The introduction of over the top streaming internet television services has meant a severe blow to the traditional cable TV services. They enable the customers to watch TV programming over the internet without relying on the packages offered through cable services. Many streaming services have enrolled in the competition to provide the best TV packages for the customers.
In 2015, Sony launched its OTT service PlayStation Vue, followed by AT&T’s debut into the field with DirecTV Now recently. In light of the increased competition between these two, it is important to compare these two services to highlight their many differences and other features.
Packages
PlayStation Vue has plans that range from $30 to $65 per month. It includes a basic plan that offers channels like ESPN, Disney, and Fox, where premium channels are accessible with higher end packages. AT&T owned DirecTV Now is the newest to debut in the live streaming services. It has packages that range from $35 to $70 per month.
The $5 add-ons of HBO and Cinemax are one of its advantages over PlayStation Vue. However, upgrading to higher plans for individual channels requires paying a big amount to upgrade. This is, in fact, one of the major disadvantages of both the services.
DVR
The addition of DVR is one of the biggest advantages of PlayStation Vue. It will help the users to record live shows for viewing it later. It has other numerous features like automatic recording of the new episodes of every bookmarked show. PlayStation Vue will also aid in making available any episodes in the On Demand service, if they are not available for DVR.
DirecTV Now lacks the DVR feature, although they had announced it earlier. A date for the specific release of the new updated version with DVR has not yet been revealed, but it is likely to be released sometime this year.
Viewing Platforms
Apps are required to watch the programs aired over the two services. DirecTV Now comes with its own app that is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms. Besides that, it also has the ability to support both Apple TV and Chromecast. The interface of DirecTV app is much easier to use with innovatively laid out buttons and other features to aid the user in viewing his/her preferred content.
PlayStation Vue has the PlayStation app with varied supporting platforms like Android, iOS, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV. Like DirecTV Now, the home screen of PlayStation Vue app is easy to navigate and find the required content.