Okay, so as always I’m giving my streaming/tech input… SlingTV and Football

[UTE98]

With the season starting tonight I opted for two prepaid months of SlingTV last night. I did quite a bit of homework on SlingTV and the main complaint I saw for the past two years was buffering. And I’ve got some experience trying out new setups and devices.

I ALWAYS take a streaming device when i travel, usually four to five times a year. I’ve tried just streaming to an iPad using basic hotel wifi. It always seemed to buffer on Hulu/Netflix so I decided, I’ll try my AppleTV, and again, lots and lots of buffering. I’d almost given up, when I bought an Amazon FireTV Stick, and thought, it’s small, I’ll give it one more shot.

The Amazon FireTV stick worked like a charm. After it worked i did some more research and it basically works better because it requires a smaller amount of bandwidth to stream, I can’t remember the exact numbers but it was like 2/3 of the AppleTV, which yes results in a bit lower quality picture, but I’ve not really noticed the difference and I’ll take a bit of a picture downgrade to avoid buffering.

Okay fast forward to last night. I crank up SlingTV on my AFTV Stick and was a bit dismayed when I got an error message that certain videos were not available. I thought, “Crap I’ve made a mistake!!!!” I did the two months prepaid to get a Roku Stick for free, another device I can mess around with… So I left with the wife to run a 15 minute errand and when i got back tried again. I think some things had to update, kind of like when you get a new cable box. I watched the second half of the 2016 Utah – Washington game, and honestly it gave me hope, we were so close in that game, just a few small tweaks and a ref who knew what a block in the back was and the outcome might have been much different. The picture was clear, and no buffering. I was able to fast forward and rewind since it was an old game. I liked that it gave me the option to start over already in progress Pac12 programs. Not sure if that will be available for live football games.

So then I thought lets check out some other stuff, I was able to watch an archived copy of Utah’s top 12 players, pause, rewind, fast forward all worked. Picture was great and again no buffering. I also played around a bit with the interface, looking at different ways to look at available programming. I like that it has a grid listing, kind of like cable, so i can search for what I want to watch, you can also just look at what live sports are playing.

The fact I get all of the Pac12 networks, I didn’t get that with Xfinity, and the lack of buffering I’m cautiously optimistic. If you’re looking for full quality streaming, don’t know how that would work out, but after just a couple hours, I’m very optimistic about not only this season, but also all the sports I’ll get. Two months $99.96 after taxes, and I get a $40 Roku streaming stick.

Apple TV Mbps requirements

1080p Full HD (high definition): 8 Mbits per second
720p HD: 6 Mbits per second
SD (standard definition): 2.5 Mbits per second

Amazon FireTV and Firestick TV (same Mbps requirements based on a quick search)

SD – 3 Megabits per second

HD – then you need a minimum Internet speed of 5 Megabits per second

I think the sticks are a bit better for just streaming, but if you want extras go with the small box/AppleTV

Did I mention I bought a Screen capture device????? Oh, never mind, won’t need that.

An article if you want to do a bit more research

Mbps requirements for different quality streams SD to 4K

 

[leftyjace]

I’m using AppleTV 4 with Comcast High-Speed Internet and it’s the bees knees.

That’s all I’ve got.

[wcrunner]

I’ve used Sling the last couple of years and have been happy with it.  I usually have a buffering problem with my MLB account, but not sling.  I did the two months advance payment to get the Roku Express.

[utahman3431]

Which capture device did you get?  I have alternate methods of watching Pac-12 streams (not Kodi, and it is getting the stream straight from the P12N)…That plus I get cable just during football season.  I get 2 boxes…one for my PC and one for my TV.  I have family that pay me to use secondary accounts for streaming purposes, so I am only paying about $20 a month for the cable. 

I capture using the Hauppauge Colossus capture card.  It allows component capture with optical input for surround sound.  I could capture up to 1080i, but 720p is good enough for the size.

I’ve tested out countless programs for converting/editing video and I think I’ve finally got the right combo.  If you want to capture and share any video, let me know and I’ll let you know what I’ve found.

Here’s one program to check out for capturing streams: Streamlink

[UTE98]

Bob aka Utah3431 (?) I got the HDML-Cloner box for $79, which basically acts as a pass through for 720/1080 HDMI, as long as you have a Digital Rights approved device on the end it works. It records an H264 encoded MP4 file with stereo, not as good as Dolby but most everything I’ll be burning will be viewed on a tablet/iPad anyway.

I am the one who sent you those 40 +/- DVDs a couple years back, I’ve tried to download the digital copies and run into some problems. I’m suffering some encoding problems with HandBrake right now, I have a 7 year old iMac and it refuses to encode the larger Mp4 files I’m cloning into smaller files. So I’m not even sure my iMac could handle the download process, though it is doing fine now from the USB 3.0 Flash drive to my external HDD with two USB 3.0 ports on the front. Maybe because it’s not doing the majority of the processing on the iMac HD, don’t know.

Here is the link to the capture device, not the highest quality but good enough for media intended for tablets. I got it on a flash sale for $79.99.

HDML Cloner

[UtMtBiker]

I might be a bit behind on this conversation. Can someone fill me in on why I would want slingTV with a FireStick instead of Comcast? Is this just for streaming on the road?

[Wilson’s Mustache]

It’s probably much cheaper for one reason.

[UTE98]

^^^^^This.

I’ve had Xfinity/Comcast the past few football seasons, with the HD upgrade and box rental it was North of $70/month with no contract. I checked last night and it was looking to be closer to $80/mo with HD, the box and taxes thrown in. And I only got ONE P12 channel. Numerous times I’ve wanted to watch a football game on another P12 channel instead of Colorado.

As I mentioned I got two months for $99.66 with a free Roku stick, and I get ALL the P12N channels. Not that i’ll use them all the time, but it will be great to offer an alternative to Colorado’s coverage.

[leftyjace]

Further fodder.

I have to have high speed internet at my home because occasionally I work from home, and it’s necessary for me to effectively work. So the high-speed stuff is a wash for me – I’d have to have it anyway, and I am hoping and praying that someday Google Fiber will get close to me!

Paying $55 for all those channels is a heckuva lot less than not only the $80 for basic plus sports, but all of the taxes, fees, etc. which inflates it up to over $100 a month.

So… basically 1/2 as much. No, not as many channels, but I never watched those anyways, and the difference allows me to still get Amazon Prime and Netflix video and I’m STILL way ahead. When it’s not football season I don’t have Sling and I’m ridiculously ahead, since I cut the cable about 2 years ago.

It’s great!

[Puget Ute]

The last month I had Comcast cost $239, on a $79/mo plan. F that nonsense. I now have DSL through CLink, direcTVNow, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, and Kodi. Saving a substantial amount of money.

[Wilson’s Mustache]

I just did the same thing as you. I got the two months of sling for free ROKU stick.

The quality has looked pretty good so far, but I haven’t watched a lived football game yet.

I kept my Dish Subscription until tonights game just to make sure I don’t have any issues.

I’ve had good experience with DISH, but I can’t wait to drop them if for no other reason than that its expensive, but I also travel for my job and Its nice to be able to watch TV on the go from anywhere with an internet connection.

[Puget Ute]

I am glad that works for you. I will likely get Sling during October/Nov for the games on P12N.

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