Katsmeow
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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- Jul 11, 2009
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I have read the other cord cutting threads and have done a lot of research online. I think we will sign up for either Directv Now or Hulu Live and would like feedback from those who have them (or who have had them).
Our situation -- We will be new customers when we move into the house we just bought. We are now in the DFW area. Before we were in the Houston area and had Comcast (awful since there was no real competition).
The primary options for us will be Frontier Fios (either 100 mbps or 150 mpbs both up and down) with Frontier TV or Spectrum Cable (either 100 mpbs or 400 mpbs down but only 5 up I think) with Spectrum TV.
We will 4 or 5 TVs. Two of the TVs are 4k TVs. One of those is a Roku TV. The other 4k TV and two of our older TV are smart TVs that can stream stuff like Netflix.
We have few channels we absolutely have to have but really want a few specific channels. I primarily watch TV in 2 ways. First, most evenings will using my computer I will stream TV to my computer while I am playing games or doing other things on the computer. DH does the same. So being able to stream to the computer is important. Also, we will have an exercise room. I like to watch TV while I use the treadmill or exercise bike. Sometimes I stream TwitchTV or YouTube (our Roku TV is in the exercise room). But, the rest of the time I will watch DVRed episodes of shows from HGTV or sometimes the Food Network. Occasionally I will watch HBO or some other channel.
DH watches some sports. He is not hardcore but will watch football and baseball occasionally other sports a few nights/days a week. He has no interest in sports talk shows, just the actual events.
What we are comparing to: From what I can tell from the Spectrum webpage we can get a triple play package for 4 TVs for about $173 a month plus taxes and fees. That is with the 400mb internet. The 100 is $25 a month cheaper. We do both do gaming so we wouldn't consider anything below 100. My reservation on Spectrum is the upload speed is so slow. Also, I hate all the taxes and fees which add on a lot. (Oh - I don't want the phone service but it is cheaper with the phone service than without). I know with Comcast our service was $190 a month but taxes and fees added about $34 a month. So, I would guess the Spectrum option would be around $200 a month.
With Frontier Fios, I was quoted $175 a month from someone helping us set up utilities. That was for 4 TVs and with the 100mbps internet. 150 is an extra $10 a month. Again, I expect that when all is said and done it would be around $200 a month. If we stayed with cable TV I would probably do this one.
What we will get for sure: We will get Frontier Fios 150mbps internet for about $75 a month (possibly could save $10 for 100). We already have Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu (the on demand stuff, not Hulu Live). We will keep those (well, sort of if we get Hulu Live).
Streaming options we rejected - These are the ones we thought about but think won't work.
Playstation Vue - There was a lot I liked about it. Their HBO add on is expensive ($15 month) but that is the one premium channel we would get. I like their simultaneous streams. The real dealbreaker is that CBS is not available here. We do want ABC, CBS, and NBC. If my mom moves in (as planned) she will definitely want them. I know I can do CBS All Access for $6 a month. DH is not a fan of that as he doesn't want the hassle factor of having to use a different service for one channel. For the same reason, he doesn't want to do OTA either.
SlingTV - We would have done blue + orange as that was the only way to get the channels we wanted. But it is worse than PS Vue in that it is missing both ABC and CBS here.
YouTube TV - No HGTV or Food Network which is a complete showstopper
All of which leaves the two we are still considering.
Directv Now - This has all of the channels DH and I would want. Going to the $50 a month option does add in several channels that while not absolutely necessary are channels we each sometimes watch (Travel, Weather, Cooking for example). Going to the $60 a month option adds one channel I would like (Nat Geo Wild) and several sports channels that DH would want. Also HBO is only $5 a month.
Negatives - DVR is in beta apparently and there have been complaints about it. It is apparently for free only 20 hours and only for 30 days. I often waited longer than 30 days to watch things (and, no, they weren't always available on demand). Apparently I read that you may be able to increase the 20 hours to 100 hours for $10 a month which seems a little pricey if it doesn't add to the 30 days.
Also, only 2 streams is allowed which is a deal breaker. But, supposedly that is being increased to 3 at $5 a month. I am not sure though if that is happening now or is an in the future thing.
Total cost - $60 for 3rd tier + $5 for extra stream + $5 for HBO
So that is $70 plus $75 or so for internet.
Hulu Live - It has only one set of channels which is $40 a month. But to be able to skip commercials on the DVR and to increase streams from 2 to unlimited (plus 3 on the go) costs $20 a month. Also HBO is $15 a month after the first 6 months.
So total cost is $75 compared to $70 for Directv Now.
The number of streams is far superior to Directv Now. Also, Hulu has its DVR which may not be as buggy as Directv Nows and it allows you to store 200 hours (I think though for only 30 days although I'm not sure).
Both Directv Now and Hulu Live have ABC, CBS, and NBC so that is a plus.
However Hulu is missing a lot of channels. None of them are deal breaker channels but some I like to watch at least occasionally. (Comedy Central, Cooking, OWN, Weather, CSpan). Also it is missing a few sports channels that would be available on the selected Directv Package.
For both of these we would have to buy either Rokus or Fire TVs. I am conflicted on that. We really like the Roku TV that we have. We have 4 TVs now and may buy a 5th TV. If so, it will be a TCL Roku TV. For the other 3 TVs we will need either buy a Roku Ultra or Roku stick (for the 4k TVs) or the Fire TV (probably not the stick as the stick doesn't do 4k).
Right now leaning to the Roku as I watch a fair amount of you tube. Also we like the Roku interface. That said -- we just got a couple of Echo Shows so the Amazon Fire TV has some attraction due to interaction with Alexa.
My sense is that Hulu Live seems to be "friendlier" than Directv Now in terms of DVR and streaming. But, that comes at not having as many channels. Also, HBO is more expensive after 6 months which makes Hulu Live $75 a month compared to $70 for Directv Now. But, I worry about the streaming limit on Directv Now and the puny DVR. If I have to pay $10 a month to upgrade DVR on Directv Now then it is $5 more than Hulu Live.
Also some of this stuff is not yet here (or out of beta anyway) on Directv Now so not sure how well it will work. Hulu Live seems to have worked through that stuff. Also I guess I save $8.48 a month if I get Hulu Live as I won't need my Hulu on demand subscription any more.
But, Hulu Live is more lacking in channels that aren't core channels for me but are channels I would ideally want to have.
Would appreciate any thoughts/experiences.
Of course, I know we can try each one of them and can freely switch from one to another. But, trying to get it right from the start if possible.
Our situation -- We will be new customers when we move into the house we just bought. We are now in the DFW area. Before we were in the Houston area and had Comcast (awful since there was no real competition).
The primary options for us will be Frontier Fios (either 100 mbps or 150 mpbs both up and down) with Frontier TV or Spectrum Cable (either 100 mpbs or 400 mpbs down but only 5 up I think) with Spectrum TV.
We will 4 or 5 TVs. Two of the TVs are 4k TVs. One of those is a Roku TV. The other 4k TV and two of our older TV are smart TVs that can stream stuff like Netflix.
We have few channels we absolutely have to have but really want a few specific channels. I primarily watch TV in 2 ways. First, most evenings will using my computer I will stream TV to my computer while I am playing games or doing other things on the computer. DH does the same. So being able to stream to the computer is important. Also, we will have an exercise room. I like to watch TV while I use the treadmill or exercise bike. Sometimes I stream TwitchTV or YouTube (our Roku TV is in the exercise room). But, the rest of the time I will watch DVRed episodes of shows from HGTV or sometimes the Food Network. Occasionally I will watch HBO or some other channel.
DH watches some sports. He is not hardcore but will watch football and baseball occasionally other sports a few nights/days a week. He has no interest in sports talk shows, just the actual events.
What we are comparing to: From what I can tell from the Spectrum webpage we can get a triple play package for 4 TVs for about $173 a month plus taxes and fees. That is with the 400mb internet. The 100 is $25 a month cheaper. We do both do gaming so we wouldn't consider anything below 100. My reservation on Spectrum is the upload speed is so slow. Also, I hate all the taxes and fees which add on a lot. (Oh - I don't want the phone service but it is cheaper with the phone service than without). I know with Comcast our service was $190 a month but taxes and fees added about $34 a month. So, I would guess the Spectrum option would be around $200 a month.
With Frontier Fios, I was quoted $175 a month from someone helping us set up utilities. That was for 4 TVs and with the 100mbps internet. 150 is an extra $10 a month. Again, I expect that when all is said and done it would be around $200 a month. If we stayed with cable TV I would probably do this one.
What we will get for sure: We will get Frontier Fios 150mbps internet for about $75 a month (possibly could save $10 for 100). We already have Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu (the on demand stuff, not Hulu Live). We will keep those (well, sort of if we get Hulu Live).
Streaming options we rejected - These are the ones we thought about but think won't work.
Playstation Vue - There was a lot I liked about it. Their HBO add on is expensive ($15 month) but that is the one premium channel we would get. I like their simultaneous streams. The real dealbreaker is that CBS is not available here. We do want ABC, CBS, and NBC. If my mom moves in (as planned) she will definitely want them. I know I can do CBS All Access for $6 a month. DH is not a fan of that as he doesn't want the hassle factor of having to use a different service for one channel. For the same reason, he doesn't want to do OTA either.
SlingTV - We would have done blue + orange as that was the only way to get the channels we wanted. But it is worse than PS Vue in that it is missing both ABC and CBS here.
YouTube TV - No HGTV or Food Network which is a complete showstopper
All of which leaves the two we are still considering.
Directv Now - This has all of the channels DH and I would want. Going to the $50 a month option does add in several channels that while not absolutely necessary are channels we each sometimes watch (Travel, Weather, Cooking for example). Going to the $60 a month option adds one channel I would like (Nat Geo Wild) and several sports channels that DH would want. Also HBO is only $5 a month.
Negatives - DVR is in beta apparently and there have been complaints about it. It is apparently for free only 20 hours and only for 30 days. I often waited longer than 30 days to watch things (and, no, they weren't always available on demand). Apparently I read that you may be able to increase the 20 hours to 100 hours for $10 a month which seems a little pricey if it doesn't add to the 30 days.
Also, only 2 streams is allowed which is a deal breaker. But, supposedly that is being increased to 3 at $5 a month. I am not sure though if that is happening now or is an in the future thing.
Total cost - $60 for 3rd tier + $5 for extra stream + $5 for HBO
So that is $70 plus $75 or so for internet.
Hulu Live - It has only one set of channels which is $40 a month. But to be able to skip commercials on the DVR and to increase streams from 2 to unlimited (plus 3 on the go) costs $20 a month. Also HBO is $15 a month after the first 6 months.
So total cost is $75 compared to $70 for Directv Now.
The number of streams is far superior to Directv Now. Also, Hulu has its DVR which may not be as buggy as Directv Nows and it allows you to store 200 hours (I think though for only 30 days although I'm not sure).
Both Directv Now and Hulu Live have ABC, CBS, and NBC so that is a plus.
However Hulu is missing a lot of channels. None of them are deal breaker channels but some I like to watch at least occasionally. (Comedy Central, Cooking, OWN, Weather, CSpan). Also it is missing a few sports channels that would be available on the selected Directv Package.
For both of these we would have to buy either Rokus or Fire TVs. I am conflicted on that. We really like the Roku TV that we have. We have 4 TVs now and may buy a 5th TV. If so, it will be a TCL Roku TV. For the other 3 TVs we will need either buy a Roku Ultra or Roku stick (for the 4k TVs) or the Fire TV (probably not the stick as the stick doesn't do 4k).
Right now leaning to the Roku as I watch a fair amount of you tube. Also we like the Roku interface. That said -- we just got a couple of Echo Shows so the Amazon Fire TV has some attraction due to interaction with Alexa.
My sense is that Hulu Live seems to be "friendlier" than Directv Now in terms of DVR and streaming. But, that comes at not having as many channels. Also, HBO is more expensive after 6 months which makes Hulu Live $75 a month compared to $70 for Directv Now. But, I worry about the streaming limit on Directv Now and the puny DVR. If I have to pay $10 a month to upgrade DVR on Directv Now then it is $5 more than Hulu Live.
Also some of this stuff is not yet here (or out of beta anyway) on Directv Now so not sure how well it will work. Hulu Live seems to have worked through that stuff. Also I guess I save $8.48 a month if I get Hulu Live as I won't need my Hulu on demand subscription any more.
But, Hulu Live is more lacking in channels that aren't core channels for me but are channels I would ideally want to have.
Would appreciate any thoughts/experiences.
Of course, I know we can try each one of them and can freely switch from one to another. But, trying to get it right from the start if possible.
