My Streaming Life

I've posted before about how much I like the Frndly.TV service . It's the only live streaming service I keep year round. It's not expensive -- as cheap as $6/month; $5/month if you pay by the year -- and there's always something to watch. While I constantly question others' "need" for a live streaming service, I actually do use this one year round. Yes, I'm a bit of a hypocrite and no I don't care. Frndly.TV had 19 channels at the time. Now they have 20: Hallmark Channel Hallmark Drama Hallmark Movies & Mysteries BabyFirst TV BYU TV CuriosityStream Dove Channel FETV Game Show Network getTV INSP Local Now Outdoor Channel PixL QVC Recipe TV Sportsman Channel The Weather Channel UPtv World Fishing Network The newest is FETV. I wasn't familiar with Family Entertainment TV , but now I am. Well, a little. Their shows include: The Addams Family Barney Miller Bat Masterson Bewitched Designing Women Father Knows Best Hart to Hart Hazel I Dream o...

When I posted recently that I would be testing The Roku Channel , I thought my next post about it would be several days later where I told you about the experience. Allen Saunders said "Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." Here's what happened. Part of the reason for this is my testing of The Roku Channel is going to be a little more involved than I originally thought. Here's what's complicating things. You may recall that I don't like subscribing through Roku Pay for anything. Or you may not. I have mentioned it a time or two, but I haven't dedicated a post to just talking about that. I'll do that soon. But, briefly, here's my issue with Roku Pay. If you subscribe to something using Roku Pay, you are limited to using it on devices tied to your Roku account. That may not seem like a problem, until you want to watch something on a device that's not your Roku streamer. You know, like your phone or tablet? Yes, Roku has so...

As much of a Roku fan as I am -- I'm certain you can tell by my writing -- you may be surprised to learn that I don't use The Roku Channel. Well, not much. My streaming habits may not be the same as yours. When I sit down to watch TV, I'll check Hulu for current season content, and watch it if there is something available. Then, if I'm playing catchup on older TV series, I'll launch whatever app carries what I'm catching up on. For me, right now, it's Paramount+ and Blue Bloods . I never watched the show, but have seen that it's been on for over a decade, so I thought I'd give it a try. I like it and am working my way though the seasons. Then, after catching up on current or older shows, I'll often switch to YouTube and watch shorter videos about whatever piques my interest at the time. Perhaps a history video, something about the space program, the two British chaps on Cracking The Cryptic solving Sudoku puzzles, a Dark Corners review of a reall...

Now it's a thing to trash cord cutting. Okay, this isn't a new thing. I've seen videos from cord cutting enthusiasts telling about articles they've seen that call into question many things that cord cutters cite as reasons for cutting the cord. I hadn't noticed a lot of that. Until recently. Each day, I take a look at news about cord cutting. I have a variety of places I check, but it always involves a Web search for "cord cutting" and checking the "news" category. Recently, I saw a few articles similar to what others had mentioned. Why I hadn't seen them before, I don't know. For whatever reason, there they were. One reason may be that I don't usually scroll several pages in. I only hit the first couple of pages or so of my initial search results. The articles could have been there the whole time, but not shown up as high on my search. Well, they're showing up now. I found many, including the following: Does Cord-Cutting...

Although I'm an iPhone user, I do have experience with Android phones. One of the things I like about iPhones is that they all work the same. That is, if you know how to use one, you can use the other the same way. Unless the iPhone is really old, they can all run the same operating system. Android phones, on the other hand, don't always support the same OS. One family member that uses a new Android phone is running Android 11. Another Android phone by a family member only updates to Android 10. That phone isn't new, but it's not that old either. And, I have a test Android. It's a good one, not a cheap one. Another thing I don't like about Android phones is that the settings and commands aren't consistent across different manufacturers. And one big example of this is the different ways different Android phones refer to screen mirroring. The terms include: Smart View Quick Connect SmartShare AllShare Cast Wireless display Display mirroring HTC Connect Screen ...

I recently switched from Air TV to Tablo for my over the air TV watching and recording. If you recall, I manage the TV setup for a couple of houses in the family, including, of course, my own. I utilized Tablo in one, and Air TV in one. I did that because I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go, and my research indicated either would be good. So, I got one for one house, and the other for the other house. And, as my research indicated, both worked well. When it came time to put one in a third house, I decided to go with Air TV. But, instead of buying an Air TV, I bought a Tablo. Why? So I would replay my Air TV with a Tablo. I didn't feel bad about moving the Air TV to the third location because it was a good device. But, I liked Tablo better, so I replaced my Air TV with a Tablo, and assigned the Air TV to the third house. All of that seems to indicate that everything is just rosy with Tablo. But it's not. I ran into an issue the other day. I turned on the TV and launched t...

Recently, there's been some major sports news with the possible (at this writing) move of Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference. This is big -- heck, it's huge -- in college football, but has major implications in other sports as well. So, I've been thinking about college sports lately. I don't watch lots of sports except during the fall, when I take time out for football. So as August and the start of the college football season approaches, I'm planning out my sports channels. Being a fan of SEC football -- there are teams I love and teams I hate -- I'm looking for CBS, ESPN, and SEC Network. I'll need to look at the live streaming services that carry those channels. I'll even look at multiple services if it will save some money. Looking at the schedule, the national championship game is January 10, so I'm planning to have service through January 11, just to be safe. Since subscriptions for the live streaming services are for 30 days at ...

While Roku is my streaming device of choice, I do like the Chromecast with Google TV device. It's currently holding the Number Two spot in my hierarchy of streaming devices. I like the device a lot. However, it has one little issue that helps keep it from rising to the top. The device is a little sluggish at times. That was unexpected. Here's why. According to my online research, the Chromecast with Google TV has specs similar to a Roku Ultra. Both have an ARM Cortex-A55 processor and 2 GB RAM. For that reason, I assumed they would be similar in responsiveness. Silly me. The Roku Ultra is a very responsive device. When I press an arrow button the response is fast. When I press the OK button, it's fast. It's like I would want and expect from a quality streaming device. However, sometimes the Chromecast/GTV has a noticeable delay between the button press and the associated acton. Not long, but enough for me to notice. And that doesn't happen on my Roku device. So, wha...

In the last few days, I've seen posts and notices online about a new Olympics portal being available for Roku. According to a blog post by Roku : We’ve partnered with NBCUniversal to bring you an all-new, immersive Olympic experience to your Roku device. Our Olympics hub makes it easy for you to access NBCU’s Olympic coverage and Olympics-related entertainment on supported Roku devices. Only, here's the thing. Well, two things. Well, three things. Three days now after the rollout, it's still not on my Roku devices. And, yes, I have current Roku devices. I mean it's not like I am using a Roku XDS from 2010 to stream. I have a 2021 device that I'm looking at as I type. Got all the updates. Just don't got Olympics portal. The second thing is, I really don't care. You see, I'm a firm believer that sports and politics shouldn't mix. Hitler tried to use the Olympics to prove the superiority of the German race. That blew up in his face. In my mind, people t...

Way back in the 1980s, or maybe the late 1970s, I first contributed to PBS. I think I was liking some British sitcom (Britcoms) or other. Anyway, that's when it started. I think I got some silly dollar store bling as a thank you. I don't recall. Maybe even a mug. I just don't remember. Anyway, the point is that contributing to PBS still has some benefits, and today, they're a little better than a dollar store mug. Unless you're a pessimist, in which case you think they're extorting money from you. I'll give you the details and you decide. PBS has streaming apps available for several devices, including the Big Four: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android/Google TV. You can watch PBS content on demand. Well, a lot of PBS content. While a lot of content is avaiable on the PBS app, some items are marked with a little compass, indicating it's PBS Passport content. The content that doesn't have the icon is available for watching for free. The PBS Passpor...

Here's a little bit of math that many people forget. If you have an equation, and the same value appears on each side of the equation, you can remove that value and the equation still holds. Here's an example in the form of a math problem. You have two rooms. There are a bunch of boxes of stuff in each room. Each box of a certain color contains identical items. For instance, all blue boxes contain the same thing and weigh the same. All red boxes contain the same different item, and they all red boxes weigh the same, but not the same as the blue boxes. And so on.  Each blue box weighs 10 pounds, each red box weighs 5 pounds, and each green box weighs 8 pounds. In room 1, you have: 10 blue boxes. 7 red boxes. 12 green boxes. In room 2, you have: 8 blue boxes. 7 red boxes. 12 green boxes. What is the difference in weight between the content of the two rooms? One way to solve this is to say that 10 blue boxes weigh 10 pounds each totaling 100 pounds, 7 red boxes weight 5 pounds eac...

Spoilers: There is a phone number. For some things. I frequent the Roku support boards and the question about how to call Roku to speak to customer service comes up often. People have told again and again that there is no customer service number for Roku, but they keep insisting they want a number to call. Why are they told there was no customer service number? Because there was no customer service number. But now there is. Hallelujah. According to the support forums, Roku restarted telephone support for customer service a few weeks ago:  (816) 272-8106. It's only for addresses account/billing issues (option 1) , and first time setup/activation issues (option 2). Nothing more. But, that's better than nothing. If you're new to Roku, this might be helpful. I've not called it, nor am I likely to. But if you need it, and if calling makes your Streaming Life easier, there it is.

Let me get this out of the way: I'm a huge fan of Movies Anywhere. There. I said it. You can stop reading now, because that's the ending. Or you can read on and find out why. Unless, of course, you use Movies Anywhere. Then you already know all about it, and are probably a fan, too. Here's the background of Movies Anywhere. It started out as Disney Movies Anywhere. It was a free service of Disney that allowed you to purchase Disney movies and watch them on any platform. For example, you could by Cinderella from iTunes and it would also be in your Amazon library. Or, you could purchase Sleeping Beauty from Amazon, and you could watch it on Google Play. You get the idea. You no longer had to purchase a movie multiple times to watch it on multiple platforms. Around four years ago, they rebranded, and expanded. It's not just Disney movies. More studios have joined in, and the list now includes : Sony Pictures Entertainment Universal Pictures (including DreamWorks and Illumi...

There are some people that are rabid crazy fans of the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000. If you're not familiar with the show, here's the premise: Mad scientists sent a lowly factory worker into space as part of an experiment to find the worst movie of all time, one so bad that it would break the poor fellow. The scientists would then subject the entire world to the movie and take over the world. Only our intrepid hero used parts on the spaceship to build some robot companions who helped him get through the bad movie sessions. Or something like that. It's not really all that clear, but that's about as accurate as any other description. The reason I know that much about the show is that I was a fan of the show. Still am, since they are making more episodes someday soon , and I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign. So, I'm always happy when there is any positive news about MST3K, as the show is also known. And the positive news is that the show is now availa...

One of the most popular streaming services is Discovery+ (Discovery Plus). At last count, the service had over 15-million subscribers. Keep in mind that it launched in the U.S. in January. AT $5/month, it's a good price for the content. The Discovery+ gives subscribers access to content from: A&E Animal Planet DIY Network Discovery Channel Food Network HGTV History Investigation Discovery Lifetime Oprah Winfrey Network Science Channel TLC Travel Channel Magnolia Network The Dodo Those are some pretty good networks, to my way of thinking. Many of those are the content I like. Well, I'm personally not a fan of Oprah Winfrey or Lifetime, and really don't care for Food Network or HGTV. And History has gone to hell in a handbasket when they quit with history and started carrying pawn shops and space aliens programming. Still, Discovery, ID, TLC, and Science have lots of shows that are of interest to me. So, is Discovery+ the best way to watch those channels? Maybe. Or... Wha...

A few weeks ago, I lamented about Hulu no longer having a Classic TV category . However, I did note that some shows are what would be considered classic TV. It's nice to be able to watch classic TV. What brought this up is an article in The Hollywood Reporter this week about Amazon adding some classic TV shows to its lineup . Amazon and Sony Pictures TV have struck a deal that will bring an extensive catalog of legendary producer Norman Lear’s shows to the Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV streaming services. The titles headed to the two platforms are Maude, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, 227, Good Times, the original One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes, Sanford & Son and Sanford. Now, I did watch some of these shows when they first aired. I didn't watch them all, and I didn't watch all the episodes of the ones I did watch. They weren't may favorites. But, as I said, I did watch some of them. And, yes, they are considered classic TV. While these aren't may f...

One of the hardest achievements in sports to accomplish is the golf Grand Slam. That's when a golfer wins the four major tournaments in a year. It's only been done once. Or twice. Depending on what you mean by "in a year." Bobby Jones achieved a Grand Slam in 1930, winning the British Open and Amateur, and the U.S. Open and Amateur titles. Nowadays, the Grand Slam is the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the British Open (traditionalists call it "the Open"). Tiger Woods held all four titles at the same time, but that was across two calendar years, 2000 and 2001. So, maybe that's a Grand Slam, maybe it's not. It won't happen this year, because of the three majors so far this year, three different golfers have won. So, when the British Open is done, there could be four major title holders this year. And that's pretty much normal. Still, the British Open is a big deal in golf. And it started today. If you're a golf...

I'm not intending to disrespect Amazon's Fire TV devices in any way. However, as I prefer Roku, I'm going to talk about Roku, but this could probably apply to Amazon Fire TV devices as well. When it comes time to get a streaming device -- and I prefer Roku for my personal use -- some people will purchase a smart TV. That's a good idea. In theory. There are problems with making such a purchase, however. First, what kind of smart TV is it? There are Roku TV devices -- TVs with Roku functionality built in. There are Fire TV devices -- TVs with Amazon Fire TV functionality built in. There are Android TV devices -- TVs with Android TV built in. WebOS ... well, let's stop after those first three, and add that there are other generally inferior platforms. Why inferior? Well, I'm going by my experience. Those other platforms -- not Roku, Amazon, or Google/Android -- don't generally have as many apps available. I've found some of those off-brand smart TV plat...

Some weeks back, we talked about IPTV . I gave a rundown on what it is, and my reasons for rejecting those services. I recently re-read that post, and I'm not really happy with it. I don't disagree with anything I wrote. After all, I gave my thoughts on it, and they haven't changed. But, I don't think I really emphasized what I don't like about IPTV services. Here it is: IPTV services are a bunch of thieves selling stolen content. Also, if you support them, you're supporting theft. There. That's straight to the point. Am I being a little harsh? Yeah, maybe. But I'm also being truthful, and very blunt about it. I wonder how many people buy IPTV devices or subscribe to IPTV services -- and I'm talking about pirate TV boxes and pirate TV services -- not realizing just what they are. People always want to get a good deal on something. And they see all these hundreds and hundreds of channels they can get for a really good price. The old adage about if it ...

Why do we stream TV? To watch TV, of course. Of course, there are other ways to watch TV, including cable and satellite, but we stream. And streaming is just another source for TV. TV means TV shows and movies. And we spend money on streaming services and streaming devices in order to watch TV shows and movies. Which means we really like TV shows and movies. And that's my lead in to a post about something I read on Facebook. There was a question about movies one had seen ten times. So, I thought about it and came up with several. Now, there are two ways to consider this. Watching the movie in a theater, as the movie makers intended, narrows the list quite a bit. Watching movies on TV opens the list up. So, let me start with movies I've seen in theaters ten time. I can think of one and only one: Star Wars. I loved that film, and went back to the theater over and over to watch it. I think I saw it 13 times, if memory serves. Opening the list up to watching movies on TV, it grows....

I've been a streamer since 2010. Well, actually before that, but I got my first dedicated streaming device in late 2010. Two different ones, actually: Apple TV (2nd generation) and Roku (XDS model 2100). I had used Netflix on my TiVo prior to that, but the TiVo wasn't really what I considered a streaming device. The Apple TV and Roku XDS were definitely streaming devices. I liked the Roku better, because you could do more with it. Today, I'm still a fan of Roku. I've used a lot of different streaming devices, including a lot of different model Roku devices. I'm very familiar with the devices, and might even be considered an expert on them. Roku considers me one, to some degree. Seriously. That's from my Roku Community page. Roku assigned me that. I'm one of several who are listed as Community Streaming Expert on the forum. If one of the experts suggests something, it's a good suggestion. The other CSEs know their stuff. And, to be frank, I do too. So,...

I've been a fan of Frndly.TV ever since it launched. The primary reason? Hallmark. It's been difficult to find family friendly streaming content with which family members were already familiar. Hallmark is the, well, hallmark of family friendly programming. Sure, the programming is sappy at times, but if it says Hallmark, it's going to be family friendly. There used to be a streaming service called Feeln that I was delighted to discover. I started watching it and was a yearly subscriber from the time Feeln launched in 2014. Actually, Feeln was a rebranding of a service with which I was not familiar: Spirit Clips. That was where you could find Hallmark content on-demand. That became Feeln, and with the rebranding push, I came aware of it, tried it, liked it, and became a yearly subscriber. I continued to subscribe to Feeln until 2017, when it changed its name to Hallmark Movies Now. And, I continued to subscribe until Frndly.TV was launched in 2019. I liked Frndly, partic...

Recently, I tested the Onn FHD Streaming Stick. It didn't go well . Then, I got the Onn UHD Streaming Device to test it . I have to admit, it went a lot better. But it still didn't go well. I'll give you the ending now: okay device, but I recommend the higher priced Chromecast/Google TV for a similar platform, or a Roku Express 4K+ for a similar priced streaming device. Let me tell you what I liked about it first. The price. The price of under $30 is a good. And it may be worth that price. Maybe. It's not much more than the Onn FHD Streaming Stick, but it's a much better device. So, for the money, the Onn UHD Streaming Device is much superior to the FHD Stick. It's noticeably faster, and much more stable. As with the Stick, setting up and downloading updates was actually pretty smooth. Like the Stick, the device is an Android TV powered unit. It included the option to use an Android phone to set it up, but I don't use an Android phone. Even so, manual setup ...

Before I dropped cable in 2011, I didn't watch A&E all that much. I used to some years back, when they carried Biography (Peter Graves and Jack Perkins) and similar programming. But, I got away from that as they moved the shows I watched to other A&E owned networks. It's a popular network, though, with a lot of programs that a lot of people like to watch. And, of course, it's available on all the major live streaming services. Or it was. Turns out that when I used the Suppose.TV online tool , it doesn't show up on Fubo TV. It used to be there, but now it's not. In fact, it's not just A&E, but their six major channels to include History and Lifetime. Lifetime Movie, FYI, and Vice were the other A&E Networks channels dropped by Fubo TV . That was a bit of a surprise to me. Fubo TV isn't as popular as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or Sling TV, but it's traditionally been a good option for those wanting a live streaming service. But now, it has...

Yes, this the third day in a row I've written about streaming sports. But this isn't about watching hockey or basketball playoffs, but a more general sports topic. Part of the reason I write about sports is that sports was one of the major concerns I had when I dropped cable. My concern was valid, as I had no access to ESPN via streaming from fall 2011 through 2014. In 2015, Sling TV launched and gave me the access to ESPN. However, even now, in 2021, it's still not easy to get all the sports one wants. Regional sports networks are a prime source for many sports fans. Many of them, formerly part of the Fox Sports network, were sold off a couple of times, and now operate at Bally Sports. Bally is looking to increase its regional sports footprint now. According to an article int he New York Post, Sinclair, which own Bally Sports, is bidding on the seven NBC regional sports networks : If Sinclair succeeds in buying the RSNs, it would add dozens of popular National Basketball A...

I've posted about how to watch the NHL finals as a streamer. But, there's another set of finals going on, and they start tonight. The NBA championship series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns tips off on ABC TV this evening. And, as a streamer, how would you watch? Well, all four to seven games will be broadcast on ABC. So, you just need access to ABC. How does a streamer get that? Other than going to a sports bar, you have five (or six) options. Those five (or six) divide up into two categories. So let's look at the five (or six) options, starting with... Over the Air Do you have a TV antenna? If you do, either connected directly to your TV, or to a network-connected tuner such as Tablo or Air TV , then it's a simple matter of tuning to your local ABC affiliate and watching the game. But that only works if you have an antenna. Suppose you don't? Well, remember I said there were two categories? The other four options fall into that other category....

I'm late to the party on this one. I mentioned a couple of week back that Peacock TV was carrying the NHL semifinals . But what about the finals? Well, Peacock TV added the finals to their lineup too , but I failed to mention it. I feel bad about that. I'm not a hockey fan, and that's probably part of the reason I didn't stay on top of it like I should have. But that's no excuse. There is no excuse. I failed to keep you updated. Regardless, if you are a fan of professional hockey, you're interested in the hockey games. And, there may be only one match left, since Tampa Bay leads 3 to 0 in the series. But, that will be streaming on Peacock TV tonight. And, if Montreal extends the series, all future games will be available on Peacock TV. I do apologize for not posting this earlier. But, if you are wanting to watch the finals, and you subscribe to Peacock TV, or are a Comcast/Xfinity Internet subscriber, you can watch championship hockey, and fill that hockey-size ...

One of the most important documents in world history is the United States Declaration of Independence. If you've never read it, it may be worth reading. It gives you a glimpse into history, as well as the U.S. phyche. In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted amon...