List: Streaming Devices

You finally decided to “CUT” the cord … now what?

There are two choices that you MUST now make:

1. Which streaming service do I get?

2. What device(s) should I use?

Which streaming service is best for you is highly subjective. Different folks have different tastes, preferences, and approach to which shows and movies they like (and at what time they want to watch them .. e.g. live or on-demand).

For me, since we were replacing a cable TV service, Live-TV was important. My preferences for what to watch live, however, are simple (News, Sports). My wife, on the other hand, enjoys watching a number of prime-time TV shows from the major networks (luckily for me, she’s not interested in the “extra” channels like HBO and ShowTime). So, for me, the following items were important (in order of importance, the first being the most important:

1. availability of Live TV

2. similarity to cable provider offering (at least for wife’s shows)

3. ability to record live TV shows for later viewing

4. number of simultaneous streams

5. availability of local TV channels (for local sports, news, etc.)

6. ability to stream on mobile devices

7. no requirement for annual contract terms; i.e. ability to cancel on a monthly basis

8. Price

I ruled out a number of services because they failed to meet the criteria. For example, I did NOT try:

1. YouTube live

2. Playstation Vue

3. Philo

4. FuboTV

I did try Sling TV. The price was attractive, but they lacked a lot of channels from any of their offerings.

In the end, I spent most of my time testing out DirecTV NOW and Hulu. Although DirecTV NOW provided the closest experience to our cable subscription, it lacked a DVR function (at the time), and the limitation of simultaneous streams was problematic (limited to 2, w/o ability to add more). Perhaps if I had AT&T cellular service I would’ve continued testing it (I believe that AT&T mobile users get a discount).

So, I chose Hulu. Hulu Live TV includes the standard Hulu subscription, 50 hrs of DVR, and the option to add an unlimited number of simultaneous-streams.

There are a number of available streaming services, and I encourage you to research them (plenty of cord-cutter articles out there).

As for streaming devices, there are a number of options available; including plenty of smart TVs. I would urge folks to narrow down the service(s) you’re interested in first. Then you can select devices based on the devices’ ability to provide that app/service.

Based on the devices I actually tested, my choice for streaming devices (1=best) are:

1. Roku

2. FireTV

3. AppleTV

There are reasons why you may want to choose one over another. For me, the best of the bunch is the various Roku offerings. FireTV (an Amazon product) is good, but lacks offerings from apparent competitors (i.e no YouTube app, no Vudu app, etc.). Apple TV is also a good product, but the user interface is similar to an iPad and once you’re logged in, your “stuff” is available to others; not great for a family room device.

If you want to find out more, read my article on "Cutting the Cord".