Worst live TV streaming service?

I don't use live TV streaming services regularly. During football season, I use a service -- most of the time it's Sling TV -- to get access to ESPN. But for the majority of the year, I don't use a live TV streaming service.

Does this mean I'm not qualified to offer opinions on them? No. In fact, my low opinion of them is part of the reason I don't use one regularly. If I thought I got good value for the product, I'd use it more often. But, I can find the content I want without such a service.

When I recently saw a video on YouTube about the worst live TV streaming services, I was curious. And, after watching it, I gotta say, I have no disagreement with their thoughts and conclusions. I may have picked things in a slightly different order, but I think the opinion expressed is worth considering.

[YouTube]

I don't know how many people have one as part of their Streaming Life. If you use a live TV streaming service, I'd certainly be curious as to your thoughts.

Netflix wants to charge more for password sharing

Netflix has a problem. People have, for years, been sharing their Netflix password with others.

Now, before you say "so what?" you should keep in mind that Netflix only allows password sharing for those in the same household. That means that sharing your password with your parents (or grandparents) who live separately from you is a violation of Netflix terms of service (ToS).

Of course, it's often that the parents (or grandparents) are the ones actually paying for the service that the adult children (or grandchildren) are using. Both happen, but it appears that it's the younger ones who are freeloading, not the older ones, more often than not.

Regardless of which generation is paying the bill, the mere fact that multiple households are sharing the same Netflix account is a violation of Netflix ToS.

So, what does Netflix do about it? Well, nothing. At least, so far, they have done nothing. But they do want to do something.

According to a recent report, Netflix said that they want to charge more for password sharing.

"While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly," Netflix said in a statement. "As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don't live with."

In short, Netflix wants you to pay more in order to share your subscription with other people who do not live with you.

This is not new, as Netflix has been busy working to stop the free sharing of passwords between friends and family members. Now instead of stopping it, Netflix is hoping you will just pay a little bit more to be able to share passwords.

In South America, Netflix has already started to test this by promoting users they suspect of sharing their passwords with an option to buy an extra sub-account. However, it has reportedly not been going well, as many have not opted to pay the extra fee voluntarily.

Most people simply won't pay if they aren't forced to. That's because most people are awful. Now, if that hits you, then that's your problem, not mine. I don't use Netflix a lot, so I am not impacted by this. But when I do use Netflix, I'm still not impacted by this. I don't share my password with others.

I did share it in years past, but I stopped doing that. It's not that I'm not nice -- I am actually a nice person -- but that I don't believe in violating ToS. If Netflix does what they did in South America and roll out a voluntary fee for password sharing, and if I were a regular subscriber, I would pay the fee if I were to share with family.

I'm all about saving money. That's the reason I started streaming and dropped cable over a decade ago. But I'm not going to violate ToS and essentially steal from Netflix. It's a matter of doing the right thing. I'll save money where I can, but I won't steal from others. My Streaming Life doesn't include the cost of my character.

Plex streaming overtakes Plex media server

A recent article and recent news release shows that Plex, which is my choice for a home media server, is now more of a streaming service than media server. And that worries me in a way.

First, let me say that I've seen nothing from Plex that makes me want to switch to a different media server platform. I really like having all my movies available on Plex.

However, according to a recent article, which included comments from Scott Hancock, Plex’s vice president of marketing, Plex is fully aware of the shift in usage, and may be focusing more on the streaming platform going forward:

While Plex's ambitions now stretch well beyond the media server, Hancock said the company hasn’t abandoned the server side of its business.

"We have resources dedicated to both, I guess I'll put it that way," he said. "It's not that we're not focused on one or the other."

To that end, users should expect some improvements to Plex Pass features such as downloads this year, along with a greater focus on Plexamp, Plex's standalone music player for folks who have their own music collections. (It also serves as an alternative interface for Tidal.) This year, the company plans to bring Plexamp to more devices while also refining its existing apps for iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows.

It is encouraging that Plex isn't abandoning the media server in favor of its live streaming platform. I hope that remains the case. Plex has been a part of my Streaming Life for some time, and I really enjoy the Plex media server.

Antenna range and outrageous claims

A few times, I started to write about the range some TV antenna brands and stores claim for their products. Many times, more than most people realize, the claims are out and out lies.

However, I haven't actually written about this to the degree I wanted, mostly because it's a lot of work and I'm lazy, but also because there are many other resources that provide good information. Why should I write something that is no better than what someone else wrote?

One good resource for this kind of information is actually a Website that doesn't sell TV antennae, but is dependent on a good TV antenna in order for their product to work well. I'm talking about Tablo.

Tablo is a good quality DVR that records over the air TV from an antenna, and can put the TV signal, as well as its DVR content, on your network. I'm a fan of Tablo.

Earlier this month, Tablo posted another article on TV antenna range claims. It gives some good information, and posts links to other good information.

Antenna mileage ratings are at best an estimation of how far away you can be from your local broadcast towers and still get a signal. At worst, they're lies told by disreputable antenna manufacturers to dupe consumers into purchasing lower-quality products. The Tablo article lays it out well:

A general rule of thumb is that beyond 70-80 miles, the curvature of the earth will limit ANY antenna's ability to 'see' your local broadcast towers. The larger and the higher up your antenna is, the more likely you'll be able to push those mileage limits. Anything more would be breaking the laws of physics.

If you didn't realize that TV antenna claims are often bogus, hopefully you now know. If you've been looking at getting an antenna, do the work and make sure about what it is you get. You don't want to spend any money and get nothing for it, or even less than you could for the money.

A TV antenna is a great addition to just about anyone's Streaming Life, and with a little work, it can make a world of difference.

New Chromecast with Google TV?

I said last Spring that I so wanted to like Chromecast with Google TV, but had a hard time liking it.

When I first tried it out, I did like it. However, it didn't remain a favorite for long. After a few months use, it became apparent that the device didn't match up to Roku in a couple of ways.

Most prominently was the fact that the storage for apps was small, even though it was larger than Roku devices at the time. The main difference is the way the two platforms handled apps.

On Roku, if you run out of space, Roku will remove the oldest app (in terms of how long it's been since you launched it) to make room for the newer app. Only, they still left a shortcut on your device, meaning that if you went to run the older app again, it acted as if it was still there, removed the oldest remaining app, and re-downloaded the app again for you to use it.

The effect was that it seemed as if the storage was never full, because it managed the storage space so well.

Other devices, including Chromecast with Google TV, don't manage storage well. They won't let you download apps if the device is full. You have to remove an app, which takes it from your menu. It's a pain, and the way Roku handles it, it's not a pain at all.

The device could use a bump in storage. And it could use a couple of other improvements as well, but the storage is the big thing.

Good news may be coming down the pike soon. According to 9to5Google, a new Chromecast device is in the works.

In the latest preview update to the Google Home app, the company includes early preparation for a new Google TV device, referred to as “YTC.” Elsewhere in the code, it’s directly confirmed that this is indeed a “Chromecast with Google TV” — alongside previous models “YTV” (Chromecast with Google TV) and “YTB” (Chromecast HD).

Considering Google has already released a lower-end model of Chromecast, we believe the company is on schedule to release something with a higher set of specs to replace its current flagship offering. For now, though, we’re not able to confirm any specs of Google’s next Chromecast.

At a bare minimum, we’d like to see Google include more storage on the next Chromecast with Google TV. The processor should also see an upgrade, as Android TV somewhat recently changed its hardware requirements.

We’d also love to see the next Chromecast include a second USB-C port for plugging in accessories or additional storage. To do this today, you need to purchase a USB-C dock/dongle with passthrough power, and this also prevents you from using Google’s official power adapter with Ethernet.

It would be great if the Chromecast got an upgrade, and got it soon. I so want to like the Chromecast with Google TV, but it just gets annoying after a bit. Some upgrades would make it something I would use, and recommend, for both my and your Streaming Life.