YouTube TV App Officially Launches for Apple TV

I’ll try it again in 2026, by which point advertising will hopefully have been dragged behind the barn and punched repeatedly in the grandma.

 

So, YouTube TV or Directv Now? I’m currently on directv now, using the beta which looks promising. What’s the verdict on YouTube TV?

 

Youtube TV works extremely well for me. In the Portland market, they have more local channels available than DirecTV does, so that was the decider. I find that Youtube in general streams very well, and their TV service is no exception. YMMV

 

Great question! I also have DirecTV Now beta, and I like it. I didn't do YouTube TV because it didn't have an Apple TV app. I'd love to hear people's thoughts. Any issues with local channels?

 

How about adding 4K to the AppleTV YouTube app before all this other stuff... :*(

 

I switch from DirecTV satellite to it a few weeks ago and have been pretty happy with it. I tried the one week free trial first - that's the only way to see if it will really work for you. I tried the Hulu trial before that and my wife was lost by the user interface so that was a non-starter.

 

Does this come with the YouTube benefits (no ads on YouTube)?

 

Anyone here using Playstation Vue? Tried all of them (Sling, Youtube tv, Hulu tv, Direct TV now) but they seem to lack that overall tv/cable experience (Especially when it comes to DVR). Highly recommend PSVUE.

 

$35/month with commercials!? No thanks.

 

Getting the $25 credit with ATT unlimited plan for DTV Now. Its worth $10 a month plus tax for the basic plan. The app (on roku tv) is occasionally buggy but not worth cancelling to pay $35. I have an HD antenna also for HD locals. HD OTA is amazing in my area.

 

Still waiting for them to add Turner channels.

 

It lacks both a guide and 60fps...no thanks.

 

Pretty sure the commercials are part of the live tv stream and not additional ads on top of them.

 

It has a guide and some content is at 60fps.

 

All sports channels are 60fps and the DVR is by far the best available right now of all the TV streaming companies.

 

How is it the best? The DirecTV now DVR starts recording as soon as you hit record and it is available on all your device even while still recording. Does the YouTube TV DVR start the recording when the show or movie began not when you hit record, even if you missed part of it? Does it automatically remove ads from the original broadcast? Does it make the recording available offline so you can share it with your friends? What is it about the Youtube TV DVR that makes it so good. I want YouTube Red, but I can't justify the $10 price. Youtube TV has less channels for the same price, and no $5 HBO option.

Seriously, I want someone to sell me on this because I'd rather NOT give AT&T my money. I am actively trying to sell myself that it's worth switching.

 

Not sure about "all" - was watching Nashville vs LA hockey for almost 30 min and never got 60fps according to the little geek/stream info tools.

Also only getting 30 on Golf channel right now (obviously not critical for golf at least)

https://imgur.com/a/9dLpt

 

I did the free trial of Vue and DTVNow at the same time. I wasn't that impressed with the interface on Vue. It was $4 more per month, harder to navigate (though not oppressively so), and I think it even had fewer channels, IIRC. We declined to renew and stayed with DTV, got the free Apple TV 4K, so we're stuck with it for a couple more months. I'm hoping that Philo gets their Apple TV act together and releases the native app. For $16/month, I could sign up twice and still be ahead.

 

Just an FYI, the superbowl won't be available on mobile for people in Austin, Baton Rouge, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Des Moines, Ft. Smith, Fresno-Visalia, Grand Rapids, Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Savannah, Shreveport, Springfield (Missouri), Tampa on YouTube TV.

 

You expect live tv without commercials for $35? Are you serious?

 

Yes I would expect that since it's a LOT more than Netflix and it's just sports really. Google would not be hurting supporting this niche of users. My opinion of course.

More importantly ... if I download this app ... does it permanently replace the standard Youtube AppleTV 4 app that shipped and is currently installed on my AppleTV?

 

Doh! I signed up for the trial just last week, and then immediately cancelled (after 10 minutes) when I realize they didn't have an Apple TV app yet!

I'd see if they are amenable to a re-do, but I see they don't even have CNN. Say what you will about CNN news, but if you don't at least get some exposure, you are not getting a view of mainstream news. Plus I can't live without Bordain.

I cut the cable with Cox a couple of weeks ago after they sent technicians out FOUR times to deal with a problem with my Contour 2 box, and ultimately couldn't solve it. It loses picture and sound settings every night during the "update" (read "reboot") time. A "nightly updaxxxxx reboot means one thing - some pointy-haired boss made an "executive decision" that this is the way to deal with buggy software and get some chrome-dome executive off his back. Nobody would admit knowledge of this as a known issue. I found out later there is a LONG thread on their TV support forum about it and they have to have known about it for months. Apparently, Comcast fixed it 2 years ago, but Cox never got the memo... (Cox licenses the Comcast XFinity technology, and rebrands it as Contour 2.) The right response would have been to have told me it was a known issue and they hope for a fix soon. Instead, they wasted their time and mine with 4 service calls. No wonder cable TV is so expensive! I did keep Cox Internet - for now. (We have WebPass in my building as well, which was bought by Google Fiber.)

I am SUPER delighted with OTA TV, which, honestly, I don't think I'd tried in years. I remember how awful analog was in San Diego, which is the reason why almost everybody here (had) cable. I think I tried digital OTA when it first hit the airwaves, and it was not great. Now... they've got it together. Little square antenna that I threw under the sofa, and 35 channels, way better picture quality than Cox. I plan on adding an OTA DVR (probably Tablo) to time-shift local news and the late-night talk shows.

I already ran through my SlingTV trial, which was "ok". I have no problem with the channel lineup (I got Blue, with the $5/mo DVR addon). It is intuitive to use, easy to schedule recordings. Only hitch was some buffering from time to time and some loss of color range.

Currently trying Playstation Vue, and will cut the short trial (5 days!) shorter. The UI is awful. Pretty - but unintuitive. If you scroll the schedule down to midnight... you have to navigate to a button to see the next day! Why wouldn't you just keep scrolling?! I'm especially disappointed since I'm a PlayStation alumni (I worked on back-end code for MLB The Show and other sports games.)

So, I will try Hulu Live next, and then probably choose between that and going back to Sling TV. I may give DirectTV Now a try as well, but it seems a bit more costly for a similar channel set. Hulu Live gets you regular Hulu thrown in, so that's a plus. (Plus I already have Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which just comes with my Amazon Prime that more than pays for itself in shipping costs.)

 

None of this really matters when most of us have no DirecTV DVR.

 

How is it just sports? It includes all the locals and plenty of other non-sports channels.

Also, do you expect Google has the power to force all the major networks in the USA to stop showing ads? If they did, these companies would be out of business in weeks.

--- Post Merged, Feb 1, 2018 ---

It will be in the NBC Sports app though so it shouldn't be an issue.

--- Post Merged, Feb 1, 2018 ---

60fps works on Disney channels (ESPN/ABC) and Fox channels (Fox, FS1, Fox RSNs, etc). I would assume Google is working on adding the others.