Cable Alternatives and Sling TV

[HG73]

This has probably been discussed before, but I am sick of cable with 200 channels that I don't watch.
 
Sling offers just what I need for $20/mo.  ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, Hist, CNN etc.  I have an antenna for broadcast channels.
 
But no Fox cable sports channels.
 
I'm only really interested in getting Frog games, and would get Fox on broadcast TV, but no FSSW etc.
 
How many Frog football games would I miss if I cut cable and got Sling?  I would have ABC, Fox, ESPN and ESPN2.
 
Obviously I know next to nothing about streaming etc.  Any and all help is appreciated.
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[punter9]

cut cable.  spend money on booze at bar to watch game, see the frogs win, piss off the wife.  the elusive win win win

 

[shhaight]

I bought a Slingbox and attached it to a family member's TV that has full sports cable package in another state. Not only do I now get local FOX/CBS/NBC NFL games (that I do not get in my local area), but I get all the Fox Sports and ESPN channels as well. It was like $150 one time fee, no monthly charges. I have been using it for 5 years or so. If you know someone who would be willing to let you piggyback on their system, this is a good way to go. Quality sometimes isnt the best, but its cheap.

 

[wes]

I bought a Slingbox and attached it to a family member's TV that has full sports cable package in another state. Not only do I now get local FOX/CBS/NBC NFL games (that I do not get in my local area), but I get all the Fox Sports and ESPN channels as well. It was like $150 one time fee, no monthly charges. I have been using it for 5 years or so. If you know someone who would be willing to let you piggyback on their system, this is a good way to go. Quality sometimes isnt the best, but its cheap.

So by piggybacking, how do you do that?
 
I am ready to cut this cable and move to streaming but want to make sure that I do it right

 

[f_399]

I don't think I can cut cable/satellite yet.

 

[shhaight]

So by piggybacking, how do you do that?
 
I am ready to cut this cable and move to streaming but want to make sure that I do it right

 
Basically, Slingbox is a device that gives you the ability to watch the TV in your house, over the internet. So you install it to a cable box somewhere and you now control that cable box (as if you are watching it from home). Instead of attaching it to my TV at home, I attached it to my parent's TV in CA (the guest room cable box). Since they have local CA sports (Chargers and Padres) and they pay for the best sports cable package (including obscure Fox Sports channels), I can now view that content over the internet for free. The quality will depend on the internet connection, but it is always watchable.

 

[pastorfrog]

So by piggybacking, how do you do that?
 
I am ready to cut this cable and move to streaming but want to make sure that I do it right

I spent a month trying to make sure I got every game and Sling does not make it happen. Two to three FS1 games a year and one or two on FSSW. Best move is pay a friend for their Fox Sports Go password, which is still not a great app.

 

[Sticky_Wicket]

This has probably been discussed before, but I am sick of cable with 200 channels that I don't watch.
 
Sling offers just what I need for $20/mo.  ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, Hist, CNN etc.  I have an antenna for broadcast channels.
 
But no Fox cable sports channels.
 
I'm only really interested in getting Frog games, and would get Fox on broadcast TV, but no FSSW etc.
 
How many Frog football games would I miss if I cut cable and got Sling?  I would have ABC, Fox, ESPN and ESPN2.
 
Obviously I know next to nothing about streaming etc.  Any and all help is appreciated.
 
Thanks in advance.

 
These are on AppleTV. Technically, you would need a ESPN3/WatchESPN login whether it's your own or a friend's. But no monthly fee for AppleTV.
 
Note: this makes it near impossible to watch any NFL games, but I have been able to watch 9 out of every 10 cfb games I care about and then hit the bar for the tenth.

 

[punter9]

I bought a Slingbox and attached it to a family member's TV that has full sports cable package in another state. Not only do I now get local FOX/CBS/NBC NFL games (that I do not get in my local area), but I get all the Fox Sports and ESPN channels as well. It was like $150 one time fee, no monthly charges. I have been using it for 5 years or so. If you know someone who would be willing to let you piggyback on their system, this is a good way to go. Quality sometimes isnt the best, but its cheap.

 
this is very very solid advice
 
other option look into kodi with sportsdevil

 

[La Rana Mas Caliente]

I have slingtv (ESPN, espn2 and I pay $5 extra each month for a sports pack that includes EspnU and espnews as well SEC network NBC universal etc) and an HD leaf antenna. Different than slingbox. Get everything I need except FS1 and FSSW. Someone mentioned getting a fox sports go password from a friend. Good idea.

Edit: if you pay for 3 months of sling TV upfront you get a free Amazon fire stick which allows for all the streaming.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

Two things you have to consider with internet-based TV is (1) your internet speed and (2) whether your internet provider caps monthly data usage like your cell phone carrier.  You need to make sure you can get a quality stream (do you have other people in the house who ill be streaming or doing other thing online as well?) and if you blow past your data limits, the overage fees can be astronomical.  
 
As for TCU appearing on networks other than broadcast, ESPN, and ESPN2---it depends what you care about.  Just looking at this year's set schedules, you'd miss:
 
Football:
- TCU vs. SFA (FS1)
- TCU vs. SMU (FSSW)
- TCU vs. WVU (FS1)
- TCU @ ISU (if they select it for ESPNU instead of ESPN2, which is TBA)
- TBD: games that could appear on FS1 or FSSW: OSU, KU, OU
 
TCU/Big 12, Generally:
- Weekly Big 12 Showcase on FSSW (year-round)
- Weekly Big 12 This Week on ESPNU (August through end of baseball season)
- Weekly TCU Coaches' shows (Inside TCU Football w/ CGP, Inside TCU Basketball w/ CTJ, Inside TCU Baseball w/ CJS)
 
Men's Basketball:
- 25 of TCU's 2015-16 MBB games are on ESPNU, ESPNEWS, LHN, FSSW, FSSW+, FCS, or CBSSN (4 on ESPN or ESPN2) (one is not televised and one is an online-only stream)
 
Women's Basketball:
- 15 games televised on FSSW, FSSW+, FCS, LHN, or ROOT
 
Baseball:
- Typically 10-12 games televised on various Big 12 Tier 3 deals with FOX (FSSW, FCS)
 
Other:
There's usually some volleyball and soccer games that pop up on FSSW or FSSW+ each year.  
 
 
So it just depends how much you watch TCU sports.  

 

[TCUdirtbag]

These are on AppleTV.

 
AppleTV is just an OS for your TV. Not a streaming service. 
 
FOX isn't available on Apple TV unless it's just been added.  
 
And the same issue applies -- you have to have a WatchESPN and FOXsportsGO login to stream anything online or over Apple TV.  Unless you're using someone else's, this requires a cable subscription, and what you can stream is limited to what you could watch in your cable/satellite subscription. 

 

[TCUdirtbag]

I have slingtv (ESPN, espn2 and I pay $5 extra each month for a sports pack that includes EspnU and espnews as well SEC network NBC universal etc) and an HD leaf antenna. 

 
Didn't know they had a sports pack for the others now. Makes this very tempting. If they'd just add FS1 and let you pick a regional FSN affiliate for another $5, I'd be in.
 
Do you ever run into data usage issues with your home internet provider? 

 

[Metropolis777]

I have a slingbox at home so I can catch stuff when I'm on the road on my Ipad or laptop.
 
It's a great option. For you cable cutters, get one, hook it up at a friend's house on a TV they don't use regularly. Then grab a Roku or Apple TV so you get the app to watch it on your TV at home.
 
The app gives you full control of the TV that the slingbox is connected to. 

 

[La Rana Mas Caliente]

 
Didn't know they had a sports pack for the others now. Makes this very tempting. If they'd just add FS1 and let you pick a regional FSN affiliate for another $5, I'd be in.
 
Do you ever run into data usage issues with your home internet provider? 

No. Pay $45. It's fast and I don't think there are limits, if there are, I haven't reach them yet.

 

[ifrog]

I use free OTA cable and Sling TV streaming from my Xbox One. The streaming experience had been horrible with Sling TV until a recent patch. It is a lot better now. The nice thing about Sling TV is with it you also get WatchESPN so you can use the ESPN app to watch ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.
 
With all this I only pay $20 a month. I bought a nice OTA HD Leaf antenna for another $35 to get all the locals in addition to about 20 other channels. The OTA HD is better than any provider out there including DirecTV because the signal is not compressed.

 

[FrogFaced]

Random thread because i just cut the cord yesterday.
 
ordered: HD antenna, Roku 3 and sling tv.  The sling box idea is good for FS1 games, i might have to do that. When i realized that was spending about 2k on cable per year i got fed up. Do i have the money to pay, yes, but its the principle that im paying that much money so my ass can sit on the couch. 

 

[SnoSki]

I bought a Slingbox and attached it to a family member's TV that has full sports cable package in another state. Not only do I now get local FOX/CBS/NBC NFL games (that I do not get in my local area), but I get all the Fox Sports and ESPN channels as well. It was like $150 one time fee, no monthly charges. I have been using it for 5 years or so. If you know someone who would be willing to let you piggyback on their system, this is a good way to go. Quality sometimes isnt the best, but its cheap.

I tried to do that at my Dads place. He has directv and a lot of channels, I bought another receiver for dedicated Slingbox use. Worked well except that directv has figured out how to disable HD when a device other than a TV is plugged into the receiver. Still, I could deal with the standard definition. Only thing I didn't like was that the Internet at my dads place is very inconsistent from day to day. Sometimes it would work perfectly, other times I couldn't even get a stream.

 

[Austintxfrog94]

I tried "Sling TV" (Not to be confused with Sling Box) out over the summer while in between Direct TV and Uverse.  I have gigapower internet with Uverse and it's still not good for watching games, there's a ton of pausing and lags.  I'm glad this service is now out there (Internet TV) and think it will become viable as it's service improves but would not recommend going this route if you plan on watching game in progress.  It would be too frustrating.  

 

[Limey Frog]

cut cable.  spend money on booze at bar to watch game, see the frogs win, piss off the wife.  the elusive win win win

 
This is what I'm doing as soon as this football season is over. I'm sick of it. Huge waste of money. Maybe they'll finally mend their ways and offer a la carte service. If they don't, screw 'em.