Sling TV - anybody interested in this?

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lchiu7

6466 posts

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#160599 13-Jan-2015 08:15

Dish Networks has announced Sling TV - streaming cable TV over the Internet.

http://www.cnet.com/videos/dishs-sling-tv-puts-live-tv-on-your-tablet/

For $20(US)/month that sounds very tempting so I have asked to be invited to join.

If it works okay, I am going to ditch VF cable ($40/month) and just use Freeview and this for my TV (and Netflix for older stuff).

I am sure there will be geo IP blocking etc. but I hope the various VPN and Unblock services will overcome that.

They support a number of platforms including Fire TV so that would probably be the device I would use.

And should they insist on a US residential address and credit card, I have that covered also.

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.

GeekGuy

589 posts

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#1212925 13-Jan-2015 08:43

It doesnt have the greatest line up of channels but its a start
http://www.cnet.com/news/dish-launches-20-sling-tv-streaming-video-service-with-channel-lineup-that-includes-espn-disney/

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

turb

881 posts

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#1212941 13-Jan-2015 08:50

Netflix, Freeview and iPlayer will do me thanks - I feel like I see enough US sport, and recycled news items already.
I'm all for more players in the market though.

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.

lchiu7

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#1212973 13-Jan-2015 09:37

The following channels have been announced.

The $20 Sling TV base package includes ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and the "best of Internet video" with Maker Studios

I would watch ESPN(2), Food Network, HGTV, TBS and TNT (some great original programming on TNT now) and would only miss out on Vodafone TV, Jones, The Zone (though I preferred TLC) and sometimes BBC Knowledge. That's $44 versus $25ish for Dish TV.

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.

steve98

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#1213530 14-Jan-2015 08:21

Since you've got a PS3, are you also aware of the upcoming PlayStation Vue service? Sounds similar to Sling TV: link

lchiu7

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#1213535 14-Jan-2015 08:49

steve98: Since you've got a PS3, are you also aware of the upcoming PlayStation Vue service? Sounds similar to Sling TV: link

Didn't catch that. Worth a check but I don't want to fire up the PS3 just to watch TV. Just using a Roku is much more appealing.

This link talks about a limited rollout with New York first

http://www.cnet.com/news/sony-to-launch-online-tv-service-to-challenge-cable-tv/

I wonder how they are going to enforce this unless it's billing address of a credit card. My US credit card is billed in CA so I guess I will have to wait until it gets there to check it out.

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.

psychnurse

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#1235923 11-Feb-2015 19:10

Which unblock service do you use, I cant even get to the webpage.

lchiu7

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#1235940 11-Feb-2015 19:47

psychnurse: Which unblock service do you use, I cant even get to the webpage.

Unotelly.

But I can get to the home page without any unblock service.

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

136 posts

Master Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1235963 11-Feb-2015 20:01

Can anybody get on main page?

I got "'The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country"

Was working yesterday...Want to delete account...

lchiu7

6466 posts

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#1235991 11-Feb-2015 20:22

Interesting. I got the same error also on Unotelly. But I can still watch the stream on my phone.

It might be similar to the issue that plagued us with the old TelstraClear transparent proxy rewriting IP addresses on port 80 so they were in the NZ IP range. This meant you could not access Netflix etc. from a browser but no problem on devices like phones, tablets etc. that didn't use port 80.

I was able to get onto the home page using Tunnelbear. You get 500MB free each month which is more than enough to logon and close your account.

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

136 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1236042 11-Feb-2015 21:03

Thanks for Tunnelbear works like a charm was able to Unsubscribe but could not delete account. I emailed them instead.

lchiu7: Interesting. I got the same error also on Unotelly. But I can still watch the stream on my phone.

It might be similar to the issue that plagued us with the old TelstraClear transparent proxy rewriting IP addresses on port 80 so they were in the NZ IP range. This meant you could not access Netflix etc. from a browser but no problem on devices like phones, tablets etc. that didn't use port 80.

I was able to get onto the home page using Tunnelbear. You get 500MB free each month which is more than enough to logon and close your account.

lchiu7

6466 posts

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#1236414 12-Feb-2015 11:45

Just a matter of interest, while the browser access is blocked, the Windows application still works. I have until 15 Feb after which my sub ends.

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.