Dropping Satellite for Streaming Service

[LarryJB]

We currently have DirecTV at home but use OTA and Netflix etc in the coach. We are considering dropping Satellite and switching to Sling TV or ATT Now or similar type streaming service. I am just starting my research on this, so I don't know much about it yet. My perception is that the streaming services are more than half the cost of satellite. Also, if I can also access the same streaming service on the road this would be a better situation for us anyway. For those of you who switched from satellite to a streaming service like sling or ATT now, what has been your experience with this?

[Chuck Q]

I have just recently dropped Dish, bought a fire stick and signed up with FMCA Sprint. So far. Is 100% OK. $50 per month unlimted..

[wjohnson913]

I stream and there are various different threads on this site regarding the subject. I have unlimited internet access from OTR mobile for sixty bucks a month. No limits, no throttling and they use AT&T towers. Only had an issue in the most remote places.
For TV streaming I use YouTube TV. There may be better sources but I’ve found some others are a little more difficult when you are not in your billing zip code. YouTube TV allow for five different users so I split it with my son so that takes care of the zip code restrictions.
YouTube TV is fifty bucks a month with my local channels and cloud based DVRs.
Works for us real well.

[450Donn]

Streaming is all well and good IF you have decent cell service. There are so many places that wont happen. In those cases what do you have?

[CWSWine]

I have the now discontinued Verizon prepaid unlimited plan and have had good luck streaming. I also I'm looking at dumping Dish and cutting the cord at home but my biggest concern is when I'm not in my zip code. Some of the services frown on when traveling and will cut you off when out of your zip. I have heard mix reports on which will allow roaming from zip code to zip code. I can't give any first-hand advice but maybe others will chime in.

[B52Rnav]

As noted in one reply, some services, such as PlayStation Vue, quit working when you are out of your home area for some period (30-60 days approx). Some say that using a VPN can solve that problem. IIRC YouTube TV also has this restriction. On our last trip we used OTR Mobile for internet with good results . Some streaming services (e.g. PSV) also caution about using a hotspot. It just depends on which aggrevations you want to deal with. In our recent 76 day trip, we had about 8 days with internet too slow for streaming, and about 8 days in which trees would have been an issue for satellite. Pick which you think will work best for you. If you pick streaming, then at some point, you have to decide if you want/need a cell booster, which is more $$ and more complexity.

[LarryJB]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

Streaming is all well and good IF you have decent cell service. There are so many places that wont happen. In those cases what do you have?

Read a good book!

[LarryJB]

At this point let's not discuss internet service. Let keep this about the streaming service verses satellite.
I was not aware there might be a problem with using it traveling. Sling says they can integrate their streaming service with OTA channels so they don't have to charge for local/network tv. So the only you pay for is national channels like a&e, my tv, etc. I may call them to see what they say about travelling with their service.

[LarryJB]

Also, I am, as i type this, watching the MLB playoffs using the fox sports app on my roku. I can do this because I am a direct tv subscriber. I suppose I will still be able to do this thru a streaming service as well. But I am now concerned I will only be able to use the streaming service at home and will still have to use the individual roku apps for sports and the like.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

Streaming is all well and good IF you have decent cell service. There are so many places that wont happen. In those cases what do you have?

We are currently in an RV Park that has tall trees and we can't get satellite service but we are streaming YouTubeTV without a problem. So that goes both ways. We cutting the cord but not taking the dish off the roof, if we need a TV for a longer stay we give Dish Outdoors a call and signup for 30 days of service.

[gpounder]

Have Direct TV and a DVR and we have grandfathered both east and west coast network service along with local TV.

I record almost everything I watch including sports. I do this at home and when we travel move the DVR to the RV. This way I can skip all commercials. I never run out of stuff I want to watch.

Even if for some reason I do not get Sat service my DVR works.

So for added cost of streaming it's not worth it for me. I am not paying extra for the RV.

[creativepart]

We dropped Dish Network after 21 years in our home 2-yrs ago. Around the same time we bought a new Class A and decided to stream all our TV there as well, so we skipped installing a SAT dish.

We use Netflix, Amazon Prime, PBS Passport, ATT Tv (was called DirecTV Now) and a few others. Periodically we try new services and are carefull to dump the services we don’t use much.

We signed up for DirecTV Now when it first came out and one of our phones is on ATT so we get free HBO for life and a deep discount on the monthly cost. It’s now called ATT Tv. There are just a few shows we watch on that service. But if we were to drop it and then want to pick it up again the cost would be too high without all those discounts.

Something to think about is that with Streaming versus SAT tv the way you watch tv will change dramatically. We think it’s for the better, but you should be aware of it. With SAT you watch like cable. You have some shows you watch at a certain time, but other times you channel surf to find something to watch. With streaming every show you like is basically on any time you turn on your tv. There is very little surfing to find things. And unless you’re watching some older show that ran for years you’ll run out of new episodes in a short while.

For example, let’s say you watch a series with 3-seasons available right now and there are 10-episodes per season. You start watching one show a night, or maybe two per night, whatever. In two weeks or a month you’ll be done. If the show hasn’t been canceled then in about a year they will release another 10-episodes.

So we keep a list of shows we are interested in, because we are constantly running out of new episodes of the shows we do watch. We’re constantly trying out new series to see if we like them.

We like PBS dramas. Many are detective shows from England. So we decided to add two British TV streaming services to our list and now there are dozens of new series that we’ve never seen before - some from the UK and others from Australia.

In short, if that’s possible now, we don’t channel surf we plan out our TV watching and stay involved in the shows that interest us.

PS. You can’t avoid the cellular data plan discussion because you’ll use so much data with streaming. We just finished a 5-week trip and we used 250 gigs of data during that trip.

[LarryJB]

The cell service discussion deserves its own thread. Plus, I already have an unlimited plan an pretty much have that all figured out and am happy with what I have.
We recently did a week of house sitting at my son's house and I got my first exposure to att tv. The DW just hates commercials so at home when a commercial comes on she switches to another channel that doesn't have a commercial and then back to her show after a bit. This is difficult to do with a streaming service because changing channels is not instant like cable or satellite. This is not much of an issue for me, but it is for her. These are the kind of things that are getting the way of us dropping what we have now. Q

[LarryJB]

I am also interested to hear about using att tv on the road. Does it work? Do they block you if not in same zip code as home?