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PlayStation Vue Streaming Service Review

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PlayStation Vue Streaming Service Review

This review of PlayStation Vue Streaming Service is meant to acquaint the reader with all the important information about the service including price, features etc. PlayStation Vue can be recommended for just about anybody looking to ditch their cable provider, but especially for those already signed up for the PlayStation Network or PlayStation Plus.

Sling TV Packages and price

Plans Price Channels
Access $39.99/mo. 43+ channels
Core $44.99/mo. 55+ channels
Elite $54.99/mo. 78+ channels
Ultra $74.99/mo. 90+ channels
PlayStation Vue has plans priced similar to traditional cable. There are plenty of add-ons as well and since your contract is month to month, you won’t worry about big scary termination fees if you want to try a different service. Overall, it seems like a good deal. Moreover, If you’re a member of PlayStation’s PS Plus, you will receive a discount on the following add-ons: Showtime, HBO/Cinemax bundle, Epix Hits/Showtime bundle, and Fox Soccer Plus.

What channels are available on PlayStation Vue ?

Popular channels like AMC, FX, ESPN, ESPN2, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Fox News, CNN, and HGTV are there. with the highest–tier package having 89+ channels.

PlayStation Vue viewing experience

Playback is pretty simple and intuitive. Also, the interface is better than most cable and streaming services.Caption services also look pretty decent. PlayStation Vue is the only streaming live TV service that works on PlayStation Consoles but works for most devices.

Sign-up is pretty easy .You will need an account on the PlayStation Network (PSN) tied to a credit card and a residential address.

While viewing it displays a show’s progress with a red and white bar so we know at what point we’re tuning in. Plus there is an option for favorite Channels and Favorite Shows. Another good section is the Sports section.

On the PS Vue’s watching window top right corner you’ll see

  •  “ON DEMAND,” meaning you can access it whenever
  • The channel logo which you can click to see what else is on the network.
  • Either a check mark or a plus sign, meaning that you’ve added or can add a show to your favorites.

The standard playback controls are also there. Play/pause, rewind, fast-forward, back to beginning, volume, HD and closed captioning, browse mode , and full screen. Moreover, the rewind and fast-forward features work in increments, so every time you click the button it adds another 10 seconds.

Since it is live TV, you won’t be able to skip commercials unless you’re watching an on-demand program.

When it comes to captions,  there is a wide variety of Closed Caption settings from PS Vue thus making it suitable for people having hearing disabilities.

PlayStation Vue DVR

PlayStation Vue’s DVR system is free, you just need to add a program to “My Shows” for it to automatically record. It will store for a month, and there’s no limit to the number of recordings. If you don’t record the show and it’s not on demand, you can jump around any part of the program that has aired since you selected it, but not earlier.

Compatible Devices

  • PlayStation 3
  • PlayStation 4
  • Roku streaming devices (7.1 and up)
  • Apple TV (4th gen OS 10.0 and up)
  • Amazon Fire TV (all)
  • Android TV (Android OS 4.4 and up)
  • iOS devices: iPad Mini, iPad 2 and on running iOS 7.0 or iOS 8.0, iPhone 5 or later, iPod Touch 4 or later
  • Amazon: Fire HD6 tablets and above
  • Android: Phones and tablets running Android OS version 4.4 or higher
  • Google Chromecast

Conclusion

With PlayStation VueYou’ll get high channel counts,  and a flexibility to add or remove premiums month-to-month. Also it works on pretty much all of your devices. DVR is  free too.  Big names like AMC, Cartoon Network, CNN, Discovery Channel, Food Network, Fox News, are available although some major networks are absent. The information is all before you to make the choice.

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BlueHost Review. Can companies rely on Bluehost service?

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Choosing the right hosting plan for your website can be the most crucial decision for your business online presence. There is a bunch of hosting service providers who are providing awesome services. In this post ‘Bluehost Review’, I will review Bluehost so that you can make an informed decision before you finalize your hosting plan.

BlueHost Review. Can companies rely on Bluehost service?

Bluehost is one of the top picks for many when it comes to selecting a hosting plan for their websites. Even WordPress officially recommends Bluehost!

If you want to skip reading the details, for a limited time, you can buy the hosting plan for a discount if you Sign Up from this link- Signup at Bluehost

If you are an online business, chances are you must have received emails from many companies offering their hosting services at “Cheap rate”. But anyone who has used them knows that their tall claims and promises are nothing but lies. Their support is pathetic, the frequency of downtime is high, extra services are minimal etc.

There are very few hosting services in the market that I prefer. Bluehost is one of them. Currently, I am using Bluehost on 3 of my websites and I am pretty happy with the experience.

Over the last few years, Bluehost had carved a name for itself with outstanding server performance and top notch customer support. My tickets were resolved within 13 hours on an average.

In this post, I will be sharing a detailed analysis & review of Bluehost hosting, and you can decide if this hosting is right for you or not.

Some of the things one must consider before purchasing any hosting plan are:

  • High Uptime
  • Price so that it doesn’t create a hole in your pocket
  • Customer Support when you face technical issues.
  • Hardware offering to ensure we are using the best server quality

Review of Bluehost Shared Hosting:

Broadly speaking, Bluehost offers following four hosting packages:

1. Shared hosting,

2. VPS hosting,

3. WordPress managed web-hosting

4. Dedicated hosting.

So if you are planning to start a small business or a new blog, you can opt for a shared hosting plan of Bluehost and it comes in 3 different packages. As your business scales, you can opt for dedicated hosting.

Let’s first address the question of reliability.

Before 2015, I had just heard about Bluehost. Though I was happy with my existing hosting providers, I was expecting a little bit more on the Customer Support front. Specifically, the turnaround time. That’s when I decided to give Bluehost a shot.

The installation part was pretty simple. The intuitive interface and the Interactive Guide(a unique feature of Bluehost) made things pretty easy.

If you are using WordPress host, apart from running the latest version of PHP and MYSQL your servers should be configured to handle the extra load that typically can happen with WordPress.  In this case, Bluehost handles the load pretty well.

In my case, Bluehost has handled load even upto 25,000 visitors per day.  Caching system is inbuilt and that makes your task easy.

Free SSL Certificate:

It is almost a common knowledge that Google has made SSL certificate as one of the search engine ranking factor and therefore a secure site(https) is likely to be ranked above nonsecure sites(http) in Google rankings. Bluehost offers free SSL certificate to every new & existing user!

Bluehost will automatically install & configure SSL certificate.

You just have to slide a secure button and woohoo, you are secure!

Pricing:

When it comes to pricing, you can choose from 3 plans.

hosting plans bluehost

So which plan to choose?

  • For one website, you should buy the basic package.
  • For multiple sites, go with the “plus” package.
  • If you need who.is and code guard & site backup pro, you should go for the prime package. This package will make your identity safe as no one will be able to access your address via who.is

My recommendation for most users would be the “plus” package as it offers everything you need.

What’s great is that even though you are opting for basic plan, you will get a free domain.

Bluehost offers unlimited hosting resources. This simply means that you can host unlimited files, (Disk space) and use unlimited bandwidth. Currently, they allow the MySQL size of 3Gb. They also have a CPU limit, but that is pretty high compared to other hosting services.

What about the interface?

Bluehost uses cPanel, which is very easy to use with its icons. Moreover, they have also changed their dashboard to make it more intuitive.

cPanel makes managing your hosting account simple and it is almost used by most of the top hosting providers.

The connection between Bluehost and WordPress is long and Bluehost is in the process of upgrading its infrastructure so that Worpress powered websites have a seamless experience.

They have already started doing this by providing inbuilt caching feature. It simply means you can say goodbye to caching plugins.

caching bluehost

Last but not the least Customer support!

I only used their customer support thrice but I have to say that they have one of the best support mechanisms. On two occasions, I used their normal ticket system to raise my issue. On both the occasions, the turn around time was less that 12 hours. Given the complexity of the problem at hand, I was literally surprised by their response time. Moreover, they provided all the possible screenshots along with clear cut explanations. The other time I used their Telephonic support and I was happy with their resolution. And yes, I didn’t have to wait for 5 minutes listening to a piece of boring music before they received my call 😉

There may be other aspects of their service which have been left out in this review. Nevertheless, I am sure, you will be able to make a better decision after this Bluehost review.

DisclosureTimes of Startups is a professional site that reviews products and services of other companies whose products or services we have tried or tested. We test each product thoroughly and give high marks to only the very best. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own and not that of the product or service owner. However, we receive a commission for any sale made through the affiliate link we provide in the review.

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Hulu with Live TV Review

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Hulu with Live TV Review

This review of Hulu with Live TV is meant to acquaint the reader with all the important information about the service including price, features etc. Hulu with Live TV lets you watch some of your favorite cable channels live, as well as a lot of your favorite cable shows on demand.

Hulu with Live TV Packages and pricing

Hulu offers  50+ channels for $40 per month. Hulu’s live TV  includes A&E, Bravo, CNN, Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, Food Network, Fox News, Fox Sports, History, National Geographic, Syfy, TBS, TNT, USA including  sports and kids’ content.

But some famous channels are missing too. The Viacom channels are missing. Eg. Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. Some premium channels, such as Cinemax, HBO or Starz. and  PBS as a local station, which are missing too.

However, you have access to Hulu’s full list of streaming shows, movies and original programs. Hulu with Live TV offers a range of add-on services that users can purchase on top of the base $40-per-month cost. Showtime costs an extra $9 per month, which can bring the total to $74 per month. After including all those extras, one could get  pretty decent package.

You’ll even get a generous collection of local channels, such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

Hulu with Live TV viewing experience

When it comes to video quality, Hulu has made great strides over the past year. The streaming service now offers 4K video for its original series and selected movies. Though, 4K resolution is available only on Xbox One S and PS4 Pro systems. HuluMost TV stations broadcast at 720p; most on-demand movies reach 1080p. Live feeds and DVR take a little bit longer than Hulu and network on-demand content however, it isn’t worse than any other streaming service out there.

Unlike YouTube TV, Hulu’s live TV service doesn’t come in a separate app. When it comes to colors, instead of the old green-and-white menus, Hulu now has a whole color spectrum.

Home screen contains “recommended” content, you can also access favorite programs and channels.

Each main menu has a lot of submenus. The Browse menu also allows you to you choose content by genre, as well as explore by network, live, on-demand, Hulu Originals.

However, once you get deep into the menus, there’s no easy way to return to the main screen. The menus also lagged a bit on the Xbox One.

Hulu’s live TV service lacks a full channel guide. You can’t simply call up a guide and scroll through everything. You can look at a daily schedule on a channel-by-channel basis, or scroll through a list of what’s playing live at the moment. Also searching channels can be a bit daunting task on Hulu unless you know what exactly you are looking for.

Hulu with Live TV DVR

You get 50 hours of storage, and newer programs automatically push older ones out. Expanding your DVR to 200 hours from the default 50 will cost $15, and allowing unlimited simultaneous streams rather than the default two will also cost $15, although you can save $10 if you buy both the expanded DVR and unlimited streams together.

Setting up your DVR options is extremely simple. Movies will record once; shows will record all episodes that Hulu can find. . The system works just fine, but it’s not as generous as YouTube TV’s unlimited DVR capabilities.

Compatible Devices

Currently, Hulu with Live TV is compatible with on Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Android and Xbox One. The company plans to roll out apps for Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Samsung smart TVs and computers over the next few months.

Conclusion

Hulu with Live TV is easy to navigate. However, advertisement, overpriced extras can discourage you from buying extras.  The streaming service’s redesigned interface is pretty decent . Moreover, you get plenty of interesting channels for a reasonable price. One can try Hulu for sure given the options that are available and the viewing experience is pretty decent too.

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fuboTV Review 2018

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fuboTV Review

This review of fuboTV is meant to acquaint the reader with all the important information about the service including price, features etc. fuboTV is one of the best way to watch international football-soccer online. It does offer regular and popular entertainment channels as well but fuboTV specializes in sports programming.  You’ll get notable sports channels like beIN SPORTS, NBCSN, ESPN Deportes, FS1, FS2, and Fox Deportes.

fuboTV plans and pricing

Plans Price Channels
fubo Premier $34.99/mo. 62+
fubo Latino $14.99/mo. 13+
fubo Português $19.99/mo. 6+

*Price and channel inclusion vary according to location.

Recently, fuboTV has changed the Premier package price to $19.99 for two months before reverting to the $34.99 price after.

If you’re after high channel counts , you can get better deals in the market.  But if you want these specific sports channels, fuboTV is the better option. Moreover, fubo makes it easy to watch lesser-viewed events that don’t always get covered by bigger networks like ESPN.fuboTV’s price of $34.99 is warranted given the focused sports programming, especially for lesser-viewed events .If Central and South American or Latin sports aren’t your thing, it’s better and cheaper to go with either Sling TV or DIRECTV NOW.

 fuboTV viewing experience

Programming is listed by date, and it shows how many events are contained in the date. It also lists event type, whether the event has started, the teams playing or what tournament it’s part of, and what channel it’s being broadcast on. You can either tune into the channel or set up a DVR recording.

fuboTV’s interface makes it really easy to find your sporting event quickly. You can set a DVR recording or watch live directly from this menu.

The home screen highlights main events and provides a countdown to the live sports event in days/hours/minutes/seconds. You can also watch live matches and your DVR recordings simultaneously.

With some channels, a playback timeline (play/pause/rewind) is provided so you can catch up from the beginning or jump back to live.

 fuboTV DVR?

DVR service is automatically free with fuboTV—unlike Sling TV, which costs $5 extra per month. With the fuboTV DVR, you automatically get 30 hours of programming and save it for an unlimited amount of time.  You can add the Advanced DVR for an extra $10 per month, which expands your storage to 500 hours.

When you record a program, even retroactively, you’ll have it from beginning to end every time, which is realllly nice for those of us who forget time exists. fubo’s DVR is less of a “record” function and more of a “request” function. What this means is you don’t have to worry about starting your recording halfway through and missing the beginning of a match.

Anytime you have the DVR option available, simply click and it will automatically schedule the program. There’s no need to set times either

Some issues

The interface is a little too minimal in some regards.Also, watching live TV doesn’t always give you a playback timeline; that means you won’t always be able to back up and replay a section without having a recorded version or without waiting ‘til the event is complete.

Hovering over the timeline doesn’t give you a preview thumbnail picture (like Netflix) and interface doesn’t have a decent replay function built in.

What’s annoying using the fuboTV app on a mobile device is how long the menu screens and pause/play button stay up after touching.

When it comes to captions, they take up too much of the middle of the screen, making it hard to tell what’s going on in the match. Therefore it isn’t that great a help for people with hearing disabilities.

Compatible devices

Can be watched on any device: iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast

Conclusion

fuboTV is one of the best way to watch international football-soccer online. It does offer regular and popular entertainment channels as well but fuboTV specializes in sports programming . Also, it provides the one of the best, and least-expensive way to watch international soccer. We recommend fuboTV primarily for fans of soccer who want Digital Video Recording (DVR) service.

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