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Livingat45north

Livingat45north

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What do you use for viewing? Dish and Direct memberships are on the downhill slide. Have you switched over to some other service?
 



DirecTV, have had it since it basically started. But I've considered and pondered dumping it and going with a combination of Amazon Prime, Netflix, and whatever else I need to fill the void. Just haven't pulled the trigger just yet. I'll have to get more info before I make that kind of leap.
 



I've played this game for years. I have DirecTV and feel like you get what you pay for. I don't like looking for streams on Reddit to watch live sports. Recently, I decided that the cost of DirecTV had gotten way too high to justify it anymore, so I spent a couple of days researching the differences in streaming. Sling seemed like the cheapest, but they don't carry BTN, so it was automatically off the list. HuluTV seemed good, but if I recall correctly, you could only stream on two devices at once, if you wanted more, that would cost more per month. YouTubeTV was fine, but it was missing channels that we regularly watch. Eventually, we settled on moving to Playstation's Vue streaming service. So I called DirecTV to cancel and after jumping through a few hoops with their loyalty/customer retention teams, I got them to basically drop our bill down to within 8 dollars a month of what it would have cost me to switch to streaming. As I was still under a contract with DirecTV, this was enough reason for me to give up on switching services. For now.
 

Wish I had comcast. I have charter.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 


Switched from cable to DirecTV after cable dropped BTN (only to bring it back 2 days after I switched.) Price is reasonable for 1 year, then will have to haggle or ditch them. YouTube/Hulu still lack too many local/other channels, but I expect I'll make that switch some day.
 



Dish, Netflix, Amazon Prime. I use Dish to watch specific shows/sports, flip channels & DVR. On Amazon Prime I bought the HBO pass & spent the past 45 days catching up on G.O.T. NetFlix I almost never use anymore. Should probably cancel it.
 

Playstation Vue here.
It does freeze up every now and then and it's getting borderline too expensive, but it's still the best option.
 


I do netflix, prime, and hulu from end of college basketball until nfl/ gopher football starts. Then i will add playstation vue to get sports.
 




Switched from DirecTV to streaming a year ago. I have YouTubeTV. Best TV decision I ever made. Local channels, every necessary sports channel, and an amazing DVR. I use Rokus on my home TVs. I love it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I've played this game for years. I have DirecTV and feel like you get what you pay for. I don't like looking for streams on Reddit to watch live sports. Recently, I decided that the cost of DirecTV had gotten way too high to justify it anymore, so I spent a couple of days researching the differences in streaming. Sling seemed like the cheapest, but they don't carry BTN, so it was automatically off the list. HuluTV seemed good, but if I recall correctly, you could only stream on two devices at once, if you wanted more, that would cost more per month. YouTubeTV was fine, but it was missing channels that we regularly watch. Eventually, we settled on moving to Playstation's Vue streaming service. So I called DirecTV to cancel and after jumping through a few hoops with their loyalty/customer retention teams, I got them to basically drop our bill down to within 8 dollars a month of what it would have cost me to switch to streaming. As I was still under a contract with DirecTV, this was enough reason for me to give up on switching services. For now.
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I’ve been playing this game with DirecTV for some time. Every 6 months to a year, you call them and tell them you’re going to switch if you can’t get a lower price. The first line of customer reps, usually an outsourced Philippine located service, can only give you $5 or $10 off your service. If you insist on canceling, they send you to the ‘customer retention’ or ‘loyalty’ dept with a Directv employee. It used to be you had to carry on the charade until you got a significant discount. Now they just give you the larger discount for making the request for a discount b/c they know they a bleeding customers.

The merger between AT&T and Directv was horrible b/c AT&T’s customer service sucked and Directv’s went from good to bad soon after the merger. The right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing, and they both f’d up. Now they are unwedding their customer services and billing depts from one another and that should help.

Much like your experience, I can get my service bill down enough that the inconvenience of switching isn’t worth it to changing services. I suspect they will get even more competitive as they continue to lose customers.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Switched from DirecTV to streaming a year ago. I have YouTubeTV. Best TV decision I ever made. Local channels, every necessary sports channel, and an amazing DVR. I use Rokus on my home TVs. I love it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I have a friend that just did this, and that's what prompted me to post the thread. Does YouTubeTV include BIG?
 

Livingat45north said:
I have a friend that just did this, and that's what prompted me to post the thread. Does YouTubeTV include BIG?
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It does. But with every streaming service, you will lose channels are part of most cable/satellite packages. For example, I have a 3- year old. The only streaming service I found with Nick Jr. was Sling, and they didn't have BTN.
 

Had DirecTV Now for 2 years. Switched back to Comcast in a fit of rage after having games continually spoiled for me.

Can’t stand the 45 second delay from internet TV. Will gladly pay the $20-$30 a month extra for cable until over the air providers improve the delay. It’s also nice having a fully customizable DVR and dedicated remote again.
 
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Livingat45north said:
I have a friend that just did this, and that's what prompted me to post the thread. Does YouTubeTV include BIG?
Click to expand...

Yes, and both FSNs, all ESPNs, CBSSN, NBCSN, Golf, etc.

The only meaningful sports channel not there is NFL Network. But I’ve adjusted. No big deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Recent cord-cutter here. Was with DirecTV for almost 15 years. Went with YouTubeTV streamed via Roku devices. YTTV with all the sports channels I need, unlimited DVR, capable of watching on 6 different devices. The recent channel line-up additions in the past week allows us to use YTTV exclusively vs. needing another streaming service to replace a few of the channels we routinely watch but weren't previously carried. I do worry about the delay come football season as I like to follow along on Twitter for some sporting events but I'll adjust.
 

I'm still on a municipal cable TV system, but a guy who works there says they're probably going to discontinue traditional cable TV because they can't make money on it. cost of programming is going up faster than they can adopt price increases, and a lot of people are dropping as the price goes up.

once i lose that option, I will probably go to one of the streaming services. a friend of mine has YouTube TV and really likes it.

I currently have Netflix, but I primarily got it to watch the Marvel TV shows. now that they're all cancelled, I will likely drop Netflix and pick up Disney+ when it rolls out. I'm intrigued by the new Picard Star Trek series, but I'm not going to add CBS All Access for one show.
 

mnsportsgeek said:
Had DirecTV Now for 2 years. Switched back to Comcast in a fit of rage after having games continually spoiled for me.

Can’t stand the 45 second delay from internet TV. Will gladly pay the $20-$30 a month extra for cable until over the air providers improve the delay. It’s also nice having a fully customizable DVR and dedicated remote again.
Click to expand...

45 seconds? Yikes. This would be an issue for me as well. Even with DirecTV, there is a 4-5 second delay and this occasionally happens. Between fantasy football and twitter I would know everything that happens in a Vikings/Gophers game 30 seconds before I see it. No thanks.
 

howeda7 said:
45 seconds? Yikes. This would be an issue for me as well. Even with DirecTV, there is a 4-5 second delay and this occasionally happens. Between fantasy football and twitter I would know everything that happens in a Vikings/Gophers game 30 seconds before I see it. No thanks.
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It's between 30 seconds and a minute on average. I like to follow stats, twitter, etc. while I watch so this was a constant problem. I got pretty good at figuring out when I could check on things, but I still had some things spoiled all the time. Eventually I gave up and went back to cable.

Eventually these streaming services will be just as expensive as cable. You're seeing it already with all the price hikes going on. They were never sustainable at the prices they were offered at.
 

mnsportsgeek said:
Eventually these streaming services will be just as expensive as cable. You're seeing it already with all the price hikes going on. They were never sustainable at the prices they were offered at.
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That might end up happening, but in the meantime I will have enjoyed multiple years of saving $60-80 per month on TV programming costs. I've already saved around $2k total in 2 years by switching from DirecTV to Vue. And if at some point it becomes more expensive I can switch back or find yet another alternative. But those savings (which continue to accumulate) can't be taken away.
 

We've had Vue for a few years now and will never go back to cable. I get every sports channel I need. We switch over to antennae to watch live local channels.
 

I live in a city where Comcast is the only cable choice. Switched to Dish Satellite about a decade ago, but that got to be just as expensive, and issues with reception whenever stormy out. About 6 months ago I switched to DirectTVNow. About half the price for the time being, but I do have an occasional issue with buffering.
 

The key issue in all of the streaming choices is having really good internet service. I talked to my local provider about streaming, and the manager flat-out told me I would need to upgrade to a better internet package to get the speeds necessary for good streaming with no interruptions. so, at least some of the money that would be saved by dumping cable for streaming would be eaten up by the cost of moving to a better internet package.

FWIW, my municipal system has fiber-optic to the home. at some point, they're supposed to be giving all the customers a "giga-center" unit that is supposed to provide much better quality in-home wi-fi service. they also have something called 'mesh' extenders to boost the wi-fi signal in a bigger house, or extend the service onto a deck or patio. I admittedly do not understand a lot of this. I'm a tech idiot.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Switched from DirecTV to streaming a year ago. I have YouTubeTV. Best TV decision I ever made. Local channels, every necessary sports channel, and an amazing DVR. I use Rokus on my home TVs. I love it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

This is exactly what we use. Like it so far, except the price has gone up $10/month in the 3 months we've had it.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
The key issue in all of the streaming choices is having really good internet service. I talked to my local provider about streaming, and the manager flat-out told me I would need to upgrade to a better internet package to get the speeds necessary for good streaming with no interruptions. so, at least some of the money that would be saved by dumping cable for streaming would be eaten up by the cost of moving to a better internet package.

FWIW, my municipal system has fiber-optic to the home. at some point, they're supposed to be giving all the customers a "giga-center" unit that is supposed to provide much better quality in-home wi-fi service. they also have something called 'mesh' extenders to boost the wi-fi signal in a bigger house, or extend the service onto a deck or patio. I admittedly do not understand a lot of this. I'm a tech idiot.
Click to expand...

Im at 50 MB. Can I ask what youre at? It's seldom an issue, but occasional....and of course, always at the worst times.
 

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