service.

Cons:
- Only 3 streams at a time. I don't think there's even an option to pay for more.
- Some channels are missing like Comedy Central and HGTV. If that really bothers you, though, you can buy Philo for like $16 a month.

Thanks for responses!

The DVR functionality is fairly good? Watching live games would I be able to pause and rewind or fast forward?

No Comedy Central? Ugghhh. South Park is one of the few remaining shows that I record (my wife and kids record a LOT from other channels).

Sounds like everyone is pleased in general with the service.

Make sure you're wife is okay without HGTV and Food Network. Those are the only reasons we can't switch to YoutubeTV.

BennyBlancoFromTheBright said:

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Thanks for responses!

The DVR functionality is fairly good? Watching live games would I be able to pause and rewind or fast forward?

No Comedy Central? Ugghhh. South Park is one of the few remaining shows that I record (my wife and kids record a LOT from other channels).

Sounds like everyone is pleased in general with the service.

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I think Hulu has a specail for $5/mo right now. Or hell, check out Hulu Live. My dad switched from PSVue to that recently and likes it.

yeah no HGTV or Com Central. YouTubeTV does manage the running long problem very well.

Regarding previous channels...someone mentioned this on another forum:

Quote:

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If you are watching a live TV show:

press the down arrow twice, and the last 4 channels you've been watching will appear.

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I'll have to test that out. This is what I mean about UI navigation learning curve - takes awhile to find these little nuances.

I think it's awesome

Numerous threads out there asking your same question

W that said. I love it. Especially if you have more than one house

Visio announced yesterday that all TVs going forward have it built in. That great. So you won't need external Roku-type device

BennyBlancoFromTheBright said:

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The DVR functionality is fairly good? Watching live games would I be able to pause and rewind or fast forward?

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Oh, that's another big pro. Yes, you can pause, rewind, fast forward, etc. live TV. Some others, again looking at Hulu, will not let you fast forward through commercials even if the program is recorded or behind.

DirecTV Now is pretty bad too. Fast forwarding and rewinding recorded shows is a hassle. And i believe you can only pause live TV. And not for very long either...

A lot of folks, myself included, have both youtube TV and Philo TV. Philo has a $16/month offering and has a lot of the channels Youtube TV doesn't. They really compliment each other well.

Ferg said:

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A lot of folks, myself included, have both youtube TV and Philo TV. Philo has a $16/month offering and has a lot of the channels Youtube TV doesn't. They really compliment each other well.

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This.

Youtube TV is good for major networks, sports, etc... but it is missing a lot of channels that we watch a lot like History, Food Network, HGTV, Nickelodeon... Philo gives you all of those for $16/mo. Both YTTV and Philo let you stream 3 tv's/devices simultaneously and both have great dvr (library) functionality and unlimited storage.

Philo also has Discovery, Science and the 3 Hallmark channels.

I have YouTube TV and love it. I took advantage of the DTV Now deal last year where I prepaid for 3 months of their cheapest service and got a free Apple TV 4K.

While DTV Now had a lot of channels, I started having streaming issues more often then not. Plus only having 20 hrs of dvr space and not being able to pause and rewind live tv. YouTube TV was awesome for football and recording games. It never cut off early and knew when the games ran over. Just to be safe I always record the program after.

I won't be dumping YouTube TV unless something goes wrong or they skyrocket their prices. Give the free trial a run.

Sorry if this has been mentioned or if its widely known. I have Roku and YTTV and while there is not single "last" button if you double press the down arrow, it brings up your 4 previous channels. So you can pretty quickly switch between multiple channels which is great for sports.

For OP, I think the DVR on YTTV is the best out there. It functions pretty much like everyone is already used to with pause, rewind, fast forward, etc on live and recorded shows. Other pros: you can customize your channel layout which you cannot do on DTV Now. Girlfriend has DTV Now, and while it has more of the channels that she likes, to me it feels way behind YTTV in terms of functionality. Also a plus that has not been mentioned, is Google Cust Service. I've only had one true service interruption. About a day later, Google emailed me, apologized and credited my account $10. Which is consistent with how they handle mobile data on Google Fi. I don't have to call them, they just automatically give me a credit.

Quote:

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if you double press the down arrow, it brings up your 4 previous channels.

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Yes, just discovered this last night after an earlier post on this forum. game changer.

went from DTV to cable for 4 months to DTV Now for 6 months to YouTube TV for probably 6 months by now.

YouTube TV is so much better than DTV Now. We had so many issues. The amount of College Football on YTV was fantastic during the fall.

Not having a few of the channels I'd normally like is a bit annoying, but more than anything it just reinforces that I used to watch so much garbage television. I've transitioned that time either to watching things I'm more interested in and seek out on other streaming platforms, or turn the TV and make other use of that time. I feel that has been a net positive than sitting around watching Lakefront Bargain Hunts all night.

Which ever service you have, also authenticate the ESPN and FOXSPORTS apps. That way if you have a hiccup during a game you have a backup and you are only down for a few seconds.

Bunk Moreland said:

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Not having a few of the channels I'd normally like is a bit annoying.

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I thought this would be a bigger problem than it ended up being. It's really not a big deal at all. The shows I really want to watch, I can still find a way to do it.

I ended up not really even missing DVR when DTV Now didn't have it.

Regarding football watching.. I do like to rewatch A&M games, maybe more than I should.

YTTV is 100% times better than Hulu for this.

Plus.. Unlimited DVR space. you can record every football game, every week and watch them all if you want. Pretty amazing for $40 a month.

I found myself watching remotely on my phone or having my laptop up watching another game all the time.

Mrs Aggiedata complains about HGTV. Thanks for the tips on how to get that.

Love YTTV. Tried Sling and PS Vue first, but YTTV blows them both away. I get more channels than I did on Vue for less money. SECN isn't an add-on, which is huge.

We have a Roku box in the living room and just added a Roku stick for the bedroom.

Between the selection, dvr, and multi-device capability...I think it's an incredible value. And for the ultimate dvr test, we came home from the LSU game to happily discover that it recorded the ENTIRE game.

I'll never go back to satellite or traditional cable. No 2-year subs, retention calls, extra boxes, or added fees. I control the content I want, on the devices I want.

As far as the football games...most of our games are on ESPN or one of it's channels (2, U, SECN). You can go back and watch all of the games via WatchESPN. I'm sure CBS Sports has the same on their app for the CBS games.

I like youttubetv but I kept getting buffering issues on live TV. I switched to Hulu and no issues with live tv (never had issues with years of Netflix). I still may try ytttv again later because I can (no contracts=awesome).

Are there any problems streaming YouTube TV away from home? Directv Now works for me on any device anywhere, but i could have sworn i've read at least one of the streaming services is tied to your home IP. No idea which ones are capable of what.

boy09 said:

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Are there any problems streaming YouTube TV away from home? Directv Now works for me on any device anywhere, but i could have sworn i've read at least one of the streaming services is tied to your home IP. No idea which ones are capable of what.

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I know that Hulu is tied your home IP address. YouTube TV can be viewed from anywhere as long as you "check-in" to your home location every 3 months.

CubbieAggie said:

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BennyBlancoFromTheBright said:

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The DVR functionality is fairly good? Watching live games would I be able to pause and rewind or fast forward?

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Oh, that's another big pro. Yes, you can pause, rewind, fast forward, etc. live TV. Some others, again looking at Hulu, will not let you fast forward through commercials even if the program is recorded or behind.

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When I was comparing streaming services I noticed that about Hulu live. I think for an extra $15/mo you can FFWD through commercials on recorded shows... and the fact that they charge for that turned me off of them.

As far as YTTV's DVR or library... I'm still in the learning phase with it. But from what I understand, once you add a show to it you can't easily delete it. But there's really no need to because they categorize the recordings in a way that makes everything very easy to find (i.e. Movies, Sports, Events, etc...). My understanding is that the recordings get purged from your library after 90 days. I'm not sure if there's a way to keep one longer than that.

I still got the Clemson game in my library for what its worth.

I love the fast forwarding and rewinding in YTTV. And the ability to watch anywhere.

Also got it Fall 2018 for football. Probably will cancel and renew for next fall.

Works great on a Roku Ultra. Not so great on a first generation Chromecast.

"As long as you maintain your membership status, live TV recordings will be saved for 9 months. Other programs will vary based on agreements with our content partners. "

So just got YTTV, guess it doesn't work with firesticks. Should I get Roku or chromecast?

Sq1dvm said:

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So just got YTTV, guess it doesn't work with firesticks. Should I get Roku or chromecast?

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https://www.firesticktricks.com/youtube-firestick.html

We've liked our Roku. My wife needs a remote, and I like the Roku one with the headphone jack.