Learn Sling TV — Valid Alternative for Cord Cutters?

Sling TV — Valid Alternative for Cord Cutters?

Last Updated: November 18, 2015

Written by:

With more people eschewing their digital TV subscriptions to take advantage of an Internet connection to stream movies and TV shows, new services hope to attract these potential customers by bundling some of the more popular Cable channels under one offering. Sling TV site, a subsidiary of the Dish Network, is a notable example of this new kind of television service.

Sling TV is available by using an app for nearly every computer and mobile operating system. It is also compatible with the Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast — three of the most popular TV/Video players. If you are planning on joining the ranks of cord-cutters, here’s a closer at Sling TV’s programming and subscription options.

Many Popular Cable TV Channels Found on Sling TV

A basic Sling TV subscription costs $20 per month, and you also get a 7-day free trial period to see if the service meets your viewing needs. It is generally easier to unsubscribe to streaming services compared to Cable and Satellite TV providers, so be sure to take advantage of any free trials coming your way. Sling TV typically offers free or discounted video players (Roku, Chromecast, etc.) for new subscribers, so check out those deals when subscribing.

For the $20 monthly fee, Sling TV provides over 20 channels covering a wide range of subjects — sports, food, news, and more. ESPN, CNN, HGTV, and the Travel Channel are some of the channels included with a basic package. HBO — both live and on demand — runs an extra $15 per month — the same price as an HBO Now subscription.

If your television viewing tastes are focused on a specific subject, a variety of add-on packages are available for an extra five dollars per month. A Sports Extra package includes the SEC Network, Universal Sports Network, a host of smaller ESPN networks, and others — nine in total. Other extra packages focus on kids, lifestyle, and a variety of foreign channels.

Sling TV tries to aim for the a la carte channel model desired for years by many Cable and Satellite subscribers.

Make Sure your Internet Bandwidth supports HD Video Streaming

Speed test to ensure your Internet service is able to handle streaming HD video from Sling TV without buffering or other problems. Anything over 5 Mbps should be good enough, provided no one else on your network is also consuming bandwidth. In that situation, consider investing in a Router review to optimize your home network performance.

If you are looking at streaming services to use with a video player, Sling TV definitely belongs on your short list. Be sure to take advantage of any special deals if you haven’t yet purchased a device.

About the Authors

Learn Sling TV — Valid Alternative for Cord Cutters?

Dish Internet: Get Dish Network Satellite Internet

Last Updated: June 20, 2014

Written by:

Satellite TV subscribers sometimes suffer from limited access to broadband options provided by DSL or Cable, usually users in rural regions not served by those landline Internet providers. The Dish Network Internet option, known as dishNET, offers the opportunity for high-speed access, but interested customers need to pay close attention to some of the differences of most Satellite Internet service plans. Bandwidth caps during the day are typical with most Internet services delivered by satellite.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the features offered by dishNET.

dishNET Internet Service: Features and Limitations

Dish Network offers dishNET as part of a bundle with a phone service, and subscribers of their Satellite TV a monthly $10 discount from the cost of their normal fee. Other service highlights include:

Download Speeds of up to 10 Mbps
Singular Bill Convenience
Choose from Multiple Plans — each with a Two-Year Contract Requirement
$10 Monthly Equipment Lease Fee Applies
24/7 Customer Support Availability

While 10 Mbps worth of bandwidth doesn’t rival many of the higher-end Cable and Fiber Internet services, it definitely beats dial-up speed in the rural hinterlands. It is also important to note that Dish lists their download speeds with the “up to” caveat. So if you decide to subscribe, make sure to perform a speed test regularly to check your actual bandwidth.

dishNET feels like a Wireless Internet Plan

A typical dishNET lower-end plan runs around $39.99 per month for up to 5 Mbps of bandwidth. Most importantly, that includes only 5GB of “Anytime” data and 5GB of bonus data each month, making the service akin to a wireless Internet plan provided by AT&T or Verizon. Bonus data is only available during off-peak hours, generally from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.

More expensive plans bump up the data amounts and raise the bandwidth level to 10 Mbps. For $69.99 per month, you’ll get 15GB each of Anytime and bonus data. Once you exceed your monthly data limit, the bandwidth gets throttled to 128 Kbps. Ouch!

While a dishNET isn’t going to support a regular diet of movie streaming — in fact Dish themselves don’t recommend it — it does provide an option for high-speed Internet for users without access to a Cable, DSL, or an affordable mobile service. For those of you in rural regions who have satellite tv, the Dish Network Internet option might be your best bet to get online.