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There are 5 major services that let you stream live TV over the internet — here's how they compare

We dug into the fine print to help you see how PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, and Hulu's live-TV service compare.

Hulu with Live TV.

Everyone in the tech industry wants your eyeballs. More specifically, a growing number of tech companies want to attract the millions who have ditched cable for services that stream live TV channels over the internet.

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Hulu's flashy new service is the latest to jump into the fray, while YouTube is just coming off the launch of its YouTube TV platform. Sony, Dish Network, and AT&T, meanwhile, have been fighting it out for months now.

But since this is the TV industry in America, figuring out what's what is complicated. So to help you see which, if any, make sense for you, we've broken down the big five live-TV streaming services you can choose from today: PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, and Hulu with Live TV.

Let's dig into the fine print:

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But first, a quick note on what these services are not.

As we've notedbefore, none of the existing live-TV services are solving the cord-cutter's conundrum — that is, getting the shows you want, on time, whenever and wherever you want, without paying more than you have to for channels you'll never watch.

In other words, they still look a lot like cable packages; they're just smaller cable packages, delivered over the internet, with slightly lower starting prices.

There are other issues. The on-demand selection is similar in every service, and almost exactly like what you'd get with a cable subscription. In most cases, on-demand and live content still feel stuck in separate silos. They all have gaps in channel selection. (This excellent CNET list has a full breakdown.) And most significantly, they've all had bugs and technical issues.

Today, if you're looking for cable, you should just buy cable. It's reliable.

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That said, here's what you do get.

Though all of these services can have their technical hiccups, they're not unusable. All of their interfaces are clean and easy enough to navigate.

And when they work, they have value for those who can't quit the cord. They cover gaps that a hodgepodge of Netflix, Hulu, and insular streaming services can't — most notably with sports, and, well, watching popular shows as they air. Plus, they are more affordable than cable.

As more cords are cut, they should make more sense. And even if they don't take a wrecking ball to the TV industry's current power structure, they should improve.

Sling TV

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$20 a month for the base Sling Orange package, or $25 a month for a Sling Blue package with more channels.

For $40 a month, you can buy the Orange and Blue packages together, but the two do not totally overlap in terms of channel selection. (Hold that thought.)

From there, you can tack on a bunch of smaller specialized bundles of channels for between $5 and $15 a month per bundle. There are way too many to list here, so you should have a look at Sling’s service page.

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Sling Orange has 30 channels. Sling Blue has a little more than 40 channels depending on where you live, but its lineup doesn't include everything in Sling Orange.

The add-on bundles can incorporate a few dozen more channels, but those vary wildly in terms of popularity. The likes of MTV, Starz, and Showtime are very much popular; other networks, like the Outdoor Channel, are more niche.

CBS is absent. ABC is there, but only for some markets; it also costs an extra $5 a month. For the kids, there's no main Nickelodeon channel.

Also, while Sling does carry Fox and NBC, they're only included in the Sling Blue package. And again, they aren't available in every market. Check that you're covered before you buy.

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Sling TV (cont'd)

Yes, but only in Sling Orange. There, you get ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN 3 by default. This is the main thing that keeps the Orange and Blue packages from overlapping.

This could get confusing.

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Sling Blue doesn't have ESPN, but it does include Fox and Comcast regional sports channels. Those vary by region, though. The Comcast networks were added just in the past few weeks, so you’re less likely to see support there than you are with Fox channels. (You can use the tool on Dish’s FAQ page to be sure.)

As for other national sports channels, only Sling Blue includes Fox Sports 1, NFL Network, and NBC Sports Network. With Sling Blue, you can add a Sports Extra package that includes the NFL's RedZone channel, NBA TV, NHL Network, and others for $10 a month.

If you have Sling Orange, though, that Sports Extra package costs $5 a month, doesn't include RedZone, and throws in a few more deep-in-the-weeds sports channels. Again, that's in addition to the main ESPN networks, which Sling Blue does not have. You can probably see why these services aren’t quite revolutionary now.

HBO is available as an add-on to one of the core bundles. It costs $15 a month, the same as the standalone HBO Now streaming service.

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Sling TV (cont'd)

You can check Sling's support page for the full list, but the only big no-show is Sony's PlayStation 4.

Otherwise, Roku, Apple TV (4th-gen), Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, iOS, Android, Android TV, Windows, macOS, Xbox One, and others are all supported.

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Yes, and there's no limit on how long you can keep a recording. Still, there are issues:

• Only some devices support DVR: Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, and Android.

• It costs an extra $5 a month through Sling’s “First Look” program.

• That program caps you at 50 hours of storage.

• A decent chunk of channels — including ABC, Fox, and all ESPN networks — cannot be recorded for the time being. (Here’s a full list.)

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Technically, yes. But a good chunk of channels — including ESPN, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, and AMC — do not support the feature and can only be watched live.

With Sling Orange, you can only have one active stream going at a time. With Sling Blue, that's bumped up to three concurrent streams. With the $40-a-month Orange and Blue combo package, it becomes four.

Sling TV (cont'd)

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Sling TV is particularly stacked with bundles of foreign-language channels. Those cost a few bucks extra each month, but if you live a multilingual household, there’s a decent chance of there being something here for you.

Since the last time we published this guide, Sling has also undergone a big rebranding effort; now, it advertises itself as providing “a la carte TV.” This is misleading — an a la carte service lets you pick and choose which channels you want on an individual basis. Sling TV, like everyone else, doesn't do that. It still saddles you with networks you may not want.

Still, Sling is at least getting at the big difference between it and the others: flexibility. Yes, navigating the nitpicky differences between its bundles is a headache, but Sling TV is by far the most malleable when it comes to deciding what kind of bundles you want to include. It is by far the most affordable service as a result.

PlayStation Vue

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It depends. In most markets, Vue's entry-level package costs $30 a month. Tiered packages with more channels then go for $35, $45, and $65 a month.

Around some major cities, though, Vue starts at $40 a month, with those higher tiers at $45, $55, and $75 a month.

There's a catch to all of this, which we'll get into below. In any case, beyond the base tiers, there is a handful of add-on channels, which range from $2 to $15 a month.

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Vue's entry-level Access tier has around 45 channels, maybe more. The next Core tier has about 60 channels. Then there's an Elite tier with 90 channels. Finally, an Ultra tier takes the Elite package and adds HBO and Showtime.

Sony dropped its partnership with Viacom in November, which means Vue has no way to stream Comedy Central, MTV, Spike, Nickelodeon, or any other Viacom property. Those are the biggest outright absences.

As with Sling TV, Vue's relationship with the big four networks is complicated. Typically, if you live near the handful of cities where Vue starts at $40 a month — NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, and San Francisco — you can watch CBS, ABC, Fox, and NBC live. Vue starts at $40 in Miami, too, but it limits ABC in that market to on-demand only.

If you live in another market, Vue is cheaper, but you usually have to watch shows from at least some of the big four networks on-demand a day after they air. You might get one or two live, but you won't get all four. And CBS isn't available everywhere.

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Again, check where you stand first — or just buy an antenna. This is another reminder that no live-TV service has shifted the balance of power away from the media and cable giants.

PlayStation Vue (cont'd)

Yes. Even in its base Access tier, PlayStation Vue includes both ESPN and ESPN 2. Other ESPN channels are relegated to the next-highest tier, though.

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The Access tier also includes Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network.

Jumping up a tier adds other national channels like the NFL Network and MLB Network, plus, crucially, regional sports networks from Fox, NBC, and the like.

Those should cover most people, but markets are different, and exactly which games those networks are allowed to air can vary by ZIP code. Not every gap is filled yet.

HBO is available as an add-on to one of the core bundles. It costs $15 a month on its own, the same as HBO's standalone HBO Now streaming service.

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PlayStation Vue (cont'd)

While it has PlayStation in the name, Vue does work with boxes beyond Sony's PS4 and PS3. It's actually one of Vue's biggest strengths: Roku boxes, Apple TV (2015), Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android are all supported. The only major absentee is Microsoft's Xbox One.

Yes. With few exceptions, you can record whatever show you want to the cloud. There's no limit on how many hours you can record, but you can only save each recording for up to 28 days after it airs.

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Yes. Some channels don't allow it — particularly some CBS affiliates — but it's generally more widely available than it is with Sling TV.

You can have up to five streams going at a time. That's more than any other service. However, some channels won't work outside of your home internet network.

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In our testing, PlayStation Vue has had the fewest technical problems. You may be less lucky, but that, combined with the full-ish feature set, makes Vue feel like the most polished service thus far.

Vue also works with more TV Everywhere apps than its peers. That means you can use your Vue login to watch various streaming apps that normally require a cable account.

DirecTV Now

DirecTV Now's entry-level tier, called "Live a Little," costs $35 a month. A larger "Just Right" tier then costs $50 a month. Next, a "Go Big" tier costs $60 a month. Finally, a "Gotta Have It" tier goes for $70 a month.

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The base tier includes a little over 60 channels. The Just Right tier raises that to about 80 channels. Then the Go Big tier brings it to about 100 channels. Then the final tier includes about 120 channels. Purely on a cost-per-channel basis, this makes DirecTV Now the densest service of the bunch.

You can also add HBO, Cinemax, and Starz for separate monthly fees.

CBS, again, is absent. (This is a good time to note that CBS wants you to pay $6 a month for its CBS All Access service.) There's no option for Showtime or the NFL Network, either.

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Getting the other three major networks once again depends on where you live. A small selection of major markets broadcast NBC, ABC, and Fox live — some carry two, others get only one. It's worth using AT&T's channel lookup tool to see if you need an antenna. Vue's local networks generally cover more people, but DirecTV Now is improving.

If your area doesn't carry one of those networks, DirecTV Now airs it on a 24-hour delay.

DirecTV Now (cont'd)

Yes. Even in the base tier, you get ESPN and ESPN 2 by default. Other ESPN channels are relegated to the next-highest tier, though.

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The entry-level tier also has Fox Sports 1, but, as with Vue, you need to step up a level to get regional sports channels from Fox and Comcast. While it has a good chunk of those, its coverage is far from flawless, so use the lookup tool to be sure you have what you need. Even then, it's hard to talk in absolutes when it comes to licensing agreements for each market.

Various other sports networks are included in the higher tiers, but there's no NFL Network or RedZone. There's also no NFL Sunday Ticket, even though DirecTV sells that as part of its standard satellite-TV service.

HBO is available as an add-on to one of the main tiers. However, it costs just $5 a month. That's $10 cheaper than it is with Sling TV or PlayStation Vue.

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As of this writing, though, AT&T is running a promotion where those who subscribe to the service's priciest two tiers can get a free year of HBO. AT&T says credit for that will be applied within three billing cycles.

DirecTV Now (cont'd)

Apple TV, Fire TV, Android, iOS, LeEco-made Android TVs, and Chromecast (but only for Android phones).

AT&T has said support for Roku and Xbos One is coming, but that's not live yet. There's nothing for Chromecast on iOS, PlayStation 4, or Android TVs that aren't made by LeEco.

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No. Aside from the technical issues we've had, this is the biggest knock against DirecTV Now. There are on-demand recordings, but AT&T says a genuine DVR will arrive later this year.

You can only pause, not rewind or fast-forward. This is an area where DirecTV Now lags behind the rest, particularly PlayStation Vue.

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DirecTV Now supports two concurrent streams on an account. That's relatively low. Like Vue, it can also keep you from streaming some local channels when you're out of town.

If you subscribe to AT&T's mobile service, you can stream DirecTV Now over a mobile connection at no cost to your data cap. This is a practice called zero-rating, and the way AT&T does it may or may not be killing the open internet. But it's a nifty perk.

Beyond that, if you pay $90 a month for AT&T's unlimited data plan, you can shave $25 off the service each month (through monthly credits). That is a very good deal if you're already okay with AT&T's mobile service, and effectively makes DirecTV Now as low as $10 a month.

That said, DirecTV Now has faced the most technical issues in our testing. Things have calmed down a bit since launch, but don't be surprised if you come across a crash or two.

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Similar to PlayStation Vue, your DirecTV Now login can also be used to work with a decent chunk of network-specific streaming apps.

YouTube TV

$35 a month. You can add Showtime for another $11 a month, or Fox Soccer Plus for another $15 a month.

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About 40, plus the original (and youth-focused) original shows that come with a YouTube Red subscription.

For now, there are no Viacom channels (Comedy Central, MTV, Spike, Nickelodeon), no AMC (i.e., "The Walking Dead"), no Turner channels (TNT, TBS, CNN), no Discovery channels, and no A&E.

YouTube says it’ll add AMC in the coming months, though. It also plans to add BBC America, IFC, and other smaller channels. It’s promised not to raise the price of the service as a result.

Notably, YouTube does have all four of the major networks. They’re all available to stream live, too. In general, though, the channel selection here is more likely to be seen as lacking than the others.

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YouTube TV (cont'd)

Yes. ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNEWS, and ESPN U channels are included. YouTube plans to add ESPN 3 in the coming months for good measure.

You get Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network, Big Ten Network, and CBS Sports Network by default. But there are no Turner channels, so you'll miss NBA games on TNT, or playoff baseball on TBS.

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There are regional sports stations from Fox and Comcast, too, but per usual those aren't covered everywhere. Check YouTube TV’s sign-up page to be safe.

Nope. YouTube does not have deals with Time Warner, HBO’s owner, hence the lack of Turner channels. You'll have to use HBO Now separately.

YouTube TV (cont'd)

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YouTube TV works on Android, iOS, Chromecast, the web, and smart TVs with Google Cast built in.

YouTube says support for more devices will come later in the year, but right now, those with Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, PlayStation, or Xbox devices have to go mobile. That's not great.

Yes. Not only that, there’s no cap on the number of hours you can record. YouTube saves your recordings for up to nine months.

That’s all great, but, annoyingly, you can’t skip ads with some recordings. This is because YouTube often replaces straight recordings with the on-demand copies you’d normally see through a cable subscription.

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Yes.

You can have three streams going simultaneously.

Beyond that, you can tie up to six different accounts to one subscription. Each of those gets its own DVR and content suggestions. PlayStation Vue allows for separate user profiles, too, but it makes you all share one username and password. So it's another good one for families.

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YouTube TV (cont'd)

The big thing to know is that YouTube TV is not yet available nationwide. Right now, only those around Chicago, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Philadelphia, and New York City can sign up. YouTube says more locations are coming, but there’s no set timeframe just yet.

Along those lines, YouTube TV has been the most consistent service when it comes to actual streaming quality. The interface can chug along at points, but hiccups and outright crashes have been rare in our testing.

One thing YouTube doesn’t do all that well, however, is work in videos from YouTube itself. The notion of going from vlogs to live sporting events to fail videos, all within one smooth app, is still a fantasy.

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Hulu with Live TV (beta)

$40 a month. Like YouTube TV, Hulu is looking to keep it simple and not split things up across too many tiers of service. This is good and bad: It has the most expensive starting price of the bunch, but arguably the most comprehensive channel package for an entry-level tier.

You can add Showtime separately for another $9 a month.

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More than 50, though the specific amount varies by region.

Hulu’s trump card is that the Live TV package also includes the company’s core on-demand service, which normally goes for $8 a month.

Either way, this means you have access to the all the on-demand content that comes with a Hulu subscription, plus all the original shows that Hulu produces.

Hulu with Live TV (cont'd)

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AMC is the big one. That means no "The Walking Dead." There’s also no Viacom, again, so you can’t watch Comedy Central, MTV, Spike, Nickelodeon, and so on. Starz and Discovery channels are absent as well.

The fact that Hulu bakes its standard service into the Live TV package gives it a little bit of cover here. You can still watch AMC shows that were available as an on-demand recordings in Hulu regardless, for instance, but you can’t watch the channel live.

And, if it wasn’t obvious by now, only some people will be able to watch local affiliates of the four major networks live as they air. If you’re in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Chicago, you’re good. Everywhere else, you’ll have to check first.

In Boston, for instance, you can watch the local CBS affiliate live, but you can only watch on-demand shows for NBC, ABC, and Fox.

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Yes. ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNEWS, and ESPN U channels are all included.

Fox Sports 1 and 2, NBC Sports Network, and CBS Sports Network are there. There are no NFL- or MLB-specific channels, though.

Regional sports stations, per usual, are dependent on where you live. Hulu has signed deals with Comcast and Fox for several markets, but things will be spotty for now.

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Nope.

Hulu with Live TV (cont'd)

Right now, Hulu with Live TV works on iOS, Android, Apple TV (4th-gen), Chromecast, and Xbox One.

So, not many. This is probably the biggest flaw with the service right now — you can’t watch on a Roku, Fire TV, or even a web browser. Still, the service is technically in beta, and Hulu says those missing platforms will gain support in the coming months.

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Yes. You get 50 hours of recording time. Your recordings won’t be deleted after a set period of time; just note that Hulu won’t automatically record re-runs of certain shows.

If you need more storage space, there’s a “Enhanced Cloud DVR” add-on that bumps things up to 200 hours of storage time.

Like YouTube TV, you can’t fast-forward through commercials when watching recordings with the base service. Here, though, that goes for both DVR and on-demand recordings. Not fun.

This gets a bit wonky, so bear with me.

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The thing about Hulu with Live TV’s DVR is that it doesn’t always act like a “DVR.” When it can, Hulu tries to replace shows you save with a recording that already exists in Hulu proper. Since Hulu’s base tier still shows ads in those recordings, that’s what you see here.

If you pay another $4 a month, however, you won’t see ads in the on-demand recordings Hulu tries to steer you toward. This is what Hulu does it with its non-live-TV service, too.

To skip commercials in shows you actually try to record, you have to pay for the “Enhanced Cloud DVR” option above.

Hulu with Live TV (cont'd)

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Yes. But the extent of the rewinding is dependent on what channel and program you’re watching, and, again, whether you’re in a commercial.

In some cases, you can scroll back to the beginning of a show even if you joined it midway through. With others, you can only skip back to the point where you first started watching.

The base subscription lets you watch the service on two screens simultaneously.

Hulu also sells an “Unlimited Screens” add-on that lets you stream on as many devices as you want over a home internet connection, or up to three devices at once over a mobile connection. That costs an extra $15 a month.

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Hulu with Live TV (cont'd)

You can combine the “Enhanced Cloud DVR” and “Unlimited Screens” add-ons together for $20 a month. That saves $10, but it still raises the monthly cost up a good amount.

On a higher level, Hulu with Live TV is the most ambitious of the current live TV services, in both scope and design. Its interface is a radical departure from Hulu proper, so it may take some time to get used to. It is entirely focused on shows — there’s not a channel grid in sight — and it relies heavily on algorithmically knowing which shows you’re more likely to watch.

In my time with it, that’s worked fine. Hulu puts you through a whole onboarding procedure to get a feel for your interests, and the service has since pointed me toward the kind of sports- and comedy-related programming I tend to like.

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Since I’m already a Hulu user, it’s also done well to blend the shows I had been watching beforehand into those recommendations. It nicely calls up episodes I’ve started but not finished, too. And the dedicated "My Channels" tab, which cuts out every network you don't care about, is great.

If you want to just browse around, though, be prepared to do some swiping. The whole UI is gorgeous, with big graphics and clean text everywhere, but it splits everything up into many, many cards and tabs. Simply getting to your DVR takes eight swipes.

The search function could also use some fine-tuning. I had moments where searching for a particular show didn't bring up an episode that was airing live at that time, for instance.

Still, this is really the only service that successfully blends live TV with on-demand content. You can swipe to live shows specifically if you’d like, but by default your “lineup” (i.e., the main menu) swirls on-demand, live shows, and DVR recordings together, centering them on what kind of thing you want to watch, rather than where they originate. That’s significant, and it makes you less beholden to time than you are anywhere else.

There haven't been too many technical issues in our first week of testing, either, but it's not immune to the occasional stutter.

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So which one should I get?

It's close, but we'd go with PlayStation Vue. It's been the smoothest, technically speaking, in our testing. It's simple enough to navigate. It works on most devices. It supports the most concurrent streams (and thus is good for a family). Its channel lineup, while not flawless, compares well with the others. And it has the most complete DVR in place today.

The big knock is that it can get pricey — you may have to pay $45 a month for regional sports depending on where you live, though that goes down to $35 in other regions. That's not so bad compared to DirecTV Now, but Sling TV and YouTube TV undercut it for some. The limitations Vue puts on some networks when you're on the go are a pain, too.

Hulu has the most compelling offering, conceptually speaking. The way it blends live TV and on-demand shows into one feels like the first step in where these kind of services should go. It's also just pleasant to look at. But the inability to skip commercials anywhere without paying extra is rough, and its lacking device support may make it a non-starter for now.

If you just want the cheapest package possible, Sling TV's Blue service is competitively priced for a bundle with regional sports. But it's still rolling some of those local channels out, is missing ESPN, and has a more limited DVR. It's generally had more technical issues than Vue, too. Still, it's getting at a good idea by curating more tightly and lowering costs.

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YouTube TV is the smoothest-performing service, and it has the most generous DVR. If it could integrate with YouTube proper in any meaningful way, it could be something special. Its ad-skipping annoyances are nearly as frustrating as Hulu's, though; it's missing crucial channels; and its device support is lacking. Plus, it's only available in five cities.

It's harder to recommend DirecTV Now right now given its lack of DVR and the technical issues we've had in testing. But the HBO discount is good, and if you use AT&T, being able to stream it on mobile at no cost to your data cap is an advantage — as troubling as it may be. It's also a bit of a no-brainer if you plan to subscribe to AT&T's unlimited data plan.

Nobody has cracked the code just yet.

But again, nothing here is truly groundbreaking. If you aren't beholden to the "cable lite" idea most of these services are selling, you may be better off saving your cash and mixing Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Now, or what have you. Take advantage of those free trials.

For now, growing pains remain throughout. That's unlikely to change until structures that hold the media industry in place crumble completely. That day may be coming, though.

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