Have I left Team Roku?

Over a month ago, I decided I would use Chromecast more. At the time, I said that I wasn't as familiar with the Google TV interface as I was with Apple TV, Fire TV, and of course, Roku. I had used the other platforms a lot more, because of my personal preferences, and family members' preferences:

This has come at the expense of my familiarity with Android/Google TV and Apple TV. I'm not comfortable with that. Beginning this weekend, I'm going to start using more Android/Google TV. Chromecast will be the the primary device I use. I have Chromecast attached to all my TVs already, so it'll be a matter of setting out the Chromecast remote in place of the Roku remote.

For the last five, nearly six weeks, I have been using Chromecast. I wanted to re-familiarize myself with it, and I've pretty much done that. So, why am I still using it?

Well, there was the whole issue of a new one I had purchased not working properly. It started when I bought a new Chromecast 4K model. I had an lesser model, the newer but lesser HD version. I wanted a better device, so I got one but it had problems. Some differences with the interface compared to Roku (what I was used to) made it difficult to determine the extent of the problem.

I exchanged the device, getting one of the same color (they come in three colors). The fact that two different ones of that color didn't work, but my original white one did was confusing. I got one of the other color (my original was white, the new that had problems were both blue, and the latest replacement was pink). The pink one worked.

All that took over five weeks, and I can say that I'm pretty familiar with the Chromecast interface. And I'm still using it for some reason. I haven't returned to my Roku yet. And that surprises me.

My Streaming Life has revolved around Roku yet. But, for the first time, I've not been in a hurry to return to Roku. The Chromecast interface works quite well, and I'm quite comfortable with it. Plus I've got one other bit of testing I want to do. I wonder if I'm actually coming up with reasons to keep using the interface.

The pink one works

I had issues with my new Chromecast 4K device recently. Well, actually it was an attempt to add a new Chromecast device.

I've had Chromecast 4K devices, but when the HD version came out, I bought one to go on an HD TV. When I replaced the HD TV with a UHD/4K device, I didn't immediately put a 4K device on it. But recently I decided to do just that.

My older Chromecast 4K device was the standard white color, but I decided I'd get one of the other colors for my new one. I had two others to choose, besides white: light blue ("Sky" was what Google calls it) and pink ("Sunrise" is what Google calls it).

I bought a blue one, and it had problems with the direction buttons. I wasn't sure if it was the remote or the device, but after swapping remotes with another Chromecast that had no issues, I ruled out the remote as the problem.

This happened twice. I returned the blue Chromecast 4K device and got another one that happened the same problem.

I made another replacement, but got the pink ("Sunrise") one instead. It works just fine.

This makes me wonder what it is about the blue ones. Two different blue ones had an issue with the direction buttons, but the white and pink ones have had no issues at all.

My Streaming Life usually makes a lot of sense. Google is making me confused.

Stopping Microsoft from spying on your Windows computer

Is it possible to stop Microsoft from harvesting all of your data? Yes, it is.

One way is to move to Mac, Chrome OS, or Linux. Of course, Mac simply means Apple will harvest your data. Chrome OS means Google will host your data. But you can also keep using Windows if you like, but it takes some work.

Britec has a video on how to block certain Microsoft services on your Windows computer. It's an interesting video:

[YouTube]

This is sort of how Pi-Hole works on a network basis. The files used by Pi-Hole are exactly like the Windows Hosts file. That's the standard used by operating systems and domain name services. If an items appears in your Hosts file, that information will be used, rather than the actual information that is hosted by a domain name server.

If privacy is a concern, and you feel technically capable of doing this, then this video might be helpful. And, if it breaks everything, you can delete it. An empty HOSTS file won't harm your system. In fact, the default Windows HOSTS file is effectively empty, since all the lines begins with the # character, meaining the line is skipped. It's effectively empty.

My Streaming Life stays private because I use a Pi-Hole setup on my network. But, if you are only concerned about certain data being sent from your computer to Microsoft, this method might fill the bill.

Watching College Football in 2023: Week 9

Week 9 of college football for 2023 is underway. There are 54 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with seven already played (two Tuesday, two Wednesday, two Thursday night, and one last night).

Today, there are 47 games scheduled. There are two games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other:

• Oregon (8) at Utah (13)
• Duke (20) at Louisville (18)

Michigan (2), Alabama (9), LSU (15), and Missouri (16) all have open weekends. 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 and next Saturday, there are eight games involving Division 1-A/FBS teams, none involving ranked teams (at least, none by this week’s poll). Those games will be broadcast on:

• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNU

It’s possible that before the season ends, there may even be another network or two that carries games, but these are the ones that are confirmed as the season begins. Here's how to get all the networks:

ABC

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (8 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ACC Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Big Ten Network

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

CBS

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) $12/month
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

CBS Sports Network

• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Ultimate) ($139/month)

CW

• Antenna (free)
• Not available streaming.

ESPN, ESPN2

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ESPN+

• ESPN+ (standalone) ($10/month)
• Disney Bundle ($15/month)

ESPNU

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro + Fubo Extra) ($83/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Fox

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (18 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Fox Sports 1

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Longhorn Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

NBC

• Antenna (free)
• Peacock (Plus) ($12/month)
• Sling TV (11 markets only) ($45/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

NFL Network

• Sling TV (Blue) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Pac 12 Network

• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

Peacock

• Peacock is its own service, and can be used to watch NBC live programming with the $12/month plan.

SEC Network

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

That's this week in Division 1-A/FBS college football, and covers all the networks -- so far -- that are carrying college football games in 2023. My Streaming Life focuses on college football during this time of year.

Spending less on cord cutting

It seems odd to me, but I'm constantly trying to find ways to spend less on cord cutting. Why is this odd? Well, I cut the cord originally to save money, and for some reason, I end up spending more than I should anyway.

Part of the reason is I try to stay on top of things, and become familiar with processes, so I do subscribe to services on occasion. I don't generally do live streaming cable replacement services such as Sling TV, YouTube TV, and the like. Standard Hulu is more my speed, not Hulu+Live TV. For $7/month I can watch what I want, and the $77/month for Hulu+Live TV is overkill.

However, I do subscribe to some services. Most of the time, it's not for me, but for family members. We end up not watching the services anyway, so it is often a waste of money. That's not to blame the family member, because I'm the one actually making the decision. I'll subscribe to give a chance to see if the service is worthwhile. Most of the time, it isn't.

However, I do some services for me. Frndly TV is one of those. It's $9/month (they do have a $7 plan, by the way) and worth it. I don't watch it a lot, but I do watch it enough to keep the service.

Amazon Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime, and I really hate paying so much for that. I'd keep the Prime service if there was a tier that did not include Prime Video.

I don't do Netflix, as I dropped it a while back.

Paramount Plus is included with Walmart Plus.

Peacock TV is a bonus from my Xfinity Internet service (I'm at a tier where I can get Peacock TV still).

And that's enough. I want to cut more, mostly because the prices keep going up -- looking at you Amazon. My Streaming Life costs more than I like, but it's still a lot cheaper than cable.

Well, that network replacement took an unexpected turn

I mentioned the other day that I finally replaced my temporary network. I mean, 14 months is temporary, right? Right?

Well, that setup didn't last long, and I don't know why. Something odd happened, and I'm now keeping an eye on things.

The other day, the power went out. A large power outage hit a large section of town, and my house was impacted. The outage lasted over nearly two hours, which is pretty unusual. Georgia Power doesn't often have outages that long. Even an outage of minutes in length is unusual, making the hour-plus outage very unusual.

The outage of that length also meant that all of my network shut down. While this seems obvious, the fact is that it is rare that my network shuts down. I have uninterruptible power supplies on my network, meaning the occasional power blip, though rare, does not impact my network at all. The long outage meant that the battery backup died and my network went down.

When it comes back up, there should be no issue. However, something happened, and I don't know what that something was. The network came back on, but the network didn't come back up.

I ended up having to do a factory reset of the network, meaning I had to set it all up again.

I used to have the older version of the Google network devices, and never had such a problem. This, however, was a problem, and it took me a couple of hours of troubleshooting before I was able to determine that a full factory reset was the solution.

That isn't good, and I don't want that to be the thing I have to do a lot. Or a little. I don't want to do it at all.

My Streaming Life depends on a reliable network. Everyone's does. I really don't want to have to go through that again.

Looking back on cord cutting

It was about this time in 2009 that I began to seriously consider cutting the cord. I didn't, not until a little over a year later, in January 2011 that I actually cut cable, but around this time in 2009, I was seriously looking into it.

I had visited my son and he was watching ESPN SportsCenter on his Xbox. I was intrigued. I had heard about streaming TV, but I didn't know anyone who did it -- at least, I didn't think I knew anyone that did it -- until I found out my son was doing it.

Seeing it in operation made it less of an unknown for me. I dove in and tried to find out everything I could about it.

Keep in mind that there was no live streaming service such as Sling TV, YouTube TV, or the like. TV entertainment was on-demand. Live sports, if it wasn't on ESPN, was non-existent.

Forgetting about live sports for a minute, I was fine with on-demand TV. I had used a TiVo since early 2006, and recorded everything anyway. I was watching stuff hours after it aired on cable. Sounds like Hulu, right? Yeah, it was really no change for me. Except for sports, which we're not talking about at the moment.

Once I understood what the experience would be like, I was ready to see if it was what I wanted to do. Hulu would be the same as a DVR, as far as I was concerned. And stuff that wasn't on Hulu, I could afford to purchase. Maybe.

I went into my TiVo recording schedule and looked at everything I has set to record. I put all that in a spreadsheet, and then looked at the different ways of watching it. Essentially, my options were Hulu streaming, iTunes purchase or Amazon purchase.

After adding up the cost of the shows from the available services, I determined that it would not save me money to streaming. A year later, I ran the numbers again, and I would have saved money. So, I cut the cord.

My Streaming Life began on January 11, 2011, and I've enjoyed it every day since.

Fire TV app management

I saw last month that Amazon was updating the Fire TV platform to better manage app storage.

At the time, it was rumored to be coming, then confirmed to be coming. Now, it's here.

Amazon has announced that the the new feature has launched.

If an app is not used for more than 30 days, Auto Offload will automatically clear the app cache, and if your device runs low on storage (meaning there is less than 800MB of usable storage remaining), it will offload the apps that are not used for more than 60 days. Though some experience-critical apps, and those with active subscriptions will be exempt from this feature, you can choose to manually offload eligible apps by navigating to Settings > Manage Installed Applications through the options menu when selecting an app in launcher.

If you choose to reuse an offloaded app at a later date, the reinstallation process will be seamless. Upon opening the app, you will be automatically signed in using the account that was last used on that app. If the credentials have been changed, or for some reason you’re unable to log into the app successfully, you will be prompted to re-enter the credentials.

This isn't how Roku does it, but it is a better way than it was. I ran out of space more than once on a Fire TV device, but never ran out on Roku. This won't be quite as seamless, but it will be an improvement. A big improvement.

My Streaming Life primarily uses Roku, and more recently, Chromecast. Fire TV is my third-most used device, but far behind Chromecast and Roku. That might change. I'm curious to see the new process actually in operation. It looks promising.

Finally replaced my network

Last summer, a storm took out my home network. The network wasn't exactly new, and had been in service for a while. I rant to Walmart and picked up a cheap network device (two, actually) and was back up and running the same day. But, it was an inferior setup.

Okay, it was not all that bad, as it took me 14 months to replace it. For that year and change, it worked fine. But, it wasn't as good as it could have been.

The old network was great. It was an older Google Home network. It worked well. Very well, in fact. I have an older house (built in 1954). The way it's laid out, and where all I want wireless, can be challenging. The Linksys network (the temporary, but over a year in service network) did well, but not as well as my older Google Home network. And just a few days ago, I finally replaced the Linksys with a new Google Net Pro network.

I really have to give Google credit for making the network setup really really easy. Don't get me wrong, I've set up many networks over the years. Setting up a network is something I'm very capable of doing. But just because I can do all the tedious things involved doesn't mean I want to do those things. I like simplicity. And setting up the Google Nest Pro network using the Google Home app was easy. I like easy. I can do hard, but I really prefer easy.

I'm paying for the Comcast Xfinity cheap plan. It's 75 Mbps and plenty fast enough for streaming. And I get that as well.

I am happy with the speed I'm getting, and the 35 ms latency isn't bad. I don't do online gaming, so it's not that big of a deal, but that is good enough for most gaming.

My network speed is good. My network is strong. My Streaming Life is good.

Microsoft and your data

YouTube Channel Britec09 has a video up this week that discusses how much of your data to which Microsoft has access on a Windows computer.

Some of the Microsoft policy is understandable, as they won't to be held blameless if someone uses your data in a way you don't like. For example, if you share your data with a third party by way of a Microsoft service, and the third party uses the data in a way you don't approve, Microsoft isn't repsonsible.

While that is reasonable, there are lots of other bits of Microsoft's privacy policy that you might not like.

[YouTube]

So, what do you do? As the video said, if you don't want Microsoft to have access to all of your data on your computer, don't use a Windows computer.

Personally, I rarely use a Windows computer. I switched to Mac in 2007. More recently, I moved to Linux. At work, I've had to use Windows computers, but at home, I don't have to. And I don't.

My Linux laptop works great. I have some family members that use Chromebooks. That's another topic for another day. My Streaming Life does use Google devices. The privacy isn't great, but it's on par with others. The security of pretty good as well.

Watching College Football in 2023: Week 8

The 8th week of college football for 2023 is underway. There are 54 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with eight already played (three Tuesday, two Wednesday, two Thursday night, and one last night).

Today, there are 46 games scheduled. There are four games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other:

• Penn State (7) at Ohio State (3)
• Tennessee (17) at Alabama (11)
• Duke (16) at Florida State (4)
• Utah (14) at Southern California (18)

Georgia (1), Oregon State (12), Notre Dame (15), and Louisville (21) all have open weekends. 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 and next Saturday, there are eight games involving Division 1-A/FBS teams, none involving ranked teams (at least, none by this week’s poll). Those games will be broadcast on:

• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNU

It’s possible that before the season ends, there may even be another network or two that carries games, but these are the ones that are confirmed as the season begins. Here's how to get all the networks:

ABC

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (8 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ACC Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Big Ten Network

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

CBS

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) $12/month
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

CBS Sports Network

• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Ultimate) ($139/month)

CW

• Antenna (free)
• Not available streaming.

ESPN, ESPN2

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ESPN+

• ESPN+ (standalone) ($10/month)
• Disney Bundle ($15/month)

ESPNU

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro + Fubo Extra) ($83/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Fox

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (18 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Fox Sports 1

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Longhorn Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

NBC

• Antenna (free)
• Peacock (Plus) ($12/month)
• Sling TV (11 markets only) ($45/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

NFL Network

• Sling TV (Blue) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Pac 12 Network

• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

Peacock

• Peacock is its own service, and can be used to watch NBC live programming with the $12/month plan.

SEC Network

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

That's this week in Division 1-A/FBS college football, and covers all the networks -- so far -- that are carrying college football games in 2023. My Streaming Life focuses on college football during this time of year.

Maybe it really is the blue ones

After a few days of using the new blue Google Chromecast device (the color is called "Sky" but it's a light blue) for a couple of days, I've discovered that it's not the remote.

Okay, briefly, a new Chromecast device was not working properly. Some remote directional pad presses were not executed, and some executed as if the button was pressed and held. I sent it back and got a replacement. Both were "Sky" blue.

The replacement exhibited the same behavior. This time I did a better job of troubleshooting. I decided to rule out the remote by using another Chromecast remote. The alternate remote didn't make a difference. The odd behavior still happened. It's not the remote. Or at least, it's not just the remote. It's the device itself, it seems.

I'll be sending it back. I really don't want to go through that again. Oh, don't get me wrong, Google makes it easy to return an item. That's not the problem. It's having a device that isn't working right, and having to deal with that, that I don't like. I'll do it after the weekend. I got stuff going on, and I'll keep trying it for a couple of more days, just to be sure, and if it doesn't work itself out by Monday, I'll start the return process.

I wonder why my white one works fine, but two different blue ones don't. They make a pink one (they call the color "Sunrise") and I might try it just to see what happens.

My Streaming Life is usually trouble free, or if there are troubles, it's easy to find out the cause and fix it. This is odd. Why only the blue ones? Makes no sense. Perfect for today's world.

Netflix price increase

Well, the rumors were right. Netflix is upping their prices. Again.

The highest tier went up $3/month, from $19.99/month to $22.99/month. The middle tier stays $15.49/month, and the ad-supported tier is $6.99/month.

Cord Cutters News reports that Netflix has reintroduced the $11.99/month plan, but it's not showing as available for me.

Maybe it will show up for me later. Maybe it shows up for you. Maybe. But as I write this, the $12 plan isn't back. Not for me, anyway.

Based on the numbers we ran the other day, the $3 increase, which is 15%, would be a net gain if less than 13% of customers with the highest tier drop the service in response. If more than 13% drop the service, then it's a net loss. I think some will drop, but not many. I won't drop Netflix because -- wait for it -- I dropped it long ago. It's not a service I use.

This isn't good news for subscribers, though. If you're a subscriber, and have the highest tier, then you're impacted.

My Streaming Life isn't impacted, but if yours is, I feel bad for you. It may be time to find other ways, cheaper ways, to get good online streaming entertainment.

Maybe it's the blue ones?

First, I'm still on Team Roku. I've had Roku devices since 2010, and cut cable on January 11, 2011. Roku is my streaming device of choice.

Lately, I've been using Chromecast. For four weeks. Okay, 27 days. Today is the 28th day. Or will be.

Anyway, I've ran into an issue with one of the devices. I replaced the Chromecast HD (1080 version) that I had on my main TV. A while back, I replaced my 1080 TV with a UHD/4K TV. I had a Chromecast HD on it. With some swapping around of devices, including setting up a family member with a Chromecast, I would up with an HD device on my UHD/4K TV.

Rather than try to undo some of that, which would involve taking back a device from someone, I decided to just get a new Chromecast UHD/4K device. Only, rather than the standard white, as I have always done, I got a blue one. Google calls the color "Sky" but it's what I would call light blue.

That's the device with which I had a recent issue. New device, issue, it gets returned, right? Right. And the replacement arrived recently.

Same issue.

The device will sometimes not respond to a button press on the remote. Google calls it the "directional pad." It's where the arrows would go. It's just a round thing that you treat as if it were arrows.

That's where the problem is. Sometimes presses aren't recognized. Then, sometimes a single press moves the highlight several places. It could be the remote or it could be the device. But my white Chromecast doesn't have this problem. My blue one does. And I sent the blue one back and got another blue one to replace it. Same problem.

Maybe I need to send the new blue one back and try a pink one. Google calls it "Sunrise" but it's kinda pink. Or just get a classic white one.

What I'll probably do is take the remote from the Chromecast HD (the 1080p Chromecast device) and use it. The remotes are the same. I think. I'll find out.

It's really odd that two Chromecast devices that are blue have the problem, but the same model, only white, doesn't have the problem. So, I've now (while I'm writing this and getting ideas) paired the white Chromecast HD remote with the Chromecast (UHD/4K) device.

That wasn't as easy as I thought. You have to pair the Google Home app with your Chromecast, then use the remote function of the app to control the Chromecast, then navigate to the Remote settings, then try to pair it. And it didn't pair the first time, but did the second. So now I have a different Chromecast remote paired to the Chromecast device.

Initially, it's working properly. But I saw something that concerns me. There's a software update available for the remote. Not for the Chromecast, but for the remote.

Maybe that's the problem. So, I'll not apply the update just yet. I'll use the remote as is, and see how it performs. Maybe for a week, if all goes well. Then, I'll update the remote software and see if things go sideways. Then I'll see what happens next.

My Streaming Life shouldn't be this hard. Maybe I'm just making it hard. But I still enjoy it. This is a bit of a challenge, trying to figure out why the blue Chromecast devices act wonky. But a fun challenge. And I can watch TV and call it research. That's a win, any way you look at it.

Netflix price increase may cause cancelations

In today's edition of "Duh" a new survey says that some Netflix customers may cancel if the service raises prices as is rumored.

Okay, in fairness, the actual news is that it's 39% that may consider canceling, which is a pretty big amount. And yes, if the survey reflects actual intentions that are followed through, then it is news.

CivicScience, an opinion research group, surveyed current Netflix users and those likely to subscribe. The report shows that 39% on the ad-free tier would consider canceling their account if the cost increases and 31% would consider subscribing to Netflix Standard with Ads. Of those considering signing up, 29% would still land on the ad-free plan.

If it's true, then in order to maintain the same income, a 39% drop in customers would mean prices would go up nearly 64%. Yeah, go do the math. If your customers decrease by half, you'd have to double the cost to make the same money.

For example, at $10/customer, with 1,000 customers, you'd have $10,000 income. With 610 customers (a 39% drop), you'd need $16.40 to have $10,000 income. (Actually $16.39 would be $9,997.90 while $16.40 would be $10,004.)

If the service went up by 64%, I think more than 39% would cancel. Of course, with a smaller customer base, the cost of running the service would decrease slightly, and this ignores that entirely. But this does show that any increase in price must not trigger too much of a drop in customers, or the business hurts. Conversely, a small increase that leads to a small drop in customers could mean an overall increase.

For example, if price went up 10%, and the drop in customers was under 9%, the overall income would go up. If the price went up 20%, and if the drop in customers was under 16%, the overall income would go up. As the increase grew, the drop in customers could only grow at a smaller rate in order to maintain overall income.

So, a 39% drop in customers would still be profitable only if the prices went up 64%. I don't think that big of an increase in cost would work, so anything that lost 39% of customers would hurt the business.

All of this only matters if 39% was accurate. Is it? I don't know. They don't know. Nobody knows. The people answering the survey may have meant it, but when it comes right down to it, would they? Probably not. There's always a gap between what some people say they'll do and what they'll actually do. Some people follow through, but most won't. People are notoriously unreliable. Most people would take a Netflix price increase and keep subscribing. As long as it's not too much of a price increase.

My Streaming Life doesn't involve Netflix very often. I tested their ad-supported service for a month just to see what it was like. I watched very little. Most of their content isn't interesting to me. But that's true of most pay streaming services. The entertainment value isn't that great, and the cost is high. Netflix wouldn't lose me as a customer if their price went up. They lost me a long time ago.

Cable -- and live streaming -- subscriptions drop

According to a new report, cable TV is losing subscribers. That's not a surprise.

However, streaming cable replacements -- you know, Sling TV, Fubo, Vidgo, Hulu+Live TV (though not regular Hulu), DirecTV streaming -- are losing subscribers as well. Only, YouTube TV is actually gaining subscribers.

Cord Cutters News reports that data from Leichtman Research Group indicates that nearly four million in the USA have canceled pay TV services, both cable and live streaming, in the first two quarters of 2023.

Now in the first half 3.9 million Americans have canceled their live TV services, including cable TV and streaming services like Hulu, Fubo, and Sling TV.

The only live TV service to add customers os far in 2023 was YouTube TV. YouTube TV reportedly added over 300,000 new subscribers in the first half of 2023. This comes as all live TV services, including streaming, cable TV, and satellite, lost over 3.9 million customers in the first half of 2023 according to the Leichtman Research Group.

Increasingly cord cutters are going for cheaper on-demand services like Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Max, and more. For anyone who is not a fan of sports, increasingly on-demand is all you need and can save you a lot of money.

The report goes on to say that most households have 3-4 streaming services, with on-demand services being more popular.

I totally get it. My Streaming Life is mainly on-demand streaming, such as standard Hulu, and I only subscribe to live streaming for sports during college football season. And, yes, it's been YouTube TV this year, rather than the usual Sling TV. Losing an antenna, and not replacing it yet, has been the reason for that. I really need to put an antenna back up.

I do watch live streaming other than sports, but I use ad-supported services for that. Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Google TV Live TV, Plex Live TV, and other such services. I just like paying for cable, even if it's streaming cable.

Chromebook Plus

A new line of Chromebooks has been announced. Only it's not really new. It's a designation actually, and I already had one before it became a thing. Let me explain.

Recently, Google announced that Chromebook Plus was a thing. It's a standard for higher quality Chromebooks. Better Chromebooks.

I have a Chromebook -- a couple, actually -- and one of them, the better one (of course) already meets the Chromebook Plus designation. You can read about what it is here and here. And Lon Seidman has a good rundown on Chromebook Plus here:

[YouTube]

Now, you may know that we sometimes stray a little bit from straight streaming here on Sundays, and touch on security and privacy. And if you do know that, you may be wondering why I'm a) talking about Chromebooks, and b) own a Chromebook.

Chromebooks are secure. Much more secure than Windows. They aren't that private, though. Unless you're running Linux, you aren't really private. Even then, you have to take steps to ensure your data isn't shared.

Still, for many people, Chromebooks are a great option,even though many don't think about it. Chromebooks allow most users to do most of what they want. And, apart from the privacy aspect (everything is shared with Google), I'm a Chromebook advocate. And I'm happy to see the Chromebook Plus designation for devices with certain specifications. Maybe this will help improve the general opinion of Chromebooks.

My Streaming Life could actually include Chromebook (and Chromebook Plus) since they will cast to Chromecast devices. So, yeah, I did find a way to tie this topic to streaming.

Watching College Football in 2023: Week 7

The 7th week of college football for 2023 is underway. There are 55 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this week, with ten already played (three Tuesday, two Wednesday, two Thursday night, and three last night).

Today, there are 45 games on the schedule. There are four games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other:

• Oregon (8) at Washington (7)
• Southern California (10) at Notre Dame (21)
• Miami (25) at North Carolina (12)
• UCLA (18) at Oregon State (15)

Oklahoma (5), Texas (9), and Ole Miss (13) all have open weekends. 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 eight games involving Division 1-A/FBS teams, one involving a ranked team. Those nine games will be broadcast on:

• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN2
• ESPNU

Later in the season, there may even be another network or two that carries games, but these are the ones that are confirmed as the season begins. Here's how to get all the networks:

ABC

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (8 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ACC Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Big Ten Network

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

CBS

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) $12/month
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

CBS Sports Network

• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Ultimate) ($139/month)

CW

• Antenna (free)
• Not available streaming.

ESPN, ESPN2

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ESPN+

• ESPN+ (standalone) ($10/month)
• Disney Bundle ($15/month)

ESPNU

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro + Fubo Extra) ($83/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Fox

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (18 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Fox Sports 1

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Longhorn Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

NBC

• Antenna (free)
• Peacock (Plus) ($12/month)
• Sling TV (11 markets only) ($45/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

NFL Network

• Sling TV (Blue) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Pac 12 Network

• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

Peacock

• Peacock is its own service, and can be used to watch NBC live programming with the $12/month plan.

SEC Network

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

That's this week in Division 1-A/FBS college football, and covers all the networks -- so far -- that are carrying college football games in 2023. My Streaming Life focuses on college football during this time of year.

YouTube TV drops claim, even though they were right

YouTube TV was claiming that streamers could save up to $600/year by using their service instead of cable. The company has agreed to stop the claim, after Spectrum complained.

The claim was based on users paying for two TV boxes in their service plan. And, based on that, YouTube TV's numbers were actually right. However, Spectrum doesn't require the TV boxes, even though cable companies always try to push them on customers. Savvy customers know the devices are not required, and will opt out, saving a lot of money in the process. Those users do have to have equipment that will allow them to receive the channels, however.

Still, YouTube TV was essentially correct. But, they're dropping the claim.

That got me to wondering how much TV would cost me. It's been a while since I ran those numbers, but I did recently, and it turns out that streaming is still cheaper.

Comcast's Xfinity Internet and TV service would cost me $168.16/month for its cheapest plan. That's with a $20/month multi-service discount (TV and Internet are two services). Oh, and yes, I do need to rent two Xfinity boxes, $10/month each, to watch live TV on my two TVs.

I'm currently paying $52/month for Internet alone. That means TV would effectively cost $106.16/month. YouTube TV is $72.99/month. That means Internet and YouTube TV would cost $125/month, or $33.17/month less than Xfinity's service.

YouTube TV's claim of a $600/year savings would not be true for me. It would be a $398.04 savings. That's a lot of money. I mean, I can think of a lot more things to do with $400.

My Streaming Life doesn't include cable TV, naturally. And it won't. If for no other reason, $400/year should explain it. And, I don't need YouTube TV, or any other live streaming service, year-round. So, my savings are more than $400/year. Much more.

Is Sling TV the Best Cable Alternative Streaming Service?

A reports on Tom's Guide recently asked -- and answered -- the question about which cable alternative live streaming service is the best.

The service they picked is the service that is my go-to service. But here's the thing: I think we're both wrong.

Okay, that doesn't make sense, right? But let me tell you why I think I'm wrong. Well, not wrong, because I know what works for me. I just think others would prefer something else. My choice is for my circumstances, and I think my circumstances are not that common.

Tom's Guide picks Sling TV as the best service.

1. Sling TV

Best cable replacement service overall

Starting Price (per month): $40 | Channels (in entry-level package): 31 | DVR: 50 hours (200 hours for $5 per month) | On-Demand: Yes | Device Support: Amazon Fire, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Chromecast-enabled TVs, Computers, iOS, Roku | Simultaneous Streams: 1 ($40 per month); 3 ($40 per month); 4 ($60 per month)

+ Wide variety of channel packages
+ Available on large number of devices
+ Comparably inexpensive
- Missing multiple user profiles

Sling TV is the best cable TV alternative for a simple reason: its lower price and customizable nature feel truly in line with the idea of cutting the cord. So much so that TG's streaming team (Henry T. Casey and Kelly Woo) chose it to replace cable. Admittedly, Henry's switched his service to our next pick, because of the below regional sports price increases.

Sling TV, also on our best streaming services list, is the cheapest service with either ESPN or FOX and NBC ($40 per month, following a recent price hike) — and its first month is half-off right now. The service offers two basic packages of channels (Orange and Blue), then lets viewers pick and choose smaller extras, which usually cost $5 per month.

Orange has ESPN (which it lost for two days) and Blue has Fox and NBC, and you can see more differences in our Sling Orange vs Blue guide. A weird new twist, though, has been added for Sling Blue and Sling Orange & blue. Those in Fresno, Houston and Raleigh will get ABC on Sling TV for free, while those in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose region will be spending $5 more. That means Sling Orange & Blue will cost up to $60.

From sports to comedy to kids' programming to foreign language channels, Sling TV has a little something for everyone. We just wish its cloud DVR would go unlimited like YouTube and Hulu. For more details, including lineups and pricing and more, check out our What Is Sling TV? and Sling TV promo codes pages. Even Sling's Orange+Blue package is still more affordable than most of its competitors' base packages.

Everything they wrote is true. Sling TV has what I want, but I don't really want a lot. In fact, I don't want it often. For me, Sling TV is the cheapest way to get ESPN during college football season. I don't want the service any other time. My reason is not the same as their reason, but for different reasons, we reached the same conclusion. If I wanted a regular service year round, I'd probably pick YouTube TV. Probably. But I would start with Sling TV and see if it was good enough. If not, I'd switch to YouTube TV.

My Streaming Life doesn't need a year-round cable alternative. Sling TV is the cheapest way to get ESPN during football season, so it's my choice. Maybe it would be yours as well.

Apps to remove?

One of the things I've run into with my project to use Chromecast as my primary streaming device (instead of Roku) is that the Chromecast doesn't have as much space for apps, along with the way Roku handles on-board app storage.

Roku doesn't have a lot of storage, but its method of managing it is much better than the way Chromecast does it.

When an app is downloaded, and there is not enough on-board storage space, Roku will automatically remove one or more apps to make room for the new one. It keeps all the settings, but the actual app is removed and the space is available. When the app is launched later, the process happens again, with one or more other apps removed to make room for the one being downloaded.

It actually works well, and more platforms should adopt that way of operating. Okay, Fire TV is now adopting that process. I wish Chromecast would.

But, it doesn't. And that brings me to my primary topic. I've added many apps to my Chromecast, but not all the apps that are on my Roku. Four of them aren't available on Chromecast, but several others are. However, I haven't added them to Chromecast. I have a little of 3 GB of space taken up by apps, and less than 1 GB available for more apps. I have about half the number of apps that are on the Roku. So, while I could put a few more on, I can't put many, and certainly not everything that's on Roku.

That means that I need to cull some. So, I loaded some favorites, and did not load others. The ones I didn't load (apart from the four that don't have apps that will run on Chromecast) are apps I rarely use anyway. Maybe I don't need them on my Roku. Maybe the 25 apps on the Chromecast are all I need.

Honestly, I probably don't really need that many. I don't usually watch all those apps in any given month. I suspect that half of them are all I really need to have. So, why don't I remove the apps I never use? Well, I probably should. If I want to watch TV, the few apps I use are enough to get me something to watch.

My Streaming Life really only utilizes a handful of apps. Maybe if I didn't have a job, or a semblance of a life, I might need more than the handful I use. But, I don't watch TV all day. Sometimes, I'd like to, but I don't. Would be nice though.

Starlink is nationwide

I've been with Comcast for several years now. One of the reasons is that they offer good service. The other reason is more of a factor though: there are no other options where I live.

That's no longer true. Starlink is now available in my area.

That's not because they decided to include my area. It's because they're now nationwide. Well mostly. All of Georgia, to be sure. I got an email yesterday giving me the news:

Starlink is Now Available Across the United States

The Starlink team has raced to keep up with the growing demand for high-speed connectivity around the world, especially in areas where few, if any, options for broadband connections have existed before now.

Earlier this year, the team started deploying our second generation Starlink satellites which have four times more capacity per satellite than the first generation systems. This means more bandwidth and increased reliability for our current users, while enabling us to connect even more people with high-speed internet no matter where they live.

As a result, Starlink is now available across the United States. Place your order now, and we’ll ship your Starlink Kit!

My sister has Starlink and really likes it. I'm happy with Comcast service. I get good service at a good price. Starlink would cost more, so I'm not looking to change now. However, I like having options.

My Streaming Life is good. If things go wrong, I have a backup plan. My Streaming Life will continue, and I like knowing that.

DirecTV streaming rates going up

DirecTV's streaming service is the latest to raise its prices.

According to a report, and confirmed by small print on the DirecTV Website, prices are going up next month. Cord Cutters News reports the price increase is $5/month on average across the services plans:

DIRECTV has confirmed both its satellite and streaming services will be going up in November. Both DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM will go up between $2 a month and $11 a month, depending on your package. The average price hike is $5 a month for most customers.

This news comes a few weeks after DISH announced it would be raising the price of its satellite service.

DIRECTV says they are raising the price of DIRECTV STREAM because they are “adjusting the price of your television package in order to remain competitive in the marketplace, while still delivering the best possible programming. TV networks are continuing to increase the fees they charge DIRECTV® for the right to distribute the content they produce, including movies, shows, and sporting events. We remain steadfast in our commitment to bring you the best programming at a fair and reasonable price.”

The Website shows small print with pricing listed three ways: current, special, and future.

$74.99/mo.
$64.99/mo. + tax

Price subj. to change. $10 off current price for first 3 mos., then prevailing rate. Cancel anytime. Price for new and existing customers changes to $79.99/mo + tax on 11/5/23.

This is just the latest increase over the last 2-3 years, when prices really began to jump. My Streaming Life doesn't use DirecTV streaming, or other similar services. Well, certainly not all the time. I'm not adversely impacted. But a lot of people are impacted, and this is bad news for them. It's harder and harder to find good value, when the price goes up but the content isn't better.

Sunday security posts

I know the focus of this Website is streaming. I know that often on Sundays, I'll vary from that a little bit and talk about security. And I know that while my original security posts were related to streaming, I've done more and more non-streaming security posts on Sundays.

I'll say that there is a justification in that streaming is a field that can be exploited by scammers. Anything that is new and different and that receives an increase in users can get the attention of scammers, and become a focus of scammers. Streaming can be that.

I focus on security and privacy in my day to day life, partly because it was my job for a while, but also because I realize that anyone can be a target, even me. Even you.

Since streaming does grow day by day, scammers will be targeting streamers. I should say more scammers will be targeting streamers. Because it is happening.

The best way to stay safe as a streamer is to be security and privacy conscious. After all, you do it in your every day life, don't you? Don't you?

Do you leave your keys in your car? People used to do that, but not any more. People take their keys when they get out of the car. And they should. Security is important.

Do you leave your house unlocked when you leave, or when you go to bed at night? People used to. Heck, I know some that still do, although they recognize that they shouldn't. Many people lock their house, and they should. Security is important,

Do you have a party line? Okay, some of you may not have any idea what I'm asking there. But long ago, families shared a phone line. They'd have different numbers, but they all shared a single line. We used to have a party line. But I don't know of anyone that has one today. About 20 years ago, there were at least 5,000 still in use. I don't know how many there are today, but party lines still exist. Most people don't have a party line though. Privacy is important.

Security and privacy, two distinct things although there is some overlap, are important. Having focused on that in my work, I may have a higher awareness than many, but I do think that everyone should have security and privacy as a normal part of their lives.

My Streaming Life is secure -- well, I try to keep it secure. My Streaming Life is private -- well, I try to keep it private. My Streaming Life is enjoyable. Security and privacy are second nature to me. I hope it becomes second nature to you as well.

Watching College Football in 2023: Week 6

We're now in Week Six of college football for 2023. There are 51 Division 1-A/FBS games on tap this weekend, counting the six already played (two Wednesday night, three Thursday night, and two last night).

Today, there are 52 games on the schedule. There are five games that feature two Top 25 teams playing each other:

• 12 Oklahoma at 3 Texas
• 23 LSU at 21 Missouri
• 20 Kentucky at 1 Georgia
• 10 Notre Dame at 25 Louisville

Penn State (6), Washington (7), Oregon (8), Utah (18), Duke (19), and Tennessee (22) all have open weekends.

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 ten games involving Division 1-A/FBS teams, one involving a ranked team. Those ten games will be broadcast on:

• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNU
• Fox Sports 1

Later in the season, there may even be another network or two that carries games, but these are the ones that are confirmed as the season begins. Here's how to get all the networks:

ABC

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (8 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ACC Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Big Ten Network

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

CBS

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) $12/month
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

CBS Sports Network

• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Ultimate) ($139/month)

CW

• Antenna (free)
• Not available streaming.

ESPN, ESPN2

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ESPN+

• ESPN+ (standalone) ($10/month)
• Disney Bundle ($15/month)

ESPNU

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro + Fubo Extra) ($83/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Fox

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (18 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Fox Sports 1

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Longhorn Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

NBC

• Antenna (free)
• Peacock (Plus) ($12/month)
• Sling TV (11 markets only) ($45/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

NFL Network

• Sling TV (Blue) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Pac 12 Network

• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

Peacock

• Peacock is its own service, and can be used to watch NBC live programming with the $12/month plan.

SEC Network

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

That's this week in Division 1-A/FBS college football, and covers all the networks -- so far -- that are carrying college football games in 2023. My Streaming Life focuses on college football during this time of year.

Chromecast with Google TV interface issue

I've been testing the Chromecast Google TV interface. There was a little hiccup when my new Chromecast device ran into some issues.

I'm using my older HD model, and it works fine. So, I've been using the Chromecast and so has a family member. She noticed something that was of concern. She said that the Chromecast was not as responsive. So, I decided to check it out.

Turns out that the device is as responsive as my Roku device, but the way the interface works makes it appear slower.

On Roku, if I launch, say, Peacock, the screen blanks and within 2-3 seconds, the Peacock splash screen displays. However, on Chromecast, when I launch Peacock, the screen remains on the menu, and within 2-3 seconds, the Peacock splash screen appears.

The difference is that Roku indicates that it accepted your button press by changing the screen. Even though it was to a black screen, it still was a change, and you knew that your button press did something.

With Chromecast, the menu doesn't change until the splash screen displayed. That means that for those 2-3 seconds, you had no indicator that it had accepted your button press. And, if it had indeed not accepted it, then those 2-3 seconds would have been the same.

Roku letting you know visually that your button press was accepted and that the device was doing something is a better experience than 2-3 seconds of no activity on the Chromecast. Chromecast could learn a thing from Roku about this.

The end result is that the Chromecast is as responsive as the Roku, it's just that it seems that it's not. That's a bad experience. My Streaming Life isn't as much fun if I'm not sure my streaming device is working.

YouTube: More than just cat videos

I'm one of those old guys that has a hard time letting go of how things used to be.

That's not to say I wish things were like they used to be. Well, okay, in some cases, I do wish something things were that way. But not everything. That's another way of saying that not all change is good change.

What I'm talking about is that I see or experience something -- or someone -- and base my thoughts about it -- or them -- on that impression. I'm not talking about a quick first impression. I'm talking about experiences that go on for a while. I do something, experience something, interact with someone, multiple times over a long period of time. And over that time, I develop an impression. That impression changes and refines, but eventually solidifies. That then I have my final opinion on something.

That's not always the right thing, though. That's not to say my "final opinion" is wrong. At the time, it could very well have been correct. And, as arrogant as this sounds, it probably was.

The problem is that things and people change. Not always drastically, but in small ways. And, over time, these small changes can add up to big changes. And those changes, given enough of them, can cause a "final opinion" to become outdated.

That's me and YouTube.

I've always liked YouTube. However, there was a time that the cliche about it being a bunch of cat videos was true. And that was a way that I described YouTube. That's not to say I thought it was nothing but cat videos. It's a shorthand way of saying it's content that isn't serious content. Fun, but not really a serious source of anything of consequence.

That was true. Well, okay, it was mostly true. YouTube has always had good content that was more than cat videos. Come to think of it, I'm not sure the last time I saw a cat video on YouTube. And I certainly don't know the last time I saw a new cat video. If I search for cat videos, most of the results are videos I've seen before. Maybe uploaded by someone other than the original, but the content itself is old. Mostly.

The reality is that I've watched a lot of YouTube over the years, and I've never really let go of the idea that it was a bunch of cat videos. But the reality is that it's so much more than that.

Let me say now that this is not a new opinion of mine. I concluded that there was a lot more to YouTube some time back. But I did have the "cat videos" thought for a long time.

Recently, I sat down and reviewed by videos on my Roku device and was wondering if I needed to rearrange the order. If I'm always scrolling down for one particular app, maybe I should move that app to the top, or closer to the top. Most used first, least used last.

I review my app lineup, to include the order, every so often. And the first app is, and for some time has been, YouTube. And the last time I did an app menu review, I thought about how I used to think it was just a bunch of cat videos. And that led to my whole thinking about how it, like so many other things, gets judged, and left with a judgement that could be outdated.

My Streaming Life has included a lot of YouTube content over the years. And YouTube is my most used app. I'm never gonna give it up.

Netflix rumored to be raising prices again

Netflix has not announced it, but there is a report that Netflix is going to raise prices again soon.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that after the actors strike ends, Netflix is planning to increase the cost of its service.

The increase won't impact the lowest cost service, the ad-supported tier, but will impact the other price tiers:

The streaming service is discussing raising prices in several markets globally, but will likely begin with the U.S. and Canada, according to people familiar with the matter. It couldn’t be learned how much Netflix will raise prices by or when exactly the new prices will take effect. Netflix declined to comment.

Over the past year or so, the cost of major ad-free streaming services has gone up by about 25%, as entertainment companies look to bring their streaming platforms to profitability and lead price-conscious customers to switch to their cheaper and more-lucrative ad-supported plans.

Currently, the Standard with Ads Plan (ad-supported, HD, two concurrent streams) is $7/month. That's expected to remain the same.

The Standard Plan (no ads, HD, two concurrent streams) is $16/month (actually $15.49), and that's expected to increase.

The Premium Plan (no ads, 4K/UHD, four concurrent streams) is $20/month. That's also expected to go up.

My Streaming Life rarely includes Netflix. The only time I ever subscribe is to check out a new feature, and then I only do it for a month. Normally, I don't subscribe to Netflix. I can find plenty other stuff to watch for free, or with other services (Paramount Plus is included with Walmart Plus, Prime Video included with Amazon Prime, and so on).

Chromecast testing interrupted

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to spend more time with Chromecast. Specifically, Chromecast with Google TV. I like the overall interface. I like their Live TV section. I was planning to write next about another feature that a family member really likes, but some problems got in the way.

I started with my Chromecast HD device, but purchased one of the new 4K models. Last Monday, the new Chromecast arrived, and I swapped it out with the older device. That was a mistake.

Well, maybe it wasn't, but that is what started the problems. The new Chromecast 4K was not as responsive as the older Chromecast HD. Also, the remote would repeat arrow presses. Specifically, I would be on the menu, say in the YouTube app, and pressing the right arrow would sometimes keep scrolling to the right, as if I was continuing to press the right arrow. Same thing on the down arrow.

This wasn't a YouTube thing, as it happened when using Hulu, ESPN, Plex, and even on the actual Google TV interface. It wasn't the app. It was the device. Maybe the remote, but that was part of the device.

Last night, I was finally fed up with it and started a return. I don't really want my money back. Rather, I want to exchange it for another one. I want a Chromecast 4K. At least I think I do. When I upgraded to Chromecast with Google TV from the older Chromecast (the one that was for casting only with no remote) I liked the device. Later, I obtained one of the newer and lower priced HD models. That was what I had put, and left, on my primary TV.

After deciding to spend more time with Chromecast, I ordered the new Chromecast with Google TV 4K. That arrived last Monday, and I switched my testing to that. And that's when the trouble started.

So, I wanted to exchange it, but that's not an option. So, they've issued a return, and I'll be shipping it back today. I expect they'll refund the money, but I'm just going to turn around and buy another one. Whatever it takes, I suppose. I want one of the newer ones.

In the meantime, I've put the HD model back on my living room TV. My Streaming Life will still focus on Chromecast Google TV for the next month. I just want the new device to work right.