YouTube TV? AT&T TV? Something else?

[JLTraveling]

So we finally cut the cord with Cox cable, because they were uniformly awful. But we like having cable, so we're shopping for the best streaming replacement. Right now we're on a free YouTube TV trial, and it seems to be working pretty well. But is it the best? We also have Netflix and Prime, but we also want live TV and cloud DVR service. What are your experiences with replacing cable with a similar streaming option? What do you have and what do you like and not like about it? Also, do you subscribe to the movie channels? Or are they unnecessary with Netflix and Prime? Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[disneychrista]

Have you looked at Hulu? I know they do a live TV option.

 

[kdonnel]

I’ve been with YouTubeTV since it was launched. My only complaint is there is still no way to mark shows as unwatched.

The unlimited DVR and ability for other household members to have their own unlimited DVR and shows works great. I record so much just in case. I have several thousand movies recorded.

The app for Roku and other platforms is constantly being improved.

The price increases have been significant but have always come with additional channels. At this point it has every channel I want for 40% of what I was paying DirectTV.

 

[SC Minnie]

We dropped cable about a year ago and have been using YouTube TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. YouTube TV works for us for live TV and to record what we want. The price increase has been high but like the PP said we did get additional channels. We're still paying less than what we did for cable.

 

[sam_gordon]

You need to look and see what channels/shows you get from each provider. If there's a certain channel(s) you require and only one provides that, your decision is easy. Also, since most offer a 7 day free trial, use that. Try one out, cancel it, try the next one.

You should also look to see if you can receive OTA signals by putting up an antenna. Go to http://tvfool.com/ or https://antennaweb.org/, put in your address, and see what you can get. Granted, OTA won't get you cloud DVR, but there are boxes you can purchase for recording them, and they're one time charges.

 

[Praying Colonel]

So we finally cut the cord with Cox cable, because they were uniformly awful. But we like having cable, so we're shopping for the best streaming replacement. Right now we're on a free YouTube TV trial, and it seems to be working pretty well. But is it the best? We also have Netflix and Prime, but we also want live TV and cloud DVR service. What are your experiences with replacing cable with a similar streaming option? What do you have and what do you like and not like about it? Also, do you subscribe to the movie channels? Or are they unnecessary with Netflix and Prime? Any thoughts are appreciated!

We've had AT&T TV (first called DirecTV Now) since it came out. We got a good introductory deal that stays in place as long as we don't cancel. It's a good service overall--it has live TV and cloud DVR, but the DVR doesn't have rewind, and the pause is only for a few seconds.

We have HBO Now but only because we get it free because of our Internet contract. And we get Starz when Outlander has a new season--DW's a big fan.

We like AT&T TV for the price we pay. We haven't tried any of the others so I can't give you any thoughts on those.

 

[MIGrandma]

We were paying $150 per month for DirecTV, they were always good about giving us a price cut on our bill whenever we called them. Until AT&T took over. They would do nothing for us. We had been a customer for about 20 years. So we dropped them and went to Hulu. $55 per month for live TV and streaming. We keep getting mail from AT&T asking us to come back. We also have Netflix streaming and Amazon Prime.

 

[tvguy]

I feel trapped with cable (Dish actually) just because too much of the programming I watch isn't available on streaming. Do I cut the cord and save money, or pay more and get what I watch?

 

[sam_gordon]

I feel trapped with cable (Dish actually) just because too much of the programming I watch isn't available on streaming. Do I cut the cord and save money, or pay more and get what I watch?

If you can afford it, why not pay for something you'd use?

 

[dez1978]

We just did a trial of Fubo tv. It works pretty well

 

[aprilchem]

We switched to YouTubeTV from Hulu a few months ago. YouTubeTV allows you to use it anywhere but Hulu does not, and we have a 2nd home that we didn't want to gave to buy a separate subscription for. So far it's worked really well for us.

 

[disneychrista]

We switched to YouTubeTV from Hulu a few months ago. YouTubeTV allows you to use it anywhere but Hulu does not, and we have a 2nd home that we didn't want to gave to buy a separate subscription for. So far it's worked really well for us.

I don’t get this. My daughter uses our log in to watch when she’s not at home with no issues. She also watches other shows at the same time as I am using it. I know others have said that it is only possible with the live tv version but I have the ad supported cheap version.

 

[tvguy]

If you can afford it, why not pay for something you'd use?

Well, I am paying too much. But if you had told me 35 years ago that I would be paying ANYTHING for TV, I would have told you you were crazy. But Sacramento was the last major U.S. city to get cable, they didn't even START wiring the city until 1986.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, I am paying too much. But if you had told me 35 years ago that I would be paying ANYTHING for TV, I would have told you you were crazy. But Sacramento was the last major U.S. city to get cable, they didn't even START wiring the city until 1986.

"Too much" is subjective. Do you use what you pay for? Does paying for it impact other necessities (food, housing, medicine, etc)? Can you get what you pay for cheaper? Assuming the answers are yes, no, no, then I don't see the problem.

 

[tvguy]

"Too much" is subjective. Do you use what you pay for? Does paying for it impact other necessities (food, housing, medicine, etc)? Can you get what you pay for cheaper? Assuming the answers are yes, no, no, then I don't see the problem.

Actually, the answers are No, no and no. Because you can't get cable channels a la carte. So I pay for a lot of channels I never watch but they are in the basic hook up so to get what I want I have to take those too

 

[aprilchem]

I don’t get this. My daughter uses our log in to watch when she’s not at home with no issues. She also watches other shows at the same time as I am using it. I know others have said that it is only possible with the live tv version but I have the ad supported cheap version.

On a TV? Hulu blocked us from using it on our televisions at our vacation home - we got a message saying we were out of our local area and could not access it. We could still do it on an iPad, but you cannot broadcast the iPad on the TV.

 

[RamblingMad]

What do you watch? Do you want ads? Do you have to watch it when it comes on TV?

I stick with Amazon, HULU, and Prime. I'll flip on and off Disney+ and HBO Max based on content.

 

[sam_gordon]

On a TV? Hulu blocked us from using it on our televisions at our vacation home - we got a message saying we were out of our local area and could not access it. We could still do it on an iPad, but you cannot broadcast the iPad on the TV.

You were blocked from watching Hulu at all, or just certain channels? I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to watch local channels "out of market". So if you live in Chicago and get the Chicago channels via Hulu, YouTube, etc, you wouldn't be able to watch those channels if you were in Dallas. I'm pretty sure that's correct.

 

[sam_gordon]

Actually, the answers are No, no and no. Because you can't get cable channels a la carte. So I pay for a lot of channels I never watch but they are in the basic hook up so to get what I want I have to take those too

Yes, that's the nature of the beast. If you desire certain channels, you are also getting others you don't want. If that bothers you, then drop the service.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, that's the nature of the beast. If you desire certain channels, you are also getting others you don't want. If that bothers you, then drop the service.

LOL. Then I end up with nothing