Good bye Direct TV satellite service

[chirakawa]

3 hours ago, Carlos said:

you don't need full time access in order to get TV/movies online.

 

Unless, of course, you enjoy watching live sports like millions and millions of Americans do.  Also, not all streaming services allow you to download a program to watch later.

[Big5er]

On 6/20/2019 at 11:35 AM, Carlos said:

Again, back on the topic of why satellite will die; you don't need full time access in order to get TV/movies online.

 

Ok, so somebody give me an education. If I go to streaming TV online, I walk in and sit down in my chair turn on the Tv and I want to browse a channel guide that shows me my favorite channels (ION, FX, WGN, A&E, SYFY USA, TNT, Animal Planet, FXX, AMC, History Channel and a few more) where do I find this? And what streaming service will get me ALL of those channels and the locals? And what does this cost? 

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Bingo.  Even if you have the Internet bandwidth, you don't have the features of a satellite guide.

[Carlos]

1 hour ago, Mark and Dale Bruss said:

Bingo.  Even if you have the Internet bandwidth, you don't have the features of a satellite guide.

 

1 hour ago, Mark and Dale Bruss said:

Bingo.  Even if you have the Internet bandwidth, you don't have the features of a satellite guide.

Yup, one of the benefits of downloading and streaming is that you’re not limited to the silly program guide. 

[Chalkie]

3 hours ago, Carlos said:

Yup, one of the benefits of downloading and streaming is that you’re not limited to the silly program guide. 

But that is not answering the basic question - where do you find the programming info for all the channels?

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

There is none.  But I guess Carlos likes hunt for programming.

[rbertalotto]

DirectTV Now has a good program guide. Amazon Prime had an amazing search engine. You are streaming any content you want. You don't need to watch a program at a predetermined time. With most streaming drives you simply say what you want to watch and like magic it appears. Unlike DSB, you are in control of what you watch at what time. For broadcast channel streaming there are dozens of apps to see a schedule of programming.

[bigredhdt]

Musk tends to promise "the world" and delivers space dust.  Self driving cars in 2018, model 3 production goal, now Tesla network of autonomous taxis next year, etc, etc.

[chirakawa]

5 hours ago, Carlos said:

 

Yup, one of the benefits of downloading and streaming is that you’re not limited to the silly program guide. 

It just kills your soul that everyone doesn't like to do things the same way you do.  You say you're from Arizona, but you've got to be from California, Washington State, or one of the areas where people think they know what's best for everyone.  I know, anyone who disagrees with you is just ignorant, behind the times, or just "haven't figured it out yet" as you stated earlier.

Almost half of homes in America still use cable TV.  We already talked about the 50 to 60 million viewers who use satellite.  Are they a dying industry?  Maybe, but they still provide a viable service for a large segment of the population.

I looked at streaming in my new location.  Cable broadband would cost me $80 month, which is a little more than I pay for satellite TV.  In order to buy all the streaming services which would provide the same programming I'm watching now, it would cost me another $70+ month.  So, satellite TV is a much better choice for me at this time.  Next year, who knows?

To each his own, but I'm sure not going to say that one way is better or smarter than another for everyone.

[docj]

7 hours ago, Big5er said:

Ok, so somebody give me an education. If I go to streaming TV online, I walk in and sit down in my chair turn on the Tv and I want to browse a channel guide that shows me my favorite channels (ION, FX, WGN, A&E, SYFY USA, TNT, Animal Planet, FXX, AMC, History Channel and a few more) where do I find this? And what streaming service will get me ALL of those channels and the locals? And what does this cost? 

We're currently evaluating YouTubeTV and it has a lot of the feature you want.  I can't swear that it gets all the channels you want to watch because those are not ones I've looked for, but it does have an extensive list.   There is a pretty decent channel guide that let's you easily choose your channel and the DVR function has unlimited storage and "recordings" are kept for 9 months. It costs $50/mo.

[noteven]

8 hours ago, Big5er said:

Ok, so somebody give me an education. If I go to streaming TV online, I walk in and sit down in my chair turn on the Tv and I want to browse a channel guide that shows me my favorite channels (ION, FX, WGN, A&E, SYFY USA, TNT, Animal Planet, FXX, AMC, History Channel and a few more) where do I find this? And what streaming service will get me ALL of those channels and the locals? And what does this cost? 

I think you’ll find A&E right there between the Cooking in Grass Vessels channel and The Cat Training Network. TNT is by the How To Empty RV Tanks Channel....

[Dutch_12078]

If you're still digging through several separate streaming apps to find the program you want to watch, check out the free "FitzyTV" app. It consolidates many of the individual app listings into one guide. It's far from perfect, but it's a pretty good start. Fitzy also offers a DVR function starting at $5/mo.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Dutch_12078

[Big5er]

12 hours ago, Carlos said:

Yup, one of the benefits of downloading and streaming is that you’re not limited to the silly program guide. 

But using that method, you HAVE to know what program you want to see. With a program guide I might see something and think to myself, "Self, what is that program on that channel. I've never heard of it but it sounds interesting. I think we will watch that." Meanwhile Carlos, who isn't limited to the silly program guide remains clueless about this new program? Well, that sounds like a wonderful replacement to my satellite and it's program guide.....NOT. Thank you for avoiding the question I asked and telling how YOU do it. Obviously you failed to grasp the concept of my question. I asked asks something I wanted to know, not they way YOU think I should do the thing I asked about. 

5 hours ago, noteven said:

I think you’ll find A&E right there between the Cooking in Grass Vessels channel and The Cat Training Network. TNT is by the How To Empty RV Tanks Channel....

LMAO...I'll have to go check my silly program guide and check those out. The Cat Training network sounds interesting.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Big5er

[rbertalotto]

Quote

Ok, so somebody give me an education. If I go to streaming TV online, I walk in and sit down in my chair turn on the Tv and I want to browse a channel guide that shows me my favorite channels (ION, FX, WGN, A&E, SYFY USA, TNT, Animal Planet, FXX, AMC, History Channel and a few more) where do I find this? And what streaming service will get me ALL of those channels and the locals? And what does this cost

Directv Now has all these channels and local channels and a fantastic program guide. I have 150 channels for $35 a month. I’ve been using it for near two years and love it.

i also have Amazon Prime Video for movies, documentaries, special tv series and Amazons own series and broadcasts. This is included with a Prime membership. Amazon is voice search. Push the button on the remote and say what you want to watch. It will find it somewhere on the net.

i also use Pluto TV which is free and ImBD for movies, also free but a commercial every half hour or 45 minutes. 

There is so much free streaming TV right now that you couldn’t watch it all in a hundred lifetimes!

if you buy an Amazon Fire Stick or a Roku stick, ( under $50 each and no monthly fee) it includes hundreds of streaming channels pre programmed. Everything from TVfor your cat to the Porsche channel, fishing channels, on and on and on. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by rbertalotto

[chiefneon]

18 hours ago, Big5er said:

Ok, so somebody give me an education. If I go to streaming TV online, I walk in and sit down in my chair turn on the Tv and I want to browse a channel guide that shows me my favorite channels (ION, FX, WGN, A&E, SYFY USA, TNT, Animal Planet, FXX, AMC, History Channel and a few more) where do I find this? And what streaming service will get me ALL of those channels and the locals? And what does this cost? 

Howdy!

Big5er, We’re streaming using DirecTV Now and it does I believe have the channels your looking for. We have local Houston Chanel’s when we are at our homebase in Livingston. We are in Florida now and noticed that the local channels have switched to the local channels here. We watch very little local channels. I do tune in to Fox News but most of the viewing is watching movies are tv series. DirecTV Now also offers HBO Cinemax, Showtime and STARZ. We become accustomed to watching a hole series without having to wait until next week to see what happen. We also use Netflix’s and AmazonPrime. We gave up satellite over a year ago and have been streaming ever since.

https://www.directvnow.com/?source=EaYEPS048qmBRD17P&WT.srch=1&wtExtndSource=directv+now&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7t6Gk47-4gIV8ZFbCh3OVgCNEAAYASABEgKK0_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

” Happy Trails “

Chiefneon 

Edited June 22, 2019 by chiefneon

[docj]

5 hours ago, rbertalotto said:

Directv Now has all these channels and local channels and a fantastic program guide. I have 150 channels for $35 a month. I’ve been using it for near two years and love it.

I guess you haven't been paying attention to the press reports recently in which AT&T has indicated that it plans to fold DirecTV Now into an existing Time Warner streaming service so that DirecTV can unveil another "new" streaming service that has packages similar to those offered by DirecTV.  That will enable DirecTv to try to move customers over from satellite to streaming.

[Big5er]

Thanks y'all. Guess I need to check out DirecTV Now.

[chiefneon]

21 hours ago, docj said:

I guess you haven't been paying attention to the press reports recently in which AT&T has indicated that it plans to fold DirecTV Now into an existing Time Warner streaming service so that DirecTV can unveil another "new" streaming service that has packages similar to those offered by DirecTV.  That will enable DirecTv to try to move customers over from satellite to streaming.

Howdy!

Docj. I’ve been watching that, but we’ll stay with them as long as it last. My lovely wife is a AT&T retiree and we get a discount. Hope they offer they same when then roll out the new streaming service.

” Happy Trails “

Chiefneon 

[Carlos]

On 6/22/2019 at 11:25 AM, Big5er said:

But using that method, you HAVE to know what program you want to see.

Not true at all.  There are lots of ways to browse shows.  It's just dumb to have to do it by "channels" and time.

 

[Big5er]

6 hours ago, Carlos said:

Not true at all.  There are lots of ways to browse shows.  It's just dumb to have to do it by "channels" and time.

I have no problems recording shows to watch later but it's like going to a buffet, when I get there I will see what looks good right then. Well, I am sitting here right NOW. What is on right NOW that I want to watch? Show me a list to look through but don't send me to the buffet and tell me I have to know whether I want the fish, the steak or the chicken before I get in the restaurant. I want to wander, see what looks good and I'll decide then. I want a list of what is on to watch, by channels or any other way but show me a list. How hard is that? Well obviously it must be difficult....but it isn't hard for my satellite. If I can't make up my mind I can get some chicken AND some steak..watch one and record another but I still wanna see my choices. 

[noteven]

I boondocked one time where my over the air HD picked up 56 channels, most with nuthin’ worrh watchin’. I could not find The Cat Training Channel 😕.

[chirakawa]

22 minutes ago, Big5er said:

I have no problems recording shows to watch later but it's like going to a buffet, when I get there I will see what looks good right then. Well, I am sitting here right NOW. What is on right NOW that I want to watch? Show me a list to look through but don't send me to the buffet and tell me I have to know whether I want the fish, the steak or the chicken before I get in the restaurant. I want to wander, see what looks good and I'll decide then. I want a list of what is on to watch, by channels or any other way but show me a list. How hard is that? Well obviously it must be difficult....but it isn't hard for my satellite. If I can't make up my mind I can get some chicken AND some steak..watch one and record another but I still wanna see my choices. 

I understand what you're saying.  I've streamed a couple of times in the past when I had good internet but readily admit that I'm not too knowledgeable about it.

An example:  A few months ago I was scanning my DISH program guide for something different to watch on a Sunday morning.  I came across a show called "How It's Made".  Watched it for a couple of hours, great show.  Nowadays, I just record it on Sunday and watch it whenever I get the notion, skipping the commercials.

My question, and yours I presume, is how would I have ever discovered that show without some type of program guide or menu to select it from.  I certainly would not have searched for "How it's Made".  How do you find an unknown like that through streaming?

 

[Carlos]

I was recently watching "How it's Made" online, and at the end I had several suggestions on shows I might like if I like that one.  I don't know how I would have found those otherwise.  So yeah, everything has different compromises.  I find a lot of stuff from the lists on the Roku and on various services.  I don't understand the question of why there's no list; there is.  I had originally discovered "How it's Made" by recommendations shown after watching "Mythbusters."  Again, not sure how I would have found that if not for the intelligent recommendation engines you get online.  Flipping through channels just gives you a lot of random crap.

People can do what they want, but I'm telling you how it is and why satellite is dying.  Why AT&T is dumping employees like crazy and why they are gearing up their streaming services.  They have something huge coming this fall, and it's going to be awesome at an exceptional price.  I signed a non-disclosure agreement and really can't say anything about it, but I'm excited.  People generally hate change, and they get stuck in how things MUST be done or have always been done.  The program guide, channels, and timed shows are all based on ancient limitations of broadcast TV that no longer exist.  We've built systems and processes around limitations, not based on what is best.  My job is to literally force tech change on people, often willingly, often kicking and screaming.  And in every group, there are the last 20% who have to be dragged.  That's what I spent all day today doing, on site.  The other 80% have already been benefitting from the new systems provided a while ago, the rest just fear/hate change or something.  It happens every time. 

"How do I do X?"

You don't need to do X, because there's no longer an artificial limitation that needs to be addressed.

"But we've always done X."

Great, you can stop now.

So 20 years from now we all know that satellite TV won't exist, and the younger people will have never learned the limitations that forced us to consume media in the way we were forced to by those constraints.  In between, people will slowly figure out how to do it better, or not, and be the last few users of a dying service.

Analog phone lines.  LOL!

 

[GlennWest]

As long as I have decent bandwidth no satellite for us. Streaming is the way to go. 

[chirakawa]

I don't think anyone is arguing that satellite and cable are not on the way out.  And, streaming is the future, until it's not anymore.

However, in this state of transition, many people are still served better by traditional methods.  I'm one of those people.  I'm not afraid of change, I embrace it.  But, it's not time yet for me.  I would have to pay almost twice as much to get the programming I want to watch through streaming.  When the day comes if that is not true, I may move that way.