A lot of people (I was one) pay $100+ per month for cable & DVR, etc. many pay $130+. So, $40-60 for this or similar seems good to me. And they do not offer DVR, but it does say you have up to 3 days to watch a program that's already aired - not equal to DVR but a fair exchange for the low price. You will never get everything for $20-30.
It is not basic cable, basic cable from most providers does not include ESPN and all the TNT/TBS channels like HGTV etc.
It's early give them a chance to add more channels and features. You can't 100% judge a service or product on version 1.0. By that standard Appletv, google maps, cable tv itself was not very good at first launch. This may not be good for you, but for a lot of cable cutters or people who don't need 300 channels and only watch 20-30 of them this is going to be a good option.
People pay $130+ a month just for cable channels? Or is that their total bill including internet, phone, DVR, etc?
That seems kinda high just for channels.
You're right... basic cable does not include ESPN... which is why I said basic-expanded cable... which is usually the 60-70 regular cable channels that people consider to be "Cable TV"
The only reason I brought this up is because you suggested getting two SlingTV accounts just so two people could watch at the same time. That's $50 a month for just those same 15 channels.
I dunno... it just seems crazy to pay $50 a month for only 15 channels.
So like I said... you might wanna look at what the various cable TV packages cost. It might cost more than $50... but you're getting quite a bit more too.
With bundles... it's difficult to tell how much of your bill is for channels and how much is for internet. But I can guarantee that $50 of that bill would get you quite a bit more than just 15 channels... and you can watch them on every TV in the house.
I would be all over this -- it's almost perfect, but is hampered by one fatal flaw: you can only access the service with one device at a time. So if I wanted to watch a game on ESPN downstairs, my wife couldn't be watching something on AMC upstairs in the bedroom.
Hell, I would even put up with sticking bunny ears on our HDTVs for local channels, but the one device restriction makes this a non-starter in my household.
Since it now includes access to watchESPN, your wife can watch what ever she wants up stairs and you can sign into watchESPN on the apple tv downstairs without any issue.
Forget live-only access. I have a frigging several-gigabyte workstation in my pocket with access to high-speed Internet nearly everywhere. With OTA, cable or satellite, we can pause or record to a scrappy TiVo for later replay, rewind, FF, etc. So why not on our computers and mobile devices? espn3.com is viewable live and in replays on my computer, so this $20/month is to watch it on my iPhone but live only. What a sad joke. ...
Imagine if JFK had set our sights on building a serviceable Spruce Goose instead of going to the Moon. That's how Sling TV feels on iPhone/iPad.
Huh? I think you're missing the point. ESPN3 barely has the same coverage as the "real" ESPNs, and there are just a few more channels than sports on Sling TV.
Honestly, I'm enjoying the return to live TV. I hate the completist drive of watching every stupid show I've got on DVR that I felt when I was on DirecTV. DVR Zero is about as annoying as Inbox Zero. If I don't get to WiFi in time for PTI with Sling TV, I just miss it. No big deal. Man, that's refreshing.
Combine with ChannelMaster's DVR+ (which I have) for OTA, and you have a heck of a nice combo. Plenty of live sports, DVR'd network dramas, and plenty of live junk TV if you feel like wasting time flipping. $20/mth is far and away the cheapest way to get ESPN or Disney, depending on what you're after. And now I won't need to buy a season pass to catch the end of Mad Men, providing I can make it home to watch. It's a great deal.
And so far, other than studdering on my late 2009 MacBook, it's smooth going -- on iPhone 5S, Lenovo i5, late 2012 iMac, even old Motorola Zoom.
People pay $130+ a month just for cable channels? Or is that their total bill including internet, phone, DVR, etc?
That seems kinda high just for channels.
You're right... basic cable does not include ESPN... which is why I said basic-expanded cable... which is usually the 60-70 regular cable channels that people consider to be "Cable TV"
The only reason I brought this up is because you suggested getting two SlingTV accounts just so two people could watch at the same time. That's $50 a month for just those same 15 channels.
I dunno... it just seems crazy to pay $50 a month for only 15 channels.
So like I said... you might wanna look at what the various cable TV packages cost. It might cost more than $50... but you're getting quite a bit more too.
With bundles... it's difficult to tell how much of your bill is for channels and how much is for internet. But I can guarantee that $50 of that bill would get you quite a bit more than just 15 channels... and you can watch them on every TV in the house.
That's all I was saying.
You are correct, I was using internet + cable cost. My mistake. I still think if someone has one TV in their home, then this is a good service. The bigger issue to me is this will open it up for other carriers to do the same and improvements will come. Right now it's new, give it time - it will get better with better options by Dish or others.
Comments
Duplicate See Post 26. Sorry.
People pay $130+ a month just for cable channels? Or is that their total bill including internet, phone, DVR, etc?
That seems kinda high just for channels.
You're right... basic cable does not include ESPN... which is why I said basic-expanded cable... which is usually the 60-70 regular cable channels that people consider to be "Cable TV"
The only reason I brought this up is because you suggested getting two SlingTV accounts just so two people could watch at the same time. That's $50 a month for just those same 15 channels.
I dunno... it just seems crazy to pay $50 a month for only 15 channels.
So like I said... you might wanna look at what the various cable TV packages cost. It might cost more than $50... but you're getting quite a bit more too.
With bundles... it's difficult to tell how much of your bill is for channels and how much is for internet. But I can guarantee that $50 of that bill would get you quite a bit more than just 15 channels... and you can watch them on every TV in the house.
That's all I was saying.
Funny
I would be all over this -- it's almost perfect, but is hampered by one fatal flaw: you can only access the service with one device at a time. So if I wanted to watch a game on ESPN downstairs, my wife couldn't be watching something on AMC upstairs in the bedroom.
Hell, I would even put up with sticking bunny ears on our HDTVs for local channels, but the one device restriction makes this a non-starter in my household.
Since it now includes access to watchESPN, your wife can watch what ever she wants up stairs and you can sign into watchESPN on the apple tv downstairs without any issue.
I would hope that, if Apple are to bring out tv, they do it by 2017. Otherwise, I surmise that they have not been able to carry through Jobs's vision.
Forget live-only access. I have a frigging several-gigabyte workstation in my pocket with access to high-speed Internet nearly everywhere. With OTA, cable or satellite, we can pause or record to a scrappy TiVo for later replay, rewind, FF, etc. So why not on our computers and mobile devices? espn3.com is viewable live and in replays on my computer, so this $20/month is to watch it on my iPhone but live only. What a sad joke.
...
Imagine if JFK had set our sights on building a serviceable Spruce Goose instead of going to the Moon. That's how Sling TV feels on iPhone/iPad.
Huh? I think you're missing the point. ESPN3 barely has the same coverage as the "real" ESPNs, and there are just a few more channels than sports on Sling TV.
Honestly, I'm enjoying the return to live TV. I hate the completist drive of watching every stupid show I've got on DVR that I felt when I was on DirecTV. DVR Zero is about as annoying as Inbox Zero. If I don't get to WiFi in time for PTI with Sling TV, I just miss it. No big deal. Man, that's refreshing.
Combine with ChannelMaster's DVR+ (which I have) for OTA, and you have a heck of a nice combo. Plenty of live sports, DVR'd network dramas, and plenty of live junk TV if you feel like wasting time flipping. $20/mth is far and away the cheapest way to get ESPN or Disney, depending on what you're after. And now I won't need to buy a season pass to catch the end of Mad Men, providing I can make it home to watch. It's a great deal.
And so far, other than studdering on my late 2009 MacBook, it's smooth going -- on iPhone 5S, Lenovo i5, late 2012 iMac, even old Motorola Zoom.
People pay $130+ a month just for cable channels? Or is that their total bill including internet, phone, DVR, etc?
That seems kinda high just for channels.
You're right... basic cable does not include ESPN... which is why I said basic-expanded cable... which is usually the 60-70 regular cable channels that people consider to be "Cable TV"
The only reason I brought this up is because you suggested getting two SlingTV accounts just so two people could watch at the same time. That's $50 a month for just those same 15 channels.
I dunno... it just seems crazy to pay $50 a month for only 15 channels.
So like I said... you might wanna look at what the various cable TV packages cost. It might cost more than $50... but you're getting quite a bit more too.
With bundles... it's difficult to tell how much of your bill is for channels and how much is for internet. But I can guarantee that $50 of that bill would get you quite a bit more than just 15 channels... and you can watch them on every TV in the house.
That's all I was saying.
You are correct, I was using internet + cable cost. My mistake. I still think if someone has one TV in their home, then this is a good service. The bigger issue to me is this will open it up for other carriers to do the same and improvements will come. Right now it's new, give it time - it will get better with better options by Dish or others.