If you hate the high cost of cable, and want to cut the cord, there are options out there and/or coming. Of course, people have already started the process with cutting cable by subscribing to things such as Hulu, Netflix, and other on demand services that give you the option of watching television either the day after it happens or watching it in spurts as they release full seasons elsewhere. There are lots of ways that people are looking to save money and cable is one of the first things to go. What about the sports fans though? What about the ability to watch premium channels and other things that we miss by not having cable at all? There are two services that are looking to fuse their way into the entertainment market even more, one that utilizes the Xbox One, cell phones, tablets and computers and one on the PlayStation 4 among other PlayStation devices as well as the latter that the competition uses too. PlayStation Vue and Sling TV are services that work through the internet allowing you to watch live content through your favorite device, but which is the better option? Say you own both systems, which one becomes even more of the entertainment focus of your living room. Or how about not owning either but thinking about the benefits of each, as well as the cost savings from it with cable? We are going to compare the services and give our take on which one is the best value and growth potential for the future.
Price:
When comparing the price, it is night and day difference, but Sling TV is a little more beta than PlayStation Vue is at this point too. The first time that we have seen anything really from Sling is at CES just this past week. However, Sling has already nailed one of the biggest things that will draw sports fans and that is ESPN and ESPN 2. While PlayStation Vue has both as well and a slew of other channels, at this point we only know a few that Sling has, but the price is $60 versus $20. Sling comes in cheaper and has what most will care about cutting their cable for and one of the biggest set of channels that keeps people with cable and satellite provides. If price is your biggest issue, then Sling is the way to go. Should you not already own a console, the price isn’t going to be one that breaks you either and Microsoft has already proved more willing to move on the cost of their console then the powers-that-be at Sony. Though in all fairness, Sony didn’t have the work to do that Microsoft did from launch either. However, it is more likely that we would see a price drop, permanently, on the Xbox One rather than the PS4. So this one goes to Sling and the Xbox One.
Winner: Xbox One, Sling TV
The Kaiser
This article to me isn’t completely accurate… The pricing of Vue isnt even known at this time. Also with Sling you get 11 channels for $20 is kind of steep and I say 11 because from my understanding Adult Swim is not a channel but part of Cartoon Network. Also this article needs to list the other add-ons for Sling TV like kids extra for $5 more and the additional news package which also another $5 bucks. Also Vue offers dvr service via the cloud which sling does not. But both services seem interesting but only time will tell how this will work out especially with internet service providers. I see prices increasing due to this tv revolution.
harriskatz
To the author… Where did you get Vue’s price from? There have not been any announcements about it.
YOUDIEMOFO
Where is this guy because I’d like to know.
harriskatz
Now on page 3 of the article…. where do you get that the infrastructure of Vue may be problematic. It is not on the same network as PSN. But, even so, the only problems PSN has had since the launch of PS4 is DDOS attacks, which the XBox has also been a victim of over the holidays.
Guest
Correct, but it was a no brainer. Everything Sony fails sooner or later.