DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... How do you watch TV?

For as long as I can remember I have used direct tv so that I could get the NFL Sunday Ticket. But now that I have made the decision cancel that subscription I am wondering if there is a cheaper alternative that I could switch to. My sister uses hulu but cannot watch anything live. There is a hulu live option that is a fair bit more expensive though I think still a good bit cheaper than direct tv. Does anybody use that? What else do you you? Share the good and the bad for how you watch tv.

Keep in mind when commenting that generally when I am home I like having the tv on for background noise even when not actively watching tv. The biggest thing is that I don't want to lose the ability to watch the Cavs, Guardians, and Browns live should they make the playoffs.

We have DirecTV due to Sunday Ticket. I am really looking forward to the redo of the contract so we can, hopefully, get a better option.

We also have multiple streaming services: Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, Prime. I think we can also have ESPN+ but we don't watch it. The Hulu/Disney/ESP thing is from the phone carrier with my current plan. We also have things like HBO MAX because we have HBO through DirecTV.

I did a work up of keeping DirecTV on the basic level and going pay per for other services to replace what we would be missing and care about and it was a wash cost wise, it might have been more. That redo of the Ticket contract cannot come fast enough.

With any of the non direct tv services you have, would you have been able to watch the Guardians in the playoffs live?

I use Youtube TV. I share the platform between Fort Wayne and our home in Ohio. My son uses it at his place; the in-laws use it at their home in Ohio and in Florida. Up to six devices can be registered at any time with up to three streaming simultaneously -- all that for $65. Obviously it's easy to see where this benefits me much more than it may many others, but honestly, I'd probably still use Youtube if it were only used in one place.

At first, you had to merely login to an account from your "home" location in order to have your local programming wherever you go. In late 2020, they started reading the i.p. address. Sooo, being in Fort Wayne, I can still watch local (Cleveland) games, just not until they're actually over. That's a bit annoying at times, but if I had cable programming here I wouldn't be watching at all.

DVR is unlimited. One click records all subsequent Browns games (or any program). Recordings are available for six months (longer if the show has been rebroadcast at any time during that period).

User interface absolutely blows away any other platform I've seen... including navigation with the remote. Every RW or FF is a 15 second increment if you "click"... If you hold down the button, it's gradually faster until you're ripping through a three hour program, with a thumbnail, in about 20-25 seconds.


All that with a big "bummer" at the end -- you (we) won't be watching the Cavs or Guards unless the telecast is from something other than Bally Sports. Bally is broadcast on DirecTV. Bally has recently introduced Bally Sports+ streaming, but it's $20 per month... and from what I can surmise... will be reading your ip to determine availability.

For the Cavs, I'm going to subscribe to Game Pass on Black Friday. Last year it was offered at half price.

I don't think so. Most of the current streaming is movie/series type stuff (Netflix). To be honest though I am not really into baseball and, as such, I haven't looked for The Guardians at all. I peeked at DirecTV for game 5 and did not see it listed in the guide in the 5 seconds I was looking.

I am all in on NFL and the Browns though.

Cable.

Good info

I don't live in Ohio anymore so I don't get any regular season Cavs or Guardians games. Honestly I wouldn't watch that many. I do want to be able to watch their playoff games live though

Playoff games are always a national broadcast. I don't see how you would ever have a problem watching a playoff game with YTTV, Hulu or cable.

EPB streaming. It's just local.

The local utility ran fiber optics making us one of the first GIG cities. The service carries pretty much what Comcast carried, plus more.

With my eye balls

Sometimes with my eyeballs shut


I have Hulu and it lets me watch a lot of live TV

Gives me all kinds of options

I have Hulu Live. It has most local/regional sports. It doesnt have Balley. Which means I dont get some regional MLS games. It has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNews and NFLN. I can watch UFC because ESPN+ is bundled with it. It doesnt have most Browns games since I dont live in CLE. I go to the bar to watch Browns games. It does have tons of college football.

I used to have cable and this is better/cheaper. I also have Netflix and Prime. I dont miss cable at all.

1, with hulu I understand that there are 2 different packages. Hulu live where you get live tv and regular hulu where a lot of things can only be watched 24 hours later. My sister has the regular hulu and loves dancing with the stars but has to wait at least a full day to watch it.

2, interestingly, I was out of town for some of the guardians playoff games. The hotel I was staying at had all kinds of channels available including 4 or 5 different HBO's but the didn't get TNT or whatever channel the Guardians-Yankees games were on. It wasn't avaiable in the room or in the lobby/bar areas. So we walked over to the hotel across the street and had beers at their bar while we watched the game there.

What does EPB stand for?

Hulu has some goofy rules, that's why I chose YTTV.. Hulu live is a little less restrictive, but I believe the subscription it's about 5 bucks higher than YT.

"Is YouTube TV or Hulu live better for sports?
YouTube TV has 16 sports channels while Hulu Live has 14, which is why YouTube TV is the second best live TV streaming service for sports. YouTube TV is the only live TV streaming service that includes NFL Network, MLB Network, and NBA TV for only $65 per month."

https://www.reviews.org/tv-service/hulu-live-vs-youtube-tv/

Roku to get Youtube TV. 1 additional pay subscription to Friendly (wife likes Hallmark). I also have a cheap $15.00 OTA antennae that really gets a great picture. My Roku gets Roku channel, TV, Tubi among others. Way too many options most pf the time.

I turn the television on, and then look at the screen

I watch using a streaming service called Eyestream. Had it over 2+ years. Haven’t missed a Cavs, Browns, Guardians game since I’ve had it. I pay $42/month. You gotta have great internet, I have spectrum’s 400mps. The dvr system they have is crap but I get pretty much everything live I want. It is good 90% of the time. I use a firestick, but you can use everything but Roku.

I get every NFL, Redzone, NBA, MLB, NHL game. All the movie channels, most ppv except wwe. With using a streaming service, I have no major complaints about it.

Also if you refer 5 people and the subscribe and keep service, yours is free.

Electric Power Board. It is our local utility provider.

https://epb.com/fi-speed-internet/

.

I switched to streaming for pretty much one reason and your reasons for switching over will dictate the manner in which you do. For me it wasn't so much a cost saving measure but rather how much more could I be getting for my money? I tried youtube TV but simply didn't care for the format. Hulu live was far more to my liking. It's a lot more like DirecTV in that the way the DVR service works and just the overall format. You have unlimited recording space and it keeps your recordings for six months. The channel selection is extensive. I was able to get Hulu live, Netflix, Paramount Plus, Apple TV and HBO plus for pretty much the same cost of what I was paying for DirecTV.

I'm sure it's on an individual basis but I'm getting a lot more content and choices for my money and unless there's some drastic change would never go back to DirecTV or cable again.

You can make a decision to stop paying for TV.

Do you have buffering issues with the firestick?

No issues at all if you have high speed internet.

I use Spectrum streaming, with Netflix, Amazon prime video, Hulu, Paramount, Peacock, Disney, and Espn. I pay for Spectrum, Prime (because we buy a lot from amazon), and Peacock. Got Hulu, Disney and ESPN free via Verizon for a year. One daughter shares Netflix with us and another daughter shares Paramount. These streamers don't care a bit if two houses are running on one service.

Then I fill in anything I might miss with grey area free movie sites.

It sounds like Netflix is going to start cracking down on credential sharing in earnest.

We got booted once in the last six months and I was in shock. Didn't really care, really just clicking on some programming to put us to sleep; but yeah, they're "enforcing" the rules going forward.

Bottom line, there are so many choices at this point, I can't realty ever see a scenario where I won't just shrug it off and move on. Surprised it hasn't happened sooner, especially in Netflix's case. They are really the outlier in unique content (imo).

I don't have an issue wit Netflix cracking down. They provide a service, and consumers of that service should pay for it. Everyone using it paying for what they use should mean me not having to pay more for it.

We are watching Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities and it is a lot of fun.

No biggie. I still save enough to pop for any add-ons I want to get. Just letting the OP know how I stream it all. I'm sure I'm not the only one doing it. And Netflix seems to have allowed it so far. I think they are just limiting the number of connections and IPs. Part of their pitch is that you can take it with you when you travel. Between both houses, we might watch 40 hours or so a month and I doubt that is setting off alarms at corporate.

Just did a little research into this, so your internet is publicly owned. I wish every community had the balls to break up the cable monopolies. Hat's off to Chattanooga for actually doing what the cable companies hate to do -- spending money on infrastructure and providing great service at a reasonable price.

I have DirectTV mainly for Sunday Ticket... but I also like having general cable and frequently will stream the DirectTV app when traveling...

also have a few streaming services...

Me2... but I'm starting to consider other options... which id why I'm here.
To listen, and learn.

It's pretty sweet. They put a big dent in the comcast monopoly. Now Comcast is offering all kinds of deals and have added content to all their package levels, and the net isn't even close. If I have a problem, I only had a question early after making the switch, I talked to a person in a building maybe 10 miles away rather than some guy named "William" in New Delhi.

Not that I am against "William" in New Delhi, but I would rather to speak to Susan in Chattanooga.

I have looked into the other options and for me and my family cable is it. We also have firestick, Amazon prime, HBO Max, Paramount plus, Peacock, which we pay for through amazon instead of cable because it's cheaper, and we get netflix for free from T-mobile.

I'll vouch for Eyestream. It's a shame they were dropped by Roku, but it's supposed to be coming back.

I've had direct tv for at least 10 years now. Never realized that there was an app.
Anyway, great input, appreciate all of you guys.

So I called direct tv and told them that I wasn't happy with how much I was paying and asked what they could do for me. The 1st person I talked to couldn't do much but she transferred me to the loyalty center because they have more they could offer. Left the phone call with a 30% decrease in my monthly bill for the next 12 months. With no extension of my contract.

It's been great - you can't stream all of your channels, but can stream several... I used it when traveling frequently... this weekend we were in college station for the weekend staying at an Airbnb... we had the Stros game on the TV but I could also stream games on my phone through either the DirecTV app or I could sign into the ESPN app with my DirectTV login in...

Makes me think of a buddy of mine, not technically savvy at all. He had DirectTV for many years, the development he lives in had a contract with Xfinity for internet and TV, so he got a little more than basic channels with his HOA fees. He was complaining about the cost of DTV one say so I asked why he kept it, and he said because he uses that account to stream at work with the app on a TV while he's working (has his own print shop). I told him Xfinity has an app as well, and he was floored that he was paying DTV like $180/mo for stuff he could get on the Xfinity app just as easily.

What's the lowdown, bro? Bill just too high? Looking for better content?

I've been with DirectTV a very long time because of the Sunday ticket. It's they only way I can watch my Browns. I live in rural western Pa. and they don't run cable out my way so I depend on satellite for my internet too. I have no idea what I'm going to do when DTV drops the Sunday ticket.

How far west? You can get up to 70 miles from a HDTV antenna... about $80 - $150.

This site will let you put in a zip code and check the range of their products...

https://www.antennasdirect.com/transmitter-locator.html

EDIT: to say -- Youngstown stations very often have the Browns games.