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Netflix for TV Gets a Makeover

Netflix logoJust in time to watch the doors shut for good on Blockbuster, Netflix is beginning it’s roll out on a brand new look for Netflix on your Television. The new look, that Netflix says is “The biggest update in Netflix history to our TV experience” will begin it’s debut today on some devices.

This update, which Netflix says has been in the works for over a year in a half, will work on Roku, newer gaming consoles and other devices such as Smart TV and Blu-Ray players. “Our members collectively watch more than a billion hours of Netflix a month, most of that is on a TV,” Netflix’s chief product officer Neil Hunt said in a statement. Netflix aims to make that content easier to find.

The new update, using Javascript, will allow more devices to use the new interface and allows Netflix to roll out updates easier in the future. Most devices will see the update on their device within a couple of weeks, however older devices make take a few months to get updated.

What do you think? Did you find it hard to find content you wanted to watch on Netflix? Looking forward to the new update? Let us know in the comments below!

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Flashback Friday? Time Warner Cable vs. CBS

Update (Aug 4, 2013): CBS has released a new official statement regarding negotiations with TWC

There are no negotiations taking place at this time between CBS and Time Warner Cable. Before the
deadline on Friday we asked TWC to continue the negotiation while our programming was still on the air
in consideration for our viewers. They rejected this request and told us that they’d have more leverage
against us if they took us off their service. This is hardly a sign that they care about their customers as
they claim. We remain ready to negotiate in good faith when they are.

As many Time Warner Cable customers already know, especially those who watch Big Brother and for the past few episodes, have seen the scroll at the bottom that you might lose your CBS channel, TWC and CBS are currently in the struggle of re-negotiation of their fees. Specifically, CBS is asking for a new contract with higher re-transmission fees for Time Warner Cable to broadcast their content.

Why a “Flashback Friday”? Because how many times have we seen this happen? Eventually it does resolve itself, the loser ALWAYS the TV Subscriber no matter which side gets their way really. Higher fees always means higher fees for YOU, not for the cable company. No negotiation means we lose our channels and somehow, still get a higher cable bill? (That one I haven’t quite figured out yet.)

Now, I’m not going to take sides between CBS/Time Warner Cable. Really, you can insert anyone in that equation. FOX/Comcast. Viacom/Dish. You get the picture. It’s constant and the only losers are us. We lose in price or we lose our favorite channel. It sucks quite frankly.

Now I used to, in another life, work for the cable company. Yes, I took your calls that the broadcaster told you to make to “tell us to keep” their channel, or of course the calls the Cable Company told you to make to “Not give in to their demands!” I remember specifically the fight between Fox and Time Warner Cable. We had to be staffed on New Years Eve of all things to take those calls. Why? Because the contract was going to run out at midnight. You have NO IDEA how much fun it is to answer the phone right before Midnight on New Years Eve to someone yelling at you (as if you are in on the negotiations) to keep their Fox on the air. Really, it’s kind of a joke. Do these callers really think we have any say? Do they not understand that whatever the cable company bends to on price just gets passed on to the consumer? Sigh.

It’s okay to make the call and let them know you prefer to keep/discard the network, but PLEASE realize the person you are talking to has no control over it and be human… And please, please, please find something else to do on New Years Eve.

But I digress… back to the reason I am writing this.

Another thing those callers don’t realize… In all the uproar over CBS maybe pulling their channel, or Fox, or NBC, or ABC etc. etc. Those channels are FREE OVER THE AIR CHANNELS. Yes, you do NOT need Cable, Dish, DirecTv, FIOS, etc. to see these. You just need a trusty antenna that you can purchase, or better yet, make your own for REALLY cheap! You may also need a converter box ONLY if your TV is older. And by older, I mean grandma’s TV… Ok, maybe mom’s TV or that weird retro Uncle you have that lives in a friends basement. Basically, if you have a digital ready Television, you can get those channels free. If you purchased your Television after 2004, more than likely it’s digital ready. If you purchased your TV after 2007, then it HAS to be digital ready by law, so no box needed.

ku-xlargeAnyway, I thought I would pass this info on about the ALMOST FREE antenna that you can make yourself. You know, DIY. Even if you have cable, satellite, fios or what not, it’s actually kind of a nice thing to have anyway. There are SO MANY over the air digital channels that you aren’t getting with these companies, and why shouldn’t you? They’re FREE. If you have a Tivo, you can even record from them. Many are in a really crisp HD too. So whether you are a cord cutter or a full fledged subscriber, why not give this a shot? Did I say free? (Well, almost free anyway. At least it’s without the monthly cost.)

Now some say that this DIY antenna is actually better than some of the more costly purchased ones. I will leave that up to you. Also note, I can’t take credit for this… this is someone else’s love child, I’m just sharing the wealth. This one was adopted from someone else (who she credits) by Holly Mann (and made pretty with paint to make it wall hang-able, if that’s such a word) and is reported to work really well. To view the instructions on how to make this, go HERE.

While you’re at it, you can also check out what channels should come in for you OTA (Over the Air) by your Zip Code HERE. (Keep in mind that many of these channels have more than one channel included. Meaning you may see one channel as “4-1” but there may also be a “4-2” and “4-3”. The last time I checked in my area there were at least 8 different PBS channels each broadcasting something different.

So good luck! If you decide to make one of these nifty things (which I will do soon too and will update with how it goes) let us know below in the comments how it turned out! Did it work? Did it fizzle out? Did you do something different that made it better? Keep us updated!

Oh and, of course, join us in the FORUM one of these days. You will be glad you did!

 

 

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Tech Tuesday: Comcast, Fox and Hulu

You know I have been one of the biggest cheerleaders of cutting the cable cord. It’s difficult with the networks and big cable companies trying very hard to thwart any progress in that area, rather than coming up with ways to embrace the new technology. Netflix, Hulu, Roku’s free channels, TV HD Antenna’s, a computer hooked directly to the TV, all the ways in which many have deployed cutting the cord. (Course, we need to keep the internet!) Hulu appears to now be having to give in to the big boys. How disappointing.

I understand why cable companies have been fighting so hard. They are set to lose a ton of business. It’s their own fault really, with their prices going up, up, up. Every year we get a new notice of price increases. The blame, cable companies say, are the rising costs of content. You know, the dreaded negotiations they go through every year or so, with threats of cutting off channels. They say that, but then, I’m sure their humongous bottom line doesn’t suffer, only our pockets. If it indeed is a huge raise in content fees from major networks, then call their bluff and let them go. Yes, I know the call centers would be inundated with complaints, but what the heck, hold your ground to save our pockets. The content providers will come back. Think of the advertising they would lose in those major markets.

It always amazed me, when I worked for the cable company long long ago, the customers that would call in about the negotiations. I specifically remember the Fox negotiations. First, Fox News wasn’t a part of the negotiation at the time. That channel was to stay on the air regardless, so those complaints were moot. Second, people would say they would take their business elsewhere (Dish, DirecTv or what not) when as soon as the cable negotiations were through, the negotiations would start up with one of the other providers. Now, you would have quit cable, gotten into a contract with a satellite provider with a 1-2 year contract, and still possibly lost the channel they were fighting for, with no way to escape, no threats to leave (without paying a large sum of money.) In addition, the Network and Cable company would put it out there that you would be losing your local channel. Well, with a really cheap antenna, you could just hook it up to your TV and get that for free… so I never understood that argument or threat.

Now, according to the New York Post, Hulu appears to be poised to go by way of the big boys, and turn itself into a platform kind of like “HBO-GO.” Not by choice of course, but again, because of a Network. Fox is currently re-negotiating it’s deal with Comcast in a way that would require Hulu users to prove they already subscribe to Comcast to access it’s content. Basically, users would have to log in to Hulu using their Comcast logins rather than use their Hulu ID to view any content provided by Fox.

There is an easy way around this of course. If you want to watch a Fox broadcast from your local channel, then get a digital antenna. They are as cheap as $20 and then all your local stations are free. Most of what I watch are on those channels anyway. (The Amazing Race, Big Brother, etc.) Get yourself a DVR, Tivo is a good one (although there is a subscription involved, much cheaper than cable still) and watch when you feel like it. You already pretty much have do that with CBS, who doesn’t provide much if any of their content to Hulu, although will stream it on their website the next day.

The big cable companies will be fighting tooth and nail to keep our money, and the content providers will continue to fight for their bottom line as well. Of course they will, they are in the business to make money, no fault in that. Course we are, as we should be, in a fight to keep our own pockets filled as well. The dream of having the cable companies providing you an “a-la-mode” selection of channels will never happen, so you can give up that dream. Will the Premium channels ever provide an outside of cable way to subscribe to them? That looks bleak at the moment as well. I’m actually surprised the networks haven’t embraced more the Hulu model, forcing us to watch the commercials we can otherwise skip with our DVR.

Who knows what the future holds. The cable companies and networks will continue to fight all the way… but it will be the people that (somewhat) win this eventually if we demand it. Heck, TV used to be free… remember that? The companies made their money off of advertising (that we are skipping now.) How many times have your strolled through all those channels you pay for thinking “so many channels, nothing to watch” or better yet, perused the channels late at night when you couldn’t sleep and discovered that most of these channels you pay for have turned into very long commercials? Do we really need all these choices? Is it worth $150 to $200 for that one or two shows you like on cable? Let’s do the math on it. Let’s say you watch two shows, on once a week on a cable channel, and let’s say your current cable plan costs $150. Each episode costs you, basically, $18.75. Personally, I think not. I missed them when I first did the cut, and yeah, every once in awhile I miss them still, but for the most part, I’m over it. That’s 3 Venti Vanilla Lattes for me, or a movie night out, PER EPISODE. I’m good with that.

Have you cut the cable cord? Considering it? Leave us a comment below!