Basic streaming question

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MplsGopher_fan

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Hopefully I don't sound too primitive lol. I'd like to avoid youtube tv (bad experience once) so how else can I stream if I only have a tablet and a smart TV, but I'm not sure how much the TV has for "smarts" - it's from 2016 and wasn't able to do youtube tv, hence the tablet.

I hear people mention roku and others. So...do I look for the roku app on my tv and if I have it, great, and if I don't, then what? Or can I stream something else on my tablet?

Obviously I'm looking for college football channels. Thanks in advance.
 

Roku is like an operating system for tvs. Not all tvs are Roku but you can add a Roku streaming device to just about any tv. Roku has apps that you can download. LG and Samsung tvs have their own operating system similar to Roku. There are also android tvs.
 

What was your bad experience with YTTV?
What brand is your 2016 TV?
YTTV's format takes some getting used to but it better than HULU and cheaper than cable with a lot of sports channels.
I have used Roku streaming sticks for years and have them on two TVs and my "smart" TV is a Roku. Most critics, like CNET, choose Roku.
You will be able to get YTTV with Roku.
 

MplsGopher_fan said:
Hopefully I don't sound too primitive lol. I'd like to avoid youtube tv (bad experience once) so how else can I stream if I only have a tablet and a smart TV, but I'm not sure how much the TV has for "smarts" - it's from 2016 and wasn't able to do youtube tv, hence the tablet.

I hear people mention roku and others. So...do I look for the roku app on my tv and if I have it, great, and if I don't, then what? Or can I stream something else on my tablet?

Obviously I'm looking for college football channels. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Like word said below, a Roku stick simply plugs into one of your HDMI inputs in your tv or surround sound system.
 

Plato said:
What was your bad experience with YTTV?
What brand is your 2016 TV?
YTTV's format takes some getting used to but it better than HULU and cheaper than cable with a lot of sports channels.
I have used Roku streaming sticks for years and have them on two TVs and my "smart" TV is a Roku. Most critics, like CNET, choose Roku.
You will be able to get YTTV with Roku.
Click to expand...
We have Roku, LG, and Samsung at home. I think Roku is the easiest, LG is the worst (ease of use for apps, not picture quality).
 


Ok, so if I buy a roku stick and plug it into my TV's HDMI input, what would I do next?
 

MplsGopher_fan said:
Ok, so if I buy a roku stick and plug it into my TV's HDMI input, what would I do next?
Click to expand...
You make an account -- you really just follow the prompts. Then you add the apps you want to your roku. I would highly suggest you giving YTT another shot. I have found it to be the best in terms of usability and dvr -- though I am now with ATT because of Bally Sports
 

Also (a little unrelated to the original question) if you are a Comcast/Xfinity TV customer and don't want to pay the rental fee for the boxes, you can use Xfinity Stream through Roku. I use that on my garage TV since it doesn't get used that much. But it lets you watch all the channels you have on your normal Xfinity package (only downside is the primitive Roku remote with no numbers).
 

noamfromm said:
You make an account -- you really just follow the prompts. Then you add the apps you want to your roku. I would highly suggest you giving YTT another shot. I have found it to be the best in terms of usability and dvr -- though I am now with ATT because of Bally Sports
Click to expand...
By adding the apps, do you mean picking the channels that I want? Like there's one app for ESPN, one for Big Ten network, etc?
 



MplsGopher_fan said:
By adding the apps, do you mean picking the channels that I want? Like there's one app for ESPN, one for Big Ten network, etc?
Click to expand...
Not exactly. If you pay for a subscription to YTT, you would download that app(YTT), login in and then depending on the package of channels you bought you could access them through the app.

But there are lots of apps that you don't need to subscribe to, CBS Sports app has their Sports HQ (think sportscenter) running 24/7 for free which I like to watch.
 

noamfromm said:
Not exactly. If you pay for a subscription to YTT, you would download that app(YTT), login in and then depending on the package of channels you bought you could access them through the app.

But there are lots of apps that you don't need to subscribe to, CBS Sports app has their Sports HQ (think sportscenter) running 24/7 for free which I like to watch.
Click to expand...
Ok, so once I have the roku stick plugged in, are there any apps besides youtube tv that I can use to get the ESPN family and BTN?
 





You might try YoutubeTV again.

I tried it about a year ago and cancelled because it had problems. I tried it again a few weeks ago and all the problems I had have been fixed. I'm about to cancel DirecTV which I put on vacation a couple of months ago.
 

noamfromm said:
ATT TV which has now rebranded to DirecTV Steam has them both
Click to expand...
Thanks! So I plug in the stick, choose between either ATT TV or Hulu Live, and then I assume I go through some sign up stuff with my credit card that I fill out on the tv screen? If it's this simple, I might just be able to watch the Gophers without going to a bar. If I'm missing anything, please correct me. Somehow I'm just not up to par on streaming stuff.
 

MplsGopher_fan said:
Thanks! So I plug in the stick, choose between either ATT TV or Hulu Live, and then I assume I go through some sign up stuff with my credit card that I fill out on the tv screen? If it's this simple, I might just be able to watch the Gophers without going to a bar. If I'm missing anything, please correct me. Somehow I'm just not up to par on streaming stuff.
Click to expand...
You need to pick a streaming service that has the networks that are showing Gopher football.
 

Any suggestions on where to watch Gophers Saturday. We are in Estes Park CO
right now. Bars don’t open until noon CST. BIG stream does not provide live broadcast
 

MplsGopher_fan said:
Thanks! So I plug in the stick, choose between either ATT TV or Hulu Live, and then I assume I go through some sign up stuff with my credit card that I fill out on the tv screen? If it's this simple, I might just be able to watch the Gophers without going to a bar. If I'm missing anything, please correct me. Somehow I'm just not up to par on streaming stuff.
Click to expand...
Yes. This is essentially correct. As you do it, you'll see how easy it is.

Buy roku.
Plug into HDMI port with roku plugged in.
Connect to your home wifi
Setup account with roku.
Once through setup, the roku screen will show a dozen "apps" (some think of them as channels) prelisted.
(Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, Disney+ and various other apps/channels you may or may not find useful).

The main options then for streaming regular TV channels (a substitution to a typical Cable, DISH TV, or Direct TV) are Directv-Stream, YoutubeTv, Sling, and there are always a couple others that pop up.

Verify the channels you want to best decide which one of those providers is best for you.
Ballys Sports is only on Directv Stream right now. ESPN is on almost all of them. NFL Network I think is on YTTV but not on Directv Stream.

What channels are most important to you will help drive which option is best for you. Most have free trials, but you'll likely end up with Youtubetv, Directv, Sling, or Hulu as your best options right now.
 

Face the Facts laid it out very well. I have a "smart" LG as our main TV but have found that streaming YTTV through our Firestick device (or ROKU) works better than streaming through the TV's interface. Wife also subscribes to base Hulu (not Hulu live), Netflix and Showtime. If you are an Amazon Prime member, download that app as well.
 

It’s easier than it sounds, unless you’re 75+ and not very tech savvy.

For this season, assuming you wish to view the games on a TV, you will only need a streaming device, eg Roku stick (I recommend the Ultra device for better WiFi reception and heat sink), or Firestick, or Apple TV box; broadband internet, a WiFi router or Ethernet cable, and a TV.

You will need to then choose a “live TV” service to get live sports games (or local channels) and will need to create an online account, eg a Google account for YouTube TV. YouTube TV will have every game except Colorado. There may be others that have the Big Ten channel and PAC-12, eg Fubo or Hulu Live, but they have issues with their DVR vs YouTube TV. Beware.

My question for everyone here: are there any quality VR sports broadcasts scheduled? I know Fox has done some VR broadcasts in the past. I will put in an endorsement here for the Oculus Quest 2 - wireless VR is in its infancy but the tech is already pretty incredible. It will get even better
 

Like others have said, YoutubeTV is the best out there. $55 per month, download the app to your roku, fire stick or smart TVs. You can share your account with I believe 4 family members so if you have parents, siblings or kids out of the house you can invite them and they can watch everything. The picture quality is great and unlimited DVR. So say, if you are college football fan just click to add all games, and you can nerd out and watch Buffalo beat Nebraska sat eve basking in the glow of a Gophs victory
 

Thanks for the info, especially from Face The Facts. Got my roku stick Saturday morning and was able to see the game. It was rather straight-forward.
 

MplsGopher_fan said:
By adding the apps, do you mean picking the channels that I want? Like there's one app for ESPN, one for Big Ten network, etc?
Click to expand...
If you have a regular cable/satellite subscription, you would add ESPN, BTN, Bally etc. for those times when a game is streaming only due to other games over-running or the satellite is out due to rain etc. If you are not a cable/satellite subscriber, the amount of content you can view is much more limited unless you also pay for BTN+ ESPN+ etc.
 

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