There's a good reason why Dish Network's Sling TV, a live television service that streams channels over the Internet to smartphones, tablets and set-top boxes, garnered a ton of excitement at CES 2015.
Sling TV is the first step in unbundling cable TV channels. It's not quite à la carte yet, and there are a few kinks, but it's a step in the right direction.
Who wants to pay up the wazoo for channels they don't want because cable providers force subscribers to? Not budget-conscious cord-cutters and digitally-connected-and-always-too-busy "cord-nevers." It's why video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have taken off into the stratosphere.
I easily fit into the cord-never group. I've never considered paying for cable TV because it's so expensive and I don't need all the channels. But live cable TV including ESPN and ESPN2 on any of my mobile screens or TV for $20 a month? Count me in.
What channels you get and don't get
I don't have time to sit around and flip through hundreds of TV channels. Like most millennials, the Internet commands my attention — YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Reddit suck practically all my free hours after work. TV gets whatever time is leftover after all that.
For $20 a month, Sling TV gives you access to 12 "basic" cable channels: CNN, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, TBS, ABC Family, TNT, HGTV, Travel Channel and Maker. It's a decent channel package that's intended to include a little of everything: sports, news, kids and family entertainment. If you want more, you can fork over $5 for "add-on packs" which give you a few more channels like Bloomberg Television and HLN.
I can't watch the final half-season of Suits (USA Network) and Brooklyn's whiniest quartet in Girls (HBO) is also out of the question, but at least I can get my sports from ESPN/ESPN2 and childish giggles from Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The rest is just padding for me.
The Sling TV app is easy and intuitive to navigate, everything a cable TV remote isn't. The app starts playing whatever channel you last watched. On touchscreen devices, a swipe in from the left brings up your channel selections and a swipe in from the right reveals sorting choices, including Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
There are three things that I wish weren't so. One: Sling TV doesn't have regular broadcast TV. No CBS, NBC, FOX or ABC. Do you still watch those? Oh well.
Two: You can't pause most live TV (only a a handful of channels like Bloomberg Television and the Travel Channel let you pause and rewind what's playing and view content from a few days ago) or skip past commercials. Sling TV's not a DVR, after all.
And three: You can only watch Sling TV on one device at a time. If you're a single bachelor (or bachelorette) that's A-okay, but for families where everyone has their own screen and wants to watch different shows at the same time, it's a serious blow. I have no doubt the lockdown is to prevent sharing your account with friends.
You can also rent movies in SD ($3.99+) and HD ($4.99+) quality for 24 hours. There's a mix of new and old stuff from Lucy to Spy Kids. But be careful — I tried renting Everly for $10.99 in HD and it said in the fine print: "The SD format will be played if you watch this rental on a PC/Mac, tablet, or phone." So basically, you'll only get HD-quality streams if you're watching on a TV. Otherwise, save yourself the the extra dollar and rent the SD version in the first place. Very sneaky, Sling TV.
Works on hardware you already own
Assuming you already own an iOS or Android device (and who doesn't these days?), Sling TV requires no additional hardware investment on your part. All you need to get started is the free Sling TV app.
I tested Sling TV on a number of smartphones and tablets in different sizes from an iPad mini 2, iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Dell Venue 8 7000. I also tried it out on a Roku 3. I had no troubles installing the app on any of the hardware.
Sling says iOS, Android and Roku 3 are the first platforms its supporting right now. In the future, the app will run on the Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Google Nexus Player, as well as Samsung and LG HDTVs.
Streaming quality depends on Internet speed
Sling TV, like all video streaming services, is slave to your Internet connection. We all know the feeling of wanting to throw our remotes at our TVs when Netflix freezes up and starts "buffering."
Sling TV is the same. If you have fast broadband with plenty of bandwidth, you're likely good to go. Stream quality at the Mashable office was excellent, but then again we have 80 Mbps downloads and 104 Mbps uploads here. Google Fiber notwithstanding, the typical American home's Internet speed is nowhere close to that.
A more realistic representation is at my own apartment where I pay way too much for 30 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up, but regularly get somewhere closer to 20 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. Sling TV worked well at home, but I hit the dreaded "buffering" screens a few times. I don't even want to think what it'd be like on slow DSL.
That's only connection reliability. Video quality is viewable, but not particularly crisp at all. You can toggle between Best (no limit), High (1.5 Mbps), Medium (800 kbps) and Low (500 kbps). I had the quality set to Best at the office and at home, but it only ever averaged around 1.3 Mbps, meaning a lot of videos looked like standard-definition, with plenty of muddled, blocky pixelation in details. Channels are viewable, but if you're using a high-res smartphone or tablet, you'll definitely see it's not HD sharp.
Decisions...decisions...
Sling TV isn't for everyone. I know math can be hard, but you have to decide for yourself if the 12 channels are enough and if it's worth the $20 a month or not.
As a single guy who doesn't need to share his TV time with anyone else and has little need for hundreds of channels I don't want, Sling TV is perfect for me. I get the news, sports and cartoons; I'm set. And I can get broadcast TV with the $3 bunny ears antenna I picked up at the discount store.
But best of all: Sling TV doesn't lock you into any contracts. Cancel at any time and you're free to go.
Sling TV launched on Tuesday and the company is sending out invites to interested customers starting this week.
UPDATE 2/9/15: Sling TV is going to get sweeter. AMC Networks (AMC, BBC America, BBC World News, IFC, Sundance TV and WE tv) will be added to the $20 basic package in the coming weeks.
Sling TV
The Good
Only $20 per month
Easy to set up
Simple, straightforward interface
The Bad
Only works on one device at a time
Can't pause most channels or skip commercials
Sneaky HD movie rental fine print
The Bottom Line
Sling TV's not perfect, but it's the only service that lets you stream 12 live TV channels -- including ESPN -- to all sorts of devices, but only one at a time.