You're making the assumption that Sony is being stubborn. In reality, it's more likely that they just can't come to an agreement with Apple or Roku (yet). Vue is only a year old, and see how much it has grown in that time. Within the next 6 months to a year, I have a strong feeling it will be available on every major TV platform.
I do not own an Apple TV or Roku but I love my Amazon Fire TV Box, not stick. I have a chromecast and I assume the Fire stick is just as difficult to operate and not user friendly (hard to rewind, fast forward, etc.). I have really been impressed with the Fire TV box. I have Amazon Prime and Kodi installed on it. For those of you looking to stream live Sports that you don't get locally Kodi is something you should look into. Don't think Apple TV or Roku allow the Kodi app to be sideloaded like Amazon does. Also, I have a Logitech Harmony 650 remote and a Flirc USB dongle installed on the Amazon Fire TV box so I can use my Harmony remote flawlessly and makes it even easier to use for guests than the included Fire TV box remote (which is pretty solid in and of itself). I also watch a lot of Amazon Prime videos on it which is really simple to do on the Fire TV box. I get a great picture since I am connected directly to the modem or via an Ethernet Powerline adapter. I also stream Pandora and use several other apps on the Fire TV. I am not sure where all of the Fire TV hate comes from. Fire TV STICK is bad I am sure as that platform is always going to be tricky unless they can make playback a lot easier. Fast forwarding is so easy on the playstation vue and works flawlessly. You can skip ahead how ever many minutes and/or seconds you want. I have commerical breaks down to a science with the skipping so it works even better and quicker than my Verizon DVR's did. I understand if you have a Roku or Apple TV and don't want to buy a new box but I would seriously consider selling my Roku or Apple TV to buy an Amazon Fire TV if you are on the fence about Playstation Vue and are done with Cable. I think it is the best "cord cutting" setup available right now that still has most of the luxuries of cable (DVR, fast forward/rewind, several channels, good sports channels, etc) at a fraction of the cost. I mentioned this in another post but if you want more local channels that what is offered on Playstation Vue I would consider getting a good HD Antenna (mine is 50 miles 1byone antenna) which I use with a Tablo DVR to get Digital Over the Air Broadcasts in my local area (DFW). The main reason I did it is because ABC is only on Demand in DFW for Playstation Vue so that is literally the only local channel that I am not able to watch live which is not good for sporting events I want to record and watch especially once football season starts. In order to get that DVR functionality and even a "on the go" solution to watching sports and/or local TV I came across the Tablo which has been a pretty solid device that I think is better than the Tivo since only need one connected to your best Antenna position and you can access the Tablo app on several different devices like the Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast (for Android only), Apple TV is not setup yet but it is coming apparently. They are constantly updating the software for the Tablo and it has been pretty solid. You need a solid wireless network and the Tablo should be "hardwired" either directly to your modem/router or to an Ethernet Powerline Adapter as going strictly wireless is a little spotty. I have dozens of our favorite shows recorded on a portable hard drive that is connected to the Tablo like How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Simpsons, etc. There is a 2 tuner version and a 4 tuner version so you can watch/record 2 shows at once for the 2 tuner and 4 shows for the 4 tuner. I can access the Tablo app on my phone from anywhere I get a good signal or Wi-Fi connection as well as on my iPad and Kindle Fire. I have watched live TV on my iPad while my wife watches something else and can even pause the broadcast on the iPad to watch later. I am basically using it as a luxury as I already have Playstation Vue with most of the local channels except ABC. But with the Tablo I can get ABC, the ability to record multiple shows at once with a solid interface and I get to store recordings for however long I want to (with PS Vue it only records for 28 days) so this gives a little more versatility than the PS Vue. Also, the ability to watch on the go is cool as well although you can do this with Playstation Vue as well but only a certain amount of channels are available away from your home network.
Apple likes to control everything so it's not unlikely that you're on to something there, but that's not the case with Roku. Vue simply needs to write a Roku channel and they should be good to go.
Apple will be making major changes to their app store structure and slashing the percentage of sales revenue that the take in half. So maybe that'll help. Supposedly, one of the reason for the change is to become more subscriber friendly for apps that require them. Google is doing the same thing with the Play Store. And coincidentally, this change will coincide with E3 on next week. So maybe we can look forward to some news then.
I had SlingTv for a year and 4 months ago switched to PS VUE I love it! All the channels that I need, just missing NBATV. Never had any issues, quality is top notch. Mutch better than SlingTV
PlayStation Vue now on Roku, soon to be on Android http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016...to-roku-today-launching-on-android-next-week/
Had sling for the past year or so and just switched to Playstation Vue. Love it. Interface is better than sling and a lot more channels that I actually watch.
I'm so close to switching to PlayStation vue. I don't know how to get around not being able to watch Rockets. Have y'all?
AT&T is working on an online TV platform to be released later this year. With it, I'm hoping to see some kind of Root Sports streaming option come along similar to what the Fox Sports regional channels have.
I'm about 95% ready to switch to Vue now that NFL Network / Redzone has been announced for this football season. Any advice from current users? I'm planning to do a FireTV wired setup in my master bedroom, and then have a PS4/Firestick streaming for the other two rooms. I will also have a Chromecast option from the Mobile App. I just started the free trial this morning and I'm really liking the layout. Just a little bit worried about picture quality, but switching to a 150mbps Xfinity connection should help. I'm assuming they automatically scale picture quality based on available bandwith?
Do you need a Playstation to use this? I have a Chromecast and am on the free trial now and I couldn't get it to do anything. It says content is limited outside my home network too. And will I be able to watch the Texans if I live in Houston?
No you don't. I run it through my Roku stick at home. You can't "take it with you" like you can with SlingTV where you can watch/stream the channels on your phone/tablet away from home. The tradeoff is that you can have up to five TVs hooked up at your house at one time whereas SlingTV doesn't offer that kind of service.
