streaming service provider

[Mizzoufan]

What is your favorite streaming service provider. I'm not sure if I have the terminology correct. Hopefully, close enough you can guess what I'm talking about lol.

 

[snoodledoo]

Other --> VUE

 

[MIGrandma]

We have Netflix and Amazon - prefer Netflix as it almost never buffers. Amazon buffers sometimes, so I prefer downloading their movies to watch later.

 

[kdonnel]

Other - YouTube TV

We cut the cord 2 months ago. YouTube TV has been relatively trouble free. We did have one day where it kept stopping the stream and telling us it was not supported in our country.

 

[willowsnn3]

Netflix is the only one I have so voted for that, lol. I do want to try Hulu tho. Next time they offer the free month I might take them up on it.

 

[Mizzoufan]

Other --> VUE

What is Vue

 

[wenrob]

We have an Apple TV and TiVo’s that we use to stream Netflix, Amazon and YouTube. We also use the Apple TV to stream shows from the different station apps like CBS, NBC, Animal Planet etc.

What you have in your poll is a mix of steaming devices-Apple TV, Google TV-used to stream the apps/services-Hulu, Netflix, Amazon. They are different things. Are you looking for a service or a device? Sling is a service package. I think Vue and YouTube TV are as well.

Netflix is the only one I have so voted for that, lol. I do want to try Hulu tho. Next time they offer the free month I might take them up on it.

I have tried to like Hulu but I just can’t. Not enough content and what content they do have seems to expire pretty quick. I discovered they’ll actually let you do the trial more than once. Its pretty easy to cancel so there’s no harm in giving it a try. DD actually gets it for free with her Spotify subscription using her student discount. But even free, we don’t use it.

 

[bcla]

Depends on what you mean by "streaming".

We have an Amazon Prime account but don't really use it much for video. For me, there's all sorts of "streaming" services. We have Dish Network service, and that comes with a certain amount of video that we can access via our box or online. It seems to vary though, with some periods where the number of included movies goes from a few hundred to a few thousand.

We also have Comcast internet service with an HBO add on, so we can stream stuff from HBO's library.

I've got certain apps that tie into my Dish service plan as long as I'm subscribing to certain channels. Stuff like NBC Sports for our regional sports channel. I don't have an ESPN or Pac-12 Network subscription any more but there was a time when I could stream those. These were directly from the channel. I've also got a Dish box that goes through my internet service, so it's actually tapping into my receiver to provide video. That generally works when nothing else does.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Roku, here. I have Spectrum, which recently went all digital. I have HD service and a dvr box for the livingroom TV but did not want anymore boxes or equipment for the other 2 TVs. I opted for the Roku stck. I found it extremely easy to set up and have had no problems with streaming.

TC

 

[Lynne M]

We're talking about two different things here. There are streaming services, and there are devices that allow you to access and play streaming services. It's like the difference between an app and a tablet. You wouldn't say your favorite app is "iPad," because that's not an app. It's a device that you can install apps on, and then use those apps.

Examples of streaming services are Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, CBS All Access. These are usually subscription services where you pay a monthly fee to access their content. Sometimes you can rent or buy movies or TV shows. There are specialized streaming services, too, like MLB.TV, which is a subscription service for watching major league baseball games.

You can watch these services from a website on your computer, and the services also have apps that allow you to play the service's content on your phone, your tablet, and on TVs that can run apps (Smart TVs). They also have apps that run on devices (sometimes called streaming media players) that plug into your TV, and let you watch your shows and movies on your television.

Examples of those devices are: AppleTV, Roku's boxes and sticks, Amazon FireTV's boxes and sticks, Google's Chromecast.

So, the TL;DR version of this is: Netflix is the service, AppleTV is the player. You can watch Netflix on many different players. The AppleTV can run many different streaming services.

 

[MrsToad]

We cancelled Comcast and went with the Playstation Vue service. We purchased Amazon FireTV boxes to connect to our TVs so that we could stream the Vue content. Since we already had Amazon Prime for 2-day free shipping, we have access to their Prime TV and Movie content through the FireTV boxes, as well. We add HBO and Starz at different times of the year for certain shows we like, then drop those channels when the shows end for the season. We are happy with these options.

 

[bcla]

We're talking about two different things here. There are streaming services, and there are devices that allow you to access and play streaming services. It's like the difference between an app and a tablet. You wouldn't say your favorite app is "iPad," because that's not an app. It's a device that you can install apps on, and then use those apps.

Examples of streaming services are Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, CBS All Access. These are usually subscription services where you pay a monthly fee to access their content. Sometimes you can rent or buy movies or TV shows. There are specialized streaming services, too, like MLB.TV, which is a subscription service for watching major league baseball games.

You can watch these services from a website on your computer, and the services also have apps that allow you to play the service's content on your phone, your tablet, and on TVs that can run apps (Smart TVs). They also have apps that run on devices (sometimes called streaming media players) that plug into your TV, and let you watch your shows and movies on your television.

Examples of those devices are: AppleTV, Roku's boxes and sticks, Amazon FireTV's boxes and sticks, Google's Chromecast.

So, the TL;DR version of this is: Netflix is the service, AppleTV is the player. You can watch Netflix on many different players. The AppleTV can run many different streaming services.

I think it's a little bit more complicated when the term "streaming" is used. Of course there are those providers, but some networks call their services (through websites and apps) streaming, such as WatchESPN, network websites/apps, etc. All you need there is a cable/sat subscription and a username/password. My regional cable sports network (NBC Sports Bay Area/California) runs promos encouraging people to watch on mobiles devices or their website, and they call it "streaming".

And there are a lot of devices these days that can access those "streaming services". My Blu-Ray player I got in 2011 can access Netflix (or at least could at one time). I haven't been keeping up with it, but I think a lot of devices can access popular streaming services (in addition to their primary duty), such as cable/satellite boxes, Blu-Ray players, game consoles, etc. However, some of these don't necessarily work forever. I remember my Blu-Ray player could access YouTube, but after a while they no longer supported the API that connected the device to YouTube.

 

[wenrob]

I think it's a little bit more complicated when the term "streaming" is used. Of course there are those providers, but some networks call their services (through websites and apps) streaming, such as WatchESPN, network websites/apps, etc. All you need there is a cable/sat subscription and a username/password. My regional cable sports network (NBC Sports Bay Area/California) runs promos encouraging people to watch on mobiles devices or their website, and they call it "streaming".

And there are a lot of devices these days that can access those "streaming services". My Blu-Ray player I got in 2011 can access Netflix (or at least could at one time). I haven't been keeping up with it, but I think a lot of devices can access popular streaming services (in addition to their primary duty), such as cable/satellite boxes, Blu-Ray players, game consoles, etc. However, some of these don't necessarily work forever. I remember my Blu-Ray player could access YouTube, but after a while they no longer supported the API that connected the device to YouTube.

There’s a differences between services/providers and streaming devices. OP asked what providers but had those as well as devices listed. They’re different things. One provides content to stream while the other does the streaming. The question/poll asked by the OP can’t really be answered unless she clarifies which she actually means.

 

[dreiwhit]

FWIW, we have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime (although we have Prime for shipping primarily.)

I prefer Netflix for its variety of movies and documentaries, but Hulu is better for TV shows. Prime is good for movies and documentaries. I've found that Netflix and Hulu tend to compliment each other. IMHO, get both of them. The cost for both is still a lot cheaper than cable TV!

We tend to watch mostly Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.

 

[LYSE]

Ever since Exodus took a dump we've just gone back to torrenting (though vpn of course) whatever we want to watch...maybe we'll try covenant...it was nice just "browsing" instead of specifically downloading.

 

[sam_gordon]

I think it's a little bit more complicated when the term "streaming" is used. Of course there are those providers, but some networks call their services (through websites and apps) streaming, such as WatchESPN, network websites/apps, etc. All you need there is a cable/sat subscription and a username/password. My regional cable sports network (NBC Sports Bay Area/California) runs promos encouraging people to watch on mobiles devices or their website, and they call it "streaming".

And there are a lot of devices these days that can access those "streaming services". My Blu-Ray player I got in 2011 can access Netflix (or at least could at one time). I haven't been keeping up with it, but I think a lot of devices can access popular streaming services (in addition to their primary duty), such as cable/satellite boxes, Blu-Ray players, game consoles, etc. However, some of these don't necessarily work forever. I remember my Blu-Ray player could access YouTube, but after a while they no longer supported the API that connected the device to YouTube.

How does that invalidate anything @Lynne M said? "Streaming" basically means audio and/or video sent over the internet. All the entities you list (WatchESPN, NBC Sports, etc) ARE streaming. However, since you still need cable/satellite subscription to watch, that doesn't help cord cutters.

What I think is disappointing... Dish Network allows you to drop local programming and save $10/month. I have an antenna that I get all the local stations through, so great, save $$, right? I tried to stream Family Guy one night on my iPad and Fox wanted my subscription information. I put it in, but since I don't subscribe to locals, they wouldn't validate that I could watch. This was a Monday, a day after it aired.

 

[bcla]

How does that invalidate anything @Lynne M said? "Streaming" basically means audio and/or video sent over the internet. All the entities you list (WatchESPN, NBC Sports, etc) ARE streaming. However, since you still need cable/satellite subscription to watch, that doesn't help cord cutters.

The choices given for voting and the original question kind of point to a little bit of confusion over whether or not "streaming" is even the right term to describe services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Maybe the suggestion is services for cord cutters. The first three provide mostly video on demand, while the next three are video devices.

Streaming technically means where the video isn't being downloaded in its entirety. Maybe a little bit of a buffer and lag though. But that could be anything, including "live" video or even watching a TV program the day after its regular network broadcast.

I suppose a little bit of clarification might help.

 

[sam_gordon]

The choices given for voting and the original question kind of point to a little bit of confusion over whether or not "streaming" is even the right term to describe services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Maybe the suggestion is services for cord cutters. The first three provide mostly video on demand, while the next three are video devices.

Streaming technically means where the video isn't being downloaded in its entirety. Maybe a little bit of a buffer and lag though. But that could be anything, including "live" video or even watching a TV program the day after its regular network broadcast.

I suppose a little bit of clarification might help.

Which is EXACTLY what Lynn M said. And your response was "I think it's a little bit more complicated when the term "streaming" is used."

 

[Iowamomof4]

We have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Playstation Vue (for live TV content - mostly sports, plus I watch The Good Doctor on demand whenever I have time each week). Netflix probably gets watched the most, followed by Vue, followed by occasional Amazon content. We use an Amazon Fire Stick on our TV to access Vue/Netflix/Prime and occasionally use the Wii U if the Fire Stick isn't working properly or something. We dropped our Dish Network subscription in August and haven't had any regrets.

 

[dreiwhit]

Also, we did try Sling TV for a couple of months. It did work good for live programs, but we had problems with it constantly locking up when we were trying to watch previously viewed programs. Unfortunately, Sling blames this on your internet connection or bandwidth, which wasn't the case. They have some sort of problem which they either do not know about or can't address.

We did cancel Sling after a few months. The problems was the same that we had with our satellite service that we had canceled: there was nothing on the channels that we really wanted to watch.

 

[Ariel484]

Netflix + PlayStation Vue (for live TV stuff).