What are you watching these days?

[Jeff Wrangler]

You can buy a Roku or Amazon Firestick for less than $50 that plugs into your TV, picks up your Wi-Fi and provides all the streaming services. It comes with a remote you can use to stop the show anytime.

I know I'm missing something because I don't understand how this is not, like, stealing the service. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

What am I watching these days? Reruns. ...

And lots of baseball. ...

[serious crayons]

I know I'm missing something because I don't understand how this is not, like, stealing the service. 

You still have to pay for it. So for example if you want to watch something on Netflix, Roku can take you to the specific show or movie pretty much instantly. But before watching it, you'll have to enter a name and password, at least the first time (after that it remembers you), just like you can navigate to your bank account or whatever but still have to sign in. If you don't have an account, the show won't play. And you still have to have WiFi, because that's where Roku gets it. Luckily, I also quit Comcast's internet and switched to Verizon internet at $25/month.

[Jeff Wrangler]

You still have to pay for it. So for example if you want to watch something on Netflix, Roku can take you to the specific show or movie pretty much instantly. But before watching it, you'll have to enter a name and password, at least the first time (after that it remembers you), just like you can navigate to your bank account or whatever but still have to sign in. If you don't have an account, the show won't play. And you still have to have WiFi, because that's where Roku gets it. Luckily, I also quit Comcast's internet and switched to Verizon internet at $25/month.

Oh, f _ _ k. It just happened again--I got thrown off the site when trying to post something, getting a message that I don't have access to the site. I had to log back in to the site. This even happens on my own blog.  This always happens when I try to preview a post. And when I log back in, I always check the "stay logged in forever" box.

I'd just spent, like, at least 10 minutes responding, and everything I wrote was lost. I'm not going to try to recreate all I wrote. I'll just say:

So you have to have a Netflix account to use Roku or Firestick? That makes sense. Thanks.

[serious crayons]

You have to have accounts with any network you'd want to watch. I watch more HBO than anything else so I have that. But I also have Netflix and I also have Prime. It would be tempting to drop those because I don't watch them as often but both have occasionally good shows -- I just saw reviews of a new show on each that sounded interesting. And of course, Prime has other benefits. I also have Hulu, but with commercials so that's either cheaper or free.

I'm going to look into an online network that bundles them.

In fact, I just did. Sling TV has been recommended to me. You can get the orange plan for $15, the blue plan for $15 or a plan that combines them for $30. I can do just the blue because it has almost every network I'd ever watch on cable and some I wouldn't, and the orange is almost all ESPN. Luckily, I never watch ESPN! I've kept it for years so my sons could watch, but they only visit occasionally and if, while here, they had to urgently see a basketball game or something there are three big-screen TVs with sofas, etc., in the public room downstairs.

So I can get both Wi-Fi ($25 through Verizon) and a bundle of cables for $40 a month. I'll throw in HBO, Netflix and Prime (possibly Apple+ but I don't watch that very often). So under $100 altogether, and I'd been paying $325 to Comcast.

Small complaint: HBO has been trying to rename itself Max. But if you say Max, nobody knows what you're talking about. Not even the Amazon Wi-Fi firestick, which has a speech remote. So I'll say "Alexa, get me HBO" and Alexa will say "Getting HBO Max." But if I say "Get me Max," Alexa will pull up a movie or TV show called "Max."

Now I just have to figure out how to watch local TV. That's not super urgent, though -- the Oscars and the presidential debates are a ways off. It's possible I could watch both on my laptop.

[serious crayons]

Oops, I should have read it more carefully. The blue plan is $40 a month -- $15 for the first month. But even at $40 it's way less than I'd been paying.

I think it saves you from having to have digital versions of FX, AMC, Comedy Central, TBS, TNT, History Channel, etc. I'm not sure how much those cost, if anything -- if they're free I might not need a Sling plan.

[Jeff Wrangler]

This is what's so funny about getting my TV service from Comcast through my building's contract as part of my condo fee: We have HBO, so no paying for it.

Of course, a good five years or so ago now, they took away Turner Classics, which I seemed to watch more than just about anything else.

[serious crayons]

This is what's so funny about getting my TV service from Comcast through my building's contract as part of my condo fee: We have HBO, so no paying for it.

I think I had HBO as part of my Comcast plan, too. So I didn't pay for it individually, but the Comcast plan cost a ridiculous $300+ a month.