Has Anyone Tried Youtube TV?

Small Law Survivor · Post by **Small Law Survivor** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 11:51 am

This looks like an attractive alternative to Verizon FIOS TV, which is what we have now. $40/month, good range of stations, cloud-based DVR .... I have realized that the only thing we watch on Verzon TV these days is CNN and MSNBC (Rachel Maddow).

https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/

Small Law Survivor · Post by **Small Law Survivor** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 11:54 am

Just looking at this again, after my post - if I were Verizon/Comcast ...etc., I'd be worried. The set-top box may soon be a thing of the past.

cutterinnj · Post by **cutterinnj** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:06 pm

Small Law Survivor wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 11:54 am Just looking at this again, after my post - if I were Verizon/Comcast ...etc., I'd be worried. The set-top box may soon be a thing of the past.

We keep Comcast solely because it’s cheaper to have cable and internet than internet alone. Our set top box is sitting on a shelf unplugged.
Once 5g is actually a thing, I suspect there will be competition and we can get rid of this thing.

There is a reason that Comcast is trying to buy all of fox’s assets.

Alexa9 · Post by **Alexa9** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:06 pm

Yeah I tried a 3 month free trial. It worked great. Cable is a ripoff and there's hardly anything worth watching to me anyways. Sometimes a big sports game.

lack_ey · Post by **lack_ey** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:10 pm

Have you looked around at the competitors? I think the big live TV services over the internet are DirecTV Now, Sling TV, Playstation Vue, Hulu with Live TV, and then YouTube TV. The big concern for many is local channel coverage (for local news, NFL and some other sports, etc.)—all have some but not all stations in all locations. But if you're covered or don't need that, or get it over the air, then that's not a problem.

In some cases bundling TV with other services like internet means the savings on dropping the bundle, getting internet alone, and signing up for a streaming service is not much.

For a lot of people these packages probably do make more sense, though.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:15 pm

We've used YouTube TV for about a year now and like it very much. Prior to YouTube TV we tried many of the others including Sling, DirecTV NOW and Playstation Vue (and a couple of others for free trial periods). Most of the others had technical problems from time-to-time. YouTube TV has been bulletproof in that regard and has a channel line-up that suits us.

We use Google Chromecasts to 'cast' the YouTube TV stream from the internet to our TVs using our phones or laptops as 'remotes.' We find that method to be very convenient. I also have a Roku 3 that I received for trying out one of the other services and YouTube TV now has an app for it which seems to work fine (I've only used it a couple of times so am not nearly as familiar with it).

One thing that could be better is fast forwarding through recorded or paused shows. The only option is 15 second skips. For us that isn't a big deal because most of our recording is done on a TiVo from an over-the-air antenna and the TiVo is very good at that particular task. Our DVRing on YouTube TV is typically done just to fill a couple of gaps like sports so we don't find it objectionable. I suppose if we used it more we may either really not like it or get used to it, I'm not sure which.

On the other hand the ability to just tell YouTube TV to record a show (or sports team) and have it automatically do that no matter when or where it plays and save it for nine months with no limits is great!

Streaming TV is definitely the future which is why the large cable companies have ownership interests in one or the other of the streaming services. Hopefully they don't end up ruining streaming over time like they have cable.

ladders11 · Post by **ladders11** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:35 pm

Tried it and it is great! I am actually canceling because I'm getting free cable, it's summer and I'll be traveling. However I expect to go back.

j0nnyg1984 · Post by **j0nnyg1984** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:42 pm

My brother has it and loves it. Watched all of the NBA playoffs and said he didn't have any major buffering or quality issues.

TonyDAntonio · Post by **TonyDAntonio** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:50 pm

We cancelled DirecTV, bumped up our internet speed for $39.99 per month with Comcast, and got YouTube TV for $35 per month plus one time purchases of Roku devices for each tv. Has worked out fine. I will say I watch as much Netflix, free with our T-Mobile signup, as I do YouTube TV.

danaht · Post by **danaht** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:52 pm

You Tube TV is the best. Allows you to record, fast forward, and rewind live-tv. Most other streaming services charge a great deal of extra $$$ for this as an add-on.

stlutz · Post by **stlutz** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 1:09 pm

I tried it on a free trial. The main thing I didn't like that is that you can't override the poor decisions their DVR sometimes makes. For example, I recorded a Formula One race. A couple of days later when I went to watch it, the original live version had been overwritten with a later abbreviated re-broadcast. Google said I could only have the re-broadcast or not have it at all. If there is no way to DVR exactly what I want, the service isn't that useful.

montanagirl · Post by **montanagirl** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 1:26 pm

I checked it out but it didn't seem at all like the real You Tube, which I love because it has so many odds and ends. The app seemed to have the same limited set of offerings as the other streaming channels.

I hope I will still be able to get regular You Tube on my TV.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 2:47 pm

stlutz wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 1:09 pm I tried it on a free trial. The main thing I didn't like that is that you can override the poor decisions their DVR sometimes makes. For example, I recorded a Formula One race. A couple of days later when I went to watch it, the original live version had been overwritten with a later abbreviated re-broadcast. Google said I could only have the re-broadcast or not have it at all. If there is no way to DVR exactly what I want, the service isn't that useful.

Things like that will happen from time-to-time. My wife watches a particular daytime show and when it's 'recorded' on YouTube TV after some period of time rather than the recording from Youtube TV she sees the content from CBS All Access (we think) containing commercials that she can't skip. Here's an article I found on the subject by Googling it......

https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/05/0 ... d-content/

From article:

YouTube TV will now list multiple versions of TV shows and movies that you've added to your library. Just tap the drop-down arrow next to an item, and it (might) show you the versions recorded straight from the live feed (traditional DVR-style) in addition to a VOD version. The DVR versions will have the same ads that the station aired live, but you can skip through them. The VOD most likely has unskippable ads.

The article goes on to explain that the choice is not available in all cases which is apparently controlled by the networks.

retiredbuthappy · Post by **retiredbuthappy** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:07 pm

No one has mentioned PBS. Nova, Nature, Newshour have been important to us besides MSNBC and CNN. Seems there's no solution to keeping cable?
RbH

Dottie57 · Post by **Dottie57** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:10 pm

retiredbuthappy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:07 pm No one has mentioned PBS. Nova, Nature, Newshour have been important to us besides MSNBC and CNN. Seems there's no solution to keeping cable?
RbH

I want those too.

TwstdSista · Post by **TwstdSista** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:19 pm

We went without cable for years. YouTube TV carries our local stations and we were looking specifically for one show I watch as well as our local sports channel for the husband. Winner winner!

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:33 pm

Dottie57 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:10 pm
retiredbuthappy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 3:07 pm No one has mentioned PBS. Nova, Nature, Newshour have been important to us besides MSNBC and CNN. Seems there's no solution to keeping cable?
RbH
I want those too.

Both CNN and MSNBC are part of the YouTube TV lineup.

To stream PBS you'll need to pay (donate) $5/month and use their app or (as I do) use an antenna to pick it up over-the-air.

Personally I have and prefer the combination of YouTube TV and an antenna paired with an over-the-air DVR (I use a TiVo). I know it's not an option for everyone depending on antenna receptions. I did my own antenna install so have about $60 invested in that and $400 in the TiVo. We find the TiVo to be very user friendly and love the feature which allows us to skip entire commercial breaks on many popular prime-time shows. The antenna plus TiVo is our go-to when watching TV and YouTube TV fills in the gaps, especially college and professional sports.

By installing the set-up myself the cost was $460 up-front (antenna plus TiVo) + $40/month for YouTube TV and $50/month for internet vs. the $150/month we were paying for cable + internet previously with less useful programming (for us). So payback was less than 8 months and from then on we began saving $60/month.

Cash · Post by **Cash** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:07 pm

I used it for a while before figuring out that DirecTV Now would give us more channels at a lower price point. We pay $20/month for their basic package + free HBO since it is linked to our ATT unlimited data plan. But it's only $35/month to get more channels than YouTube TV.

YouTube TV has unlimited cloud DVR, but as noted earlier, they replace your recording with the on-demand version once the latter is available. Apparently that's the networks' attempt to reassert more control over commercial viewing, having lost the battle with physical DVRs.

DirecTV Now comes with 20 hours of cloud DVR. That's enough for us, but you can buy additional hours.

You can also get a free Apple TV 4K if you pay 3 months of DirecTV Now in advance.

bgf · Post by **bgf** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 5:47 pm

I have hulu live TV with a roku streaming stick and it's awesome. cable plus internet was $175 for me. now I pay $36 for 30mbps internet and $43 for hulu live TV. craziest part is, it's not even a sacrifice. its straight up better service. now I can watch all TV including my dvr'd stuff anywhere on any device.

straws46 · Post by **straws46** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 5:56 pm

Just got it and it seems to offer us everything we want. Surprised at all the sports channels, including SEC and Big Ten networks plus the regional Fox Sports that carries our local baseball team, although the way they are playing this year that may not be a selling point. We save $40 a month versus cable.

Championship0911 · Post by **Championship0911** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:53 pm

Haven't tried it yet, as there plan is missing some channels we watch. I've been trying out Directv Now and so far so good. I paid three months up front and they gave me the Apple TV 4K. I believe that is $60 or $70 off the price of the Apple TV.

shorty313 · Post by **shorty313** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:26 pm

We’ve had it for three months now and have been very pleased. I do miss HGTV and Discovery though!

fire5soon · Post by **fire5soon** » Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:36 pm

I tried it with a free trial and loved it. Problem is we have young kids and YouTube TV has no parental controls. I even spoke with their customer service folks who confirmed they have no parental controls at this time and could not say they ever would have them in the future. This one item alone has kept us from switching to them. A shame really because it was a great service.

On that same note, I've looked into YouTube TV, Sling, Hulu TV, and Playstation Vue. The only one that has parental controls is Sling (which are VERY customizable and flexible). When we switch to streaming TV, which will likely be very soon, we will probably use Sling just due to the parental controls alone. I didn't like Sling nearly as much as YouTube but it's difficult to risk having the youngin's finding things they shouldn't just because I like the DVR functionality better.

I'm amazed these streaming TV services wouldn't consider people would have kids who use their services...

htdrag11 · Post by **htdrag11** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:37 pm

Reviving an old thread.

DW wants her HGTV and Food Network, so cannot cut the (TV) cord. I'm a PBS member, so that would not be an issue.

I hate cable, satellite TVs and their combined packages with a passion.

rolandtorres · Post by **rolandtorres** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:54 pm

The new AT&T Watch tv service is $15 and has those 2 channels (free if you are an AT&T wireless unlimited plan customer). If you hate AT&T though you can find other options.

https://www.attwatchtv.com/

If you want to cross-compare try
https://www.suppose.tv/tv

or

https://streambuzz.net/streaming-services-comparison/

GuyInFL · Post by **GuyInFL** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:59 pm

If you like PBS, check out PBS Passport for $60 per year. They have an extensive online library.

Pigeon · Post by **Pigeon** » Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:18 am

GuyInFL wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:59 pm If you like PBS, check out PBS Passport for $60 per year. They have an extensive online library.

I just got PBS Passport, and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. You can't browse a list of what's available until you join. Content varies according to your local PBS station. Most of the shows I thought would be there will have a current season or two, but prior years will only have clips or a random episode. Lots of things aren't available at all. The interface is terrible.

htdrag11 · Post by **htdrag11** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:39 pm

DW is watching less TV now, so she is willing to compromise.

Besides $40 for new subscribers, are there any surcharges or taxes? In other word, what is the total monthly payment? TIA.

pizza8822 · Post by **pizza8822** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:53 pm

htdrag11 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:39 pm DW is watching less TV now, so she is willing to compromise.

Besides $40 for new subscribers, are there any surcharges or taxes? In other word, what is the total monthly payment? TIA.

I pay close to (exactly?) my local sales tax rate, on top of the monthly bill. So, $40 + 9% or so = $43.60 roughly total in my location.

rterickson · Post by **rterickson** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:33 pm

htdrag11 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:39 pm DW is watching less TV now, so she is willing to compromise.

Besides $40 for new subscribers, are there any surcharges or taxes? In other word, what is the total monthly payment? TIA.

I signed up with PayPal and pay exactly $40 per month.

burt · Post by **burt** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:10 pm

Not to hijack the thread but I'm wondering if this net neutrality thing is going to increase the cost of internet TV.
I cancelled cable TV last month and am happy I did ... so far.

burt

zaplunken · Post by **zaplunken** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 7:59 pm

Gee that sounded great, well that is until I reviewed the channels! Tons of sports channels, I don't watch sports. Better than half the channels I do watch aren't offered! I wouldn't want that if it was free, I'll gladly pay for cable for what I get and want it is worth the expense to me and it isn't cheap.

Post by **LadyGeek** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:53 am

As a reminder, this is a "no politics" forum (see: Politics and Religion). I removed an off-topic post expressing a political opinion of some news channels.

Summit111 · Post by **Summit111** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:49 am

We have a a weekend home in addition to our regular one. Each are in different locations according to YouTube TV location services. Can we use the same account for both houses?

Summit

squirm · Post by **squirm** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:19 am

Never had Netflix or YouTube tv, are there commercials? If so can you blow through them like a dvr thirty second skip?

northtexan · Post by **northtexan** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:39 am

I have not tried youtubeTV but I have used a similar service for the past 6 months, PSVue. I choose PSVue due to the channel line up that the offer, I enjoy watching sports such as the local sports channel and the golf channel. They have different packages that offer different channels for different prices, they recently raised their prices to $50 dollars a month but still feel it is a better deal than cable and currently are saving about 10-15 dollars a month.

PSVue is just like cable, providing live tv that you can pause for upto 5 minutes, which is a drawback. I believe you can pay extra for DVR features.

arsenalfan · Post by **arsenalfan** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:51 pm

It’s real and it’s fantastic.
So long as it has the channels you want
We just need it for sports (olympics and World Cup)
Stream on any screen.
Cloud dvr
Paid $40 for one month we wanted it (World Cup) and then stopped subscribing.
Will resubscribe for Olympics.

Subscribing/unsubscribing requires a few taps on your phone.

We used the latest gen Apple TV fwiw

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:15 pm

Summit111 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:49 am We have a a weekend home in addition to our regular one. Each are in different locations according to YouTube TV location services. Can we use the same account for both houses?

Summit

Yes but call them and ask questions. I've received a message saying that I need to log in at least every 30 days from my home location. I don't know the consequences if I I don't because we've not traveled longer than that. You may also receive different channels or levels of service (ie on demand vs live for certain networks) in different locations.

smitty1515 · Post by **smitty1515** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:21 am

Happy YT TV customer here. We've had very few issues and when we have their customer service is on point. During a recent World Cup match YT TV was down for a short period of time. Within 24 hours of the outage I got an email apologizing and comping me 1 free week of YT TV.

The only two streaming TV services we have used are Sling and YT TV and although I enjoyed the price of Sling we occasionally had buffering issues of which are nearly non-existent with YT TV.

Housedoc · Post by **Housedoc** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:57 am

FrugalInvestor wrote: ↑Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:15 pm
Summit111 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:49 am We have a a weekend home in addition to our regular one. Each are in different locations according to YouTube TV location services. Can we use the same account for both houses?

Summit
Yes but call them and ask questions. I've received a message saying that I need to log in at least every 30 days from my home location. I don't know the consequences if I I don't because we've not traveled longer than that. You may also receive different channels or levels of service (ie on demand vs live for certain networks) in different locations.

I am trying YouTube TV via my son's account. He lives 150 miles away. I can't watch Braves Baseball and some MLB games as it realizes by IP I am in a different location than home location entered at signup. After 30 plus days you will get a message when logging in that you are limited to basically nothing until logging in on home area. I had my son login with my info at his home location and that fixed the limited issue. I have a Samsung smart tv that would have to be hauled to home location every 30 days to get full benefits. I emailed YouTube and their answer was to get another account for 40 bucks to make that tv work. All in all a good service. Like the DVR part. When Charter has another rate hike I am switching to YouTube TV. Would like to see Food network and HGTV on YT but we can survive.

htdrag11 · Post by **htdrag11** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:03 am

Any preferred streaming devices, e.g. Apple TV, Roku, smartphone (android or apple), tablet? TIA.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:19 am

htdrag11 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:03 am Any preferred streaming devices, e.g. Apple TV, Roku, smartphone (android or apple), tablet? TIA.

We use Chromecasts on our TVs and our android phones or Chromebooks as "remotes." That works well. I also have a Roku with the YouTube TV app but haven't used it enough to know how it compares to the Chromecasts. It has a more traditional remote that some may prefer.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:24 am

smitty1515 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:21 am The only two streaming TV services we have used are Sling and YT TV and although I enjoyed the price of Sling we occasionally had buffering issues of which are nearly non-existent with YT TV.

One thing I really like about YouTube TV is its ability to stream over almost any connection. We've used it extensively when traveling and it seems to work over any connection without buffering. This includes hotel wifi and cellular data connections...even iffy ones.

anil686 · Post by **anil686** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 4:04 pm

I really like it. We switched about five months ago and now pay for internet $60/mo (75/75 up down) and Youtube tv $35 before the price change. great, easy - DVR is not the greatest because many of the networks lock the DVR skipping commercials for three to six months so you have to watch the on demand version often including 10 min of commercials. But for sports - it is outstanding.

htdrag11 · Post by **htdrag11** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:36 pm

FrugalInvestor wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:19 am
htdrag11 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:03 am Any preferred streaming devices, e.g. Apple TV, Roku, smartphone (android or apple), tablet? TIA.
We use Chromecasts on our TVs and our android phones or Chromebooks as "remotes." That works well. I also have a Roku with the YouTube TV app but haven't used it enough to know how it compares to the Chromecasts. It has a more traditional remote that some may prefer.

Which version of CC would work? I've the older model. I also have a CB. Thanks.

FrugalInvestor · Post by **FrugalInvestor** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:39 pm

htdrag11 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:36 pm
FrugalInvestor wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:19 am
htdrag11 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:03 am Any preferred streaming devices, e.g. Apple TV, Roku, smartphone (android or apple), tablet? TIA.
We use Chromecasts on our TVs and our android phones or Chromebooks as "remotes." That works well. I also have a Roku with the YouTube TV app but haven't used it enough to know how it compares to the Chromecasts. It has a more traditional remote that some may prefer.
Which version of CC would work? I've the older model. I also have a CB. Thanks.

I use the Chromecast 2.

marklar13 · Post by **marklar13** » Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:23 am

I've used it, and liked it. What I like most is that it is painless to cancel. We watch mostly streaming services, and not a lot of live TV... with the exception being sports. I ordered it during the NBA playoffs, and then cancelled once they were over. I cancelled right through the app on my phone with a single click, instead of being forced to talk to a salesman like with cable. I plan to turn it on again in the future if something else live crops up that I want to watch. You do have to order in 1 month intervals, but all the pricing is transparent, so you know what you are getting into ahead of time.

htdrag11 · Post by **htdrag11** » Sat Aug 18, 2018 2:46 pm

Put my old CC on sale since there is some buffering/hesitation with sports. Will upgrade to a CC Ultra. Meanwhile, I've gotten a used Roku 3 and a new Roku Streaming Stick Plus (faster and newer).

I'm quite happy with the YTTV service so far (3 weeks). With the Roku Stick, I can take that with me on weekends. For my Google phone, I loaded couple of apps to watch other regional NFL preseason games without issues. DW has used the cloud DVR, a value added which Optimum used to charge for.

Overall, I love the Olympic channel (NBC sports) and all the sports channels. It's worth $40 to me, cheaper than cable. It's too bad that I cannot get Google Fiber so still stuck with Optimum for internet.

Based on the feedback on Hulu Plus, I did not try it but would love to watch some of their TV shows, such as TheHandmaid's Tale. Maybe after the NFL season since I do not need to "talk to the customer retention department".

Sconie · Post by **Sconie** » Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:12 pm

Last year we started-off streaming using Hulu, however, encountered frequent buffering and "freezing" problems----switched to YouTube TV and (with the exact same internet provider and speed) those problems went away. We are pleased with YT TV!

F150HD · Post by **F150HD** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:44 pm

may want to make sure it works on your 'device' before signing up, giving a CC number etc.

I have a Roku and every app works on it (Netflix, PlaystationVue, Hulu, the Youtube app etc)....BUT, when installing the YoutubeTV app- it won't launch on my Roku. Tried installing/uninstalling, system updates, hard restarts....did all permutations - it doesn't work. It hangs, then loops right back to the start every time. Done trying.