Sling TV

[hoiballin33]

I am considering cutting the cable cord and ditching my $100/month DirecTV contract in favor of Sling TV. I could get the basic Sling package + Sports extra for $25 a month. At a $75/month savings I would guess it would be a wise choice.

I can grab an antenna and get local channels (ABC, FOX, etc).

Sling + sports extra would get me: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNNEWS, and a bunch of other crap I dont really care about but the wife would want.

Are there any other cord cutters out there that can share their experiences?

 

[Judoka]

It's great. Though I find WatchESPN works a lot better than trying to just watch it via Sling's interface. It's included with Sling so no extra cost. Only downside is that there is some lag vs. live TV (usually 30-60 seconds in my experience) so you're always a play or two behind.

 

[ISUKyro]

I've enjoyed Sling. I watched last nights UT on one screen while doing work on the other.
I also use Sling through the XboxOne for living room viewing.

I have had a hard time trying to download sling onto my LG G3. The download always fails.

 

[ianoconnor]

We love Sling.

Some good threads to read:
http://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198128
http://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209214
http://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203933

 

[wxman1]

We basically just use it for ESPN access since we don't have much time for anything else and use WatchESPN for that.

 

[arganbright2]

Switched about 7-8 months ago and between Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Sling with sports package, it runs about $40 a month for all of them. I couldn't be happier with the decision except for when a big play happens and you are watching Sling, don't check your phone, the 45 second delay stinks sometimes.

 

[Triggermv]

Haha, don't have Sling, but would if I didn't just piggyback WatchESPN off of my work Direct TV account. However, I've been pretty much exclusively using WatchESPN since its beginning (was just ESPN3 at one point), so I've definitely got used to the lag. I've never been sure exactly what it is, but it is definitely long enough for people to type twitter posts that I read before something happens. So, word to the wise, avoid twitter for spoilers if you don't want them.

 

[jbhtexas]

At our place, we only have experience with Sling TV on PC (Windows 7) and Android.

We continue to have problems with the PC app, on different PCs that don't have trouble with any other streaming services. The PC app starts up, and the programming guide is there, but it won't load any programs, and just sits there with the spinning "waiting" prompt. The only solution seems to be quitting/restarting the app until it actually "grabs" the programming. Once it actually loads a program, it works fine. So far, the only help from Sling TV tech support has been to uninstall/reinstall, which doesn't seem to help much.

The Android app works great for us (we have HTC smartphones) over WiFi or 4G. When the PC app is acting up, we use a USB-to-HDMI adapter with Android and plug it into the receiver that drives the monitor and sound system.

Also, if the PC app is acting up and what we want is on ESPN/2, we just go to WatchESPN and watch it that way.

Wish they had a linux app...

 

[hoiballin33]

Supplementary question: Was thinking about pairing with Chromecast. Any end user stories on that?

 

[Colorado]

I've had issues with the WatchESPN app through AppleTV, Roku and on my phone. Poor picture quality, pausing for more than a couple of seconds and just totally crashing. Anyone else with these issues? Do Sling users experience this?

IME, this is only with the WatchESPN app. Other apps like Netflix and Hulu don't give my near as many issues (certainly could be the difference between "live" and downloading of a file).

 

[Triggermv]

I've had issues with the WatchESPN app through AppleTV, Roku and on my phone. Poor picture quality, pausing for more than a couple of seconds and just totally crashing. Anyone else with these issues? Do Sling users experience this?

IME, this is only with the WatchESPN app. Other apps like Netflix and Hulu don't give my near as many issues (certainly could be the difference between "live" and downloading of a file).

The WatchESPN on anything, including the Apple TV has always been a little glitchy at times whether that is freezing up or what not. I've just got used to it and it has never bothered me as nearly everything is usually solved by backing out or closing out of the app and restarting the stream. Over time, you also figure out the little nuances and quickest ways to handle stuff. I've just chalked it up to being part of using internet TV. In general, problems within everything have gotten better and less common throughout the years, including WatchESPN app. However, to answer your question, yes, the AppleTV WatchESPN app is a little glitchy, but I've used it on many different devices and I haven't really found any to be any worse than the other.

 

[CyFan61]

I have Sling TV with the Sports package for $25, just like OP mentioned.

I watch on a Roku 3 and it is good quality with minimal buffering (a small blip once every 20 minutes on average). I had serious issues trying to watch on my Xbox One though, and the buffering is much more noticeable during Monday Night Football. However, I just use Watch ESPN instead for everything on ESPN and that's great.

I have heard bad things about Sling's quality on Chromecast, but your experience might vary.

As has been mentioned, the worst thing about Sling/Watch ESPN is if you like following Twitter or some other social media during a sports game, because the online streams are about 45 seconds behind the cable/satellite feed that everyone else is watching. More than a few times I've gotten a text from a friend watching the Iowa State game about a great/horrible play before I watched it happen on my TV.

 

[Triggermv]

At our place, we only have experience with Sling TV on PC (Windows 7) and Android.

We continue to have problems with the PC app, on different PCs that don't have trouble with any other streaming services. The PC app starts up, and the programming guide is there, but it won't load any programs, and just sits there with the spinning "waiting" prompt. The only solution seems to be quitting/restarting the app until it actually "grabs" the programming. Once it actually loads a program, it works fine. So far, the only help from Sling TV tech support has been to uninstall/reinstall, which doesn't seem to help much.

The Android app works great for us (we have HTC smartphones) over WiFi or 4G. When the PC app is acting up, we use a USB-to-HDMI adapter with Android and plug it into the receiver that drives the monitor and sound system.

Also, if the PC app is acting up and what we want is on ESPN/2, we just go to WatchESPN and watch it that way.

Wish they had a linux app...

Like stated on here, the nice part about all of this is that if watching Sling actually through their app starts to have too many problems, remember that nearly every channel has their own individual apps now where you can watch live or past programming through which Sling also gets you access too. It isn't just WatchESPN. Some other examples would be TNT, TBS, Disney, Disney Junior... etc. When I say past programming, one downfall of SlingTV is no DVR. Well, don't forget that when you have access to a channel's app, that app usually keeps something like the past 5 episodes of a show in inventory for you to watch in case you miss something. Each is a little different. While it isn't exactly DVR and you usually get stuck watching a few commercials, it does help a lot. Don't forget that you can replay games on WatchESPN too. I've done all of this many a times.

 

[JP4CY]

Don't you have to upgrade internet packages if you are going to watch Sling for 100-200 hours a month?

I wish they had Fox Sports channels. I find my self watching Big East basketball once in a while or a late West coast football game.

 

[tejasclone]

This thread is very helpful. I'm trying Sling right now too, and have found the Windows app on a laptop running Windows 10.1 can be hit-or-miss in terms of whether any content actually plays. But even that stop-and-start is better than finding a FirstRowSports stream that is blotchy, buggy, clumsy, and dirty.

 

[hoiballin33]

Like stated on here, the nice part about all of this is that if watching Sling actually through their app starts to have too many problems, remember that nearly every channel has their own individual apps now where you can watch live or past programming through which Sling also gets you access too. It isn't just WatchESPN. Some other examples would be TNT, TBS, Disney, Disney Junior... etc. When I say past programming, one downfall of SlingTV is no DVR. Well, don't forget that when you have access to a channel's app, that app usually keeps something like the past 5 episodes of a show in inventory for you to watch in case you miss something. Each is a little different. While it isn't exactly DVR and you usually get stuck watching a few commercials, it does help a lot. Don't forget that you can replay games on WatchESPN too. I've done all of this many a times.

So the channel app...do i get a login or a code from sling to use?

 

[huntt26]

I like that I can just sign up for Sling during football and basketball season. Then I drop it after March Madness. The flexibility is really nice because outside of sports, I don't really watch live TV. You don't even have to call anyone, it lets you cancel/sign up on the website. Easy.

 

[jbhtexas]

This thread is very helpful. I'm trying Sling right now too, and have found the Windows app on a laptop running Windows 10.1 can be hit-or-miss in terms of whether any content actually plays. But even that stop-and-start is better than finding a FirstRowSports stream that is blotchy, buggy, clumsy, and dirty.

If you get a chance, drop them a note about the PC app not working. Maybe if there are enough complaints, they'll do something about it.

 

[jsmith86]

If you get a chance, drop them a note about the PC app not working. Maybe if there are enough complaints, they'll do something about it.

I had terrible problems getting the desktop app working during the college football national title game. And their tech support's best advice was to get a smart device and try that. They didn't even recommend going to watchespn.

 

[JBone84]

I use SlingTV on a number of iPads, iPhones, Amazon FireSticks, and Rokus. It works well enough, especially considering the price - I am willing to deal with the occasional blip / issue. I won't pretend it is perfect, though, by any means.