Cord Cutters Thread

[Lobwedgephil 1,139]

22 minutes ago, Longhorn Fever said:

I would say no, you are not correct. I have the DTV Now and ESPN+. I think I was able to stream LHN through the ESPN app with just my DTV Now subscription. I added ESPN+ to get some of the original and on-demand programming that ESPN moved to ESPN+. If you subscribe to ESPN+, I think you should have no trouble streaming any* of their content.

 *May be subject to blackout rules based on location/billing address

You got LHN from your directtv now subscription, not ESPN +. He is correct. 

[dcbc 14,465]

Ban me.  Redundant post.   Internet fart.

Edited August 8, 2019 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,465]

23 hours ago, tokamak said:

So am I correct in saying that the only way to stream LHN right now is the $55/mo PS Vue package, or the $70 AT&T Now package? Fuuuuuuck. I may take my chances with Reddit, $55+ to watch one fucking game against a shitty opponent is hard to stomach.

I think the answer is those are the only two legit (paid) streaming services that offer LHN in their package price.  If you have ATTNow (Formerly DTVNow), you can stream it on the ATTNow app or on the ESPN app.  Same with Vue.  I'm not aware of a stand alone ESPN app you can pay for.

Yes, I'm sure there are many other ways to stream LHN, but they involve a little more finagling than what I expect you are talking about.

The easiest free way to do it is to find a friend with a DTV/ATTNow/Uverse/Vue/Dish subscription and buy that person a six pack for use of their login for each game.  I've got various family members and friends in Houston who have Xfinity, and they stream LHN on gameday using my Vue login while I watch it here and there's never been an issue with multiple logins.  It's not like the old days when you had to bend the space-time continuum to get an LHN stream (or in my case, send a slingbox to a friend to run his stream in super low quality across the state to my laptop.

Edited August 8, 2019 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,465]

Redundant post.

Edited August 8, 2019 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,465]

Redundant Post

Edited August 8, 2019 by dcbc

[NoName 16,350]

19 hours ago, Soldierhorn said:

For me, it's not about one football game.  It's about all the other sports, esp baseball

not kidding, just pay someone you know who has dish or DTV and use their login for the ESPN app, then chromecast to your TV or use the ESPN app on your tv/box. easiest way to do it, it won't be in the same app as your typical TV stuff but you get the channel.

it's super weird to me it isn't a part of YTTV (TV Anywhere login) via WatchESPN (well just the ESPN app now)

 

[Soldierhorn 206]

10 minutes ago, NoName said:

not kidding, just pay someone you know who has dish or DTV and use their login for the ESPN app, then chromecast to your TV or use the ESPN app on your tv/box. easiest way to do it, it won't be in the same app as your typical TV stuff but you get the channel.

it's super weird to me it isn't a part of YTTV (TV Anywhere login) via WatchESPN (well just the ESPN app now)

 

yep, or just purchase an IPTV service for about $5-10 a month and watch what I want including LHN.  I loaded the IPTV onto my FIrebox and done

[dcbc 14,465]

53 minutes ago, Soldierhorn said:

yep, or just purchase an IPTV service for about $5-10 a month and watch what I want including LHN.  I loaded the IPTV onto my FIrebox and done

Dude asks where to meet a nice girl and you point him to the red light district.

[tokamak 6,391]

2 hours ago, NoName said:

not kidding, just pay someone you know who has dish or DTV and use their login for the ESPN app, then chromecast to your TV or use the ESPN app on your tv/box. easiest way to do it, it won't be in the same app as your typical TV stuff but you get the channel.

it's super weird to me it isn't a part of YTTV (TV Anywhere login) via WatchESPN (well just the ESPN app now)

 

At this point, basically everyone I know has dropped cable/dish, even my mom and my in-laws. As time goes by, this becomes an option for fewer and fewer people every day. Piggybacking on someone else's cable is a great deal if you can get it, but it's not really "cutting the cord".

1 hour ago, Soldierhorn said:

yep, or just purchase an IPTV service for about $5-10 a month and watch what I want including LHN.  I loaded the IPTV onto my FIrebox and done

I went back through this thread a few pages after I asked about LHN and saw a fair amount of talk about IPTV, which I wasn't previously familiar with. Spent a few minutes reading up on it on Reddit and it doesn't seem like an option for everyone. Just in the first few posts on Reddit, there's talk of using a VPN and paying with Bitcoin to protect your privacy, trojans in apps, and services mysteriously getting shut down out of nowhere. Not to mention it requires an Android box or rooted Fire TV, neither of which I currently have. If someone is pretty tech savvy, wants to watch a ton of sports and absolutely can't stand paying for it, and isn't turned off by seedier parts of the internet I could see using it, but it's obviously not for the masses.

For anyone else that's curious, "IPTV" as referred to in this thread basically means someone re-streaming their cable package over the internet and charging a few bucks for it. If you look hard enough, you'll find services that offer basically any sporting event on Earth for just a few bucks a month. Obviously, it ain't at all legal. Lots of them seem to be originate out of Russia or China, but there are also lots of middlemen involved.

Here's a beginner's guide on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IPTV/comments/5k40ae/iptv_for_complete_beginners/

[Skipper 6,127]

So PSVUE was down this morning.  Wife said it's working again now.  I've only had it for a few weeks.  How common is this?  Quick twitter search makes it seem like there was a hard crash last month as well.   I guess the good thing is that if reliability becomes a problem, it's a lot easier to drop them and move to something else.  Really wish there were more alternatives for LHN.   Don''t understand why ESPN doesn't just offer it as part of (or an add on) to ESPN+

[dcbc 14,465]

9 minutes ago, Skipper said:

So PSVUE was down this morning.  Wife said it's working again now.  I've only had it for a few weeks.  How common is this?  Quick twitter search makes it seem like there was a hard crash last month as well.   I guess the good thing is that if reliability becomes a problem, it's a lot easier to drop them and move to something else.  Really wish there were more alternatives for LHN.   Don''t understand why ESPN doesn't just offer it as part of (or an add on) to ESPN+

I may have missed one here or there, but this is the first time I recall seeing an outage like this.  I've been a subscriber for the last two or three years.

Edited August 8, 2019 by dcbc

[ChickenSandwich 9,826]

On 8/6/2019 at 5:59 PM, zork said:

One interesting quirk is the way PSUVue treats local stations on the level I was on, it was Core level, and will be on again here just before 8-31.  Local stations you need to be sure to have your HD antenna set up because certain games will only be shown via that and are blacked out via PSUVue.    My HD Antenna was unplugged the night Texas played OSU(the horrible game where the DB's were suspended for the first half I think)   By the time I figured out the game was blacked out and got the antenna figured out, with WTF, WTF minutes going by troubleshooting first PSUVue then antenna, I missed almost the whole shitshow first quarter.

Point is, be ready.  PSUVue overall is worth it.  

Edit: signed back in on the Core level.  Price has gone up but is still decent.

Amazon Recast. Had them 1/2 price on Prime day. 

1TB, 4 Tuners. Covers recording all games on OTA broadcast. 

Closes the PSVUE gap

[Soldierhorn 206]

On 8/8/2019 at 9:42 AM, tokamak said:

At this point, basically everyone I know has dropped cable/dish, even my mom and my in-laws. As time goes by, this becomes an option for fewer and fewer people every day. Piggybacking on someone else's cable is a great deal if you can get it, but it's not really "cutting the cord".

I went back through this thread a few pages after I asked about LHN and saw a fair amount of talk about IPTV, which I wasn't previously familiar with. Spent a few minutes reading up on it on Reddit and it doesn't seem like an option for everyone. Just in the first few posts on Reddit, there's talk of using a VPN and paying with Bitcoin to protect your privacy, trojans in apps, and services mysteriously getting shut down out of nowhere. Not to mention it requires an Android box or rooted Fire TV, neither of which I currently have. If someone is pretty tech savvy, wants to watch a ton of sports and absolutely can't stand paying for it, and isn't turned off by seedier parts of the internet I could see using it, but it's obviously not for the masses.

For anyone else that's curious, "IPTV" as referred to in this thread basically means someone re-streaming their cable package over the internet and charging a few bucks for it. If you look hard enough, you'll find services that offer basically any sporting event on Earth for just a few bucks a month. Obviously, it ain't at all legal. Lots of them seem to be originate out of Russia or China, but there are also lots of middlemen involved.

Here's a beginner's guide on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IPTV/comments/5k40ae/iptv_for_complete_beginners/

There are some good IPTV services and, no, they arent all in Russia.  If you want to talk yourself out of it, then go ahead.  With that mentality, dont bother buying any android devices for additional content such as FIreTV and definitely dont add Kodi and that dreaded content through a third party. 

VPN is a good idea regardless whether you use an IPTV service or not.  I use a VPN for my phone, tablet and laptops - it's just smart

Edited August 9, 2019 by Soldierhorn

[dcbc 14,465]

5 hours ago, Soldierhorn said:

There are some good IPTV services and, no, they arent all in Russia.  If you want to talk yourself out of it, then go ahead.  With that mentality, dont bother buying any android devices for additional content such as FIreTV and definitely dont add Kodi and that dreaded content through a third party. 

VPN is a good idea regardless whether you use an IPTV service or not.  I use a VPN for my phone, tablet and laptops - it's just smart

Look, good on you for making it work on the cheap.  And I'm not affiliated with the morality police by a long shot.  But for $8 a month, you're undoubtedly restreaming unlicensed content, whether it's Russian, Chinese, homegrown, or whereever. 

If I were going that route, I'd certainly, at the least, be using a VPN and paying with WalMart gift carts or Bitcoin or whatever untraceable means were necessary.  I definitely wouldn't want my personal info or credit card transactions on database that content owners could use to add me as a defendant if/when the "Players Club" or whatever other restreamer gets busted, hauled into court in a civil suit, or both.  And I'd be equally concerned that that app on your firestick has opened a back door into your home network or whether the VPN is doing you much good as far as whoever made the app is concerned. 

[ChickenSandwich 9,826]

Pulled the trigger on PSVUE. Prefer YTTV but Vue has red zone and LHN. 

Plus side- Vue seems to have all of the local channels in Austin, for now....

[ChickenSandwich 9,826]

Fucking VUE. 

On the local Chanels....I can record the Spurs soccer game on NBC right now but you can’t start from the beginning of the recording. Even if only ten mins etc. it will record the game but basically forced you to watch live and disables DVR features during the live broadcast. Should act normal once the broadcast is complete. 

Must be some deal with local providers but good to know for football season. You won’t be able to start a game 30 mins in from the beginning (on CBS,NBC,ABC,FOX). 

[HalfSack Horn 149]

So I'm at the point of cutting the cord on U-verse(no NBC or NFL + stupidly high cost) but I will keep them as my internet provider(only other option is Suddenlink).  If I keep them as my provider, does that give me access to LHN via ESPN Watch or do I have to have a tv package through U-verse?

I'm going between Vue and YTTV and this might make the choice for me.

[ChickenSandwich 9,826]

Edit to the PSVUE post above. 

Apparently you can’t record select live events on local broadcast TV. It says it will record but after the broadcast the program is no longer available. Horseshit. 

[HalfSack Horn 149]

24 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Edit to the PSVUE post above. 

Apparently you can’t record select live events on local broadcast TV. It says it will record but after the broadcast the program is no longer available. Horseshit. 

I was reading on the ps vue faqs and it looks like this applies to ABC and NBC locally(assuming you’re in Austin)

[tokamak 6,391]

2 hours ago, HalfSack Horn said:

So I'm at the point of cutting the cord on U-verse(no NBC or NFL + stupidly high cost) but I will keep them as my internet provider(only other option is Suddenlink).  If I keep them as my provider, does that give me access to LHN via ESPN Watch or do I have to have a tv package through U-verse?

I'm going between Vue and YTTV and this might make the choice for me.

Definitely have to have a TV package.

[Horn_Spanker 524]

On 8/10/2019 at 1:50 PM, HalfSack Horn said:

I'm going between Vue and YTTV and this might make the choice for me.

Keep me posted on what you decide.  Looking at those two and Hulu.

[Deej 76,754]

I just switched back over to Vue for football season. I hate their guide. Hulu's guide was much more user friendly, but I need Redzone and LHN.

[Baboontyme 2,809]

Sorry if redundant, but google machine tells me there's still no way to get Sunday Ticket without a Dtv sub, provided you live in an area with satellite coverage. T/F? 

[Skipper 6,127]

On 8/16/2019 at 12:42 PM, Baboontyme said:

Sorry if redundant, but google machine tells me there's still no way to get Sunday Ticket without a Dtv sub, provided you live in an area with satellite coverage. T/F? 

AT&T/DTV has exclusive rights.  Think currently subject of negotiations as to whether that will continue or NFL will cut a deal with a streaming service.

[Baboontyme 2,809]

21 hours ago, Skipper said:

AT&T/DTV has exclusive rights.  Think currently subject of negotiations as to whether that will continue or NFL will cut a deal with a streaming service.

Thanks. Looks like it's up for renegotiation in 2021. 

Question about the streaming services - PS Vue, Youtube TV, etc. Do any of them have a more traditional menu/guide? I tried out Youtube TV for a few minutes the other night and it was a little too much like Youtube/netflix for my liking. If I'm watching live tv I would kind of like to have some sort of a channel guide that shows hey on TBS right now is Impractical Jokers, TNT is CSI Texarkana, HBO is Game of Thrones but it's greyed out because you're too cheap to buy it, etc. Is that any of them or are all of the UIs similar now to the a la carte/Netflix model?

[Dahobbs 17,522]

28 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

Thanks. Looks like it's up for renegotiation in 2021. 

Question about the streaming services - PS Vue, Youtube TV, etc. Do any of them have a more traditional menu/guide? I tried out Youtube TV for a few minutes the other night and it was a little too much like Youtube/netflix for my liking. If I'm watching live tv I would kind of like to have some sort of a channel guide that shows hey on TBS right now is Impractical Jokers, TNT is CSI Texarkana, HBO is Game of Thrones but it's greyed out because you're too cheap to buy it, etc. Is that any of them or are all of the UIs similar now to the a la carte/Netflix model?

Youtube TV has that, but only on certain devices (e.g., Roku and Vizio Tvs). No idea why the android app doesn't have a "live guide". I'd recommend getting a Roku for pretty much any streaming service anyway. PS Vue and Directv At&t Now both have traditional guides. PS Vue's is sort of weird in that the y and x axis are flipped from traditional guides (channels at the top instead of time).  

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,872]

I have PSVue with Roku sticks/ultra on all my televisions and the guides are all in the traditional format with the channels on the side and the time across the top.  I used to run one tv on an Amazon fire stick and the guide was reversed. It drove me nuts so I finally switched it to a Roku like the others.

[Dahobbs 17,522]

2 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

Youtube TV has that, but only on certain devices (e.g., Roku and Vizio Tvs). No idea why the android app doesn't have a "live guide". I'd recommend getting a Roku for pretty much any streaming service anyway. PS Vue and Directv At&t Now both have traditional guides. PS Vue's is sort of weird in that the y and x axis are flipped from traditional guides (channels at the top instead of time).  

I should add, the Youtube TV android app does have a "showing now" guide. It even plays a thumbnail version of whatever is playing when you scroll over it. What it doesn't have is a way to scroll to the next hour to see what is on. It is perplexing why this isn't included. The Roku App contains a typical programming guide that is very easy to use. 

[Baboontyme 2,809]

We have a Roku box upstairs. It is probably a few years old. Can't find the Youtube TV app in it. Youtube yes, Youtube TV no. Must only be available on newer Rokus? I want to check out the guide. 

[Dahobbs 17,522]

15 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

We have a Roku box upstairs. It is probably a few years old. Can't find the Youtube TV app in it. Youtube yes, Youtube TV no. Must only be available on newer Rokus? I want to check out the guide. 

I suppose that is possible. I know the native TV versions are only available on newer TVs. I wouldn't be surprised at all if older Rokus weren't supported. 

[Dahobbs 17,522]

18 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

We have a Roku box upstairs. It is probably a few years old. Can't find the Youtube TV app in it. Youtube yes, Youtube TV no. Must only be available on newer Rokus? I want to check out the guide. 

Guide seen at 20 seconds (should start there). 

[jeevsie 3,733]

Just switched to PSVue.  I can't get HBOnow to link accounts.  Any tips?  Every time I log in to PS, it says connection to the server lost. Huh?

[ChickenSandwich 9,826]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:57 AM, Baboontyme said:

Thanks. Looks like it's up for renegotiation in 2021. 

Question about the streaming services - PS Vue, Youtube TV, etc. Do any of them have a more traditional menu/guide? I tried out Youtube TV for a few minutes the other night and it was a little too much like Youtube/netflix for my liking. If I'm watching live tv I would kind of like to have some sort of a channel guide that shows hey on TBS right now is Impractical Jokers, TNT is CSI Texarkana, HBO is Game of Thrones but it's greyed out because you're too cheap to buy it, etc. Is that any of them or are all of the UIs similar now to the a la carte/Netflix model?

interfaces are not the same on each device.  Apple TV, Roku, Fire, all different

[The University 851]

spectrum is apparently down in my area. at least it's just the florida/miami game we're missing.

that being said, spectrum's interwebs have been insanely reliable and fast for quite a few years.

[Buzzrock 14,902]

I should add, the Youtube TV android app does have a "showing now" guide. It even plays a thumbnail version of whatever is playing when you scroll over it. What it doesn't have is a way to scroll to the next hour to see what is on. It is perplexing why this isn't included. The Roku App contains a typical programming guide that is very easy to use. 

You do have to change the way you think about tv. The iPhone app has a Live view like you mentioned, and if you search in individual channel (like ABC) you can then scroll forward and see what’s coming on later.

But you can’t flip around channels any more because there are no channel numbers. That takes some getting used to.

[Nonbryan 173]

Anyone heard estimated timeframe when ATT now is going to kiss and make up with Nextstar nbc? 

[kevwun 15,761]

I haven't had HBO on Dish since November because of AT&T's new negotiation strategy, so get comfy.

[HoustonHorn 1,062]

I don't have the time currently to cut the cord, but hopefully at the end of football season i will.

In the meantime, I'm looking to drop DirecTV and use the xfinity service i already pay for to get a deal on my high speed internet service.

It's there a way to get LHN easily if i ditch DirecTV.

[dcbc 14,465]

1 hour ago, HoustonHorn said:

I don't have the time currently to cut the cord, but hopefully at the end of football season i will.

In the meantime, I'm looking to drop DirecTV and use the xfinity service i already pay for to get a deal on my high speed internet service.

It's there a way to get LHN easily if i ditch DirecTV.

Aside from borrowing a friend's password so you can stream it through the ESPN app, you'll need to subscribe to a service that carries LHN.  Xfinity does not offer it.

Your widely available options include DTV, DTV/ATT Now, Dish, and Vue (and plenty of cable companies probably which aren't available in Houston).

[Gator Dave 14]

14 hours ago, dcbc said:

Aside from borrowing a friend's password so you can stream it through the ESPN app, you'll need to subscribe to a service that carries LHN.  Xfinity does not offer it.

Your widely available options include DTV, DTV/ATT Now, Dish, and Vue (and plenty of cable companies probably which aren't available in Houston).

Yeah this is what I'm having to do to get LHN for the first game. Just sign-up for a free trial of ATTTvNow or PS Vue, and cancel when the game's over.

[Skipper 6,127]

PSVUE has been absolutely sucking for me this week.  Have tried to watch a couple of shows DVR or on demand and keep getting black screen or audio synch issues.  Anyone else?  Googled it and per PSVUE forums apparently tons of people are having problems after a recent update.   I chose PSVUE over YTTV solely for LHN (and I planned on adding redzone during NFL season) but they better get this shit figured out or I'm moving on.   I guess being able to change services quickly if one isn't performing up to par is a good thing about cutting the cord.

[MoJames 8,244]

5 hours ago, Skipper said:

PSVUE has been absolutely sucking for me this week.  Have tried to watch a couple of shows DVR or on demand and keep getting black screen or audio synch issues.  Anyone else?  Googled it and per PSVUE forums apparently tons of people are having problems after a recent update.   I chose PSVUE over YTTV solely for LHN (and I planned on adding redzone during NFL season) but they better get this shit figured out or I'm moving on.   I guess being able to change services quickly if one isn't performing up to par is a good thing about cutting the cord.

I'm not having any issues over the past week, so no help for you, but I'll see if I see any issue this weekend when I ramp up my football watching.

[ColoradoHorn 7]

1 minute ago, MoJames said:

I'm not having any issues over the past week, so no help for you, but I'll see if I see any issue this weekend when I ramp up my football watching.

I'm not having issues either.  What type of device are you using?  The PSVUE update was on Roku not Fire.  Are you having the same issues on a PC?  Just random things to pinpoint the issue.

[MoJames 8,244]

3 minutes ago, ColoradoHorn said:

I'm not having issues either.  What type of device are you using?  The PSVUE update was on Roku not Fire.  Are you having the same issues on a PC?  Just random things to pinpoint the issue.

Oh yeah for clarification I'm using a Fire, Ps3 and Ps4.

[longhrnfan 61]

On 8/20/2019 at 1:23 PM, Dahobbs said:

I suppose that is possible. I know the native TV versions are only available on newer TVs. I wouldn't be surprised at all if older Rokus weren't supported. 

they aren't. i went through this.

Just waiting on amazon to release the fire tv app for youtube tv... they came out with regular youtube immediately... but alas...

[elfenix 34,223]

sign up for D23 fan club, prepay for 3 years of Disney+  $141 total, works out to $3.92 a month

 

https://d23.com/disney-plus-exclusive-offer/

Edited August 29, 2019 by elfenix

[Skipper 6,127]

2 hours ago, ColoradoHorn said:

I'm not having issues either.  What type of device are you using?  The PSVUE update was on Roku not Fire.  Are you having the same issues on a PC?  Just random things to pinpoint the issue.

All Roku's.  Either Roku TV or stick.  Haven't tried on a PC. 

[Baboontyme 2,809]

15 hours ago, longhrnfan said:

they aren't. i went through this.

Just waiting on amazon to release the fire tv app for youtube tv... they came out with regular youtube immediately... but alas...

You can put it on your firestick via "side load". 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fire+stick+youtube+tv

[tbone_ 14,107]

Roku is your friend. Works better than fire stick.

[MoJames 8,244]

1 hour ago, tbone_ said:

Roku is your friend. Works better than fire stick.

Depends on what you are trying to do apparently. Both can work well in particular situations.

If you want YTTV, get a Roku though