Roku TV, for real

Over the years, there have been different iterations of Roku TVs.

Ten years ago, there were Roku Ready TVs, which were TVs with an MHL port. If you don't know about MHL ports, they are variations of HDMI that include more power, and worked with Roku Sticks model 3400. You could buy the TVs that essentially had sticks installed. Some had the sticks visible, and some had the sticks behind the rear panel, hidden from view.

Roku later licensed their software to TV manufacturers to build TVs branded as Roku TVs. That's the current situation. But it's not the future situation.

Roku recently announced a new line of Roku TVs, that Roku itself will make.

A smart TV made by Roku just makes sense. When we combine our streaming leadership with our hardware expertise, it progresses the overarching ambition to innovate across the TV experience, benefiting all streamers with a Roku TV.

Available in 11 models ranging from 24” to 75”, the new Roku Select and Plus Series TVs will focus on the features that streamers have come to love, including access to free live TV, news, and sports, plus fan-favorite features like Find My Remote and Private Listening. All Select Series TVs include the Roku Voice Remote with push-to-talk controls, and all Plus Series TVs include the Roku Voice Remote Pro featuring hands-free voice commands. Additionally, the all-new Roku TV Wireless Soundbar offers simple and wire-free home theater setup.

I don't know if the third-party Roku TVs will remain. I've not been particularly fond of the Roku TVs I've used. I've never purchased one, but I've used one -- or more than one -- and they're okay, but just okay.

I also don't know if I'll purchase a Roku TV Select or Plus series TV (the ones Roku will make), since I don't need a TV. But I am looking forward to getting my hands on one. It's won't be a part of my Streaming Life any time soon. But I'm not opposed to it.

Revisitng Netflix ad-supported service

Back in November, I tried Netflix with Ads. It went well.

I was very happy with the service, as I everything I watched played without issue, and the ads were inserted in a odd, thoughtful way. That is to say, at breaks in the action, and not in the middle of a scene or sentence as some services have done.

Netflix did ads right.

I recommended it as a cheaper alternative to regular Netflix Basic. However, I didn't realize that my testing was incomplete.

Some Netflix content, including some original content, is not available on the ad-supported version. I didn't run across this in my testing, but it came to my attention recently.

So, I subscribed for another month, and sure enough, some content was not available. Once I knew what content specifically to look for, I found that to be the case.

That means I take back my recommendation. Well, kinda. I still suggest Netflix with Ads as a cheaper alternative, because, like me, you may not have any unsupported content that you want to watch. But, if you do, it's easy enough to switch to the Basic plan, then switch back. Yes, there will be a little bit of a cost involved, or at least, a delay in switching back, but that strategy can save you some money.

When I do Netflix, I'll do the ad supported version, then upgrade to the Basic plan if there is content I want to watch that requires it. I'm no aware of what I need to do.

That may be too much work for some people, but it's really not too much for me. I don't mind doing a few extra steps once a month in order to save some money in my Streaming Life.

Fubo to add Bally Sports networks

Somehow, during Christmas, New Year's, and bowl season, I missed a pretty big announcement. Fubo TV is adding Bally Sports networks to its lineup.

You may recall that many live streaming services carries Fox Sport networks. Fox and some carriers didn't renew agreement, and Fox eventually sold off their regional sports networks (RSNs), which were rebranded as Bally Sports networks.

For a while, DirecTV Stream -- and all its earlier names, such as AT&T TV Now, DirecTV Now, and others -- has been the only way to get Bally Sports. Bally did launch a direct to consumer service, but only five of the RSNs go so far as to carry major league baseball, though others expected to join.

During the latter part of December, Bally and Fubo TV announced that they had an agreement to carry Bally Sports RSNs on the streaming service. This is a big deal, as Fubo hasn't carried Bally Sports, or actually its predecessor Fox Sports, in three years. But that will change soon:

While a firm date is not yet known, Bally Sports Networks will be available in the coming weeks. We will update this page when a confirmed date is available.

If you are in a region eligible to receive Bally Sports Network programming, you will not need to make changes to your subscription. The channel will automatically be added to your Fubo TV Pro, Elite, or Ultimate English channel package.

Note that the $70 Pro plan is part of the deal. Unlike DirecTV Stream, Fubo will carry the Balls RSNs on all plans. With DirecTV Stream, you have to get the $90 or higher plan for the RSNs.

Fubo has promoted itself as THE place for sports, but missing the RSNs has been a huge gap in programming. The deal with Bally Sports makes Fubo more of what they claim to be, and possibly an important part of your Streaming Life.

Watching the bowl games, Day 15

There are 42 college bowl games and playoff games this year. The bowl season kicked off December 16 and concludes with the national championship game on January 9. In all, 82 schools will be playing games this post-season.

Streamers college football is a lot easier than it used to be -- legally that is -- and today you have many options options when it comes to watching the bowl games.

January 2, 2023

Four games are scheduled today. Two are between two ranked teams, and two games involve one ranked team.

ReliaQuest Bowl
12:00 PM on ESPN 2

Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science (22) (8-4)
vs
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (8-4)

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
1:00 PM on ESPN

Tulane University of Louisiana (16) (11-2)
vs
University of Southern California (10) (11-2)

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
1:00 PM on ABC

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College (17) (9-4)
vs
Purdue University (8-5)

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential
5:00 PM on ESPN

Pennsylvania State University (11) (19-2)
vs
University of Utah (8) (10-3)

How to watch

To stream the gameS, you need one of the following service.

ABC

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70/month.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

ESPN/ESPN2

• Sling Orange, $40/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $55/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70/month.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

If watching college football bowl games is something you want in your Streaming Life, you have plenty of options.

It's 2023

Are you a streamer?

I don't know the answer to that question, but it's either yes or no. Even then, it's not quite that simple.

If you aren't a streamer, then you aren't taking full advantage of the technology available to you. But, that may not be a bad thing. Using technology simply for the sake of using it shouldn't be a thing. You should use the technology only if it makes it a better situation overall.

If you still have cable, and if that works for you, then you're happy. You'll have to deal with people like me suggesting you switch to streaming, but we're really telling you what works for us. Some of us -- not me -- insist that you change because they can't imagine that any way other than the way they do it can be right.

Me? No, I'm not going to insist you change. I will tell you that I'm happy with my change. It was 12 years ago this month that I dropped cable, and I've never regretted it. But, that may not be the way for you to do.

However, if you've wondered about it, considered it, but weren't sure how to start, or check it out to see if it's what you might want, today is as good a day as any to try it.

On the other hand, any other day is just as good. There's nothing special about January 1. Yes, it's a new year, and that represents a new beginning, a starting over, and all kinds of things. But all those things can be done any time.

If you choose to pick today, or this week, or just 2023 in general, as a beginning of a Streaming Life, then you may find it to be quite satisfying. I have.