Should you buy a smart TV?

When I cut the cord a dozen years ago, I didn't have a smart TV.

Well, I did, but I didn't. Let me explain.

At the time, my TV was a Sony Bravia, which had an option to add on a piece of hardware that gave it smart TV functionality. Of course, that was a dozen years ago, and the smart TV functionality was nothing like you find today.

Adding a Roku box and an Apple TV box gave me what I needed to stream, and I still use Roku devices today. I bought smart TVs in the intervening time, running various platforms, but always put a Roku device on them, as that was and is my platform of choice. I didn't buy them because they were smart TVs. I bought them because they were TVs, and I didn't care what platform they ran. I got a smart TV because that's what they're selling these days, not because of the platform. I just wanted a good picture and sound. As I said, I put a Roku on them, and I was good to go.

Recently, I bought a Roku TV. I wanted a new TV for the guest bedroom, and Roku TVs were on sale, so that's the one I got. Good picture, decent sound, and that's all that mattered. The fact that it has built-in Roku is a bonus.

But, that may leave you wondering if you need to buy a smart TV if you want to stream. The answer is no, but you may end up with one anyway. Just because it has one platform on it doesn't prevent you from putting your own favorite platform on it. I always put Roku on the Google TV or Fire TV devices I had.

Recently, Melanie Mayberry from TV Answer Man answered the question about if a smart TV was needed:

Do You Need a Smart TV to Cut the Cord?

The short answer is no. You don’t necessarily need a Smart TV to cut the cord. While a Smart TV offers convenience by eliminating the need for additional devices, it is not the only way to access streaming services. There are alternative methods available to transform your regular TV into a smart one...

I added a Roku to my TV, and my son added an Xbox to his, when he started streaming. He now uses Apple TV. The bottom line is you can add whatever you want to a TV if it doesn't have the platform you want.

My Streaming Life is mostly Roku, because I want Roku. And while I do have one Roku TV, I have Google TV devices with a Roku attached. But I could easily have an old fashioned TV with no built in smarts, and be just fine.

Cutting back on streaming services

A new report from Hub Entertainment Research indicates that consumers are cutting back on streaming services. The main reason is cost.

I'm not surprised, as I found out a while back that the number of streaming services can run up a bill pretty quickly. I've cut back on my streaming services in a couple of ways.

First, let's talk about the new report. Kayla Wassell from Cord Cutters News had an article recently that looked into the May report from Hub Entertainment Research. And she says cost is driving it:

Hub states "Complexity is as big of a limitation to new subscriptions as cost," with 82 percent of respondents claiming budget is one of many factors contributing to selecting a platform. The study showed that even if consumers could afford to subscribe to every platform, there’s still a clearly defined limit to the number they’re willing to have on board.

Roughly half of consumers' "total entertainment ecosystem" are considered must-haves. These include video, audio, gaming, social media, podcasts, reading, and other categories of entertainment. Hub reports the average household uses 12.7 different sources, which is consistent with last year’s findings. Households with kids used an average of 16.3 sources, while younger consumers used around 15.8 sources.

Of these entertainment sources, respondents reported only half to be vital to their households and the rest as perks they could live without if needed.

I have cut back over the years. One of the major things I did was to rotate services. I would subscribe to one service a month, cancel, then subscribe to a different service. I would rotate through a collection of services, and over a year, watch content from them all, at a fraction of the cost.

Lately, I've simply cut back. I found that I wasn't watching as much content from the subscription services, so rather than continue to pay for something I wasn't watching, I decided to pause subscriptions. I haven't subscribed to a service this month, and it's looking like I won't subscribe next month either. I've been watching mostly free ad-supported television (FAST) services.

Now, to be sure, I do have Peacock TV, but that is because I get it with Xfinity Internet service. That stops later this month, however, and I haven't decided to continue the service.

I also have Paramount+ as part of my Walmart+ subscription. I will keep that as long as I have Walmart+ and it's included. If they drop it, I may let it lapse as well.

I've had Amazon Prime for years, well before they launched Prime Video streaming, so as I plan to keep Amazon Prime, I'll continue to get Prime Video, but if it wasn't included with the other benefits, I wouldn't keep it.

Hulu is on hold. Apple TV+ stops when my free three months ends next month. AMC+ will end soon, as will Starz. Those last two were subscriptions for others that won't be renewed.

I will likely renew Frndly TV, which I've had since it launched and replaced the old Hallmark Feeln service.

My Streaming Life has included subscription services for some time. It will have fewer going forward.

So what's with all the YouTube videos?

You may have noticed a lot of YouTube videos from different sources being posted recently. If so, and if you've wondered why this all of a sudden, the answer if simple: I'm off doing family stuff.

I haven't had the opportunity to take any of the grandchildren to a theme park in quite some time. However, the opportunity to take my son and his family, so I did. And now I'm back. Did you miss me? No? Oh well.

I wrote this post, and the other recent posts, in the days ahead of the trip. I wrote stuff that wasn't time-sensitive. It's all good stuff, or at least stuff that I think is useful and interesting. And it allows me to keep content posted every day. And it allows me to focus on the family for these few days.

My Streaming Life is important to me. The kids are more important.

Comparing live TV streaming services

Michael Saves is a YouTube channel that covers saving money with cord cutting. It's a pretty good one.

I don't always agree with his recommendations, but they are valid things to consider. The main thing is that he's a huge fan of YouTube TV, while I think that you can easily watch what you want a lot cheaper. He favors simplicity over price, and for many people, that's what they want as well. Of course, that's also why YouTube TV is more than double it's original price.

Still, he does a good job of comparing the major subscription live TV streaming services:

[YouTube]

My Streaming Life doesn't include a monthly live streaming cable replication service. But if that's what you want, his thoughts on them are pretty much on the mark.

Pirate TV boxes

I've been critical of those IPTV boxes for some time. They are simply ways to pirate content.

I've found out along the way that a lot of people don't care. They want something cheap, and don't care if it's illegal or not. And because people, either out of ignorance or because of questionable morals, are willing to pay money for pirate TV boxes, TV pirates will continue to sell them.

Linux Tech Tips recently looked at a bunch of those pirate TV boxes, and discovered something they didn't expect: malware. Lots and lots of malware.

[YouTube]

My Streaming Life doesn't involve these IPTV boxes. Never has. If yours has, maybe you'll stop. If not because it's the right thing to do, then out of self-preservation.

Be wary of browser extensions

Browser extensions can be a good thing. But browser extensions can be a bad thing. A very bad thing.

I'm not trying to scare anyone, so don't get the wrong idea. However, it is important to be aware that browser extensions come with risks.

[YouTube]

To be sure, I use some browser extensions. I use the BitWarden password manager extensions. I also use a Gmail extension from Google when I use the Chrome browser. But that's it.

My Streaming Life doesn't often involve using a browser, but when I do use a browser, whether for streaming or not, then I want to be safe and secure. As a result, I rarely use browser extenions.

Streaming prices increasing

The writers strike could be a contributor to streaming prices going up. That's according to an analysis from Cord Cutters News that was posted this week.

According to the report by Kayla Wassell, the strike is hitting traditional TV hard, and streaming TV isn't immune from the effects:

Traditional linear television is taking a harder hit than connected TV, which GroupM expects to jump up 11.6 percent by 2024. Linear television, on the other hand, has dropped 4.7 percent to $62.8 billion. Connected TV is swiping subscribers from traditional linear television, essentially. But overall, cord cutting is a big player in all of this. Fewer cable subscribers mean less ad revenue, an open feedback loop in a sense.

Streaming services use ad-revenues to keep subscription costs down. As that money supply dries up, it is very likely some services will be forced to raise prices.

None if this is good for consumers. My Streaming Life doesn't use a lot of subscription services. I'm focusing more on free ad-supported content (FAST) services at the moment. However, this will impact others as it's making a bad situation worse.