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Registered: ‎10-09-2012

@SilleeMee wrote:

With streaming how do you record your favorite shows? For instance, on my DirecTV Genie I can record dozens of shows and have them record each week on a regular schedule which I can modify at any time. How can you do that with streaming?


 

@SilleeMee 

Each streaming channel is autonomous, so they are different in how they record, if they record.  For example, I turn on the TV and select SlingTV channel fron the screen.  I could also just select Sling directly from the Roku remote control since there's a Sling button already on it.  Then I can either select a show from its home screen, or select one of the options:

Guide

Search

DVR (Record)

OnDemand. 

 

 

I select DVR to choose what I want to record. That's actually how I record a show from QVC's main channel, since the QVC streaming channel does not offer Record option.  

 

There's also no Record function (that I know of) with Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime.  They make their money by having the most competitive current offerings.  Those offerings change out for new ones every so often.  Amazon Prime has free, and rentals, and per cost movies and shows.  

 

The only time I pay extra to watch a movie is if I really want to see a new movie and not go to a theater.  I did that with the latest James Bond movie.  I still paid less than two people going to one of our usual theaters [and ordering popcorn and soda].

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@Caaareful Shopper 

Do you need to buy a separate DVR device to record stuff from streaming? My DirecTV has the Genie tower which is an all-inclusive DVR+receiver.

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

@Caaareful Shopper @Meowingkitty when you say flip through the channels, is it like regular tv or do you have to scroll through boxes and boxes of stuff to find what you are looking for?

 

 


@CelticCrafter  Think of the different streaming channels as separate,very competitive cable networks.  So you first need to select the streaming channel you want.  If I like shows on Bravo, I would select SlingTV streaming channel, either from the screen or the remote control.   I get Bravo from SlingTV; I can also make it one of my favorite channels in Sling so that the current Bravo show icon pops up on Sling's home screen.  Then I can select it right there.

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@SilleeMee wrote:

@Caaareful Shopper 

Do you need to buy a separate DVR device to record stuff from streaming? My DirecTV has the Genie tower which is an all-inclusive DVR+receiver.


@SilleeMee   No separate DVR devices at all.  The DVR function will also tell you how much capacity you have left.  So if you're at 90% full, you may have to cancel some recorded shows you've already looked at to make room for new recordings. 

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

@Katcat1 wrote:

It seems this is the newest way to watch different programs.  From what I understand, you sign up with a co. that offers streaming and your given certain regular channels to watch but you can also stream.  I guess some kind of connection is made thru your Internet but evidentially is has to have a certain amount of power to stream (I don't know if power is the accurate word).  You pay the co. for the pkg. you selected (monthly) and I was told there is no charge for streaming but I find that hard to believe.  If you have more details, please share.

 P,S,  Personally, all I want to do is turn on the TV and select what I want to watch.  I do not want to flick through thousands of options to stream.

@Katcat1 that's what I want to be able to do.  Like right now with cable if I want to watch Bravo all I have to do is enter 44 on the remote. 


With Sling TV you can make a list of favorites that will be right at the top and it makes picking one easy. You just launch Sling and if you've made Bravo a favorite, it's right there. Just one click and you're on Bravo.

 

Voice activation works for many streaming services also. My little Google Nest Home Hub is set up for Sling also and I often watch the NFL Network on it when I'm on the computer in the morning. I simply say, "Hey Google, show me the NFL Network" and up it comes.

 

Roku's, Fire TVs, and other services offer voice control for many things. You simply have to press a microphone button on the remote then you just tell the TV/device "Show me (insert name of the channel here)" and up it comes. Things don't get a whole lot easier than that. 

 

They make it pretty easy to find what you want to watch.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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@gardenman wrote:

@CelticCrafter wrote:

@Katcat1 wrote:

It seems this is the newest way to watch different programs.  From what I understand, you sign up with a co. that offers streaming and your given certain regular channels to watch but you can also stream.  I guess some kind of connection is made thru your Internet but evidentially is has to have a certain amount of power to stream (I don't know if power is the accurate word).  You pay the co. for the pkg. you selected (monthly) and I was told there is no charge for streaming but I find that hard to believe.  If you have more details, please share.

 P,S,  Personally, all I want to do is turn on the TV and select what I want to watch.  I do not want to flick through thousands of options to stream.

@Katcat1 that's what I want to be able to do.  Like right now with cable if I want to watch Bravo all I have to do is enter 44 on the remote. 


With Sling TV you can make a list of favorites that will be right at the top and it makes picking one easy. You just launch Sling and if you've made Bravo a favorite, it's right there. Just one click and you're on Bravo.

 

Voice activation works for many streaming services also. My little Google Nest Home Hub is set up for Sling also and I often watch the NFL Network on it when I'm on the computer in the morning. I simply say, "Hey Google, show me the NFL Network" and up it comes.

 

Roku's, Fire TVs, and other services offer voice control for many things. You simply have to press a microphone button on the remote then you just tell the TV/device "Show me (insert name of the channel here)" and up it comes. Things don't get a whole lot easier than that. 

 

They make it pretty easy to find what you want to watch.


@gardenman  Yes!  I forgot about that.  I use voice command from my remote all the time. 

 

I asked for Margaret Rutherford just yesterday so I could see the Agatha Christie movies she made.  It was great watching "Murder Most Foul" again [on the AppleTV trial channel].

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DH and I stream through Spectrum.  We dropped our cable because it kept increasing in price and we didn't watch most of the channels.

 

Initially we were paying $30.00 a month for the streaming package, which has very limited channels, and we had to keep our high speed internet, which is the bulk of the cost.  We also pay $6.00 a month for Cloud DVR.  On top of that, Roku is built into our tv so we have those channels but we rarely watch anything on Roku.  

 

When we first started streaming, our total monthly bill was much cheaper than it is today.  Of course, just like cable, Spectrum keeps raising the prices.  The package itself has increased as has the monthly internet charge.  We are now paying $130.00 a month and our package is very, very basic.

 

We are looking into other streaming services.  The problem is, not one of them offers the channels that are must haves for us.  To pay for 2 streaming services is more expensive than going back to cable and doesn't make sense.  There are too many overlapping channels.  

 

As far as the DVR service, our's is Cloud DVR.  It costs us $6.00 a month and we can record many shows at one time and watch something else.  We can also watch different recorded shows at the same time on different tvs.  It is so much better than our old DVR service where we could only record two things at once and if we were home, we had to watch 1 of the shows we were taping.   

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With my Verizon wireless plan I get Hulu and DisneyPlus at no extra charge. I watch them on my tv all the time.

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@MG Chris wrote:

With my Verizon wireless plan I get Hulu and DisneyPlus at no extra charge. I watch them on my tv all the time.


@MG Chris

I also have a Verizon Get More Wireless plan which costs $90 for a single account. I watch the shows on my phone, or tablet.

 

Some cable companies may offer Disney Plus as a discount. 

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@SilleeMee wrote:

You need high-speed internet, at least 25 Mbps and more for HD/4K.  If you have multiple wi-fi devices connected to your internet then consider getting a faster internet service otherwise you'll be running into buffering issues.


@SilleeMee

She may want to ask the company about 100 Mbps. See how many devices will run on 25 Mbps.