Apple TV gets closer and closer to transform television streaming

[northvanole]

They announced their big meeting in early September and it will include the roll out of the new Apple TV - which right now is still just a streaming device. Granted, while this is a cool device if you have one, it still is not where Apple wants to be. They want to transform and unbundle the entire cable industry. I can already get the ACC digital network on my Apple TV, as well as other stuff, but it doesn't have the full array of offerings where you can actually drop cable TV. (However young people drop cable and use Apple TV or Chrome and get what they want, especially since some channels like HBO are offering streaming subscriptions).

World is changing. Apple is years behind what they really wanted to do when they first introduced Apple TV back in 2007 or so. But the new device has a lot of cool stuff - and they are inching closer. Someone on Fox Business said that it will eventually happen - Apple will find a way to offer consumers what cable and satellite companies are afraid to try. He says that Apple is negotiating with broadcasters all the time,

 

[BornANole]

Yup, the Roku box, Chromecast, AppleTV and Amazon FireTV all are heading toward streaming content directly to the TV and bypassing cable companies.

BTW, wrong board.

 

[NoleBearPig]

It makes sense. I'm paying close to 200 a month for directtv that has an on demand option that is 10 years out of date and terrible. If I want to stream an HBO movie I literally turn off the stupid dtv box and use the HBO go app on my play station or lap top.

Over 2000 bucks a year and they want me to upgrade in order to get the "CW" whatta joke.

 

[NYC Nole]

and why is this on the tribal council??

 

[NoleBearPig]

Because you could theoretically watch FSU football on it? Or he thought it was the locker room

 

[jaxbuddy]

and why is this on the tribal council??

Not sure...but you contributed to it...

 

[Calif_Nole]

and why is this on the tribal council??

Because we are constantly discussing the boatloads of cash the SECN is projected to make yet when unbundled content becomes reality in a very few short years the SECN will be left behind as subscribers by the millions say "No Gracias".

Also relevant in all discussions on the ACCN which as DOT pointed out will likely never happen due to the above. Next question.

 

[northvanole]

We discuss the ACC network - or lack thereof - on this board and wonder if the cable TV world will change to our benefit

 

[luxboy22]

I welcome any and all avenues to get away from paying the ridiculously high cable charges, and to avoid paying for 150 channels when you really only watch 4.

I've just turned my cable back on for the sole purpose of watching FSU football. Each year I have to turn it on to watch my team, and turn it back off after the season ends.

 

[seminoledq]

So that is what I have been missing by not paying for the Tribal Council? It looks glorious. Where do I sign up?

 

[GoodLuckWithThatClemson]

Really all we need is ESPN to sell an internet subscription and this is a go. With Netflix, you can literally watch every TV show ever. If a new one comes out and you hear good things, just wait until its on Netflix. OP already points out that you can get HBO Go. Then you could subscribe to the lowest cable tier just to get ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Unless you are really into CNN and Fox News, I think you could cut the cable as soon as ESPN, ESPN 2 and the U are available as an internet subscrip.

 

[clownsrule]

Really all we need is ESPN to sell an internet subscription and this is a go. With Netflix, you can literally watch every TV show ever. If a new one comes out and you hear good things, just wait until its on Netflix. OP already points out that you can get HBO Go. Then you could subscribe to the lowest cable tier just to get ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Unless you are really into CNN and Fox News, I think you could cut the cable as soon as ESPN, ESPN 2 and the U are available as an internet subscrip.

Actually, you can get ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC over the air for free.

 

[MIKE_G]

I just dumped directv and signed up for Sling TV. $20 for ESPN and ESPN 2 plus about twenty more decent channels including AMC, Food Network, TBS, TNT, HGTV, History channels, A&E. Five more bucks gets you ESPN U, SEC Network. No equipment to rent, no contract. Biggest drawback for many is it's single stream only and limited on demand/dvr options. They're still working out the kinks in the service as well. But you do get access to watchespn with your sling account, so even if their stream is glitchy, you can just pull up the watchespn app and watch.

 

[impex]

I welcome any and all avenues to get away from paying the ridiculously high cable charges, and to avoid paying for 150 channels when you really only watch 4.

I've just turned my cable back on for the sole purpose of watching FSU football. Each year I have to turn it on to watch my team, and turn it back off after the season ends.

why would you do that, when you could buy a roku unit for $99, and live stream espn & espn 2 for $20/mo with no contracts!!!???

 

[Panama22]

They announced their big meeting in early September and it will include the roll out of the new Apple TV - which right now is still just a streaming device. Granted, while this is a cool device if you have one, it still is not where Apple wants to be. They want to transform and unbundle the entire cable industry. I can already get the ACC digital network on my Apple TV, as well as other stuff, but it doesn't have the full array of offerings where you can actually drop cable TV. (However young people drop cable and use Apple TV or Chrome and get what they want, especially since some channels like HBO are offering streaming subscriptions).

World is changing. Apple is years behind what they really wanted to do when they first introduced Apple TV back in 2007 or so. But the new device has a lot of cool stuff - and they are inching closer. Someone on Fox Business said that it will eventually happen - Apple will find a way to offer consumers what cable and satellite companies are afraid to try. He says that Apple is negotiating with broadcasters all the time,

This must be what Swofford has been waiting on...he must own a boatload of AAPL and he needs to get Chad a job there first.

I can see it now...."Apple announces partnership with the ACC"...

 

[NoleBearPig]

why would you do that, when you could buy a roku unit for $99, and live stream espn & espn 2 for $20/mo with no contracts!!!???

Because our first game is on espn news?

 

[MIKE_G]

Because our first game is on espn news?

Included in Sling's sports pack for $5.

 

[Dismas]

I "cut the cord" last year and lasted for several months before going back to Uverse.
I just couldn't live w/o football. I installed an over the air HD antenna that really did provide a great signal/picture.
I would prefer to pay for a few streaming services if I can get all the college sports that I enjoy now. There really are so few programs/channels that I watch now...it doesn't make since to pay for TV I don't watch.
Any drawbacks or limitations to using sling, etc.?

 

[MIKE_G]

I "cut the cord" last year and lasted for several months before going back to Uverse.
I just couldn't live w/o football. I installed an over the air HD antenna that really did provide a great signal/picture.
I would prefer to pay for a few streaming services if I can get all the college sports that I enjoy now. There really are so few programs/channels that I watch now...it doesn't make since to pay for TV I don't watch.
Any drawbacks or limitations to using sling, etc.?

The main drawback to me is that the technology is not reliable. Many subscribers complain of streaming performance problems. It seems that Sling's servers are not quite ready for prime time. For many, the fact that you can only stream on one device at a time is a major turnoff. If you're watching a game on ESPN and your wife or kid wants to watch HGTV or Disney, someone's out of luck. Perhaps a bigger issue is the lack of a dvr. You can't record the game and watch later.

 

[TennNole17]

Hulu and showtime teamed up it looks like

 

[Dismas]

The main drawback to me is that the technology is not reliable. Many subscribers complain of streaming performance problems. It seems that Sling's servers are not quite ready for prime time. For many, the fact that you can only stream on one device at a time is a major turnoff. If you're watching a game on ESPN and your wife or kid wants to watch HGTV or Disney, someone's out of luck. Perhaps a bigger issue is the lack of a dvr. You can't record the game and watch later.

Thanks, Mike.
It appears I'll be using cable for at least one more football season.

 

[impex]

The main drawback to me is that the technology is not reliable. Many subscribers complain of streaming performance problems. It seems that Sling's servers are not quite ready for prime time. For many, the fact that you can only stream on one device at a time is a major turnoff. If you're watching a game on ESPN and your wife or kid wants to watch HGTV or Disney, someone's out of luck. Perhaps a bigger issue is the lack of a dvr. You can't record the game and watch later.

Not sure I follow you? I was watching the Montana/N. Dakota St. game in one room while my wife was watching a movie on netflix in the other (all for under $35/mo). The streaming quality was good to very good, had a few "blinks" occur during the game, but other than that it was nearly cable quality. As for recording it and watching it later, that's what youtube is for. I can watch any of last years games on tv thru my roku or tivo units on youtube...stop, start, rewind, ff etc...

 

[MIKE_G]

You can't watch Sling TV on more than one device at a time. You can certainly watch Netflix or Amazon or switch to your antenna or a DVD or whatever. If you are watching a game on ESPN and your wife tries to watch House Hunters on Sling in another room, she'll get an error message. You need a separate account to watch simultaneously. Doesn't bother me, but for many people with lots of TV watchers in the house, this is a huge drawback. I'm a big proponent of Sling TV, but was just being honest about its limitations. They've had some well documented and ongoing technical problems as well. For me it works well most of the time, but sometimes I have to uninstall the app and restart my Roku just to get it to stream properly. It's a work in progress.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

Lost in all of this is that you can use a friends existing cable account username/pw and access live espn feeds, abc, fx, comedy central, etc... for free.

HBO continues to semi-publicly acknowledge it will allow concurrent streams on HBO Go and HBO Now, implicitly allowing password sharing as long as it's not egregious. Netflix also openly allows multiple profiles on a single account.

Essentially, if you're even moderately resourceful and have just a couple friends who don't totally hate you -- you can practically watch anything for no cost other than what your internet provider charges.

 

[NoleOne]

I just dumped directv and signed up for Sling TV. $20 for ESPN and ESPN 2 plus about twenty more decent channels including AMC, Food Network, TBS, TNT, HGTV, History channels, A&E. Five more bucks gets you ESPN U, SEC Network. No equipment to rent, no contract. Biggest drawback for many is it's single stream only and limited on demand/dvr options. They're still working out the kinks in the service as well. But you do get access to watchespn with your sling account, so even if their stream is glitchy, you can just pull up the watchespn app and watch.

I just did this a month ago. Our communications bill went from $215 to $60. (We dropped phone and cable.)

I get live sports using Sling TV at $25 per month (includes the upgraded $5 sports package).

Kids watch shows on Netflix or HULU 95% of the time. (We also watch movies and TV series on Netflix.)

I bought a couple of HD antennas to pick up a few local channels.

Sling gets you AMC if you are a Walking Dead fan. I'll subscribe to HBO for $20 per month whenever Game of Thrones comes back on. I'll drop it when it's over.

Works great. We don't miss cable one bit.

 

[impex]

You can't watch Sling TV on more than one device at a time. You can certainly watch Netflix or Amazon or switch to your antenna or a DVD or whatever. If you are watching a game on ESPN and your wife tries to watch House Hunters on Sling in another room, she'll get an error message. You need a separate account to watch simultaneously. Doesn't bother me, but for many people with lots of TV watchers in the house, this is a huge drawback. I'm a big proponent of Sling TV, but was just being honest about its limitations. They've had some well documented and ongoing technical problems as well. For me it works well most of the time, but sometimes I have to uninstall the app and restart my Roku just to get it to stream properly. It's a work in progress.

I only have sling for espn live events. Netflix(for another $8/mo) is way better than sling or cable/sat. for everything else. So for about $35/mo total, I get a better overall product(for our family) than I did with cable at $100+/month. As far as the tech. problems, i haven't had any major ones yet...but I've only had it for a month so my opinion may change.

 

[MIKE_G]

Pretty much echoes my setup. Antenna for locals, Sling for ESPN, and Netflix and Amazon Prime for the kids and plenty more to watch for us.

 

[TexSkills]

For those of you with Sling, what are you using to access it? Roku? Fire TV?

Also, what kind of HD antenna are you using for local channels? Indoor or outdoor setup?

 

[NoleOne]

ROKU. Works great.

I'll keep my eye on that new Apple TV product when it comes out, since it is supposed to support Sling.

Indoor antenna. Amplified. I have a couple of the flat ones that you can tack on the wall behind a flatscreen.

 

[MIKE_G]

For those of you with Sling, what are you using to access it? Roku? Fire TV?

Also, what kind of HD antenna are you using for local channels? Indoor or outdoor setup?

Roku 3. From what I've read, that seems to be the best device for Sling TV. A couple months ago I bought a fire stick to test Sling out. It wasn't as good as Roku. The box might be better. For OTA I use a non-amplified flat antenna, the kind that's barely thicker than a piece of paper. It's supposed to only be used indoors, but I have it tacked to the side of the house facing the majority of the broadcast towers. I repurposed the directv coax cables that ran through my crawl space and it works great. The roof overhangs the side of the house a couple feet, so the antenna seems pretty safe there. It was about $30 at Home Depot.

 

[TexSkills]

Thanks for the info!

My DirecTV antenna is on a pole in my backyard and I thought it might be possible to re-purpose it and place an HD antenna on it instead, if and when I cut the cord.

 

[MIKE_G]

Thanks for the info!

My DirecTV antenna is on a pole in my backyard and I thought it might be possible to re-purpose it and place an HD antenna on it instead, if and when I cut the cord.

Absolutely. Outdoor is always better, but depending where you live you might be fine with the simplest and cheapest indoor antenna. Check antennaweb.org for the channels you should be receiving and the direction of the broadcast towers so you know the best way to position your antenna. I live with 10 miles of all the major broadcast towers, so reception is good with a non-amplified antenna. I would definitely start cheap and see how it works before trying to mount something outside. Mine is the Winegard FlatWave indoor antenna. Nice thing about it is it comes with a 15 ft long cable, so you can move it around and re-scan to check different locations pretty easily. It comes with velcro strips, but I just use fun tack. I found a couple good spots in the house, but I didn't like seeing the cable (and the wife really didn't like seeing it), so I figured out how to move it outside using the existing wiring. I even put a splitter on there and used some old coax from the previous owner's setup to run to a second tv in the basement.