Sling TV

[grin]

Anyone tried the new Sling TV service from Dish? For 20 USD per month you get ESPN and TNT plus some other random channels. It's especially good for college hoops and NBA action. The iPod app was having problems during commercials on ESPN but everything worked fine on my ancient Roku device.

Grin

[RichCor]

Already being talked up by TallGuyJohninBKK in this ongoing thread topic:

Watching TV from US on Internet

Started by bradenroger, 2013-11-08 11:44 -- 107 replies

TallGuyJohninBKK starts mentioning it beginning around post 95 as well as subsequent posts on page 5

Oh, and don't forget to give George some kind of kickback for the free advertising.

[Streamtopia]

Hi grin,

We tested it during the weekend using Roku Stick + VPN, the streaming speed wasn't great.

We've been testing using Roku Stick + Smart DNS in the past two days. Streaming quite nicely, got HD most of the time.

Hope they support Amazon Fire TV soon

[IMHO]

Seems a lot to pay for a small handful of "A grade" channels and some B-grade fillers.

From what I can see, these are the only prime channels offered:

ESPN1
ESPN2

TNT

Bein Sports

Cartoon Network

Disney

Disney Jnr

Disney XD

CNN

Bloomberg

...and some of these cost $5/mth extra, on top of the $20 base.

Also, they only offer up to 3-days replay, and only for these channels: HGTV, DIY, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, Food Network, Galavision, El Rey, Univision Deportes, Universal Sports, and beIN Sports... For the rest you're stuck with watching them live, and don't forget the timezone differences.

They will need to get better than this before I'll give them a try - I get a way bigger channel selection and 7-day replay on MaigeTV now - so nothing here for me, just yet.

[PomPui]

Where did you get your Maige TV from IMHO?

[IMHO]

Where did you get your Maige TV from IMHO?

http://www.maigetv.com/

[PomPui]

Ah okay was hoping to go it see it somewhere in BKK in action and before I bought it.

[IMHO]

You should be able to find some Youtube videos.

They sent me a promotion email a couple of days ago..

use code: SPR15 for $15 off the HD3 box.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

...and some of these cost $5/mth extra, on top of the $20 base.

Also, they only offer up to 3-days replay, and only for these channels: HGTV, DIY, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, Food Network, Galavision, El Rey, Univision Deportes, Universal Sports, and beIN Sports... For the rest you're stuck with watching them live, and don't forget the timezone differences.

Re the SlingTV service, my review of it along with screen cap photos is here in this other thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680284-watching-tv-from-us-on-internet/?p=9057810

For me, one of the biggest downsides was the the morning vs night time zone problem (unless you like watching primetime shows in the mornings instead of at night), and the lack of any time shifting, especially for the main channels like ESPN, TBS, TNT and CNN.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Right now, SlingTV's core $20 (almost $22 with tax) channel package includes:

ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, TNT, CNN, HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, El Rey Network (English Language), Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, ABC Family, Galavision, Maker Channel, and the Disney Channel. Apparently, they have also announced plans to add AMC to that same package.

Then, beyond that, there are $5 per month add-on packages available with extra channels grouped into News, Sports and Children's programming, though for me, only the sports add-on has any really worthwhile channels, and only then if you're a big sports fan.

FWIW, in looking at their website today, they're running some promotions that deal with free or discounted streaming stick/boxes when you pre-pay for the Sling service for 3 months.

Such as:

--a free Amazon Fire streaming stick or $50 off an Amazon Fire TV when you prepay for 3 months of SlingTV.

or

--a free Roku streaming stick or 50% off the $100 Roku 3 box with the same 3 months prepay of Sling TV.

Those might be worthwhile offers for some folks, even if they only try SlingTV for 3 months and then not continue --if you can deal with the primetime TV in the morning issue.

In the States, however, I'd be on it happily for keeps. CNN, TNT, TBS ESPN and ESPN 2 for $20 a month and ditching a costly cable TV plan would be a winner for me.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I see Amazon is promoting the same SlingTV-FireTV promotion on their homepage right now.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And more, now adding Google into the mix:

But that’s not all. Sling TV is also getting ready to launch a similar promotion with Google’s Nexus Player, the Android TV-based streaming device that Google unveiled last November. Sling TV customers will be able to get the Nexus Player 50 percent off as well, which brings the price down to $50. The Nexus Player promotion hasn’t been officially announced yet, but is already listed on a subsection of Sling’s website.

However, don’t get too excited just yet: The site doesn’t actually let you order the price-reduced Nexus Player just yet, for a reason. There’s one more thing that Sling TV has to do before it actually goes live with the Nexus Player promotion: Launch an Android TV-compatible app. As of now, Nexus Player support is still listed as “coming soon.”

https://gigaom.com/2015/02/13/next-up-for-sling-tv-a-half-price-nexus-player-promo/

[chmod777]

Nice to be able to watch some college basketball on ESPN. Streaming quality is poor at times, but not much worse than other services with US based content servers.

Has anyone tested any of the Disney channels or the ABC Family channel? I can't get them to load, even using different VPNs and DNS unlockers. The error message leads me to believe there is a more stringent geographical check on just these channels.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I didn't try any of the Disney channels, but I did try ABC briefly, and it streamed OK.

I will say, I did encounter periodic problems where I'd try to play some channel, and the software would answer it could not play, even though I had a valid U.S. IP. Usually, I'd then click to try the same channel again a second time, without changing anything else, and it would load and play fine. Not sure why that was occurring.

[GinBoy2]

Nice to be able to watch some college basketball on ESPN. Streaming quality is poor at times, but not much worse than other services with US based content servers.

Has anyone tested any of the Disney channels or the ABC Family channel? I can't get them to load, even using different VPNs and DNS unlockers. The error message leads me to believe there is a more stringent geographical check on just these channels.

Talking of hoops, and yesterday was a big basketball TV day for me you do realize that you can legally, and for free watch network TV via internet here?

ustvnow.com. They have several packages. I use the free one just to top up the networks, primarily for sports which I can't get through Hulu. On the free package you get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, PBS, My9 live feeds based in Harrisburg PA.

You can watch it on various devices, including Roku, although as a private channel you'll get prompted to link the device from their website.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Dish’s new $20 a month Sling TV streaming service will offer EPIX on an undisclosed date for an undisclosed additional price. The offering will include some 2,000 Video-On-Demand titles, as well as linear channels EPIX, EPIX2, EPIX3 and EPIX Drive-In.

“Our customers crave the newest movies like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Transformers: Age Of Extinction, but they also have a growing appetite for the classics and EPIX delivers both,” Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch says. His service will offer EPIX “in an add-on package that is accessible and affordable.”

http://deadline.com/2015/02/sling-add-epix-dish-network-deal-viacom-1201374523/

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And still expanding their program offerings:

Sling TV says today that it added IFC to its basic package, with no change in price. It has already folded in AMC. So subscribers can watch series including Better Call Saul, Mad Men and, now, IFC’s Portlandia. [...] Meanwhile, subscribers willing to pay an additional $5 a month can watch programming from Sling’s new “Hollywood Extra” add-on pack which consists of EPIX, EPIX 2, EPIX 3, EPIX Drive-In, and Sundance TV. - David Lieberman, Deadline Hollywood

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a couple updates on this:

I just finished with a 3 month Sling TV basic subscription that I bought thru a heavy discount promotion. And, in my case, it worked very well with my Roku HDMI stick here at home. But their Windows app gave me nothing but problems on my Toshiba Windows 10 laptop connected to our bedroom TV, probably because the laptop is old and has an outdated/non-replaceable video card. So I used Sling thru my Roku stick instead.

But more broadly, since my prior posts on Sling a year ago, AFAICT, they haven't really improved any on the time-shifting issue, in that, most of the major (bigger interest) networks they offer still don't offer catchup or VOD, such as CNN, TNT, TBS and ESPN, if I remember correctly. Some of the other lesser networks on Sling DO offer catchup/VOD. Still, I found myself enjoying watching movies on AMC and A&E and even the El Rey channel, even though they were airing in the morning U.S. time.

That said, I had already let my Sling subscription go, since I had decided it wasn't worth an extra $20 a month given those limitations vs. all the other options/choices available. Until, I came across a new promotion in my email tonight whereby Sling is offering a 30% discount off its normal $20 monthly price for T-MOBILE CUSTOMERS ONLY. That knocks the monthly rate down to $14 plus tax for up to a year, although the customer can cancel the Sling TV account anytime, as always.

I did a post on the Sling TV/T-Mobile discount in another thread tonight, and the link to that is here, with a fuller listing of all the particulars. So, for $14 a month, they've won me back. BTW, for anyone who wants to pursue this, probably going to work best if signing up using your U.S. IP address. Also, I think some T-Mobile promotions in the past have required POSTPAID (higher priced) accounts, such as their Binge video service. But for this Sling TV one, a prepaid T-Mobile account, including their $3 a month plan, suffices just fine.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/895951-best-media-box-for-kodi/?p=10592242

http://www.cutcabletoday.com/

https://www.sling.com/signin/partner/tmobile

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

fyi, Sling just recently has begun offering a new and second $20 a month package -- one that's very similar to their original and continuing Best of TV package, except, the new package deletes its ESPN offerings and replaces those with Fox Sports and Fox networks offerings instead. The new package also allows multiple concurrent streams on the same account, whereas the original package only allows a single stream.

So, if I understand it correctly, an existing subscriber could keep their original package and add the 2nd package for a total of $40 a month, just to get the extra Fox Sports and Fox Networks offerings (although that doesn't make much sense). Or, a subscriber could pick between either of the two different packages and choose the one they like best. AFAICT, the majority of the channels remain the same between the two different packages, except for the differences I noted above.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A lot has been going on with the SlingTV online cable TV service from the U.S., since my prior posts above. They've been adding a lot of new channels, both new national networks and new local network content from the NBC and Fox locally owned stations in 10 major markets for Sling customers in those markets, including Los Angeles and San Diego. As mentioned previously, a U.S. IP and bill payment method is required to access SlingTV.

 

The biggest news in the past week now is that Sling's $25 per month Blue package has already added the NFL Network as a free (no extra charge) addition. That's particularly notable because this year, the NFL Network is broadcasting all 64 2016 NFL Preseason games, either live or delayed -- something that in past years you'd have to buy an NFL streaming subscription to watch. And the NFL Preseason's first game will be played Friday morning (tomorrow) BKK time.

 

As things stand now, SlingTV still has two basic cable packages, the Orange and Blue packages, and then a lot of optional, mostly $5 per month extra add-on packages for special interests and an individual channel add-on for HBO at $15 per month.

 

The smaller, original Orange package allows only a single stream at any time, and includes by my current count about 28 channels including various ABC/Disney and ESPN content (but not any of the local NBC or Fox channels in the 10 major markets). That package costs $20 per month, and includes ESPN and ESPN 2, along with many other cable TV networks.

 

The newer and larger Blue package allows multiple streams at any time, and includes by my current count about 40 channels including the NFL Network, plus the local Fox and NBC channels in the 10 major markets. The Blue package doesn't include any of the ESPN or ABC/Disney channels, and instead substitutes a variety of Fox regular and sports networks. The Blue package costs $25 per month.

 

Both packages are available as a combined package for $40 per month. And, Sling is now advertising that they now have available more than 100 total channels through their two packages and the various optional add-on packages.

 

I'll post here as a PDF file attachment their most recent channel guide reflecting what's in the Orange and Blue packages, respectively. But this chart does not reflect their latest addition of the NFL Network to the Blue package:

 

SlingTV Blue & Orange Channel Lineups (Aug 2016).pdf

 

The other continuing nice thing about SlingTV is that it's available/accessible on almost every major streaming platform/device, including computers, mobile phones, tablets, Fire TVs, etc.

 

 

[chmod777]

I finally found a great program guide for Sling TV.

http://streamingtvguides.com/

 

Picked up a Fire TV on recent trip to the USA,  big improvement over the Roku for this purpose since DNS can be set in the device.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thanks for the post re the streaming guide website, which I see has programming guides for both the various Sling TV packages and Sony Playstation Vue. I'd never heard of that site before.

 

I took an alternate result to the same end, but it took a lot more work:

 

http://tvschedule.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?reqfrom=logout&aid=tvschedule

 

Had to manually configure a user profile on that site, and then manually select the channels that are in my SlingTV Package so those are the only ones to show. It works great now that it's set up for me, but it took a lot of time and figuring to arrange.

 

One advantage to that site is you can configure it to reflect a Central time zone, which right now is exactly 12 hours opposite Thailand time. So right now, it's showing me the 10 pm Thurs CDT programming content, while it's 10 am Thai time. That makes it a bit easier working with the relative time difference.

 

Though I see in the Settings menu for the StreamingTVGuide website, you can also set your desired U.S. time zone, so by selecting CDT, I get the same result. Cool!

 

---------------------------------

 

BTW, the SlingTV service is really great on the Amazon FireTV 2nd gen current version box. Very fast and easy to use, though I wish they'd incorporate the ability to re-arrange the channel lineup and/or allow favorite channels.

 

Right now, the bigger Blue package has 40+ channels, and a lot of them I'm simply not interested in and would never watch. Plus, the current UI of a horizontally scrolling single row of channel icons makes for a VERY long scroll.

 

From the most recent Amazon Prime Day sale, I picked up a Amazon Fire TV stick and have been using it with SlingTV as well on a 2nd TV at home. The playing part works fine also with the stick. But the channel selection/scrolling and time to start a new channel are much slower with the stick.

 

Rumor is, Amazon may be planning to come out with new versions of the FireTV box and stick in a few months, though it's not clear whether the specs will be much higher, as Amazon will want to keep its device prices low.

 

But there's some betting that a new Fire TV box will be compatible with 4K and HDR, as Amazon is increasingly beginning to add 4K and HDR content to its Amazon streaming video service.

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Was using the StreamingTVGuides site today, and noticed a couple other differences vs. Zap2It.

 

1. The opening/surface listings on StreamingTVGuides are shorter/less detailed than those on Zap2It. For example, on StreamingTVGuides, it just says NFL Preseason Football. And you have to click the title that pops up a detail box to find out what teams are playing in that time slot. In contrast, the Zap2It site shows the more detailed info (such as the teams playing) upfront in its listing, though it also has an even more detailed view that can be clicked.

 

2. The channels on StreamingTVGuides are listed in alpha order, and I'm not seeing any way to re-order that channel list or to edit it (for example, removing some channels that you don't care about). In contrast, the Zap2It guide, if you take the time to set it up, allows you to order the channels any way you like, and also to add or remove channels in your directory. In my case, I set my channel guide order to match the order that my channels appear on the SlingTV UI itself.

 

3. But, I'll also say that the StreamingTVGuides listing is easier to access and much more compact, almost fitting entirely on one browser page, whereas the full Zap2It guide for a Sling channel lineup requires a lot of scrolling to get from top to bottom.

 

[mtls2005]

People seem to really like the Sling Television Android app. Most streaming boxes are Android based, as are some Smart TVs, so easy to load. I assume you could run this app. on any Android device and then cast it to your Chromecast or capable device attached to a TV.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sling&hl=en

 

As near as I can determine, Sling Television is not available outside the U.S., so technically you may be violating their terms, and it is relatively easy for them to identify users even if on a VPN, if they want.

 

From their EULA:

 

Prohibited Actions. As a condition of the limited rights to access and use the software granted to you in this EULA, except as and only to the extent expressly permitted in this EULA or by applicable law which cannot be waived by this EULA, you MAY NOT:

 

view any content provided by Sling Television or its suppliers or access Sling Television Services anywhere other than within the United States or location authorized by Sling Television (“Territory”); and

 

instantly watch content or access or otherwise use our Services outside of the Territory, and Sling Television may use geo-blocking and other similar technologies to verify your compliance with restrictions related to your use solely within the Territory.
 

[mtls2005]

you do realize that you can legally, and for free watch network TV via internet here? 
 
ustvnow.com. They have several packages. I use the free one just to top up the networks, primarily for sports which I can't get through Hulu. On the free package you get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, PBS, My9 live feeds based in Harrisburg PA.
 
You can watch it on various devices, including Roku, although as a private channel you'll get prompted to link the device from their website.
 

There is a USTVNow add-on for Kodi. https://www.tvaddons.ag/ustvnow-kodi/

 

As you say, legal and it works well, IME.

 

There is also an NFL GamePass add-on for Kodi, again legal (you have to use your paid, legal subscription credentials). NFL GamePass is specifically meant for users outside the U.S.

 

http://addons.kodi.tv/show/plugin.video.nfl.gamepass/

 

I haven't used this but there are Youtube reviews, and this may be the best way to get GamePass onto non-smart TVs?

 

 

[Langsuan Man]

My dissapointment with Sling TV,  after the 7 day free trial,  is that there is no ability to stream to your TV using the PC application, whereas using a phone or tablet you can "screen cast" to a TV

 

Which of course means that you will have to depend upon you WiFi in order to stream to a TV vesus using your wired PC connection 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

LM, lately, I've been using wifi enabled Amazon Fire TV devices and/or Roku devices plugged into my TV's HDMI ports to play my SlingTV content. I especially like the FireTV interface/experience with Sling.

 

But, originally, I simply connected a audio-video cable between my PC and my TV, and used the Sling PC app. Depending on your PC's configuration, that could be an HDMI out cable from your video card, or other such as a DVI video cable combined with a 3.5mm audio connector.

 

Also, FWIW, I recently upgraded my home wifi by adding my own AC band, 5 Ghz wifi router. That works well with the 5 Ghz AC wifi available on both the Amazon Fire TV box and stick. And, with the 5 Ghz connection, the wifi streams Sling flawlessly, much better than my prior 2.4 Ghz N band wifi router.

 

The Amazon Fire TV stick is cheap, but the more expensive Fire TV box is generally reported to have much better and very good wifi reception.

 

 

[Langsuan Man]

Quote

LM, lately, I've been using wifi enabled Amazon Fire TV devices and/or Roku devices plugged into my TV's HDMI ports to play my SlingTV content. I especially like the FireTV interface/experience with Sling.

 

I am using the Chromecast device which works great using a tablet or phone with screen cast enabled content but it just won't do the same thing via the wired PC 

 

It's a defeciency in Sling TV's  PC platform, nothing wrong with the device or the mobile applications

 

As a work around,  I also can use my PC's extend display function to show the PC screen on the TV but it will scale down the size, thus limiting the use of the full screen on the TV

 

I am just glad that Sling TV has a free week option so you can determine whether or not it is right for you  

[mtls2005]

On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 8:32 PM, Langsuan Man said:

My dissapointment with Sling TV,  after the 7 day free trial,  is that there is no ability to stream to your TV using the PC application, whereas using a phone or tablet you can "screen cast" to a TV

 

Which of course means that you will have to depend upon you WiFi in order to stream to a TV vesus using your wired PC connection 

 

You could use an Android TV box, connected to your network using 100/1000 Ethernet (or WIFi), and to your TV with HDMI. Since it's Android you can run most paid (they usually have an Android client) or some free VPN clients on this box, and load the Sling TV app from the Play Store. Then just use your remote (or air mouse) to manage the app.

 

I can stream 1080p over my home WiFi to my Chromecast, both on-net content from my NAS and internet content.

 

What bandwidth is being consumed, and what are the display options? The pictures in the linked thread look terrible (very blocky, SD at best).