What is YouTubeTV?
YouTube TV is Google’s live TV streaming product, designed for those who want to cut the cord and dig their cable or satellite subscriptions. While this is very common with other live streaming services like AT&T TV Now, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV offers a unique blend of features that make it very attractive.
It is the only live streaming service that includes PBS stations and content, and its selection of more than 85 traditional cable and broadcast channels grows regularly. For many, the big attraction has been its simplicity of pricing: except for a few premium channels, the all-in price was $ 50 per month. For new customers, that price is until June 30, 2020 (July 30 for existing customers).
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In the hope of offsetting the sting of a 30% price increase, the service has also announced new channels and new features, which we will take down a bit more.
The owners of PlayStation 4 want to pay special attention to YouTubeTV: This is now one of Sony’s PS Vue’s few live TV streaming options on popular gaming consoles – an important consideration, which is now Sony’s service has been discontinued.
If you want to cut the cord for the first time and need to know if YouTubeTV will give you the channels you use, then we’ve got you covered. Here is everything you need to know about YouTubeTV.
What is YouTube TV?
When it was launched in 2017, YouTube TV was restricted to very few locations in North America, but that changed in 2019 when a major expansion introduced support for all 210 markets in the region. It has also greatly expanded its collection of channels. Now at over 70, including four major national broadcasters (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox), you get an excellent choice of content.
Despite the name, YouTube YouTube is not part of YouTube; Google operates them as separate entities. There are some areas where the two cross over, as with the YouTube original. Nevertheless, if you want to use both, you will need two different apps on your streaming device. YouTube is one of the most popular online platforms for video streaming and users are very much interested in enhancing engagement. Some users check out the best sites to buy YouTube comments to increase their online presence.
Initially, YouTube TV was only available on a limited number of devices, but today you can find it on most 4K TVs and all major streaming device platforms from brands such as Sony, Samsung LG, Vizio, Hisense, and TCL.
In late 2019, Google reported that YouTube TV had more than 2 million paying subscribers. It is less than a sling, but twice the number on AT&T TV Now.
YouTubeTV Supported devices
However, the list of supported devices is not very extensive, such as Sling TV, chances are you have a device that can play YouTube TV. It is available on Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku OS, and Xbox One. It also works with market leaders LG and Samsung’s smart televisions that were manufactured in 2016 and later all Visio Smartcast TVs, Xbox One, and all models of Android and iOS.
As of February 1, 2020, it is the only live TV streaming service on the PS4 and 4 Pro.
Want to see if your device is on the list? Go to Google’s website.
What Channels Can You Watch on You Tube TV?
YouTube TV has a collection of over 80 channels, which stack up well against the competition. It is one of the best video streaming services I’ve reviewed. Starting with the locals, you get all the major networks like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. News channels are available ABC, BBC America, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.
so many Sports channels on YouTube TV include CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, NBC Sports, MLB Network, and NBA TV. YouTube TV briefly lost all Fox regional sports networks but has restored many of those channels, according to a new deal. However, it lost Fox Sports Prime Tickets, Fox Sports West, and Yes. To see which teams take those channels, check out Fox’s Regional Sports Network.
Sports lovers should check out our roundup of the best sports streaming services for more options. Take a look at our roundup of the best NFL streaming services, specifically for NFL coverage. YouTube TV compares well in both categories, though it is not specifically missing the NFL Network channel.
YouTube TV also serves as industry-leading entertainment and lifestyle content. Channels include AMC, Cartoon Network, CW, FOX, National Geographic, TNT, and the USA. Discovery Network additions include Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and Travel Channel.
Also, YouTube offers local PBS channels, a rarity among major live TV services. The latest content deal with ViaconCBS includes 14 channels, including BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, VH1, BET Hara, MTV2, Nick Jr., Nikon, TeenNick, and MTV Classic.
YouTube TV’s content mix is similar to Hulu’s with Live TV, especially since you get access to some on-demand shows and movies from YouTube TV channels. However, Hulu’s on-demand library is more extensive. The channel lineup of AT&T TV Now is also comparable, although it splits channels into multiple levels of service.
Other live TV services may provide better content for specific areas. fuboTV matches YouTube TV’s sports lineup and differentiates itself with international sports content. Philo focuses exclusively on lifestyle and entertainment channels; If you want to watch all of that, you can save money by subscribing to YouTube TV instead.
How Much Does You Tube TV Cost?
At $ 64.99, YouTube is now one of the most expensive full-featured options – it has jumped from $ 15 on June 30 of 2020. Hulu is priced at $ 54.99 per month with a live TV price. Sling’s Orange and Blue plans cost just $ 30 per month ($ 45 per month combined), but their channel lineup is limited.
If you want to keep costs down, Philo only charges $ 20 per month for 60 live channels, though most are entertainment-style. Pluto TV is a completely free video streaming option, although it does not include many traditional cable channels.
AT&T TV now starts at a more reasonable $ 55 per month, but more full channel packages cost significantly more than YouTube TV. FuboTV now starts at $ 60 per month, but also offers pricier plan add-ons. On-demand services are very affordable but appeal to a different subset of customers. For example, Netflix starts at $ 8.99 per month, while Disney + is $ 6.99 per month.
YouTube TV is available on Android and iOS devices as well as on multiple platforms through a browser. Additionally, YouTube TV works on Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Rokus, select Smart TVs, Xbox One, and now PlayStation 4.
The PlayStation Vue, while watching PlayStation 4, is the only major live TV previously available. , It is the best cable replacement option for owners of that console. YouTube TV lets you set up six different user accounts, but sets a limit of three users simultaneously, which is about average.
Using You Tube TV With a VPN
If you are concerned with privacy and security, whenever you are connected to the Internet, you should use a virtual private network or VPN. However, note that many video streaming services may prevent you from using a VPN, as some content is subject to licensing rules or other geographical restrictions. Even if you find a VPN that works with a video streaming service, it is less likely to work with everyone you subscribe to.
YouTube TV is only available in certain areas of the United States, so the service needs to be able to identify your home location.
VPNs and proxies make it difficult for a service to determine your actual location, which is why this combination is problematic.
I tested YouTube TV with the free version of Editors’ Choice VPN TunnelBear and ran into connection issues. Video streaming compatibility should not be the main reason though when you use a VPN. Instead, you should choose a VPN that protects your presence online.
YouTube TV Features
While some video streaming services primarily offer on-demand or original content, others may replace your cable subscription entirely. YouTube TV adopts the latter approach, offering over 80 channels of news, sports, and entertainment in one package.
It also integrates excellent DVR features and supports a tonne of platforms. Our biggest issue with YouTube TV is its rising costs; The final subscription price increase makes it one of the most expensive live TV services.
Despite its so high monthly cost, the service still offers the best combination of channels and streaming specs. It remains the Editors’ Choice video streaming service for now, although we have dropped its score by half a star as it is no longer as good value. YouTube TV also won the PCMag Readers’ Choice Award for live TV streaming services.
Unlimited cloud DVR Features
Of all the features baked into YouTube TV, one stands out from the crowd: the Cloud DVR. While this is a device that provides most live TV streaming services these days, Google provides you with a more natural experience, allowing you to record more content as you wish, which can be stored for up to nine months, which is stored Eliminates the limit.
Most contestants impose. It is also worth noting that most competitive services charge extra for extra storage, so if you’re a record-a-holic, YouTube TV is the obvious choice.
The DVR feature was recently updated to allow us to pause, rewind, and fast forward through all recorded shows regardless of network, although commercial skipping is still not available on all recordings.
How YouTube TV’s DVR Works
Therefore, the traditional, perhaps even “old-school”, version of the DVR with a physical hard drive inside a box in your home, YouTube TV’s concept leverages the company’s huge online storage facilities, aka cloud is. This setup enables the service to offer some key features with its DVR: unlimited storage, unlimited simultaneous recording, and the ability to stream to various devices on the fly.
Your live TV recording is available for up to nine months, which should be enough time to hopefully catch your favorite show. Meanwhile, the time frame for saved on-demand content may vary. For some live sports events, the DVR feature will often record an extra 30 minutes before the set deadline, just in case the game lasts longer than expected.
It’s worth noting that while YouTube TV’s cloud-based DVRs offer some interesting perks, you’ll also have to maintain an Internet connection to watch the recorded content. Also, the service does not currently allow you to record single episodes of a series; Selecting the show means recording all subsequent broadcasts. However, the company says this is less of a problem because storage space is unlimited – this means it is an organizational concern.
How to Use YouTube TV’s DVR?
Setting up the recording is fairly straightforward. When you watch shows, movies, or other content in the app, the plus icon with the word “add” indicates that you can add it to your DVR library. Just click on the icon and it is added. For a series, clicking the icon sets your DVR to record current and upcoming broadcasts.
You can use the search function to find specific programs and movies, but you can also enter favorite sports teams and choose to record upcoming games, although some of those events are local or regional broadcasts and May be subject to restrictions.
If you change your mind, you can remove an item from your list by clicking on the “Delete” icon. By doing this, any recordings scheduled for the future will be deleted, but any broadcasts you have collected so far will still be available until they hit that 9-month expiration date.
If you’re looking at what you’ve been collecting so far, look under the Library tab. This is where you find all your recordings, and more recently should be highlighted in the “New to your library” section. For upcoming recordings, click the Scheduled Recording option in the library to see what’s coming.
Multiple users Features
most streaming services, YouTube TV also suggest to customers the option to watch on multiple screens at once. To be specific, consider having the option to create up to six sub-accounts for family members, of which three can watch at the same time. There is no option to upgrade to a higher plan, either – so compared to a firm cap at three streams at the same time, but that should be more than enough for most families.
These services like Hulu Tv which groups multiple user profiles within one master account, and YouTube TV uses Google accounts. the benefit to this arrangement is that each Google account associated with your YouTube TV subscription gets its own YouTube TV experience. Because they log in with their own Google credentials, taken no need to share a single password with everyone in your family.
On-Demand Features
Voice control Features
YouTube TV has a nice feature if you own a Google Home speaker like the Google Nest Mini, and use a Chromecast device to watch YouTube TV: you can control functions like selecting a TV channel to watch live You can use your voice for specific beginning shows, show recordings or use playback functions such as pause, resume, and rewind. Here’s how to set it Click Here
Picture-in-picture or split-screen Features for mobile
If you are an Android user, you can watch a smaller version of YouTube TV on Turn on picture-in-picture or split-screen your mobile phone or tablet while doing other tasks. As of iOS 14, it does not work on the iPhone, but if you have an iPad that supports multitasking, you can accomplish the same thing.
Jump Features
This feature allows you to visit various segments within select news programs on YouTube TV. Similar to the scene of the main plays for the games, in some programs, you will be able to jump to specific news clips within the entire recording. The feature is currently available on the TV app and will soon be available on mobile devices.
Dark mode Features
Desktop and mobile YouTube TV experiences can choose darker themes to help reduce eye strain.
Mark as watched Features
Select the mark seen on desktop and mobile devices for any TV show you’ve already seen.
Features No offline viewing
This is one of the only serious drawbacks of YouTube TV. Unlike services like Hulu + Live TV, which support offline viewing, you cannot download any content from YouTube TV to your mobile device for viewing without a network connection. The absence of offline viewing can be a deal-breaker for frequent travelers or people who want to watch without charging a mobile data fee.
Record programs
YouTube TV does not offer traditional DVRs. Instead, it has an “add to library” function that records all episodes of any program. You can watch these recordings up to nine months from the air date, but there is no limit to how many shows you can record. For better or worse, this means that you cannot stop recording the reruns or remove the program from your recording list.
if any case, you can set a program to record by selecting “Add to the Library” from the show pages. If you are viewing a program in the Live Guide, you must click “More Information” to access this page. Your recording will then appear in the ” the Library” section of the app.
Delete your search and watch histories
Got a guilty pleasure you don’t hide? Delete your watch and search history from YouTube TV by selecting Settings> Privacy, and navigating to your profile icon in the top-right corner. You’ll see options to delete your viewing history or prevent it from being collected in the first place.
Navigate by voice
With Google Home or Nest Mini speakers and Chromecast devices, you can use hands-free voice commands to tune live TV channels, play specific programs, record shows, or use pauses, resumes, and rewinds Can use basic playback commands. Just make sure to set up both devices under the same account using the Google Home app on your phone.
Dig into genres
Unfortunately, YouTube TV does not provide a convenient way to browse by genre on its television apps, but if you go to the search section, you’ll find a “browse” section, where you can dig and record, Can get things for, For example, click “Show”, then “Comedy.”
From there, you’ll also find narrow options like “Dark Comedy” and “Documentary”. The search section on the web and mobile provides a handy list of all available sports leagues, allowing you to record all of rugby and surfing.
It is possible to find these options on YouTube TV’s television app, but you have to type in words like “comedy” and “sports” yourself.
Get better recommendations
YouTube TV may recommend shows similar to those you are currently watching, although the option is somewhat hidden. While watching any show, click twice, then scroll to “Episode”. Scroll to the end of this list, then choose “See More”. This will take you to the show page, where you can go to the “Same” tab.
(There is also another recommendation list, called “More to Watch”, which appears when you scroll down from the current program, but the suggestions are not as useful and some of them are less.)
Adjust streaming TV quality
If you are dealing with a home Internet data cap or experiencing repeated buffering, try dialing the video quality of YouTube TV.
While watching any video, press twice on the remote and scroll to a button that looks like three vertical dots. From here, you can scroll again and select the “Video Quality” setting. Choosing 480p or 360p drastically reduces your data usage.
Delete your search and watch histories
Got a guilty pleasure you don’t hide? Delete your watch and search history from YouTube TV by selecting Settings> Privacy, and navigating to your profile icon in the top-right corner. You’ll see options to delete your viewing history or prevent it from being collected in the first place.
Mustafa Al Mahmud is the founder and owner of Gizmo Concept, a leading technology news and review site. With over 10 years of experience in the tech industry, Mustafa started Gizmo Concept in 2017 to provide honest, in-depth analysis and insights on the latest gadgets, apps, and tech trends.
A self-proclaimed “tech geek,” Mustafa first developed a passion for technology as a computer science student at the Hi-Tech Institute of Engineering & Technology. After graduation, he worked at several top tech firms leading product development teams and honing his skills as both an engineer and innovator. However, he always dreamed of having his own platform to share his perspectives on the tech world.
With the launch of Gizmo Concept, Mustafa has built an engaged community of tech enthusiasts who look to the site for trusted, informed takes on everything from smartphones to smart homes. Under his leadership, Gizmo Concept has become a top destination for tech reviews, news, and expert commentary.
Outside of running Gizmo Concept, Mustafa is an avid traveler who enjoys experiencing new cultures and tech scenes worldwide. He also serves as a tech advisor and angel investor for several startups. Mustafa holds a B.S. in Computer Science from HIET.