I meant to do this a while back, but time had gotten away from me. I've been without TV service for the past year and was a DirecTv customer before that. I really loved the service, but decided to cut costs for the family budget as we bought a new house and was in the process of selling another. Thanks to a sharing brother and parents I had things like Netflix and log in info the ESPN and Fox Sports apps among other things, because as you all know, there's literally no way for true sports fans to completely legally and honorably cut the cord.
Vue was made available in my area, the remote outpost of Pampa, TX. I don't think we were the last to have it available, but I do think we were just behind Mars. I decided to give it a try before March Madness started. I signed up for the Core Slim package, which is Vue's middle tier. In my area, the cost is $34.99 per month. And that's the true cost. No taxes, no surcharges, no HD programming charge, no DVR charge, no donations to presidential candidates, etc. I think the cost is higher for each tier if local channels are included. I believe our area's local channels are to be added at a later time, but again, we have to wait for IT and the technicians to get back from Mars before ours are set up.
The nice thing is that a few years ago I said I would love to pay for a service that had the major sports channels including the golf channel, the Disney networks for my kids, HGTV and the like for my wife, and that's it. No other fluff. Those are the only channels we watch. It's almost as if Playstation listened directly to me. Actually, it's more realistic that there were thousands of people with my exact needs.
So this breaks it down further.
Pros:
-Every channel I need is there, except for local network channels. TBS/Tru/TNT for March Madness and NBA games; all of the ESPN channels, including the SEC network; FS1, FS2, and FSSW, so all Tech games should be under those umbrellas; the Golf Channel; the Big Ten Network; NBC Sports for EPL and BeIn for la Liga; HGTV; all Disney channels.
-The guide is listed alphabetically by network. I can't believe this hasn't been tried before. No longer do you have to scroll to channel 1101521-00-121.1 to find FS1. It's just in the section after "E" and before "G."
-There is a DVR type of function
-It is run through your Playstation if you have one, so you can use that as your primary entertainment device for live TV, your streaming options, and gaming, etc. I believe it's available through devices such as Amazon Fire TV.
Cons:
-The controls and DVR aren't very intuitive
-Local channels aren't available yet, at least for me, and I don't think ABC is available for anyone. So I'll have to get creative for NFL games and weekend PGA.
-You are limited by your wi-fi performance. Luckily I have not had any real issues with this.
So there you go: information you didn't ask for! But if you're like I was and on the fence about whether to jump in, hopefully this will be helpful in making a decision.
Vue was made available in my area, the remote outpost of Pampa, TX. I don't think we were the last to have it available, but I do think we were just behind Mars. I decided to give it a try before March Madness started. I signed up for the Core Slim package, which is Vue's middle tier. In my area, the cost is $34.99 per month. And that's the true cost. No taxes, no surcharges, no HD programming charge, no DVR charge, no donations to presidential candidates, etc. I think the cost is higher for each tier if local channels are included. I believe our area's local channels are to be added at a later time, but again, we have to wait for IT and the technicians to get back from Mars before ours are set up.
The nice thing is that a few years ago I said I would love to pay for a service that had the major sports channels including the golf channel, the Disney networks for my kids, HGTV and the like for my wife, and that's it. No other fluff. Those are the only channels we watch. It's almost as if Playstation listened directly to me. Actually, it's more realistic that there were thousands of people with my exact needs.
So this breaks it down further.
Pros:
-Every channel I need is there, except for local network channels. TBS/Tru/TNT for March Madness and NBA games; all of the ESPN channels, including the SEC network; FS1, FS2, and FSSW, so all Tech games should be under those umbrellas; the Golf Channel; the Big Ten Network; NBC Sports for EPL and BeIn for la Liga; HGTV; all Disney channels.
-The guide is listed alphabetically by network. I can't believe this hasn't been tried before. No longer do you have to scroll to channel 1101521-00-121.1 to find FS1. It's just in the section after "E" and before "G."
-There is a DVR type of function
-It is run through your Playstation if you have one, so you can use that as your primary entertainment device for live TV, your streaming options, and gaming, etc. I believe it's available through devices such as Amazon Fire TV.
Cons:
-The controls and DVR aren't very intuitive
-Local channels aren't available yet, at least for me, and I don't think ABC is available for anyone. So I'll have to get creative for NFL games and weekend PGA.
-You are limited by your wi-fi performance. Luckily I have not had any real issues with this.
So there you go: information you didn't ask for! But if you're like I was and on the fence about whether to jump in, hopefully this will be helpful in making a decision.
