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Which Streaming services ?
- Thread starter Dodgeman
- Start date
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Always have services:
Hulu - No commercial plan
CBS All Access - No commercial yearly plan to save the most money,
Netflix - I shouldn’t have to mention this. It’s a no brainer.
Amazon Prime Video - But only if your a prime member. I wouldn’t subscribe to it as a stand-alone service. If I were to subscribe as a stand-alone service I’d do it once a year.
Once a year subscriptions:
HBO Now
Showtime
Starz
And any other specialty service such as VRV, BritBox, Acorn etc.
Free:
Tubi TV - The stuff on there is usually worth having to sit through commercials.
Pluto TV - Same reason I gave for Tubi
Crackle - Tubi TV reason
PBS
Hulu - No commercial plan
CBS All Access - No commercial yearly plan to save the most money,
Netflix - I shouldn’t have to mention this. It’s a no brainer.
Amazon Prime Video - But only if your a prime member. I wouldn’t subscribe to it as a stand-alone service. If I were to subscribe as a stand-alone service I’d do it once a year.
Once a year subscriptions:
HBO Now
Showtime
Starz
And any other specialty service such as VRV, BritBox, Acorn etc.
Free:
Tubi TV - The stuff on there is usually worth having to sit through commercials.
Pluto TV - Same reason I gave for Tubi
Crackle - Tubi TV reason
PBS
Here in Italy the choices are different (and not so many), but I have found out that I have to force myself to suspend the Netflix subscription to get in track with my TV shows in Prime Video. And when I subscribe back to Netflix there is ton of new (decent) stuff. For my taste, obviously. The main issue is that my brand new PS4 Pro is getting dust.. 
There’s also
- PlayStation Vue (not just for people with PlayStations).
- Sling TV
- DirecTV Now
- YouTube TV
- Philo
- Etc
People ask me this question a lot and I always ask them what they are interested in watching. I'm a sports fan so I'm interested in having certain sports channels. Other people don't care at all about sports or like a different sport than I would follow so the best service or combination of services will be based on what you are looking to watch.
This is just a general guide mentioning many of the services. Also, don't fall into the trap of buying the craziest internet package. More speed is not a bad thing so I would prefer a 25+ mbps connection, but you can absolutely run any of these services with a basic 10-25 mbps connection. I've even used these with a connection speed as low as 3mbps.
Sports fans will likely want a subscription to a live tv streaming service. My personal favorite it Youtube TV, but other solid options are playstation vue, sling, hulu with live tv. Your choice here will depend on what sport is most important to you or what additional channels you would also like. All I care about is the espn set, fox sports sets, and other random networks are just bonuses which is why I go with YouTube TV. My dad goes with playstation vue because they have the majority of the sports networks as well as having hgtv, food network, etc. for my mom.
If you are not into sports but would still like some live tv stations, Philo is a great option for under $20. You will get many of the popular networks without paying the premium for sports channels.
In addition to Live TV services, you always want to look at netflix, hulu, amazon prime video, cbs all access, espn+, and the typical premium channels. These various services will provide on-demand content which is my personal favorite way to go.
Also, don't forget to grab an antenna to take advantage of free channels over the air.
The final thing I will say is to remember that you don't need every single service at once. Personally, I subscribed to Youtube TV the first of September for college football and I will be dropping it in a month or so when college basketball is done. You can get hulu for a month or two and then drop it for netflix or maybe only pick up a specific premium service for a certain show and then drop it later. For me, that is where I really start to save.
This is just a general guide mentioning many of the services. Also, don't fall into the trap of buying the craziest internet package. More speed is not a bad thing so I would prefer a 25+ mbps connection, but you can absolutely run any of these services with a basic 10-25 mbps connection. I've even used these with a connection speed as low as 3mbps.
Sports fans will likely want a subscription to a live tv streaming service. My personal favorite it Youtube TV, but other solid options are playstation vue, sling, hulu with live tv. Your choice here will depend on what sport is most important to you or what additional channels you would also like. All I care about is the espn set, fox sports sets, and other random networks are just bonuses which is why I go with YouTube TV. My dad goes with playstation vue because they have the majority of the sports networks as well as having hgtv, food network, etc. for my mom.
If you are not into sports but would still like some live tv stations, Philo is a great option for under $20. You will get many of the popular networks without paying the premium for sports channels.
In addition to Live TV services, you always want to look at netflix, hulu, amazon prime video, cbs all access, espn+, and the typical premium channels. These various services will provide on-demand content which is my personal favorite way to go.
Also, don't forget to grab an antenna to take advantage of free channels over the air.
The final thing I will say is to remember that you don't need every single service at once. Personally, I subscribed to Youtube TV the first of September for college football and I will be dropping it in a month or so when college basketball is done. You can get hulu for a month or two and then drop it for netflix or maybe only pick up a specific premium service for a certain show and then drop it later. For me, that is where I really start to save.
My wife and I have the following services after cutting the cord several years ago:
- Directv Now w/HBO add on (with access to HBO Go app)
- Netflix
- Hulu w/no ads
- Amazon Prime Video
I use my Apple TV for these:
Redbull TV - VOD films for surfing, cycling, skiing, music, documentaries, ALL free in HD
WSL - World Surf League
Vimeo
M2M Fashion
Netflix
Amazon Prime
Mixcloud
Soundcloud
MUBI Independent film
YouTube
Redbull TV - VOD films for surfing, cycling, skiing, music, documentaries, ALL free in HD
WSL - World Surf League
Vimeo
M2M Fashion
Netflix
Amazon Prime
Mixcloud
Soundcloud
MUBI Independent film
YouTube
I forgot to mention you should check out WatchAid. It’s what the TV app wishes it could be. It works with over 100 services, including those that don’t even have a tvOS app. If you decide to try WatchAid you should set up a Trakt.tv account. Trakt.tv is a must as a cordcutter because not every service is good at remembering your place in a series. Think of it as a backup of your entire watch history. And if you’re a stats junkie you’ll love too!
What's Netflix quality like via ap4k tv
Return of Star Trek discovery se2
I cancelled Netflix sub late 2018
Any reason why I should re activate Netflix via Apple TV rather than Skyq.
I mean picture quality and sound wise.
Return of Star Trek discovery se2
I cancelled Netflix sub late 2018
Any reason why I should re activate Netflix via Apple TV rather than Skyq.
I mean picture quality and sound wise.
Oh gosh, the Apple TV will be a far superior quality than the Sky Q box. The Sky Q box is a basic Amstrad box with very basic components. Sky Q lacks HDR and DV too. It also does not feature auto frame rate switching. In the UK, it's set at 50fps - not good for any American film/shows etc.
Unless you are watching Sky's satellite, i'd heavily recommend using the Apple TV instead. it's in another century by comparison.
Netflix on the Apple TV 4K is outstanding! Picture quality is pure and crisp! Just like watching say a good quality iTunes film.
Try it for free for a month and cancel it if you are not convinced buddy.
Enjoy
Oh gosh, the Apple TV will be a far superior quality than the Sky Q box. The Sky Q box is a basic Amstrad box with very basic components. Sky Q lacks HDR and DV too. It also does not feature auto frame rate switching. In the UK, it's set at 50fps - not good for any American film/shows etc.
Unless you are watching Sky's satellite, i'd heavily recommend using the Apple TV instead. it's in another century by comparison.
Netflix on the Apple TV 4K is outstanding! Picture quality is pure and crisp! Just like watching say a good quality iTunes film.
Try it for free for a month and cancel it if you are not convinced buddy.
Enjoy
Honestly on my 2015 4K (non hdr/non Dolby vision) t.v.
Negligible picture quality difference at least since I just re subscribed to catch SE 2 Discovery (though I'm viewing ep15 of Se 1 1st)
Ap4k t.v show hd+Dolby vision tags -I don't get Dolby vision from Sony t.v.-though view in 4K resolution from Sony t.v. -not sure which soundtrack or format ap t.v isi using though nice enough via Sky soundbox Optical
Sky Q shows HD tag and 5.1 sound -I view in 4K t.v.resolution and use sky soundbox -almost standalone sound speaker not native 5.1 and non Atmos -connected via HDMI can switch to optical if required though 5.1 via hdmi is nice enough.
Enjoy your afternoon and give me a shove to attend gym to start 2019 with my exercises since I last attended 18th Dec' 2018!
A lot of people don’t consider this, and they should.
I see a lot of comments on the forum of ppl complaining about all the different streaming services that are coming out, and saying that they are just as expensive as cable.
If anyone is trying to save money on their cable bill, and then they sign up for every service and keep them all year around, then they are just really bad with money.
Streaming services are super easy to sign up for, but also cancel.
To the OP: if you like a few shows from a streaming service such as HBO, just sign up for it for a few months, catch up on all your shows, then cancel for a year.
Also, unless you like to watch sports, there idn’t too many other reasons to pay for a live TV service.
Maybe if you must have a UI similar to traditional cable, or maybe you are a channel surfer.
My brother is a channel surfer, he hates services like Netflix. I do t think he ever watch’s a movie from the beginning, he just surfs channels til he see something interesting.
I have tried DTV NOW, and I had to admit is had been great and I like it. The price is a bit more than I agree with but Cable is a bit more expensive than even this, and this is way easier to cancel.
[doublepost=1549408826][/doublepost]
I will have to check out YouTube TV. I was never a bit fan of YouTube as I watch videos on the service but its only when I google something.
The Playstation VUE never crossed my mind just off the simple fact that I do not own a playstation so I never thought of giving it a try.
Why the need to have the Hulu, Netflix, and Prime??
[doublepost=1549408826][/doublepost]
I will have to check out YouTube TV. I was never a bit fan of YouTube as I watch videos on the service but its only when I google something.
The Playstation VUE never crossed my mind just off the simple fact that I do not own a playstation so I never thought of giving it a try.
Why the need to have the Hulu, Netflix, and Prime??
You are one of I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard say that. It’s a very unfortunate decision they have made to use the PlayStation name, but they are available on Apple TV, fire tv, Roku and of course PlayStations.
They are probably my second favorite next to YouTube tv, but their picture quality and stability are top notch so if their channel selection matches what you are after then then I would recommend giving them a try.
I believe both were running an extended 14 day free trial a couple of days ago so you may still be able to get that from one or possibly both.
Youtube TV seems solid just doesnt have the 2 channels I watch the most which are the ID channel and A&E.
3 streams at the same time seems reasonable but with 6 accounts they should have an add on to pay more. It's not that uncommon to have 4 people in a separate room watching TV.
[doublepost=1549454732][/doublepost]The Playstation Vue gives you 10 accounts However you can stream on 5 Tvs without and extra cost which is great! The could storage is lacking though compared to youtube tv but they each have their pros/cons.
[doublepost=1549454954][/doublepost]Upon further research neither PS Vue or yTV has the a&e channel
3 streams at the same time seems reasonable but with 6 accounts they should have an add on to pay more. It's not that uncommon to have 4 people in a separate room watching TV.
[doublepost=1549454732][/doublepost]The Playstation Vue gives you 10 accounts However you can stream on 5 Tvs without and extra cost which is great! The could storage is lacking though compared to youtube tv but they each have their pros/cons.
[doublepost=1549454954][/doublepost]Upon further research neither PS Vue or yTV has the a&e channel
Sounds like you are more interested in non-sports channels. If that is the case, I would take a look at Philo. It has both of the channels you mentioned, a solid DVR, and 3 streams as I recall for only $16.
If you do want some sports access, you can keep philo year round and then subscribe to YTTV or PSVue just during that season. I have heard of a lot of people that combo services this way and they love doing it.
As a side note, consider what you watch on those particular channels. If you only really care about 1 show, then you may be able to find it on netflix/hulu/amazon prime, or you could even buy it from itunes or amazon and not have to worry about paying for those channels anymore. If you like multiple shows or some of the older shows they play, then philo will probably be your best choice.
- Netflix for their originals
- Hulu for their originals and to catch up on past seasons of shows we watch
- Amazon Video because it comes bundled with Prime. Their original shows aren't bad, but we use it mainly for the free two-day shipping.
I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu with no commercials. During September thru January I subscribe to Hulu Live also for the college football season. In January I drop the live. This has worked well for me and costs me 30 dollars a month and 62 during the college football season. I find plenty of movies to choose from and TV shows for that occasional view.
I am running a trial of Hulu and it is just ok so far. Haven't found much too much. Seems some shows are missing seasons/episodes.
I have also found since I have DTV Now as a trail that I typically watch more on that and it is user friendly.
Hulu isn’t really about past seasons. It’s about current tv. It’s a great “catch up on last night’s tv” service. All the other stuff there is just a bonus. IMO.
So I have been on Hulu a bit... Lots of options for shows to watch but as stated not much in series. I have the DTV Now and I seem to find a bit more of the older stuff/content in that from what I can tell so far. Not 100% sure just yet but that how I think it is turning out.
I will say Hulu it is easy to discover more content and more unique content compared to the other service. The other service seems to have the most popular stuff while this seems to have some programs I have never heard of which could make TV watching a bit more interesting.
[doublepost=1549754600][/doublepost]I searched for the Movie Equalizer 1 and it says I need the Live TV package and pt 2. Isnt even listed on Hulu... just wanted to point it out.
I will say Hulu it is easy to discover more content and more unique content compared to the other service. The other service seems to have the most popular stuff while this seems to have some programs I have never heard of which could make TV watching a bit more interesting.
[doublepost=1549754600][/doublepost]I searched for the Movie Equalizer 1 and it says I need the Live TV package and pt 2. Isnt even listed on Hulu... just wanted to point it out.