SiriusXM changes

I got my first XM radio in a car I bought in 2006. In 2008, XM merged with Sirius to form SiriusXM radio.

What's this got to do with streaming? Well, many SiriusXM packages include streaming capabilities, not just from a phone, but from streaming devices including the big four -- Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast/Google TV, and Fire TV -- as well as certain other smart TV systems -- LG & Samsung. And, yes, I have it on my Roku device and will listen from time to time. SiriusXM is a streaming option for listening to music.

What brought this up is that I heard one of the station I listen to mention they were moving to another channel. I was listening to 60s on 6, and the said they were moving to channel 73 and changing the name to 60s Gold. The name change makes sense, since they were no longer on channel 6. But there was something else that was a concern to me. I will often listen to channel 74, 40s Junction. Where was it going? Or was it going away? I had questions. I wanted answers.

A look at the SiriusXM Website didn't mention anything. Searching the Internet only turned up one article on Radio & Television Business Report:

... (The) biggest move will see the 50s tunes rebranded as "50s Gold," taking Channel 72. The 60s, with veteran hosts "Shotgun" Tom Kelly and Pat St. John alongside Dave Hoeffel as air personalities, will be branded as "60s Gold," taking Channel 73.

The "70s on 7" remains on Channel 7; corresponding decade-specific channels remain on Channels 8-11.

That told me pretty much what I already knew. But the same article did have the answer I was after.

Meanwhile, a flurry of channel shifts are set to occur, as follows:

• The Pulse: Ch. 5 (formerly 15)
• The Coffee House: Ch. 6 (formerly 14)
• Siriusly Sinatra: Ch. 70 (formerly 71)
• 40s Junction: Ch. 71 (formerly 73)
• On Broadway: Ch. 77 (formerly 72)
• Kidz Bop: Ch. 79 (formerly 77)

That was good news for me, as I will get to keep the channel I was worried about.

Channel 70 was open, as The Billy Joel Channel and SiriusXM Live, both of which have recently occupied the channel, are going to online only. Channel 79 was also open. Everything else was a shifting around of channels. I couldn't find out what's going in to 14 and 15, which come open with the moves.

SiriusXM says your radios will automatically follow the channels, and if so, great. If not, well I'll be able to find what I'm looking for. If it becomes too much of a hassle, my subscription is up in November, and I'll remove the channel from my Streaming Life. And my car.

The problem with Chromecast

While Roku is my primary streaming device, I have a fondness for the Chromecast with Google TV (I'll call it "Chromecast" from now on, even though the device actually called "Chromecast" is a lesser device).

Recently, I added the Tablo Connect feature to my home by syncing my Chromecast to the TV antenna I put up at my mother's house. In cast you don't recall, that's the feature that allows me to watch TV from that antenna on another network. I'm watching TV at my house from an antenna at a different house.

Anyway, I've been using the Chromecast a bit more as a result. If you remember, Roku doesn't support Tablo Connect, or Tablo Connect doesn't support Roku. Either way, I can't use it on Roku. Tablo works with Roku, just not the Tablo Connect feature.

Oh, and, since I've been using Chromecast more, I've used Roku less. And, the other day, I wanted to look at the updated Popcornflix app. On Roku, it was a quick and easy setup. But, with Chromecast, there was an issue. It wouldn't load on my Chromecast device.

Oh, yes, Popcornflix is compatible with Chromecast, but I had too many apps on my device. It indicated I needed to remove an app to add Popcornflix. I removed a couple than added Popcornflix. But I really didn't like having to do that.

I've been spoiled by Roku. Roku doesn't have a lot of on-board storage, but it doesn't really matter. If you run out of space on a Roku, it will remove the oldest app, in terms of how long ago you last used it, and load the new one. It will actually start with the oldest apps and remove as many as necessary until there is enough space for the new app. The old app(s) still shows on the device, and all devices, and if you go to launch it, it will load, removing what is now the oldest, if necessary. It's all behind the scenes. You can only tell it's doing it if you launch and app and you see the download counter.

But that's now how Chromecast works. It works like your Android phone does. You have to remove apps yourself if you need space. And that makes sense, since Chromecast is running Google/Android operating system.

This was an irritant. If it will be a long term bother, I don't know. After all, there are several apps I don't regularly use, so removing them isn't a big deal. But then again, I don't really use Popcornflix. I wanted to give it a try and see what I thought. But, while trying to load it, I had to switch gears and do some cleanup on the device. I didn't have to do that with Roku.

I'm not about to chunk the Chromecast by any means. But I am looking around trying to remember where I put the Fire TV Stick 4K device. It may be a better option for having Tablo Connect in my Streaming Life.

Roku losing Amazon?

There have been some news stories the last couple of days saying that Amazon's IMDB and, more importantly, Prime Video, could be leaving the Roku platform soon. I'm not saying it won't happen, but I'm skeptical.

While there are several Websites reporting the news, they all cite the same source, an article in The Information. According to that article, Roku is, as with Google, refusing to share user data:

One likely battlefront in the coming negotiations will be access to viewing data. During last year’s discussions between Amazon and Roku, Amazon pushed for detailed viewing data about what Roku subscribers watch across all apps, according to people familiar with the talks. If Amazon got such data, it could match that information with what it knows about customer purchases on its site and figure out who buys goods on Amazon after seeing ads on the Roku platform, the people said.

Roku refused Amazon’s request for this data, although the smaller company caved on other issues, such as accepting Amazon’s refusal to share some of IMDb’s ad inventory. Roku does not want to share granular viewing data because doing so would give Amazon’s ad sales an edge over Roku’s, said one of the people familiar with the situation.

Some are saying that Roku is getting into all these disputes, therefore it's Roku that's the problem. But in each case, it's user data that Roku isn't wanting to give up that is the biggest sticking point.

So, perhaps Roku will lose the platforms. If so, I'm glad they're taking a stand. But then again, I'm not suffering a big impact from the disputes.

I don't subscribe to YouTube TV, so the Roku-Google fight isn't a big deal. I don't usually watch Amazon Prime Video, so if this happens, I wouldn't even notice.

Of course, I'm not the typical viewer when it comes to those services. YouTube TV is a massively popular service, as is Prime Video. So, yeah, I get it. A lot of people would cate. So, it's easy for me to come down on Roku's side.

I think Roku's stance is correct insofar as refusing to share user data. I just hope it doesn't hurt the company too bad. I'd hate to lose Roku from my Streaming Life.

Popcornflix

Sometime around the first year or two of my Streaming Life, in 2011 or 2013, I found an app called Popcornflix. It was one of the first ad-supported streaming services I saw. It and Crackle were among the first streaming services that were not part of the mainstream. Prior to my using finding those apps, most of my streaming consisted of Hulu Plus (as it was known then), Netflix, and Amazon Prime (the old name of Prime Video).

I don't have to explain those mainstream apps, of course, but I will anyway. Netflix was, well, Netflix. Hulu Plus was for current TV season content, or at least what was available from the service; it was only broadcast network content. Amazon Prime video app was mainly for watching content I purchased from Amazon, which was mostly current TV series that weren't on Hulu Plus.

Then, I discovered Crackle and Popcornflix around the same time. They has a few titles I knew about, but most of what those apps carried was stuff I had never heard of. Still, I was intrigued and watched content from the two services from time to time. Sony eventually bought Crackle and spruced it up quite a bit. They even changed the name to Sony Crackle.

Popcornflix continued doing what it did, and was eventually bought up by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. It was always what you expected. Mostly movies you never heard of, with a few gems in the mix.

Chicken Soup for the Soul has acquired Crackle (as it's known again) in the last couple of years, and now those two apps I discovered around the same time are now sibling services. Crackle is still  offering more name content than Popcornflix, but it has that feature that showed up during Sony's time: playing content in the background. I hate that.

Popcornflix has made some changes. I read that in passing this week -- I don't remember where -- and decided to check it out. The interface has changed a bit. They've made it a more modern looking interface, but the content is still the same kind of content.

Popcornflix has some movies you're heard of (he Sum of All Fears, The Naked Gun, In Too Deep) and some TV shows you have heard of (The Saint, The Greatest American Hero, Thunderbirds). And then there is the content would expect (Atlantic Rim, Mega Piranha, The Big Bird Cage). The good are good but not great, and the bad are loveably bad.

The interface has changed, but it works well, Well, mostly well. There is one consistent issue on Roku: the row beneath the banner content will overlap on a return from inside a selection, but it's easy enough to get out of it. Still, that bug is annoying. The bug isn't on the Android/Google TV version of the app. For the record, that's a coding issue, not a device issue, since the different operating systems of Roku and Android mean the apps are coded differently. Otherwise the interface works well.

What I can say about the app is: it's Popcornflix. It has what you'd expect, and some of the content is better than you might expect. It's ad supported and it's free. It's worth a shot. It's not the first app I look for, and probably won't be the first one you go for, but it is worth giving a look. It may become a regular part of your Streaming Life.

How long should your streaming device last?

I don't know if I'm the best person to suggest how often you should expect to replace your primary streaming device. You see, in the early days of streaming, I got a new Roku device every year, when the new ones were released. In 2010, I bought the Roku XDS, which was the top of the line device.

Less than a year later, I replaced it with the Roku 2 XS, the new top of the line device. That stayed tops in Roku's lineup for two years.

In 2013, Roku introduced the Roku 3, which I bought and retired the Roku 2 XS. When they updated the Roku 23 in 2015, I didn't replace it, since the update was really just the headphones, or earbuds. The device didn't have any appreciable change, hence the keeping of the Roku 3 name.

Where all this changed was later in 2013 when the Roku 4 was released. I heard early reports of issues with the device, and was really happy with my Roku 3.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy with my Roku XDS and my Roku 2 XS when I replaced them. However, in my experience, the Roku 3 had fewer problems. I never noticed problems with the earlier Roku devices I had, at least not until the lack of problems with the Roku 3. The XDS and 2 XS required occasional reboots, but many devices do. But the Roku 3 seemed to require a lot fewer. Enough fewer for me to notice.

So, when the Roku 4 was released, I didn't run out and buy one. I waited, and saw early reports of issues. Roku replaced the Roku 4 with the Roku Ultra a year later, keeping the same appearance as the Roku 4, but changing the device on the inside. The Roku 4 had a fan and power button. It's the only Roku that had that, and the fact they did away with them indicated to me that they were very aware of the issues.

I didn't buy that first version of the Roku Ultra. I didn't hear anything bad about it, I didn't see anything it brought to the table for me. I didn't need the optical output, and that's really the only thing extra it offered. When I needed to buy an additional (not a replacement, just an addition) Roku, I bought the next version of the Ultra in 2017.

I used the Roku 3 after getting the Ultra. A change of TV watching habits and my beginning to manage TV at multiple households meant the retired devices weren't retired, just moved. The Roku 3 stayed in service for years, as did the Roku Ultra. In fact, I only recently retired the Roku 3, and the Roku Ultra is still operating. I've not purchased a newer Ultra. I still have the 2017 model.

I purchased some other models for secondary TVs, and they are still in operation. I've found Roku devices to be very reliable, at least the models I've purchased. Note that I've not used the low end models, only the higher end devices. Maybe that's why.

But, to the topic at hand. How long should your streaming device last? I'm going to say four years. I almost said five, but I think four is more reasonable.

That is not to say you should replace your streaming device every four years. I'm saying you should be prepared to if necessary. Or if you just really want to. But I would expect any I purchase to last four years.

It's been four years since I bought my Roku Ultra. Am I going to replace it? One day, sure. But not today. I expect my devices to remain in my Streaming Life for some time yet.