Snipping Satellites

My husband and I resolved to reduce our home entertainment budget for 2019.  To that end, immediately after Thanksgiving and upon a couple of recommendations gleaned from various tech podcasts I subscribe to, I ordered a Roku Premiere+ and installed it the first week of December.  Within a couple of days of installation, I signed us up for Hulu (with live TV and cloud DVR) and Philo, maintaining our existing Dish, Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions in place so we could do a one-to-one comparison for the entire month of December. By the middle of the month, we were no longer using Dish at all.  The day after Christmas, I cancelled our Dish and officially cut the cord, saving over half the cost and ending up with more entertainment options.  Netflix may be next on the chopping block but that will have to wait until we finish out January now since I neglected to cancel that streaming service before the autopay went through.  The real challenge will be next year’s F1 season for Terry.

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Article: Chromecast turns one: why this small streaming stick became such a big deal

Chromecast turns one: why this small streaming stick became such a big deal

http://gigaom.com/2014/07/24/chromecast-turns-one-why-this-small-streaming-stick-became-such-a-big-deal/

Happy Birthday Chromecast!

Best $35 I ever spent.  I’m looking forward to the updates promised in the article above.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Return of the Clone Wars

Those waiting for Clone Wars: The Lost Missions to get some kind of closure for the hit Star Wars cartoon won’t need to wait much longer. The never-before-seen final episodes will debut on Netflix on March 7th, and here’s the first clip featuring a very special cameo!

Netflix debuting 6th & Final Season on March 7th – io9

I first saw mention of this yesterday via my smartphone app feeds, but this was my first chance to really get the full picture.  Looking forward to March now, and not just for the snowmelt.

Article: Google’s Chromecast Is Open To All, So Bring On The Streaming Apps – ReadWrite

Google’s Chromecast Is Open To All, So Bring On The Streaming Apps – ReadWrite

http://readwrite.com/2014/02/04/google-chromecast-sdk-streaming-apps

Squee!  I see more apps using Chromecast in my future.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Article: Netflix Overhauls Its TV Interface To Create A Seamless Experience Across Connected Devices

Netflix Overhauls Its TV Interface To Create A Seamless Experience Across Connected Devices

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/11/13/netflix-overhauls-tv-interface-seeks-seamless-experience-users-across-connected-devices/

This will be interesting to try out with the Chromecast.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Product Review: Chromecast (4 stars)

Product:  Chromecast (link to Wikipedia article)

Apps supported at time of posting

4 out of 5 stars

Purchased in Oct 2013

I have an older plasma HD television (Panasonic 51″) that was highly rated by Consumer Reports at the time I purchased it (early 2008).  However, it was not a ‘smart’ TV and didn’t come with WiFi.  My AV Receiver is also showing its age (a Denon AVR 1508).  My biggest hangup with the Denon is the lack of HDMI inputs (only two) and the fact that it doesn’t repeat the audio signal supplied via the HDMI cable.  Next year I plan on upgrading to a better AV receiver with more inputs and functionality.

I am also a DirecTV subscriber, and have been for nearly as long as I’ve owned my plasma.  But I find myself watching less and less shows and channels provided by the hefty subscription cost (over $100 per month).  Too much crap and not enough quality.   I am also a Netflix subscriber (both DVD and streaming).  I decided a couple of weeks ago that I’d had enough and decided to risk some pocket change (less than $40) and purchase the Chromecast.

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