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Cutting the cord

Raising Heel said:
Yes, it's instantaneous. But my recommendation is to use the Watch ESPN app. I watched the entire NBA Finals (which were on ABC) using the app, which includes everything broadcast across the ESPN family of networks.Please see above. Basically, do this:

- subscribe to Sling TV's Beta package
- watch ESPN broadcasts using the app

That's it.
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Whcih version of Roku did you buy? Did you buy the newest one (Roku 3)? Trying to decide between that and an Apple TV. It sorta pisses me off that I have to buy either one because I have a PS4 already, which can stream MOST stuff I need (Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime) but doesn't fuggin let you stream Watch ESPN.

ETA: It appears Playstation has come out with their own version (ish) of Sling TV called Playstation Vue. That seems to be the reason they don't let you stream Watch ESPN on the PS4 because, shocker, the ESPN family of networks is part of the Playstation Vue package! As are channels like AMC and such. It starts out at $50 a month, so that's a no-go for me, and I don't see how anyone would choose that option. Pair that $50 / month with non-bundled internet and you're already looking at like $110-$120 per month. For just $20 more I could keep my cable and get 200+ channels in HD + HBO.
 
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TarHeelNation11 said:
Whcih version of Roku did you buy? Did you buy the newest one (Roku 3)? Trying to decide between that and an Apple TV. It sorta pisses me off that I have to buy either one because I have a PS4 already, which can stream MOST stuff I need (Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime) but doesn't fuggin let you stream Watch ESPN.

ETA: It appears Playstation has come out with their own version (ish) of Sling TV called Playstation Vue. That seems to be the reason they don't let you stream Watch ESPN on the PS4 because, shocker, the ESPN family of networks is part of the Playstation Vue package! As are channels like AMC and such. It starts out at $50 a month, so that's a no-go for me, and I don't see how anyone would choose that option. Pair that $50 / month with non-bundled internet and you're already looking at like $110-$120 per month. For just $20 more I could keep my cable and get 200+ channels in HD + HBO.
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Should've gotten an Xbox. It has Sling TV....
 
TarHeelNation11 said:
Yeah.......but then I'd be stuck with an Xbox.
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TarHeelNation11 said:
Whcih version of Roku did you buy?
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Already covered my equipment setup (link). Okay, just ribbing you a bit. You haven't memorized all this?

I got the Roku Streaming Stick. It plugs into your TV via an HDMI connection. It's powered by either an integrated USB connection or a standard AC cord/plug. Since my TV has both HDMI and USB ports in the back, the whole apparatus stays hidden out of sight.

The Streaming Stick comes with a remote that's pretty intuitive. I also like that it has hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, and Google Play that take you directly to those apps. I don't use Google Play but the first three are 75% of my usage. If I could replace the Google Play button with a Watch ESPN button it would be perfect.

An advantage of the Steaming Stick is that's it's very small and completely portable. You can take it on vacation, in a car, in an RV, etc. as long as you have a TV with an HDMI input and of course a wireless signal. I plan on taking mine on vacation so I can watch whatever I want on the TV in the hotels where I stay.
 
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Raising Heel said:
Already covered my equipment setup (link). Okay, just ribbing you a bit. You haven't memorized all this?

I got the Roku Streaming Stick. It plugs into your TV via an HDMI connection. It's powered by either an integrated USB connection or a standard AC cord/plug. Since my TV has both HDMI and USB ports in the back, the whole apparatus stays hidden out of sight.

The Streaming Stick comes with a remote that's pretty intuitive. I also like that it has hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, and Google Play that take you directly to those apps. I don't use Google Play but the first three are 75% of my usage. If I could replace the Google Play button with a Watch ESPN button it would be perfect.

An advantage of the Steaming Stick is that's it's very small and completely portable. You can take it on vacation, in a car, in an RV, etc. as long as you have a TV with an HDMI input and of course a wireless signal. I plan on taking mine on vacation so I can watch whatever I want on the TV in the hotels where I stay.
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The one pictured on your Amazon doesn't have a hot key for Sling TV so I'll have to make sure I pay attention to that when ordering one.
 
TarHeelNation11 said:
The one pictured on your Amazon doesn't have a hot key for Sling TV so I'll have to make sure I pay attention to that when ordering one.
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You're right. Sorry, I meant to point that out. I think I just got lucky, because I didn't even think about it when I ordered. Not sure if there's a way to specify or choose which buttons you get....
 
@Raising Heel can you give an update now that you're back from Canada and have received your most recent Sling TV bill? I'm still wondering if the ESPN / ESPN2 thing is just you grandfathered in or what. I can't actually remember now what you were waiting on your bill to see, but it was definitely something....

I guess I'll have to re-read this thread
 
Just wanted to update this and say I cut the cord back in September and use Playstation Vue for cable now (I also use an HD antenna to pick up over-the-air stations)

I had Netflix and Hulu before cutting the cord and still have them now so I don't count those costs when I tell you this:

After cutting the cord, I went from $169/month to $105/month and I get EVERY channel I could ever want, save for (2) -- History Channel and Comedy Central. And for the latter, I only want it for South Park, which I get on Hulu.

For sports, I get all of the following for the $35/month Playstation Vue tier (which isn't even the highest tier):

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNNews, FS1, FS2, BeIn, Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast (Braves), NBCSports Network, MLB Network, NFL Network, and Big Ten Network. I'd highly recommend it @coolwaterunc
 
TarHeelNation11 said:
Just wanted to update this and say I cut the cord back in September and use Playstation Vue for cable now (I also use an HD antenna to pick up over-the-air stations)

I had Netflix and Hulu before cutting the cord and still have them now so I don't count those costs when I tell you this:

After cutting the cord, I went from $169/month to $105/month and I get EVERY channel I could ever want, save for (2) -- History Channel and Comedy Central. And for the latter, I only want it for South Park, which I get on Hulu.

For sports, I get all of the following for the $35/month Playstation Vue tier (which isn't even the highest tier):

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNNews, FS1, FS2, BeIn, Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast (Braves), NBCSports Network, MLB Network, NFL Network, and Big Ten Network. I'd highly recommend it @coolwaterunc
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How much do you pay for your internet service?
 
Hark_The_Sound_2010 said:
How much do you pay for your internet service?
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$69.99/month for Comcast's "Blast" internet speed, which is their highest speed. Honestly, I could probably drop down a speed on the internet and be fine, but I like to have the fastest speed for gaming.

The only thing to be cautious of is if you're in an area where your internet puts a cap on Internet data you use, since every time you watch TV with Vue (or SlingTV), it's streaming. But in Atlanta, Comcast has the terabyte plan, so I get 1 TB (1024 GB) of internet data per month before I get charged overage. And there's no way in hell you could ever use a terabyte of data in a month. I fall asleep every night to Netflix streaming and the most data I've ever used in a month since switching to Vue is 229 GB....i.e. basically 1/5 of my allotment.

I'm very satisfied with Playstation Vue. Picture quality is excellent, the guide and interface is really easy to navigate since you're using a PS4 controller, and like I mentioned, it's cheap lol
 
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I just now started my 14-day free trial for Sling TV on my Xbox. I have a PS4 too, but that's hooked up to my monitor upstairs in my game room, and I'm not moving it because that setup is my baby. Anyway, I'll see how it goes. I noticed I'm getting FS South and Southeast on Sling TV but with Time Warner, I get FS Carolinas and Southeast. The Hawks are on Sling TV, so I'm wondering if I can still get the Hornets. @Raising Heel, are you able to get both Hornets and Braves? This is critical for me.
 
coolwaterunc said:
I just now started my 14-day free trial for Sling TV on my Xbox. I have a PS4 too, but that's hooked up to my monitor upstairs in my game room, and I'm not moving it because that setup is my baby. Anyway, I'll see how it goes. I noticed I'm getting FS South and Southeast on Sling TV but with Time Warner, I get FS Carolinas and Southeast. The Hawks are on Sling TV, so I'm wondering if I can still get the Hornets. @Raising Heel, are you able to get both Hornets and Braves? This is critical for me.
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You need to clarify for RH that the Braves are an MLB team.
 
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Watching the Heels on Sling TV right now, and it's holding up quite well. There's a small hiccup every now then, but not often enough to raise any red flags. Looking good, so far, I must say.
 
coolwaterunc said:
Watching the Heels on Sling TV right now, and it's holding up quite well. There's a small hiccup every now then, but not often enough to raise any red flags. Looking good, so far, I must say.
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I'm watching it on Vue and it looks better than yours.

Lol jk. Good luck in your cord cutting endeavors! I initially waa gonna do Sling and I really did a thorough side by side comparison with Vue before choosing the latter.
 
coolwaterunc said:
I just now started my 14-day free trial for Sling TV on my Xbox. I have a PS4 too, but that's hooked up to my monitor upstairs in my game room, and I'm not moving it because that setup is my baby. Anyway, I'll see how it goes. I noticed I'm getting FS South and Southeast on Sling TV but with Time Warner, I get FS Carolinas and Southeast. The Hawks are on Sling TV, so I'm wondering if I can still get the Hornets. @Raising Heel, are you able to get both Hornets and Braves? This is critical for me.
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Fox Sports Carolinas is worthless.
 
coolwaterunc said:
I noticed I'm getting FS South and Southeast on Sling TV but with Time Warner, I get FS Carolinas and Southeast. The Hawks are on Sling TV, so I'm wondering if I can still get the Hornets. @Raising Heel, are you able to get both Hornets and Braves? This is critical for me.
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coolwaterunc said:
@Raising Heel should put down his lasagna and answer my question by the way.
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GMAFB.

Yes, Sling gives us FS South and Southeast (plus multiple alternates for each channel). I know FS Southeast definitely carries Hornets games and their schedule confirms that. Pretty sure at least one of those channels carries the Braves games since they were on every friggin night this summer. Seriously, I'm 90% sure.
 
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I've had sling since near inception, over 1.5 yrs. Sling's espn delivery seems to have a few complications that other stations within Sling don't. Anybody else notice this? Like the espn channel will have more buffering issues, sometimes it will hang-up and require that I get out of sling back to my roku's main menu, etc.

Swear to god it seems to happen more often during heels games , bb or fb. Using Roku 2, with ATT Uverse (slightly cheaper). cnn, hgtv, other channels don't seem to hiccup as often (according to the wife)
 
blazers said:
I've had sling since near inception, over 1.5 yrs. Sling's espn delivery seems to have a few complications that other stations within Sling don't. Anybody else notice this? Like the espn channel will have more buffering issues, sometimes it will hang-up and require that I get out of sling back to my roku's main menu, etc.

Swear to god it seems to happen more often during heels games , bb or fb. Using Roku 2, with ATT Uverse (slightly cheaper). cnn, hgtv, other channels don't seem to hiccup as often (according to the wife)
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I use a Roku streaming stick. This sometimes happens to me, too, but not often. Never had a problem during a game. The biggest issue is the buffering, which I've found puts me behind live action anywhere between 40 seconds to 1 minute. I'm basing that off the radio broadcast, Twitter, texts from friends, etc.
 
^ Yeah. But heck i've even had timing issues regarding radio-broadcast via rabbit ears
 
blazers said:
^ Yeah. But heck i've even had timing issues regarding radio-broadcast via rabbit ears
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My understanding is that they usually try to synch the radio broadcast with the cable broadcast. A network broadcast on rabbit ears will be slightly ahead of the cable broadcast, which means you'll be ahead of the audio, too.

There is a device you can buy which will allow you to delay radio broadcasts if you really want to do that.
 
You're smarter than you realize, @coolwaterunc

In the process of trying to answer your question about Fox Sports channels, I changed my Sling TV subscription from one package to another (Orange to Blue). Then I tried to change it back last night (Blue to Orange). Didn't work. Sling has changed its policy about changing between packages.

Blue includes all the Fox Sports networks plus some other stuff and is $25 per month. Orange includes all the ESPN networks and is $20 per month. There's also Blue+Orange for $40 per month which is obviously everything.

The only package changes that take place immediately now are the ones that increase your bill. If you change your service to a less expensive one, for example from Blue to Orange, it doesn't take effect until the start of the next billing cycle. That could be anywhere between 30 days and 1 day. I tried to do that this evening but got stuck with Blue / Fox channels when I wanted to see the ESPN channels on Orange.

The online rep was very nice about it and made the change for me. But she also told me it was a glitch in the original setup that has now been fixed (fixed for them, anyway). I won't make that mistake again.

So your question revealed an interesting change in policy that might be a dealbreaker for Sling with certain customers. I know I was enjoying switching at will* between packages before they made this fix.

* We would also have accepted "willy nilly."
 
Raising Heel said:
You're smarter than you realize, @coolwaterunc

In the process of trying to answer your question about Fox Sports channels, I changed my Sling TV subscription from one package to another (Orange to Blue). Then I tried to change it back last night (Blue to Orange). Didn't work. Sling has changed its policy about changing between packages.

Blue includes all the Fox Sports networks plus some other stuff and is $25 per month. Orange includes all the ESPN networks and is $20 per month. There's also Blue+Orange for $40 per month which is obviously everything.

The only package changes that take place immediately now are the ones that increase your bill. If you change your service to a less expensive one, for example from Blue to Orange, it doesn't take effect until the start of the next billing cycle. That could be anywhere between 30 days and 1 day. I tried to do that this evening but got stuck with Blue / Fox channels when I wanted to see the ESPN channels on Orange.

The online rep was very nice about it and made the change for me. But she also told me it was a glitch in the original setup that has now been fixed (fixed for them, anyway). I won't make that mistake again.

So your question revealed an interesting change in policy that might be a dealbreaker for Sling with certain customers. I know I was enjoying switching at will* between packages before they made this fix.

* We would also have accepted "willy nilly."
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Even more thankful I opted for Vue now. Switching between packages was one of the biggest perks for going with Sling, IMO
 
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I picked the Blue & Orange package anyway. I didn't think it was wise to go without ESPN. After cable, I don't mind $40. With that said, if I'm able to get the Hornets game tonight (not sure why I wouldn't, but you never know), I'm cutting it tonight. The big test will be Braves games, but when April comes around and I can't get them for sone reason, I can always get TWC back.
 
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coolwaterunc said:
I picked the Blue & Orange package anyway. I didn't think it was wise to go without ESPN. After cable, I don't mind $40. With that said, if I'm able to get the Hornets game tonight (not sure why I wouldn't, but you never know), I'm cutting it tonight. The big test will be Braves games, but when April comes around and I can't get them for sone reason, I can always get TWC back.
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Yeah, I've been cheap and tried to stay with one package. I'll probably go whole hog soon. And yes, the ability to cancel any time means TWC can always be the backup plan if needed.
 
Alright, I know I'm seriously beating a dead horse here, but it's been a week, and I'm sitting here wondering why I didn't cut the cord years ago. WTF was I throwing away money every month? Between Sling TV and the antenna, which has been a lot more reliable than I anticipated, I've been able to watch everything I intended without noticing any drop-off whatsoever in quality. I know this has been said a billion times, but if you've thought about getting rid of your TV provider for even one second, don't hesitate and just do it already. There's really no reason not to. Best thing I've ever done.
 
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coolwaterunc said:
Alright, I know I'm seriously beating a dead horse here, but it's been a week, and I'm sitting here wondering why I didn't cut the cord years ago. WTF was I throwing away money every month? Between Sling TV and the antenna, which has been a lot more reliable than I anticipated, I've been able to watch everything I intended without noticing any drop-off whatsoever in quality. I know this has been said a billion times, but if you've thought about getting rid of your TV provider for even one second, don't hesitate and just do it already. There's really no reason not to. Best thing I've ever done.
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I'm thinking of cutting cord as well. Just gotta do the research first. AND convince the rest of the family.
 
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coolwaterunc said:
Alright, I know I'm seriously beating a dead horse here, but it's been a week, and I'm sitting here wondering why I didn't cut the cord years ago. WTF was I throwing away money every month? Between Sling TV and the antenna, which has been a lot more reliable than I anticipated, I've been able to watch everything I intended without noticing any drop-off whatsoever in quality. I know this has been said a billion times, but if you've thought about getting rid of your TV provider for even one second, don't hesitate and just do it already. There's really no reason not to. Best thing I've ever done.
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You've come a long way.
 
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TarHeelMark said:
I'm thinking of cutting cord as well. Just gotta do the research first. AND convince the rest if he family.
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I know that I only have one stream on Sling TV, meaning I can only watch "cable" channels on one TV at a time. Not a problem for a single guy but might present problems for a family. I think Sling offers multiple streams but you'll want to research if you go that route.
 
Raising Heel said:
I know that I only have one stream on Sling TV, meaning I can only watch "cable" channels on one TV at a time. Not a problem for a single guy but might present problems for a family. I think Sling offers multiple streams but you'll want to research if you go that route.
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You can stream with up to three devices at once with blue package but only one with orange. So if you get both blue and orange, only the blue channels will be available for multiple streams. THM, I know that makes absolutely no sense. Just research it a little more, and it will.
 
Sling TV has been solid for me, outside of it not really having any of the news channels I'd want to watch (FoxNews / Weather Channel). I like the sports coverage with it.
 
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