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Vaughn McMillan

Vaughn McMillan

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A recent thread about dropping cable TV has prompted me to start looking more deeply into streaming services in an attempt to cut our ridiculous Xfinity cable TV bill. Based on some rough numbers, it looks like I could save about $1200 a year by dropping cable and subscribing to YouTube TV instead. It looks like YouTube TV would cover most of our needs, but I have a few questions for those of you who are using it. These questions are specific to watching on a Smart TV, not a tablet, phone, or computer.
  • I see there is a program guide available when watching YouTube TV, but it appears to default to show only the next two hours of programming. Is there a way to see what's on tomorrow, or next week? I know I can view a separate guide on a tablet or phone, but I'm hoping to keep things TV-centric for my wife, who is technologically challenged and not fond of change. She often looks a few days ahead to record specific shows. She doesn't want to record every QVC show, but there are some of the she doesn't want to miss. She'd like to do all this with the TV remote.

  • If you use the DVR feature to record a show, can you fast forward or rewind to specific parts of a show. My wife records the news, but fast forwards over parts she's not interested in.

  • Similarly, can you hit a Back or Forward button on a remote to jump back or skip forward a few seconds on a recorded show?

  • On the movie channels like Hallmark or TCM, can the movies be watched on demand, or do you need to record it when it airs for later viewing? My wife has a lot of old movies saved on her DVR, and she'd rather not give them up. I'm hoping that many of them can simply be watched on demand, instead of waiting until they air so she can record them again.

  • Have you found any downsides to YouTube TV?
Thanks for any insights you might be able to offer.
 
I signed up for the free trial (10 days) to see if we like it. I watched some of The Masters and the NASCAR Cup race on Sunday. I haven't found how to use the guide easily as yet. With tons of programming available on the native streaming on our Samsung TV and Amazon Prime, YouTube mainly offers access to the major network programming. YTV shows The Weather Channel on their lineup, but it's only short videos, etc. Still working on it!!!
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
A recent thread about dropping cable TV has prompted me to start looking more deeply into streaming services in an attempt to cut our ridiculous Xfinity cable TV bill. Based on some rough numbers, it looks like I could save about $1200 a year by dropping cable and subscribing to YouTube TV instead. It looks like YouTube TV would cover most of our needs, but I have a few questions for those of you who are using it. These questions are specific to watching on a Smart TV, not a tablet, phone, or computer.
Click to expand...
I will try and answer your questions, but I want to say that I use a Fire Stick and that might be different than what you can do on another controller. Also, my approach to using YouTube TV is very primitive. I only watch recorded programs and what I watch is very limited, mostly sports and a few DIY type programs. I don’t do a lot of navigation trying to find new shows to watch.

  • I see there is a program guide available when watching YouTube TV, but it appears to default to show only the next two hours of programming. Is there a way to see what's on tomorrow, or next week? I know I can view a separate guide on a tablet or phone, but I'm hoping to keep things TV-centric for my wife, who is technologically challenged and not fond of change. She often looks a few days ahead to record specific shows. She doesn't want to record every QVC show, but there are some of the she doesn't want to miss. She'd like to do all this with the TV remote.
I am able to scroll way past the two hours you are referring to. I could not find a limit, but it is scrolling which takes some time. I am unable to filter by date or content. That may be just my limited knowledge and/or controller. Personally, I would just add QVC to your Library and then ignore the shows she doesn’t want to watch. I think you will find this is much better than you are currently doing it with cable.​
  • If you use the DVR feature to record a show, can you fast forward or rewind to specific parts of a show. My wife records the news, but fast forwards over parts she's not interested in.
Absolutely.​
  • Similarly, can you hit a Back or Forward button on a remote to jump back or skip forward a few seconds on a recorded show?
Absolutely​
  • On the movie channels like Hallmark or TCM, can the movies be watched on demand, or do you need to record it when it airs for later viewing? My wife has a lot of old movies saved on her DVR, and she'd rather not give them up. I'm hoping that many of them can simply be watched on demand, instead of waiting until they air so she can record them again.
Not sure about this. I do know for TV shows, once you add them to your Library you can then watch previous shows on demand.​
  • Have you found any downsides to YouTube TV?
My viewing needs are primitive so I am not one to really answer this as it fulfills everything I need. I can tell you we started with Hulu and found it cumbersome to use and was a resource hog. We have limited bandwidth and we found ourselves spending more time watching the loading wheel than any programing.​
 
Ryan Mooney said:
Buy a Roku, smart tvs are all terrible.
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I'll look into it, but our previous (albeit limited) experience with a Roku was not great. My wife found it confusing to use, but then again, this is my wife we're talking about here. :D
 
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Same answers as Bill for me, we're only paying for basic service, no add-ons or 4k. I do add the MyOutdoorTV once in a while to view some of the hunting and firearms shows, several firearm safety/situational shows.

I have noticed that some of our recorded shows are starting to give the option to "stream" them vs watching the recording. However, the streamed version doesn't let you skip commercials. They have tried to make it less obvious that you are choosing that method, but my wife and I have caught on to them.

The fast backwards/forwards works well most of the time. We get a hang up and have to restart the show once in a while, but I think it's the Roku app, not the service as it happens on other services from time to time too. Might be that I need to upgrade the Roku as it is several years old now.

As with most of the local channel streaming services, they do check your location for both content and that you're not sharing the service. We have a roku in our travel trailer and for hotel rooms we take along. We've been blocked from watching things like the Chiefs game while were in KC vs being at home. Just tells us we can stream the game when we are back in our area. I'm hoping when I get the new fiber internet I can setup a vpn to use a travel router with and get around that little bit of pain, as it will always look like we are at home. ;)

I'd give the 10 day trial a try. My wife really only cares about youtube tv for about half the year, so we cancel it for months at a time and pick it back up when it's football season or some other season of shows are starting. I think "we" pay for about every streaming service there is. :p Last I checked we have Youtube TV, Netflix, Discovery, Disney, Amazon, Paramount, HBO Max, CBS+, Spotify, ABC Mouse, and one or two others. Of course some of those are shared with the kids/grandkids. I try to remove the ones we're not using. Most will let you cancel service and start up again when needed.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
our previous (albeit limited) experience with a Roku was not great.
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Yeah, it's kind of a trade off between several devices where the UI was apparently designed by people who hate their users with the burning passion of a thousand suns. The non-tv devices are at least somewhat less likely to break themselves quite as randomly as the TV's do.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
I'll look into it, but our previous (albeit limited) experience with a Roku was not great. My wife found it confusing to use, but then again, this is my wife we're talking about here. :D
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My wife was at first too, but she's sold on it now. And we've added them to all the TV's, so it's consistent, where the smart tvs each had their own menus and quirks, now all the quirks are the same. :D
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. Regarding a smart TV vs. a separate box, I think the fewer layers of complexity the better for my wife. Keep in mind we only use one TV in the house and she's the only one who watches it. Her TV is a 10 year old 32" Visio that's due for replacement anyway. (I do all of my "TV" viewing at my desk on a computer monitor.)
 
After watching YTTV for a while today, one ting is really annoying - ADS! They haven't come at natural breaks in a program, either - just pop up at random times! You can skip them after a few seconds, but . . .
 
"Similarly, can you hit a Back or Forward button on a remote to jump back or skip forward a few seconds on a recorded show?"

If there is anything about using a streaming service that is to be nominated as "most annoying" it is the complete whack-a-doodle methods of navigation. No one is setting standards or checking these people's work. If you already have Amazon Prime for shipping I would grab a Fire Stick. The navigation is neither better or worse than any others but the quality seems to be quite good. By quality I mean speed, response to commands, video up-scaling, and sound.

Our LG TV is pretty smart and acts as the hub for most things around the house. When is comes to HBO/MAX or other 4K type stuff the stick seems to do better. I am not sure what the chipset is that one or the other uses but at about $35 the stick is a cheap "try out" even if you don't stay with it. Roku, Hulu, Tubi, whatever . . . . they are all apparently programmed by 20-somethings contracted online who get to alpha and beta test their own code. In other words there is no QA; you get what you get.
 
Bill Arnold said:
After watching YTTV for a while today, one ting is really annoying - ADS! They haven't come at natural breaks in a program, either - just pop up at random times! You can skip them after a few seconds, but . . .
Click to expand...
Hmm...that might be a deal breaker for me. Still, I think the price of YouTube TV + YouTube Premium (which gets rid of the ads) is less than what we're paying Xfinity.

glenn bradley said:
"Similarly, can you hit a Back or Forward button on a remote to jump back or skip forward a few seconds on a recorded show?"

If there is anything about using a streaming service that is to be nominated as "most annoying" it is the complete whack-a-doodle methods of navigation. No one is setting standards or checking these people's work. If you already have Amazon Prime for shipping I would grab a Fire Stick. The navigation is neither better or worse than any others but the quality seems to be quite good. By quality I mean speed, response to commands, video up-scaling, and sound.

Our LG TV is pretty smart and acts as the hub for most things around the house. When is comes to HBO/MAX or other 4K type stuff the stick seems to do better. I am not sure what the chipset is that one or the other uses but at about $35 the stick is a cheap "try out" even if you don't stay with it. Roku, Hulu, Tubi, whatever . . . . they are all apparently programmed by 20-somethings contracted online who get to alpha and beta test their own code. In other words there is no QA; you get what you get.
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LOML reminded me that we have a Roku somewhere in the house that we bought a few years ago and then abandoned after a very brief trial. That would at least allow her to test drive YTTV for 10 days before we commit to it. (Although I do like the fact that YTTV is on a month to month basis, with no contractual commitment.)
 
glenn bradley said:
If there is anything about using a streaming service that is to be nominated as "most annoying" it is the complete whack-a-doodle methods of navigation. No one is setting standards or checking these people's work.
Click to expand...
Sharon always says that the interfaces were designed by a man. I like to say you have no idea of the gender of the designer, developer, or project manager, but I guarantee they were implemented by people who probably never have to use them.
 
Brent Dowell said:
Sharon always says that the interfaces were designed by a man. I like to say you have no idea of the gender of the designer, developer, or project manager, but I guarantee they were implemented by people who probably never have to use them.
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In my last two software-related jobs (doing patient management systems for medical facilities), I worked with a number of smart software engineers who were all here on work visas. I have no idea if it was because of their country of origin, or the fact that they were just software engineers, but they always thought they had a better idea of what the customer needed and wanted in regards to interfaces than the customer did. As the guy who had to document and support such interfaces, it used to drive me nuts.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
I have no idea if it was because of their country of origin, or the fact that they were just software engineers,
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Having worked in the industry for 30+ years I can definitively say that it was just that they were software engineers. I would wager that they also reinvented every possible feature in a new, unique, and probably less functional form along the way as well.
 
I had a huge smile the day I returned all of our xfinity equipment and canceled their service.
My only comment about ytv is if we watch a recording the next day it defaults to paramount + and we can't fast forward through commercials. If we wait 2 days to watch we can jump 15 seconds at a time through commercials by using the right arrow on the remote. I don't know if this is YT feature or how it works on our lg smart tv.
 
Ryan Mooney said:
I would wager that they also reinvented every possible feature in a new, unique, and probably less functional form along the way as well.
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I forgot to mention the current trend of not bothering with any kind of graceful failure mechanism. Things just stop and you have to slap them or bounce channels or whatever to get them going again. For many of us old timers that would get you immediately called onto the carpet for an explanation. I can't imagine answering for a network design that could grind to a halt with the failure of a minor component. I would probably have had to change jobs out of embarrassment :D :D :D
 
Bill Arnold said:
After watching YTTV for a while today, one ting is really annoying - ADS! They haven't come at natural breaks in a program, either - just pop up at random times! You can skip them after a few seconds, but . . .
Click to expand...
Confused - I've noticed that when streaming some older episodes of some programs we are subjected to ads, but almost always much shorter than a normal commercial break - 1 min as opposed to 4. We zip through ALL commercials on anything recorded. The FF and Rev function can be super fast - each 'click' on the remote is 15 seconds of programming.
 
steve ramsey said:
I had a huge smile the day I returned all of our xfinity equipment and canceled their service...
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I am SO looking forward to that day. :thumb: Well, at least returning the DVR and canceling the TV service. I'll probably keep their Internet service, since they seem to be the fastest/most reliable in my area. We also have our home alarm through them, and I''m planning to do some research into lower-cost alternatives to that as well.
 
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