Hulu Live TV

[Debra17]

I want to subscribe to Hulu so I can watch March Madness. In reading the details the subscriber is required to connect from their residential network within 30 days to validate their residence location.

I was wondering if anyone here has Hulu and if so how you dealt with this. I’m going to sign up and at least get the first 30 days.

[kdbgoat]

Didn't see that when I looked at their site. They just need "location data" on portable devices. Looks like you just need to turn the location feature on your mobile device.

https://www.hulu.com/ncaa-march-madness

[Debra17]

I signed up and received a welcome email which includes the following:

Please complete your account setup.
Log in with a TV connected device that supports Hulu with Live TV. If you don't use one of these supported devices, click here and follow the steps to confirm your home location.

Complete this setup within your first 30 days to ensure that you can keep streaming everything in your Hulu plan.

I clicked the link for if you don’t have a supported device. It appears they will use location services to set your current location as your home. You can make 4 changes per year. I don’t want to set my current location as home so I didn’t complete the registration. I think the reason for it is to get local broadcast stations which I’m not that concerned with.

[docj]

I clicked the link for if you don’t have a supported device. It appears they will use location services to set your current location as your home. You can make 4 changes per year. I don’t want to set my current location as home so I didn’t complete the registration. I think the reason for it is to get local broadcast stations which I’m not that concerned with.

From my limited experience with Hulu Live TV, it appears that the major networks are provided using "local channels" but for us in Corpus Christi the so-called locals are actually from San Antonio.  I think the sole purpose of having you identify your residence is so they can provide you the appropriate channels, but once you identify your location they would have no way of knowing where you were at any given time.  I think the issue with respect to giving you reasonably local channels is to keep the advertisers happy for the same reason that satellite TV is only supposed to provide locals unless you have a DNS waiver.

The issue I had with Hulu Live was that it doesn't appear to use dynamic data rate compensation on its live video streams.   At our home base our WISP provides a ~5-10 Mbps internet connection and we have no problems at all streaming Netflix, Acorn, Amazon, etc.  But with Hulu Live we experienced  frequent and annoying rebuffering pauses which made it unwatchable.  I suspect that standard on-demand Hulu offerings would have been acceptable but my primary interest was using it as a replacement for DirecTV, which, for us, proved to be impossible.

[Debra17]

I was wondering how the local channels would work. If I set Denver as my home location when I am there would I receive the Denver local channels even if I travel out of that area?  I’m still trying to find a way to watch Broncos games live. I have Verizon phone so can get the game when I am in area. NFL games can’t be streamed live on Hulu from mobile device. So they don’t help me. Verizon is very annoying also as they don’t let you cast to a tv so you have to watch on the phone.

It seems nothing is easy for us nomads LOL!

[docj]

Verizon is very annoying also as they don’t let you cast to a tv so you have to watch on the phone.

Depending on what phone you have, have you ever tried Miracasting from the phone to the TV?  Samsung, I believe, calls it smart view.  The stability of Miracasting is highly dependent on the phone and device being "cast" to, but it's better than watching a football game on your phone IMO.

[Debra17]

I have an iPhone. I think Verizon has exclusive rights to stream games from a mobile device. So with Verizon I can stream the national games and games broadcast in the area where I am located. The app locks out the phone from connecting to any other device. I have a lightning to hdmi connector that is great for playing content on the tv. It won’t work with the NFL app. They also block using the phone as a hotspot and streaming with my iPad.

[SeilerBird]

I tried it and I much preferred YouTubeTV.

[Debra17]

I tried it and I much preferred YouTubeTV.

I’m curious, What makes you prefer YouTube?  I looked at it as well. I think the reason I decided to try Hulu is I thought they might have a better selection of movies. I don’t watch much tv but like to watch movies. There is a 7 day trial so I can cancel Hulu within that time.

[SeilerBird]

I’m curious, What makes you prefer YouTube?  I looked at it as well. I think the reason I decided to try Hulu is I thought they might have a better selection of movies. I don’t watch much tv but like to watch movies. There is a 7 day trial so I can cancel Hulu within that time.

Hulu Live app is not available on my TV. YouTube TV is available on my TV, my laptop, my Chromebook and both of my phones. YT also has a better line up of channels for me. They just added TBS stations.

[kdbgoat]

I don't think it will help with March Madness, and I really don't know how it compares to Hulu, but we use Vudu for movies. I would assume Hulu with a set monthly subscription would be cheaper in the long run if you watch movies. When our grandson is staying at our place, he sings in to Hulu, as he has a subscription. We are very conservative on what we watch, and don't spend money watching movies. Vudu has enough stuff in the free section so that between them and PBS, we can always find something to watch.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It seems to me the available programming is the major reason to choose one streaming service over another.  If the shows you want to watch aren't available, a bargain price isn't much of a bargain. If the March Madness tournament is a requirement, Hulu seems to be the way to go, at least in the short term.

[Debra17]

Hulu Live app is not available on my TV. YouTube TV is available on my TV, my laptop, my Chromebook and both of my phones. YT also has a better line up of channels for me. They just added TBS stations.

That makes sense. Having the app on your TV is a big plus.

[SeilerBird]

YouTubeTV has a March Madness app available.

[Debra17]

there is also the option to sign into the NCAA March Madness app with your service provider. Both Hulu and YouTube can be used. I will probably use the NCAA app as it will be easier to switch between games.

I haven’t had any streaming service prior to this. Except Amazon Prime. When I am on WiFi I will often download movies to watch later. I have also watched free movies on Vudu. In addition I am signed up on Redbox and they usually email me coupons 3 or 4 times a month for a free movie or $1.25 off. I’ll use those if I’m near a box.

I will most likely only keep the Live TV for a month as I probably wouldn’t use it much. At some point  I may look into signing up with Netflix or the Hulu regular streaming which is only $8 per month.

The one thing I really miss since going on the road is my library. They had a tremendous selection of movies and would get new releases before Netflix or Redbox. They also brought in a lot of independent and foreign films which I really enjoy.

[docj]

That makes sense. Having the app on your TV is a big plus.

FWIW, it's not necessarily clear that having an app on your TV is better than using an app on Roku, Firestick or Chromecast.  I have a year old Smasung Smart UHDTV (4K) and have been rather disappointed in the performance of its built-in apps.   I get much better reliability from the inexpensive Roku stick I'm now using with it.

My computer scientist son who is heavily involved in streaming software development as part of his job, told me that most TV manufacturers fail to update the software in their products for more than a few months to a year post-delivery.  Whereas, the software the free-standing devices is updated on a continuing basis since that's what forms their market advantage.

My TV makes it easy to add apps that weren't included with it at delivery, but I no longer even bother to try.   I have a pair of Roku's and am quite content with them.

[Alaskansnowbirds]

The one thing I really miss since going on the road is my library. They had a tremendous selection of movies and would get new releases before Netflix or Redbox. They also brought in a lot of independent and foreign films which I really enjoy.

Check with your library and see if they subscribe to "Freegal Movies". There is a Freegal Movies and Freegal Music. It is a free streaming service through libraries that subscribe to it. There is an app that you install on your viewing device. I have android so don't know if there is an Apple app or not.

[Debra17]

Well bummer 🙁. I have 3 bars of Verizon lte but can’t stream from either NCAA or Hulu live app. Says the signal isn’t strong enough. I guess live takes more bandwidth.