This is exactly what I need for my Roku. Since cutting the cord, I've only really been missing espn and cnn and I feel guilty piggy backing on someone else's contract. Anybody know if pac12 networks will be part of the extra "$5 sports pack" and if this will give you access to watchESPN so you can see espnu and ESPN news? I'm excited. As long as you have good OTA reception for local channels, and I do, using rabbit ears in the attic, this seems like a no brainer. I just know cable internet prices will soon rise, and/or be related to data like on the phone, but for now, this looks great.

http://m.sfgate.com/sports/article/Dish-to-Sling-new-live-online-TV-with-ESPN-for-5995476.php

Hopefully Oski de la Hoya will chime in. IIUC s/he works/ed for Dish corporate. Anyway thanks for the link, this is interesting and could potentially be a game changer.

For almost a year now we are an OTA family, breaking the pay TV "cord", as we did with the telephone several years back, thanks to Ooma...

OTA alone would be tough for us, but in conjunction with TiVo (Lifetime service), Roku, Amazon Prime instant Video and a couple Google Chromecasts, we are happy campers. At another home we rent out we have Comcast, and I use the Xfinity app with Chromecast to throw the Pac-12 network, ESPN, etc on the big screens. And, with TiVo Stream, we can watch OTA or what we've recorded, on our devices, anywhere in the world, a la a Sling box.

I remember being on biz travel for a month, years ago, coming home to a phone bill, with zero calls, yet being charged some 20 bucks. Screw that. With Ooma, like 200 dollars up front in 2008, not one dollar since. DirecTV was like 75 bucks a month for a rather basic plan...

With the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS), we are fine most of the time. Those are free, OTA. I spent about $100 on a couple good UHF and VHF antennas, amplified (needed out here) and combined the outputs (RG6 coax) into one feed. HD off an antenna is very nice, with 1080, most agreeing, being of higher quality than what is compressed so much by the providers...

Don't you have to pay fed and state taxes with Ooma? Minimal, I'm sure, but I believe my parents pay a couple bucks a month using Ooma, which they love.

SRBear;842434642 said:

---

Don't you have to pay fed and state taxes with Ooma? Minimal, I'm sure, but I believe my parents pay a couple bucks a month using Ooma, which they love.

---

Figured someone might ask... On the newer Ooma, that is the case. I believe it's minimal though. Looks to be 3 something, at least in our ZIP:

https://go.ooma.com/tax_calculator

With the original Ooma Hub, nada though. Grandfathered, so long as the unit continues to operate. And if it breaks, I'll probably see if I can fix it, like most things around the house, the cars, etc... Voice quality has been excellent. I also set-up Google Voice, pretty much when it first came-out. It's nice to have as well...

EDIT / ADD: Having not read-up on this topic as of late, I've been reading and found some pretty neat information:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-voice-a-cheapskates-guide-to-cheap-voip/

Contrary to what was surmised, Google did not drop XMPP support, and is officially supported:

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/09/12/google-voice-now-officially-supported-on-obi-voip-devices/

Our Ooma is actually over at another house, which I'm still preping for sale this Spring. Keeping the Ooma there for a while. I'm ordering this unit now, probably through Amazon though:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833617008&cm_re=OBi200-_-33-617-008-_-Product

Paired with GV, there won't be a need to use our mobile phones as often as now...

Sorry to the OP for going more into a phone discussion.

Fyi sling box was founded by Cal alums. Swimmers, I believe.

SRBear;842434642 said:

---

Don't you have to pay fed and state taxes with Ooma? Minimal, I'm sure, but I believe my parents pay a couple bucks a month using Ooma, which they love.

---

i use the obi100, which i got for $49 on amazon 3 years ago, and link it google voice. everything has been free for 3 years. you can even pick your own phone number and area code for $10. I did this primarily to have something to sync to my cheap-o wireless home security system so it would call me if it triggers (skylink, also on amazon, also a great deal). But the obi100 ended up being my work phone, too. i tried vonage and it cut out on several calls a week. google voice has been flawless, and they recently agreed to continue serving the obi devices.

Cal89;842434649 said:

---

Figured someone might ask...

---

I am very jealous. My ambition is to cut the cord, but I fear I will lose my Cal Sports. What about the Pac-12 Network? I also fear I am not tech savvy enough to pull this off. Lot's of things I don't know: Are Roku & Apple TV equivalent? What is the best OTA antenna, how do you know? Can you still DVR with this model? Is there a place I can go to learn this stuff?

Yes I need a better option. I hate paying Time Warner $200 per month for cable, internet and phone (I don't really even need the phone, the internet is crappy). But I want my Pac-12 Networks and my Sports Net LA!!!

bearsandgiants;842434660 said:

---

i use the obi100, which i got for $49 on amazon 3 years ago, and link it google voice. everything has been free for 3 years. you can even pick your own phone number and area code for $10. I did this primarily to have something to sync to my cheap-o wireless home security system so it would call me if it triggers (skylink, also on amazon, also a great deal). But the obi100 ended up being my work phone, too. i tried vonage and it cut out on several calls a week. google voice has been flawless, and they recently agreed to continue serving the obi devices.

---

Thanks bearsandgiants for confirming what I read, above. I ultimately plan to put the Ooma in my office, but I'm going to order an obi100, 200 or 202, with two phone ports. Leaning to the later, one port for a cordless set, and the other for a tethered phone...

Cal89;842434670 said:

---

Thanks bearsandgiants for confirming what I read, above. I ultimately plan to put the Ooma in my office, but I'm going to order an obi100, 200 or 202, with two phone ports. Leaning to the later, one port for a cordless set, and the other for a tethered phone...

---

only thing with obi and google voice is that there's no 911 support. that's a deal breaker for some. with all the cell phones we have now, it's not a big deal, but if you have kids and a babysitter over, it might be. the obi200 is the new baseline model. probably best to get that one now. i actually have the obi110, now that i look at it. anyhow, clear as a bell. just a slight delay to get a dial tone, but the delay still works with my at&t business line phone on each speed dial setting.

Go!Bears;842434661 said:

---

I am very jealous. My ambition is to cut the cord, but I fear I will lose my Cal Sports. What about the Pac-12 Network? I also fear I am not tech savvy enough to pull this off. Lot's of things I don't know: Are Roku & Apple TV equivalent? What is the best OTA antenna, how do you know? Can you still DVR with this model? Is there a place I can go to learn this stuff?

---

Go!Bears, many questions there I don't have time to thoughtfully address. About to hop on a conference call at the top of the hour...

For anyone, the AVS forums are a geek's paradise. I learned a ton there, about all kinds of stuff, most recently antennas.

First, it's imperative to check what channels are available at your location, and the likely reception, dictating what antenna/s might be needed. This website is great for that:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

I have zero channels in green a couple on the fringe of yellow, yet with a good antenna/s and sound pointing with a compass, and elevation experimentation, I have the major networks...

The base TiVo Roamio does OTA, so we have a DVR for our antennas.

bearsandgiants;842434677 said:

---

only thing with obi and google voice is that there's no 911 support. that's a deal breaker for some. with all the cell phones we have now, it's not a big deal, but if you have kids and a babysitter over, it might be. the obi200 is the new baseline model. probably best to get that one now. i actually have the obi110, now that i look at it. anyhow, clear as a bell. just a slight delay to get a dial tone, but the delay still works with my at&t business line phone on each speed dial setting.

---

Thanks much.

If you watch the included video on the newegg website, it seems that they require 911 activation now? I don't have it on the Ooma hub either...

Maybe it's only required with certain providers, not GV.

Go!Bears;842434661 said:

---

I am very jealous. My ambition is to cut the cord, but I fear I will lose my Cal Sports. What about the Pac-12 Network? I also fear I am not tech savvy enough to pull this off. Lot's of things I don't know: Are Roku & Apple TV equivalent? What is the best OTA antenna, how do you know? Can you still DVR with this model? Is there a place I can go to learn this stuff?

---

roku and appleTV are very similar to google chrome cast and amazon firetv and firetv stick. they all do the same thing, essentially, but they don't all have the same apps. most offer the mlb.tv app, which is a godsend for me on the east coast. i wait until father's day week every year, and get the rest of the season for $50. then i can watch out of market games (for me, that means the giants) for the rest of the year. there is currently no legal way to get all the nfl games with these devices, but that will change, soon, esp if directv follows suit with their own monthly service.

as far as OTA, the best antenna is seriously the cheapest. get an $8 RCA antenna at radio shack or amazon and test it out. you may get all of your local channels. if you live in a remote location, you probably need the huge outdoor on on your roof, which is a pain in the butt, and still doesn't work that great. if you're not within 50 miles of the station (that link 89 provided is great) then you're not going to get a signal, in most cases. the flat antennas that claim to get you 600 channels are mostly getting UHF channels. you have to be VERY close the the VHF stations if you want to use one of those and pick up all your local TV. rabbit ears are ugly, but for $8, it's worth it. I put mine in the attic and run a coax cable out the gable, down the wall and into the basement, where i split it to feed the tv upstairs and in the basement. amplifiers won't really help you get a signal you can't get, they just amplify the signal you already are getting, which allows you to use a longer cord from the antenna, and split to more TVs in the house. it might help a little bit with further signals, but basically, you're catching a digital signal, so you can't make that signal any stronger than it is when it hits your antenna. if it's distorted, you're just amplifying the distortion. that's my understanding, anyway. if you get the signal, it will be 100% perfect and in HD. if you don't get the signal, you will see nothing. You can't improve the picture.

Just try this one:

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT111F-Basic-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B000HKGK8Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420569886&sr=8-2&keywords=rca+antenna
it's actually $11 here

i have this one and it works well and looks a little nicer (although now it's in the attic)
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT121F-Quality-Durable-Passive/dp/B00009W3E2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1420569886&sr=8-6&keywords=rca+antenna

if you want to put one in the attic, or outside or above the roof, this one is apparently phenomenal and about 1/4 the size of the ones you remember when you were a kid
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Durable-Compact-Outdoor/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420569886&sr=8-1&keywords=rca+antenna

i should add...outside of cal games, once you cut the cord, you'll be surprised with how little you miss it. you can get your news online anyway, and most of what you see is just rehashing of what you've already read, and speculation. you can watch the car chase on youtube the next day. not having a dvr is a pain, but i've learned to enjoy live events and do stuff at commercial breaks, like we used to. for tv shows, i've learned to wait and binge watch when it comes out on netflix, and have also found new shows i never would have given a chance (on netflix and amazon prime). it's actually quite liberating, and certainly more cost effective. i spend more time with the kids, and reading actual books. i highly recommend this, but completely understand how no Pac12 networks would be a deal breaker. give that this is run by Dish, i'd be kind of surprised if they don't offer it soon, if not right away, as part of the add-on sports package options. if they do, i'll be getting it.

go bears

bearsandgiants;842434685 said:

---

roku and appleTV are very similar...

---

Awesome! Thank you. I already have Apple TV so it sounds like I am 1/2 way there. I used it a couple years ago before P-12 was on Uverse. Borrowed my son's Comcast login and used the Apple TV to get the games on the big screen. It worked and may be an option again. I am actually looking forward to the lifestyle changes, except the loss of a DVR. I love zipping through commercials.

If no Pac-12 Network is a deal-breaker, well, I have DirecTV and no Pac-12 Network, and I've survived.

The illegal streaming of Pac-12 Network is pretty high-quality nowadays. You can probably/most likely stream it on your TV set. The only pain is not being able to pause, rewind or fast-forward. It's all live-action only. But it was only for 3 games this year. So I can deal.

Here's a screenshot I took earlier this season:

i don't think slingtv will be compatible with appleTV, unfortunately. it's supposed to work with xbox, roku, and amazon fire stick and firetv though. once the announcement is made, you could figure out what to do. you can get a roku for $40

From this story...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2015/01/05/dish-new-sling-tv-streaming-service/21236795/

"Sling TV will be available on Android and iOS smartphones and devices, as well as Macintosh and Windows PCs, Amazon Fire TV, Google Nexus Player, Roku devices, Xbox One and LG Smart TVs, with more devices to be announced later. Subscribers can access the service at home and on the go via Wi-Fi or mobile broadband."

In scanning the articles, I thought it said Sling would be iOS compatible. Oh well.

Apple TV is really nice if you have Apple stuff. You can send anything on iOS to the Apple TV and it will play quickly and easily, even FaceTime. I'm looking to buy one simply for the video conference, but of course other stuff too.

okaydo;842434758 said:

---

If no Pac-12 Network is a deal-breaker, well, I have DirecTV and no Pac-12 Network, and I've survived.

The illegal streaming of Pac-12 Network is pretty high-quality nowadays. You can probably/most likely stream it on your TV set. The only pain is not being able to pause, rewind or fast-forward. It's all live-action only. But it was only for 3 games this year. So I can deal.

Here's a screenshot I took earlier this season:

---

Nah I need my Goff in HD.

yeah, it's iOS compatible. i forgot about airplay. should work fine, although a tad inconvenient. would be nicer if they just had an Apple TV app. maybe they will some day. sure wish i could be on the beta test for this.

KoreAmBear;842434797 said:

---

Nah I need my Goff in HD.

---

bearsandgiants;842434685 said:

---

roku and appleTV are very similar to google chrome cast and amazon firetv and firetv stick. they all do the same thing, essentially, but they don't all have the same apps. most offer the mlb.tv app, which is a godsend for me on the east coast. i wait until father's day week every year, and get the rest of the season for $50. then i can watch out of market games (for me, that means the giants) for the rest of the year. there is currently no legal way to get all the nfl games with these devices, but that will change, soon, esp if directv follows suit with their own monthly service.

as far as OTA, the best antenna is seriously the cheapest. get an $8 RCA antenna at radio shack or amazon and test it out. you may get all of your local channels. if you live in a remote location, you probably need the huge outdoor on on your roof, which is a pain in the butt, and still doesn't work that great. if you're not within 50 miles of the station (that link 89 provided is great) then you're not going to get a signal, in most cases. the flat antennas that claim to get you 600 channels are mostly getting UHF channels. you have to be VERY close the the VHF stations if you want to use one of those and pick up all your local TV. rabbit ears are ugly, but for $8, it's worth it. I put mine in the attic and run a coax cable out the gable, down the wall and into the basement, where i split it to feed the tv upstairs and in the basement. amplifiers won't really help you get a signal you can't get, they just amplify the signal you already are getting, which allows you to use a longer cord from the antenna, and split to more TVs in the house. it might help a little bit with further signals, but basically, you're catching a digital signal, so you can't make that signal any stronger than it is when it hits your antenna. if it's distorted, you're just amplifying the distortion. that's my understanding, anyway. if you get the signal, it will be 100% perfect and in HD. if you don't get the signal, you will see nothing. You can't improve the picture.

Just try this one:

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT111F-Basic-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B000HKGK8Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420569886&sr=8-2&keywords=rca+antenna
it's actually $11 here

i have this one and it works well and looks a little nicer (although now it's in the attic)
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT121F-Quality-Durable-Passive/dp/B00009W3E2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1420569886&sr=8-6&keywords=rca+antenna

if you want to put one in the attic, or outside or above the roof, this one is apparently phenomenal and about 1/4 the size of the ones you remember when you were a kid
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Durable-Compact-Outdoor/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420569886&sr=8-1&keywords=rca+antenna

---

I can attest to the RCA ANT751 being a capable little antenna. I use it only to get KSBW 8 which nets me both NBC and ABC, the only VHF networks in reach out here...

For UHF (the vast majority of programming), I use the Antennas Direct DB4e, as seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-DB4e-DB4E-Antenna/dp/B0074H3IU6

Got it new for like 70 bucks. With that, I get the Sutro channels some 62 miles away... It's quite compact and is impressive. Use good quality cable, like RG6, and keep the runs as short as possible. My two antennas are on the same mast, literally over the main TV in the house. It's like a 20 to 25' run. Out here, I need to do all that I can to secure reception and not lose it...

Great information, thanks.

If I cannot find a way to get Giants' baseball, my wife will not go for it: any ideas?

manus;842434861 said:

---

Great information, thanks.

If I cannot find a way to get Giants' baseball, my wife will not go for it: any ideas?

---

What channel or network are most Giants games on?

Cal89;842434878 said:

---

What channel or network are most Giants games on?

---

CSNBA


On Dish, it is Channel 419

Thanks

Website: csnbayarea.com

Not good news for the wife. At least as far as I'm aware...

Someday I imagine we'll be able to a la carte most channels, and with the Dish announcement by the OP, that's a great start. YouTube carrying the Pac-12, etc...

manus;842434861 said:

---

Great information, thanks.

If I cannot find a way to get Giants' baseball, my wife will not go for it: any ideas?

---

MLB.TV subscriptions are about $120 for the season (6+ months, so $20/month) to stream all MLB games in 1080p. It's great on Roku, Apple TV, etc.

There are blackout issues for Giants and A's games in the Bay Area. You can get around that with a proxy service (eg, PrivateInternetAccess.com).

manus;842434861 said:

---

Great information, thanks.

If I cannot find a way to get Giants' baseball, my wife will not go for it: any ideas?

---

Where do you live? If you live in the Giants' blackout zone, it'd be quite difficult to get games (though not impossible, at least legally). If you are outside the area, you just need to get MLB.TV - I think around $120 last year.

However, there are rumors that the blackout restrictions could be eased this year, though it sounds as though you'd still need a cable/dish account to login.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24675662/mlbtv-blackout-restrictions-could-be-eased-starting-next-season

grandmastapoop;842435084 said:

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Where do you live? If you live in the Giants' blackout zone, it'd be quite difficult to get games (though not impossible, at least legally). If you are outside the area, you just need to get MLB.TV - I think around $120 last year.

However, there are rumors that the blackout restrictions could be eased this year, though it sounds as though you'd still need a cable/dish account to login.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24675662/mlbtv-blackout-restrictions-could-be-eased-starting-next-season

---

That's what I was wondering. Will sling tv give you an "account" that gives you access to the rest of the ESPN channels through watch ESPN, and the pac12 networks online? That would be huge. Also, if you can hold out, wait until fathers day week and pick up the mlb pack for $49 for the rest of the season. But if you have to get your fix, $120 is totally worth it. Actually, I think it's 15% off right now as part of their 20"15" promotion.

If my wife were that hard core about the Giants though, I'd gladly just pay for cable. What a lucky dude you are!

Sneak peak of the service, on a tablet, from CES.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hands-on-demo-of-dish-sling-tv-2015-1

They changed the home page from "sign up for more information" to "get your invite here." I'm guessing this bad boy will be ready in a week or two, with an official (open for everyone) launch during the super bowl. It makes perfect sense. One thing I worry about is the lag, though, for live stuff. With watch espn, video can be up to two minutes behind. Hardly "live" when friends are texting you stuff like "that was a catch" and you're still sitting through a commercial break before the snap. I guess with CNN this will be all the more evident, since they have a clock as part of their video layout. Just hoping it's no more than a couple seconds behind. Live should mean live. This is what makes OTA signals so awesome for NFL. You can watch the game in the parking lot and hear the crowd inside.

OldBlue1999;842434629 said:

---

Hopefully Oski de la Hoya will chime in. IIUC s/he works/ed for Dish corporate. Anyway thanks for the link, this is interesting and could potentially be a game changer.

---

OldBlue1999, couldn't chime in earlier as I was on vacation ... also, was not at liberty to discuss things that haven't gone public yet. But press reviews are out as of today. Linking a couple of reviews:



http://gizmodo.com/sling-tv-review-holy-crap-weve-figured-out-internet-1681592627

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/26/sling-tv-preview/

thanks for the links! i hope i get my invite tonight. i'll probably get it right away. only thing i really want to see is if pac12 networks will be included on that first $5 sports package, whenever it comes out. also, is it really "live?" i know cable already has a bit of a delay, but i would imagine this is even more delayed. only reason that's a problem is if you're watching something on espn and your dad sends you a text like "whoa, what a pass!" and then you see it play out 20 seconds later. that's a buzz kill. lastly, my understanding was that as an espn subscriber, you get access to all of the espn channels on espn3 (even if you don't have them all in your cable contract) when you enter your cable password. i was hoping this would be considered a "cable provider" as well, so you could watch espnu online, for example, but i doubt that's the case. all in all, for $20, this seems worth it. i might wait until mlb opening day, though. unless you're a hoops fan, there's not a lot to watch until april.

OskiDeLaHoya;842443692 said:

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OldBlue1999, couldn't chime in earlier as I was on vacation ... also, was not at liberty to discuss things that haven't gone public yet. But press reviews are out as of today. Linking a couple of reviews:



http://gizmodo.com/sling-tv-review-holy-crap-weve-figured-out-internet-1681592627

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/26/sling-tv-preview/

---

If any cord cutters want to buy a working TivoHD with lifetime service from me, I'd be happy to offer the "friend price". I actually have two to sell and both are in great condition. They work with OTA which has the best HD quality and offer cablecard support if you have cable.