Sling TV Free

I've mentioned before that Sling TV was the first live TV streaming service I tried. The reason for that was simple. At the time, it was the only live TV streaming service. I tried it, thought it was alright, then canceled.

Why did I cancel? I wasn't really watching it. I only used it during college football season, and when the season was done, I canceled. Actually, when I first subscribed, it was early in the year, I did a month, just to see what it was all about, then I canceled, then I signed up again when football season started. After the season, I canceled again.

Ever since then, I would subscribe during football season and cancel after the season. But, Sling TV wasn't the only service I would use. Other services would offer specials that were a better price than Sling TV, and I'd try them. Then, when the special was over, rather than pay the higher price, I would go back to Sling TV to finish the season. Right now, in fact, I'm not subscribed to Sling TV. I have Fubu TV because I wanted to try it, then when the month was done, they offered me a great price to keep me from canceling. So, I'm keeping Fubu TV for another month. I probably won't keep them longer, because, as I've said, I only want a live TV streaming service to watch football. Fubo is great for that. For me, though, Sling TV will do the job just fine.

Now, I know you're wondering where I'm going with this. "Sling TV Free?" What's that about? If I can get Sling TV Free, why would I pay for another service?

Well, Sling TV Free isn't all of Sling TV. The service does offer some live streaming free, along with some on-demand content. It's not gonna be the same stuff you get with the Orange or Blue package. Well, you actually do get all of this with Orange and/or Blue. This is stuff you get just by having the app, regardless of if you have a subscription or not.

You get some news channels, some entertainment content, even some sports, but not the big cable channels. For example, the news channels include ABC News Live, CBSN (CBS News), Newsy, and such. It does not include CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News, and that's probably a good thing, to tell you the truth.

You also get on-demand content, to include TV shows and movies. Again, not the same as Hulu or Netflix, but still a selection of content.

Did I mention that Sling TV Free is free? Because that's a good price.

Even if I were to subscribe to another live TV streaming service -- and right now, I do -- I would keep Sling TV app on my streaming device. It still has free content, and some of it is certainly worth watching. I suspect you will be able to find something you would enjoy watching.

Now, be aware that every time you launch the app, it asks you to subscribe (or, in my case, resubscribe). But, there is a "Skip, Watch Free Content" button down at the bottom. I use that.

With Air TV, and without a Sling TV subscription, you just watch the free content, and that includes your antenna content. So, at the locations with an antenna, the Sling TV app is how I can watch local channels via Air TV.

If you have an antenna, or are thinking about putting one up, getting an Air TV device and using the Sling TV app is a great option. But the Sling TV app by itself, without Air TV, is a good option for free content.

If you want to have free content, this is one way to go. Or an additional way to go, along with whatever other apps you use. It's certainly a part of my Streaming Life.

Best Picture movies

I've got a decent movie library, totaling 1,690 films. That doesn't include short films, cartoons, TV shows, and such. Part of my library consists of movies I just like and bought.

Wait. Did I just imply that I may have movies I don't like? Well, I do. Some, I didn't know at the time. I thought I would like them, so I got them, either on DVD (which I later ripped into my Plex library) or purchased a digital copy (which I later ripped into my Plex library). So, I found out I didn't like some of them after I bought them. But I'm okay with that. I gave the film a shot, and if I didn't like it, that's just how it is.

Along the line, though, I decided I wanted to include in my library certain collections. I decided I wanted all of the movies that won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I checked my library -- it wasn't all in Plex at the time -- and found that I had a good number of them. So, I looked into getting the rest. And I did.

As of this writing, there have been 93 Academy Award ceremonies, and of the 93 films to win Best Picture, I have 94 of them.

Okay, now you're wondering if I just don't understand math. I do. But I also understand history, and I don't like when it's changed.

In the first Academy Awards ceremony, held May 16, 1929, there were two top awards for films given. Wings won the award for Outstanding Picture, while Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans won Best Unique and Artistic Picture. At the time, they were considered equal top awards. The next year, they did away with the Best Unique and Artistic Picture category but kept the Outstanding Picture award, and declared that Wings was the top film of the previous year, retroactively.

Sunrise actually received more nominations than Wings and more awards than Wings, and is probably a better film. Still, Wings is today considered the first winner of the Best Picture award by the Academy, and by most people. But not by me.

I feel that at the time, they considered the awards equal and both the top award. No amount of revisionist history will change that. So, I consider them both the Best Picture in that first ceremony. And they are both in my library. Of course, it really doesn't matter. I'd have Sunrise in my film library regardless.

Oh, and there were two Best Director wins that first year, too. There were separate awards for dramatic and comedy pictures. Like Outstanding Picture and Unique and Artistic Presentation, they were combined into a single award beginning the next year. Unlike Best Picture, they didn't retroactively reduce one of the awards.

But back on track, I didn't, but soon did, have all of the winners of the Best Picture awards. And, since I added those to my library, each year, I've added the new winners of the award. I haven't seen them all. Yet. I will. I just haven't seen the most recent. I've seen the older ones. In fact, I have some serious catching up to do. The most recent Best Picture winner I've seen is The Artist, and that was only a two or three years ago. I have a whole decade of Best Picture winners the catch up and watch. I need to get around to that.

I like the idea that I have all of the Best Picture winners. I just don't seem to watch all of them. I'll get to those last ten some time soon. I mean, what's the use of having a movie if I never watch it? I might not like some of them. If the pattern for the last 30 years holds true, I will like a few of them and not like most of them. Still, I'm happy to have all of the Best Picture winners in my Streaming Life.

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Using HBO Max

Last month, I decided to give HBO Max a try. As I said then, I'd watched HBO before. When Comcast raised my price -- technically, the special they gave me ended -- I looked for a better price package, and they were running a special where I could get Internet, cable, and HBO cheaper than Internet alone. So, yeah, I did that for a year. And during that year, I watched HBO from time to time. And, when that special ended, I got a different package that didn't include cable or HBO, just Internet, because it was cheaper.

I've not watched HBO since. Well, until last month. I subscribed to HBO Max to give it a try. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to see what it was all about. I know lots of people that use the service. I but way back on streaming services some months ago, but am willing to give one a try from time to time. Either a new one I've not done before, or one I haven't used in a long time. HBO Max is sort of both.

Well, it's been a month. How do I like it?

It's okay. The thing is, with work and everything, I don't have time to sit and watch a lot of movies. I wish I did. Maybe when I retire, finally.

I've subscribed for about a month now, with the free trial and 30 days, and I'm not sure I'll keep it. Honestly, I wish I had time to watch it. There really is a lot of good stuff on there. It's worth the cost. If you got time to watch it, and I don't.

When my real life stops infringing on my Streaming Life, I'll probably subscribe to HBO Max and keep the service. I can hardly wait for that day.

Frndly.TV gets friendlier, maybe, and more costly

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Frndly.TV will offer seven channels from A+E Networks soon. That's the good news. The bad news is the price is going up. The other good news is that the increase is only $1.

The Wall Street Journal says that Frndly.TV subscribers will get the new channels in about a week:

Frndly TV, founded two years ago by former Dish Network Corp. DISH +0.84% executives, said Wednesday it had signed a deal with A+E Networks to carry seven of its networks—including A&E, Lifetime and the History Channel—starting Nov. 18.

As a result of the agreement, Frndly TV will offer 30 live TV channels, adding to its current bundle that already includes the Hallmark Channel and the Weather Channel. The company said it would raise the basic monthly subscription price to $6.99 from $5.99. Frndly TV’s other subscription tiers will also increase.

Frndly.TV lists the networks they'll carry:

In addition to A&E, The HISTORY Channel and Lifetime, Frndly TV subscribers will also receive Lifetime Movie Network® (LMN), FYI®, Military HISTORY®, ViceTV® and complementary video on demand programming.

Starting on Thursday, November 18, the seven channels will begin to premiere on Frndly TV.

I haven't watched many of those channels. I dropped cable over a decade ago, and I have only occasionally used a live streaming service, mostly because I only get them for football, so even when I have the channels, I don't watch them.

This sounds like a good addition to Frndly.TV to me. However, I do wonder if this means the service is getting away from family friendly content. Some of the programming on A+E Networks isn't something that every family would sit and watch together. A&E itself isn't the old A&E that carried quality programming. Say what you want, WWE Most Wanted Treasures isn't in the same league with Breakfast with the Arts.

I'm not worried about Frndly.TV just yet, but this may not be a good sign, if TV you can watch with your kids is what you're after. The price increase isn't bad, though, and I won't complain about that. But, I'm keeping an eye out for other programming that might not fit the original draw for Frndly.TV. I wonder if it will be something families will want in their Streaming Life.

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. We have observed it since the end of the first World War, and it became a U.S. holiday in 1954. The president issued a proclamation that year.

Proclamation 3071—Veteran's Day, 1954

October 08, 1954

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Whereas it has long been our custom to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and

Whereas in the intervening years the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and

Whereas the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 (44 Stat. 1982), calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351), that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday and should be known as Armistice Day; and

Whereas, in order to expand the significance of that commemoration and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation, the Congress, by an act approved June 1, 1954 (68 Stat. 168), changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day:

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954, as Veterans Day. On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain. I also direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on Veterans Day.

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this eighth day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

By the President:

JOHN FOSTER DULLES,

Secretary of State