S!ickLeave a commentTechtalkRadio, , , , , , ,

DIRECTV NOW…maybe…

One of their attempts to woo subscribers, which I found appealing…being the cheapskate I am…is an offer including a free Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote if you prepay for one month. They accept payment via a credit card, or PayPal account.

At this moment, their least expensive service is the “Live a Little” package, at $35 per month. It includes “60+” channels:
A&E
ABC
AMC
Animal Planet
Audience
AXS TV
Baby First
BBC America
BET
Bloomberg TV
Bravo
C-SPAN
C-SPAN2
Cartoon Network
CMT
CNBC
CNN
Comedy Central
Crime & Investigation
Discovery
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Disney XD
E!
El Rey
ESPN
ESPN2
Food Network
Fox
Fox Business Network
Fox News Channel
FOX Sports 1
Freeform
FX
FXX
Galavision
Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
HGTV
HISTORY
HLN
Investigation Discovery
Lifetime
MSNBC
MTV
MTV2
National Geographic Channel
NBC
Nick Jr.
Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite
Pursuit Channel
RFD-TV
Spike
Syfy
TBS
TCM
TeenNick
Telemundo
TLC
TNT
TruTV
TV Land
Univision
USA Network
Velocity
VH1
Viceland
WE tv
WeatherNation

On their website, they state you can “Watch on your computer”. Per DIRECTV NOW…supported browsers include “Internet Explorer 11+ (on Windows 8 or higher)”, “Chrome 50+”, and “Safari 8+”.  So…

While on their website, I chose to “Chat with DIRECTV NOW”. Some of our conversation is as follows.  (“You” is me.)

You: Is Adobe Flash support required for use with the Google Chrome browser?

Leslie: Usually, Adobe Flash player is not required for Google Chrome browser though.

STRIKE #1: my direct question was not answered.

Leslie: Did you already receive a confirmation email after placing your DIRECTV Now order?…You will only be able to stream DIRECTV Now after placing your order though and after you have received the order confirmation email.

STRIKE #2: I need to place an order to know if I will be able to use the service.

Leslie: Also, you can stream from either Edge, Internet Explorer, Google, and Firefox.

STRIKE #3: Edge and Firefox are not mentioned on https://directvnow.com (only “Internet Explorer 11+ (on Windows 8 or higher)”, “Chrome 50+”, and “Safari 8+”).

I attempted to create an account…but it did not seem to complete. Later, in one of my e-mail accounts, I noticed a message from DIRECTV…that my account had been created. OK…

I cannot watch DIRECTV NOW on my Google Chromebook:

On my Linux computer, using Google Chrome…I also cannot watch DIRECTV NOW.

So…Google Chrome 50+ is not a fully supported browser, as they claim.

On that same computer…I cannot watch DIRECTV NOW when using Firefox. Which does have Adobe Flash support enabled.

I have been able to use their iOS app…but can only watch “FreeVIEW”:  “…’FreeVIEW’ status lets you preview select content for free…”

All I’ve seen are promotional announcements.

For comparison purposes, CNET posted in DirecTV Now vs. Sling TV vs. PlayStation Vue:  “…DirecTV Now and for a limited time, customers can sign up for a promotional deal that offers more than 100 channels for $35 a month.”

And a spreadsheet showing “which cities have access to the local broadcasts of ABC, Fox and NBC on the DirecTV Now service”…
Chicago
Los Angeles
New York
Philadelphia
San Jose

S!ickLeave a commentEvents, TechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dragon Con Returns Sept 2017

Dragon Con 2017 will  take place this year Friday (September 1st) through Monday involving five host hotels: the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Hilton, Sheraton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel (in downtown Atlanta).

The Dragon Con Parade is Saturday and a great line up is scheduled as guest of Dragon Con this year!

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November 7 show: new Apple TV, and StumbleUpon, explained…

We learn about the trials and tribulations that occurred when one of the guys attempted to purchase an Apple TV.

A review of the latest generation of Apple TV…is it worth the money?

The premiere/debut of “The 60-second TechBlast”.

ANDY explains why “arguing with a woman is like reading the software license agreement”.  (Again, ANDY said this…)

And our Website of the Week:  StumbleUpon

 

S!ickLeave a commentTTR Website, , , , , , ,

New Kindles…watch video while offline!

There are new Kindle Fire tablets:

All-New Kindle Fire HD 7″ Tablet
7″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8GB or 16GB
$139.00

All-New Kindle Fire HDX 7″ Tablet
7″ HDX Display, Wi-Fi, Optional 4G LTE Wireless, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB
$229.00

All-New Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ Tablet
8.9″ HDX Display, Wi-Fi, Optional 4G LTE Wireless, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB
$379.00

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CU0NSCU/ref=sd_allcat_kdpso#kindle-compare

The HD has a dual-core processor; the HDX tablets have quad-core processors.  I can tell the difference in performance of the two types…maybe because I can be consided a “power user” of all kinds of technology (computers, phones, and tablets)  and tend to push them to their limits.  If you intend on using them in in situations that pertain to heavy video and graphic uses…get the quad-core units.

What’s more impressive to me, is the enhancement to Amazon Prime:

“Prime members can now download hundreds of Prime Instant Video movies and TV shows to watch anywhere—on a plane, on vacation, or in the car. Prime Instant Video is the only U.S. online video subscription streaming service that offers offline viewing, and it’s included at no additional cost.”

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After composing this post, I found viewing Amazon Prime content offline has been available via iOS:

“Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library for offline viewing on airplanes, road trips, or when a Wi-Fi connection is unavailable…

“…Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch…”

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Free antennas for (almost) everybody! Kinda…

Some people in certain television markets cannot watch the CBS television network on their Time Warner Cable service. CBS and TWC are having a dispute…

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“Time Warner Cable has a limited quantity of basic indoor antennas available for free, to be picked up at our retail cable stores in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Los Angeles/Desert Cities, New York, plus Milwaukee and Green Bay in Wisconsin….these basic indoor antennas…will likely only work for customers whose CBS station originates in one of those cities, and who are within a short distance of the station’s transmitter.

“…we have partnered with Best Buy in those cities to provide $20 toward the purchase of any in-stock broadcast antenna at select Best Buy store locations.

“Antenna offer limited to current Time Warner Cable customers….Limited quantity available…limit 1 per customer while supplies last.”

http://twcconversations.com/antenna/