Comparing Vidgo plans

Vidgo is a live streaming service that doesn't get as much attention as the others. I'm not sure why.

There are eight major live streaming services that are considered cable alternatives:

• Frndly.TV ($6/month)
• Philo ($25/month)
• Sling Orange ($35/month)
• Vidgo ($55/month)
• Fubo ($65/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($65/month)
• YouTube TV ($65/month)
• DirecTV Stream ($70/month)

As you can see, they are priced from cheapest to most expensive. They all serve one basic function, and that is to provide an alternative to cable while still offering live TV.

Sling TV was the first, and it gets a lot of attention. Hulu gets a lot of attention, building off of their cheap on-demand service. YouTube TV is Google, and gets plenty of attention. DirecTV Stream is AT&T TV rebranded, riding the DirecTV name (note that Sling doesn't ride the DISH name, even though it's owned by DISH). Fubo is huge into sports, and gets lots of attention.

Vidgo and Frndly.TV get the least amount of attention. Many streaming topic Websites talk about 5 or 6 of those, usually skipping Vidgo and Frndly.TV when doing comparisons. I've talked about Frndly.TV before. Today, it's Vidgo.

Vidgo offers two English language plans, and one Spanish Language plan. The $30/month Spanish Mas plan offers "30 channels," the $55/month plan includes "95+ channels," and the $80/month plan includes "112+ channels."

I don't subscribe to Vidgo, but the Website doesn't list that many. It lists 89 on the Plus package:

• A&E
• ABC
• ABC News
• ACC Network
• Animal Planet
• Aspire
• AWE
• Baby TV
• BET
• Big Ten Network
• Bloomberg
• BYU TV
• Cheddar
• Classic Reruns
• CMT
• Comedy Central
• Curiosity Stream
• Discovery
• Disney
• Disney Jr.
• Disney XD
• DIY
• ESPN
• ESPN Deportes
• ESPN U
• ESPN2
• ESPNews
• FETV
• Food Network
• Fox
• Fox Business
• FOX Deportes
• Fox News
• Freeform
• FS 1
• FS 2
• FX
• FXM
• FXX
• FYI
• Game Show Network
• Get TV
• Hallmark
• Hallmark Drama
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
• HGTV
• History
• i24 News
• ID Discovery
• INSP
• Kids Street
• Law & Crime
• Lifetime
• Lifetime Movies
• Longhorn Network
• MAVTV
• Motortrend
• MTV
• Nat Geo
• Nat Geo Wild
• Newsmax TV
• Newsnation
• NFL Network
• NFL Redzone
• Nick Jr
• Nickelodeon
• OAN
• OWN
• PAC -12 NETWORK
• PAC -12 NETWORK Arizona
• PAC -12 NETWORK Bay Area
• PAC -12 NETWORK Los Angeles
• PAC -12 NETWORK Mountain
• PAC -12 NETWORK Oregon
• PAC -12 NETWORK Washington
• Paramount Network
• QVC
• Science
• SEC Network
• Sony Movie Channel
• Teen Nick
• TLC
• Travel Channel
• TV Land
• TV One
• Uptv
• VH1
• Viceland
• Vrtuo Sports

The Premium package lists 102, those 89 plus:

• AHC
• BeIn Sports English
• CMT Music
• Cooking
• Destination America
• Discovery Family
• Discovery Life
• Great American County
• MTV Classic
• MTV2
• Nick Toons
• RFD-TV
• Stadium
• The Cowboy Channel

Is the $25 difference worth those 14 channels? That depends on how much you like those channels. As for the difference in count, either the Website is claiming more than it actually offers, or the list of channels isn't up to date. I suspect the latter.

Regardless, it's a good service. Missing out on NBC and CBS hurts, but if you have an antenna, you really aren't missing anything.

The real draw for Vidgo seems to be the Spanish language package. In fact, when it launched, that seemed to be the primary focus. The English language service was added later, and now makes up two of the three services.

The Spanish Mas plan includes:

• Altres Series
• Antenna 3
• Atrecine
• Baby TV
• BeIN Sports - Spanish
• Canal Sur
• Centroamerica TV
• Cinelatino
• Cine Sony
• Discovery En Espanol
• Discovery Familia (DF)
• ESPN Deportes
• estudio5
• Fox Deportes
• Fox Life
• History Channel Espanol
• Hola TV
• Hogar
• Nat Geo Mundo
• NTN24
• NTN24
• Pasiones
• RCN Novelas
• Telefe
• TV Azteca
• TV Dominicana
• TYC Sports
• VideoRola
• WAPA America

That is the best of the Spanish language streaming services I've seen. Sling TV offers some "International" add-ons to their packages, but it doesn't compare to what Vidgo offers. None of the other services do.

If you are looking for an alternative to one of the more expensive live streaming services, Vidgo is one to consider. If you are looking for Spanish language streaming content in your Streaming Life, Vidgo looks to be the one to get.

Chromecast profiles

I totally missed Google's announcement recently that they would be adding profiles to Chromecast devices. And, by Chromecast devices, I mean the Chromecast with Google TV (Chromecast/GTV). I make the distinction because the older form Chromecast still exists. You know, the one where you must use your phone to control playback. To me, the newer Chromecast IS Chromecast, and that's what I'm talking about from here on out.

So, profiles. They haven't been added, but they are coming, according to a blog post by Google:

Google TV profiles let everyone in your home enjoy their own personalized space with their Google Account. With a personalized profile, you’ll get TV show and movie recommendations just for you, easy access to your personal watchlist and help from your Google Assistant.

This is a good thing. A very good thing. Except for one thing. They announced this on October 11 and we don't have it yet.

Sure, it'll come, I know. And I should be patient for it. But I really do like the idea of profiles.

Today, you can actually log in with different accounts, and switch between accounts. So, if the functionality of switching between different users already exists, what's the big deal? For me, I'd use it by setting up a kids profile for the grandchildren to use. I don't think they all have their own Google account, and even if they did, having to go through the process of logging in would be a delay. With profiles, I can set up a kids profile, and quickly switch to it for them to watch TV.

So, yeah, even though the grown-ups in our household have their own accounts, this brings us a little more. And, I suspect, it would be a bigger help to families where not everyone has their own Google account. Profiles just makes it easier.

I'm excited about it, for whenever it finally comes to my Streaming Life.

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Fubo TV locations restrictions

I decided to try Fubo TV for a month. I tried it again for a week, and was happy with it, so I let the free trial turn into a regular subscription. It had all the sports channels I wanted, and I got three streams, and with local channels, that means I didn't have to change apps to watch something from the broadcast networks. Everything is good, right?

Well, no.

You see, sometimes on weekends, I'll visit my son who lives in another town. I visited last weekend. He has Xfinity cable, even though he was the first person I met who streamed content. He got me into streaming. However, Xfinity offered a deal for him to come back, so he did. But, Xfinity doesn't carry ACC Network, as it turns out, and he follows a team that plays on ACC Network a lot.

Now, let's suppose the following happens:

• I'm at his house.
• He wants to watch something on ACC Network.
• I have a service that carries ACC Network.
• My service has three streams, meaning if someone at my house is watching, I still have two streams.
• I can watch my service away from home, and am not limited to a mobile device. I can use a Roku, Fire TV, or whatever to watch.

What could go wrong? Well, here's what could go wrong.

As it turns out, Fubo TV does allow three streams, and I can watch away from home, but I can't use simultaneous streams from two locations. That last bit may need some explanation and examples.

I can watch Fubo TV at home with a streaming device (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc).

I can watch Fubo TV away from home with a streaming device.

But, if someone is watching my Fubo service at home, I can't stream away from home. Or, if I do, the stream at home stops.

This actually makes sense. It allows my to use Fubo TV at a vacation home, for instance, unlike Hulu+Live TV. (Hulu+Live TV won't let you use a streaming device away from home; you must use a mobile device.) What it won't do, I'm figuring, is allow you to share with friends or family who live at a different location.

So, will I keep Fubo TV? Maybe. How often will I be wanting to stream from my son's house for something he doesn't get on cable, while there's a stream at my house running? Not often.

On the other hand, if I do change to a different service when this month of Fubo is up, I won't have that issue. Well, as long as it's not Hulu+Live TV (hint: it won't be).

These odd things keep my Streaming Life interesting.

Congress, Roku, and Google

We've talked recently about the ongoing pissing contest between Roku and Google. And, we said it could get worse.

It just got worse. Members of Congress are weighing in. That's never a good thing.

CNBC reports that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D - MN) and Rep. David Cicilline (D - RI) are taking sides in the issue, and they are taking Roku's side:

“For too long, the big tech platforms have leveraged their power to preference their products and services over those of thousands of smaller online businesses,” Klobuchar said in a statement Thursday.

Cicilline called Google’s move a “shakedown” in a tweet Thursday.

While I am leaning towards Roku's side in this argument, I don't like the idea of Congress getting involved. There is no problem so bad that Congress can't make it worse.

I'm hoping Google and Roku can resolve this. I don't think either party wants Congress to start getting involved. I know I don't want Congress having anything to do with my Streaming Life.

The Roku-Google pissing contest continues

Remember when Roku and Google got into a pissing contest over a new agreement to carry the YouTube TV app? Well, nothing has changed. Yet. It could be about to get worse, though. Roku might lose the YouTube app as well.

In a recent blog post, Roku says there has been no progress made:

​There are two primary concerns we are working to address: First, Google continues to interfere with Roku’s independent search results, requiring that we preference YouTube over other content providers. This is a concern shared by many companies who believe that customers deserve neutral and relevant results to their search queries. Second, Google discriminates against Roku by demanding search, voice, and data features that they do not insist on from other streaming platforms. ​

​While we are working to resolve our differences, we want to be transparent about these negotiations. As we shared in April, the threat remains that Google may remove YouTubeTV from the Roku platform. We continue to believe that streamers stand to benefit from Google and Roku reaching a fair agreement and we remain committed to trying to achieve that goal.

Roku refers to the threat of Google removing YouTube TV from the Google platform. Google, however, says that YouTube, not just YouTube TV, will be removed in December if negotiations don't go well:

In a statement to Variety, a Google rep said, “Since our negotiations with Roku earlier this year, we’ve continued to work with them to find a resolution that benefits our mutual users. Roku has once again chosen to make unproductive and baseless claims rather than try to work constructively with us. Since we haven’t been able to continue our conversations in good faith, our partnership for all new Roku devices will unfortunately end on December 9. We are, however, giving Roku the ability to continue distributing both YouTube and YouTube TV apps to all existing users to make sure they are not impacted.”

This ups the stakes. Current users will continue to get the service, but new users won't. And they'll be the loudest, whiniest ones.

Don't get me wrong, things should go in such a way that a platform is able to carry the apps they want to carry. However, Google has the right to ask for things. Who is right? Probably neither. But more Roku than Google.

In the NBCUniversal dustup, I thought Google was correct. In this one, I lean more towards Roku.

If YouTube and YouTube TV come off Roku in December, what will that mean for me? Nothing. I already have the apps and the apps will continue to work. But for new users of Roku, they'll be all whiny and such, and as I said, I understand that.

Should they avoid buying Roku? Between now and December, no. If you have the YouTube or YouTube TV app, the services will continue to work. After December 9, if things don't go well? I don't know. I'll think about it between now and then.

Our Streaming Lives shouldn't be this hard.

Tablo Connect

I've mentioned before that I manage the TV setup for a couple of houses. At my mother's house -- it belongs to me and two of my sisters since my mother's passing -- I bought and paid to set up a TV antenna. That house has a good location for aiming an antenna at Savannah and getting 25 stations.

My house is not in such a situation. Even though I'm a couple of miles closer to Savannah, the lay of the land means I'm not going to get a lot of channels. An antenna isn't worth the effort.

At my mother's house (I still think of it that way) I have Air TV set up for watching local channels from the antenna. At another house I manage, there's an antenna and a Tablo setup. A while back, I added Tablo to my mother's house, giving that location two different ways to pick up over the air TV. I even added a Fire TV Recast there. She had a Fire TV television set, and this would work with it. So there were three different ways to pick up TV antenna content. But that's at my mother's house, not at my house.

Enter Tablo Connect.

With Air TV and Fire TV Recast, you can only watch if you're on the same network from streaming device. You can watch on a mobile device -- phone or tablet -- but not on a dedicated streaming device.

Tablo has a feature called Tablo Connect. It lets you watch TV away from your network, not just with a mobile device, but with a dedicated streaming device. Tablo Connect lets users of Fire TV, Apple TV (new models), and Android/Google TV including Chromecast and Nvidia Shield can watch away from home.

Notice that Roku isn't a part of this. My favorite streaming device doesn't support Tablo Connect. Or Tablo Connect doesn't support Roku. Either way, they don't work together. So, if you're have Roku and only Roku user, you can't take advantage of this feature.

I have the four major platforms. Roku, of course, but also Apple TV, Fire TV, and Android/Google TV (Chromecast). That means I have three options when it comes to using Tablo Connect. And, I've decided to do just that.

I had to configure my router to work with Tablo Connect. Port forwarding was required and was actually easy to set up. Not as easy as I hoped, as I entered the ports backwards. Silly me. But, I corrected my error, and the setup completed in short order.

Next was to sync a device with the Tablo device. My Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV all were set up with Tablo, and I decided to use the Chromecast device. syncing was seamless. In fact, all I had to do was check the menu to sync, but it said the device was already synced.

Taking the Chromecast to my house, I connected it to my TV and launched the Tablo app. Sure enough, the app worked just like I was at the location with the antenna. Sure, I was only a couple of miles away, but I was on a different network, meaning I could have been anywhere and it would have been the same.

Now, I can watch live TV from my TV antenna, even though I'm miles away. I always hated not being able to put up an antenna here. But, I did the next best thing: I put one up at another house and use it.

I'm limited to that one TV to watch by, however. I could add other devices with the Tablo app to other TVs, but I first need to take the device to my mother's house and sync it. I might just do that. But there's one other thing I might do.

Remember I said there's a third house I managed the TV for? It's a bit away from here, and gets local TV from a different city. That's the one that first had a Tablo. I may configure it for Tablo Connect, and put another device on my TV that gets over the air channels from there.

I love playing with these big boy tech toys. It's one of the fun parts of my Streaming Life.

Freaky

When I was a teenager, there was an underground comic called The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. I don't recall if I saw the comics themselves, or if they were printed in another magazine, but I do remember reading them. Well, some of them anyway. It's possible I ended up reading them all, or all that were available at the time.

I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was a teenager.

I will admit that some of the antics of the "brothers" were funny. Some were ... let's say that while they characters weren't really brothers, they were freaks. If you really want to know the details, go look it up. I'm not going to tell any of the tales of the trio, but I will say that some of the satire was very well done, some emphasized shock value to get points across. I didn't always agree, but I did appreciate the humor. Well, some of the humor.

This bit of the 1960s and 1970s (when I discovered the trio) isn't relegated to the past, as it turns out. Streaming service Tubi has announced they'll be producing original content containing the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, with the series starting November 14:

THE FREAK BROTHERS will headline Tubi’s first foray into adult animation, as it expands its adult humor collection in the coming months. The additional episodes from Season One will drop on Sundays, one every week, through the finale, Sunday, Dec. 26. The eight-episode series chronicles the escapades of a trio of stoner anti-establishment characters and their cat who wake up from a 50-year nap after smoking a magical strain of weed in 1969, and must adjust to life with a new family in present-day San Francisco.

I'm not sure what to think about it. What was shocking in 1970 is tame today. Well, much of it is. Will this turn into The Second Hundred Years? Another second-half of It's About Time? Or, Encino Man, for you younger ones. It seems it will just be one of those tropes where someone from the past deals with the world today.

That's not what the original Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers were. They were contemporary, from today's world, but with a different outlook on the world. They weren't outsiders from out of time. They were of the time as the times were changing.

I'm not sure if I'll watch the show. I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to re-read some of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and I was less than impressed. I was no longer a teenager looking for something that was rebellious. I was a grown man who had real life to deal with. I did find some part of it still funny, though. And a few things still outside the acceptable behavior of pretty much anyone civilized.

I can't say I look back fondly on The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers but I'm not sure I like what they're doing to it. But, I could be wrong. It may turn out to be funny and relevant. And, if it does, it may become a regular part of my Streaming Life.