I feel the opposite. There is too much crap, and very little quality.
I do agree somewhat about having too little time. But, it's because I have too little time to waste watching crap.
Dish adds Smithsonian Channel as part of CBS Agreement
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I do agree somewhat about having too little time. But, it's because I have too little time to waste watching crap.
Post of the day! Being in the retail business just reconfirms it even more every day.
Channels we watch on any sort of regular/semi-regular basis:
ABC
AMC
Cartoon Network
Comedy Central
Epix
Fox (network, not FNC)
FX
IFC
*HBO
PBS
*Showtime
*TV Japan
(* = premium)
That's it. If I paid $2/basic channel, my package would be $18 plus premiums. (If I went OTA for the 3 broadcast channels, it would be $12.)
We definitely watch more Netflix and Amazon Prime than we do sat channels. My wife even watches more Japanese programming directly from Japan via Slingbox than on TV Japan. So, we could probably cut that too, if we really wanted to save money.
A la carte would definitely be in my best interest. But, the content providers simply won't let that happen.
ABC
AMC
Cartoon Network
Comedy Central
Epix
Fox (network, not FNC)
FX
IFC
*HBO
PBS
*Showtime
*TV Japan
(* = premium)
That's it. If I paid $2/basic channel, my package would be $18 plus premiums. (If I went OTA for the 3 broadcast channels, it would be $12.)
We definitely watch more Netflix and Amazon Prime than we do sat channels. My wife even watches more Japanese programming directly from Japan via Slingbox than on TV Japan. So, we could probably cut that too, if we really wanted to save money.
A la carte would definitely be in my best interest. But, the content providers simply won't let that happen.
You're dreaming if you think you'll get most channels for only $2 each. Some may be that but some will be around $8 I bet.
Exactly. Because $8 is probably closer to what they get for their bundles. And, nobody will want their bundles, only the one channel they actually watch from the bundle.
But, $2 is about all any one channel is worth. And, probably more than they are getting from the carriers per channel.
Most channels are getting below $2 in bundles right now but if they had to be sold on their own I would imagine they would start at $2 and go up from there. Imagine having to pay for ESPN by itself. Most providers are paying over $5 just for that channel right now. I bet we would have to pay around $8 for it and would have to pay almost the same for ESPN2 and ESPNU.
It is always solid at first. Just wait as more and more software updates are applied to you Sammy SmartTV. They will break it. BTW, last night a NEW problem with my SammySmarTV: it would go to black and refuse to load SmartTV app. Had to turn OFF and ON three times to get it to finally work. I aint the only one. The forums are filled with this sort of stuff for Sammy. In fact, people were hoping the upgraded module from Sammy would solve such problems, but it is not designed for that. I hope it stay solid for you. I'm pretty cheap and don't want to have to get another Roku (latest model, of course) instead of using the SmartTV Sammy.
I thought the $5 that the carriers pay is for the ESPN bundle, which includes ESPN2, News, Alternates, etc.
Though I like VOD and avail myself of some of the content, I am an old school "channel surfer". I would love to have 20 good, commercial free, push service channels. Not movie channels, per se. But like the old cable channels when cable first came to my area. TLC (owned by Appalachian Community Service Network) which was commercial free, CBS Cable commercial free, Entertainment Channel with a ton of CBC stuff commercial free, Bravo before it became crap commercial free, AMC commercial free, Nickelodeon commercial free, most "real" sports were still on broadcast TV and I actually got to see more Reds games than I do now.
The point is that with more and more channels the pool gets shallower and shallower. We have a ton of choices, but if you looks at what each channel has to offer, they can't afford to do a whole lot because the audience is so diluted. So the programming suffers. Just look at the crap on the Discovery Networks now vs ever 5 years ago! Thank goodness we still have PBS to provide real educational programming!
I have 3 Samsung TV's and have never had an issue with the apps. Lately with the addition a few streaming services I use, I haven't touched my Roku in over 2 weeks.
I'll have to double check but I'm pretty sure that the price is just for ESPN only. I could be wrong though.
I'm glad for your situation, but I've also found from hunting forums on the internet that my experience to be NOT uncommon. As I said, I am pretty cheap, so I won't pop for another Roku (although I've been tempted) and just choose to duke it out with the Sammy. I want to add that I have similar problems with another Sammy SmarTV in the bedroom. FWIW, the Sony SmartTV we have has been far more reliable. Meanwhile, all the blu-rays, the Sony SmarTV, the venerable champ Roku, and even the TiVo Premieres--since the Haxe upgrade--and Roamios are more reliable.
Smithsonian Channel content is available free on ROKU right now including full episodes of some programs (probably their entire line-up 
) Just saw 3 documentaries yesterday on this Roku channel.
) Just saw 3 documentaries yesterday on this Roku channel.
