# Any Sling TV Users Here?



## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I'm thinking about doing a trial of this. Is anyone here using it or has used it? My internet speed worries me as it's only 4MB/sec. I don't have any trouble streaming Netflix but wonder about Sling. Any thoughts or advice welcome!


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## csbutler (Jun 15, 2017)

I've been using sling since February and love it. I have att fiber and I think it's at max 12mb/second. 99.5% of the time I have zero issues. Once in a while it will lag for a slit second but that is very rare.

I had directv for a little over 2 years before this and I was paying around $90 a month for cable and that didnt even include channels like sec network, acc, espn u, espn, and many other sport networks. I now pay $54 out the door and I don't pay for junk filler channels. Football is the only sport I keep up with usually so after the college season ends I'll drop my sports package and then I'll be paying somewhere around $30 a month. I love that i can add or take away channels at anytime. Even cancel if I wanted and I'm not stuff in a contract.

Only thing i don't like is no local stuff (cbs, abc, nbs, fox). For those channels I use a digital antenna.

When I signed up they had a promo running that if you paid for 3 months up front you got a free roku w/remote. This is how I stream my sling. What's funny is they only took one month out and still sent the roku.

Chances are I will never go back to cable.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I've been trying the YouTube TV and I also like it. It has unlimited dvr.


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

I am using DirecTV Now and like it. I tried pretty much all the services except YouTube TV since that is not in my area. Definitely give the free trials a shot of all the services to see what works best for you.

To get around paying extra monthly for their cloud DVR you can get a PlayOn subscription. They have sales all the time and I got a lifetime one for $30. You can link all your streaming services to it and records the shows to a local hard drive or NAS.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I use PlayStation Vue. I don't watch it as much directly as I do using the login credentials to access content on other apps like WatchESPN.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

And just to help with speed comparisons: 8 Mb (Megabit) = 1 MB (Megabyte).


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## gatormac2112 (Sep 14, 2017)

I can't speak for your download speed as mine is 60 megabit, but I have tried both sling and DirecTV Now and prefer DirecTV now. The sling interface was clunky when I used it (maybe they've improved it?) and DTV Now has a tiered programming instead of the orange and blue all or none take which I didn't care for. They also are working to add locals, so far they have only added my local ABC affiliate, but it makes me happy that they are trying.

EDIT: I was using DirecTV for 10 years at about $150 per month and haven't missed it at all.


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## stotea (Jul 31, 2017)

gatormac2112 said:


> I can't speak for your download speed as mine is 60 megabit, but I have tried both sling and DirecTV Now and prefer DirecTV now. The sling interface was clunky when I used it (maybe they've improved it?) and DTV Now has a tiered programming instead of the orange and blue all or none take which I didn't care for. They also are working to add locals, so far they have only added my local ABC affiliate, but it makes me happy that they are trying.
> 
> EDIT: I was using DirecTV for 10 years at about $150 per month and haven't missed it at all.


Nope, no improvements to the interface. It's still clunky. I haven't noticed any updates to it since I subscribed about a year ago.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Thanks all. I've heard about complaints of Sling's interface as being clunky. I don't think YouTube TV is available in my area. I would like something that had some local stations. My big concern is my slow internet and capped at 250GB per month, which is crazy! Our provider has the 4MB/sec speed for $29 a month. Then it jumps right to $60 for 100MB/sec. I wish there was something in between.

If you have internet ($60), Netflix (soon to be $11), and then Sling Blue ($25) you're up to almost $100 a month. I think I must be cheap because that sounds crazy to me. I've never had cable before but that sounds like what people were trying to get away from when all these new options started.

Maybe I should just stick with internet, Netflix, and our rooftop antenna. I guess Kodi could be an option but I'd need a VPN.


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## csbutler (Jun 15, 2017)

My biggest problem with directv or any other cable provider I've had is that they have all wanted to screw me when i wanted to make a change.

I'm not necessarily saving money with sling. With internet, netflix,and sling I'm all in around $100...but I can make changes or cancel whenever I want.

I'd take the free trial and see if it works. If it does great and if it doesn't you didn't lose anything.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

csbutler said:


> My biggest problem with directv or any other cable provider I've had is that they have all wanted to screw me when i wanted to make a change.
> 
> I'm not necessarily saving money with sling. With internet, netflix,and sling I'm all in around $100...but I can make changes or cancel whenever I want.
> 
> I'd take the free trial and see if it works. If it does great and if it doesn't you didn't lose anything.


If anything I might do the two month pre-pay of sling to get the Roku Express for free. I was wanting one anyway.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

4 years ago, I asked everyone in the family, "Can you name a show that comes on at a certain time any day of the week that you can say that you don't miss without fail?" Nobody could answer one. I cut the cable cord from Comcast, and never looked back. I couldn't stomach paying them over $1,600 a year for "background noise", because the TV's would be on with nobody watching them.

In 2012, Comcast rolled out the data caps in 4 "test" markets, and Savannah happened to be one of those. About 8 months later, they rolled it out to other markets. We were capped at 300 GB/mo, and if you went over, they would give you 10GB more at a fee of $20 as an overage charge. You could go over for 3 billing cycles in a year, then they'd start charging you. I said  that... I switched to Comcast Business Class, which has no data caps. The nice thing about Business Class is that if I have an outage, they treat my service just like any regular business provider. I'll have service up and running in 24 hours, guaranteed. My neighbors might have to wait for 2-3 days for a tech to come out, but I don't. Funny thing is, a Comcast employee recommended that I sign up for it, and my overall bill has gone down for the past 4 years.

That being said, I've got Sling TV, a Roku Express and Amazon Fire Stick. Out of all of them, I find the Roku to be the easiest to use, and fastest to load. Sling is nice and has a good selection of programs. Sign up to get the Roku for free. You won't be disappointed.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I made the switch over a year ago when I was getting tired of spending $130 a month with DirecTV for only a handful of stations that we actually watched and most of them were just either background noise like CK mentioned above or we were watching it because nothing else was on. After doing a little research, we cut the cord and signed up for Netflix and Hulu and bought a TiVo Romio with lifetime DVR service included and got an OTA antennae for the house. We already had an AppleTV so I didn't really need anything else to watch shows with. I have to say it was on of the best decisions we've made as now I am only paying about $30 a month for television and I don't watch nearly as much as I use to and have more time to do things around the house and find myself more productive. We have always had Time Warner Cable(Spectrum) for internet and we upgraded to their top tier plan so we get around 300 Mbps since the wife works from home and we have a ton of internet connected devices.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Y'all with cable should be calling every 6 months and getting deals.

I have all the channels from directv, no contract( which is key ), Sunday ticket and 1 Gig fiber internet that gives me consistent 400-500mb on wifi iPads and phone.

I get Sunday ticket free every year and pay like 115 a month for internet and tv.

Sure maybe not cheap to some, but I did the hassle year ago of antennas, and streaming and whatnot.

I am however curious of dtv now. Would love
To cut back on the garbage channels they stuff in and see if it saves more money!

Call your providers and tell em to cancel. They'll get down and offer deals. Don't like it hang up! Call back in a day or two and do it again.


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## ATLawn (May 25, 2017)

I've had Sling for about a year now. Love it. 2 things to consider:

1: a lot of how any streaming service looks honestly depends on what platform you're running (Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, etc). Certain streaming services have different (better or worse) UI depending on what platform you have. For example, I started out with PlayStation Vue because I saw it at a friends house and the interface looked incredible. It was intuitive, beautiful, and it just worked. I have a roku, and for whatever reason the interface was completely different althogether. Clunky, no flow, pretty much garbage. Switched to Sling after about two weeks and that was much closer to a "Cable experience". Admittedly, around this time last year Sling's UI was nothing special. Still pretty "clunky", BUT, they've made several drastic UI updates over the past year, and I've come to enjoy it.

2: when it comes to any streaming service, you're always going to have to sacrifice channel selection. This is where, unfortunately, streaming services just havent caught up yet. I believe the gap is closing, though. Unless you're in a major market, you're losing access to multiple major networks. For me, no CBS, ABC, or NBC. This is problematic during national prime time live TV. Two solutions - try messing around with a digital antennae. OR (and for me, if this is an option, dropping cable for streaming is a no-brained)find a close relative or friend with cable and use their login to access tons of other apps (that grant access to a lot of live TV or premiums like HBO, etc.) on your smart TV or smart platform. If you've got this option, you're going to have a hard time not being able to watch something you'd be able to with a standard cable package.

At this point, IMO, the main streaming services worth looking at are Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, or DTV now, especially if you're after that traditional cable experience. I think anyone would be happy with any of the 3, but they each have their pros and cons. Mainly depends on your preferences and TV watching priorities. There's a a lot of comparative info out there right now, so I would encourage anyone who's curious or researching to compare these services different packages and price points.

Streaming is inevitably the future. We're not there yet, but we're on the way.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Thanks for all the info. I still haven't pulled the trigger yet. My comparatively slow internet speed makes me nervous.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

I have had Sling TV for over a year. I was looking for any option to have HBO and escape Cox as my service provider. I bought a TiVo OTA Romio with lifetime DVR service included and then installed a bigger HD. Next, I purchased an OTA antennae for the attic. With Cox, I had the slowest internet speed option and Sling worked fine for a family of two. Netflix was a little slow for that speed...I had to change the resolution from 1080 to 720 dpi to keep it from buffering.

Last month, I switched to BTC which provides me fiber gigabit speeds. However, I can't really tell any difference while watching. Both modems/switches were using Cat6 cables throughout the house.

I think Sling works for our family of two. I like the idea of being able to add ESPN for the football season and then having the ability to immediately cancel it. My biggest complaint is that I cannot get the Discovery Channel.

Of course, if you are really trying to cut your cable subscription expense...you would be looking at an Amazon Firestick that has has been jail broken with Kodi.  Personally, I think that it is stealing and I choose not to do it.

Speaking of stealing, you should get a MoviePass.com subscription for $10/month. It is amazing how many bad movies are being released right now. The wife and I try to see two movies a week which turns out to be $1.25 per film. Then again, you could be watching all these films with your jail broken Kodi Firestick for free...


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

American Express has an offer to spend $15 and get $5 back at Sling. So the pre pay for two months to get the "free" Roku Express would cost $35. Does anyone know what the fees are each month?


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## csbutler (Jun 15, 2017)

I don't pay anything besides the price per package.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

csbutler said:


> I don't pay anything besides the price per package.


No taxes? Or they're included maybe?


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

No tax. I pay $24.95 for Blue lineup & additional $15 for HBO. I dropped the Orange (ESPN) lineup.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

TulsaFan said:


> No tax. I pay $24.95 for Blue lineup & additional $15 for HBO. I dropped the Orange (ESPN) lineup.


Thanks. I'm getting the orange to start with for the ESPN (bowl games!) I'm going to time it around mid November so it'll coincide with those games including the championship. They're all pretty much on ESPN now. If I like it I'm considering putting Netflix on hold and seeing how it goes without it. I don't like the one stream only with orange though.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

As long as you reactivate Netflix before nine months has passed, it will keep your viewing history.


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## scarlso2 (May 8, 2017)

I had Sling and liked it ok. I switched to DirecTVNow, and I'm a beta-testing their DVR system they're working on. I'll admit that all of them have left me missing the easy-to-use platform that cable companies have and also missing the high quality DVR setups. Maybe I need to try some of the others people are mentioning. My parents get google fiber... man I wish that was available everywhere.. I'd get it so fast


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

scarlso2 said:


> ...I'll admit that all of them have left me missing the easy-to-use platform that cable companies have...


Agree, but I've found that makes me more intentional about watching it... in other words, I usually don't even turn it on unless I know exactly what show/sporting event I'm wanting to watch.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Anybody use the AirTV streaming device. It's being offered for $50 with three months pre pay Sling TV.


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## csbutler (Jun 15, 2017)

I pulled up my account and under taxes it had $0.00.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

csbutler said:


> I pulled up my account and under taxes it had $0.00.


Thanks csbutler! I wonder if that varies state to state? I live in PA.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Mine, you tube TV is also 0 tax. Just $35 total.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I signed up for sling. Got the free Roku Express. There is tax in PA. Typical 6% so an extra $1.20 a month. So far so good although I've noticed ESPN loads the slowest of all the channels. Hard to tell if I'll keep it beyond two months as I've gotten very use to no commercials with Netflix.

Thanks for all the info!


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## csbutler (Jun 15, 2017)

Yeah.. all my channels work great but espn, espn 2, sec network all take a second to load. It can be irritating when flipping back and forth.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I'm a little late to the party, but figured I'd share my experience/setup.

I took advantage of the prepay 3 months of Sling and get a Roku Premier+ for $49.99 (they are now offering a Roku Ultra for the same price). I have the sling blue service, and have not had any issues with it. They have updated the channel guide to look like something you would find on a cable/satellite provider, which makes the transition easier. P

There are TV series that my wife likes to watch that are on some of the add in packages. It's nice to be able to add the package for $5/mo while the season is going and then remove it as soon as it's done.

I'd echo the other recommendations of trying out the free trial from the other services to see what best works for you, and if your Internet speed can run everything smoothly. I've read that a good rule of thumb for internet speed is 4-5Mbps per device that you will use to stream video services.

I have Comcast for my internet and have basic cable so that I can skip using an antenna for local channels. I use their Roku app so that I don't need to rent any cable boxes from them and everything I need is right there on the Roku and I don't have to switch between inputs or anything like that.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I forgot how many commercials there are on television. It's been hard to watch. I'm very use to on demand and no commercial viewing. Sling has some good on demand but it's very limited.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

Call me Judas!!! I just switched from SlingTV to Directv Now. SlingTV charged me $40/month without ESPN or Discovery. I just added those channels for the same $40/month due to SlingTV charging $15 for HBO while Directv Now charges $5/month. (Prepay for the first two months and get a free Roku stick. Perfect for the outdoor TV.)


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

TulsaFan said:


> Call me Judas!!! I just switched from SlingTV to Directv Now. SlingTV charged me $40/month without ESPN, Discovery or Fox News. I just added those channels for the same $40/month due to SlingTV charging $15 for HBO while Directv Now charges $5/month. (Prepay for the first two months and get a free Roku stick. Perfect for the outdoor TV.)


It's nice to have options though. I haven't watched any of the channels on Sling except for ESPN. I just don't want watch tv normally. Kids go to bed and by the time we get downstairs it might be 8:41pm. I'm ready to watch a show. Not just whatever is on at that time or 9pm. On demand is where it's at!

YouTube TV sounds the most intriguing. It's just not where I live at yet. It has local channels plus a bevy of sports channels for $35. But, I get my locals with my antenna so I'll probably just use the OTA channels plus Hulu or Netflix, whichever I have at the time. I cancel when there's nothing on one and then restart it when some new episodes of something we watch come around.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

One thing I'll throw out there is if anyone here has an AMEX, they're offering $5 back on a purchase of $15 (correction from $25)or more with Sling TV. Just set your AMEX to be the default payment for the month, and you'll get the statement credit when the payment posts.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Colonel K0rn said:


> One thing I'll throw out there is if anyone here has an AMEX, they're offering $5 back on a purchase of $25 or more with Sling TV. Just set your AMEX to be the default payment for the month, and you'll get the statement credit when the payment posts.


That's what I did although mine was only a $15 spend requirement.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> Colonel K0rn said:
> 
> 
> > One thing I'll throw out there is if anyone here has an AMEX, they're offering $5 back on a purchase of $25 or more with Sling TV. Just set your AMEX to be the default payment for the month, and you'll get the statement credit when the payment posts.
> ...


You're right, it was $15.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

FATC1TY said:


> Y'all with cable should be calling every 6 months and getting deals.
> 
> I have all the channels from directv, no contract( which is key ), Sunday ticket and 1 Gig fiber internet that gives me consistent 400-500mb on wifi iPads and phone.
> 
> ...


I will gladly deal with the hassles of streaming vs playing a game of brinkmanship or "Let's Make A Deal" with a soulless service provider. :x But then again, my family and I are a traditional cable provider's worst nightmare. We're budget conscious and couldn't give a rat's posterior about sports. :lol: I feel for you guys/gals who are into sports as that's one of the remaining major hurdles for streaming services to clear before they annihilate traditional TV service as we know it. We have a Netflix subscription and a couple Roku boxes, keeps everyone calm!

I watch a fair bit of YouTube, usually related to whatever my current projects are. The rest of my time I would much rather spend on the lawn :roll: or in the garage.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I love DirecTV Now. They had issues early on but I haven't had any issues at all since a few months after launch. I'm also testing their Cloud DVR service, so far so good. I'm paying $30 or $35 a month and they keep adding channels to my package for free.

I originally got on with DTVN because they were giving away free Apple TVs with new subscriptions at launch, and I thought I would end up switching to Sling after my subscription was up, but I'm still here a year later and loving it.


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

I was at the AT&T store last week to upgrade my home internet service and they had some nice offers for the DirectTVNow service. I paid $35, received a Roku stick and 2 months of DirectTV Now with HBO as some promotion along with my new Home internet service. The DTVN service will be $20 a month after that (as I understood) for a short promotion period. I love that it's a no contract service like Netflix, cancel anytime. So far, it's very nice, and I plan to keep it even if the price increases after the promotion period.

Edit: To clarify, the new internet service is separate from the prices I listed above.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Cancelled Sling. Will sign up for Direct TV now at the end of the month to watch the bowl games, then cancel that as well. I'm satisfied with rotating between Hulu and Netflix as things I want to watch have new episodes.


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

I'm still enjoying Direct TV Now, but this Sling commercial had me in stitches!

https://youtu.be/FC8IWkV3u5w


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@Redtenchu

Hilarious! I actually just re signed up for sling a couple weeks ago to watch all the March Madness.


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## Rackhouse Mayor (Sep 4, 2017)

We cut the cord a year ago and don't regret it. I was paying $200/month for uverse. We have sling although I don't really care for it. I don't like the fast forward/rewind function. We also have a clearstream antenna that gets 90% of our attention. Honestly, I don't make time for tv, so I'm not the best one to ask. If I'm not at work I'm getting in to a project around here, surfing this forum, or reading a book.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I'm streaming with YouTube TV now. It has all the live sports channels I wanted, along locals - which was sort of the missing link for me.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

Judas is back!!! Funny reading this thread and how quickly the price of streaming services have gone up in the past two years.

AT&Tnow (Directvnow) recently raised my rate to $65/month which originally started at $40. I am happy to pay $30/month for the orange package with no ESPN. Discovery is why I left Sling two years ago for AT&Tnow. (I guess Sling added Discovery about a year ago.)

I also ditched Sprint this month for Mint Mobile (MVNO using T-Mobile towers). It dropped my phone bill from $116 to $30 per month. It is insane that I was paying $86 more a month for worse service. :evil:


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I'm still with YouTube TV. I'm pretty happy with it, but like most of the others I think the price went up. I'm currently paying $54.11/mo. Having all the sports networks is important to me.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm with ware. I'm still using youtubetv and it is great. They recently added pbs and pbs kids and create tv. The kids love the pbs shows and the wife likes the cooking shows. Being able to DVR them without any storage limitations is a nice feature.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

g-man said:


> I'm with ware. I'm still using youtubetv and it is great. They recently added pbs and pbs kids and create tv. The kids love the pbs shows and the wife likes the cooking shows. Being able to DVR them without any storage limitations is a nice feature.


The Youtubetv channel offering is pretty extensive. I may switch to it next college football season.

I am guilty of not switching services enough and end up paying too much. I dropped HBO for the first time in about 25 years. Baby steps...I can always subscribe for a month at a time and binge.

Lastly, as much as I hate Cox I would consider going back if the deal was good enough.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Grrrrr - Cox cable is really the only viable option for high speed internet around here. The last thing I usually tell them before I hang up the phone is "one day there is going to be a better option."

Well that wish is finally coming true. Our local electric cooperative is in the make-ready phase of bringing fiber to the home. They are going to offer symmetrical 100 mbps for $49.95 or 1 Gig for $79.95.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Also, 5G home internet options will be slowly coming around from Verizon and the like. Starlink from Musk.....

https://www.starlink.com/

We only have one option. Frustrating to say the least.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> Also, 5G home internet options will be slowly coming around from Verizon and the like. Starlink from Musk.....
> 
> https://www.starlink.com/
> 
> We only have one option. Frustrating to say the least.


I am hoping that Bezos beats Musk with Project Kuiper.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I had DirecTV Now but canceled it when they raised the rates last time. I had been with them since day one until then. I moved to Sling and was paying about $50/month including RedZone but I didn't watch it enough to justify the cost. I was going to try PlayStation Vue but that's no more. YouTube TV is out for me as I don't feel comfortable doing business with Google.


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