This week on TechHive: An underrated Roku trick
One of the best ways to make your Roku stick or smart TV feel faster is incredibly easy to miss.
With Roku’s fast forward, rewind, and play buttons, you can do a lot more than control video playback. These three buttons can also help you speed through menus and avoid repeatedly clicking the directional pad to get around.
While upgrading to a new streaming player is still the best way to deal with a slow or unresponsive Roku, using your remote’s shortcut buttons will at least alleviate the problem. And it’ll feel like a speed boost even if you have one of Roku’s latest and greatest devices. Read the full column on TechHive.
Also on TechHive: Earlier this month, some TiVo DVR users started getting ominous emails from Spectrum, saying that their CableCARDs would “not be compatible with future service upgrades.”
I know a lot of potential cord cutters are clinging to cable for the TiVo experience, so I decided to investigate. While having a backup plan is always wise, it turns out that the demise of CableCARD for Spectrum users isn’t as imminent as those emails make it seem.
Weekly rewind
Bally Sports+ arrives (sort of): Sinclair has finally launched a standalone streaming service for its regional Bally Sports networks, but only in five markets. For $20 per month or $190 per year, Bally Sports+ offers live, in-market games for the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, or Tampa Bay Rays without a big pay TV bundle.
If you’re in one of those markets, you can start a seven-day trial at ballysports.com. The service is currently available on Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and mobile devices, with Roku support due to arrive in July. (In the meantime, Roku users may be able to stream video from an iPhone or iPad to the TV using AirPlay.)
Until now, DirecTV Stream’s $90 per month tier has been the only streaming option for Bally Sports channels, so the launch of a cheaper standalone service is a big deal, and it follows the launch of NESN 360, a $30 per month service for Boston sports coverage, earlier this month.
Still, the situation with other Bally Sports markets is a bit murky. Sinclair plans to launch in more markets this fall, with coverage for 12 NHL teams and 16 NBA teams, but it’s unclear if other MLB teams will get on board by then. Local baseball seems unlikely to see a full unbundling until next season.
Schedule your TV viewing: My pal JR Raphael writes a great newsletter called Android Intelligence, which is how I found out about a useful tool called Episode Calendar. This lets you create a list of shows to watch, then view the schedule for new episodes in a calendar view. You can also add the schedule to your Google Calendar, iCloud Calendar, or other calendar services through the “RSS/iCal feeds” section of the settings menu.
Episode Calendar works for both cable and streaming shows, which is helpful as many streaming services (aside from Netflix) have been leaning towards weekly episodic releases. The service is free to use for up to 20 shows, after which it costs $4 per month, $12 per year, or $36 for life. Check it out if you need help keeping track of where and when to watch things.
More catch-up
- Philo adds Decades and Start TV to its lineup.
- Frndly TV adds a few helpful features, including an alphabetical grid guide.
- YouTube TV brings surround sound support to Fire TV devices.
- This neat browser extension lets you watch Netflix movies side-by-side with their screenplays.
Save more money
New Paramount+ codes are here, both for new subscribers and former ones whose subscriptions have expired. If you’re signing up through the website, use either SUMMER or PLAYERS to get a free month of service, even on the ad-free tier. This story of mine has more details.
Speaking of free content, Sling TV subscribers will be able to watch select premium channels at no extra charge over the summer. Showtime is up first this weekend, with free previews for Epix, Hallmark Movies Now, Curiosity Stream, Sundance Now, and AMC+ to follow.
A few other deals:
- The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is back to its usual $39 sale price.
- Or, get the Roku Express 4K for $30. (This article will help you pick between the two.)
- The Tablo Quad over-the-air DVR is on sale for $161, down from $200.
Thanks for reading!
Special thanks to the gentleman named Bob who tipped me off on the story with Spectrum and TiVo DVRs this week! Being able to turn your questions and comments into column fodder is one of the best parts of putting this newsletter together, so I always appreciate tips like these.
Got questions of your own? Just reply to this email to get in touch.
Until next week,
Jared