Like other Internet TV services, Vue's Achilles heel is sports. A few Sling channels are still missing from Vue as well, including A&E, History and Lifetime, but Vue still maintains a huge advantage in channels over its cheaper rival. The recent addition of Disney-owned channels to Vue, including ABC and ESPN, erased Sling's biggest programming advantage. Then come back here and finish reading this review! Trust me, it gets better.īeyond local channels and regional sports networks, Vue's packages are the same in every city nationwide, and offer an impressive array of cable channels, including the Fox and NBC/Universal properties missing from Sling. If you're still unsure what you'd pay with Vue, head over to Sony's website and input your zip code. Local channel availability (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) Pricing for everywhere else in the United States Pricing for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami For people in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami, Vue packages cost $10 per month more for the privilege of watching (and recording) live local channels namely ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Unlike Sling, Netflix or Hulu, however, Vue's packages cost different amounts depending on where you live in the US. And of course, you can pay more to get more channels. The simple takeaway is that Vue's basic package has a much better channel selection than Sling TV, but worse than many cable packages. That's why I've prepared a big chart showing all of the channels on Vue and Sling TV, as well as a few (like PBS, CSPAN, NFL Red Zone and BBC America) that aren't available on either one yet, but can be found on typical cable services. The biggest question anyone has about a newfangled Internet TV service revolves around channel access. (Yes, there may be state or local sales tax.) The channels: More than Sling, fewer than cable Vue's monthly fee is a flat rate, and the service makes it easy to cancel and restart, or just try for a week for free to see if you like it. Unlike cable, there's no equipment rental, contracts or other "hidden" monthly fees. That means your multi-TV household can all watch something different at once, provided you have a fast enough Internet connection. Currently the limit is one PS3 and one PS4 in the same house, with additional simultaneous streams using Fire TV or iOS devices, up to five total streams at once. Unlike Sling TV, which is limited to just one stream, Vue lets you stream to more than one device at the same time. You can watch on up to five TVs simultaneously from one account. You can also watch on an iPad or iPhone or Chromecast connected to a TV, but you must also have a PlayStation or Fire TV to do so. Instead of a cable box, Vue feeds your TV through a PlayStation console, or an Amazon Fire TV box or Amazon Fire TV stick. You'll need a PlayStation 3 or 4 console, or an Amazon Fire TV, to use it. Just like Netflix, these shows are stored in the cloud, not on your device. You can easily set up shows to watch after they air live, and you can fast-forward, pause and rewind, just like regular hardware DVR from the cable company. Its DVR lets you "record" your shows to the cloud, watch them anytime, and skip commercials. In other places across the country, shows from those networks are only available on-demand the next day on Vue, and you won't get stuff like local news. That's because you can watch live versions of the local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations. If you live in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco or Miami, Vue starts at $40. It's available nationwide in the US, but costs more (and offers live local channels) in seven major cities. But since none of these services have long-term contracts, you can freely jump from one to the other on the fly - so there's no real penalty for experimenting. Bottom line: The benefits and drawbacks of each service vary widely by region and device, and depend on what type of programming you want. And YouTube, Apple and Amazon are said to be working on similar efforts. Next year, Hulu plans to launch a live-TV element to its Netflix-like library of on-demand TV shows and original series. Customers that prepay for three months of DirecTV Now get an Apple TV, while those who prepay one month get an Amazon FireTV Stick.Īnd the evolution will continue. Significantly, subscribers can add HBO for $5 per month - a steal compared to the $15 the network charges for its standalone app, HBO Now. Launched in November 2016, it features more than 100 channels at the very competitive introductory price of $35 per month, after which it increases to $60. But the landscape continues to evolve: The most recent addition is AT&T's new online TV service, DirecTV Now.
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