Sling TV vs Youtube TV

[eric002]

So, i've been trying the free trial version of both TV Streaming services. I'm a Googler just like many other users here are, so I tried Youtube TV service first. It's a nice service if you don't already have basic cable channels. The reason I say that is the service doesn't really include other cable networked channels such as HGTV, Food Network, USA Network, and a few other ones. It's mainly for Broadcast news networks. the basic Youtube TV service is $35/month after the free trail. Streaming to Chromecast works perfectly.

I've also started trying Sling TV. Basic Orange package is $20/month. There's a 7-day free trial version. The basic package includes all of the major network TV channels. The only complaints that I've read regarding Sling TV is that the Chromecast stream tends to hang a bit every now and then and freeze. I haven't experienced this yet. Every now and then the audio cuts out for a couple of seconds but it's nothing intolerable though. The Chromecast stream does take a few seconds longer to connect, but nothing that seems to take forever.

Both application UI's seem clean, and well-designed in my opinion.

As anyone else here tied anyone of these streaming services yet? What're your thoughts or feelings regarding them? Obviously I am trying so hard to ditch my Optimum cable connection and see if I can just pay for the smart router from Optimum. It's soo expensive for basic cable for almost no channels! Thanks for reading my post.

 

[TylerLV76]

I tried Sling and it was pretty good. If you want as close to cable as it gets try Playstation Vue.

$35/month gives you a great package with a fully functioning DVR and some on demand. Depending on your region will determine which live locals you get. Ive tried all the services except Youtube and PS Vue was by far the best.

Ive gone one step farther and dumped all streaming services except Netflix and bought a Tablo for OTA Dvr and hooked a HDHomeRun up to my works television service and an emby server. If you can do this on a family member or friends service and pay the cost of a cable card you will save a TON of money. For 100mbps internet and my cable services Im down to $59.98/month vs $156.

 

[eric002]

My question is this: 1: Do i need to have any extra hardware in order for Playstation Vue to work? 2. To be honest with you, $35/ month is the same price as Youtube TV and both services are $15 more expensive per month than Sling TV is. I still have much more researching to do for Sling TV regarding if it includes a DVR service and other features. I don't really use a DVR right now, but I might in the future. The only streaming app that I'm hoooked on is Youtube of course which is nice for my tech channels but if i want to watch normal TV in the future without cable, I've got to figure that out as well.

 

[TylerLV76]

My question is this: 1: Do i need to have any extra hardware in order for Playstation Vue to work? 2. To be honest with you, $35/ month is the same price as Youtube TV and both services are $15 more expensive per month than Sling TV is. I still have much more researching to do for Sling TV regarding if it includes a DVR service and other features. I don't really use a DVR right now, but I might in the future. The only streaming app that I'm hoooked on is Youtube of course which is nice for my tech channels but if i want to watch normal TV in the future without cable, I've got to figure that out as well.

You'll need a streaming device that works with PSVUE. Sling does offer a DVR for $5/month but its very limited on what channels it works with. If you just want live TV and sling has the channels you want then Slings hard to beat. Keep in mind that the $20 package only does 1 stream at a time so only 1 person can watch tv.

Devices for PSVue are:
PlayStation®4 console
PlayStation®3 console
Apple TV®®
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Roku® streaming devices
Android TV
Google Chromecast

Sling TV Devices are listed here:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../https://www.sling.com/devices&token=SsrAOqw0

 

[eric002]

You'll need a streaming device that works with PSVUE. Sling does offer a DVR for $5/month but its very limited on what channels it works with. If you just want live TV and sling has the channels you want then Slings hard to beat. Keep in mind that the $20 package only does 1 stream at a time so only 1 person can watch tv.

Devices for PSVue are:
PlayStation®4 console
PlayStation®3 console
Apple TV®®
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Roku® streaming devices
Android TV
Google Chromecast

Sling TV Devices are listed here:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../https://www.sling.com/devices&token=4bwvGNoK

Thanks for all of the info! That was my other big question; how many devices can stream at once? For example if someone else wanted to watch on my account, but on their own device without me, would they be able to do so? Also, yes, the DVR service I might have to look into in the future, but so far it looks promising.

 

[jeffmd]

In the end it comes down to who can get you the cheapest package for the channels YOU WANT! Otherwise they are all not that different from each other. So view the channel list and see which are your required channels and pick from that. MOST of use dont even have youtube as an option atm so..yea.

 

[eric002]

In the end it comes down to who can get you the cheapest package for the channels YOU WANT! Otherwise they are all not that different from each other. So view the channel list and see which are your required channels and pick from that. MOST of use dont even have youtube as an option atm so..yea.

You're absolutely right. That's why I tried Youtube TV at first, however, the service DOESN'T include HGTV or Food Network and a couple of others that I do regularly watch unfortunately. So far, Sling TV does include everything. The slight advantage is that Youtube TV comes with a cloud DVR service included. Sling TV I'd have to pay for if I really wanted that feature. Yeah, unfortunately I've also read that Youtube TV is very limited to a few regions. I do benefit from living near NYC.

 

[TylerLV76]

Thanks for all of the info! That was my other big question; how many devices can stream at once? For example if someone else wanted to watch on my account, but on their own device without me, would they be able to do so? Also, yes, the DVR service I might have to look into in the future, but so far it looks promising.

PSVue gives you 5 simultaneous streams. Sling Orange gives you 1 and Sling Blue gives you 3. If you are watching Sling Orange and someone wants to watch on another device it will ask to kick you off first.

DirectvNow is another service but I cant recommend that one at all since its riddled with issues. I can get that for$10 month with my Att family plan I have for the wife and kids but its so bad its not even worth the $10.

HuluTV is also another service and its not bad but its expensive at $40/month. If you have hulu already then its not a bad deal since $40 gives you standard Hulu and Hulu Live TV with a DVR.

 

[eric002]

PSVue gives you 5 simultaneous streams. Sling Orange gives you 1 and Sling Blue gives you 3. If you are watching Sling Orange and someone wants to watch on another device it will ask to kick you off first.

DirectvNow is another service but I cant recommend that one at all since its riddled with issues. I can get that for$10 month with my Att family plan I have for the wife and kids but its so bad its not even worth the $10.

HuluTV is also another service and its not bad but its expensive at $40/month. If you have hulu already then its not a bad deal since $40 gives you standard Hulu and Hulu Live TV with a DVR.

Ok, for example, if I'm not home, and my parents want to watch TV on their devices, can they with the Sling Orange Package? Yes, so far, Sling TV is the cheapest of the bunch.

 

[TylerLV76]

You're absolutely right. That's why I tried Youtube TV at first, however, the service DOESN'T include HGTV or Food Network and a couple of others that I do regularly watch unfortunately. So far, Sling TV does include everything. The slight advantage is that Youtube TV comes with a cloud DVR service included. Sling TV I'd have to pay for if I really wanted that feature. Yeah, unfortunately I've also read that Youtube TV is very limited to a few regions. I do benefit from living near NYC.

Heres the DVR availability for Sling DVR.

What channels can I record with Cloud DVR?

DVR functionality is available for all live content, except on the following channels:

All Disney and ESPN channels
This includes ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney JR, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN 3, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Bases Loaded and the SEC Network.
FOX local networks, FOX Sports 1 (FS1), Nat Geo, and FX
On-demand only channels, including Newsy and Local Now

 

[TylerLV76]

Ok, for example, if I'm not home, and my parents want to watch TV on their devices, can they with the Sling Orange Package? Yes, so far, Sling TV is the cheapest of the bunch.

Yes, they could watch your Sling Orange from anywhere if you arent using it. Once you try to use it it will ask you to end their stream.

 

[eric002]

Heres the DVR availability for Sling DVR.

Oh, that's not bad at all. Yes, all of the channels i usually watch are supported by Sling TV's DVR service. That's nice. Thanks for the info.

 

[eric002]

Yes, they could watch your Sling Orange from anywhere if you arent using it. Once you try to use it it will ask you to end their stream.

Ok, as long as the service allows someone else to watch on their device if I'm not home, that's all I was concerned about. Thank you for the info.

 

[TylerLV76]

Ok, as long as the service allows someone else to watch on their device if I'm not home, that's all I was concerned about. Thank you for the info.

No problem. Ive spent the past year or so trying out all these services and their limitations so if you have any other questions let me know. If you watch local broadcast TV a decent amount, do yourself a favor and get an OTA antenna. If your internet goes down or acts goofy you'll be stuck without TV until its fixed. My friend lives in Long Island and has Optimum and has constant issues with internet dropping.

 

[eric002]

No problem. Ive spent the past year or so going trying out all these services and their limitations so if you have any other questions let me know. If you watch local broadcast TV a decent amount, do yourself a favor and get an OTA antenna. If your internet goes down or acts goofy you'll be stuck without TV until its fixed. My friend lives in Long Island and has Optimum and has constant issues with internet dropping.

I'll definitely have to keep that in mind. Yes, I just started to research the services. Mostly because I keep on complaining to people that I pay too much for cable which is the truth. I hate complaining to people, especially when no on really wants to hear it too much. I mean again, I'm a Googler so if Youtube TV had a few more channels in their lineup it'd be great! Sure, I could also use the stand alone apps for HGTV, and Food Network, but then what's the point of a streaming TV Service at all? Again, Sling TV's Chromecast stream isn't horribly annoying. Yes, there s a couple of seconds of audio cut out here and there and it takes a couple of seconds longer to connect, but nothing unbearable.

 

[TylerLV76]

I'll definitely have to keep that in mind. Yes, I just started to research the services. Mostly because I keep on complaining to people that I pay too much for cable which is the truth. I hate complaining to people, especially when no on really wants to hear it too much. I mean again, I'm a Googler so if Youtube TV had a few more channels in their lineup it'd be great! Sure, I could also use the stand alone apps for HGTV, and Food Network, but then what's the point of a streaming TV Service at all? Again, Sling TV's Chromecast stream isn't horribly annoying. Yes, there s a couple of seconds of audio cut out here and there and it takes a couple of seconds longer to connect, but nothing unbearable.

That is one thing you're going to find with streaming TV services is you have to be a little more patient. None of them run as smooth as cable does especially in primetime hours. But the trade off is saving $100/month for a little slower load times.

 

[eric002]

That is one thing you're going to find with streaming TV services is you have to be a little more patient. None of them run as smooth as cable does especially in primetime hours. But the trade off is saving $100/month for a little slower load times.

Oh absolutely! Especially considering when I did the actual math on my Optimum bill for the cable portion of it. I was shocked as to how much I have been paying per year just for my BASIC CABLE service! It's almost to the point of disgusting! Yeah, I can understand what you mean, and it's not a terrible trade-off so-to-speak for the connection time vs paying less for live and networked TV service. With Sling ORange, I believe I can also just watch live tv anywhere on my devices as well.

 

[TylerLV76]

Oh absolutely! Especially considering when I did the actual math on my Optimum bill for the cable portion of it. I was shocked as to how much I have been paying per year just for my BASIC CABLE service! It's almost to the point of disgusting! Yeah, I can understand what you mean, and it's not a terrible trade-off so-to-speak for the connection time vs paying less for live and networked TV service. With Sling ORange, I believe I can also just watch live tv anywhere on my devices as well.

Yeah, it works really well on phones which is a great feature. PSVue is a little limited outside of your home network.

 

[eric002]

Yeah, it works really well on phones which is a great feature. PSVue is a little limited outside of your home network.

That, and I don't have the hardware necessary for PSVue. I'll have to continue researching Sling TV and hopefully, it'll work out for me. Thanks again for the info.

 

[ande9202]

That, and I don't have the hardware necessary for PSVue.

Just curious to what you are using then since PSVue is on pretty much everything. Xbox?

I've been using Vue for a few months now and really like it. One thing about it that hasn't been mentioned yet is Vue gives you loggin access to pretty much all the apps so that you can view outside your home network. Like WatchESPN, Fox Sports Go, ext. A lot more than any of the other services.