Podcast HomeTheaterUnited Podcast Episode 14 - Todd Erwin on Streaming Frustrations (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

(I added spoiler tags above for >S6 The Expanse story. Please be mindful of spoilers for those of us not reading ahead.

 

[DaveF]

I think using the TV as a streaming device is fine if you’re planning to use TV audio and aren’t counting on any functionality to be added beyond what works when the set is brand new. I never recommend using a TV’s built in apps if the goal is to send the sound from the TV to a receiver. It just seems people tie themselves in knots trying to get ARC or the like to work when a $40 box will solve the problem, and I think people undervalue their own time as part of that equation - if you spend hours trying to get it to work on a routine basis, that’s a sunk cost too.

My 2019 LG gets regular updates and has an App Store for its webOS apps.

My 2020 Sony runs AndroidTV, seems to get regular updates, and I think is based on the same system that runs any other AndroidTV device.

I think the idea that TV’s are stuck with outdated apps from day one is becoming outdated.

I’ll be trying eARC when I can buy a new receiver, but the Denon I want is in low stock, so I haven’t bought yet.

 

[DaveF]

Her: When does our one month subscription to hbo end? When do we have to cancel it?
Me: ... uhm... four days ago... So, March.
Her: Ok, Guess we’ve got time to watch Raised By Wolves.

That’s the risk with all these services

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[DaveF]

I have too many streaming services and cable. 25-year old me would freak out over my lavish spending. But 25 year old me didn’t have a job and I could probably explain to him that he can afford it a couple decades in the future.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yeah and @Todd Erwin twisted my arm into getting the ad free launch paramount+ deal now too. So I can skip the ads ridden version of the stand on Hulu and catch up on all the Trek I’ve missed.

But it’s not sustainable. I cancelled Criterion but now have Disney, HBo max, Netflix, Hulu and Paramount/CBS. Unless there are price drops and consolidation cbs is a one year deal for me and Hulu is next on the chopping block.

 

[John Dirk]

I have too many streaming services and cable. 25-year old me would freak out over my lavish spending. But 25 year old me didn’t have a job and I could probably explain to him that he can afford it a couple decades in the future.

Understood but I'd rather give than $$ to Anthem for their new AVM70 when the time comes, so I skimp on streaming services and use an OTA antenna.

 

[JohnRice]

Understood but I'd rather give than $$ to Anthem for their new AVM70 when the time comes, so I skimp on streaming services and use an OTA antenna.

I agree there. I've saved a lot of $ over the years by using OTA. Now I do have three streaming services, but one is Prime which is an automatic for me. I had it long before it had streaming, so it doesn't really count.

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah and @Todd Erwin twisted my arm into getting the ad free launch paramount+ deal now too. So I can skip the ads ridden version of the stand on Hulu and catch up on all the Trek I’ve missed.

He mentioned a one year $25 intro offer, but on their site I only see a $50 (1/2 price) offer. I'd give it a shot for $25.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

so I skimp on streaming services and use an OTA antenna.

100%

 

[DaveF]

Understood but I'd rather give than $$ to Anthem for their new AVM70 when the time comes, so I skimp on streaming services and use an OTA antenna.

For me, circa 2020, cable, much less OTA, no longer has the good shows. My TiVo is getting les and less use. The best shows are streaming. For that and other reasons, OTA or even a cable sub is no longer sufficient for someone like me who loves “TV”.

 

[DaveF]

But I say that from a very different place than 20 years ago when I afforded was OTA, or even OTA + “lifeline” cable.. Jump my younger self forward to now, maybe I’d do OTA and either Netflix or Amazon Prime and no $10/mo cable. Or I’d skip OTA, skip the TiVo, and do Netflix or Prime. Maybe I’d be changing streaming services monthly to get the shows I wanted as available and of interest.

 

[DaveF]

Yeah and @Todd Erwin twisted my arm into getting the ad free launch paramount+ deal now too. So I can skip the ads ridden version of the stand on Hulu and catch up on all the Trek I’ve missed.

But it’s not sustainable. I cancelled Criterion but now have Disney, HBo max, Netflix, Hulu and Paramount/CBS. Unless there are price drops and consolidation cbs is a one year deal for me and Hulu is next on the chopping block.

@Todd Erwin Any announcement by Paramount on how long this promo will be available? I’ve got a CBSAA annual sub through Sept this year. After that, I’d be open to do the new-user switcharoo to get a $25 trial year to save a few dollars, CBS has gone from ”ignore yet another dumb service” to “must have” for me.

 

[John Dirk]

But I say that from a very different place than 20 years ago when I afforded was OTA, or even OTA + “lifeline” cable.. Jump my younger self forward to now, maybe I’d do OTA and either Netflix or Amazon Prime and no $10/mo cable. Or I’d skip OTA, skip the TiVo, and do Netflix or Prime. Maybe I’d be changing streaming services monthly to get the shows I wanted as available and of interest.

The future is streaming for sure but I guess I'm an oddball because I prefer to watch "new" shows a few years down the road and also love catching up on older shows I may have missed during their original runs. For this, Netflix has proven mostly sufficient. I tend to view streaming similar to how I view music. There's just so much existing content out there I missed along the way that I could spend the rest of my life trying and never be fully caught up. As new shows emerge, they have to get in line. Good times...

 

[DaveF]

... As new shows emerge, they have to get in line. Good times...

I’ve been declaring “streaming bankruptcy”.

I fell behind on the Netflix Marvel series. I never got to Jessica Jones S2, Luke Cage S2, etc. And I finally admitted to myself that we weren’t going to watch them, there was too much new stuff coming out, and I’d rather get to the new stuff. So I took a bunch of shows off my “watchlist” and moved on.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’ve noticed my viewing habits have changed in recent years, even before the kids came along. I used to look for things to watch because I already had the channel or streaming service, and that would be my justification for watching. “I already pay for HBO, so I might as well check out this new show” sorts thing. Now, I tend to go where the content I want is, and cut and run once that content has completed its run. That something is already on a service I have isn’t incentive enough to watch something else on it as filler.

As a practical matter, it means at this exact second, there aren’t any shows airing new episodes that I’m currently watching. In years past, I’d watch something new I was less enthused with just for the sake of it. Now, with so much content available from so many providers, if there’s not a new show, I’ll move on to something from my seemingly bottomless pile of things to watch.

I too have given up on a lot of things I felt I was “supposed” to watch. The Marvel Netflix shows are a good example. I couldn’t get into Daredevil when it started and then you can’t watch the next show without seeing that one, so it sort of cascaded into there being all of this interconnected content growing into more than I could catch up with, and then it got separated from the movie continuity and got canceled so there’s just no reason for me to ever go back to it.

Dave, you’ll probably be disappointed to know that I tried giving The Expanse another try and failed. I once again could not make it through the first episode.

At any rate, all of this is still cheaper than cable used to be. Before we cut the cord, cable with no premium channel add ons was over $100 a month. I haven’t added any new streaming services since I cut cable and the ones we have come in at less than $100 a month combined even when everything I could possibly subscribe to is active at once. I’m saving big time.

I miss having new shows to look forward to on a weekly basis but there’s just not really anything grabbing my interest at the moment.

 

[JohnRice]

...and no $10/mo cable.

When was cable ever $10/month?

 

[Sam Posten]

He mentioned a one year $25 intro offer, but on their site I only see a $50 (1/2 price) offer. I'd give it a shot for $25.

Last chance to save 50% on a 1-year Paramount Plus subscription

Use this promo code to get your first year of service for as little as $30.

www.cnet.com

He’s mistaken. $50 for ad free for a year.

@startrekcbs is very good. But the buffering is killing me. I have gigabit fios and the service can’t feed a clean stream

 

[Sam Posten]

@Todd Erwin Any announcement by Paramount on how long this promo will be available? I’ve got a CBSAA annual sub through Sept this year. After that, I’d be open to do the new-user switcharoo to get a $25 trial year to save a few dollars, CBS has gone from ”ignore yet another dumb service” to “must have” for me.

Promo ends 3 march

 

[Sam Posten]

I cancelled Criterion but now have Disney, HBo max, Netflix, Hulu and Paramount/CBS. Unless there are price drops and consolidation cbs is a one year deal for me and Hulu is next on the chopping block.

I didn’t count AppleTV+ and Prime because they are “free” but yeah that makes seven services for me, not 5. Which is 4 too many