How are you liking Sling TV?

[king3pj]

Now that it's looking like my Tigers won't make the MLB Postseason I'm thinking about dropping my cable subscription a couple months earlier than planned. The good thing about using Charter with my Tivo is that I can seamlessly switch between OTA and cable with the same equipment and not lose any of my recordings or timers. There are no contracts.

I've had OTA and streaming only before for almost 2 years and I was ok with it. I only have cable right now because my internet promos ran out and it was going to be nearly the same price to do a double play with TV. When I signed up for TV they bumped my internet back down to the promo rates for another 2 years. Cable was always going to be temporary for me because I don't have time to watch TV in the winter and I'm not going to pay the full double play price. Plus if I cancel now I can qualify for new customer pricing before baseball again next spring.

I want ESPN for Football season. I could always use my parents' Dish credentials to get WatchESPN like I did last time I cut the cord but now that there is an easy way to buy it myself I'm thinking about getting Sling TV this time.

I wouldn't mind having access to CNN for morning news and TBS for the MLB Postseason so there are other benefits to Sling besides just ESPN for me. How does AMC on demand work? If I want to watch the Walking Dead this fall how long would I have to wait after an episode airs before I can see it? How many episodes remain in the on demand library if I get a couple weeks behind? In the past when I cut the cord I bought seasons from Amazon/iTunes but I'd obviously like to get them from Sling TV if I'm already paying for it.

 

[king3pj]

Also, what devices are you guys using? The device I would use most often is an Xbox One in my living room. A Roku 2 XD in the bedroom would probably get limited use as well. Are these devices solid for Sling TV? Is there a preferred device that works better or has more features that I should be looking into?

 

[Joey Hopalong]

I am enjoying it very much. We didn't have cable for years until we moved into an apartment with free basic cable, about six years before that we had Dish with some $20 dollar plan and it had just the right channels.Recently we moved up here with family with a expensive DSL/ Directtv package that was costing about $150 a month. About a month ago I found Sling on my Xbox and got the bright idea to shop around for cheaper, better internet. Basically because of Sling, I found cheaper internet that's ten times the speed of the old one and Sling TV with the kids package for around $75-$80 a month when all is said and done. I bought a Roku stick yesterday for the living room, have the Xbox for the other room, got my own modem, and there is a killer router on the way that should be arriving shortly. It's going to be amazing! The only problem is the volume which is extremely low on the Xbox and the Roku stick. Unfortunately, I didn't see the Roku deal on their site until I had already paid $50 for my stick and all of the sudden Roku is giving me ads for a $60 Roku 2.

 

[king3pj]

I am enjoying it very much. We didn't have cable for years until we moved into an apartment with free basic cable, about six years before that we had Dish with some $20 dollar plan and it had just the right channels.Recently we moved up here with family with a expensive DSL/ Directtv package that was costing about $150 a month. About a month ago I found Sling on my Xbox and got the bright idea to shop around for cheaper, better internet. Basically because of Sling, I found cheaper internet that's ten times the speed of the old one and Sling TV with the kids package for around $75-$80 a month when all is said and done. I bought a Roku stick yesterday for the living room, have the Xbox for the other room, got my own modem, and there is a killer router on the way that should be arriving shortly. It's going to be amazing! The only problem is the volume which is extremely low on the Xbox and the Roku stick. Unfortunately, I didn't see the Roku deal on their site until I had already paid $50 for my stick and all of the sudden Roku is giving me ads for a $60 Roku 2.

Thanks for your input and welcome to the site!

I currently pay Charter (including taxes and cable card rental) $103 for a double play package of 60Mbps internet and their Spectrum Silver TV service. Silver is equivalent to AT 250 from Dish except HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax are included. It really is a pretty good deal. Even though it's a good deal I'm still paying about $40 more than I need to for stuff I don't watch that often.

Outside of my baseball games, I don't watch much that comes on the standard cable channels. Most of my timers are for channels I can get OTA and HBO. I do watch quite a few AMC shows. I still watch more content from Netflix and Amazon Prime than I do from cable channels.

I have internet promo pricing for another year at $30 from my double play even if I cancel the TV part. It was $60 on it's own before I bundled cable this spring because my original promos ran out. I think the basic Sling TV package plus HBO alongside my OTA Tivo, Netflix, and Amazon Prime would still give me more content than I would have time to watch. Internet plus Sling (with HBO) would only cost me a total of $65. I'm not going to factor in Netflix or Amazon because I have had them for years whether I have cable or not.

Sounds like my mind is pretty much made up. I would still like to know more about how the on demand stuff works though. If I want to watch one of my AMC shows how long does it take after they air it before it's available on demand? How long does it stay available? I think i heard something about a 3 day window before but I hope that's not the case. Sometimes I get a couple weeks behind on a show and I don't really want to be stuck on their schedule.

 

[tigerfan33]

I would check with others about stability issues. Some had trouble around launch.
Hopefully things are better now.
I'll be looking like you when my Directv contract is up next year.

 

[Character Zero]

VOD:
AMC - Not sure exactly when the episode is available, but I have been able to watch at least the next day. It keeps the past 3 episodes, anything older is not there.

Xbox One App - Its bad. I get crashes when watching VOD, mostly HBO VOD. It will freeze and then not be able to recover and crash or I have to manually quit. Luckily HBO allows FF so I can get back to where I was. Didn't really get it on AMC VOD which is good because you can't FF. Watching live seems to be fine. But the app is not as stable as Roku. I have had very little issues with Roku or the Android App. Even the Android App would pause for a second but it could recover.

 

[king3pj]

VOD:
AMC - Not sure exactly when the episode is available, but I have been able to watch at least the next day. It keeps the past 3 episodes, anything older is not there.

Xbox One App - Its bad. I get crashes when watching VOD, mostly HBO VOD. It will freeze and then not be able to recover and crash or I have to manually quit. Luckily HBO allows FF so I can get back to where I was. Didn't really get it on AMC VOD which is good because you can't FF. Watching live seems to be fine. But the app is not as stable as Roku. I have had very little issues with Roku or the Android App. Even the Android App would pause for a second but it could recover.

Thanks. That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. If I can watch Walking Dead and my other AMC shows the next day I would be totally fine with that. That is the same amount of time it took iTunes to make them available for me in previous years.

Keeping the 3 latest episodes should be enough for me too. I tend to watch the AMC shows either live or the next day. I just wanted to make sure there was a little more leeway than that.

It's strange to hear that the Xbox One app is bad. The Xbox One's MLB.tv, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Showtime Anytime, etc... apps all work well for me. I also remember a marketing deal where Xbox One owners got a longer free trial than everyone else.

Looks like I can get a Roku 3 for my living room for $50 if I prepay my first 3 months of Sling TV. It seems silly to buy another device for that room when the Tivo Roamio has almost everything I need and the Xbox One has everything else. If the Xbox One app is a frustrating experience a Roku is a pretty cheap upgrade though.

 

[king3pj]

Well I just tried to cancel Charter and they told me that if I did my internet would go back to the non-promotional rate of $60 versus the $30 they are charging me for it now. When I originally took this deal it was to avoid the non-promotional $60 internet rate since my promos ran out. At the time they told me I would be able to cancel TV service and keep the $30 internet for the rest of my new promo period but it looks like that wasn't true.

This means that with $60 internet and Sling TV plus HBO I would be paying $95. I currently pay $103 for Charter's Spectrum Silver double play with 60Mbps internet. Again this is the equivalent of AT 250 plus HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime. It doesn't make sense to cancel what I have with Charter for such a small price difference. It looks like I won't be trying out Sling TV until my double play promos run out after all.

 

[Tampa8]

Do you have another internet provider available to you? We have what was Uverse, before ending business in Ct and now called Frontier. Charter gives me a price of $49 so I won't switch. (Reg price is $60 here also for 60Mbps)

 

[king3pj]

Do you have another internet provider available to you? We have what was Uverse, before ending business in Ct and now called Frontier. Charter gives me a price of $49 so I won't switch. (Reg price is $60 here also for 60Mbps)

I do but Charter's 60Mbps is much faster than Uverse and the fixed wireless available to me so I prefer to stick with them. Supposedly our township is building out their one 1Gbps internet that will be about the same price as I currently pay Charter. They will also have a 50Mbps plan for $45. I will be switching when these options become available but probably not before then.

 

[Tampa8]

I stay with Charter also because their internet speed is reliable. But I didn't mean you should switch, Charter will give a discount consistently to me usually 6 months at a time just for calling and talking about the lower cost of Uverse. (Frontier for me). I would say over the last two years I have saved about $265 just by calling.

 

[Mike_H]

Today I canceled Dish Network satellite service. Been using OTA and Sling for almost 3 months now and my wife agreed she could live with what we have. I had been with Dish Network for 15 years the retention specialist said.
We use a Roku for the service and it has generally worked pretty good. We'll probably get the Channel Master DVR+ this fall to help with some of the OTA shows that my wife likes but tend to broadcast on top of each other.

 

[whitewolf8214]

I am enjoying it so far but wish the would add some other networks like USA,TNT,TBS etc!!

 

[Coach Knight]

I am enjoying it so far but wish the would add some other networks like USA,TNT,TBS etc!!

TNT and TBS are on the service, aren't they?

 

[dalyew]

TNT and TBS are on the service, aren't they?

Yes they are.....loving my Sling TV service, especially the sports package. Would love if they could add more on demand content & features and maybe Tru TV & Fox News (not a lover of the Faux News but I do like to hear the other sides perspective sometimes).

 

[silverdiskdj]

Yes they are.....loving my Sling TV service, especially the sports package. Would love if they could add more on demand content & features and maybe Tru TV & Fox News (not a lover of the Faux News but I do like to hear the other sides perspective sometimes).

They actually do have TruTV in the Lifestyle package. My wife and I subscribe to that one. We watch TruTV all the time!

 

[dalyew]

They actually do have TruTV in the Lifestyle package. My wife and I subscribe to that one. We watch TruTV all the time!

I forgot about that package, I should take another look at some of the other packages now that I've settled in comfortably with Sling. Thanks.

 

[john10166]

1. I subscribed to SlingTV for the 7 day trial mainly using an amazon fire TV stick. I did try the android app and the windows app. My worst complaint is that the app does not keep track of my stopping point in a program. If you exit the app your position is lost and since some channels do not allow FF the only choice is to watch your selection again from the beginning. I think this is a business decision and not a technical restriction. I just want the content owners to understand that if I don't like the experience I won't pay for it. On the other hand I applaud SlingTV for the vision they have in putting this service together. It is close to what I want. Maybe it will be someday.

 

[frank c.]

Just subscribed yesterday, I like it so far and works very well on my Android phone. I really wished had my local channels though...

 

[Alan Rovner]

With respect to local channels, this is why the price is cheap. Look at Apple"s streaming service continuing to be delayed, because of ongoing negotiations about carrying local channels. You can bet it won't be offered at $20 per month. Just a thought.....