Question for those who switched to streaming...

Updating on our exploration of different options: I picked up a Fire Stick 4K for the master bedroom TV last weekend because it was on sale; we don’t have a 4K TV, but since it was the same price as the standard device and is downwards-compatible there was no reason not to get that one. I picked it up at Best Buy rather than ordering from Amazon because Best Buy had a promo going where your purchase includes a free 30-day trial of Sling TV.

I’m watching the Blues–Preds game on NBC via Sling right now through the Fire Cube and I have it running simultaneously on the same TV via DirecTV so I can switch inputs to compare. (The TV that has the Fire Stick is not connected to DirecTV, but when I go upstairs I may try comparing the Sling broadcast to the rabbit ears we have up there.)

My initial impression of Sling is less positive than my impression of Vue last month. The picture doesn’t feel as smooth when they’re using the standard camera angle that lets you see one whole end of the ice. I can’t put my finger on why it is, but the picture feels a little choppy. I noted this morning when I turned on a British soccer game on NBCSN via Sling (I didn’t watch for long, I think it was Spurs) that the picture seemed grainy and it was hard to read jersey numbers. As I typed that, the Predators just shot the puck down the ice and the camera panned quickly; the image felt very choppy, almost like the broadcast couldn’t keep up with the signal. My wife just said it feels “mechanical.”

Sling is also missing several channels we want that Vue has, so on the whole I think it’ll be an easy decision.

We are not trying the Sling DVR because I don’t want to pay the $5. It’s not included in the free subscription.

I do like Sling’s program guide better than Vue’s due to its more conventional setup with the network name on the left and the programming arranged horizontally. Vue’s vertical arrangement is weird. But that’s relatively minor.

My wife donated her customary $100 to our PBS affiliate and got her Passport login, so I set that up. She seemed quite impressed by it all but hasn’t watched it yet. I think this afternoon I’ll have to type up a little cheat sheet explaining how to access it, although I guess since our DirecTV subscription is still active it’s not a big deal yet.

 

If you dont like the native PSVue guide the Amazon FireTV Stick 4k has its own PSVue guide right on the on the home screen. Just page down a few lines and you will see one called live tv or something like that. To the left you can click on “guide” and you get a more traditional guide. Amazon is starting to do some interesting integration with PSVue.

 

Thanks for that. Our Vue subscription is currently inactive (cancelled at the end of the free trial to avoid being charged), but I think that's the way we'll likely go, so I appreciate that info. Still trying to figure out what to do about baseball, though. I understand VPNs will work with the Fire Stick but won't with the Cube because supposedly the Cube gets location data from the Alexa app on your phone. So I might stick a refurbished Apple TV on the TV where the Cube is.