It's been a good run. We've been able to share our Netflix account with our kids as they go off to college, with our parents, and even share the cost with friends. With the premium 4K tier running $19.99 monthly for just Netflix, it's no wonder we want to share. But after a year of working out the kinks, the sharing crackdown has begun and most of us will have to make choices.
Plex continues to innovate and make an already good media aggregating app even better. This time it has turned to using Sonic Sage to improve music exploration and discovery.
By the end of the year, Hulu will be rolled into the Disney+ app and viewers will be able to find and stream both services' content without switching between apps. The strategy was announced in a call with Disney investors last week.
A friend recently told me she had just subscribed to Apple TV+ and asked if I had any recommendations for what to watch. When I started naming shows, it occurred to me that Apple TV+ has a plethora of high-quality programming. And now it's adding live concerts.
The FAST (free ad-supported TV) trend in streaming shows no signs of letting up. On the heels of Google TV’s recent addition of 800 free channels, Amazon has announced plans to add 400 free Fire TV Channels.
To spur interest in its platform, Google TV has added 800 free TV channels to its Live TV tab. New channels and apps have been added, and the guide has been arranged to help you find whatever you are in the mood to watch easily.
If you've found yourself cranking up the volume while streaming movies and TV series or turning on the closed captions to understand everything that's being said, you're not alone. Amazon is addressing the issue by using artificial intelligence to boost the dialogue on some of its Amazon Originals.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Bluetooth, Infrared (IR), and WiFi control
Easy to find devices with model number
Control up to 50 devices
Works with Sonos
Attractive remote
Minus
Confusing setup
Must create workarounds for input switching
Newest game consoles not in database
Inconsistent and occasionally doesn’t work
Verdict
There was hope that the Sofabaton X1 Hub and Remote could replace the now-discontinued Logitech Harmony Hub. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold a candle to Harmony's ease of use, compatibility, and design.
When Logitech stopped making the Harmony remote controls in 2021, there were few options to take their place. The Sofabaton sounded promising with its vast database of codes for TVs and other devices.
Sling TV is offering free content through Freestream, the latest in free-ad-supported TV (FAST) channels. Not your typical FAST service, free streaming extends to video-on-demand (VOD) episodes, and the live channels offer playback control.
Frndly TV has increasingly been appearing in search results over the past few months so I decided to check it out. The service offers live TV for as little as $7 per month.