Playstation Vue
Have been using the Playstation Vue service via the Amazon Fire stick for a couple weeks now and I really like it. Saved about $90 per month on my cable bill by cancelling service and turning in 3 cable boxes. (I would have saved more but the cable company jacked up their price on the internet, so I'll be shopping around for that soon.)
My experience:
- I don't really watch much live TV except for sports and occasionally the news -- so far Playstation Vue has worked fine for that.
- The default interface is different than the traditional cable guide, so that took some getting used to. More like Netflix or Hulu, although they do have a "channel guide" view if you need it.
- The DVR isn't exactly like your typical DVR--you choose your favorite shows that are automatically "recorded" and available to you for 28 days. The first day I setup to "record" premier league and champions league soccer, the NBA and NHL playoffs and now all the games are now available without having to think about it or worry about the amount of disk space I'm taking up. I don't think I'm going to have an issue with missing a particular show because of the 28 day cutoff--I typically watch things within a month of them airing (especially Duke basketball games!)
- It looks like you aren't able to pause live TV for as long as a typical DVR...maybe only 5-10 minutes. Certainly enough time to hit the head and grab a beer, but will have to watch out for this. Then again, I typically watch games, etc. streaming after the fact anyway so probably won't be a big deal.
- Vue allows for five simultaneous streams on devices in the home -- enough for our family of 4. Some programming is restricted to being on the home Wi-Fi network (I tried to watch FS1 live on my phone while on the train but couldn't). But you CAN mark shows as favorites so they "record" while you are remote.
- The Vue interface takes a little while to load via the Fire Stick -- that could just be my internet speed or my TV--not sure.
- My 12-year old son was frustrated that he couldn't watch The Flash live because we don't get the CW live anymore, but I think he just watched it streaming the next day on the Amazon Fire stick/CW app.
One other thing that sold me: Charter Cable didn't let me login to WatchESPN or NBCSports' app on my Amazon Fire stick (or Google Chromecast embedded in my TV), but now I can using my Playstation Vue login. That was EXTREMELY frustrating when I bought the Fire Stick and then couldn't use these apps.
All in all a good experience. You can try the service for 5 days free and see if you can watch any of your channels. Looks like Sling might be a little cheaper and have most of the same features, so I may do a trial of that and compare (although my family is now used to the Playstation Vue service so we'll probably just stick with what we've got).
Good people drink good beer. -Hunter S. Thompson