sulliweb
macrumors 6502
According to Sling when I signed up, AirPlay doesn't work at this time. I have to say, so far, I don't think I'm too impressed. I may not make it through the free 7 day trial.
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Dish network $20 per month streaming package...
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According to Sling when I signed up, AirPlay doesn't work at this time. I have to say, so far, I don't think I'm too impressed. I may not make it through the free 7 day trial.
Yes, Airplay does work. You just slide up from the bottom and its there. I have used it several times. Maybe I have a special edition iPad...
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sulliweb
macrumors 6502
Misread the comments earlier, sorry. The Sling folks did say it wouldn't work because I specifically asked, but if it works, I'm not gonna argue. I'm glad to hear it. I haven't been home yet to try it with my ATV, so all I had to go by were their comments.
Thanks for pointing out the breakdown of the Sports Package. I checked it out and that might just put me over the edge to sign up to try it out. The only thing I'll hate about it is getting up at 4 am to watch some Euro sports live!
I also revisited the DishWorld page for the Sports package (which also includes the English Package as a bonus) and noted that Dish dropped the price from $14.95 to $10 per month for the 21 channel combo. With NBC Universal charging roughly $50 combined for web and mobile app access just for the Tour de France, either of these packages are worth it just for cycling (now if the can just ditch Sherwin and Liggett....).
I wouldn't be too surprised to see additional content showing up soon if this really takes off, so don't give up on not being able to tune in to the MLB just yet! 😀
I haven't seen anything in the fine print, but is Sling TV location-dependent in any way (e.g., require a U.S. IP address), or should I be able to use it anywhere in the world? Thanks.
Yes. The idea behind cord cutting is to not be locked into a TV contract that you have no control over. The price is ever increasing and you have no choice of channels.
Definately like the idea of this, especially if there ends up being a month-to-month model that lets me only pay for programming during football season.
OTOH, the whole "all this for $20 a month" does have a bit of the cable company bundling model feel to it. I don't want a bundle, I want SHOWS. What we (the cord-cutters) need to work toward is the ability to buy content a-la-carte, including live events like sports, award shows, and other programming that doesn't lend itself to iTunes/Netflix distribution.
OTOH, the whole "all this for $20 a month" does have a bit of the cable company bundling model feel to it. I don't want a bundle, I want SHOWS. What we (the cord-cutters) need to work toward is the ability to buy content a-la-carte, including live events like sports, award shows, and other programming that doesn't lend itself to iTunes/Netflix distribution.
We are 3 days into the 7 day trial, really like the idea of it, but the killer is no Apple TV support and you can only have 1 stream going at a time. So in our case, if the kids want to watch Disney Channel and the wife wants to watch Food Network, you can't even with two different devices.
In my home we have a old mac mini connected to the TV, an apple TV in the bedroom, two iPads, and two iPhones.
For $20/month I would expect to use this on up to 3-5 devices at a time.
Leaning towards not keeping it at the end of the 7 days.
In my home we have a old mac mini connected to the TV, an apple TV in the bedroom, two iPads, and two iPhones.
For $20/month I would expect to use this on up to 3-5 devices at a time.
Leaning towards not keeping it at the end of the 7 days.
This is why I asked if this is still considered "cutting the cord." Just because it's a streaming plan, doesn't mean you've cut out the cable/satellite bundles
blizaine
macrumors 6502
hmmm, Airplaying Sling TV to my Apple TV's do not work for me. I get an error saying it's unable to play this content.
update: strange, when I just select to Airplay (without mirroring) it gives me the error. When I tell it to Mirror, it doesn't actually mirror, but instead sends up just the video (like you'd want it to). Cool!
brianlbaker
macrumors regular
I did have to turn on mirroring for it to work, but it did work. It is the only time I've needed to turn on mirroring, but, who cares, as long as it works.
We haven't, but go check out how much a cable/satellite package that gets you SEC network costs. If they start with the $20 package -- which will soon add AMC! -- and build a bunch of $5 add-ons, that is a huge improvement over standard massive bundles.
I'm fine with a solo stream since I live alone. But I get how that can be a problem. I would expect a multiple stream option down the road if it's a big seller. It's good to start small and work out bugs on 10 channels instead of throwing everything in and hoping for no mess.
I think the major drawback right now is limited DVR function and crappy on demand selection. It's still early, but I'd love to be able to watch the past five episodes of Conan or The Walking Dead when AMC is launched.
I'm sticking with it because it needs my support to get better. Before my free period is up they announced the addition of AMC to the base package. So it's obviosu that Dish knows it needs work.
I just tried and cancelled my Sling TV. My thoughts:
- No Chomecast support
- No Apple TV app, nor a easy way to airplay (ex. no airplay icon anywhere. Have to mirror and hope for the best)
- I borrowed my friends Roku 3 and kept getting errors like "Unknown error, please try again" or "You are not authorized to play this channel, please contact support" all during an ESPN stream.
- No quick and easy guide. The "What's on" section still takes a terribly long time go scroll though horizontally.
- Still tied to cable-like "tiers". I want ESPN 1 and 2, my wife wants HGTV, and my kids want Disney JR. That's FOUR channels total. If you can't bring them to me individually, then I'll figure out some other way to get them without paying for 50 channels we don't need.
The service just seems half-baked to me. Not worth the hype.
- No Chomecast support
- No Apple TV app, nor a easy way to airplay (ex. no airplay icon anywhere. Have to mirror and hope for the best)
- I borrowed my friends Roku 3 and kept getting errors like "Unknown error, please try again" or "You are not authorized to play this channel, please contact support" all during an ESPN stream.
- No quick and easy guide. The "What's on" section still takes a terribly long time go scroll though horizontally.
- Still tied to cable-like "tiers". I want ESPN 1 and 2, my wife wants HGTV, and my kids want Disney JR. That's FOUR channels total. If you can't bring them to me individually, then I'll figure out some other way to get them without paying for 50 channels we don't need.
The service just seems half-baked to me. Not worth the hype.
D.T.
macrumors G4
OK, so Sling TV, $20/month, live HD from the following channels: ESPN, ESPN 2, the Disney Channel, ABC Family, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim
... but the recent kind of exciting news: theyve done a deal with AMC and it will be offered as part of the same basic $20 package above. Apparently BBCA and IFC are owned by AMC, so that could lead to them being offered as well (hopefully it would be in the same package).
According to their site:
iOS Devices
PC and Mac
Roku players and Streaming Stick, Roku TV models
And coming soon:
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Xbox One
Google Nexus Player
Still a bummer no AppleTV, but I cant image them not considering it as a future device.
Yeah, I read that on some review sites, I guess if theres not a concern about a collision (it would be rare at our house), thats still a limitation that needs to be considered.
... but the recent kind of exciting news: theyve done a deal with AMC and it will be offered as part of the same basic $20 package above. Apparently BBCA and IFC are owned by AMC, so that could lead to them being offered as well (hopefully it would be in the same package).
According to their site:
iOS Devices
PC and Mac
Roku players and Streaming Stick, Roku TV models
And coming soon:
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Xbox One
Google Nexus Player
Still a bummer no AppleTV, but I cant image them not considering it as a future device.
Yeah, I read that on some review sites, I guess if theres not a concern about a collision (it would be rare at our house), thats still a limitation that needs to be considered.
Smarty pants... That was in response to your statement that you want SHOWS.
ITUNES is true a la carte for shows. The nba, mlb and nhl do offer games without TV subscription. just not through iTunes.
oneMadRssn
macrumors 603
Does anyone else mind the double-dipping with having both a subscription fee and commercials?
Time is money, right? I'll pay for a service either with money, or I'll pay with my time by watching commercials. Not both.
If the content is going to be nearly 30% commercials (having watched most of the channels being offered before, they are 30% commercials) then I shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of being marketed to.
If you're going to charge me $240/year for the access, then I would like to not be bombarded with sales pitches every 10 minutes.
Netflix and HBO seem to understand this. Hulu and SlingTV do not.
Time is money, right? I'll pay for a service either with money, or I'll pay with my time by watching commercials. Not both.
If the content is going to be nearly 30% commercials (having watched most of the channels being offered before, they are 30% commercials) then I shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of being marketed to.
If you're going to charge me $240/year for the access, then I would like to not be bombarded with sales pitches every 10 minutes.
Netflix and HBO seem to understand this. Hulu and SlingTV do not.
You realize this is because your subscription doesnt come close to paying for everything, right? The entirely of "cable" channels and now most of the broadcast networks make some money from both subscription fees and commercials. Netflix doesnt use commercials because older TV episodes and mostly old movies aren't extremely expensive. Hulu has recent episodes, which cost way more, so you get some of both.
HBO, Showtime and the like are different monkeys. You pay almost $20 per month for what you're getting on there. HBO has some great content, but damn that's steep for a couple of new original series airing at any time and a decent but not as wide as Netflix selection of movies.
I work for a newspaper. Those per issue charges and subscription charges are nothing compared to major advertiser income. Same thing with magazines. So get used to most things being a combo of subscription fees and ads because that's how almost all media works. There aren't enough people who will subscribe to pay the bills without ads for almost everything of any quality outside of HBO and the like. Even movie theaters now literally show TV ads before 3 hours of previews.
oneMadRssn
macrumors 603
I don't think a newspaper is a good analogy because news is generally free. The product is really a convenient and curated way of consuming it. That is far different from entertainment television and movies.
Second, I think the fallacy in your statement is the link between sunk cost of production and market cost of consumption. TV shows are tomatoes, and they aren't sold like tomatoes.
The cost of actually producing the content has almost no relation to what the market charges for consuming it. You said yourself, an old show is cheaper to view than a new one. But the cost of producing it, relatively, was the same. The main factor then is age. The market just places a greater value on fresh content, and there is a certain desire to recoup the sunk cost of a new show versus milking the value of an old show. Nevertheless, how much it costs to view it is more a function of how much the public is willing to pay than the actual cost of production.
Another example of buying commercial-free content: Modern Family season 6 costs $50 on itunes. Game of Thrones season 4 costs $39 on itunes. Which do you think cost more to make?
Also, Netflix isn't all old shows and movies. They have some great shows that are new, and I believe they have three new original series premiering this Spring, all of which look top notch, in addition to their existing two original series which are been home runs. Not to mention Amazon prime that also carries quite a bit of new content without ads.
I realize content-producers want to have their cake and eat it too - they want two revenue streams. I tell them they can pound sand. At least from me, it's one or the other - can't have it both ways.
Personally, I think the $20/month is steep for what it is at the moment when compared to Netflix or Hulu.
Currently I subscribe to Hulu Plus for the $8 month and don't mind the commercials. They are fairly short.
The issue I have with Sling is the 1 device limitation and not having the catalog of programming from each network they offer through the service. Live TV only stinks. I can understand live tv for ESPN, but the networks? I realize its networks and the agreements, but I am used to a back catalog with Hulu and having the live TV only option is an annoyance. Feels like a step back in time to have to catch a show live, not able to record, or view after it airs from the catalog.
beachmusic
macrumors regular
Anyone know how to add the packages? I got the 20.00 subscription and decided later to add the sports package but don't see anywhere to go back and add this.