OT: board experiences on cutting DirecTV for streaming?

[psu 83]

Need help from all you Cable TV/Internet aficionados! I'm a member of a fraternal organization (Elks) thats looking at ways to cut costs. Our Internet and Cable bill is approximately $150 per month bundled for 3 TV's and 1 computer. What should we be looking to switch to? Thanks in advance and if you could email alternatives to tamaquaelks592@ptd.net I would be appreciative!

 

[JBDLion]

4. Chromecast for everything else

Have you tried casting from the PS Vue app to Chromecast directly? I don't think that was available initially but is now.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

Need help from all you Cable TV/Internet aficionados! I'm a member of a fraternal organization (Elks) thats looking at ways to cut costs. Our Internet and Cable bill is approximately $150 per month bundled for 3 TV's and 1 computer. What should we be looking to switch to? Thanks in advance and if you could email alternatives to tamaquaelks592@ptd.net I would be appreciative!

Honestly, if you have to ask, and no one in the org. already has the answer, you are probably best off staying with what you have.
It won't be worth the hassle to save $500 per year.

 

[Plan Ahaed]

Have you tried casting from the PS Vue app to Chromecast directly? I don't think that was available initially but is now.

No - have not done that and doubt I would since I'm already using Roku 3s on all my tv's and have the PSVue channel on them. Per this article it looks like it's an option for iOS, and if you search a bit you may find it's good for Andriod by now: http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10287586/sony-playstation-vue-chromecast-support

 

[JBDLion]

No - have not done that and doubt I would since I'm already using Roku 3s on all my tv's and have the PSVue channel on them. Per this article it looks like it's an option for iOS, and if you search a bit you may find it's good for Andriod by now: http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10287586/sony-playstation-vue-chromecast-support

I was just wondering if the quality is comparable. I have no Roku but many Chromecasts and my plan was to cast to the TV of choice. I'll probably check it out with a trial before I make a decision. My cable contract runs through February and I'm still holding out for more information on the Google Unplugged option.

 

[psu 83]

Honestly, if you have to ask, and no one in the org. already has the answer, you are probably best off staying with what you have.
It won't be worth the hassle to save $500 per year.

Saving $500 yearly would be huge so please "hassle" us!

 

[Plan Ahaed]

Honestly, if you have to ask, and no one in the org. already has the answer, you are probably best off staying with what you have.
It won't be worth the hassle to save $500 per year.

I'd agree with this - if there's no young buck in the organization that can take care of this just keep your current setup. Using an amazon fire or roku box may be too much of a hurdle to overcome. I tried getting my father setup with this a year ago after he was flying off the handle about cable cost and commercials, but he stopped using it almost immediately preferring to use the cable he's accustomed to.

 

[Whaaaaaaaany]

Does PSVue work with Roku now? When I cut the cord I read that you couldn't use Roku with PSVue, but it was coming. I got SlingTV instead, but I am missing the BTN due to the games. I may look to see if they have a trial period so I can catch the game this weekend if you can use the Roku.

This is my plan for the weekend... I do believe there is a PSVue 7 day trial available. I already have SlingTV for my Roku which I get from Sept through January to watch football on the ESPN channels. I'll set it up Friday night to make sure it's all working...if not, it's off to my fire hall to watch in the lounge...hopefully no fire calls..last time I did that for the Minnesota game, somebody crashed their motorcycle just as overtime was starting....and I missed it all.

On another note, I've been cable free for over 3 years...don't miss anything other than college football in the fall. Get all the networks and many bonus stations with my antenna..Hulu + and Amazon Prime (which I would have anyway even without the prime movies) keeps me pretty satisfied. Heck, even if I wanted to drop SlingTV, I could (cough cough) just get the watch ESPN app and log in with say, a parents/fiends/siblings credentials...if you were so inclined

 

[dbsteel]

Long time satellite user- the only thing I can say is if you stay on them, or threaten to go to Dish (or actually do it like I do) they will bring your price down quite a bit. It gets down under $100-$110 for a pretty high package, whole house DVR, and 5 TVs. $200 would be a deal breaker, but I can live with that.

 

[Plan Ahaed]

Long time satellite user- the only thing I can say is if you stay on them, or threaten to go to Dish (or actually do it like I do) they will bring your price down quite a bit. It gets down under $100-$110 for a pretty high package, whole house DVR, and 5 TVs. $200 would be a deal breaker, but I can live with that.

That's a great strategy, and one that I used for a decade (still use it for SiriusXM). Always call and negotiate a better deal, threaten to cancel, and do so if need be. My problem was that even when I did drop to ~$115 I still had to pay $55 a month on top of that for high speed internet. Just watch your equipment fees when cancelling DirecTv. I had a Genie DVR (not sure if they're still called that) and when I went to drop my membership they said that since I was not at 24 months with that device I would be charged $20 per month early cancellation fee. Took several phone calls but I was eventually able to get them to drop that charge.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

Honestly, if you have to ask, and no one in the org. already has the answer, you are probably best off staying with what you have.
It won't be worth the hassle to save $500 per year.

If it's anything like my Elks lodge, the average end user will never be able to figure out how to use the "new fangled" system.

I'd advise letting it go, too. Maybe it would be a good idea to call the provider, explain the situation, and see if they'd be willing to help out a nonprofit.

 

[dbsteel]

That's a great strategy, and one that I used for a decade (still use it for SiriusXM). Always call and negotiate a better deal, threaten to cancel, and do so if need be. My problem was that even when I did drop to ~$115 I still had to pay $55 a month on top of that for high speed internet. Just watch your equipment fees when cancelling DirecTv. I had a Genie DVR (not sure if they're still called that) and when I went to drop my membership they said that since I was not at 24 months with that device I would be charged $20 per month early cancellation fee. Took several phone calls but I was eventually able to get them to drop that charge.

You are right on the internet- that's where I'm getting hit. Comcast is my only option for internet, and if I'm not bundling it with their cable, the internet price is over $65 a month. I could probably get Comcast Cable and Internet bundled for under $100.

After 15+ years with DirectTV though, I finally cancelled when they still couldn't get down to Dish pricing, which was locked for two years.

 

[PSU_Nut]

How do you like the PSVue? Do you get any buffering, and how is the HD picture?

It's something I'm seriously considering for the future. I also have a Roku Stick and while overall I like it, it's not my favorite thing in the world. I got it for HBO Now and in preparation of the eventual addition of PSVue on it.....but opted to stay with DirecTV for at least a year.

They offer a free week trial. Best advice is to try it yourself. There are far to many variable to tell how your experience is. I can stream multiple hi def things at at time but then again I have 150mbs internet connection and a top notch wireless router. So I never have a problem. My neighbors have10mbs dsl and an old router and can't stream anything without buffering.

If you have a lot of wireless devices and people using them consider up grading your router. A wireless router is one of the most heavily used device in many homes but people still buy junk routers or built in wifi then wonder why they have problem. Do yourself a favor and get a high grade router for $200. It might sound expensive but it cheap compared to all the devices that depend on it.