| While streaming video has a lot of things going for it, watching TV offline isn’t one of them.
Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu don’t work without internet access, and live TV services such as Sling TV and YouTube TV come with cloud-based DVRs that only work online. Those requirements can be a problem for some potential cord-cutters, particularly those who don’t have fast, dependable internet service at home.
That’s what makes PlayOn’s new Android TV app so intriguing. With certain streaming devices, such as Nvidia’s Shield TV or the new TiVo Stream 4K, you can record shows from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services, then download them for offline viewing. It’s a clever way to deal with internet speed limits and still have plenty to watch.
The only problem is PlayOn’s convoluted price structure, which can get expensive quickly. Read the full column on TechHive. |
| AT&T’s net neutrality attack: In an interview with The Verge this week, an AT&T executive revealed that streaming video from HBO Max won’t count against AT&T wireless customers’ data limits. (While other companies can technically pay AT&T for the same data cap exemptions, most don’t. AT&T, through its WarnerMedia unit, owns HBO and is effectively paying itself.)
By exempting its own service from data caps, AT&T is giving itself an unfair advantage against the likes of Netflix and other competitors. The move violates the concept of net neutrality, which holds that internet providers shouldn’t give certain services preferential treatment or put up toll roads between services and their customers. Doing so could lock out new competitors and harm innovation.
Five or 10 years ago, I would have been seething about this, but I’ve come to understand that the playing field for streaming services already tilts toward well-heeled incumbents in myriad other ways. Roku, for instance, uses its tremendous leverage to pressure content providers into giving up more ad revenue, and Amazon’s revenue cut from video subscriptions sold through Prime can range widely depending on who’s paying. HBO Max isn’t on Roku or Fire TV devices yet because the powerful companies involved are haggling over how to split up subscription and ad revenues. Even just partaking in the streaming wars can require vast amounts of capital for content licensing and production.
Besides, equality among streaming services seems sort of trivial in the grand scheme of things right now. Don’t get me wrong; AT&T is still doing a bad thing here, but it’s one bad thing in a sea of them.
HBO Max on Fire TV: if you want to get HBO Max on your Fire TV device right now, you can sideload the Android TV version of the app as a workaround. Over at TechHive, I’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to do that.
Bear in mind that you can’t sign up for HBO Max through the sideloaded app, so you’ll have to use an existing account to log in. If you’re not already getting Max as part of an existing HBO subscription, you can subscribe through the Max website.
Roku’s new TV guide: Over the past couple of years, Roku has steadily added more live streams to its Roku Channel app, so now it’s taking the next logical step and compiling them into one big TV guide. If you see a “Live TV” tile in the Roku Channel, it’ll take you to a cable-style grid with more than 100 live channels. (I don’t see this yet on my Roku devices, so it’s probably a gradual rollout.)
Before you get too excited, the channels themselves have practically no overlap with what you’d find on cable. Instead, the lineup is similar to what you’d find on other free live streaming services such as Pluto TV or Xumo, with a mix of news, lifestyle programming, and children’s content. It’s a welcome change, though, as Roku’s current way of navigating live streams has become unwieldly given the number of channels on offer.
Android TV’s next overhaul: Over at XDA-Developers, Mishaal Rahman has all kinds of leaked details on a future streaming dongle from Google. The device itself looks like an oversized Chromecast with a minimalist remote, and it will reportedly usher in a major, long-overdue overhaul for Google’s Android TV software. The home screen looks a bit similar to that of Amazon’s Fire TV devices, with a top navigation bar for personal recommendations, movies, TV shows, and live TV, and the latter will have a grid guide with YouTube TV integrated.
I still have a lot of questions though. There’s no sign of volume buttons on the remote, which would just be an inexplicable omission for a streaming device in 2020, and it’s unclear what the interface will look like as you scroll through it. I’m also wondering if the “Play Next” row be sorely underutilized by the vast majority of apps, as it is in the current version of Android TV.
Also worth noting: The leak is based on marketing materials that date back to October 2019, so things could still change before this device launches—whenever that might be. |
