Second thoughts on Chromecast

I've been using Roku as my primary streaming device since 2010. But, along the way, I've used many other devices. I currently have an Apple TV, Fire TV Stick, and Chromecast with Google TV. And Chromecast is my topic today.

I've talked before about what I like about Chromecast, and what I don't like about Chromecast. The things I like are still true, but the things I don't like are becoming more and more apparent. For example, my Chromecast is sluggish. Sure, there are ways to fix that, but having to do that isn't something I particularly care for.

These little nagging things -- sluggish and requiring a restart, running out of space -- can wear on my patience. Now, if all devices were like that, I wouldn't complain so much. But, over time, it turns out that Fire TV, which was on my naughty list for years, now performs better over time. And Roku performs best overall. Well, Roku and Apple TV perform the best.

This isn't to say that Chromecast with Google TV is a bad device. Rather, it's not quite up to par with Roku or Apple TV, and right now, if behind Fire TV. It's number four on my list of four devices. It was second, behind Roku. That's not a good trend.

Still, it works well enough. And if it's your device of choice, that's a good decision. It's just not my device of choice. However, it will remain a part of my Streaming Life.

App cleanup

I noticed that on my primary streaming device, a Roku device, I have 62 apps listed. That kinda surprised me.

Side note: Roku calls their apps by the name "channels" which I never really liked. I'm calling them apps, because that's what they are.

I asked myself, "Self, do you really use 62 different apps? Surely you can't be serious." But I did not complete the Airplane joke, I stopped at the Flip Wilson joke. And if you don't get that, you're a lot younger than I am.

I know I don't use 62 different apps, so it's time for a cleanup. Only, I discovered it's actually 60 apps. Turns out, I still have the "Add Channels" and "TV Off" selections on the main menu, which Roku calls "shortcuts." Those were the first to go. Down to 60.

On a Roku home screen, there are nine fully visible apps, and three mostly visible apps. The two I use most, Plex and YouTube, are the first two items. ESPN is on that block of nine, as is Sling TV. During college football season, that made sense.

After those first four apps, the next five are apps I will occasionally subscribe to: Disney+, Paramount+, Showtime, HBO Max, and Discovery+. Sometime during the year, it's likely I'll subscribe for a month to one or more of those, just for a month, and binge stuff. Of course, I might not. But if I do, I'll move it to the top of that listing.

Next are AMC+, Starz, and Curiosity. Those first two are like the previous four. I may subscribe some time during the year. I do have a Curiosity account, though. It's cheap, and they have good content. I don't watch it that much, though, probably because of where the app is located. So, I'm moving it to the 3 slot.

The next one is Hulu. I was surprised that it was so far down on the list. I've subscribed to Hulu since they sold subscriptions. I'm not subscribed at the moment, waiting for the queue to build up, and will likely subscribe again later this month or next month. I'll keep it until I'm all caught up, then let it lapse until I want to play catchup again.

Movies Anywhere is a favorite of mine, but it really doesn't bring much to the table since I started using Plex. All of my movie purchases are downloaded onto my Plex server, so I can watch them that way. I keep Movies Anywhere around, of course, but I don't use it that much. I do recommend it, however. Not everyone has all of their movies on a Plex (or similar) server. It's a great app and great service. I highly recommend it.

Pluto TV is next, and I really like it. I need to move it up the menu. Same with Prime Video and Pub-D-Hub. I've written about them before, and may again. I do watch it, but not as much as I really would, because it's so low on the menu. It's getting moved up.

Don't worry, I'm not going to list all 60 apps, but I will mention a few more. Tablo is a favorite, but at my house, I don't have it high on my Roku device for a reason. The antenna is at another location, and I have to access it across a different network. Tablo doesn't support watching from another network on Roku, but they do on Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android/Google TV. Tablo is the first app listed on Fire TV, for instance, and that's how I watch TV over the air. The Tablo device is at a different location, and I can't watch it on my Roku at home. I have a Roku at the other location, though, and use Roku to watch it there. So, I keep Tablo on my Roku menu. But at home, it's down on the list for a reason.

I was surprised to see Xumo so far down. Next to Pluto TV, it's my favorite free live streaming service. Tubi, to me, is not as useful as Xumo, but I know a lot of people like it. I keep it around, but not as high on the menu. Xumo is being moved higher though.

Peacock TV needs to be moved higher, but not too high. I hate the autoplay, and don't use it as much as I would.

All the news apps will stay down on the list. I never watch them, but I do keep them around. For now. I probably should delete them, since they aren't serving any purpose.

I think I'll take one day a week to go down on the menu and pull up one I like to watch. After a couple of months, I'll delete the apps that are at the bottom of the list. Unless there's a good reason to keep them. I can't think of a good reason, but I'm open to keeping something that might be useful.

For now, most of those apps aren't useful. I may end up removing them from my Streaming Life, as I try to get my streaming devices in order.

How to watch the College Football Playoff championship game

There have been 37 college bowl games/playoff games so far this year. More were scheduled, but five were canceled. The first two games were on December 17, and the 38th one, the national championship game, will be tonight. In all, 74 schools will have played games this post-season.

Streamers used to have a difficult time watching the games live -- at least legally -- but that changed in the 2015 season when the first live streaming service, Sling TV, launched. Now, there are several live streaming services, and you have lots of options when it comes to watching bowl games.

The Game

Monday, January 10

College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T

8:00 PM ESPN

Alabama vs Georgia

How to Watch

The game will be on a streaming service that carries ESPN. Here are the services for that network.

ESPN/ESPN2

ESPN carries many college games during the season. A few are carried on ESPN2. All services that carry ESPN also carry ESPN2:

• Sling Orange ($35)
• Vidgo ($55)
• YouTube TV ($65)
• Fubo ($65)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70)
• DirecTV Stream ($70)

The cheapest way to watch all of the bowl games is Sling Orange ($35).

Dropping Live TV Streaming

Every football season, I subscribe to a live streaming service, usually Sling TV, to watch football. Well, there's one more game left in the college football season, the national championship tomorrow night. After that's done, I drop Sling TV.

A lot of people use a live streaming service, some call it "Cable 2.0," year-round. I don't. There's nothing that I watch live year round. I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I can watch local channels via an antenna. I don't need YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, Fubo, or any other service that carries local channels. The fact that my go-to service for college football is Sling TV is because I don't need locals, and Sling TV doesn't carry locals. That's why it's so much cheaper than other services.

With no need for a live streaming service, I'm about to save $35/month by dropping Sling TV. And that's one thing I really like about streaming. All I have to go is go to the Website and cancel.

It's simple and straightforward. I won't get billed when the month ends, and I won't have access to those channels then either. Come next football season, I'll subscribe.

Of course, the way I do it isn't the only way. Even if you don't care about sports, you can still use this concept of subscribing and canceling throughout the year.

For example, I do the same thing with Hulu. Right now, I don't have a subscription. I will, I just don't at the moment. There are some shows I watch, but they aren't airing right now, or only a few are airing. In a month or two, there will be enough shows in the queue where it'll be worth it to subscribe again, and I will.

Doing it this way saves me some money. While there are things to watch on Sling TV -- or any other live streaming service -- I can find plenty to watch without the service year-round. Same thing with on-demand services such as Hulu. I could find something to watch right now, if I had a subscription. But without it, I still have stuff to watch, and when I do subscribe for a month a little later, I'll watch all the stuff that's only on Hulu. Then, I'll cancel again and save some money.

Is it a lot of work to do it this way? Isn't it simpler and easier to just subscribe and keep the subscription? Or subscribe for a year and save money? Sure, that's a viable option. But for me, the whole idea was to save money. I can subscribe at month-to-month prices for less than yearly discounted price because I won't subscribe as often. To me, the extra work pays off with saving money. I like saving money.

So, Hulu is not active at the moment, but will be in a month or two. Sling TV is about go to inactive, and will remain so until football season. It works for my Streaming Life, and keeps the costs down.