Author Topic: Sling TV  (Read 3975 times)

Gretamom

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Sling TV
« on: October 11, 2017, 01:06:09 PM »
Does anyone here have Sling TV? What do you think of it? Cable is getting way too expensive. I've heard good things about Sling TV and heard that they just recently added a Cloud service to DVR up to 50 hours of TV for an extra $5 a month. I was also looking into the Playstation Vue. Thoughts?

michaelrecycles

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2017, 07:54:31 PM »
It does the trick and is priced well. No contract, so I activate while NBA is on and cancel when the season ends. Often, you can get a deal as a new customer for a free Roku by pre-paying a couple months. I haven't needed the device, but did it anyway and sold the device on Craigslist.

TaxChick

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2017, 08:40:48 PM »
I have had Sling TV for a little over a month. I like the price for the number of channels.  The main drawback is that I seem to get kicked out of the app at random times. I will be curious to hear if someone has a fix for this. I am using the Roku to stream the service.

jorjor

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2017, 04:28:57 PM »
Just started. We like it so far. We will probably hop in and out when we are going to be watching less TV during the summer or are traveling and such. Cut our combined internet/cable by more than 50% by moving companies, dropping cable, and adding Sling instead.

WonderfulLife43

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2017, 09:41:13 AM »
We cut-the-cord to cable several years ago..... and added Sling TV early this year.   We're paying $20 for Orange (I think) package that includes things like ESPN, TNT, TBS, AMC, and many more.  We also added the Lifestyle channels (eg. HallMark) for an additional $5.   We prepaid for 3 months and received a free Roku device which we're using daily.  We watch network channels with an antenna.    We like the service, but it appears like they're still having some startup issues:

* Shows buffering, or hanging.  We sometimes have to exit Sling app on Roku and re-initialize it.   This is happening less and less, so I think they're getting a handle on their growth.
* The commercial breaks are 'interesting' . For example, the ESPN channel will often display a 'please standby' screen instead of commercials.   Also,  sometimes a commercial will play for a few seconds, be cut off for another commercial.
* One quirk of the Roku is that it doesn't have a power On/Off button.  It's always there in standby mode.  There were a few times where I wanted to power it off / on to reset a poor playback, so I had to pull the power cable for a few seconds.  One thing I have done is plug it into a unique power strip which powers the Roku off whenever I turn the TV off.   This is an easy way to reset the Roku several times a day, and keep SlingTV running smoother  !

Rufus.T.Firefly

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2017, 09:56:11 AM »
It's okay, but it's no panacea. True al a carte TV would mean you pick your own channels. I'm only interested in major sporting events and  I only want about 5 or 6 channels. But they still bundle them together in packages instead. Also, in my region, they don't provide live network channels.

In an ideal world, they'd provide access to live networks and let you pick exactly only the channels you like. I don't normally have the streaming problems others have mentioned. But I do have 60mb internet.

moneysprout

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2017, 11:20:03 AM »
We had it for 3 months last fall and then I cancelled it as we kept getting hung up streaming football games on ESPN.  We never had any problem with Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, etc.  just Sling so we got tired of it.

Turns out, we didn't really need it anyways.  Those other 3, do just fine for us but they don't have the sports.

Good luck!

tj

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2017, 11:59:59 AM »
We cut-the-cord to cable several years ago..... and added Sling TV early this year.   We're paying $20 for Orange (I think) package that includes things like ESPN, TNT, TBS, AMC, and many more.  We also added the Lifestyle channels (eg. HallMark) for an additional $5.   We prepaid for 3 months and received a free Roku device which we're using daily.  We watch network channels with an antenna.    We like the service, but it appears like they're still having some startup issues:

* Shows buffering, or hanging.  We sometimes have to exit Sling app on Roku and re-initialize it.   This is happening less and less, so I think they're getting a handle on their growth.
* The commercial breaks are 'interesting' . For example, the ESPN channel will often display a 'please standby' screen instead of commercials.   Also,  sometimes a commercial will play for a few seconds, be cut off for another commercial.
* One quirk of the Roku is that it doesn't have a power On/Off button.  It's always there in standby mode.  There were a few times where I wanted to power it off / on to reset a poor playback, so I had to pull the power cable for a few seconds.  One thing I have done is plug it into a unique power strip which powers the Roku off whenever I turn the TV off.   This is an easy way to reset the Roku several times a day, and keep SlingTV running smoother  !

The Roku in standby mode uses very little electricity. it's not comparable to a cable box.


Quote
Those other 3, do just fine for us but they don't have the sports.

I find there to be a surplus of sports on free network TV with the antenna. Especially during football season. Though if you want to religiously follow a specific team (or sport), one of the streaming packages is the most cost efficient way to do it.

Bruinguy

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2017, 11:16:51 AM »
I had it briefly. It was not very reliable for me. I had a lot of buffering issues and an outage in the short time I had it.

windypig

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2017, 11:28:52 AM »
I have it and have kept it for a few years, though sometimes think of cancelling it because well, recurring fees are the devil.

That being said its better than cable, and in my experience, works better on our amazon fire tv than on our roku.

BlueSky45

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2017, 11:58:57 AM »
We've had Sling for maybe the last two years.  At first I got frustrated with sporadic streaming/buffering issues but then I changed the settings to a lower one and now it works great.  We almost never have  buffering issues anymore.  So much cheaper than cable too!

ducky19

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2017, 07:51:10 AM »
We've had Sling for maybe the last two years.  At first I got frustrated with sporadic streaming/buffering issues but then I changed the settings to a lower one and now it works great.  We almost never have  buffering issues anymore.  So much cheaper than cable too!

We've had Sling for 3 years and for the most part we love it. Between it and Netflix, we pay $35/mo and have more content than we need. The kids took a while to adjust (teen and preteen), but they are used to it now. What did you do to fix the buffer issues? That's probably our only complaint. Occasionally, I'll go to watch something on Sling or Netflix and it just hangs up. I have to clear data on the app and log back in. Kind of a PITA, but it still beats paying for cable!

NathanP

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2017, 07:59:01 AM »
I have had Sling for one year now and love it. I selected the package with NBCSN and FS1&2 which provides nearly all of the Premier League and Champions League soccer I can watch. I was a beta tester for the cloud DVR, and as a thank-you, I get that service for free now. Even if not free, it is worth the $5 to know that today's soccer games are being recorded and I can watch them tonight or later this week at my leisure.

Obviously this is MMM and paying for a TV package is a luxury that should be carefully considered. However, my wife insists upon buying me a birthday gift each year...so I tell her that having Sling is the perfect gift. I get a years worth of soccer and she doesn't have to stress buying me a gift.

Cromacster

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Re: Sling TV
« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2017, 08:31:16 AM »
I like the concept and I try Sling off and on.  They occasionally send me emails for 7 free days and I try to save it for when there is something I want to watch.  The DVR option is intriguing though.

Overall I don't like it.  The UI is clunky and unituitive (to me atleast) and buffering is a constant issue.  YoutubeTV will probably kill Sling.  It is a comparable price point with DVR and most of the channels Sling offers.