Streaming Live TV over the internet is beginning to gain a lot of traction as cord-cutters look to ditch their cable TV subscription for more affordable and flexible services. This has given rise to the launch of live TV streaming platforms like Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and Philo TV.
With new players like Philo TV on the block, many cord-cutters now have a fantastic alternative they can rely on. Read on to find everything you need to know about Philo TV and why we think it is the next big thing.
What is Philo TV?
When it comes down to Live TV streaming services, two distinct pitches set Live TV streaming services apart. While some Live TV streaming services are uniquely designed to save you money, others aim to replace cable TV packages that typically charges you more for channels you aren’t interested in.
The good news is, Philo TV is firmly among the Live TV streaming services that will save you money. At only $20 per month, Philo TV is way cheaper than most live TV streaming services. But before we get ahead of ourselves, please keep in mind that enjoying this low price comes with some sacrifice as Philo TV doesn’t offer customers sports or local channels.
For people who don’t really care about sports and strictly want to watch TV channels that provide value, Philo TV will be an excellent choice.
Philo TV channels and price
Philo TV packages are one of the best you’ll come across. And that’s because they are affordable and deliver value for money spent. They offer a $16 per month package with a total of 45 channels and a $20 per month package with 58 channels. Compared to other Live TV streaming Services, Philo TV is budget-friendly. At $20 per month, Philo TV is cheaper than Sling TV’s $25 per month package.
Although Philo TV lacks sports and Philo local channels, it still offers some really impressive TV channels that will keep you glued to your screen all day long.
Philo DVR
Does Philo have DVR? Well, like many other streaming services, Philo TV offers its customers a free cloud DVR, and guess what, there is no limit to how much you can record. However, you’ll want to make sure you catch up pretty quickly as you can only save recordings for 30 days.
We know that this can be annoying, but it isn’t the first time we are seeing a DVR with a time limit. The likes of PlayStation Vue’s cloud DVR also have recordings deleted after 28 days.
Another exciting thing about Philo TV is that it offers customers three concurrent streams. What this means is that three people can watch simultaneously on different devices, using one account. With AT&T TV Now, you are allowed two concurrent streams while Sling TV offers one or four, depending on the package you are on.
For now, Philo TV doesn’t offer profiles, so your saved program and viewing history will pretty much be the same with others sharing your account.
Philo TV app
Philo TV features a powerful app for both Android and iOS devices. With their app, you can watch live TV without borders as you can use it on the go.
Thankfully, the Philo TV app is easy to navigate as it features a similar design to its streaming platform, with only a few exceptions. Instead of the traditional TV guide that shows time slots for each channel, their app only shows programs that are currently playing. Besides this, the performance of their app is solid.
However, Philo TV has some annoying setbacks, when you select a live show to watch, Philo TV takes you all the way to the beginning instead of where it is in real-time. And if you try to catch up by forwarding, you’ll most likely get stuck watching commercials.
Impeccable User experience
One thing we have come to love about Philo TV is that it supports a lot of devices. From Roku to Apple TV to Philo on Fire TV and more, you can watch all your favorite TV channels using Philo and your favorite streaming device. While watching Philo on every supported device, we were impressed with its picture and audio quality. Although its picture quality is a little behind Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, it is still way better than AT&T TV Now.
When it comes to navigating through their shows, their interface is universal except for a few exceptions. Besides their website, you’ll typically not find a traditional channel guide if you’re streaming on Roku or using their iOS app.
From what we have discovered so far, Philo is content-oriented, little wonder why their home screen features trending live shows instead of channel guide. Besides that, they also have a live section that lets you know what is airing real-time. And while other streaming platforms will kick off with live streams, Philo TV allows you to click through on-demand content.
Video quality
When it comes to video quality, Philo TV is not lacking. As a matter of fact, Philo TV streams on-demand contents in 1080p and Live TV in 720p. Although this is still HD, it is very much behind the quality you’ll get on cable TV. That said, Philo TV still competes favorably with other live TV streaming platforms, as most of them stream contents in 720p. From our tests, we found Philo’s video quality pretty sharp and detailed.
What internet do you need for Philo?
To enjoy a seamless viewing experience on Philo, you’ll need a minimum of 3 Mbps to stream SD quality. For HD quality, you’ll need 7 and 13 Mbps, respectively. Please keep in mind that you’ll require a high-speed connection if your account is connected to more than one device at a time.
In a nutshell
Getting a reliable streaming service can be a hard nut to crack especially if you’re out for something comprehensive yet affordable. But guess what, Philo TV is here to save the day. With Philo TV, you get to enjoy fantastic TV channels at a really affordable price. Plus, their services comes with amazing perks you don’t want to miss out on.
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