YouTube TV Reviews

Both online and mobile experiences are very buggy. If you save a setting, it will say "you're all set" and "error" at the same time and the error explanation will be undecipherable such as "could not save the following" (following... what?). If you invite a family member to join your family circle, it will allow you to invite them by email but then that family member won't be able to accept your invite and hours of troubleshooting later you will discover that everyone in your family is required to have a gmail account (why??). And so on and so forth. It's unpleasant to use and very time-consuming to troubleshoot.

The videos often start off pixelated and often continue on low quality for a while, even though we have the highest-tier internet bandwidth and other streaming apps never have this issue.

Also there are LOTS of ads on some shows. YouTube's explanation is that they weren't able to negotiate better with the networks. Well then, don't offer me to DVR a show if I can't fast-forward through the ads - the whole purpose of DVR is to skip ads. And in addition to in-video ads from the networks, the YouTube TV app itself constantly interrupts you with "our picks for you" which of course are just ads for random shows.

Overall, not a very nice experience.

**** UPDATE ****

After using YouTube TV for a month, I am downgrading my review to 1 star.

The video continues to be EXTREMELY low quality about 20% of the time - I am talking pixelated, jerky, faded colors, you name it. I am not experiencing these issues with my other streaming services so it's definitely YouTube TV.

Also I take it back that there are a lot of ads on SOME shows. There are a lot of ads on MOST shows. It's like I am back to the olden days when I had to get up to wash the dishes for 10 minutes while the ads are playing.

Also the mobile app is supposed to be a "remote control" but instead it's a sales app for Google. It CONSTANTLY highjacks what you are doing to try to get you to buy more stuff.

Sadly, I will be switching back to Comcast, at least it had less ads and more of them could be fast forwarded, and the video quality wasn't so abysmal.

**** UPDATE ****

I have another update. On Feb-27, YouTube sent a notice that as of Feb-29, regional sports are no longer available (yes, it's a two-day notice, how dysfunctional their corporate must be). Without regional sports, there is simply no reason to pay over $50/month for YouTube TV when there are so many wonderful shows and movies available on Netflix and other streaming services, for much less.

Both online and mobile experiences are very buggy. If you save a setting, it will say "you're all set" and "error" at the same time and the error explanation will be undecipherable such as "could not save the following" (following... what?). If you invite a family member to join your family circle, it will allow you to invite them by email but then that family member won't be able to accept your invite and hours of troubleshooting later you will discover that everyone in your family is required to have a gmail account (why??). And so on and so forth. It's unpleasant to use and very time-consuming to troubleshoot.

The videos often start off pixelated and often continue on low quality for a while, even though we have the highest-tier internet bandwidth and other streaming apps never have this issue.

Also there are LOTS of ads on some shows. YouTube's explanation is that they weren't able to negotiate better with the networks. Well then, don't offer me to DVR a show if I can't fast-forward through the ads - the whole purpose of DVR is to skip ads.

Overall, not a very nice experience.

Both online and mobile experiences are very buggy. If you save a setting, it will say "you're all set" and "error" at the same time and the error explanation will be undecipherable such as "could not save the following" (following... what?). If you invite a family member to join your family circle, it will allow you to invite them by email but then that family member won't be able to accept your invite and hours of troubleshooting later you will discover that everyone in your family is required to have a gmail account (why??). And so on and so forth. It's unpleasant to use and very time-consuming to troubleshoot.

The videos often start off pixelated and often continue on low quality for a while, even though we have the highest-tier internet bandwidth and other streaming apps never have this issue.

Also there are LOTS of ads on some shows. YouTube's explanation is that they weren't able to negotiate better with the networks. Well then, don't offer me to DVR a show if I can't fast-forward through the ads - the whole purpose of DVR is to skip ads. And in addition to in-video ads from the networks, the YouTube TV app itself constantly interrupts you with "our picks for you" which of course are just ads for random shows.

Overall, not a very nice experience.

I'm surprised so many people don't know about Youtube TV yet. It's cheap (used to be cheaper), you get all the great channels cable plans offer live plus DVR recording for less than $50/month.

YouTube TV is new, and they've hit the market with a bang. I thought I'd give them a try, as I was dying to get rid of another streaming company. Once I started using it, it was a no-brainer.

Unlike most services, YouTube TV doesn't have hidden costs or unexpected add-ons. You get what you see, with an easy-to-use-and-understand interface, the ability to add shows to your library, and the option to have those shows DVR'd.

PROS:

Family Is Invited! Up to five family members with a Google account can be invited, no extra cost. They then have private access to their own viewings, lineup, recordings, etc.

Live and On-Demand, DVR, ability to watch a network show right after it's aired. Pausing live? Priceless.

Fast forwarding, rewinding, and pausing is available for on demand and live shows.

Clean, user-friendly interface.

CONS:

No Comedy Central.

So many obscure sports networks to get past; it almost feels as though there are as many of those channels as there are regular ones. I'm also 99% sure this is a common issue with all streaming services.