Playstation Vue

I see Playstation Vue as a cable provider choice on the app so I think you can.

 

I knew there was Playstation Vue app for mobile and tablet devices but didn't know you could sign in to like WatchESPN with it. That's pretty cool

 

Going to have to disagree with you there bud. If you subscribe to Uverse, you're not an HD junkie. They have the worst HD bitrate out of any provider in the country, and it's part of the reason they're pushing DIRECTV so hard

As far as your bandwidth concerns, do you expect to have multiple TV's on at the same time? Playstation Vue maxes out at 5.2mbps , so even with all your TV's on at the same time it should leave some room for more. You could also setup QOS on your home network.

PS Vue is awesome. I use it in conjunction with a flat antenna I have on my window. My ROKU is VLAN'd off to a network that has a Southern Oklahoma IP Address so I use the League Pass app on Roku to watch the Rockets. and VUE for ESPN/TNT games. Only thing I miss out on is NBATV games.

I haven't yet tried it out on Fire TV though since I dislike their ecosystem, but I'm hoping they have it out on Roku one day.

The reliability has been better than Sling. Sling would have frozen up a million times during Kobe's farewell game. I never have issues watching live Better Call Saul, and any premiere sporting events including March Madness finale game. Then again I'm on Uverse 300/300 but still, no issues with their content delivery network at all that I can see.

 

Yes, my problem is multiple TVs being on at the same time. Usually on a given night I'm watching sports, my wife is watching whatever she wants to watch, and then the kids are watching whatever they are. Usually a minimum of 3 TVs going.

So when I'm talking about picture quality I'm not talking about bitrate, I'm talking about at least being able to stream 1080i/720p. I've had DirecTV, and yeah their picture quality is far superior, especially the movie channels in 1080p. I have the max available 45mbps connection with Uverse. I have at least 6 devices connected wirelessly most of the time. Smart TV, PS4, 3 Smartphones, tablet, TV with firestick.

When I stream from Plex on my PS4 downstairs I have problems right now even streaming at like 6mpbs for stripped down blu-ray quality. My dedicated Plex server is my laptop and it's hard wired, but the wifi signal going down to the PS4 is already bogged down to where it gives me trouble.

 

Ah, okay I see. Hey have you ever considered getting powerline network adapters for your PS4? Should work about just as good as an Ethernet cable, and provide better streaming performance from your Plex Server.

 

Will look into that thanks!

 

Just started the free trial. I don't have a PS4, regretting the Xbox 1 purchase currently, so I'm using a Fire Stick and the iOS app with Chromecast. The quality is surprisingly good on the Chromecast in our master bedroom a nice distance away from the router. The exact same if not better quality than Directv. No dropouts or buffering yet one hour in.

Quality is lower on the Fire Stick, but that was to be expected based off of all the reviews. Baseball is really jerky, so I can imagine how bad other sports will look. Other than that, I have them both streaming at the same time and so far so good. I'll use the Chromecast in the bedroom and Fire Stick in my cave exclusively for the next week, before I make a decision.

If it's a go, I'm going to upgrade my Asus router to one with AC and go all in with cutting the chord.

 

Only thing holding me back is local sports channels......

With out having to jump through hoops for things like MLBN or whatever they call the streaming service to work.

 

This looks great! I might give this a try after my DirecTV contract is up next year. That will give it some time to mature and get local channels and regional sports networks added. It looks like a lot has already changed since it launched last year.

 

Nice, been doing this about a month now but with Amazon Fire TV box. currently have it in the living room and will use an existing Logitech remote so guests and wife know how to change channels. I like the Chromecast with Vue alright but fastforwarding and other conveniences I am used to with my previous DVR just isn't the same which is why I bought another Fire TV for the bedroom. The Fire TV box allows easy fast forwarding and is just so much easier to control. I can skip ahead seconds at a time by clicking on the right side of the clicker. Was able to skip 2 minutes and 30 seconds during every commercial break which was pretty spot on during the Rockets game yesterday.

I have been pretty impressed so far and think it has passed the wife test as of now. If you are in an area where Vue doesn't have local channels, then get a solid antenna with long range (50 mile or so) and a Tablo so you can connect to antenna and stream all your local channels to all your devices (except for Chromecast using iOS Device). Should be coming soon I would imagine. I kind of wish I could opt to not receive the local channels for $10 less as I have duplicate channels thanks to my antenna and Tablo.

 

So to follow up... DirecTV came through in the 11th hour and lowered my monthly bill by $50/month when I called to cancel. So that, plus no Apple TV support and no Root Sports was just enough for me to not make the switch. I had already ordered 2 Fire TV boxes and 2 OTA antennas from Amazon, luckily they hadn't shipped yet and I was able to cancel.

Hopefully this will just buy more time for Vue to get Apple TV support, I'm kinda all in on Apple's ecosystem. I wasn't too excited about buying those Fire TV boxes even though the price recently dropped to $84.99.

I'm not holding my breath on Root Sports coming to Vue anytime soon seeing as AT&T will be debuting 'DirecTV Now' later this year. If they're smart, they'll keep their Root stations exclusive to that service.

All in all - Vue was close, but no cigar for me. If my reasons for not getting it aren't an issue for you then I definitely recommend you give it a shot if interested.

I'm still wanting to upgrade my wireless router though... I currently have an Asus RT-N66U and I'm considering upgrading to a Linksys WRT1900ACS. Mainly wanting to upgrade to AC and get better coverage/speed. If and when we do cut the cord, 2-3 of my TVs won't be hard wired and will be connected via wifi only. Plus I just like researching and buying this type of stuff. Any thoughts on that router?

 

Signed up for the free trial today. Ordered an Amazon Fire since I lost my Playstation in the floods. Vue is pretty outstanding so far. The interface through Fire is really straight forward and easy to use. Will wait out the free trial but I'm definitely leaning towards cancelling my TV service.

 

Why would you want to bypass hardwire to go wireless ... unless you are imply the cable coax is hardwired.

Since your ASUS already has 5.8Ghz, there is a good chance an AC router won't improve much. AC is most optimal with a large wide open room with many devices and a large internet pipe (100+ Mbps's). Its least optimal if you are trying to cover several (walled) rooms, fewer devices and lower bandwidth (50- Mbps). Since most homes are usually the latter, you're better off co-locating a couple extra wireless AP's (hardwired) throughout the house to provide better coverage instead of letting one wireless AP trying to cover the whole house.

My recommendation is to hardwire CAT5 to any device you plan on streaming video on a regular basis.

 

I wouldn't be bypassing hardwire to go wireless, I'm just not going to run Ethernet cables to every TV in my home. I know that's the best route to take, but it's not likely going to happen.

Currently, I'm able to receive a decent 5Ghz signal throughout my whole home due to the router being optimally placed and can see nearly all of the 120 down speed that I get from Comcast. But when I trialed Vue I could definitely notice times where I felt the router was straining to keep everything going. I figured getting an AC router would help with that.

 

Waiting for the long rumored Apple TV service.

 

Is Root Sports Houston included on Playstation Vue?

 

Negative. But DirecTV is rumored to release an OTT streaming service later this year. If and when they do, I'd bet that Root will be on it.

But do I think that VUE recently added local channels for the Houston area.

 

Yup, they added ABC 13 last week.

Now you can get ABC 13, NBC 2, FOX26, MY20, and Telemundo.

Still missing CBS and CW.

 

Ah ok cool. Been doing some reading on Reddit and some Northeastern cities have started getting their local sports channels. May make the jump if Vue gets Root Sports Houston later on this yr.