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Roku and Streaming

Roku 2

I bought my Roku 2 streaming device sometime in the fall directly from the Roku website for about $60, but you can also buy it from Amazon and other retailers. It looks like the price has already dropped. Roku connects services like Netflix Instant View, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plusto my television using AV wires. Personally I find the playback qualify fine, but it drives my Film Studies 30mm husband nuts. He notices whenever the pictures slows or the sound or color gets quirky, which is does far more than with DVDs. The technicians also tend to cut off the end credits, which drives even me bonkers. It kills the closure you need with a film. But for non-movie buffs or non-experts, you probably won’t care.

To operate Roku, you use a remote (included) to navigate a very simple interface—a little too simple. There are no numbers or buttons on the remote, only arrows and basic play, pause, forward, and backward commands, no letters or numbers. This means that when you search for a specific title, you have to use the arrows and the “OK” button to individually select each character. It’s a pain. Also, since the Roku is only a small 6x6x2 inch black box with no buttons (not even an On switch), if you lose the remote you have no way to use the device. I lost mine last month and had to wait over a week, even with 2-day shipping, for the replacement remote to arrive: $18, $10 for the new remote plus $8 for 2-day shipping. It’d be nice if they’d at least put a locator button for the remote on the Roku box.

I do love the Roku box overall. It’s easy to use and to install. Mostly I love streaming technology. Personally I wouldn’t bother much with DVDs except that I never know how long Netflix is going to keep my favorite movies on Instant View. That’s the way licenses work: once the negotiations break down or the prices change, the access just goes away until a new agreement can be made. If it can be made, that is. No one streaming company will ever offer everything online: the costs would be astronomical to both the company and the consumer. In Netflix’s case, it’s in their best interest to keep some things available only on DVD and some things available only on Instant View. That way they ensure that movie lovers like my husband and I will be forever trapped into continuing subscriptions for both.

Recently I got sucked into the world of Hulu Plus. I’d managed to avoid modern television for nearly a decade until my aunt showed me an episode (“The Stable Boy”, fyi) of Once Upon a Time. That night during a spate of insomnia, I checked out the free pilot on Hulu from my laptop. Sucker that I am. I couldn’t stop there. I immediately signed up for the 7-day free Hulu Plus trial. I couldn’t quite watch the entire series up to that point (18 episodes, I believe) in on week, and we don’t have cable or antenna capability at home, so I started paying the $8 a month fee. Soon I ran out of new episodes and my new addiction began: Downton Abbey. Yep, it turns out that Once Upon a Time was my gateway tv drug … except that Season 1 of Downton Abbey is available on both Hulu Plus and Netflix Instant View. But now I don’t want to cancel my Hulu Plus subscription because they have great old tv series like Betwitched  … though not necessarily licensed to play on my TV, just on my laptop. I’d like to see the argument behind not allowing Betwitched to be shown on my TV. Is the distributor afraid it’ll infringe upon DVD sales? Seriously?

In the meantime I’ve purchased almost all of Season 2 of The Fabulous Beekman Boys from Amazon Instant Video because the series just ended last week and it’s not available anywhere else: and not even as a whole season, just as individual episodes. Nor is it a part of my Amazon Prime trial, because only certain ones are: only a little more than 300 movies and tv shows come up as available on my Roku. Remember: there’s a difference between Amazon Instant Video and Amazon Prime. You only have access to certain Amazon Instant Video things with Amazon Prime.

Overall, streaming is a slippery slope. There’s so much potential for access it’s delicious. So far, it’s relatively cheap with Netflix Instant View being by far the best deal with ginormous content compared to the other services simply because they got started so early. Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, for example, have tiny selections for the same price per month in comparison to Netflix. So far. But this is just the beginning of the game. I’ve named just three of the streaming services out there when more pop up all the time. In five years, we’ll probably have more streaming channels than cable channels. I expect they’ll be available in packages like cable channels, too. I just hope they’re more flexible and less evil than cable channels. So here’s hoping.

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Best Picture?

ABC hosts The Oscars tomorrow night. We don’t have cable: can’t afford it, wouldn’t watch it anyway. We’re movie people, not TV. And we can’t get a TV antenna to work. Last year my husband tried to watch The Oscars via a live stream, but couldn’t find any. ABC won’t be streaming The Oscars this year, either, despite new studies that show young people watch their television through their computers instead of through the television.

Not streaming The Oscars is stupid. The Oscars are already in trouble. Viewership drops every year. Last year they lost 42 million viewers despite James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting. Why? Because The Academy is outdated. The most likely candidate for Best Picture this year — The Artist — never even broke the Box Office Top Ten. The fact that such an obscure picture is up for Best Picture when it doesn’t even interest Americans as a whole should clue some people in, but it doesn’t. The Artist will probably win because it’s about Hollywood, and The Academy loves that.

Look at these statistics of who makes up The Academy of Motion Pictures’ voters:

  • The Academy is 94% white
  • The Academy is 77% male.
  • The media age is 62.
  • Only 14% are under 50 years old.

The Academy does not represent America. If they did, they’d be streaming The Oscars for free. The Descendants or Hugo would also be likely to win Best Picture, which they probably will not. How do we know? Because they haven’t won the other major film awards for 2011. I hope I’m wrong because The Descendants should win. It’s a fantastic movie that’s actually relevant to today. The Artist is not. I enjoyed the movie, but it’s just not Best Picture material. At least Hugo, also a movie about the movies, reaches audiences of all ages, employs spectacular special effects, and tells a heartwarming and class-conscious story. But it won’t win, either.

Of course, if the American public had their way, Transformers III, Mission Impossible IV, and Twilight: Breaking Dawnwould probably be up for Best Picture. While I watched M.I.4 and own Twilight: Breaking Dawn, I’d never want to see that happen.

At this point we’ve tried two different antennae from Best Buy: one for $30 and one for $86. Both times: nothing. I don’t know if our 2004 Philips “HDTV” is too old or the stations in Bowling Green are too far away or what. It’s infuriating that American cultural events like the SuperBowl and the Oscars are owned by one station and you have to buy in to see them. The Internet must fix this and SOON.

In the meantime, here are Mike’s Oscar predictions:

Best Picture:    The Artist
Actor:    Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Actress:     Viola Davis in The Help
Supporting Actor:    Christopher Plummer in Beginners<
Supporting Actress:    Octavia Spencer, The Help
Director:    Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Animated Feature Film:    Rango
Art Direction:    Hugo
Cinematography:    The Tree of Life
Costume Design:    Hugo
Documentary Feature:    Undefeated
Documentary Short Subject:    Saving Face
Film Editing:    The Artist
Foreign Language Film:    A Separation
Makeup:    The Iron Lady
Music (Original Score):    The Artist
Music (Original Song):    Man or Muppet
Short Film (Animated):    The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Short Film (Live Action):    Tuba Atlantic
Sound Editing:    Hugo
Sound Mixing:    Hugo
Visual Effects:    Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):    The Descendants
Writing (Original Screenplay):    Midnight in Paris

Mike: If I could pick two upsets I’d most like to see happen, it would be Demian Bichir winning Best Actor and The Descendants winning Best Picture.

Unfortunately he didn’t enter the Outguess Ebert at the Oscars contest in time, what with finishing his dissertation and all.

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Headset Cord Solution

I love the “Curvyman Cord Supervisor”, a headset organizer/keeper. I bought mine on Amazon months ago and I now only use the one headset it’s attached to. Before I had a pair of headsets in every handbag and backpack I own. Now I just keep this guy attached to my keychain, detach when I use my iPhone for a long conversation or music jam, and reattach when I’m done. It’s light enough that I don’t need a clip.

I like how protective he looks.

No more missing or misplaced headsets. No more scrounging around in the bottom of my bags or drawers for the nearest one. Love it. And so cheap: $3.39 on Nite Ize (manufacturer) and $3.10 on Amazon.

I don’t know about the manufacturer’s website, but with Amazon you get free shipping if you add this item to a total of $25 or more. Actually I can’t find the shipping policies on manufacturer’s website, and I’m not going to fake a purchase to find out. But they have more colors than Amazon. I like black cause it looks kinda ninja-ish.

"I pity the fool who messes with my headset."

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I _Heart_ My iPad 2

I don’t get the e-book reader craze. They aren’t comfortable or cost effective. They hurt my eyes. When I read for leisure, I want a hardcover book that I can hold in an ergonomic position: two hands supported with two elbows. Something I don’t have to turn off when the airplane takes off … something I can get from the library for free or from half.com for the same price or less as an e-book. Something I can read in the bathtub without fear of electrocution.

If I were to buy my own e-reader, why would I just buy an e-reader like a Kindle or a Nook when I can buy an entire mini computer plus e-reader for not that much more money? They’re luxury items anyway, so why not just save up a bit more? Tablet computing is the future: e-readers are toys. They only have one tiny function versus the many of an iPad. This actually looks like a book (and this is only the iPad 1st generation):

Why just ebook when you can iPad?*

I’ve had “my” (aka my work’s) iPad 2 since October 2011. I love it. I take it with me almost everywhere: home, work, appointments, trips, in-between. It’s light as a feather and wakes up instantly. No waiting for the internet. It’s precisely what I hoped it would be: halfway between my iPhone and my PowerMac Pro. When it turns on, I’m turned on. It’s so cool. Yes, that’s my professional opinion. I can read e-books and e-newspapers and e-journals on it … plus so so so many more things. Word processing, web surfing, social networking, music, anything I can do on an iPhone (even make calls?, definitely texting and chatting), movie watching (including Netflix streaming), and almost anything I can do on my laptop.

I can’t believe the battery life on this thing. When sleeping, it can go a week without being recharged. Even when used for days at a time, I’ve never seen it drop below 50%. Granted, I don’t use it as much as its sexiness deserves, but I do use it multiple times a day. Mostly I use it for e-mail, note-taking in meetings, for my calendar (which is a huge load right there), music (Spotify and iTunes), and for waking up and therefore getting to work on time (I use NightStand Central, which makes waking up fun and can even put you to sleep with lullabies; also includes weather dashboard). Web browsing and FaceBook also get a decent amount of time. But, overall, I’m a basic user. I’m sure that the real techno geeks out there would sneer at my simple needs.

My Fav. App: NightStand Central ($2.99)

The university paid for a larger harddrive (32GB, I believe) since I use my iPad to store conference presentations, and those PowerPoint slides can get image heavy. That adds up. I also use my e-mail as my filing cabinet (being an electronic resources librarian) and I keep quite a few of my e-mail stored locally for easy access. Since I’ve had bad experiences with serious G4 use (anything more than iPhone data transfers) I didn’t bother to beg for the monthly stipend that would have allowed data access anywhere. Thus, I just have Internet access where there’s wireless internet—and then where it’s free or I’m already allowed access (like at work or home, my primary access points).

Again, I’m pretty basic. I don’t even use YouTube on my iPad … but that’s because I’ve had no luck with the iPad app for YouTube. I can’t access my playlists even when signed in and my search for Shakira resulted in fewer than 40 hits! iPad apps have a long way to go compared to iPhone ones, but that’s probably because it’s relatively new. I guess? But they still more than meet my needs.

Smart Cover or annoying cover? ($39)

I also opted for the “Smart Cover” … which is too smart (or dumb?) for me. I constantly get the thing folded incorrectly, thus it falls down. I also manage to unsnap the magnet hinges several times a day. But it was cheap, it serves as a stand and a cover, and it polishes the display. It serves. Shoulda gotten the red, it’s my color. Maybe they didn’t have it in red back then, or maybe I was going “professional” with grey. Or maybe I was afraid it would be more easily noticed and stolen.

But that brings me to another great (new) feature of the iPad (and iPhone, actually): iCloud has a feature that tracks your device. Someone I know left his at a Kroger last week where someone picked it up and pocketed it. He printed out the location from iCloud for the police and activated the iCloud alert when they got there. The police found it right away and he has it back, intact! You can even lock down or wipe your device remotely if stolen or missing.

iCloud also syncs my devices. So, my contacts and apps (including all my songs and whatever data I choose) almost instantly match each other on my iPhone and iPad. This includes my e-mail accounts and calendar, which is perfect for my work where I never know where I’ll be next. I can also purchase serious storage for pretty low prices, but I’m currently doing that through Amazon for much cheaper (since they store all my music for free and are giving me a year’s free trial). I’m sure I’ll start buying some nominal iCloud storage sooner or later. That’s just where things are going and not every data type can be stored on Google Docs. iCloud’s pretty amazing and so easy.

iCloud Device Locator

I love my iPad so much that I envision my next laptop to be more like an iPad than a PowerMac. Don’t get me wrong: I love my PowerMac Pro. My husband has what’s supposed to be the PC equivalent of the MacAir, the Toshiba Portege, and I hate it. (But I hate all PC laptops.) He spent weeks researching this thing through Consumer Reports and whatnot, and I contributed through my own limited PC means (like Newegg reviews and hitting up my PC friends for advice). It just doesn’t measure up. On the other hand, it was $600 less than a Mac and he can stream things like football much more easily. It’s also really light. Way lighter than my MacBook. But I want to scream whenever I use it.

Backing away from that tangent, I hope Apple comes out with an iPad in the next few years that measures something like the 13″ of my MacBook. Probably a DVD drive will be completely irrelevant by then, between cloud storage and video streaming, so the weight can be about the same what with processors and internal storage getting lighter all the time. Basically, I want the iPad to be a full out computer by the time I need a new laptop (you have 3-4 years, Apple). None of this opening up my MacBook and waiting for it to wake up and connect to the network nonsense. No attached or separate keyboard necessary: the iPad has a virtual one that just needs to be a bit bigger and less awkward (hence the larger screen size I desire). More storage and, voilá, a fully functioning computer in a tablet computer.

Yep, that’s my dream. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s already out there, just not in the mainstream. Whenever I watch some super hyped-up, over-budgeted movie like Mission Impossible IV (which my husband dragged me to, god knows why though it was kinda fun), I do enjoy seeing the technology and wondering just how much of it already exists in a lab or in some millionaire’s briefcase …

Related Links:

*Image from Wikipedia

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Biodegradable iPhone Case

After a year and a half of probably three drops a week, my iPhone 4 hardcase finally had it. Structurally, it had survived, but visually I’d become embarrassed to pull its chipped hide out of my bag at meetings. So bought a new one. I decided to go for an environmentally sexy one this time, one that’s biodegradable. That’s what the Innovez Biodegradable Hard Case claims.

Now, I’m not a scientist, I’m a gullible consumer. I try to be a smart consumer but what can one woman do? Mostly I look at technical details and try to understand them:

  • Fabricated with EcoPure, an advanced biodegradable transparent material
  • Ergonomically Designed, Durable High Impact Polycarbonate Shell
  • Access to all side button features, charging ports, headphone jack, and camera
  • Indefinite shelf life until placed in an active microbial environment
  • Biodegradable packaging*

Innovez Biodegradable Hard Case

I’m looking for three things here:

1) it fits my phone

2) it won’t break without work on my part

3) it’s good for the environment (something I didn’t know was possible!)

Supposedly, this one does all those things. I’m sold. For a $15 case, I’m not going to spend hours trying to figure out the chemical formulas involved and whether they’ll actually biodegrade. I’m just tickled that someone’s trying. It’s a step in the right direction and I’m willing to encourage it.

So far, I like this case. In its first week, it’s survived its first fall from four feet in the air onto my hard kitchen floor. What can I say? I’m a dropper. Unlike my old case, this one’s a slider (or slide-in). Thus: no seam on the back of the phone for spilled water or coke to sneak into. Yes, I do that, too. Multiple times … in faculty meetings. But I think this case keeps my phone pretty darned safe from falls and spills. Not that I’d drop it into a tank of water, mind you.

The bad part: I’m not thrilled with the feel or fit. The phone tends to slide a bit up in the case and I have to push it down. It’s not that the fit is loose or that the phone is in any danger of sliding out (a tendency that led to the destruction of my first generation iPod mini on the Newberry Library’s cement floor), it’s just a tad annoying. No biggie.

Mostly, it’s just not a pretty case. It’s not sexy. It’s almost manly [gasp!]. It’s also a tiny bit bulkier than my old, streamlined case. Thus, I have to put it face-down in my purse pocket meant for such things for it to slide in. But the pocket in my purse is small, so I wouldn’t worry. I chose blue, and it’s not a great blue. It’s not vibrant like my old bluish-purple. The case is slightly transparent, so the blue turns a bit dark (unlike the brightly-lit photos on Amazon’s product page). But, like I said, I went for environmentally sexy and not visually sexy.

After all, it’s just a phone, not a fashion statement. Not to me. I’m not in high school. Nothing about the case impedes my phone’s function in any way. On the contrary, it works fine thus far as a case. There’s even a lovely silver-hued recycle emblem (with a leaf) on the back, advertising Go Green! to anyone who sees it.

Now that, to me, is sexy.

This photo reminds me of the movie WALL-E.

*Description and photos taken from Amazon’s product webpages, where I bought mine.

Related Link(s):