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lchiu7

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#164426 9-Feb-2015 14:40
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I received my invitation to Sling TV and signed up last night for the 7 day free trial. I can't confirm you need a US credit card and address (though the address field does not have a place for country) but I have both used them.

Applications exist for Windows, IOS and Android and I tested Windows and Android.

Not sure what display technology they use for Windows (I was using Windows 8.1) but it's not in a browser but a specific application. Using Unotelly the content streamed fine but the choice is limited, being only ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, tbs, Food, HGTV, CNN, Cartoon and some Spanish language channels.

Ads appear on the TNT, TBS and Food channels but from what I have read they are not necessarily the OTA ads but ads perhaps tailored to the streaming market. On ESPN during ad breaks you just get an ESPN logo saying ad break.

I tried the Android app on my N5 and a N7 and it worked fine, streaming in good quality over my WiFi.

No way for me to watch on my TV yet. A Roku device is supported but my Roku is connected to my projector. Also I think the Amazon Fire and Stick are supported so that might be an option. Also no   Chromecast support either. I tied to sideload the app on my Google TV box but it came up with a package error so I don't know if it's the platform or the way I got the apk to the device. I couldn't find it in the Play Store.

I was hoping to cut the cable here (VF cable) and stick to Freeview and this but there isn't enough content yet.

So after the 7 days trial I am going to cancel. It was nice to get ESPN though but many of the games shown on ESPN international (e.g. Superbowl) might not be shown on ESPN US since local networks would have the broadcast rights. But the rest of the content is not so interesting.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


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JarrodM
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  #1233479 9-Feb-2015 15:04
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Just got an invite as I opened this thread so might try it out later



lchiu7

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  #1233555 9-Feb-2015 16:20
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I'd be interested to know if a NZ credit card can be used.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


JarrodM
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  #1233568 9-Feb-2015 16:36
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just signed up using my anz debit card and it worked



pedrogarcia
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  #1233792 9-Feb-2015 23:34
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I'm not convinced by the channel lineup. Very American and heaps of this content is available on Netflix or Hulu anyway. CNN can be streamed easily for free on PC or Roku. Just my thoughts.

wasabi2k
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  #1233801 10-Feb-2015 01:06
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pedrogarcia: I'm not convinced by the channel lineup. Very American and heaps of this content is available on Netflix or Hulu anyway. CNN can be streamed easily for free on PC or Roku. Just my thoughts.


American streaming service has very American channel selection.... surprising that.


Channels don't appeal to me personally (which I figure is what you meant?)

pedrogarcia
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  #1233927 10-Feb-2015 09:41
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Ha.  Yes that is what I meant.  Although i'll probably sign up for the free trial out of curiosity.  

trig42
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  #1233954 10-Feb-2015 09:53
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If only EPSN played the Rugby...

 
 
 

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lchiu7

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  #1233958 10-Feb-2015 09:56
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I am going to cancel for the moment.  Because shows are aired live (what a surprise) when we watch it's off peak time for the US so the shows are less interesting. And because of licensing issues, you can't view recorded versions of shows.

But it was an interesting exercise. If the channel lineup changes, I might revisit this.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


lchiu7

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  #1234600 11-Feb-2015 11:28
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Just another data point. I was able to cast successfully from my Nexus 5 but without a native Chromecast app I had to leave the phone on the time which isn't ideal.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


daunjan
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  #1234625 11-Feb-2015 11:51
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Most of the shows are old & repeats, not worth the investment found Hulu Netflix better content...

lchiu7

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  #1234680 11-Feb-2015 13:16
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ESPN would be good if only the timezone was better. When I watch it's always late at night in the US so it's primarily Sport Centre rather than live sports.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


kiwimustang
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  #1236856 12-Feb-2015 21:49
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I have been using Sling since Saturday to see if it is worth replacing Sky. For what we watch it is. Apart from Living Channel and occasionally Food we dont use it. For us having DIY Channel, HGTV, Food Network & Cooking channel is great. I have had it running through our Apple TV using Airplay from my iPad but found quality better using a HDMI direct connection to the tv. Picture quality has been pretty good over our ADSL 2 line. Used my NZ credit card for sign up with no apparent problem - guess we will see when the first bill is due. Also love the 3 day replay feature for most channels, great if you have missed something. So this combined with our Netflix and Hulu Plus accounts and Freeview for local news should suit us for the moment.

semigeek
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  #1236918 13-Feb-2015 08:04
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This is what I get when going to the Sling TV site to have a look.  Oh and I am using Unblock US configured in the router.

ERROR The request could not be satisfied. The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country.

lchiu7

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  #1237005 13-Feb-2015 09:12
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semigeek: This is what I get when going to the Sling TV site to have a look.  Oh and I am using Unblock US configured in the router.

ERROR The request could not be satisfied. The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country.


This problem has been noted elsewhere.

You need a VPN to get to the site. Once you register and downloaded the software you can just use an unblock service to access the content.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


kiwimustang
134 posts

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  #1237246 13-Feb-2015 13:04
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Unblock US works fine with it. If any streaming services try to lock us out the are pretty quick to solve the problem. Watching DIY Network right now. If the decide to include SyFy and TLC i will be in heaven. They have already announced AMC, so there is your Walking Dead fix.

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