I had DirecTV for 20 years... I'm a techie by trade (and heart), and so loved the resolution and audio that it provided (true 5.1). Reliability was also fantastic. However, once my bill started hitting over $130 a month in retirement, I started looking at alternatives. I have used both Hulu Live and YouTube TV extensively. After 1 week on Hulu, I turned it off - the video quality is nowhere near as good as YouTube TV, and the DVR is VERY flaky - had many shows record at the wrong time (i.e. missed last few minutes of shows), and had many instances of obvious pixelation in playback. Both offer a good channel selection, but for reliability, YouTube TV is a far better choice.
The big issue with YouTube TV is that you can't skip commercials on any recorded CBS shows - they haven't signed an agreement on that yet. Interestingly, if you watch a recording the same day - i.e. record at 8pm, then watch at 9pm, you can skip commercials. After midnight, YouTube replaces the recording with the on-demand version - so no skipping. Commercial skipping works on all other channels.
The other big item you give up on all of the live streaming services is that audio will only be stereo - none of them have 5.1 for live streams.
If going to streaming, keep in mind you need to have the proper amount of bandwidth to support streaming. At least 50 MB. If you opt for a lower cost internet service like 25 MB, you will have times when you experience screen freezes, etc. I have always had at least 150 MB, and never experienced any issues in this regard. This becomes especially true if you run more than one TV or device.
Cheers!
|