We had YoutubeTV, but had to switch to Directv Stream when they had a falling out with Bally’s Sports. We get local MLB, NBA, and NHL on Bally’s and that is a requirement for us.
This is exactly what I want to do. 2 locations with just high speed internet at both and a subscription to YouTube yo be able to access both places.
I’ve had YTTV for a little over a year and I’m very happy. But hands down the DVR capability is my favorite feature. Don’t get confused by the terminology - you basically mark a show as a “favorite” and it will add it to your “library” every time it airs, and you can skip through the ads. Also if it’s a “favorite” you can start watching from the beginning when it’s almost over (or even already over).
You can also watch a lot of stuff as Video on Demand if it’s not in your library, but I swear they have more ads than the broadcast versions, and they’re not skippable. So, anything I think I might even maybe want to watch, I add it to my favorites.
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Consider why you want YouTube TV. If you are really into live sporting events like football and want them all in one place, then YTTV might be desirable. However, if you are more of a casual TV viewer, there are likely far less expensive options, with a similar number of quality shows you enjoy.
Predominantly non-live streaming services can be like having a huge DVR that comes preloaded with hundreds or thousands of quality series/movies… more than you could possibly watch. You can choose a streaming service that has specific series you especially like, catch up on those series, then move to another streaming service. I’ve done a variation of this. I’ve always had at least 2 of Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+/Showtime, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Apple+, Starz, and MGM+; and I’ve never paid more than $5/month for streaming.
I am not in to live shows, but can get them, in the few instances I need them. For example, my parents are really in to the PBS News Hour. When they visit, I download the PBS app, which allows watching their show for free. I am not into football, but had the option to watch the Superbowl live on Paramount+, if I wanted to .
Kiddie, when you sign up, they guve you an option of downloading the app or sign on on a browser. Which did you do? I just want to make sure we can watch it at nigh locations and not sure how to do that.
We signed up on the browser. We are using it on many devices at a few locations - phone, tablets, smart TVs. We were also able to create three users on the account - me, my husband, my daughter. We all have our own favorites.
Thank you, that’s what we’ll do!
Another question. When you’re at the 2nd location and pull it up, do you just have to log in on the TV with a password, etc.
yep, just log in - you may be asked location information to get you your local tv stations. But you can also just keep the same local stations for all locations.
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Thanks!
We have YouTube TV and Roku. I honestly don’t know that much about it all. My spouse is the tech guy so he sets this stuff all up. He’s a bargain hunter too so I’m sure he got the best deal for what he wants. We do have YouTube TV at his mom’s place too. It works pretty well as far as I know.
We use Roku Stick with most of our TVs and I agree it works great. Excellent value for its price.
The solution to market share loss for cable TV is easy—finally offer cafeteria-style programming. Pick “X” channels for one price, “Y” channels for another price, etc. My choice of channels would be different from yours, but what’s driving people away is paying crazy prices for channels that are never watched.
I refuse to believe that there is no technology that could do this–it’s stubbornness and greed.
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The solution to market share loss for cable TV is easy—finally offer cafeteria-style programming. Pick “X” channels for one price, “Y” channels for another price, etc. My choice of channels would be different from yours, but what’s driving people away is paying crazy prices for channels that are never watched.
I refuse to believe that there is no technology that could do this–it’s stubbornness and greed.
There are existing cable providers that do a form of this. For example, my former cable/satellite provider gives you the option to choose 15 channels of your choice for $30/month. If you want local channels as well, it’s another $25 per month. If you want a DVR, there is an additional monthly charge. So total charge might be $65/month or so. While this is available, it’s not especially popular, nor is it ending the cable/satellite market share loss to streaming. Instead they continue to rapidly lose subscribers every year, at a death spiral rate.
I suspect the market share losses primarily relate to people switching to the Netflix/Hulu/… model of watching the shows you like on your time schedule, rather than the traditional cable model of flipping through a bunch of channels that are constantly airing content. The former streaming model also tends to be far less expensive than the cable channel model, to a level that cable just cannot compete with (for example, Hulu had a $1/month plan for Black Friday). People who get used to the former model, often never return back to the latter cable/satellite model, which relates to the continued loss of market share.
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My brother had YTTV for about a year. It was okay, but he added some other things like Red Zone because he wanted more sports. NOTHING has the Pac-12 or Altitude (Avs and the Nuggets) so people do all kinds of things to get those (bars, Comcast, going to their friends’ house with the tiny tv - that would be me).
He let that expire and switched to Hulu live. I haven’t even bothered to add it to the living room TV so all that is on that is the streaming things I get through TMobile (Apple+, Hulu, Netflix) and an antenna, and I’m fine with that. My bedroom Fire TV stopped showing the picture so I pulled out an old TV (no streaming) and an old antenna and it is fine for network TV and a bunch of old movies and shows (Decades, MeTV, cozie) On the living room tv (Fire) I get something called FreeTv (it is something through Prime) and it has a lot of old stuff too like Monk, an entire channel for Say Yes to the Dress, some news channels through ABC,CBS etc.
Really it is all fine. I find plenty to watch.
But YTTV was fine for most sports. It has an NFL channel that shows reruns, and an NBA one too.
We’ve always said that too, that there should be choices. So many like us, who really don’t want to cut the cord, would stay if we had choices.
For those looking for a streaming device, you can go to walmart and get this 20$ box. It has been a lot better than Roku or Firesticks for me and people on Reddit really love it too.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box-New-2023-4K-UHD-resolution/2835618394
(Apple TV is on another level of course, but also costs a lot more)
I have been threatening to drop cable; just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I am leaning toward YTTV and have a few of the kids apps for streaming. My problem, which is stupid, it I turn on mindless tv; it usually is more background noise. I don’t want to have to search for something to turn on; leaving L&O SVU on all day works for me! 
I do watch scheduled shows, so know I need to do this. My cable/internet/home phone bill is around $330/month; I have no business paying that! Of course if I drop cable, I will get changed more for cable and home phone as it is discounted for having all 3. I don’t need the home phone, we just kept it when we moved here 7 years ago as was cheaper to have it than not. The only people that use that number is my mother, aunt and spammers; I give out my home number instead of my cell for people not needing to reach me immediately. I never answer the home phone unless I know the number, but do check the machine. I have ATT Uverse, which is no longer available for new customers, so if I want to go back to cable, I would have to switch to Xfinity as it is finally in my complex.
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@conmama please report back to us as you go through the steps of setting things up and you and your H adjusting to this new media lifestyle!
My H is VERY non-tech oriented. When we moved this past fall, I put my foot down and said, no more paying that $300+ cable/internet/landline phone bill.
We dropped the landline - haven’t missed it once! I knew we couldn’t take the jump to something like YouTube TV because H needs his cable stations, sports and does not do well with remotes and understanding apps and such. I swear he doesn’t even actually watch a full show, he’s a flipper!
We compromised by getting a streaming cable service through our cable provider. This is allowing him to get introduced to something like a Firestick, apps, playing music through an app on the tv etc. But he can also still just be on the cable stream…use the guide he knows and likes and operate with what he knows. Our bill is still too high IMO - but more in the $225-250 range.
I hope that eventually he will get comfortable enough that we can make another move to something like YouTube (or whatever is the new system by that point!). I myself, almost exclusively watch streaming stuff.
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Just for reference, we pay $72.99/mo for YTTV and $75/mo for internet. This is all in, fees etc. no landline here. We were paying about $225/mo for cable/internet.
YTTV has a plethora of channels and sports. When I looked up the few that we actually watched I found that YTTV had them all- my DH was a skeptic until I showed him he could still watch all his sports:)
Anyways, I’ll take the $75/mo savings. Easy peasy to switch.
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