Sling TV. How is it?

[BugFreak]

So Directv really annoyed me recently after many years of happy service so I'm rethinking this whole cable/satellite tv thing. I'm not a big TV watcher but I do have specific shows I watch regularly and my wife has certain shows as well. Needless to say they were on a small percentage of what we actually pay for and I can't give up some cost without giving up what I want with Directv. We compiled all the channels we need/want and Sling seems to be the best option but the internet seems to have plenty of good and bad opinions about it. Does anyone here have it and if so what do you think? I know it doesn't have local channels but I already planned on getting an antennae for when the satellite goes out so that's no big deal.

Pros:
Cheap at $45 if I get both packages and add cloud DVR for another $5.
Only needs my existing hardware like Amazon Fire, Roku, etc.
Can be watched on just about everything from phone, pc, or anything else with internet.
Portable as long as I take my device with me.
Cloud DVR can be watched anywhere.
No weather impacts like satellite.
Doesn't need contracts from what I can tell.

Cons (from what I have read):
It seems the service can change randomly depending on their negotiations with channels.
Local channels need a separate antennae.
Not all channels let me pause, fast forward and rewind (like through commercials).

Please help me out with what I am missing if anything? We tried the free week while Directv got their act together and I didn't notice much wrong. In your opinion how is the sound and picture quality. Where is it lacking? Please pick it apart, tell me their dirty side or go complete fanboy, whatever. Let me know your opinion. Thanks in advance!

 

[NiHaoMike]

Sounds overpriced compared to Netflix.

 

[trents]

Clark Howard, who has a radio show dedicated to consumer advice, is really big on Sling. I guess there are two package levels of it like orange and blue or something like that.

 

[S_I_N]

I dont know the exact timeframe but I've been told that Spectrum is working on a ip based tv service to replace the existing cable method. Which granted like satellite service makes it hard to get exactly just what you want on a per channel bases due to the way its rebroadcast. IP based tv bypasses (from what I understand) the need to use frequency based rebroadcasting. So in other words we do have to plop 12 channels on freq xxx and if you only want one of those tuff you have to get them all. Which is the bane of the way its done now you cant block channels you can only block frequencies. This is also the reason they pushed for all digital lineup as analog takes up considerable room on a quam versus digital at a rate of 2 analog per quam vs 12 digital per quam.

So keep an eye out for it, I've been out of the loop since my injury so havent heard if they have put a time frame in place as of yet.

 

[TransformedBG]

honestly i love it... i can watch it anywhere anytime... and i have the over the air channels on a hd homerun... really easy to use, and depending on what package you pick the price changes.

 

[Janus67]

I had Sling two years ago, wasn't a big fan as I constantly had buffering or connection issues with their software (no idea if those issues had been resolved, but many others had that problem on the /r/slingtv subreddit as well).

The following year I switched to Playstation Vue and didn't have any issues. This year I'm splitting a YoutubeTV subscription with a friend of mine and it has been working quite well, I do miss the redzone network that I got for $30 for the entire year on PSVue though.

I also only have purchased any of them for football season then cancel it.

 

[BugFreak]

Nice input so far thanks.

SIN I have Spectrum for my internet and that's all the service they will ever get from me and that's because it's the only carrier around here other than ATT which is even worse. Their customer service sucks, hardware is big and clunky, and when I return a device that is broken I expect a new device not some beat up piece of garbage that someone else turned in. Just a terrible company...terrible.

I was going to try Vue because it has Discovery which is one channel my wife wants but after setting my account up their website kept giving me an error when choosing services. I gave it a couple tries on three separate devices with the same error so scratch that. If I can't even get through the account setup without website errors I'm not going to use their services. I can get that at Directv. BTW can they make setting up an account any more difficult than Vue? First I had to email a verification email, then a text to my phone for proof then finally for 2 step authentication another text. What a pain in the ars.

We looked at Hulu but the channel selection seemed worse than most of the others. With the free Roku I get for paying for 2 months I figure I'll give Sling a go. Giving up Velocity is the biggest hurdle for me. I really enjoy watching that channel.

EDIT: So I go to sign up for Sling and get an error on their website at service selection on both a pc and two Ipads. I think this is a sign I need to leave things be for now.