This week on TechHive: Does your smart TV need a streaming device?
When buying a new TV—perhaps around Black Friday—there’s one dilemma you’ll face right after taking it out of the box: Do you stick with the built-in smart TV software, or plug in a separate streaming player instead?
Both approaches have their merits. You might get better performance and broader app support from an external streaming player, but your smart TV’s software might offer features that you can’t get by plugging in a Fire TV Stick or Roku.
If you’re not sure whether to get a streaming player to use with your smart TV, I’ve got some pointers on how to decide. Read the column over on TechHive.
Weekly rewind
Easier Android TV app installs: If you have a Chromecast with Google TV or any other Android TV device, you’ve always been able to remotely install apps to your TV from the Google Play Store website. Now, you can do the same through the Google Play Store on an Android phone. Just look up any streaming video app, hit the down arrow next to the install button, then select your TV or streaming device from the list.
As a friendly reminder, you can also remotely install Fire TV apps from the Amazon Appstore website, and you can send apps to your Roku from the Roku Channel Store website. No such luck for Apple TV.
Vidgo’s DVR option: This story’s a bit complicated, so bear with me. Vidgo is a $55 per month live TV streaming service with an unusual mix of channels. When I reviewed it earlier this year, I found its interface crude, and it didn’t include any DVR service, but I thought its mix of sports, news, and entertainment channels might scratch a few itches.
Stremium is a separate service that provides a cloud DVR for live streaming sources. I wrote about it two years ago when it was called FitzyTV, before its carriage of cable channel streams led to legal disputes.
These two companies have now come together to launch Stremium+, a $60 per month service that combines Vidgo’s channels with Stremium’s cloud-based DVR. (The service is misleadingly advertised as starting at $55 per month, but DVR costs $5 per month per 25 hours of storage.) It has apps for Android TV and Fire TV, along with a private Roku channel. I’ll be interested in trying this out when the usual holiday madness dies down, but in the meantime, Stremium’s offering a 7-day free trial if you’re feeling brave.
More catch-up
- Amazon Prime Video gets a Mac app with offline viewing support.
- Amazon mulls another name change for IMDb TV.
- Drama for Disney+ as execs consider more adult-oriented fare.
- NBC and Telemundo lock down Premier League rights through 2028.
- Dish and Sinclair make a deal, no regional sports included.
- The FTC may crack down on hard-to-cancel subscriptions. (Perhaps DirecTV should take note.)
Save more money
Black Friday deals have arrived early for Roku players, Amazon Fire TV devices, and other assorted cord cutting gear.
If you’re on team Roku, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is the one to buy. Amazon has it for $29 instead of $50, and Amazon Prime credit card holders get 10% cash back instead of the usual 5%. (It’s also on sale from other major retailers.) Check my review for more details.
Fire TV diehards should instead opt for the new Fire TV Stick 4K Max, on sale for the first time at $35 instead of $55. Even if you don’t have a 4K TV, it’s a lot faster than other Fire TV Sticks. Here’s my review.
And if you prefer the Chromecast with Google TV, you can still get it for $90 with six prepaid months of Netflix, effectively bringing the price to $6. Alternatively, get it for $65 with three months of HBO Max, free with a month of Sling TV (minimum $35), or $40 by itself. Here’s my review.
Other deals worth noting:
- TCL’s 65-inch LED Roku TV is on sale for $700, or upgrade to Mini-LED for $898.
- The Amazon Fire TV Cube with hands-free Alexa control is back down to last year’s Black Friday price of $80.
- The Roku Streambar, a streaming player that doubles as a soundbar, hits a new low price of $80.
- The old Chromecast with no remote is on sale for $20, or get the 4K version with a Stadia game controller for $22.
- New subscribers can get three months of Showtime and Amazon Music Unlimited for $1 per month.
- More Tablo over-the-air DVR deals: Get the Tablo Quad with 1 TB of built-in storage for $205, or bring your own storage for $165. Here’s my review.
Thanks for reading!
Just a heads up that next week’s issue of Cord Cutter Weekly will be shorter and sweeter than usual barring any major unforeseen developments. I’ll have a Black Friday-related TechHive column to share and possibly a few extra deals to point out, but otherwise I’ll be doing my best not to work through the long holiday weekend. In the meantime, have a lovely Thanksgiving!
Cheers,
Jared
Cord Cutter Weekly is a labor of love by tech journalist Jared Newman. Say hi on Twitter, and spread the word that there’s a better kind of TV out there.