AT&T TV

[MikeD-C05]

Looks like streaming services are the new "Cable." Look for them to continue to go up till people drop everything and go with just ota antenna. Like full circle in the grand scheme of things. We started with antennas and now we end up using them again to save money on ota networks ,which are what my wife and I watch the most anyway.

 

[Ronnie-]

So I tried Directv Stream for the couple of days when YTTV lost the espn channels. There are some good to the service, the PQ was excellent, and it was pretty fast to change channels.

However, somethings about it just seemed stuck in the sat/cable past to me after several years with other streaming services.

So when YTTV restored the channels a day later, I cancelled D Stream. Not with a simple click to cancel however. They make you call or do a chat so that you spend more time getting it disconnected and get to listen to the old sales pitch to get you to stay. What should have taken ten seconds, took 5-10 minutes.

Personally, that last part is enough reason that I doubt I try them again unless it is changed.

 

[camo]

I've decided to switch over from YTTV. PQ is excellent using FireTv plugged directly into ethernet and it supports 5:1 surround on many channels which I find very pleasing. It's about as close to cable/fiber TV as it gets like local RSN's and several other channels I enjoy YTTV Google will never carry. The UI on YTTV is better but Directv Stream has come a long way from Directv Now and better than the IPTV fiber boxes I tried recently which I found clunky and cumbersome to maneuver and more expensive without a better PQ.

 

[camo]

Well ordered the DirectTV streaming box they sent the 2019 version C71KW. It came with HDR on as the default as you can imagine everything was over-saturated and crushed. Turned off it looks better but PQ still wasn't as good as FireTV. After looking at the LG-CX settings I discovered the FireTv cube was defaulting to DolbyVision and was why it always looked better even over the Roku (Ultra) so went into the Roku display settings and turned on Dolby Vision and now the Ultra looks just as good. I'll be sending the C71KW back even though I fell in love with the remote, it turns the TV experience into what it was back when I had satellite.
The Roku remote has better features over FireTv and comes as close to the C71KW experience with better PQ with Dolby vision on. Directv Streaming does have an upgraded box but as far as I can tell hasn't been released yet but once they do I'll be giving it a try. Hopefully, it has the Dolby Vision feature. LG just recently released a software update Dolby Vision 4K @120Hz when the HDMI ULTRA HD Deep Color is set to ON and it looks great even if not gaming.

 

[Zookster]

Everyone has their preferences, but I personally turn off any forced HDR/DV settings on my devices. The device will still display content that's actually HDR/DV in that format, but I'd rather use my TV's picture settings that were calibrated for SDR content on SDR content.

 

[docdaddy]

How is the new 2021 Apple TV 4K as a Stream box?

 

[Ronnie-]

How is the new 2021 Apple TV 4K as a Stream box?

I always resisted buying one because of the price, and there were other much cheaper alternatives.

That said, I finally got one a couple of months ago, and IMO it is the smoothest operating streamer out there. Even beating out the powerful Shield device. PQ imo is also better, if only slightly.

So I changed my tune, and think it is worth the money, especially if you are already in the apple ecosystem.

 

[Bobby]

I always resisted buying one because of the price, and there were other much cheaper alternatives.

That said, I finally got one a couple of months ago, and IMO it is the smoothest operating streamer out there. Even beating out the powerful Shield device. PQ imo is also better, if only slightly.

So I changed my tune, and think it is worth the money, especially if you are already in the apple ecosystem.

I agree 100%!

 

[docdaddy]

I always resisted buying one because of the price, and there were other much cheaper alternatives.

That said, I finally got one a couple of months ago, and IMO it is the smoothest operating streamer out there. Even beating out the powerful Shield device. PQ imo is also better, if only slightly.

So I changed my tune, and think it is worth the money, especially if you are already in the apple ecosystem.

Great to hear, thanks for the feedback.

 

[KAB]

I agree 100%!

Plus 1. The 10 sec skip is worth every penny.

 

[ncted]

DirecTV Announces Price Increase for Streaming Services

Most versions of the DirecTV Stream package, including Ultimate, Premiere, Plus, Max, “Live a Little,” and “Go Big,” will get $10 increases, while others will go up by smaller amounts.

nationalinterest.org

 

[Zookster]

They haven't notified me directly by email of the increase, but I can see my next billing reflects the increase. I'd have no idea it was coming if I didn't follow so many cord-cutting forums and groups. I'll be cancelling for sure.

 

[Bruce]

They haven't notified me directly by email of the increase, but I can see my next billing reflects the increase. I'd have no idea it was coming if I didn't follow so many cord-cutting forums and groups. I'll be cancelling for sure.

Who will you go with instead?

 

[NashGuy]

They haven't notified me directly by email of the increase, but I can see my next billing reflects the increase. I'd have no idea it was coming if I didn't follow so many cord-cutting forums and groups. I'll be cancelling for sure.

You probably already know this but the new prices ($5-10/mo more for Choice through Premier) now include the unlimited cloud DVR, which had been an extra $10 previously. And the base Entertainment package remains at $70/mo, so it's now a better deal than before.

Looks like they're trying not to give the free unlimited DVR to existing subs, though, so to get it, you may need to cancel and sign back up with a different email address. Stupid way to treat your customers, IMO.

 

[Zookster]

You probably already know this but the new prices ($5-10/mo more for Choice through Premier) now include the unlimited cloud DVR, which had been an extra $10 previously. And the base Entertainment package remains at $70/mo, so it's now a better deal than before.

Looks like they're trying not to give the free unlimited DVR to existing subs, though, so to get it, you may need to cancel and sign back up with a different email address. Stupid way to treat your customers, IMO.

Exactly. But it tracks with AT&T/DTV's reputation. Since I'll have to communicate with a retention CSR to cancel, I'm sure they'll offer me the unlimited DVR to get me to stay, like it's some great freebee. lol

I'll only stay if they offer me at least Ultimate + unlimited DVR for the $95 price I originally signed up under for one year (no contracts). Continuing my free HBO Max promo year would be nice, but I'm trying to be realistic.

At any rate, I'll be trialing FuboTV this weekend, as I have no delusions about DTV Stream being reasonable. Not to mention, I can get the base Fubo package + Fubo Extra + my own HBO Max sub for $88 (a 250-hour DVR will be more than enough after making due with a 20-hour DVR for the past year). Without any concessions, from DTV Stream, that will save me $32. I'll only be sacrificing my RSN (a HUGE sacrifice), but I can't justify paying that much for it. I figure I can get a discounted MLB TV sub midway through the season, assuming it will still work with VPN.

 

[NashGuy]

At any rate, I'll be trialing FuboTV this weekend, as I have no delusions about DTV Stream being reasonable. Not to mention, I can get the base Fubo package + Fubo Extra + my own HBO Max sub for $88 (a 250-hour DVR will be more than enough after making due with a 20-hour DVR for the past year). Without any concessions, from DTV Stream, that will save me $32. I'll only be sacrificing my RSN (a HUGE sacrifice), but I can't justify paying that much for it. I figure I can get a discounted MLB TV sub midway through the season, assuming it will still work with VPN.

Will be interested to hear your thoughts comparing FuboTV vs. DTV Stream. I don't seem to see that many first-hand reports about FuboTV (which makes sense given that it seems to have the fewest subs among the major vMVPDs).

I'm sure you know that FuboTV lacks Warner-owned nets, so no CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon, etc. And TBS will be carrying more MLB games going forward, including in the post-season.

 

[Zookster]

Will be interested to hear your thoughts comparing FuboTV vs. DTV Stream. I don't seem to see that many first-hand reports about FuboTV (which makes sense given that it seems to have the fewest subs among the major vMVPDs).

I'm sure you know that FuboTV lacks Warner-owned nets, so no CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon, etc. And TBS will be carrying more MLB games going forward, including in the post-season.

I'm hoping a deal is reached for the Time Warner channels (supposedly in the works, but may not happen until the Discovery contract is up for renewal post-merger—June, I think). If I miss the odd nationally televised MLB game involving my home team so be it. If they make the playoffs, I'll use a free trial for Sling to watch. The only real sacrifice is missing the rest of this season of Snowpiercer. Worst case scenario, I catch it when it comes to HBO Max. I don't watch Cartoon Network, and there are so many other sources for news than CNN, it hasn't been my go-to for awhile. In fact, I like that the CBS News channel is part of the FuboTV lineup.

The reason I don't just go back to YouTubeTV (which I had for 3+ years) is the lack of Tennis Channel, which is my "background noise" and probably my most-watched channel. And dropping my level of DTV Stream to Choice to save $$ doesn't work, because I need the CBS Sports Network for my home team's college games (basketball and football). Otherwise I'd probably stay with DTV Stream, but I can't justify the extra $15 for that one channel with the price increase ($10 extra was a tough enough pill to swallow when I upgraded in September). YouTubeTV, Hulu Live, and FuboTV all include CBS Sport Network in their base packages.

I just joined the FuboTV Facebook group, and there's an active thread I'm following where people compare what they like and dislike about FuboTV compared to other services.

 

[NashGuy]

The reason I don't just go back to YouTubeTV (which I had for 3+ years) is the lack of Tennis Channel, which is my "background noise" and probably my most-watched channel. And dropping my level of DTV Stream to Choice to save $$ doesn't work, because I need the CBS Sports Network for my home team's college games (basketball and football). Otherwise I'd probably stay with DTV Stream, but I can't justify the extra $15 for that one channel with the price increase ($10 extra was a tough enough pill to swallow when I upgraded in September). YouTubeTV, Hulu Live, and FuboTV all include CBS Sport Network in their base packages.

So Tennis Channel and CBS Sports Network, huh? You're a good example of how the "right" service for any given person/household so often comes down to the idiosyncratic combination of channels they care about. Tennis ranked #121 among the most-watched US TV channels of 2021 and CBS Sports Network somehow didn't even make the list. So you're a bit of an odd duck in terms of channel preferences, but nothing wrong with that. My tastes are often different from what the hoi polloi enjoy (which is why I hardly ever subscribe to Netflix any more).

This is an example of why it's really hard to give general advice to friends and family about which service(s) they should subscribe to. You can talk about this or that service's feature set, their UI, their price, etc. but without knowing exactly which shows/sports/channels someone really wants, you can't know what would work best for them.