Sling TV Online Video Review: Cable TV for Cord Cutters

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Gruffff

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
3
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1,510
I really don't mind the buffering. I can live with it. But I primarily have it for news events. And to have specially MSNBC, as I said, it's the 25$ package + an extra $5 for MSNBC (it's a progressive news channel) . It is standard on regular cable but SLING TV makes you jump throw hoops to get it. And $30 monthly. Even with that instead of commercials is a pounding drum track, almost a bad techno track... when watching it you have to keep the remote by your hand to quickly mute or you end up with a migraine headache. People have complained but they won't fix what would appear to be a simple fix.... maddening and unwatchable
 

Christopher_168

Prominent
Jun 15, 2017
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510
Sling TV is the WORST!!!! I primarily subscribe to Sling TV for the HGTV programming. I often can’t get through one episode of a program without Sling TV crashing. I understand that internet-based TV will sometimes need to load. HOWEVER, when Sling TV crashes, it DOES NOT SAVE YOUR LOCATION WITHIN THE PROGRAMMING. You have to start over from the beginning, and THERE IS NO FAST FORWARD OPTION!!!! So if you have watched 20 minutes of a 30 minute programming, and Sling TV crashes (which happens 60-80% of the time, you have to START THE PROGRAM ENTIRELY FROM THE BEGINNING. UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!
 

Phillip_51

Prominent
Jun 16, 2017
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510
I used SlingTV for 4 months from February '17 - May '17. Paid for the $40 package plan plus 1 HBO channel and cost me bout $50 total a month. It always lagged on Live TV and On streaming movies. I tried increasing internet download speed from 100mb to 200mb. Still had lots of lag and pausing issues. I've been using DirecTV Now since June 1, 2017 and have no lagging issues so far. I paid $48 a month and get 60+ channels plus 3 - HBO channels and 4 - Starz channels.

I'm posting this to my timeline cause I posted this same reply to the SlingTV Facebook AD and they deleted my comment and the blocked me from commenting anymore. So since they deleted my comment on FB, will now post this on all Slingtv User Review forms.
 

Phillip_51

Prominent
Jun 16, 2017
2
0
510
I used SlingTV for 4 months from February '17 - May '17. Paid for the $40 package plan plus 1 HBO channel and cost me bout $50 total a month. It always lagged on Live TV and On streaming movies. I tried increasing internet download speed from 100mb to 200mb. Still had lots of lag and pausing issues. I've been using DirecTV Now since June 1, 2017 and have no lagging issues so far. I paid $48 a month and get 60+ channels plus 3 - HBO channels and 4 - Starz channels.

I'm posting this to my timeline cause I posted this same reply to the SlingTV Facebook AD and they deleted my comment and the blocked me from commenting anymore. So since they deleted my comment on FB, will now post this on all Slingtv User Review forms.
 

Ron_96

Prominent
Jun 17, 2017
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510
Any one have this service, pay for the cloud DVR and not have it avaliable. Sling TV claims they are working on it.
 

carlsteve

Commendable
Oct 12, 2016
29
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1,580
I tried Sling for a month in 2016 on a Windows computer, and I promptly cancelled after that month. While watching a program, the transmission would stop and the following error message would appear on my computer monitor: "Due to inactivity, playback was stopped to save bandwidth." When I first reported the problem to Sling tech support, they replied with a bunch of canned paragraphs which had nothing to do with my problem. When I wrote back asking for a better response, they replied with "I apologize for the previous response. There is no way currently to remove the "inactivity" trigger (outside of pressing a button on your remote every once in a while). I can be sure to put in a request to have the feature removed."

Since I was using Sling on a computer, pressing a button on a remote wasn't an option. Essentially, the interrupted transmission meant that I was being punished for watching an extended-length program (3 hours or longer). That limitation resulted in many programs (e.g., most sporting events, coverage of breaking news stories, epic movies, etc.) being cut off before the end. In addition to the technical problems, there was no DVR feature on Sling at that time.

The author's comment "While apps for PlayStation 4 and web browsers would be nice, Sling TV is probably the most widely available cable replacement at present, and it could still expand in the future" doesn't make any sense. First, Sony has a competing service (PS Vue), so it's hardly likely that an app will be developed to watch Sling on a PS4 game console. Second, it's stated elsewhere in the article that Sling already works on Windows and Mac, so browser support is currently available. Third, PS Vue went national in March 2016, so the claim that Sling is the most widely available service probably isn't true.
 

Vikingt

Prominent
Jul 27, 2017
3
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510
Do not make the same mistake. I signed up for 2 month prepaid and I received a free Roku to receive sling TV. I asked the sales person if I could watch more than one TV at the time. And I was told I could watch 3. They have already taken my money, they got their sale, then I received 1 Roku remote. I called them and asked how am I to watch 3 TVs with one remote? They told me you are not, you can stream 3 devices not TVs. I requested an immediate cancellation and an address to send the Remote back to and a refund. The initial person was confused so I asked for a supervisor, he promised me a refund and a cancellation. Then I received an email stating that they do not do refunds. I then call them back and of course it is a different person who is even more confused I again ask for a supervisor. The woman was rude, disrespectful and a liar. So I have now been lied to by 5 employees from this company watch out. I watched 4 minutes of my sling tv to find out if I could watch on other TVs. Do not sign up it is a scam. Terrible business policy - NOT ACCEPTABLE and is a SCAM. Totally unnecessary stress added to my day, and rest assured after this experience I will never consider getting services and will relay to friends, family, and reviews online that this type of policy is NOT OK.
 

Vikingt

Prominent
Jul 27, 2017
3
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510
Sling TV is a joke, they are disrespectful and dishonest. I posed this question to the sales person: Can I watch more than one TV with the Roku they were sending me with 2 month prepaid, he told me I could watch 3. So I thought Maybe you could code your own remote after you received the roku, I do not know what technology can do these days. What he should have told me was: if you want to watch more than one tv then you will have to purchase additional equipment. And I would have said no thank you.
When I posted this on their Facebook page they said it was spam and blocked me.
Wow. They are crooks.
 

melli64

Prominent
Jan 18, 2018
1
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510
We've had Sling TV for about 6 months now. In that time, I have experienced the buffering issues, the freezing issues, and the lack of customer service issue(s). We like to watch The Simpsons on demand on FXX. Now, I'm not sure who is at fault for this but in just one 30 minute program, we saw the same commercial for a VH1 app no less than 6 times in a row. Yes, 6. I ended up just turning the damned thing off! I adore the concept of telling Spectrum to "get bent" but the repetitive commercial issues and especially the buffering are really driving me closer & closer to crawling back to Spectrum. In short, I have a low tolerance for stupid shit.
 
Feb 3, 2019
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I gave Sling a whirl with the Roku offer. (FWIW, after years of using multiple Roku devices, I found the new ones to be buggy and tended to overheat so I took it back and got an Apple TV, which was a great upgrade.)

Slings menus are horrible. Suck a pain to use that even if I could find anything I wanted to watch, it was too difficult. Totally hated the experience.

And for my money, the thing that makes these services worthwhile are on demand and DVR. Honestly, who still sits down to watch live TV at a given time and sits through commercials if they can avoid it. So you really need to be able to find shows and set them to record. That's the the basic need. Sling did not make the cut.
 
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