Cell phone service

Okay, what does cell phone service have to do with cutting the cord? Well, maybe nothing. Unless it relates to why you cut (or are thinking about cutting) the cord. If it's to save money, why stop at dropping cable and moving to streaming? Why not save money in other ways, too?

Here's my answer: I do.

I've tried a few different cell phone services and am paying less than I used to pay for cell phone service. My cell phone bill got way up there for a while. Of course, it included financing new cell phones, which will run up a bill, but even without that, the service was pretty expensive.

I have used T-Mobile and Verizon as my primary services. Actually, I think I used what's now AT&T, but it wasn't back then. It was Cingular, I think. Now, sure, that was a long time ago, so maybe my experience with that company isn't the same as it would be today. I don't know, but it really doesn't matter. The service was fine then, and I know lots of people that use AT&T today, and they like the service just fine. So, I have nothing against AT&T. However, things can get expensive. But that's true for AT&T, Verizon, and other services.

Today, I'm using Verizon prepaid, because they ran a special and I got a great plan at a great price, and I keep a pre-paid balance on the account, so everything is good. It's not unlimited, but I come nowhere close to using the 16 GB monthly allotment, so it may as well be unlimited. If it was unlimited, I'd pay more and still not get any better service, so I'm going to keep the 16 GB plan and pay $35/month and be happy.

There are cheaper plans, and I've used some different plans. Some were recommended by friends or family members, and some I just tried to see what would happen. The end result of what happened is that I still have my Verizon prepaid plan, because I've not found enough incentive to move to a different plan or service.

I'm not going to urge you to run out and get Verizon prepaid, even though that's what I have. What I will urge you to do is to see what prepaid plans there might be that you can use, and what all the little details are.

Here's my deal. I have an 8 GB plan for $50/month. That's all well and good, except that doesn't match what I said I'm getting. There are multiple reasons. One is that Verizon ran a special where I could get double the data. So, my 8 GB plan actually gets me 16 GB/month.

They also had an online special running where I could get $5/month off by signing up with some code or something. That changed 8 GB for $50 to 16 GB for $45.

Then, by going paperless billing and having autopay set up, I could get another $10/month off. All those together turned the 8 GB/$50 into 16 GB/$35.

Oh, and there's one more thing. I can use a particular credit card to get 5% cash back, and that includes buying Verizon prepaid cards. Meaning my plan works out to 16 GB/$33.25. And I'm good with that.

So, if you do want to save money in addition to cutting the cord, look at your cell phone plan. Shop around. You may find some deals, or a series of deals you can combine, and save some real money.

While cell phone savings isn't actually a part of my Streaming Life, it's a part of my real life, and that's real savings.

Peacock TV

From time to time I go over my viewing habits and look at what apps I actually use. Part of the reason for that is that on my  Roku device, I have 47 apps installed. I don't use 47 apps with any regularity at all. I doubt there are a dozen that I use more than once a week. Heck, once a month, if that often.

Why do I have these apps installed? Just in case. Costs nothing to have them, and many of them cost nothing to use. I like free.

But, looking over my apps, I see that I have Peacock TV near the top of my Roku menu. I'm not really sure why it's so high on the list, since I don't use it that much.

So, why don't I use Peacock TV? Is it that I don't like the service? No, that's not it. I think the service is a good bargain at $5. But, I still don't use it.

I'm not paying for Peacock TV, so I'm not losing any money by having the app or the subscription. I'm an Xfinity Internet customer, and have an Xfinity Flex box (in the box) which give me access to Peacock TV. Only, as I said, I don't really watch Peacock TV. But why not?

Peacock TV has live TV channels, as well as lots of on-demand content from Universal. And Universal has a long history of making popular movies, so why am I not watching them?

Well, let's look at the first 10 "Featured Films" that showed up recently in the Peacock TV app.

• Field of Dreams
• The Lincoln Lawyer
• Brokeback Mountain
• Harry Potter Collection
• Fries! The Movie
• The Boss Baby: Family Business
• The Croods
• The Goonies
• Apollo 13
• Marshall

I've seen three of these movies. I own two of those three, and can watch either any time I want. So, the other seven? Only one is of any interest. The rest? Meh. Don't care.

Now, maybe I would enjoy some of those other six movies -- actually more, since I've not seen nor care to see the Harry Potter films -- but right now, I've no intention of watching a movie I'm not interested in watching.

The "Latest Episodes" of the TV Shows section showed a bunch of late night TV (no interest), game shows (no interest), soap operas (no interest), and a couple of things I've never heard of (no idea).

I did watch Debris, but I watched it on Hulu. I watched War of the Worlds on Peacock, since I've liked that story for some time. I liked the book, the 1938 radio drama, the 1953 film, and some of the 1988 TV series. So, I decided to watch the 2019 British three-part series on Peacock. I didn't like the experience.

Here's what I didn't like. When I highlight a TV show and am considering watching it, Peacock starts a bit of autoplay. I hate autoplay, and there is no way to turn it off. So, the bad user experience.

Then, after an episode plays, it autoplays the next episode. I don't want that, either, and there's no way to disable it. Again, a bad user experience.

When I go to watch TV, I don't want a bad user experience. And Peacock TV gives me that. So, I don't watch Peacock TV. And, I probably want, unless it's something I really really really want to watch and there's no other way to watch it.

Peacock TV won't become a regular part of my Streaming Life as long as they present me with an experience I don't like.

Meet the new Plex ...

I've been a big fan of Plex lately. Well, for a few years, actually. When I started streaming, many of my digital movies were purchased via iTunes, and I used iTunes to stream them locally. But, I decided to expand beyond that functionality and rip out all my digital movies and DVDs and stream them via Plex. I looked at a couple of different ways to do this, but I bought in to Plex as the way to go, and I'm glad I did.

I've liked the updates they've made to Plex, including adding live streaming and on demand, but to me, the bread and butter has been the local streaming -- and remote streaming. I normally only use Plex when I want to watch my local content, which is sometimes a lot, sometimes not.

The other day, I launched Plex and it looked different. And a little more so than I expected, but not enough to make me wonder if I had launched the wrong app. So, what was going on? Turns out Plex has introduced something they call "Modern Layout."

First, we explored a large number of layout options, eventually landing on a new “Modern” layout that would showcase artwork from the title and provide some additional context when a poster is in focus: genres, parental ratings, and brief synopsis of the title without having to first click. We combined this rich data with a background color extraction process with a goal of providing a more immersive and streamlined experience when you’re sitting down at the couch and trying to figure out what to watch. Since posters generally have the movie or show title contained in the artwork, this layout also forgoes duplicating the (often truncated) text titles and additional information below the poster in favor of displaying that information in the “inline metadata” section at the top. Importantly, we wanted to involve the Plex community in the process and invite you into the lab.

So, what do I think? Actually, it's fine. I'm not one who embraces change for the sake of change. I like familiar and comfortable. But, I don't shy away from improvements, either. And, I like the new Plex layout.

Is it better? Really better? Well, that depends on the person. I happen to be one that likes it. Part of the reason is that it's not a huge change. Not really. There's a lot familiar to it, not a huge change, but enough of a change to make me like it better.

It's a welcome addition to my Streaming Life. Perhaps to yours, too.

Roku Streambar

As you may be aware, I have several Roku devices on several TVs across multiple locations that I manage. One device I've only mentioned a time or two is the Roku Streambar. It's currently on the TV I use the most. I made that change a little while back and have left in in place. But maybe not why you think.

I am currently using a TV with non-Roku smarts as my main TV. Of course, I have a Roku and other devices attached to it: Fire TV Stick 4K and Chromecast with Google TV. The Roku attached to this TV is the Streambar, model 9210.

The TV sound is okay, but I wanted to improve the sound, so I was looking at a sound bar. I decided to consider the Roku Soundbar but waited to make a decision. Until it went on sale. So, when I found it on sale, I bought one, and installed it, replacing the Roku Streaming Stick+ that was on the TV.

The Streambar works about as well as the Streaming Stick+, which is pretty good, but it's not quite as good as a Roku Ultra. The difference isn't much though.

The sound is better than the TV's native sound. I know that's not a ringing endorsement, but the fact is my ears aren't perfect; loud music in my youth, being around artillery when in the military, things like that take a toll. If you want to compare it to other sound bars, I can't really offer a full comparison. That's simply a limitation of my physical abilities. So, if you read a review that compares it to others, I won't offer any counter or conflict regarding such reviews.

I will tell you that the TV sounds better with it than without it. I stand by that. The degree is the issue, and one I can't honestly address. But, it's better, and it's a Roku.

Can I recommend getting this as your only Roku device? Well, honestly, no. I would rather you listen to one if you could before you bought one. But, I will have no problem buying another one. I have another TV that needs a sound bar, and I'm getting a Roku Streambar for it. When it goes on sale. I know what I want, but I'm going to save money when I get it.

The Roku Streambar has been a welcome addition to my Streaming Life. I hope that if you decide to get one, you'll be happy with yours as well.

Finding the time to stream?

I've been streaming for over 10 years. I mean exclusively. Even before I cut cable, I streamed content, Netflix mostly, Amazon a little. My TiVo had limited capability and worked better for downloading non-Netflix content. Still, I was a little familiar with streaming.

When I cut cable in early 2011, I streamed content when I watched TV, and loved it. I didn't have to find time to stream. When I watched TV, instead of firing up the TiVo, I fired up the Roku. I just watched stuff through a different device.

And that's the thing, why do I suddenly think that the situation of "finding the time to stream" even exists? It shouldn't. Where did I even come up with the concept?

Is it the same thing as "finding time to watch TV?" If so, then that really doesn't make sense either. Why on earth would anyone need to find the time to watch TV? If TV is that bog of a deal, it's too big in my life. Or yours, if the case apples to you too.

TV is nothing but entertainment. Sure, I put a lot of money into that device hanging on the wall. Or in the bedroom. Or bedrooms. TV should never be the center of anything, apart from being centered on the wall or over the fireplace. It definitely should not be the center of anyone's day or life.

TV is a distraction, like all other forms of entertainment. A book. A hobby. Anything that isn't what you need to focus on: your family, your health, your career. TV is just entertainment. You should find time to relax, but it doesn't need to be TV.

I really do enjoy watching TV, whether TV shows or movies, and I enjoy the variety I can find via streaming. But it's just TV. I do enjoy my Streaming Life, but I (and you) should never let it interfere with real life.