Streaming services versus Direct TV

[Oaktree]

I can't stand watching TV without the ability to pause one channel while watching another like I do on Dish Network. Are there streaming options that allow this?

Excuse the dumb question, but what do you mean by "pause one channel while watching another" and why would you want to do it? Never had Dish so not sure what you're referring to.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I'm "streaming" Direct TV right now as I write this, it works out great for me.

SR

 

[NoTrespassing]

Excuse the dumb question, but what do you mean by "pause one channel while watching another" and why would you want to do it? Never had Dish so not sure what you're referring to.

Our current dish box has 2 tuners. Some boxes offer 4 tuners now.

If I don't have a program recorded or "pause time" saved up, the way I watch TV is, I will start watching a program, say the nightly news and when a commercial comes on I will pause it and switch over to the other tuner, say the history channel or whatever. When a commercial comes on the history channel I will jump back to the nightly news and fast forward through the commercial that was on.

That way I never have to watch a commercial.

I might watch a football game and have fox news paused on the other tuner for instance.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Our current dish box has 2 tuners. Some boxes offer 4 tuners now.

If I don't have a program recorded or "pause time" saved up, the way I watch TV is, I will start watching a program, say the nightly news and when a commercial comes on I will pause it and switch over to the other tuner, say the history channel or whatever. When a commercial comes on the history channel I will jump back to the nightly news and fast forward through the commercial that was on.

That way I never have to watch a commercial.

I might watch a football game and have fox news paused on the other tuner for instance.

The second tuner can also be used on a second TV and controlled separately but we don't normally watch TV in the bedroom while the living room TV is being used. So, when you change the channel in the living room, the bedroom TV changes to the same channel.

 

[ray66v]

Our current dish box has 2 tuners. Some boxes offer 4 tuners now.

If I don't have a program recorded or "pause time" saved up, the way I watch TV is, I will start watching a program, say the nightly news and when a commercial comes on I will pause it and switch over to the other tuner, say the history channel or whatever. When a commercial comes on the history channel I will jump back to the nightly news and fast forward through the commercial that was on.

That way I never have to watch a commercial.

I might watch a football game and have fox news paused on the other tuner for instance.

+1

I do this too, with DirecTv. I would throw it all out the window, if I couldn't.

I get that they need to sell commercials. But, running the same commercials tens of thousands of times should be a illegal.

 

[Rmart30]

Direct was too much. We got a T mobile $50 a month unlimited box and stream everything now. The wife works from home and does all her zoom meeting etc on it and we run 14 wifi security cams. Has done fine for us.

 

[deserteagle71]

I just wish I had internet fast enough to even think about streaming anything. And no, I'm not about to pay for a Starlink setup. Cell signals are pretty weak also, and intermittent.

 

[ray66v]

I just wish I had internet fast enough to even think about streaming anything. And no, I'm not about to pay for a Starlink setup. Cell signals are pretty weak also, and intermittent.

I feel for you.

We had nothing faster than DSL here for 15 years. I could do some basic streaming, but it would usually be frustrating. The cable TV provider here is a trailer park system from another city. So, they were as good as nothing.

One day, a couple of years ago, I saw trucks installing lines on the state route nearby. And found out it was a fiber optic line. I had to pinch myself, because I never thought I would see fiber out here.

It took about 6 months for the local telephone company to notify us that it was their line, and if we want fiber that's like ten times faster, we can have it for the same price we are paying, with no contract??? That required another pinch.

Windstream spent like $2 Billion running fiber, and this was part of it.

So, keep the faith.

 

[ray66v]

We have moved from directv to youtube tv. We get the same channels including local. We also paid the extra 4k upgrade which gives us not only 4k content, but unlimited simultanious tvs at home, 3 streams outside of our home network, as well as streaming on the go from any mobile device. Also has no limit on the number of recorded programs, split screen for 2 to 4 programs on the same screen. I don't use the split screen but sports fans may like it. Our total bill is $85/month with no extra fees. Start or cancel service anytime.

With the 3 streams outside of the home we now use this same account for the bridal suite and grooms room at our wedding venue. We have been able to cancel 2 directv accounts and use 1 single youtubetv account saving me around $170/month.

The only thing I don't like is there are no tv numbers for channels in the guide, just names. After some frustration on this I found out you can custom arrange channels in the order you want from a computer so now all of my channels I watch are arranged at the top of the list.

Is there a way to avoid watching commercials with YouTube Tv?

 

[jk96]

Is there a way to avoid watching commercials with YouTube Tv?

Still have commercials. Only way to avoid would be to record your program then fast forward through them.

 

[John0829]

Is there a way to avoid watching commercials with YouTube Tv?

I don't know about Youtube because we do not use it but all other streaming services we pay for the NON commercial versions... I hate seeing the same drug ads over and over and over and...

 

[not2old]

I'm just starting to learn about streaming and didn't know this was possible. we watch recorded material almost exclusively. What services are you using?

 

[dodge man]

I just checked our internet speed, we have fiber optic, it 55m download and 75 upload. We are part of a rural phone co-op and they are 100% fiber. We have both a Roku and a Firestick. The Roku seems a little less glitchy but both are good.

We had Fubo and now have YouTube. YouTube is roughly $20 less a month. Yes you can pause and surf the channels.

How I think the DVR works is they store everything for you. You just have to say you want to watch it. For example I watched all the Rockford Files. I started recording on season one episode one. They aren’t all available, just one a day as it is aired. You can fast forward through commercials. We also get local channels. You do have to tell it ahead of time you want it recorded, you generally can’t go back afterwards and say you want to watch it. You have endless recording space.

If you have a newer smart tv you don’t need a Firestick or Roku, just hook it up.

 

[riptides]

I don't know about Youtube because we do not use it but all other streaming services we pay for the NON commercial versions... I hate seeing the same drug ads over and over and over and...

YouTube does have a commercial free offering.

YouTube TV - depending on the "channel", bounces against the network over the air carriers that have paid advertisement that cannot be avoided.

 

[dmccarty]

Is there a way to avoid watching commercials with YouTube Tv?

Yes, you can pay about $15 to get commercial free viewing. There is more to the plan, like downloads, which is why I pay for the service. The commercials are not that bad on the videos we watch. I don't login to the Premium account on our Smart TV so we get commercials.

 

[jk96]

Yes, you can pay about $15 to get commercial free viewing. There is more to the plan, like downloads, which is why I pay for the service. The commercials are not that bad on the videos we watch. I don't login to the Premium account on our Smart TV so we get commercials.

I think youtube tv which I am referencing is being confused with youtube. Youtube tv is no different than for instance directv where stations such as your local stations, abc, nbc, espn etc are offered and have paid advertising that must be aired. There is no additional amount that can be paid to remove them but you can record just like directv and fast forward through them.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think youtube tv which I am referencing is being confused with youtube. Youtube tv is no different than for instance directv where stations such as your local stations, abc, nbc, espn etc are offered and have paid advertising that must be aired. There is no additional amount that can be paid to remove them but you can record just like directv and fast forward through them.

The difference is, with a DVR you can pause live TV and skip the commercials. Is that an option on YouTube TV?

We have ROKU and we can't do that on there.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Streaming video DVR explained

We're often asked whether there's a DVR for streaming video services. The answer is complicated.

www.techhive.com

Streaming video DVR explained​

"Is there a DVR for streaming video?" A common question with a complicated answer.

One question I often get about cord cutting is whether it’s possible to record streaming video, like you can with cable or over-the-air television.

This might seem like a straightforward question, but the answer is complicated. Some streaming services do offer DVR, but with some notable differences from traditional cable DVR. Others, such as Netflix, don’t allow you to record shows, but offer all their content on demand anyway. And while a workaround exists for streaming services that don’t offer DVR, this brings its own set of trade-offs.

In the interest of having an article to reference whenever someone asks me about streaming DVR in the future, here’s a rundown of all your options:

Which streaming services have DVR?​

If we’re talking about live TV streaming services—that is, those that provide a bundle of cable channels over the internet—then yes, DVR is available with all of them. Instead of saving shows to your device, these services store their recordings in the cloud, so you can access them from anywhere. Still, not all services have the same idea of what an online DVR should be.

Sling TV and FuboTV both take an approach that’s similar to cable: You get a certain number of recording hours, and those recordings are stored indefinitely.

• Sling TV offers 50 hours of recording time for free, and charges $5 extra per month for 200 hours.
• FuboTV provides 1,000 hours of recording time in its current plans, though older plans may offer less.

YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Stream, and Philo approach streaming DVR differently. They allow you to record an unlimited number of programs, but you can only store them for a limited time. Philo saves shows the longest, at one year, while the other three services store them for up to nine months.

continued...see link.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think youtube tv which I am referencing is being confused with youtube. Youtube tv is no different than for instance directv where stations such as your local stations, abc, nbc, espn etc are offered and have paid advertising that must be aired. There is no additional amount that can be paid to remove them but you can record just like directv and fast forward through them.

If you record an ad supported program on YouTube TV, can you skip the commercials when you watch it? The article I linked to doesn't really explain that.

 

[jk96]

If you record an ad supported program on YouTube TV, can you skip the commercials when you watch it? The article I linked to doesn't really explain that.

Yes. It acts just like a dvr. NFL football or a tv series such as landman or yellowstone for instance can be fast forwarded past the commercials throughout the program without stops no different than a standard dvr.