Honest Review of Playstation Vue

Cable companies suck. They have an introductory offer that is really cheap, that eventually runs out. And that is where I am at. 2 years after my introductory offer and now I am looking down the barrel of a $200+ cable bill. I thought that there had to be an alternative. It is 2016. As luck should have it, I see a commercial from my favorite gaming system company SONY. There is this magical new product called PlayStation Vue and they have a 7 day free trial (credit card required). Alright, let's give it a go.

(Note: I am not being paid by nor do I work for, or have any affiliation with PlayStation aside from the fact that I bought a few of their products. This is just my honest review. If some information is wrong, welll that sucks and I am sorry. Enjoy reading)

The channels - 10/10

 

PlayStation Vue has all of the channels I want. What were my requirements?

• Must have NBCSN (and be able to login to NBCSN extra time. Love my Liverpool FC)
•  Must have Fox Sports (and be able to login to Fox Sports GO... LFC are still in the Europa League)
• I love NatGeo, Science, Discovery, and IFC.
• My girlfriend watches HGTV and Food Network.

I decided to go with the Core package. This met all of my requirements as well as having BEin Sports (maybe I can watch a Napoli SSC game every now and then). Not sure what other channels you could possibly want, but they most likely have it (ABC, CBS, Fox, ESPN 1-The Ocho, TNT, TBS, TruTV, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Disney, and many many more). You can't beat the channels.

 

Device Support - 8/10

 

Internet connected devices. The bringer of all services from, well... the Internet.  This is my gripe with PlayStation Vue. PlayStation Vue supports PS4 (I have one of those), PS3 (I had one of those DAMN YLOD), Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick (I bought one specifically for PS Vue, more on this later), Chromecast, and iPhone and iPad (I don't purchase Apple products).

 

PlayStation 4

 

Honestly, I don't watch TV on the TV that my PlayStation 4 is on much, but I do sometimes. The PS4 is the first device I used to watch Vue. It didn't seem to special. It was relatively intuitive and it wasn't difficult to navigate. Since I haven't used my PS4 for Vue much yet, I am going to skip telling any more, but it wasn't a bad experience.

 

Amazon Fire TV Stick

 

This is the device I used to watch most of my TV with Vue. Great little device. I had a few issues with my initial update, but after about 5 minutes everything went smoothly. Finding the Vue app proved for me to be a little tricky. PlayStation Vue was not in the "Search" section for whatever reason. Most likely because it is an "Amazon App" however, I really am not too certain.

After installing the app, everything went smoothly and I was watching SpongeBob in no time. My major issue with this is that I now need two remotes. One for my TV to control the volume and power, and one for the Amazon Fire TV Stick to change the channels. I am sure I can find a remote that does both, but for now I am stuck with two.

 

PlayStation Vue App - 9/10

 

Now let's get in to the app itself. In my opinion, it is great! I have no problems with it. However, there are some things you must understand. THIS IS NOT CABLE TV. Pages and searches may not load instantly, there may be some drop in video quality, and there may just be downright outages. I haven't experienced much of this, however I only have had this product for a few days now.

Let's talk about getting used to not having a traditional TV remote. You can no longer go to channel 83 to watch IFC. You must now go to (paraphrasing) Menu -> Channels -> IFC.  This may take a second. It is something to get used to, but is definitely not a deal breaker in my opinion.

The PlayStation Vue app may not be the focal point. What I mean by this is; with your cable TV, your cable TV IS IT. Yes, it may have some apps if you go to channel 678089, but on whichever device you are using the PS Vue, it is just another app. It is not the main focus. Whether it be on your PS4, it is just an app within your PS4, or your Amazon Fire Stick; just another app. When you press the HOME button, you will be taken to the DEVICE home, not the app home. So that is something you must also get used to as well. While being in PS Vue all day, it is easy to forget that.

 

Conclusion

 

The PS Vue is great for those wanting to cut the cord. After all said and done for me I will be saving between 40-50 dollars a month (I still need to buy internet from the cable company). I really love the price point, and the channels, and I believe the experience of having a TV that is essentially now a computer (since you either need to use a PS4, Amazon Fire TV Stick or iCrap) will be one that many can appreciate. My only suggestion to Sony would be for them to create their own Microcomputer specifically for the PlayStation Vue. I think that would be successful and be able to provide a more unified experience between software and hardware.