Keeping Flex

Earlier this month, I talked about Xfinity Flex. It's a decent first streaming device, particularly for an Xfinity cable customer who is switching to streaming. For those customers, it will make the transition very smooth. For experienced streamers, or really anyone who has streamed for any period of time, it's an okay device, but nothing more than okay.

If you get Xfinity Flex service on your account, the Flex device is included, and you get all the benefits, including free Peacock Premium service.

The thing is, Xfinity/Comcast expects you to actually use the Flex device. And that makes sense. If you aren't going to use it, return it and let someone else use it. In fact, I got a couple of emails about my not using the box, and Xfinity/Comcast saying they wanted it back.

Thank you for trying Xfinity Flex

Flex box serial number: XX0000XX0000*

This is just a reminder that it's been a while since you’ve used Xfinity Flex. If streaming with Flex isn't for you, please return your equipment using one of these free and easy options:

• Drop off your equipment at your local Xfinity Store
• Schedule a free and contactless at-home UPS pickup at xfinity.com/returns

We're always adding to our entertainment library

Before you return Xfinity Flex, you may want to explore the new streaming apps and entertainment we've recently added, including Disney+, Paramount+, and ESPN+. And don't forget, Peacock Premium comes included with Flex at no additional cost.

If you have any questions, visit the Xfinity app. If you've already returned your equipment, please disregard this message.

As always, thank you for being an Xfinity customer.

So, this past week, I drove to the nearest Xfinity office to return the device. Everything went smooth, until right at the end, I asked a question.

"Um, by the way, even with turning this in, I'll still get Peacock Premium right?"

The nice customer service people froze. They looked at each other, then at the manager, before one said "Hold up on taking that device off the account."

They conferred for a minute, then said, "If you want to keep that, you'll need to keep the box. If we take the box off your account, you'll lose Flex."

"I want the box."

Then, to the trainee that was working on my account, "You need to cancel that."

So, to keep Peacock Premium for free, I have to keep a streaming device that I don't really use. And that's okay. I have a shelf that will house it just fine. It's already back in the box, so it'll be easy to just put it on a shelf somewhere.

If there was no streaming service benefit, yes I would certainly have returned the device. But, even though $4.99/month is a good price for a streaming service such as Peacock Premium, free is even a better price. So, I have a device I don't want, and that they don't want me to have. But I'm keeping it.

My Steaming Life should not be this complicated.

Walmart's streaming stick

I got a new toy to play with. It's Walmart's onn. FHD Streaming Stick. 

Yeah, it's weird that the brand name has a period in it. So, I'll call it Onn or ONN from now on. Or at least, for now.

Anyway, I got the Onn FHD Streaming Stick. Why? Because I wanted it. I like to check out other devices, even though I always know I'm going to go back to Roku. Maybe one day I won't. 

I do like to know about the different devices that are out there. And, the price for the device is pretty good at $25 (actually, $24.88).

This isn't a review. I'm going to be using the device for the next week or so, exclusively, so no jumping back and forth between it and Roku. It's the Onn Stick for the next several days.

Okay, I actually began using it exclusively on Thursday. Got it Wednesday, but I'm not counting that day. Full exclusive use began Thursday. So, for the next few days, it's that device, and that device alone. Then I'll tell you what I think.

Well, unless the device is absolute trash and unusable, in which case I'll tell you about that experience. I hope and expect it will be a good experience. I'm particularly curious to see how it stacks up against the Chromecast with Google TV.

In a few days, I'll know how this device will impact My Streaming Life.

Streaming Braves baseball

Around a week ago, I talked about my problem with MLB.TV in that it won't let me watch Braves games live. It finally occurred to me a couple of days ago that I never told how I do watch Braves games, since MLB.TV is a no-go.

Here's how I watch Braves games.

I don't.

If I'm a Braves fan, why not?

Well, simple. It's expensive, and I'm not willing to pony up the money to watch Braves games streaming. But I could. But I won't.

But what if a streamer does want to watch Braves games, or some other team's games? It's possible. Just expensive. How expensive? $85/month. That's how much AT&T TV Choice package costs.

That's $20/month more than YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or Fubo TV live streaming services, which isn't really a lot. Unless, of course, you don't normally subscribe to a live streaming service. And I don't use a paid live streaming service. So, switching to AT&T TV during baseball season wouldn't change my monthly cost by $20/month; rather, it would increase it $85/month. And I'm not wanting to pay that.

During football season, I'll pay the extra $35/month for Sling TV to get college football. I wouldn't pay $85/month for it, though. And I won't pay it for Braves baseball.

Yes, I'm a Braves fan, but I'm not gonna pay that much to watch them. I want to watch the Braves, but I'm not going to pay that much for it. My Streaming Life is just fine doing without.

Tablo as my DVR

Last week, I said I'd be focusing on using Tablo as my DVR rather than Air TV. I have both, running at different households for which I manage streaming. So, for the last week, I used Tablo rather than Air TV.

I said I thought I would like Tablo better, and that has proven true.

But did my preconception impact my results? Maybe. But I think not. After all, I came to this preconceived notion from somewhere, right? Well, it came from my use of the two different systems, albeit briefly.

Well, I've now used Tablo a lot more. And the more I use, it the more I like it.

Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot to like about Air TV. If you're a Sling TV subscriber, it's really nice to have it all in that one interface, rather than having to launch a separate app. But, for me at least, the integration isn't as important as to how well the DVR works.

They both record content as expected. The respective interfaces are both easy to use, but there's one thing about Tablo that makes it my DVR of choice, and that's the quality of the tuner.

When I put up the Tablo device in place, I simply removed the Air TV device and put the Tablo there. Nothing else changed. Same antenna, same antenna cable, same everything except the actual DVR. So, how did it do?

The Tablo DVR had better recording quality than the Air TV. On the Air TV device, I would get little skips as if it lost the signal every so briefly. I didn't get that with Tablo. That indicates the tuner is better. Or at least something is better. And when you're watching TV, or recording TV, through a TV tuner, that's important. That's most important, in my book.

Playback is easy. The recording quality is great. And none of the skips that I got with Air TV. Well, almost none. Certainly a lot fewer with Tablo than with Air TV.

It would be nice if it could interface with other apps, if one used a live streaming cable replacement service. I don't, so Tablo being a separate app doesn't matter with me. Regardless, the quality of the watching and recording makes it my choice.

Tablo makes My Streaming Life so much easier. Perhaps it will for you, too.

Why the Hulu "no ads" streaming plans may still have ads

One of the most popular streaming services is Hulu. I've subscribed to Hulu ever since there were two Hulu plans: free and paid. Way back then, the free Hulu plan was for watching content in your Web browser. The paid plan was for watching Hulu Plus via a streaming device such as Roku. The catalog of shows was different for each plan, at least at first. Shows were either part of the free Hulu service, or they were part of the paid Hulu Plus service, but not both.

That eventually changed, and Hulu became just Hulu. Did that simplify things? Not really. Hulu no longer has a free plan and a paid plan. Hulu has four different paid plans. Two of the plans are "no ads" plans. And even the "no ads" plans can have ads.

It's complicated. Probably more complicated than it needs to be. But, here's what's going on, and why.

There are four plans. The first is...

Hulu. Plain old Hulu. It's the classic service of on-demand content of current TV shows and some older stuff too. There are ads with this plan. It's like watching TV shows on cable or over the air that you recorded. Only, you can't fast forward through the commercials. You gotta do the commercials. But there are fewer commercials than you get on cable or over the air.

The next plan is Hulu (No Ads). As the "no ads" part says, there are no ads. Except when there are. You see, there are some content that's excluded from not having ads. That is, there will be ads regardless on certain shows. Actually, certain show. There were around six that were excluded from no ads, but the list is now down to one: Grey's Anatomy. If you don't watch the show, this won't matter. Other than that, yeah, it's no ads.

Hulu also has a service called Hulu + Live TV. As the name implies, it's the regular Hulu plan, plus a live TV service. Hulu will have ads. Hulu's Live TV service will have ads. It's live TV, and live TV has ads. There is also a catalog of other on-demand content from the networks that you don't get with regular Hulu. Those will probably have ads. You can pretty much bank on it.

There's one other service that causes the most confusion. Or, more properly, a lot of people get confused about the plan. It's Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV. Pay close attention to the name. It's the Hulu (No Ads) service, plus the live TV service. The Hulu portion won't have ads (well, Grey's Anatomy sill has ads). However, the Live TV portion will. It's live TV, remember? There is no TARDIS circuit to skip you into the future past the commercials. It's the same live TV service that comes with Hulu + Live TV. It's the Hulu (No Ads) service, which we talked about earlier, plus the live TV service. 

And, the extra network on-demand content? Still has ads. The "no ads" only applies to the Hulu on-demand service. That's all.

So, is this confusing? Well, yeah, some get really confused about it. And sometimes they fuss and complain, probably because they don't understand that the "no ads" doesn't apply to everything in the overall service.

Now that you know, you will go into your planning for Hulu based on better information. Assuming of course that  you are considering Hulu as a content provider.

As I've said, I use the standard Hulu service and have for years. It works well, especially if you are used to watching shows you recorded. The on-demand service experience is much like a DVR service. Except for skipping commercials. If the no ads option is something you want, just keep in mind where the "no ads" applies and where it doesn't. That'll ensure no nasty surprises in your Streaming Life.