Aug 24 Podcast #858: Streaming TV: SiliconDust, Netflix, Amazon...
Podcast Tags: Amazon VOD, Netflix, Sling TV, Streaming 
Everything new is still the same old thing. Netflix is the new HBO, SlingTV is the new Comcast; we aren't creating anything new, we're just recreating the same old paradigms. Are consumers really benefitting from the shift from traditional cable and satellite to streaming? Perhaps its too soon to tell.
| Download this Episode. |
Support the show with Patreon!
Listen to the show
Today's Show:
News:
- Streaming TV services now reach 5% of U.S. Wi-Fi households, up 58% since last year
- Samsung focuses on sound with new offerings
- Amazon reportedly plans to launch streaming DVR device
- Google plans Echo Show competition
- IKEA to expand Tradfri HomeKit line with new $10 smart plug in October,report says
Other:
- The Konnected Alarm Panel
- ActionTiles: The Webapp for SmartThings
- Samsung's next generation of SmartThings gear is here
- DynaBox is a unique retrofitable ceiling speaker enclosure.
Streaming TV: SiliconDust, Netflix, Amazon...
Everything new is still the same old thing. Netflix is the new HBO, SlingTV is the new Comcast; we aren't creating anything new, we're just recreating the same old paradigms. Are consumers really benefitting from the shift from traditional cable and satellite to streaming? Perhaps its too soon to tell.
SiliconDust launches HDHomeRun Premium streaming service of 45 networks
With little announcement or fanfare, SiliconDust announced Friday its own live streaming service exclusive to only those using its HDHomeRun digital over-the-air TV tuner box. HDHomeRun Premium TV will include 45 networks channels for $35 a month. Various reports say the service will launch today, but as of this writing, there is no ability through the company’s website to sign-up. SiliconDust said it will expand into Canada “soon”.
Netflix, Amazon Video, and Xfinity are accidentally re-creating cable TV
Since the advent of streaming online video, industry insiders have wondered what impact it would have on the future of television. As more companies move toward launching their own proprietary subscription streaming services, the future hasn’t been entirely decided yet, but new clues are emerging, pointing toward a potentially surprising answer: all this disruptive new media is just gradually re-creating familiar old-media models.
Reader Comments (2)
On the Google Mini's and Chromecast Devices (be it Audio or Video) there are a number of apps in the IOS and Android world that can stream from inside your local network (File Browser, JRIver's, Volumio, Roon). The trouble is that some times you have to start them on another device or have a server software running then once they are coming through the CC device you can experiment use voice control.
I can't help thinking of the old fashion "smoky dark screening rooms" you used to see in the Studio Movies where the Director would yell out to an invisible projectionists "hey Buddy show us half an hour in" or "Ok Sam pause it right there" - now all it requires is the OK google and the right Google phrasing.
My biggest frustrations are the Logitech Harmony monopoly on the finer grain of TV controls and also the GEO LOCATION restrictions of Google services CC functionality so that US gets all and other countries get less than the full suite.
The one thing I really like about the new HDHomeRun offering is that they allow you to record programs to your own drive. I don't like current streaming DVRs which limit the number of hours and how long programs can be stored. Streaming DVRs are also laggy, and I suspect that at some point they will prohibit skipping past commercials.
With HDHomeRun I have a simple NAS drive which has 7TB of storage. It lets me store a whole season of programs and then binge them. It's also accessible via Plex.