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Pac 12 network / direct tv (PACN now on fuboTV streaming)

We cut the cord a few months ago and here are some tips that might help some people.

#1 - before you cut the cord change your number with DTV or your current provider, especially if you have DTV. Get a free google voice number and change that to your service number. They will haunt you like a overly attached girlfriend after a bad breakup. I got calls for months asking me over and over why I canceled my service. Save yourself the headache and dump in the garbage.

#2 - find a family member that will share their login info for cable tv. This will make streaming much easier.

Here is my ranking of streaming devices:
#1 - Channel Master Antenna DVR. For the price of two months of direct tv, you can buy a DVR that you can hook up a hard drive to. You get a two week on screen program guide, a better picture than satellite, and all the functionality of recording that you had with the other systems. This will only work for you major channels (channel 2, CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox). There are like 55 other channels, but they all suck. There are two tuners and will only work in one room, so there is some downside, but you can adjust pretty quick. You can also pause and rewind live tv which is great.
#2 - Apple TV. It doesn't have the volume of channels that you have with ROKU, but the ones that are there work good. Add in HBO for $15 a month and get access to some great shows. The biggest downside is the remote is absolutely awful. I am using a gen 1.
#3 - ROKU. lots and lots of channels. I am using a gen 2 for this and a lot of channels have problems streaming. The cool thing with these streaming devices is you can log in with someone else's cable codes and watch things like ESPN (except with someone's comcast login because they block it because they suck). I was really surprised to see the ACC app in Roku and really found that PAC12 dropped the ball on this one.
#4 - laptop - really got used to watching shows on my laptop. Lots of shows stream for free with a few ads and others you can login to an online portal and watch online.
#5 - everything else, tablets are hit and miss getting content to load properly. I have a android tablet, and ipad and a fire and all are mediocre. The chromecast is interesting as it has channels that others don't like Food network, but it still kinda sucks.

Once you cut the cord, you will probably never go back. There is just so many channels that are garbage, that it doesn't make sense to keep paying. Live sports will take a hit that I haven't truly worked around, but between the PAC12 network on my laptop and bronco games over the antenna, I have been pretty happy.

The new Apple remote with Siri is very good.

I am also doing a free trial with Sling TV. So far it works good and you get ESPN and ESPN2. They added SEC this season maybe they add the Pac?
 
I haven't had cable/sat for two years now, and haven't missed a Buffs football game yet.

Roku for the hardware.
Sling gets you all the ESPN affiliates
Tablo to watch/DVR the over-the-air networks
A VPN to Europe for the official YouTube Pac-12 international network channel (live feed plus full replays for all games)

The above was easy.

FSN and NBCSN require getting a family or friend login. That can be a little more tricky.

CBSSN just sucks donkey balls for online access. You're pretty much stuck with ****ty stream websites or heading to the neighborhood bar.
 
I haven't had cable/sat for two years now, and haven't missed a Buffs football game yet.

Roku for the hardware.
Sling gets you all the ESPN affiliates
Tablo to watch/DVR the over-the-air networks
A VPN to Europe for the official YouTube Pac-12 international network channel (live feed plus full replays for all games)

The above was easy.

FSN and NBCSN require getting a family or friend login. That can be a little more tricky.

CBSSN just sucks donkey balls for online access. You're pretty much stuck with ****ty stream websites or heading to the neighborhood bar.
That sounds like such a pain in the ass. I, err, my wife would never figure all that out.
 
That sounds like such a pain in the ass. I, err, my wife would never figure all that out.
It's a little bit of a headache to get set up, but it's honestly a hell of a lot less frustrating than scheduling and waiting for the cable guy to not show up.

And, now that it's all set up, it's probably simpler to operate than most cable system setups (Rokus are amazingly intuitive, and everything runs through that one box).
 
I haven't had cable/sat for two years now, and haven't missed a Buffs football game yet.

Roku for the hardware.
Sling gets you all the ESPN affiliates
Tablo to watch/DVR the over-the-air networks
A VPN to Europe for the official YouTube Pac-12 international network channel (live feed plus full replays for all games)

The above was easy.

FSN and NBCSN require getting a family or friend login. That can be a little more tricky.

CBSSN just sucks donkey balls for online access. You're pretty much stuck with ****ty stream websites or heading to the neighborhood bar.

Which VPN do you use?
 
Doesn´t work with unblock-us (my VPN/DNS). Do they charge you a monthly fee and what country do you access from via your VPN?
Yes, there is a monthly or yearly fee for the channel. I think its 5€/month or 50€/year.
I connect through the Netherlands and use NordVPN, but I might switch to a different VPN next season because sometimes google thinks their Netherlands severs are in Germany, and the youtube channel subscription is by country - so if you have a subscription in the Netherlands, but your IP address says you're in Germany, you'll need an additional German subscription.

All that being said, I just discovered a new legal* source for college sports, and I am almost certainly going this route next season:
http://eversport.tv/content/college-game-pass

It's a little more expensive, but they only care if you're outside of X countries, where X changes based on what you're viewing. For Pac-12 Networks, you merely need to be outside of the US or China - hello fast, reliable and short distance Canadian VPN. But what starts making it really compelling is that they also offer the B1G Network, and FoxSports college games, here's the geography restrictions for each one:
Pac-12 Networks: Outside of USA and China
Big 10: Outside of USA, Canada, Caribbean
Fox: Outside of USA, Canada, Mexico, Central/South America and Caribbean
Big Sky, Atlantic Sun and others: Available in all countries including USA

*Pac-12 Networks lists eversport as a partner, so I'd say it's legit.
 
Yes, there is a monthly or yearly fee for the channel. I think its 5€/month or 50€/year.
I connect through the Netherlands and use NordVPN, but I might switch to a different VPN next season because sometimes google thinks their Netherlands severs are in Germany, and the youtube channel subscription is by country - so if you have a subscription in the Netherlands, but your IP address says you're in Germany, you'll need an additional German subscription.

Thanks. I live in Germany and the geoblocks here are annoying. Laws are a little strange.
 
Just saw a Wilner Tweet that AT&T is pulling the plug on U-Verse and that the PAC 12 Network is going to lose 6 million paid subscriptions in the flip of a switch. He went on to say equity sale is inevitable now, not if, but when. this might have already been touched on but this is the first I have heard it is a done deal
 
Need to be forward thinkers and figure out some type of Internet subscription for PAC 12 network.
 
Need to be forward thinkers and figure out some type of Internet subscription for PAC 12 network.
I don't want to stream it on the internet. I want to be able to watch it on my TV with all the functionality the TV provides.

I sure as hell hope the current providers of all the other conference networks will force them into the same deal DTV is forcing the Pac into, assuming they haven't already.
 
All of the bravado in the world isnt going to help this thing. The"yeah but we own it" is along the lines of a guy driving up in BMW and a guy climbing out of a POS 40yr old Pinto and saying "Yeah but I own it" at which point BMW guy with payment laughs until he crys
Nobody else did it this way for a reason, time for Larry to call Fox or ESPN and take the money and run.
 
Just saw a Wilner Tweet that AT&T is pulling the plug on U-Verse and that the PAC 12 Network is going to lose 6 million paid subscriptions in the flip of a switch. He went on to say equity sale is inevitable now, not if, but when. this might have already been touched on but this is the first I have heard it is a done deal





Uverse was essentially TV over copper wire phone lines. The article indicates that are trying to consolidate it all into some kind of home entertainment hub that will be part satellite, part cell phone, part fiberoptic.

Interestingly (suspicious) Uverse lost 240,000 customers recently while DTV gained about 210,000...
 


FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler first announced the proposed rule changes last month, and it's been met by criticism from a cable industry that has long kept the keys to the castle. Cable companies have argued that the future may leave the cable box behind entirely — focused, instead, on apps — and that the FCC is driving innovation from the wrong direction.

Wheeler argues that if any company can build a box that can communicate with any TV service, those companies will be able to get started building cable boxes rather than having to work out other deals first. The competition, the Chairman argues, will drive down costs and improve device options for consumers. He said at the assembled meeting that "consumers have no choice today," and that the proposed rules did not make major changes for consumers. "It only creates the opportunity for them to have choice."

"While the cost of other technologies have fallen as competition increased, the cost of a set-top box has risen at more than three times the rate of inflation for American paid-TV subscribers over that same period," FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said at the meeting, in support of the proposed rules. She noted that more than $200 per year was spent on set-top box rentals.
 




Uverse was essentially TV over copper wire phone lines. The article indicates that are trying to consolidate it all into some kind of home entertainment hub that will be part satellite, part cell phone, part fiberoptic.

Interestingly (suspicious) Uverse lost 240,000 customers recently while DTV gained about 210,000...


Satellite distribution is the most cost effective method known to mankind to broadcast TV. It's much cheaper to launch a few satellites and place dishes on people's homes than negotiate with municipalities to string thousands of miles of fiber and copper everywhere, and then dig up people's gardens to connect a home through U-Verse.

But network costs are only half the picture.

U-Verse and its 6M subs have media contracts that are more pricy than DTV. DTV can leverage its position as the single largest linear subscriber base with a national footprint to get cheaper content and sell more expensive advertising.

Let's say U-Verse charges on avg $120 per subscriber, of which the network costs $60 and the content costs $60.

Compare with DTV, who on avg charges $80 per sub, of which the network costs $25 and the content costs $50.

Which part of the business would you emphasize?

DTV is cheaper and more profitable. While the numbers are just made up, this is the type of analysis behind decisions that are being talked about here.

Where the story gets interesting is taking DTV's content and making it available to AT&T mobile customers.

AT&T is also offering an unlimited mobile data plan to customers who are Directv customers. Mobile users can watch DirecTV anywhere without the need to set up Hulu, slingbox, and Netflix, and don't need a wifi connection to make that affordable.

AT&T can sell that in all 50 states, and not be limited to the 21 states where Uverse network is offered.

It's sad to hear reports that UVerse may be playing hardball P12N. I wouldn't hold my breath on Directv and AT&T agreeing to cough up more money to pay Larry Scott. Something has got to give. When it comes to distribution, one party has a lot more leverage than the other.
 
I don't want to stream it on the internet. I want to be able to watch it on my TV with all the functionality the TV provides.

Really? The Buffs are literally the only thing left we watch on Dish. Everything else is via Amazon TV - still on TV with all / more functionality the TV provides, and a better picture nowadays to boot. Ok, we'll watch the next presidential election results I'm sure.

And I'm old. This whole thread gets progressively more moot each year, traditional TV is going down.
 
I haven't had cable/sat for two years now, and haven't missed a Buffs football game yet.

Roku for the hardware.
Sling gets you all the ESPN affiliates
Tablo to watch/DVR the over-the-air networks
A VPN to Europe for the official YouTube Pac-12 international network channel (live feed plus full replays for all games)

The above was easy.

FSN and NBCSN require getting a family or friend login. That can be a little more tricky.

CBSSN just sucks donkey balls for online access. You're pretty much stuck with ****ty stream websites or heading to the neighborhood bar.

Thanks! Now how do I add the Sunday ticket?
 
Just saw a Wilner Tweet that AT&T is pulling the plug on U-Verse and that the PAC 12 Network is going to lose 6 million paid subscriptions in the flip of a switch. He went on to say equity sale is inevitable now, not if, but when. this might have already been touched on but this is the first I have heard it is a done deal
Interesting business model. Merge 2 companies and then tell 6 million of your customers you can't have what you want...and were willing to pay for. Kind of telling them to look elsewhere for your content, right?
 
Interesting business model. Merge 2 companies and then tell 6 million of your customers you can't have what you want...and were willing to pay for. Kind of telling them to look elsewhere for your content, right?

Dubious that many of the 6M U-verse customers are also Pac12N viewers. U-Verse footprint is primarily inside the Big 12 and SEC footprint, and available on a premium sports package.
 
Satellite distribution is the most cost effective method known to mankind to broadcast TV. It's much cheaper to launch a few satellites and place dishes on people's homes than negotiate with municipalities to string thousands of miles of fiber and copper everywhere, and then dig up people's gardens to connect a home through U-Verse.

At the moment. Eventually were either going to have fiber up to the house. Or were going to have a technology thats near fiber speeds over copper. Since those systems are not owned by cable or satellite and they are wide open to any provider it will become more efficient for someone else to provide the same service at a lower cost like Netflix does.
 
Thanks! Now how do I add the Sunday ticket?
That's actually really easy. Find a random address in an apartment building that can't get directv service (you can verify the address is eligible for online Sunday Ticket on their website). Buy a prepaid visa/mastercard gift card that allows you to register a "billing" address for the card (there's quite a few that allow this). Use the card and that address to sign up and pay for your Internet subscription to Sunday Ticket. Then use the roku app.
 
That's actually really easy. Find a random address in an apartment building that can't get directv service (you can verify the address is eligible for online Sunday Ticket on their website). Buy a prepaid visa/mastercard gift card that allows you to register a "billing" address for the card (there's quite a few that allow this). Use the card and that address to sign up and pay for your Internet subscription to Sunday Ticket. Then use the roku app.
Yeah. Piece of cake.
 
At the moment. Eventually were either going to have fiber up to the house. Or were going to have a technology thats near fiber speeds over copper. Since those systems are not owned by cable or satellite and they are wide open to any provider it will become more efficient for someone else to provide the same service at a lower cost like Netflix does.

Please clarify. The fiber, coax, or twisted pair going into a building is network plant that is either owned by a municipal utility, cable operator, or phone company. The build and maintance of network plant is a costly endeavor. See Google Fiber.

Netflix is a content aggregator operating over the top of an Internet connection that they do not own or maintain. Netflix is not a network provider and couldn't serve anyone without an Internet distribution channel provided by someone else.
 
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