My Streaming Life

Amazon has updated the Fire TV Channels feature of their platform's devices to include more sports. This doesn't necessarily mean live sports, but it does include highlights, news, and even condensed games for fans of various sports and leagues. Amazon Fire TV Blog says the feature has already rolled out : We’ve added the NBA, Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, Fox Sports’ 24/7 linear channel, beIN SPORTS XTRA & video-on-demand, and the Locked On Podcast Network to our lineup of sports content available to all FTV customers in the US for free. These partners join Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, NBC Sports, and many other high-profile sports content providers already streaming on Fire TV Channels. For basketball fans, the content from the NBA includes daily highlights from every game and event, along with top plays. If you’re into college sports, the college conferences offer highlights, condensed games, news, and analysis from all of their member teams. Chec...

For years, I've been firmly on Team Roku. However, lately I've used Android/Google TV in the form of Chromecast and NVIDIA Shield devices. I have to say I like them. This does not mean I've left Team Roku. It simply means that I'm using other devices in order to ensure I know about them, and can answer questions when asked. I've not mentioned Fire TV yet. Well, until now. I've used Fire TV, and it's a user friendly device as well. While I'm still using Android/Google TV, I'm going to take a minute and talk about the two top platforms, Roku and Fire TV. Many new streamers want to know which is better: Roku or Fire TV. The answer to that isn't simple. The choice between Roku and Fire TV often depends on your personal preferences and and what you are looking for in a streaming device. Both Roku and Fire TV offer a range of streaming devices from which you are able to access the popular streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Di...

Walmart has finally released a new Onn Streaming Stick. They are calling it "onn Google TV Full HD Streaming Device (NEW, 2023)" which kinda explains it all. There was word back in July that Walmart would release a new streaming stick. That rumor came a few weeks after the retailer released a new streaming box . Now it's no longer a rumor, but a fact. The box was a huge improvement over the previous box from two years earlier. I'm hoping the stick will be a good upgrade as well. I will be getting one to test. Whether or not I'll use it regularly, I don't know. I have a perfectly good Roku, Fire TV Cube, NVIDIA Shield, Apple TV, and Chromecast 4K. I have more streaming devices than I have TVs. But, since it's under $20, I'll give it a shot. My Streaming Life usually involves higher tier devices. I'll try the cheap ones, but have found that the more expensive ones often perform better. Not always, but usually. The Walmart Onn stick might be som...

I've been using the NVIDIA Shield for a couple of weeks or so. As I mentioned several days back , the interface on the NVIDIA Shield didn't look exactly like the Chromecast interface. Close, but some differences. That surprised me. Turns out that the Chromecast is running a newer version of Android TV OS, version 12, while the NVIDIA Shield runs version 11. Of course, Android OS is what's underneath. The interface itself it separate. Chromecast uses the Google TV interface. NVIDIA Shield uses the Android TV interface. That's the reason for the different appearance. Mind you, the differences aren't great, but the differences are enough that noticed it right off the bad. I like the Google TV interface better. In the meantime, I'll continue to use the NVIDIA Shield as my primary box. Travel, being under the weather, and the holidays have interrupted by streaming habits. I'm going to use it for another week or two then give my thoughts on it. I like parts o...

There is a computer optimization program called CCleaner. A lot of people swear by it. Lately, they should be swearing at it, not by it. CCleaner is a bad idea. If you have been using it, you should watch this video. Ff your family/friend computer expert uses it on your computer, or recommends you use it on your computer, have your expert watch this video. [ YouTube ] Keep in mind that your local expert may reject the video. Some egos can't handle finding out they were wrong. What they don't think about is that CCleaner, and other utilities, change over time and sometimes they get worse. This is what has happened here. CCleaner keeps having problems, and they are major problems. My Streaming Life rarely uses my computer, and when I do, it's rarely a Windows computer. Beyond streaming, if you use Windows, be aware that this utility has major issues.

Have you wondered about local channel blackouts on cable, satellite, and even live streaming services? Tyler the Antenna Man tells why. Nothing is ever simple is it? My Streaming Life includes a TV antenna, and I've overall been happy with it.

Week 13 of college football for 2023 has begun. There are 71 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with three already played (two Tuesday, one Thursday night. There are 13 games today and 55 games tomorrow scheduled. There are two games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other: Oregon State (16) at Oregon (6) - today Ohio State (2) at Michigan (2) - tomorrow There are many other rivalry games on the schedule this weekend. All ranked teams are in action this weekend, with the rest of the Top 25 all play unranked teams. Today's games will be broadcast over several networks. Here are the channels or networks you'll need to watch all the games: ABC ACC Network Big Ten Network CBS CBS Sports Network CW ESPN ESPN2 ESPNU ESPN+ Fox Fox Sports 1 Longhorn Network NBC NFL Network Pac 12 Network Peacock SEC Network Note: No games are on Longhorn Network or Peacock this week. Between this weekend's games ...

Thanksgiving Proclamation Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789 By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation. Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:” Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or th...

Yesterday, I mentioned that Hulu was running its usual special for a year of the service for $1/month. The catch is that you must not have had the service for a month prior (though some have circumvented this by using a different email address). Well, it turns out that Hulu and Disney Plus have a bundle on sale. The basic ad-supported combo of Hulu and Disney Plus is $3/month. Same restrictions apply. For the price, if you don't mind the ads, this is an excellent deal. I'll be deciding soon if I want this. My Streaming Life has involved Hulu for over a decade. The $1/month price for standalone Hulu is a bargain. The Disney Bundle for $3/month is a bargain as well.

Hulu has done this for the last few years. For Black Friday, the service is available for 99¢/month for 12 months. Naturally, there's a catch. To take advantage of the deal, you must not have been a Hulu subscriber for one month prior. If you are an existing subscriber in any form -- standalone Hulu or part of any Disney Bundle -- you are not eligible. Well, unless it's been a month. How long will the sale last? I don't know. It's usually for around a month. I don't know if you have time to cancel and then take advantage of the deal a month later. Are there any other catches? Not really. It's pretty straight forward. It's the standard $8/month Hulu service for $1/month for a year. I know of people who have taken advantage of the deal on consecutive years by using a different email address, essentially rotating accounts year to year. In one year, they use the original email address, in the next, they use a second address. Then back to the first address. ...

There is a report that the manufacturer of Motorola modems may be closing down. Or may have already closed down. Light Reading reports that Minim, the company that makes the Motorola branded modems, is in serious financial trouble, having laid off a large number of staff, and having reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was in danger of shutting down . Minim, which sells Motorola-branded cable modems and gateways at retail alongside a software-powered home network management platform, laid off about 78% of its staff in September amid a severe cash crunch. It's not clear what's next for the Manchester, New Hampshire-based supplier, but its website is down as of this writing. Minim's phones are still ringing (though no one is answering), and its products are still being sold online at outlets such as Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and via a section dedicated to cable modems at Motorola.com. In recent weeks, Minim has alerted the Securities and Exch...

Internet Privacy Guy Rob Braxman doesn't use an antivirus program on his computer. So why should you? Well, maybe you shouldn't. Maybe. Don't change your behavior until you watch the whole thing. Nothing is ever simple, and Rob Braxman covers a lot of territory. [ YouTube ] If you drop your antivirus protection, make sure you know what you're doing.

Week 12 of college football for 2023 has begun. There are 68 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with eight already played (three Tuesday, two Wednesday, one Thursday night, and two last night). Today, there are  60 games  scheduled. There are four games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other: Georgia (1) at Tennessee (18) Utah (22) at Arizona (17) Kansas State (21) at Kansas (25) Washington (5) at Oregon State (11) All ranked teams are in action this weekend, with the rest of the Top 25 all play unranked teams. Today's games will be broadcast over several networks. Here are the channels or networks you'll need to watch all the games: ABC ACC Network Big Ten Network CBS CBS Sports Network CW ESPN ESPN2 ESPNU ESPN+ Fox Fox Sports 1 Longhorn Network NBC NFL Network Pac 12 Network Peacock SEC Network Note: No games are on Longhorn Network this week. Between this weekend's games and next Saturday, there are  16 games  involving Division 1-A/FBS teams, with...

It was a year and a half ago that I got an Nvidia Shield device. Things happened, and I never finished testing it. I kinda liked what I saw during the brief time I used it, but like I said, things happened. I want to test the Nvidia Shield as a primary streaming device, and put some serious time into it. I've been using Chromecast with Google TV, and actually like it. But, I think I'm done testing it. But, before going back to Roku, I want to finish my Nvidia Shield testing. Well, I hooked it up, ran updates, and sat down to use it. Well, what I saw was unexpected. I really expected things to look pretty much like Chromecast. They didn't. What I've run into is that Android TV and Google TV aren't the same thing. Google TV was -- was, mind you -- a platform. Android TV replaced it. Then Google decided to update the interface. The updated interface is called Google TV. Confusing? Yeah. That's Google for you. Anyway, it was unexpected. Two days later, the int...

A recent report shows that despite traditional pay TV services -- cable and satellite -- are losing customers, YouTube TV continues to get more customers. Not only that, the rate of growth of YouTube TV, combined with the traditional services shrinking, means that YouTube TV will soon be the 4th largest pay TV service. A report this past Spring from Leichtman Research Group says cable TV customers such as Comcast and Spectrum lost over 2-million customers in the first quarter of the year alone. A recent report shows that traditional pay TV services dropped 2-million in the second and third quarters combined. Top cable providers had a net loss of about 1,015,000 video subscribers in 3Q 2023 – compared to a loss of about 985,000 subscribers in 3Q 2022 Other traditional pay-TV services had a net loss of about 780,000 subscribers in 3Q 2023 – compared to a loss of about 700,000 subscribers in 3Q 2022 Top vMVPDs added about 1,325,000 subscribers in 3Q 2023 – compared ...

A recent study from Parks Associates says that streaming customers are sticking with Netflix and Prime Video. It also indicates that the service most likely to be dropped is Peacock. Of course, the results of the study don't match up with me, but then perhaps I'm not average. I don't know if I'm above average (I would like to think so) or below average (others probably think so) or just different (everybody thinks so). The full study is available for purchase , and I didn't purchase. I did see write-ups from The Desk and from Cord Cutters News , so what I'm writing about now is based on those articles. As they pretty much agree, I'm going to assume the reports are accurate in summing the results of the study. The streaming services mentioned are all service to which I have subscribed . The retention durations reflect the established status of each service in the consumer landscape. Despite challenges such as price increases and password-sharing cr...

A report this past week indicates that Comcast laid off about 50 employees from its Peacock division. The move wasn't because of cost cutting, according to Variety, but a result of restructuring the division. Now, is 50 people a lot of people? If you're one of the 50 people, then yes. But for a company the size of Comcast? Out of 186,000? That's not a lot. But it's not Comcast exactly. It's Peacock. They have about 1,000 or so employees. That's nearly one out of every 20 employees laid off. Five percent . The insider says the layoffs are not part of a cost-cutting initiative at the Comcast-owned company, but rather a revamp of the vision for the department that will see Willett fill almost all of these roles with new staffers. The Peacock marketing team is being broken into five business areas under Willett: Brand Creative and Marketing; Title Creative and Marketing; Marketing Strategy, Planning, Analysis and Performance Media; Growth and Lifecycle Marketi...

There is a report that Amazon will change the operating system in its Fire TV devices. Currently, Fire OS is based on the Android operating system. The report from Lowpass says Amazon will dump their Android based OS as early as next year . Development of the new operating system, which is internally known as Vega, appears fairly advanced. The system has already been tested on Fire TV streaming adapters, and Amazon has told select partners about its plans to transition to a new application framework in the near future. A source with knowledge of the company’s plans suggested that it could start shipping Vega on select Fire TV devices as early as next year. Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Amazon has been working on an alternative OS for years. I first heard about the company exploring this idea in 2019, and someone told me at the time that Amazon folks had brought it up in conversations with chip makers as early as 2017. Will this happen? Maybe. ...

Remember a few years ago when all TV stations went digital? (Okay, not all did, but so many did that it's easier to say that 'all did' go digital.) Well, something similar will happen again one day, maybe sooner than we realize. And, there are issues that could impact your ability to watch free over the air TV. Let's let Tyler the Antenna Man explain: [ YouTube ] This could be a major problem. I don't really expect it to be that, though. Well, okay, there are enough people making the rules that don't really care what you or I think, so this new technology may not be a good thing. My Streaming Life has used antennae to expland my live TV (and on-demand, via DVR) watching. I really want the technology to work for me, not help line someone else's pocket.

Week 11 of college football for 2023 has begun. There are 65 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with ten already played (three Tuesday, three Wednesday, two Thursday night, and two last night). Today, there are 55 games scheduled. There are five games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other: Mississippi (9) at Georgia (2) Michigan (3) at Penn State (10) Utah (18) at Washington (5) Tennessee (13) at Missouri (14) One ranked team, Louisville (11), won Thursday night. Notre Dame (20) has the week off. The rest of the Top 25 all play unranked teams. Today's games will be broadcast over several networks. Here are the channels or networks you'll need to watch all the games: ABC ACC Network Big Ten Network CBS CBS Sports Network CW ESPN ESPN2 ESPNU ESPN+ Fox Fox Sports 1 Longhorn Network NBC NFL Network Pac 12 Network Peacock SEC Network Note: No games are on Longhorn Network this week. Between...

I've mentioned this before, and here it is again. I don't normally subscribe to a live TV streaming service. Cable, delivered over the Internet, isn't for me. However, as I've said, I understand the appeal of it. Some people just want to watch TV and are willing to pay big bucks for it. Many consider YouTube TV to be the best of those services. I won't disagree. Lon TV recently reviewed YouTube TV: [ YouTube ] My Streaming Life doesn't need a service such as YouTube TV. Yours might. It is a good one. Expensive, but good.

It was a year and a half ago that I got an Nvidia Shield device. I tested it for a little while and liked it fine, but I decided to try it as a Plex server as well. I didn't like how it went, and decided I would go back to using it as a streaming device, after I completed a couple of other projects . Those went well, but they took longer than I expected, and I never went back to the Nvidia Shield testing. That means I have an Nvidia Shield in a box in a drawer or on a shelf somewhere. Somewhere. Yeah, I looked for it this past weekend and couldn't find it. I don't know where I put it. I need to find that thing. I want to test the Nvidia Shield as a primary streaming device, and put some serious time into it. I've been using Chromecast with Google TV, and actually like it. But, I think I'm done testing it. But, before going back to Roku, I want to finish my Nvidia Shield testing. My Streaming Life uses four major platforms: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Googl...

You would think that losing 60,000 subscribers in a quarter would not be good news. But, in the crazy world of streaming, it is good news. Well, the losing subscribers part isn't good. But the details for streaming are actually pretty good. Sling TV, which is owned by Dish, gained 117,000 subscribers in the 3rd quarter. The bad news for the company is that their satellite service lost 181,000 subscribers, giving the company an overall loss . The upside is that streaming is picking up, after larger losses in the 2nd quarter. The streaming market is growing, and the satellite market is shrinking. The satellite market is still around three times the size of the streaming market, insofar as Dish services are concerned, but the trend is to streaming. I've never had a satellite TV service, so I can't say what the experience is like, but I've been at places where they do have it. It's pretty much like cable. And I dropped cable in January 2011, so I'm a little rus...

I totally missed this story last week. If you missed it as well, you might now find it interesting. Fire TV will start inserting ads into search results. Think about that for a minute. You're wanting to search for something on your Fire TV device, and the results include advertisements. According to AFTVNews, this will start later this year : The search result screen is one of the last Fire TV interfaces that has remained ad-free but that will change later this year when the new Fire TV AI voice search arrives. Once the new conversational voice search arrives, expect to see ads mixed in with your actual search results. Other Fire TV advertisement changes being made include allowing non-media and entertainment brands to advertise in the first slot of the Feature Rotator, which is the big banner ad that takes up the upper half of the Fire TV home screen. Of course, you get stuff like this when you search Google in your Web browser. That doesn't mean it's okay. It mea...

When I cut the cord in 2011, I had run the numbers on how much it would cost me to watch TV via streaming rather than with cable. I only counted streaming, not over the air antenna. My totals for 2010 showed that I would have saved $65/month. So, how does that compare to 2023? A new report from  Leichtman Research Group , says that the average savings of streaming over cable is nearly $65/month. Imagine that. But what about my particular situation today? How much am I now saving by streaming? I'm not sure an exact comparison can be made. First of all, I don't live where I lived in 2011. I have a different Internet Service Provider and have a different cable provider in this area. So, the $65/month savings applied to my ISP and cable provider there. But now I'm here. Still, I can run the numbers and see what they show. I'm currently paying $52/month for Internet, and (roughly) $30/month for streaming services. During football season, I have a cable alternative servi...

This week, Luke Bouma at Cord Cutters News did a recap of Frndly TV, one of my favorite live streaming services. [ YouTube ] I've been a Frndly TV subscriber since the service launched. I subscribed to Feeln (now Hallmark Movies Now) but dropped it for Frndly TV when the service launched in 2019. My Streaming Life has included family friendly TV for years, and this will continue to be part of it foing forward.

Week 10 of college football for 2023 is underway. There are 65 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with nine already played (two Tuesday, two Wednesday, three Thursday night, and two last night). Today, there are 56 games scheduled. There are five games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other: Missouri (12) at Georgia (2)) Kansas State (23) at Texas (7) LSU (14) at Alabama (8) Washington (5) at USC Southern Califormia (20) Oklahoma (9) at Oklahoma State (22) The rest of the Top 25 all play unranked teams. For the first time this season, all Top 25 teams are playing. Today's games will be broadcast over several networks. Here are the channels or networks you'll need to watch all the games: ABC ACC Network Big Ten Network CBS CBS Sports Network CW ESPN ESPN2 ESPNU ESPN+ Fox Fox Sports 1 Longhorn Network NBC NFL Network Pac 12 Network Peacock SEC Network Note: No games are on Longhorn Netw...

Good news everyone! Amazon is giving you more ads on your Fire TV screens! Huzzah! This is where I have to tell a certain group of people that I am being sarcastic here. You knew though, didn't you. Yes, Amazon thinks more ads are a good thing for you. Hang on. Let me try that again: Amazon thinks more ads are a good thing for you  them. That's better. Ad Exchanger has the details : ... starting on Wednesday, Amazon will begin making [the Fire TV home screen] available to any type of advertiser so all brands have an opportunity to get in front of viewers before they’re sucked into an ad-free show, said Charlotte Maines, director of Fire TV advertising, monetization and engagement. So, maybe it's not that you'll see more screen area taken up with ads, just more and different types of ads. My Streaming Life includes a lot of ad-supported content. This is intended to reach those that pay to get rid of ads, by showing them ads anyway. Just more ads. More ads for ...

YouTube is taking a hard line against ad blockers. There are a few reasons for this. The problem with ad blockers is that they block ads. Yes, that's obvious, but people use ad blockers and that cuts into Google's profits. It also cuts into the content creators' profits as well, as they get their money from Google. And if ads aren't displayed, Google doesn't get money from ads, and don't pass along money to the content creators. Google has a financial interest in playing ads. Ad blockers are against Google's interest. On Google's YouTube Help pages, they give you their explanation of things : Ads on YouTube help support the creators you love and let billions of people around the world use the streaming service. When you block YouTube ads, you violate YouTube’s Terms of Service. If you use ad blockers, we’ll ask you to allow ads on YouTube or sign up for YouTube Premium. If you continue to use ad blockers, we may block your video playback. To avoi...

I like to rotate my subscription streaming services. Well, some of them. Let me explain. There are a lot of good quality streaming services, and they carry lots of programming I like. And probably lots of programming you like. Let me share some of my favorites. Note that these are not necessarily in the order I like them, just a list of my favorites. Hulu (standard, $8/month) ESPN Plus ($11/month) Disney Plus ($8/month) Prime Video ($140/year = $12/month) Frndly TV ($8/month) Peacock ($6/month) Paramount Plus ($6/month) Apple TV Plus ($10/month) Britbox ($9/month) You may have noticed that Netflix is not in the mix. I dropped Netflix a long time ago. I found that I rarely watched the service, and nothing has changed that over the years. If you add all these up, that's $88/month. And you may have noticed that no cable replacement services -- Sling TV, YouTube TV, Fubo, DirecTV streaming, etc. -- are listed. That's because I don't use them. Well,...