Hulu price increase

Last night, I got a surprise. I saw that Hulu was increasing their price. "Hmm," I said. Not out loud. And if I had, no one would have heard it. I was by myself when I saw the notice.

I had logged in to Hulu, because I've notice I've not watched Hulu for a bit. Nothing new has aired that I really felt like watching. So, I wondered if I should pause my Hulu subscription and resume it when a show I want starts up again. And when I logged in, I saw the notice.

Am I upset about it? No. I wish the price wasn't going up, but I've been with Hulu for a long time, and I remember when it was more. It actually went down in price a couple of years back, or so. That surprised and delighted me when it happened. And while I'm not all that happy with a new price increase, it's okay, and Hulu is still a good deal.

So, yeah, I'm okay with it. Like I said, I've been a Hulu subscriber for year, and will likely be one for years to come, assuming I don't get hit by a bus or something. Hulu is a great deal, in my mind, and even with the price increase, it'll still be a great deal.

Hulu has been a part of my Streaming Life for years, and will continue to be for years to come.

Did I pick the wrong live streaming service?

Now that football season is underway, I subscribed to Sling TV with the Sports Extra. But now I'm wondering if I did the right thing.

I watched a lot of football this weekend. And, like my calculations showed, Sling TV Orange with Sports Extra, along with ESPN+, got me all the content I wanted to watch. That is to say, everything I tried to watch, I was successful.

Well, not exactly. I accidentally clicked on the wrong game in the ESPN app once when switching between games. One gave me an error, stating I wasn't authorized to watch it. I don't recall which game it was, but it wasn't one I cared to watch, as my clicking on it was an error. So, it's true that everything I wanted to watch, I was able to watch. But will that always be the case? Maybe not.

During my research into a post I wrote about watching the games this past weekend, I concluded that to watch everything, Fubo Elite ($80/month) and ESPN+ ($7/month) would allow someone to watch any nationally broadcast game.

Why didn't I go with that package? Well, looking over the games I thought I'd like to watch, Sling Orange with Sports Extra ($46) and ESPN+ ($7) got me what I wanted for $53. And $53 is less than $87.

So, why am I second-guessing myself? The easy answer is, that's what I do. I always check, double check, then after the fact, check again. This is that part of the process. I'm checking again.

For this past weekend, Sling Orange with Sports Extra and ESPN+ got me every game I tried to watch. But will that be the case for next weekend? I don't know.

I've looked at the schedule for next weekend, and a couple of games that I'm interested in, enough to watch at least part of the game, don't show a network, meaning it either isn't available streaming, or the network hasn't been finalized.

I'm hoping it's the latter, and when it's finalized, I'll be able to watch with the services I've chosen. If not, well, I'll either do without those games this weekend, or I'll subscribe to a different service. Yes, that would mean paying for two services for a period of time. And I don't like the thought of that.

My Streaming Life is complicated, and it's of my own doing.

Local news via streaming

Cutting off cable service meant -- and still means -- losing local channels. And that means no local news. Unless...

If you have a TV antenna, you can watch TV that way. Just hook it up to your TV and watch. It's that simple.

Now, if you have multiple TVs, and want to watch local channels via antenna on more than just one TV, then you have a couple of options. One is to run antenna leads to the TVs you want. Another is to use a networking device that has a TV tuner, such as (for all major platforms) Tablo, Air TV, or (for Fire TV only) Fire TV Recast. Then, you just use your Roku, Apple TV, Google/Android TV, or Fire TV to watch local channels from your antenna.

If a TV antenna isn't possible, or isn't feasible, then you'll want to find a streaming solution. One is a live streaming service such as Hulu+Live TV ($65/month), YouTube TV ($65/month), Fubo ($65), and DirecTV Stream ($70/month), which carry all four major network stations,:ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Vidgo ($55/month) carries local ABC, and Paramount+ ($10/month) carries local CBS.

All of those services get you more than just local TV, so you may find one a better selection than another.

For CBS, you do have the $10/month plan from Paramount+, which skips commercials from on-demand content, as well as getting you a live feed of your local CBS station.

For ABC, Fox, and NBC, you have to subscribe to a more expensive live streaming service. ABC can be viewed with Vidgo ($55/month), while ABC, Fox, and NBC can be viewed with Hulu+Live TV ($65), YouTube TV ($65), Fubo ($65), and DirecTV Stream ($70).

If it's just local news you want, there are some free options that might work for you.

NewsON carries clips from local news stations. It will try to automatically detect your location and present you with options from where it thinks you are. It will let you edit that, so if it gets it wrong, you'll still be okay.

Haystack News is another option for local news clips. I found that it didn't have as many local options for me as NewsON, but it still offered local content. The app also has many news categories apart from local news, if you are interested in that.

Local Now is more focused on local weather, but does have some local news mixed in. Local Now also has some on-demand ad-supported movies and TV, giving it a distinct difference from the other apps mentioned.

And, finally, you may find that your local news station has an app. Search your device for the specific local station, or look at the local station's Website and see if an app is listed there.

If you've been missing local news and weather from your Streaming Life, you have options. Perhaps one will fill the bill for you.

New Roku? So what?

There has been speculation that Roku is about to introduce new devices to their lineup. Roku has most of their streaming players on sale -- all except the Roku Express and the Streambar Pro -- and it's September.

Roku has traditionally released new devices in September or October. In fact, except for 2014, they've release at least one new device in September or October of each year beginning in 2012. So, with almost their entire lineup on sale from $10 to $30 off, speculation is that new devices will be released.

Do I care? Well, not really. Not yet anyway.

Lately, Roku has updated devices with newer processors and more memory and storage, but nothing has been a big enough of an update to warrant my upgrading my devices.

In the past, I would upgrade, because there was often a noticeable improvement in performance or features. The first time I skipped an upgrade was in 2015, when the Roku 4 was released. I saw early reports of issues with the device, and decided to wait on that one. The issues continued to be reported, and I never got one of those. 

Oh, and while there was no September/October 2014 update, there was a new Stick released in March 2014. I got one of those. I wasn't impressed. That disappointment with the responsiveness of the model 3500 Stick may be part of the reason I waited on the Roku 4. The reviews were the reason I didn't just wait, but never bought one.

But, about this year. I can't speak as to what may be coming down the pike. I don't know. If I was participating in a hardware beta release program, I'd know, but I'd keep my mouth shut. In fact, I wouldn't even be writing this post. Which tell you that I have no knowledge about upcoming devices. I'm as in the dark as anyone.

So, what do I think will happen? I expect all of the items on sale will be impacted. They'll either be dropped entirely or upgraded. That's a shocker, right? In other words, the same thing that happens every year.

Even though I'm a huge fan of Roku, I'm not going to automatically run out and get a new device just because there is a new device. But, I am expecting new devices to be released, and I will be looking at the reviews of them, deciding if I want to replace any of my current lineup.

If I find something intriguing about a new device, then sure, I'll get one. But if not, I'll stick with what I have. After all, my current lineup of devices supports my Streaming Life just fine.