Sony PlayStation Vue review – CNET

The Good PlayStation Vue has most of the features and channels you get from your cable or satellite TV provider, without hidden fees or contracts. Its cloud DVR lets you record, pause and rewind live TV, and fast-forward through commercials on recorded shows. Local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC channels are available in seven US cities, and on-demand in others. It works with PlayStation consoles and Amazon Fire TV, as well as iPhone, iPad and Chromecast, and can stream to up to five devices simultaneously. It has an innovative, show-centric interface and offers profiles for different family members.

The Bad Vue’s higher price, especially in certain cities, means you might not save much over cable TV bundles. It still lacks certain channels, like PBS and some sports networks. It’s not available on Android devices, Roku or Apple TV. Fast-forward and rewind on cloud-based recordings is less responsive than on a standard DVR, and using the PlayStation controller is a pain. There are numerous limits to viewing content on mobile devices.

The Bottom Line Sony’s PlayStation Vue lets you ditch cable TV and still enjoy tons of live channels and DVR features, and you don’t even need a PlayStation.

Available on the PlayStation Network

If Vue was announced by Apple instead of Sony, and called something like “iVue,” people would be dancing madly on the lip of the volcano and declaring the end of cable television.

Apple has gone back and forth for years in an effort, now evidently stalled again, to offer an Internet-delivered TV service to compete against cable. Meanwhile, little old Sony has been serving up PlayStation Vue for the last year, offering just about everything Apple is rumored to be planning. And Vue just keeps getting better.

When the service first debuted, it ran second banana to Sling TV, the pioneering cord-cutter TV service that delivers a base package of 20-odd live TV channels, including ESPN, AMC and CNN, for $20 per month. Vue has always had fewer restrictions and more channels and features than Sling, including an innovative “cloud DVR,” but at first it cost too much, was only available in a handful of US cities and only worked with PlayStation consoles.

Thanks to price drops, new channels and additional device support, as well as a nationwide rollout, Vue is now superior to Sling TV in most ways and accessible to a good chunk of the US population. Its new nationwide “Slim” packages start at $30 for 50-odd channels, including next-day video-on-demand of programming from ABC, Fox and NBC, with CBS “coming soon.”

Sony PlayStation Vue TV service (pictures)
See full gallery

1 – 5 of 19

Next
Prev

And you no longer need a PlayStation to use it. Vue is available on Amazon Fire TV devices, including the $35 Stick, as well as iPads, iPhones and Chromecast. Sony says more devices are coming soon. I for one don’t expect Vue to appear on Apple TV, but a Roku or Android app is certainly possible.

Vue isn’t for everyone. It still requires a broadband Internet connection, so your local cable company’s “triple play” or similar bundle might be a better value. It’s still missing a few key channels, including live local channels in most of the country, as well as PBS and some local sports. And it definitely needs more device support stat.

But if Vue makes financial sense in your area, Sony’s service can be a great way to cut the cable cord without feeling any pain.

Disclosure: CBS, the owner of CNET, is a compensated content provider to PlayStation Vue and its main satellite and cable TV competitors.

View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET

Getting to know Vue

Since Internet TV services are still unfamiliar territory for a lot of people, here’s a quick primer on Vue. An even shorter primer? Think of it as Netflix with live TV, complete with commercials (that you can skip).

It streams TV over the Internet. Vue requires a broadband Internet connection, and Sony recommends 10mbps or higher for the best experience, plus 5mbps for every additional stream.

It has most of the same live TV channels and on-demand shows as your cable provider, arranged in similar packages, for a monthly fee starting at $30. Vue is not a la carte TV; you can’t choose individual channels. Instead it has three different packages, called Access, Core and Elite, with increasing numbers of channels for more money.

View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET

It’s available nationwide in the US, but costs more (and offers live local channels) in seven major cities. If you live in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco or Miami, Vue starts at $40. That’s because you can watch live versions of the local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations. In other places across the country, shows from those networks are only available on-demand the next day on Vue, and you won’t get stuff like local news.

Its DVR lets you “record” your shows to the cloud, watch them anytime, and skip commercials. You can easily set up shows to watch after they air live, and you can fast-forward, pause and rewind, just like regular hardware DVR from the cable company. Just like Netflix, these shows are stored in the cloud, not on your device.

You’ll need a PlayStation 3 or 4 console, or an Amazon Fire TV, to use it. Instead of a cable box, Vue feeds your TV through a PlayStation console, or an Amazon Fire TV box or Amazon Fire TV stick. You can also watch on an iPad or iPhone or Chromecast connected to a TV, but you must also have a PlayStation or Fire TV to do so.

View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET

You can watch on up to five TVs simultaneously from one account. Unlike Sling TV, which is limited to just one stream, Vue lets you stream to more than one device at the same time. Currently the limit is one PS3 and one PS4 in the same house, with additional simultaneous streams using Fire TV or iOS devices, up to five total streams at once. That means your multi-TV household can all watch something different at once, provided you have a fast enough Internet connection.

Unlike cable, there’s no equipment rental, contracts or other “hidden” monthly fees. Vue’s monthly fee is a flat rate, and the service makes it easy to cancel and restart, or just try for a week for free to see if you like it. (Yes, there may be state or local sales tax.)

The channels: More than Sling, fewer than cable

The biggest question anyone has about a newfangled Internet TV service revolves around channel access. That’s why I’ve prepared a big chart showing all of the channels on Vue and Sling TV, as well as a few (like PBS, CSPAN, NFL Red Zone and BBC America) that aren’t available on either one yet, but can be found on typical cable services.

The Big Chart: Sling TV vs. PlayStation Vue, top 160 channels

The simple takeaway is that Vue’s basic package has a much better channel selection than Sling TV, but worse than many cable packages. And of course, you can pay more to get more channels.

Unlike Sling, Netflix or Hulu, however, Vue’s packages cost different amounts depending on where you live in the US. For people in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami, Vue packages cost $10 per month more for the privilege of watching (and recording) live local channels; namely ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET

It’s pretty confusing, so let’s use two big California cities as examples. The cheapest Vue package costs $40 in L.A., but $30 in San Diego. In L.A. it’s called Access, while in San Diego it’s called Access Slim (Sony tacks “Slim” onto its package names to indicate that local channels aren’t available). And no, you can’t buy the Access package in San Diego, or the cheaper Access Slim package in L.A. (a real bummer for people who are satisfied getting local channels via antenna).

In LA, you can watch network shows like “The Voice,” “The Bachelor” or “Gotham” live, or DVR them, but in San Diego you have to wait 24 hours to watch them on-demand. CBS shows are coming on-demand to Vue’s Slim cities “soon.”

Still confused? Hopefully another chart will help:

PlayStation Vue package availability

Pricing for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami	Pricing for everywhere else in the United States	Local channel availability (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC)	Number of channels
Not available	$30/month	On-demand with 24-hour delay	55+
Not available	$35/month	On-demand with 24-hour delay	75+
Not available	$45/month	On-demand with 24-hour delay	100+
$40/month	Not available	Live, DVR and on-demand	60+
$45/month	Not available	Live, DVR and on-demand	75+
$55/month	Not available	Live, DVR and on-demand	100+

If you’re still unsure what you’d pay with Vue, head over to Sony’s website and input your zip code. Then come back here and finish reading this review! Trust me, it gets better.

Beyond local channels and regional sports networks, Vue’s packages are the same in every city nationwide, and offer an impressive array of cable channels, including the Fox and NBC/Universal properties missing from Sling. The recent addition of Disney-owned channels to Vue, including ABC and ESPN, erased Sling’s biggest programming advantage. A few Sling channels are still missing from Vue as well, including A&E, History and Lifetime, but Vue still maintains a huge advantage in channels over its cheaper rival. For more details, check out Sling TV vs. PlayStation Vue.

Like other Internet TV services, Vue’s Achilles heel is sports. It’s missing MLB TV, the NFL Network and some regional sports channels, for example. The more expensive Core package ($35 or $45) from Vue provides access to more sports, including some (but not all) regional sports networks. In New York, for example, Vue has the YES Network (Yankees baseball, Nets basketball) but lacks MSG and SNY, the regional sports channels for other area professional teams.

I’ve also seen reports from reader who says Sony’s website mistakenly indicated they would get access to regional sports networks that ended up not being part of the Core package. I’ve followed up with Sony and will update if I get more information.

In short, for sports fans of certain teams, Vue is a nonstarter.

You can add Showtime to Vue for $11 per month (or $9 for PlayStation Plus members), but there’s no HBO option yet (Sling TV has HBO for $15 per month). A couple of other add-on channels are available too, including EPIX and Machinima, Sony’s gaming-centric network.

View full gallery
Sarah Tew/CNET

The experience: Netflix with live TV plus DVR

Watching TV with Vue is mostly the same as watching via a cable or satellite TV, especially if you’re used to a full-service cable system that includes a whole-home DVR. But you need good Internet service. If your real speed doesn’t at least match Sony’s 10Mbps recommendation during prime time hours — or if it comes with bandwidth caps at home — don’t bother.

So how is it different from cable and rival Sling TV? Here’s what I discovered.

After a quick learning curve, Vue’s Netflix-like interface rules. The most obvious change to cable TV veterans is Vue’s innovative menu system. The home page isn’t a program guide or staid, text-based menu, it’s a dynamic collection of thumbnail images that directly correspond to actual TV shows — just like Netflix. Intuitive categories include “You’re Watching,” Up Next,” “You Might Like.” The “My Shows” list is stuff you’ve added to the cloud DVR, followed by “Favorite Channels” and “Live TV.”

Yes, there is a grid Guide too, but it’s sparse and poorly designed. And in another diss to traditional TV-watching habits, there’s no way to move to the next channel directly from what you’re currently watching; you have to go back to the interface. Channel flippers need not apply.