TV Service Providers: Dishes and Cables And Satellites, Oh My!

[OtterMommy]

34 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

I was looking for a streaming wifi service that included TLC, Trading Spaces starts in a couple of weeks. Sling does not carry TLC, Play Station Vue does, but it's twice the price of Sling. So I searched for "what service carries TLC" or something close. One suggested was Philo. I have never heard of them. $16/month, not a lot of selection, no SciFy, TBS, but they do have A&E, History, OWN, WE (Law & Order, early seasons), Animal Planet, BBCAmerica, Travel, Discovery, ID, AMC, several kids channels.

I signed up for 7 day free trial, that will give me a chance to look them over. They at least have an online guide which Sling does not and you can save shows to watch, 72 hour rewind, sharing on 3 devices Their Roku guide is non existent, they have what's trending, that's about it. No sports or news channels, that's ok, unless the Olympics are on, I have no interest in sports, I follow several news services online.

The biggest problem was signing up. Sign up is with mobile phone number, but I couldn't get texts that gave me the code. Got a pop up chat box, talked over the problem with a nice young man, he called me and gave me the codes, walked me through how to get every where I needed to go. So I'm set up for 7 days. I will decide in a few days whether to keep them a while or not.

Have you tried Hulu Plus?  I believe that they have the stations you mention (I'm not entirely sure, because I don't watch all of them) and it is about the same price as the larger Sling package AND it has Hulu.  We switched from Sling to Hulu Plus and are very happy with it.

[friendperidot]

I looked at Hulu, I've had them before, I don't remember why, but I didn't care for them in the past and they didn't meet my needs today, I have looked at so many, I can't remember exactly why. But right now, I'm enjoying Philo, it's taken me a while to find my way around, but I'm getting there. I will be able to see so many shows I haven't watched for a while. Except for SciFy and TCM, they seem to meet most of my needs. TCM I can watch on my Kindle on Amazon, but I don't like to watch movies on the 7" screen. Alfred Hitchcock movies are just not as good.

[callie lee 29]

@friendperidot I recently switched from Soectrum cable to stream using Direct Tv  Now.  I just checked and I get TLC (truly right now, something called Counting On is showing) so that might work for you. 

I really prefer watching tv as its shown.  The only things I've had an issue with is CBS, but issuing the 5.99 for CBS All Access plus the streaming is still much cheaper than cable.

[friendperidot]

I've had the Philo since Saturday, so far I am loving it. I sleep with the tv on all night, but low sound, last night I put on ID Discovery and slept like a baby. Then when I woke up, I looked to see what else was on and since I mostly watch Escape (true crime antenna digital channel) all day, it was a nice change to watch some new true crime shows.

[Hanahope]

Since I cut the cord with Verizon and no longer have a DVR, I can only watch shows that are streamed by the channel.  Well, I could watch live, but that really never happens with my schedule.  We have Sling Blue, which provides 95% of cable shows I need and the very very basic local channel service with Verizon (as it was cheaper to bundle that with internet than just internet alone).  I also have Netflix, Amazon Prime and CBS All Access.

Almost every network and cable channel affords me the ability to watch their shows (some cable channel websites don't have Sling listed as a provider, which is annoying, since Sling has their channel).  Most channels provide nearly an entire season's worth of a show's episodes to watch via sling or their apps/website except ABC.  That network only provides about 5-6 episodes at most.  Because of the timing of our cord cutting, we missed several episodes of shows on ABC, Blackish and Fresh off the Boat, which I watch with my daughter.  And there's no other way to watch them without paying for the episodes through amazon (or itunes maybe).  I've paid enough, I refuse to pay more, so ABC is becoming my least-watched network.

Course, there's only a few shows I watch on network channels anyway, CBS is the most network and I get everything I want via all access.  Most shows are on the cable channels, and frankly, I like having only 10-13 episodes to watch.  Its easier to keep track of what I have and haven't yet seen.

Anyway, cutting the cord with Verizon saved us $125/month.

[kassygreene]

Hulu is carrying most ABC shows (it has all of Black-ish & Fresh Off The Boat, right through to the most recent episodes of each), IF you don't mind adding one more streaming service.  I find that Hulu (ABC, NBC, & FOX) and Netflix (CW) and CBS All-Access and PBS.org give me as much U.S. broadcast as I need, and I rarely watch network tv live any more.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Directv can go suck an egg. I really am tired of their controllers acting up. One minute I can get into recordings or just the tv guide and the next minute it doesn't work. Same with trying to pause. Sometimes it works and sometimes the pause bar doesn't show up and the show is frozen. -_-

[ABay]

My xfinity router decides to drop signal and has to be restarted at least once a week.

[AntiBeeSpray]

4 hours ago, ABay said:

My xfinity router decides to drop signal and has to be restarted at least once a week.

That's not good. I'd be wondering if it's on its last legs. 

[shapeshifter]

Yesterday in my geographic location it was necessary to rescan our channels. This will happen again here for other channels and elsewhere too.

It's due to an allocation of frequencies to wifi—at least in the US. Stations changed, but reception improved, so somebody did something right.

Fortunately I came across this online PSA fom iontelevision.com/rescan (it also applied to other, unaffiliated stations) a few days ago that did apply to my equipment, so I'm sharing it here:

Quote

Sometimes a Double Rescan is needed to clear the memory of your digital TV or converter box:

1. Disconnect the antenna from the Converter Box or Digital TV.
2. Rescan without the antenna connected. As with any scan, follow the on-screen instructions or owner's manual for your device.
3. Unplug the Converter Box or Digital TV from the electrical outlet for one minute.
4. Reconnect the antenna to the Converter Box or Digital TV and plug the unit into the electrical outlet.
5. Rescan the Converter Box or Digital TV one more time.

The "rescan"  procedure for steps 2 and 5 above will vary. 
For example, with my 10-year-old TV using a window antenna, it's:

1. Press the Home button on my remote.
2. Select CHANNEL.
3. Select Auto Tuning.
4. Select Start.

Edited June 12, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Snowprince]

Youtube TV. Local channels, all the cable channels I want, unlimited DVR recording (stored for 9 months), access to a large "on demand" library. Only thing missing is PBS, but that's why God gave me an antenna. It ain't free, but I spend more money per month filling my gas tank....I'll take it.

[HazelEyes4325]

16 hours ago, Snowprince said:

Youtube TV. Local channels, all the cable channels I want, unlimited DVR recording (stored for 9 months), access to a large "on demand" library. Only thing missing is PBS, but that's why God gave me an antenna. It ain't free, but I spend more money per month filling my gas tank....I'll take it.

You can actually get PBS for free through their app, which works on most streaming devices as well as computers, phones, etc.  I'll admit that the app is a little buggy and they usually only have the recent episodes of things.

[kassygreene]

And if you contribute to PBS above a certain level (currently $60 per year, I think), you get the Passport, which gives you access to video for longer than the usual two-three weeks.  Well worth it, I think, as I prefer to binge-watch shows, and it can be used with the app or over the net.

[HazelEyes4325]

Just now, kassygreene said:

And if you contribute to PBS above a certain level (currently $60 per year, I think), you get the Passport, which gives you access to video for longer than the usual two-three weeks.  Well worth it, I think, as I prefer to binge-watch shows, and it can be used with the app or over the net.

I think it is different for each PBS station.  For ours, you have to be a sustaining member, which means you make a monthly donation.  We make a $10/month donation and that gets us the Passport.

[Anela]

23 hours ago, Snowprince said:

Youtube TV. Local channels, all the cable channels I want, unlimited DVR recording (stored for 9 months), access to a large "on demand" library. Only thing missing is PBS, but that's why God gave me an antenna. It ain't free, but I spend more money per month filling my gas tank....I'll take it.

A friend of mine said that he and his wife are trying youtube TV, and like it more than they expected to. I might try it. Spectrum keep raising their prices, and we don't even have the channels like HBO - I don't know how people can afford all of those channels on top of the basic cable price. 

[Snowprince]

24 minutes ago, Anela said:

A friend of mine said that he and his wife are trying youtube TV, and like it more than they expected to. I might try it. Spectrum keep raising their prices, and we don't even have the channels like HBO - I don't know how people can afford all of those channels on top of the basic cable price. 

It was the local channels and unlimited recording that sold me on it, much better than Sling TV IMO. Premiums like HBO are extra, but having been grandfathered in at $35/mo it's still costing me less than a fill up, which will last me approx 2 weeks. 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Snowprince

[CarolinaPam]

Hubby and I got YouTube TV and Philo about a month ago and love them.  I get all the channels I want with both of those services...except for PBS.  Since I won't be able to wait for the PBS app to air the new episodes of Poldark, hubby added an ota antenna in a bedroom.  I'm ready for Poldark now! 

[Was-MArsenault]

Anyone who has XFINITY, are you experiencing some channels being dropped? I noticed this yesterday and am getting messages saying that this requires a subscription. 

[GaT]

3 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Anyone who has XFINITY, are you experiencing some channels being dropped? I noticed this yesterday and am getting messages saying that this requires a subscription. 

Not me, all my channels are still the same. 

[Was-MArsenault]

20 minutes ago, GaT said:

Not me, all my channels are still the same. 

It seems to be certain areas that are experiencing this.

[Mittengirl]

Which channels have been dropped?

[Was-MArsenault]

On 12/3/2018 at 6:47 PM, Mittengirl said:

Which channels have been dropped?

WGN, UP TV, Investigation Discovery, and WE TV.

[Popples]

I live in southern Maryland, close to DC, and all of those channels are showing up on my Xfinity. Maybe it's a regional issue. 

[HunterHunted]

On 9/4/2018 at 2:02 PM, CarolinaPam said:

Hubby and I got YouTube TV and Philo about a month ago and love them.  I get all the channels I want with both of those services...except for PBS.  Since I won't be able to wait for the PBS app to air the new episodes of Poldark, hubby added an ota antenna in a bedroom.  I'm ready for Poldark now! 

I'm super late in responding, but the PBS app for Roku put the new episodes on like 5 minutes after the episode began to air. So if the show aired at 8pm, by 8:05pm it would be up on the PBS app on Roku. It also cut some of that sponsor spiel so you could actually finish the episode before the official airing.

I have Sling and YouTube TV. I like the interface on YouTube TV and I hate it on Sling. YouTube TV is just more intuitive.

Edited December 18, 2018 by HunterHunted

[SVNBob]

The future may look like the past.  Digital bundling may be on the horizon.

[chitowngirl]

Comcast is moving TCM to the Sports package.

[Cobb Salad]

19 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Comcast is moving TCM to the Sports package.

Reading this I’m glad I switched to Verizon last year.  TCM is in a bunch of their packages including Sports and News (?) which I do not understand.  

[magicdog]

For some reason the episode summaries on my DISH Network have been reading "Part 1 of 2" or "Part 2 of 2" on virtually every episode - even if the episode being shown was not a multi parter!

Have no clue why this is going on.

[Bastet]

19 minutes ago, magicdog said:

For some reason the episode summaries on my DISH Network have been reading "Part 1 of 2" or "Part 2 of 2" on virtually every episode - even if the episode being shown was not a multi parter!

Have no clue why this is going on.

That's been happening to me for months with the episodes of Major Crimes in syndication on StartTV, but I haven't noticed it with anything else.