Sling TV Online Video Review: Cable TV for Cord Cutters

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kep55

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Dec 31, 2007
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A nice addition to this and all streaming content reviews would be a comparison or comments on using the service on DSL, cable, fiber, etc.
 

Robb Nunya

Estimable
Feb 17, 2015
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4,510
You'd think that the big 4 broadcast companies would be able to work a deal with advertisers. Eyes on are eyes on. Stream live, don't let people "Tivo" the commercials, and the price shouldn't go up a penny at that time.

Learn something from Google people: Eyes on your ads are eyes on your ads. The delivery is secondary.
 

Dehliaa

Estimable
Feb 21, 2015
1
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4,510
I catch the news maybe one morning, watch MSN during an election year, and catch a movie usuallyet from 1970 to 79, a nif he for insomnia. I rarely watch television, but it's good to know it's there if and when I want to watch it. The downside is the cost for the service on a really old model television. Just a service to watch movies like Posidan, Towering Inferno, Airport, Airport 1975, etc. Email back, if someone can meet my needs. New and old movies would be great, and MSN would be great!
 

Jimmy Zelski

Estimable
Feb 28, 2015
1
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4,510
There are three of us in my household. We currently have Dish and are paying about $20 each ($60 total) for a rather basic lineup of channels including locals too (we are out of the OTA area). We get CNN, Discovery, History, MSNBC, ESPN, etc., but no premium movie channels like HBO or Showtime.

I would love to cut the cord, because despite having all those channels most of the time there is nothing of interest to watch. There are endless infomercials and idiotic shows such as "I hate my wrinkles" and a variety of stomach-turning reality shows on Dish. The Discovery channel and History are no longer about discovering anything or historical anything, they are merely another outlet for lame reality shows these days. Very, very disappointing.

But Sling doesn't seem ready for prime time. We would be paying the same price for it as we are for Dish, considering each of us would need a subscription (we watch on our own individual devices) and we would lose the local network channels as well as the ability to DVR.

Glad to hear the offerings are getting better though. Maybe sometime soon someone will come up with a viable alternative. We will probably go ahead and cut the cord anyway, since paying good money for nothing in return is getting quite old. We can get news on the local TV websites, as well as movies through Netflix and Amazon Prime, so that ought to hold us for now.
 

Zabala

Estimable
Mar 3, 2015
1
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4,510
Sling TV should give access to ESPN3 online which is where you can watch "Live" or "replay". I watch tennis and the tournaments in Europe/Asia can start in the middle of the night here on the west coast.

ESPN3 gives me the ability to watch later. This would be a big plus for me to get Sling TV even though ESPN only covers limited tournaments. Hope they can get Tennis Channel at some point for the rest.

 

kjrn

Estimable
Mar 4, 2015
1
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4,510
Biggest downfall in our home is the "single-stream" issue. This might work well for a single user, but even having two here means problems. CNN in one person's office cuts off ESPN or HGTV on a set in another part of the house. For $20 a month, it's no bargain if only one person can stream at any given time. We signed up, but it doesn't look like we'll be staying. If we'd need two memberships to each watch TV ($40/mo), we might as well get basic cable (with more options).
 

olivermaher

Estimable
Mar 7, 2015
1
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4,510
The service is a great idea, however, constant freezing has led me to cancel. I was able to sign up prior to the masses and everything worked great. It worked so well I went out and bought three Roku 3 devices. Unfortunately, once they opened the service to the general public the picture began freezing a lot. My daughter was able to watch Disney Jr for a minute or two before it would stop playing and the screen would go black. It took a little while for me to get the picture back and then 1-2 minutes later the process would repeat.

Not sure if I will subscribe again.
 

irenep

Estimable
Apr 14, 2015
1
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4,510
I do have the same problem with the freezing and the audio ahead of the image. It is kind of annoying seeing lips moving but hear something else. I'm only streaming it right now on my laptop and I was about to go to buy two Roku devices, but I am not so sure right now what to do...
 

Josh Ya

Estimable
Apr 30, 2015
1
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4,510
Not ready for prime time. Too many issues buffering, doesn't work on Vizio smart TV's or Google Chrome. You can only watch one device at a time. Support doesn't understand English.
 

Andrea Ansel

Estimable
Apr 30, 2015
2
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4,510
Especially if you add the netflix hulu and hbo. Your back up tp 60 bucks hows that cutting a cord Mod Edit: foolish donkeys


Watch your language.
 
Jun 20, 2015
1
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4,510
I was interested in dropping cable TV through which I get HBO Go, so signed up for Sling immediately. Using Game of Thrones for a comparison, HBO Go showed remarkably better video quality than Sling on a Roku 3. I was very disappointed. I will say I had no buffering problems/stutter of drop-outs

I contacted Sling support for a remedy and got no meaningful response. I would rate the video at 480p at best compared to the 1080i on HBO Go/R
Somebody tell me they "fixed" the problem, please... .. .
 

Edu Tech

Estimable
Jun 21, 2015
1
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4,510
DO NOT BUY!!! The product is crap. It constantly freezes and when you call tech support they make you go trough a bunch of bullshit troubleshooting steps that they know is a waste of your time because the problem is on their end.
 

ubercake

Distinguished
Oct 28, 2009
308
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18,960


This is good info. Thanks.
 

Gunther_FL

Estimable
Jun 26, 2015
1
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4,510
The concept of SlingTV is great, however, the company needs to move fast to resolve some open gaps or Sling International may turn off customers.

A few Current Gaps:

1) SmartTV App (DishWorld) dropped by Sling International: Samsung TV's have a application called Dishworld which would allow customer to watch the international channels and SlingTV domestic channels. I was using this app until May. Unfortunately, Sling International upgraded their systems which resulted in Dishworld app shutdown. The app works but it displays a message that it will not stream any channels. The answer from Sling International, we're working on a new Sling app. Well, one would think that you would wait to get your new app ready before breaking the old app. Adding more external devices is just not ecologically correct and more complex to use. Isn't the point of Smart TV's to allow access to all the services from one device. It seems Sling TV wants to sell third party devices instead. These kinds of issues turn customer off. If I have to use a third party device it will be my preference, which is Apple TV, not the choice of Sling International.

2) MultiStream: Add an extra cost to stream to more than one television. This is so simple.

3) Local OTA Channels: Add an extra offering to access local channels. Let it become the customers choice to add a OTA antenna or pay Sling.

I can only hope the president of Sling reads these comments and understands their customer needs instead of pushing down what Sling thinks customers should get. Isn't that what the cable companies have done for years. I've been a cable subscriber for 30 + years and I'm tired of their crap. I was hopeful this would bring a refreshing and much needed change.
 

iknowshaun

Commendable
Jul 23, 2016
1
0
1,510
Don't use this service. I tried the 7 day trial. Canceled at the end of it, and they charged me anyway. Then they are fighting the bank over it. Terrible experience all the way through!
 

Diane_23

Commendable
Aug 3, 2016
1
0
1,510
I have been using Sling Tv for the past two months. I have made and connected a fractal outside antenna for OTA broadcasts which gives a much better picture than cable. Sling Tv gives us HGTV for my wife and YES network for Yankees games for me and my son. My other son is a soccer fan so I have the Sports extra add-on.

Sling has been nearly perfect over the last 2 months. Customer service, via chat, has been a pleasant experience, first when I inquired whether I could get the YES network in the NY metro area and later, when Sling added the Sports Extra package (I originally added the spanish package because one of my sons wanted BeIn TV for soccer which was only offered as part of that, then was offered as part of the Sports extra package; when I discovered that I went to Sling and asked that the packages be switched, which was done immediately with no hassle at all).

When I subscribed, Sling offered a Roku 2 for free for those who paid 3 months in advance; I received the Roku within a few days and look at this as either free TV service for 3 months or a free Roku. I was also offered a choice: one device at a time only with Disney channels and ESPN, or 3 devices at one time with FOX networks and no Disney, ESPN. I chose the 3 device option, and we have had no problem with 3 devices playing simultaneously.

What I am not seeing in reviews and which I find very useful and valuable is the ability to watch Sling on multiple devices, and not just at home. I can watch in the backyard on an IPad or at my office on my PC, or on a phone at a ball field, or on my Roku at a hotel in another city. We are not tied to our home network and this has come in handy many times. Sling has worked on a windows 10 pc, a windows vista laptop, an IPad, and Iphones for us, all without a problem.

Sling has added several channels to my original line-up over the last 2 months, including NYC channel 4 NBC and channel 5 FOX (although I get both already with the antenna).

This service has been the perfect complement to the antenna and has the added benefit of multiple devices anywhere in the US. The channels play nearly flawlessly, and I have had only one short period where there was a problem playing the on-demand videos.

The menu once used and gotten used to is a breeze and easily adopted. We also are not missing DVR capabilities and don't really care whether we have it or not.

I haven't tried to cancel so I don't know about that aspect of customer service. But I don't intend on cancelling.

I don't understand the negative reviews. I recommend it highly. We just have not had any of the problems I have seen complained of. Perhaps the complaints come down to poor internet service and are not the fault of Sling.
 

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
308
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I picked up the Sling Blue package and dropped cable. I used to live at a place where I could get all of the local channels no problem through an internal HD antenna. This changed when I move to a new location so I picked up cable for as long as I could stand to pay for it and here I am now.

Sling TV blue at $25 costs the equivalent of leasing two cable boxes each month from comcastic/nofinity. Even when I had cable, I found my family members watching Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu all the time anyhow. With all of those cable channels to watch, you shouldn't have an issue finding something decent to watch, but there really isn't much I would watch personally outside of sports. When Sling TV started offering the Fox Sports channels, I began to notice.

I can watch all local sports with it on the Fox Sports networks. I also get the Fox local channel.

All of the Fox channels are local to where you sign in. For instance, on a business trip I tried singing into Sling TV on my PC at hotel in New York and my local sports and Fox became New York (which isn't my home locale).

When I started my trial, I was able to stream Sling TV on two Roku boxes and my PC at the same time.

Sling TV even offers on-demand content for some channels. It really has come along way and is a good value.

The only thing that sucks is all NFL pre-season games have been blacked out for my local team on my local Fox version on Sling TV, though they play with no issue on everyone's cable version of their local Fox channel.

Does anyone know if this will carry through the regular season? Or is the blackout restriction only for the pre-season?
 
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