My Streaming Life

I couldn't hold out til Prime Days to get a new TV. But if you've been wanting to get a new TV, Amazon is running some specials right now. https://amzn.to/3y4Qjq7 One that caught my eye was a 65-inch that's about 40% off . That's a pretty good deal. Yes, it's still $400, but those are pretty darn good TVs. And if you're looking for a Fire TV platform, this looks like a good choice. Of course, if your TV picture is good, but your streaming device doesn't get a good signal, maybe it's actually your network. Amazon's Eero 6 mesh router is a good option. The sale will end on this one soon, but it may come back. Even if it doesn't, it's a good device in my experience. Put a few of them together and give your home the coverage it needs. Many people with do everything but upgrade their network. Once I got a good network setup, most of my problems with streaming went away. Check out Amazon's Prime Day page and see if there's something...

I saw an article on AFTV News yesterday that covered a topic I thought was worthwhile. Network issues are very common in low-end Roku devices. I don't see a lot of complaints about network issues with Fire TV devices, but I don't frequent the Fire TV support areas nearly as much. Network issues happen on all devices. Lower end devices are usually more susceptible to such issues, as they are usually lower priced because the parts are cheaper. And cheap network parts sometimes function like cheap network parts . Poor network quality and the issues that it causes, like buffering and degraded image quality/resolution, are the top complaints among Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, and Fire TV Smart TV owners. That is likely why Amazon has revamped the Fire TV’s built-in network status testing utility with additional information and functionality to help Fire TV owners asses and fix network issues. This guide will help you understand the different values in the new network utili...

I've balanced my Streaming Life between watching free content, or FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) and subscription content, to include vMVPD (Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) content such as Sling TV, etc., and SVOD (Subscription-based Video on Demand), such as HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+, etc. Rather than subscribe to multiple services, I'll subscribe to one service for a month, then the next month, subscribe to a different service. As I don't usually use vMVPD (streaming cable type of services), I am trading the immediacy of watching content for the extra money in the bank. The content will show up on SVOD soon enough, at least soon enough for my purposes. Of course, some people just have to watch that special program when it airs. I'm not some people. And maybe you don't have to be either. Many services are $70/month, with others close to that. Do I need to watch the content RIGHT THEN, or can I wait a few hours (if it's on Hulu) or a few da...

News that streaming continues to grow really isn't news is it? Well, yes it is. But it is expected news. Well, it is expected to me. And maybe to you as well. Likely, you're here reading this because you are a streamer, or thinking about becoming a streamer. So, finding out that others are thinking like you doesn't really shock you, does it? Didn't think so. So, as I said, streaming is growing. According to Nielsen, in May, streaming growth continues to not only grow, but grow at record-breaking numbers. In fact, for the last three full months, each growth exceeded the previous, which was a record at the time . While overall TV usage decreased by 2.7% in May compared to April—a drop that follows typical viewing trends for this time of year—streaming was the only viewing category to exhibit any month-over-month growth in May as it continued to narrow the gap on cable's 36.5% share of viewership, and it exceeded broadcast's 24.4% share. Time spent streaming in May...

I've been running a non-streaming (mostly) project of installing and operating using a Linux computer. At least one Linux computer. I'm actually planning on running a desktop (what I'm using now) and a laptop (gotta find one I like). One of the things about Linux is the security. The operating system is very secure. And you might think that would not be the case. After all, Microsoft and Apple keep their operating system code closely guarded, while Linux in all its forms is open source. That is, anyone can look at the operating system code. The bad side of that is that anyone easily look for ways to exploit the code. No getting some employee to smuggle out any section of code so you can look at it. With Linux, the code is there for anyone to see. The good side of that is that anyone can easily look for ways to stop others from exploiting it. Right now, if someone finds an exploit in Windows or Mac OS, only a team at Microsoft or Apple, respectively, can work on fixing the e...

This weekend, the football playoffs begin. Say what? You heard me. It's time for the football playoffs again. The USFL playoffs are this weekend, with a game today and another tomorrow. This afternoon, the New Jersey Generals (9-1) play the Philadelphia Stars (6-4) in the Northern Division championship game. The game will be broadcast on Fox at 3:00 pm. Tomorrow night, the Birmingham Stallions (9-1) play the New Orleans Breakers (6-4) in the Southern Division championship game. NBC will carry the game at 8:00 pm. There are a few different ways to watch the games if you are a streamer. Fox If you have an antenna, you can watch Fox for free. If not, there are streaming services that carry local Fox broadcasts. Antenna (free) Sling TV (Blue) ($35/month) (18 markets only) YouTube TV ($65/month) Fubo TV ($70/month) Hulu+Live TV ($70/month; includes Disney Bundle, meaning ESPN+) DirecTV Stream ($70/month) NBC If you have an antenna, you can watch NBC for free. If not, there are ...

I've said before that I'm not generally a fan of the paid live TV streaming services, or Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (vMVPD). I prefer the Free Ad Supported Television (FAST) services , but I do have my go-to services for the times when a live TV streaming service (vMVPD). One is Sling TV, which was the first of the vMVPD services. And, because of its relatively low price, at least compared to other major services, is my go-to in most cases when a vMVPD is called for. Like watching something on ESPN. Sling TV also has a free tier that can be used standalone FAST service. It can also be used in conjunction with Air TV, so you don't need a paid tier for that. But, you do need a paid tier if you want to take advantage of the latest promotion that Sling TV is offering. This weekend, and every weekend during the summer, Sling TV is offering free premium channels to paid subscribers. This weekend, it's Showtime. And each weekend, another premium servi...

Some sports fans have been excited about the upcoming launch of Bally Sports+ streaming service. For some, that happens today. Bally announced a while back that it would launch a direct to consumer sports network that would offer content from Bally Sports Networks. No dates had been given, with "summer" or "fall" thrown around as launch targets. Until this week. Earlier in the week, Bally Sports announced that Bally Sports+ would launch in five markets on June 23. Well, according to my calendar, that's today. However, according to my map, I'm not in Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, or Tampa, so I won't get it. At least, not today. According to Sports Business Journal, it will be about three months before the full launch of the service . Pay-TV subscribers already have access to streamed games through Sinclair's TV Everywhere apps that are treated as add-ons to pay-TV subscriptions. Sinclair's executives expect their relationships with subs...

A report from Comscore, a ratings service, says that more and more people in the U.S. are using ad-supported streaming services. To those I say, "Welcome." I've long been an advocate of the free streaming services over the pay services for some time. And, of course, the free streaming services are by and large ad-supported services. A little over a year ago, I viewed with some skepticism a report that free ad-supported services were on the rise, mainly because the study was commissioned by Tubi, a free ad-supported service. But, I said I wished it was true, and thought it could be true, but it seemed a little self-serving by Tubi. Earlier this year, there were suggestions that free services could pass pay services for streamers. Not sure that will happen, but the trend is there. The report by Comscore says that the number of ad-supported services grew at a higher rate and pay subscription services . ...ad-supported streaming services (AVOD) are being adopted at a faste...

According to AFTV News , there's an update being rolled out for Amazon Fire TV devices that seems to remove Developer Mode on the devices. For most users, this isn't that big of a deal, but for some, this is a thing. You see, some users like to extend the features of their Fire TV devices by loading content that isn't in the Amazon application store (sometimes called "side loading"). Many times, this is simply content that for one reason or another, hasn't been approved for the Amazon Store. Other times, it's an app that wasn't actually designed for Amazon's OS, but will work. And others are loading pirate TV content. To be fair, some that are loading pirate TV apps don't realize the apps are pirate TV apps. That's mostly because they don't understand that such things can be illegal, and pirates take advantage of this. There are other reason for Developer Mode besides side loading apps. But removing the feature would impact a large...

One of the drawbacks of not following some sports closely (or barely at all) is that when a particular sport's big event, or events, happen, they slide right under the radar. That happened to me this week with ice hockey. The NHL championship, the Stanley Cup, began Wednesday, and I totally missed it. There have been two games played, and Colorado leads Tampa Bay 3 games to none. Game three is tonight and will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN+. If you're a streamer, you have options to watch the remaining games in the best-of-seven series. Let's start with a streaming only way, then other ways streamers could watch the series. ESPN+ The Stanley Cup finals are being broadcast on ESPN+. That's a $7/month package that includes lots of sports. To be sure, this is not the same as ESPN. If you have or plan to cut the cord, realize that you cannot get standard ESPN content for $7/month. But, you can get a lot of content, including the NHL championship series. ABC You have several ...

I said last weekend that I had a desktop computer set up running Linux, and that I intended to use it for writing the content here. I also mentioned that I hadn't done that part very well. That has changed, and I've used the Linux computer more. Every new post I wrote in the past week has been on the Linux computer. To be fair, some of the posts last week about streaming services were written the week prior and held until last week. In fact, the one that appeared Friday, on Frndly TV, was one of the first I wrote. But, I didn't publish them in the order I wrote them. Some of those posts were written on the Linux computer, but some were written on Windows, and maybe one on the Mac. However, I am focusing on writing solely on Linux for the foreseeable future. I want to get used to it, and this is a good way to accomplish that. I realize the focus of this Website is streaming. And I realize that my writing about writing on Linux really has nothing to do with streaming. But, ma...

When I looked at Fubo TV a little more the other day, I wasn't aware that Fubo was just days away from rolling out a way to actually wager on games. Yes, you will be able to bet on games from Fubo TV. The company announced this week that a feature called "Pick’em Games" that opens up the possibility of sports wagering. ... pick’em players in select markets will have seamless access to Fubo Sportsbook by scanning a QR code to place real-money wagers aligned with their picks. This marks the latest incorporation of FuboTV and its owned-and-operated real-money wagering platform. Pick’em players will be able to predict the outcome of select live sporting events directly from FuboTV’s live TV streaming platform’s home screen. Fubo will make pick’ems available prior to the start of select live sporting events each Sunday. Players can test their skills through a variety of contests, including Perfect Pick’ems, to earn points and compete against their friends and the FuboTV commu...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services that I think is a real gem: Frndly TV. I've been a fan of Frndly TV for quite some time . And with plans starting at $7/month, it's a great deal. Well, to me it is. Unlink YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, Fubo TV, and DirecTV Stream, there are no local channels in the Frndly TV plan. Which means if you want local channels streaming, this may not be the service for you. Of course, if you have an antenna, or can add an antenna to your setup, then Frndly TV is one to consider. Mostly, it's a matter of taste. What type of content to you want? If you want family friendly TV, it's hard to beat Frndly TV. Even if you want other content, using Frndly TV as an add-on rather than a...

The U.S. Open, one of the four major golf tournaments, starts today. If you're a golfer, you're probably interested. Even non-golfers follow the majors. It's quite the big deal. If you're looking to watch the U.S. Open, you have plenty of options, including streaming options. The U.S. Open will be broadcast by NBC, and carried by to additional networks that are owned by NBCUniversal: USA and Peacock. So, how can you watch the 122nd United States Open Championship? NBC If you have an antenna, you can watch NBC for free. If not, there are streaming services that carry local NBC broadcasts. Sling TV (Blue) ($35/month) (11 markets only) Vidgo ($55/month; $67/three months) YouTube TV ($65/month) Fubo TV ($70/month) Hulu+Live TV ($70/month; includes Disney Bundle, meaning ESPN+) DirecTV Stream ($70/month) USA Sling TV (Blue) ($35/month) Vidgo ($60/month) YouTube TV ($65/month) Fubo TV ($70/month) Hulu+Live TV ($70/month; includes Disney Bundle, meaning ESPN+) DirecTV Stream (...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services that doesn't get enough love: Philo. At $25/month, Philo isn't the cheapest live streaming service, but it's close. And it's a really good service. But Philo isn't for everybody. As is true of the other less expensive live streaming services, Philo does not carry local channels. Philo also doesn't have many news channels, nor does it have much sports programming. If you have or can put up an antenna for live local channels, then that's no longer an issue. News may not be an issue. Philo has BBC World News, Bloomberg, and Cheddar news. If you simply want news, there are those, plus several free news services available on the major streaming devices. ABC, ...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why,  read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services: Sling TV. When I do go to a live streaming service, I usually go with Sling TV. That's because it has what I want, when I want a live streaming service, and it has a better price than other services with my target channels. Sling TV was the first live streaming service, and I tried it when it first launched. Kept it a couple of months, got used to it, then dropped it until football season. And each year, I've used Sling TV for football, at least part of the time. If another service runs a really good deal, I'll use that other service, but when the deal is over, it's back to Sling TV. I actually use Sling TV free (more about that in a minute) for Air TV (more about ...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the biggest, most inclusive live streaming services: DirecTV Stream. DirecTV Stream began at DirecTV Now. Then it was AT&T TV Now. Then it was AT&T TV. Now it's DirecTV Stream. Oh, and there was AT&T Watch TV, which was a separate service. And there was some overlap in the services and names of services. But, now it's simply DirecTV Now. Even with it's confusing upbringing, it's always been a good service, and is a good service today. However, it's usually been the most expensive service as well. Today, it still holds that title, but Hulu+Live TV matches its price. The interface looks good and is functional. I prefer the guide, but for those that like the modern interfaces, the...

A couple of weekends agp, I mentioned that I've made no progress in my setting up a Linux desktop for everyday use. What that has to do with streaming is ... well, not a lot. Although streaming is what led to me deciding to set up a Linux desktop. You see, I wanted to set up a Raspberry Pi as a Plex server, and I did. It's running at a family member's house, where I maintain the computers and network. It works great. Of course, Raspberry Pi OS is a version of Debian, a Linux distribution. And that got me the Linux itch again. As I said a couple of weeks ago, I had a device set aside and bought a new hard drive (an SSD) since the reason the device was available was the existing hard drive crashed. So, I put a new one, a better one, a faster one, in the device, and was ready to install Linux. Then my TV thing happened. But that's done. Mostly . So I decided to take a little time and install Ubuntu Linux on the device. So I did. Now I have a running Linux desktop compute...

A report from Leichtman Research Group says major pay TV services lost nearly 2-million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. And yes, that's a lot. But some of the articles I've seen missed a key point. First, the overall report gave some interesting -- well, interesting to me -- stats about various pay TV services services. According to the report, most of the numbers are estimates, though some are hard numbers. And of the top traditional cable outlets, a total of825,308 customers left the services : That's a lot of disappearing revenue. And the bad news continues. Other major providers, including DirecTV, Dish, Verizon FIOS, and Frontier lost623,000 on top of that: But then comes the part that most of the news reports I've seen overlook. And maybe intentionally. Three top streaming services, Hulu+Live TV, Sling TV, and Fubo TV lost507,562 subscribers during the quarter. Yep, pay TV is showing losses in cable, satellite, telco, and streaming. Some are sp...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services: Fubo TV. Fubo TV promotes itself as a sports focused service. The page banner even says "LIVE SPORTS & TV WITHOUT CABLE" listing sports before anything else. And they are a sports focused service. Now, Fubo TV doesn't carry Bally Sports networks, so that is a gaping hole in their sports coverage. But, Fubo TV does have a lot of other options. Of course they have the ESPN networks and the Fox Sports networks. Be In sports, NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, and lots of soccer (futbol) channels. The interface looks good -- there's not a lot of difference between the interfaces of the major live streaming platforms -- as does the guide, which is a standard cable-like guide. Sin...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services: Vidgo TV. Vidgo doesn't get a lot of love from the Internet. Many reviews of live streaming services completely leave Vidgo out. There's not even a Wikipedia page for Vidgo. Yet, it's a legitimate live streaming service that offers a decent package, compared to some other services. The pricing is $15 cheaper than YouTube TV, and $10 cheaper than Hulu+Live TV or DirecTV Stream. It is more than Sling TV, but it has more than Sling TV. I counted 113 channels in the Vidgo Plus package, which runs $60/month.

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the popular live streaming services: Hulu+Live TV. I've been a Hulu user for years, over 10 years in fact. However, I use the standard Hulu on-demand service. What I'm looking at today is the live streaming service. Hulu+Live TV is not just the name of the service, it's a description of the service. You have Hulu, which is a very good on-demand TV service that carries current season content from many of the networks. Not all the networks, mind you, but many. It's $7/month and you can watch new content within hours of it airing live. Think of it like a DVR service for, well, everything. Some content goes away after 30 days, but some stays around longer. A lot longer. The other thing that Hulu+...

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that . For now, I'm taking a look at one of the most popular live streaming services: YouTube TV. The service is $65/month. That's a lot of money. Even so, it's not the most expensive service. So, what do you get for the money? A lot actually.

I've been streaming since for a decade and a half. I dropped cable in January 2011, and have relied on streaming as my primary source of TV content ever since. The options in the early days of streaming were a lot slimmer than the options today. And, because of that, I learned that I didn't need a live streaming service. First of all, the first live streaming service, Sling TV didn't launch until early 2015. I had already been doing without cable for four years by that time. I tried out Sling TV, and thought it was a fine service. But, I didn't keep it around, because I had learned that I didn't need it. As a TiVo user, I was previously recording content, so I was used to watching shows after they aired. That means it was on-demand, with my TiVo recordings being the source. So, early on, I got used to on-demand content. Hulu was around, and it was free. I was watching it on TV via a Microsoft Windows Media Server setup. On my Roku device, I watched the pay service H...

This one snuck up on me. The NBA finals are underway. I knew they were coming, but as I don't watch NBA regularly -- that means "at all" -- I wasn't paying that close attention to it. But, my son loves watching the NBA, and he'll talk about the playoffs from time to time. And he's a great source for reminding me about upcoming major sporting events in sports I don't follow. And that's most sports. This past couple of weeks, though, a few things interfered with our regular get-togethers and talks. That means he didn't remind me about the NBA finals. Not his fault, of course, but mine. I should follow things closer. Even though I don't follow the sport, a lot do, and streamers that are NBA fans want to watch the finals. And the fact that I haven't posted about it, means I've fallen down on the job. Boston is up 1-0 in the series, having taken the first game from Golden State, 120-108. Game two is tonight, Game 3 is Wednesday, Game 4 is Fr...

Roku has been my streaming device of choice for years. I've used others, but Roku has been the one I've used the most. Apple TV has been the one I've used second most, though lately, I've not touched it. I did touch it when I set up my new TV and reconfigured the network and attached device. I disconnected it, along with everything else. So far, I've reconnected Roku, since it's a Streambar, functioning as both a Roku device and a sound bar. I've reconnected my Fire TV cube, because when I disconnected it, the way some things were run, I left in place, so there was no need to re-run any cables, as they were still there. Plugging it up was super easy, barely an inconvenience. The Google/Android TV devices haven't been connected, since the Sony TV is also a Google TV device. So that leaves Apple TV. And that's what I'm working on this weekend. Well, other stuff too, but that is one of the tasks. I really like Apple TV, and am a little surprised t...

I mentioned recently that I was getting a new TV . I also mentioned that I had the new TV and that it had taken my focus from a couple of other things. Well, all that is so. But after a week, I'm not still setting it up. Well, the TV is set up, but the stuff connecting to the TV isn't. Not all of it, anyway. You see, the new Sony TV is an Google TV device. And that's the quandary. Do I set up one of my existing Google TV devices? I have a Chromecast with Google TV device, and I have an Nvidia Shield device. Both are Google TV devices. Yes, the Nvidia Shield is technically an Android TV device, but they're both the same thing underneath. It's practically a distinction without a difference. Anyway, the Google TV interface of the Sony TV is fine. It works as I would expect. In fact, if you bought one, you really wouldn't need a streaming device. It uses one of the Big Four. There are plenty of smart TV that are lesser devices, and I always put a streaming devic...

I'm a fan of Tablo. I like what it does. I have a network-connected Tablo device , the Quad Tuner device that allows me to watch live TV over my network to any connected device. That means I can watch live TV or recorded shows from any Roku, Fire TV, Google/Android TV, or Apple TV device on the network. And, off network, I can watch live TV or recordings on any of my non-Roku devices via Tablo Connect. For some reason, Roku doesn't support Tablo Connect, or Tablo Connect doesn't support Roku. One or the other. Or both. Tablo Connect is a feature you can use if you have a Tablo subscription . It's $5/month, $50/year, or $180/lifetime. I have the lifetime subscription. You also get the 14-day guide. Without a subscription, it's a one-day guide and no out-of-home streaming. I prefer the 14-day guide, and the ability to watch out of home on occasion. Tablo has another subscription though. Or had. Or has but soon to be had. Lemme explain. Tablo Premium Service is $2/mon...

There is speculation that Starz will be sold to Roku this summer. Lionsgate, which owns Starz, announced last year that it was looking to spin off or sell Starz this year. According to a report in Variety from last November, Lionsgate began shopping he service and looking at spinning it off as a standalone company: ... Lionsgate announced that its board of directors has given the greenlight to its management team to explore spinning off or selling its Starz division. The company Lionsgate spent $4.4 billion to buy Starz in 2016, a move that expanded its television operations, but one that also added to its debt load. Now comes word that Roku is one of the companies interested in purchasing Starz. Variety reported last week that the streaming platform already has a relationship with Lionsgate and Starz, and that could make it a smooth transition, should the platform purchase the service. Among the suitors are Roku and Apollo Group, which have teamed on a bid to acquire a minority...