1 Ready, Set, Stream! June 2020 With Jennifer of the Lucy Robbins Welles Library What Is Streaming? Streaming is watching your favorite entertainment over your internet connection instead of through a cable TV service. All you need to stream is a TV, an internet connection, a streaming device, and a subscription to one or more streaming services. With all of these, you can then watch your favorite TV shows, movies, and sports. Why Do We Stream? 1. Did you know that the average monthly cable bill in America is $120? Consumers are stuck with a cable bill filled with fees and unwanted channels. 2. Streaming services are now producing widely popular original programming that cannot be watched anywhere else. 3. Streaming services can be canceled at any time without a fee, include free trials, and are usually the cheaper option to the cost of traditional television. Yes, You Still Need The Internet If you are ready to give up traditional television and dive into streaming, make sure you keep your internet with your cable provider. To enjoy streaming content, you must have some type of Internet connection. It is recommend that you have a plan with at least 20 mbps download speed, since slower speeds will affect streaming quality. Too slow of a speed leads to frustrating waiting and stuttering of the video. If you have unlimited data through your mobile carrier, you can use a hot spot in your home to 2 provide Internet. Do not use this if you have a metered plan as you will get a shockingly high bill at the end of the month. Choose Your Streaming Device A streaming device is the “brain” which will connect your TV to the internet. If you have a smart TV, no need to buy a separate streaming device! A streaming device is required on any non-smart TV and can be added to any smart TV if you prefer. There are several streaming devices to choose from! Remember, this is a one-time buy! No rental fees included! Amazon Fire Stick The Amazon Fire is the size of a thumb drive and sticks into the back of any TV through the HDMI port. It has an easy to use interface and has access to the Alexa voice control through the remote, echo, or dot. Keep in mind that disagreements between Amazon and other companies (like Google) can lead to certain apps and streaming services not being available on the Fire stick. The price comes in at around $40. Apple TV Apple TV helps stream video, music, and entertainment. It comes with a connection device and simple remote with Siri voice control included. Customers who are dedicated Apple users will find it is easy to use and stream their personal music, photos and videos to the television. The main drawback is price, which starts at $150. 3 Roku Roku is a very popular option for making older TVs smart. It comes with a small device that connects to the television and an incredibly simple remote (only 12 buttons!). Roku has its unique and easy to use interface with pre- downloaded apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu as well as the option to download many more. There are several different models available to allow you to buy what fits your style. Roku is also outside the spats that the bigger companies (like Amazon, Apple, and Google) get into, so pretty much everything is available. Depending on the model, a Roku device costs from $30 to $130. Smart TV A smart TV is a traditional television set with an integrated Internet app store that allows users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. If you already have a smart TV, there is no need to buy a separate streaming device! However, you will need to make sure that you can update and add applications or your options will be limited to the pre- loaded streaming services. If you are going to be buying a new TV of some type, keep in mind that smart TVs are always more expensive than regular TVs of the same size. Try to compare the cost of a new regular TV with a streaming device to a new smart TV before making a decision. Choose Your Streaming Service A streaming service usually refers to programming that is always available. Examples of this on-demand service include Amazon Video, Hulu, and Netflix. Each service has subscriptions which offer different content and pricing. Some offer content without advertisements, while others include 4 advertisements for a lower or no monthly fee. It will take a little research to figure out which streaming service is best for you. Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video will set you back $13 per month or $119 a year for thousands of titles to stream. Using an existing Amazon Prime account, you get access to streaming videos, as well as other perks such as free two-day shipping and a Whole Foods discount. Amazon also enables offline downloads, so if you want something to watch for your flight, you can download a show to your tablet and get watching. Prime Video supports two concurrent streams, as long as you are watching different videos. Excellent choice for an avid Amazon user. Hulu Hulu offers full seasons of many TV series as well as original content for $6 per month. Unlike Netflix and Amazon, which typically get new TV series months or even a year after their TV debuts, Hulu gets content almost immediately after airing on TV. However, one of the drawbacks is that Hulu still includes ads for this low price. To get rid of the commercials, you are then looking at a price of $12 a month. And while Hulu supports a variety of gadgets, you need to pay for an upgrade to stream to multiple devices. Hulu recently released a live TV option, named simply Hulu with Live TV. It starts at $55 per month for 60+ channels and DVR storage. Netflix Netflix is the standard-bearer of streaming. The price starts at $9, with the option to upgrade for additional concurrent streams. There is a solid selection at all times, with 5 new titles exchanged for older ones monthly. It is the largest distributor of original content and you never have to suffer through advertisements. There are multiple profiles available for different users that allow for individual recommendations based on what you watch and review. Netflix is the biggest name in the streaming game! Choosing Your Live TV Service For those who are not ready to let go of the traditional live TV, there are plenty of substitutes. Examples include DirecTV Now, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. Cable companies typically bundle hundreds of channels together and promote the wide variety offered. Live TV services offer an online selection of channels and content that is less vast, but cheaper than what typical cable TV offers. When deciding on a live TV service, it is recommended to look at what channels are offered. DirecTV Now The DirecTV Now offers dozens of channels of live TV without installing a satellite dish or running cables. The service features excellent picture quality and plenty of connectivity options, and subscriptions start at $65 per month. You get local affiliates of ABC, Fox, and NBC, as well as the extra perk of HBO. DVR capabilities are included and you can stream concurrently to two devices. Sling TV Sling TV is probably as close to the traditional TV experience as you can get online. For $30 per month, Sling TV offers live access to channels like AMC, TBS, The Food Network, CNN, TNT, and more. As you add more channels and services, though, Sling TV can 6 add up. Another $5 extra is cloud DVR, which supports up to 50 hours of content. You can record multiple programs simultaneously, but an upgrade is required to watch on multiple devices at once. YouTube TV YouTube TV provides access to more than 50 channels, but availability depends on your location. With YouTube TV, you get unlimited cloud DVR storage. YouTube TV will keep your recordings for nine months, and you can stream your content from anywhere in the US, if you're connected to the internet. One YouTube TV membership supports up to six accounts, so you can share with family or roommates, though you can only stream from three accounts at once. All of this has a price tag of $50 per month. That’s Not All Be advised that there are countless other services out there, for both streaming and live TV. As a relatively new market, new services are entering the field all the time and prices may go up and down as some services get more or less popular. With all of these services requiring no contract, do not hesitate to cancel one service to move to a cheaper one when it suits you. Freebies! Use your library card to access even more streaming options for free! We provide Newington library members with access to Hoopla and Acorn TV. In addition, there is a lot of free TV out there. While there might be some issues of quality or advertisements, you can still watch shows for free with services like Crackle and Pluto TV. 7 Some Tips Tip #1: Take advantage of free trials to see if the shows you like are available, if the layout is usable, and if you enjoying the service. Tip #2: Know that there is not one way to stream. Some people do maintain basic cable packages because they do not want to miss their local broadcast stations.