I mean, 5 mbps is technically still enough for low bitrate streaming. but…yeah.
What resolution are these local channels broadcasting at anyway? Don’t know how it is over there, but over here, there’s only about 10 digital terrestrial channels that broadcast in HD, half of which are the BBC.
In the US, every channel broadcasts at either 1080i or 720p. They often broadcast in SD in addition to that, I guess for people with ancient TVs with digital tuner boxes.
So Plex had a sale going on, lifetime membership for $90, so I went for it yesterday. And there was an update, so I updated my server at home remotely.
Unlike day before yesterday when I went into plug-ins and watched The Daily Show, after the update the plugins don’t work anymore. :(
On Plex’s home browser interface, plug-ins don’t have an update button anymore, or the ability to add plug-ins. And none of the existing plugins work. Crap. I shouldn’t have installed that update yesterday, and I shouldn’t have gotten a lifetime membership.
They stopped supporting plug-ins. I guess we were the very few that actually used them or something. You were just delaying the inevitable. I didn’t buy a lifetime membership, and I lost my plug-ins weeks ago. It really sucks.
So how do you watch Comedy Central shows and CBS shows and other stuff now? What’s a good alternative for Plex Plugins for viewing stuff on TV that’s usually only on your browser?
Use a Steamlink to mirror your PC screen? Or AppleTV for a Mac? Though I used the plugins to also get around Comedy Central’s region locking, and those wouldn’t help with that.
Right now i just use my browser since those channels won’t support non paid for apps for the streams. CBS is all in for this All Access crap anyway so I figure in a year I won’t be watching anything CBS anyway.
History Channel has an app that I switched to, free content but delayed, awhile ago even before the announcement. NBC, blacklist, also has an App. I don’t really watch Comedy Central, just snippets on YouTube. Everything else I usually get on Hulu.
Depending on which streaming box you use, you can use the Kodi addon. Note I haven’t tried it and can’t vouch for it.
Arise!
I just subscribed to YoutubeTV to see if it would be a viable alternative to my expensive Fios subscription. It’s great 90% of the time - the only channel that’s missing that we really want is Comedy Central for the Daily Show, and since I’m using a Roku I added that as a separate channel. But there’s one technical problem that may be a show-stopper.
Video on Demand (VOD) playback is horrible.
YTTV uses a “cloud DVR” so when you add a show to the DVR they instantly add all the VOD episodes they have to your DVR. Then when new airings come on the air, they record them. The difference between them is that the VOD offerings usually don’t let you skip commercials. They even do this when you hit “record” on a show you’re watching - they instantly add the VOD version, and then they’ll record it the next time it airs.
But the issue is, most of the VOD we try to watch plays back at some sort of terrible frame rate - it’s like 20 FPS. There’s a slight jerkiness to all motions. Audio is fine but it’s almost as though the video is dropping frames. Weirdly enough, the commercials they force you to watch are FINE… just the shows.
I’m watching this on a VIZIO tv that’s maybe 3 years old, with a brand new Roku Streaming Stick+. The setup is maybe 5 feet from my router and WiFi strength is excellent.
Playback on my iPad for VOD is great - no issues whatsoever.
A couple of VOD titles are fine - The Passage on Fox - but Colbert on CBS, Seth Myers, a movie from TBS - all had terrible VOD performance.
They have a “stats for nerds” display you can bring up during playback. It has a category for dropped frames. Never see any dropped frames.
Things I haven’t tried:
- using a different device on this TV (I have an AppleTV I think I can use, and maybe a Chromecast, and a Roku Streaming Stick in the basement)
- using the Roku on a different TV
Anyone have any ideas?
It sounds like the VOD I had access to on SlingTV. I have no idea why the VOD version of stuff is so horrible there either.
One service I had good luck with is Hulu LiveTV. When I got it last year for the World Cup, if I didn’t watch the match off the DVR in time it was replaced by the VOD version of the match, but admittedly even the VOD version of the match was pretty good, and it still let me skip commercials. But I don’t know if that was a special case for football matches or what.
If you think about it, most of Hulu is VOD anyway (without the LiveTV part), and it’s really good VOD. So it’s not surprising that their VOD offerings are good.
What is up with Directv now?
They are basically removing all of the channels anyone would want to watch and hiking prices?
Weird. I never, ever, watch VOD because it has commercials myself, so I haven’t seen that. The roku streaming stick+ (assuming it’s the most recent one) should be more than capable of running YTTV with no problems.
All of these OTT services are losing money with every subscription. That’s why DTV is raising their prices.
They’ve been losing subscriptions in a huge way. I’m dreading jumping ship because the missus LOVES DirectTV Now. The cost increase letters go out today apparently, I haven’t seen anything yet.
There are more details here:
Now I’m back in the hunt to find another bulk TV channel streaming service it seems.
Can you change the resolution of the playback through the Roku? If so, try a lower resolution.
If you can, I’d recommend contacting YouTubeTV Customer Service to report the issue.
I’m ditching DirecTV Now today after they want to increase the price of my package by $20. Moving back to Sling TV. As mentioned upthread, www.suppose.tv is a great resource to see who you should subscribe to.
After an evening of trying this and that, I finally solved my playback problems.
- I looked at my TV manual and found out that 3 of the 6 HDMI ports were HDCP 2.2 enabled. So I moved the Roku to one of those ports… no change.
- Then I thought “maybe it works on Apple TV, which I have hooked up but am not using” - so I fired up the Apple TV… but it was 3rd gen so it doesn’t support YTTV.
- Then I thought I should see if the problem appears on my other TV (my 720p Panny Plasma, with a Roku Streaming stick non-plus). Basement playback of VOD and recordings was great - no issues. Took pics of the stream info screens to compare with the upstairs tv.
- Went back upstairs to compare the stream statistics and thought “oh, well I do have this Chromecast I removed for the Roku - let’s see if that works” And lo and behold, casting the YTTV to the Chromecast worked great. So problem solved.
So it seems that it’s some strange combination of the Roku Streaming Stick+ and my TV that screws up the VOD playback. Dunno what it is and I no longer care!
The only “issue” is that the UI for controlling YTTV is now my (or my wife’s) iPad. Which is fine. Just pick a show on your iPad and cast it to the TV. Works like a champ. Plus you don’t need any additional remote control or anything (other than TV volume). My wife actually likes it better to pick the show on the iPad and cast it (since she’s used to casting stuff).
So I guess I’m sticking with YTTV and ditching my Verizon Fios cable package. Yay!
P.S., DirecTV Now seems like a decent alternative, and was one I was probably going to try next. They have all the channels I want, including Comedy Central, and except for a crappy 20 hour cloud DVR it seemed like a good deal. You can even add HBO for $5/month, which seems worth it to me.
The new (more expensive) packages that rolled out today now include HBO, but dropped a bunch of other channels - looks like Comedy Central was one of them.
Hilarious - I didn’t realize they were changing their channel lineup (and pricing!!!) today.
I feel better because the suppose.tv site says my best choice is YTTV (I didn’t realize until I ran through their list that YTTV doesn’t have A&E but it’s no great loss)