Ok one last question - so if I get: high speed internet and YTTV along with Netflix and Prime, I should be set with movies and live TV, correct? And I don’t have to buy any additional devices?
Yes, you’ll be all set - but, you do need a device through which you can stream all this content. Like a “smart TV” with downloadable apps, or Roku Stick, Fire TV, Apple TV, etc.
Alternatively, you can just watch on your laptop or smartphone.
Thanks, all our TVs stream Netflix and prime already so I’m assuming they’re equipped for YTTV too.
Most likely, but best to confirm before you sign up.
Remember to look for YouTube TV and not just YouTube. They’re different apps.
Alternatively, you can sign up for Hulu Live if you don’t care about out of market football games. I’ve seen more smart TVs equipped with Hulu than YTTV.
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If your TV is a “smart TV”, it likely already supports streaming. Review your TV menus/manual to confirm. If you don’t have a “smart TV”, you can get a streaming device and add to the USB port. Options include a Roku, Fire, and Chromecast. Cost can be under $20. These usually also require having a router with wireless Internet (speed does not need to be high).
When you have a smart TV or streaming device, you can install your choice of streaming services. The “cheapest” option would be stick to free services, which are often supported by ads, such as Pltuto, Tubi and Freevie. Other options include things like Kanopy and Hoopla, which are free with library subscription. Or paid services that have unlimited free trials, such as Apple+ or Paramount+/showtime.
However, rather than focus on “cheapest”, I’d suggest focusing on what you want to watch. For example, if you are really into MCU movies/series, you may like Disney+. If you enjoy classic sitcoms like Shitt’s Creek and Married with Children, you may like Hulu. Find the least expensive option that supports the type of viewing that you want, which is going to vary widely from one person to the next. If you just like general TV or don’t know specifics, Netflix and Hulu are the 2 I’d recommend as having something for almost any type of viewer.
If you want live channels, again I’d ask what specific live TV you want to say and find the least expensive option to support that. For example, if you just want to watch the new season of Young Sheldon. It’s going to be added to Paramount+ this week. However, if you want to watch all possible games of the upcoming March Madness tournament live, while Paramount+ will show a good portion of games (the ones airing on CBS), Paramount+ alone is not going to be enough. You may need to add in another service for the remainder, such as one that uses the channel approach (Sling, YTTV, Hulu + Live, …).
I didn’t mention an antenna, which is another option for live tv. There is a small up front charge and no further subscription costs for unlimited local channels. I have an antenna, which I haven’t used in over a year, as I prefer watching a far wider selection of shows on my schedule instead of watching live or recording on a DVR.
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Maybe it’s just us, but I find the interface to the DVR a little irritating.
They have a tab under Library that says “recently recorded” but it doesn’t show all the shows that were actually recently recorded. For example we watch “All Creatures Great and Small” which airs on Sunday nites a little late for the kids. When we go to watch it on Monday it isn’t listed under the “recently recorded” tab. Some recently recorded shows are under the tab, but not all of them.
A second quirk of the DVR is that when you go to a recorded show it usually wants to show Episode 1 of the current season. We’ve watched that episode, we’ve watched all the older episodes. I don’t understand why the default isn’t just the most recent episode or (even better) the newest episode we haven’t watched since it knows that information.
Third is trying to watch a show in progress. Back when football season was on I’d wait until about halftime to begin watching. That way I could skip the commercials and the halftime show, and would catch up with the live action about when the game was ending. When you go to a show being recorded you can “join live” or “start from beginning”. If you choose start from beginning" it doesn’t let you forward; instead I’d have to turn off the volume so I wouldn’t hear anything about the score, join live, rewind to the start, and then watch.
In short, Tivo did it much better. But Tivo only works with cable.
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We purchased Tivo when it first came out. I should be embarrassed to say, but both kids took one to college with them in early-mid 2000s.
I have been looking at reviews of YTTV and Hulu Live, or course each has their own pros and cons. For me, each is missing a station I watch with some regularity. I would assume I could fine those shows streaming elsewhere, but my goal is to downside my cost. I will be able to live without these stations, but when I saw they weren’t included, I was dissapointed.
I also understand each will have quirks; just not sure at my age I want to deal with learning a new device. I should be a quick learn, but not having to learn would be easier! 
My 93 year old mother just moved and her new complex only has Xfinity; her old only had Uverse. She keeps complaining that Xfinity doesn’t look like Uverse, from the guide, to the remote, to the station numbers; well mom, it isn’t Uverse, so it isn’t going to look like Uverse! I spend hours on the Xfinity site finding out how to set things up the way she wanted and running her through everything. She watches tv all day, and most of what she watches is crap, so I think she is fine!
I used to have Google Fiber TV. It was excellent and reasonably priced. But then Google got out of the TV business so I had to either go with another cable service or find something streaming. The only streaming service that offered my city’s MLB team coverage was Directv Stream. Baseball is super important to me so that’s what I chose. Now, however, I hear that because of Bally Sports’ financial problems the games may air on Amazon Prime. I have Prime so that’s ok but I’m guessing there won’t be a way to record a game and watch it later which I often do.
No cable here. We have an antenna that gets all the local channels and PBS. We also have a Netflix account and Amazon Prime. If we want something special like the March college basketball games or the World Series, we can usually buy a month on Sling. We had no trouble streaming all of the playoff football games except the one that no one could stream easily.
Really we can get most anything we want. Our monthly bill is…just for the internet and Amazon Prime.
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So I’m totally lost right now. The IU game is on. I’m supposed to be able to watch it on Fox Sports 1. When I search that it and the network appears, I go there, but don’t see it. What am I doing wrong? DH is watching it on cable in the other room.
Does FS1 come up in the guide? I was able to locate it. Unfortunately there’s no channel numbers with YTTV.
I contacted my SIL. When you pull it up, you have to go to the list on the left, all the way down to where it say YouTube TV…then the major channels pop up. I thought I was in YouTube tv, but apparently it’s just YouTube app. So confusing.
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Yes it’s confusing. And some (older) Smart TVs only come with YT and not YTTV. That’s why I cautioned above:
On Fire TV you can reorder the apps so that your main apps (for us YTTV, Netflix and Prime) are listed first on the main screen. That’s something you need to explore first thing for any service. Also for YTTV, you can exclude all of the channels that you don’t watch from showing up on your live channel listing, but you have to do that on your computer.
We’re having the same problem with All Creature Great and Small not showing up in our recently recorded list. We have to go to the ALL tab or search to find it. Also, it’s iffy about recording both hours of Good Morning America on Saturdays. But all in all, it’s a good system. I like how when you add a show, all available past episodes are immediately available.
I had the same problem with Little Bird (also on PBS). I think it has something to do with it having been broadcast previously elsewhere (Canada maybe?). So it was treating this as not the original airing, so not at the top of the recently recorded list. I had to make a point to seek it out.
Or if they are chosen as ‘Game of the Week’. I live in Denver so on Sundays it is CBS and Fox (local) showing the games. We usually get 2 games at 11 (but may not be the 2 you’d like) and then it depends on whether the Broncos are playing at home or away. If at home, one 2:25 game (broncos). If away there may be a game opposite them (and they may have played the early game too). We also get the Sunday night football game at 6 pm. Anything in London? Usually get at 7 am. Monday night? Usually get a game on ESPN and the ABC affiliate will usually broadcast.
Now my brother bought Red Zone and gets all kinds of games. He’s also able to get some games on the computer and hook it up to the TV, but it is like watching a game from the 60’s on a TV with a foil antenna.
You can subscribe to Red Zone via Youtube TV and you can watch it on TV without streaming via the computers.
When you say “add a show”, do you mean add it to the library? I haven’t done this yet.
Adding shows to the library is how you load up your “dvr”. You can also add stuff (like old movies) that are not scheduled for the near future and they will become available once a station is showing them.
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I’m so glad this thread exists. My cable TV + internet + landline just jumped to over $300 per month. I’ve been trying to cut the cord for several years now but we always got lazy and just went back to cable. I haven’t yet unsubscribed from cable but today I installed YouTubeTV on all my TVs (3). I’ve hidden the cable remotes so now we’re required to learn how to use YTTV. Assuming we can learn – a big assumption at our age! – we’ll cancel cable in a couple of weeks.
Thanks to you all for your tips.
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