The grid is still there, but the channel highlighted is more pronounced somehow. Sling TV recently updated its Roku app, and the changes are most noticeable on the guide screen, which isn’t as old school anymore. Just watch out when you’re watching sports, because logging on to Twitter might spoil the next big play! Using Sling TV: What We Learned From Our Sling TV Review Testing Lag time is significant - it's at least a good 30 seconds in most cases - but that's part of the deal with these live TV streaming services. I found loading times to be pretty quick and streaming to be very smooth. You shouldn't expect breathtaking 4K, but I think you'll be satisfied as long as you're not the sort of person who always has to have the latest and greatest thing in picture quality. Still, to the naked eye, I think that Sling TV's streaming looks pretty solid. For things like live sports, 60 FPS is pretty important. Sling TV tops out at 60 FPS, which is just fine with me, but it doesn't always get to that maximum, which is less fine. That's typical of most live TV streaming services (though there are exceptions, like YouTube TV). Sling TV streams in HD, but not 1080p HD - the livestreaming video here generally tops out around 720p. Sling TV on iOSįor this review, I put Sling TV through its paces on a wide range of platforms: Roku, Fire TV, iPhone, iPad, Chromecast, and two browsers (Chrome and Firefox). So it didn't surprise me to find that platform support remains a strong suit for Sling TV: It has great apps available for Roku, Fire TV, Android TV (including Sling TV's own AirTV device), Apple TV, iOS, Android TV, and various web browsers. Sling TV was the first skinny bundle to hit the market when it debuted back in 2015, and it has had plenty of time to build out solid apps for all of our favorite platforms and devices. Sling TV App: What Devices Can You Use With Sling TV? I quite liked the cloud DVR on a basic functional level, but the commercial breaks were a pain point. That made it harder to figure out if, for instance, I had enough time to run to the kitchen and make a quick snack. While services like Hulu have a little timer in the corner that lets you know how much longer the ads will last, there’s nothing like that on Sling TV. Even if I watched them on demand, I still had to watch commercials. If that’s not enough, you can upgrade to 200 hours for $5 per month.įor this review, I recorded and watched a couple of episodes of “House Hunters.” Those recordings included commercials. With Sling TV, you get up to 50 hours of free cloud storage on the Sling TV DVR. Sling TV’s feature set is strong, too, though its cloud DVR is not unlimited. There are some frame rate issues (which we’ll talk about below), but the app support is wide-ranging and impressive. Sling TV’s streaming quality is in line with that of most other live TV streaming services. Sling TV Features and Specs: Streaming Quality, Sling TV Devices, and More I certainly would have liked to see those included, but the Sling TV channel lineup is otherwise very strong. Two other major networks - ABC and CBS - are the biggest channels missing from Sling TV’s lineup. The key is that NBC or FOX is available only in markets where the respective networks both own and operate their affiliates. If you live in a market like New York or Chicago, you can get both NBC and FOX. If you live in select markets, you can get a local feed of FOX or NBC. Sling TV used to be devoid of all major networks, but that has changed a bit as of this review. This screenshot shows Sling TV’s Roku app. Sling TV’s channel bundles include Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Sling TV’s RSN selection isn’t comprehensive, but that’s just about the only thing I could find to complain about in the sports department. I got all the big national sports channels (including ESPN, FS1, and NBCSN), plus some regional sports networks (RSNs) and plenty of smaller networks with coverage of foreign sports, college sports, and more. I was particularly impressed with the sports lineup, which rivals fuboTV’s sports-centric lineup. What to Watch on Sling TV: What Channels Are on Sling TV? There’s on-demand content worth watching as well. That’s the main appeal of Sling TV, but like any good live TV streaming service, it also has a DVR that allows you to record your favorite shows and watch them later. The whole point of Sling TV is to get channels like this without having to pay through the nose for cable. We're talking about networks like AMC, HGTV, ESPN, and so on. That means live network channels - the same ones you remember from cable or satellite.
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