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Pandora now offers offline playback for Apple Watch

NEWS – With the latest update to Pandora’s mobile app, all Apple Watch users running WatchOS 5.0 or later can enable offline playback for paid subscriptions. Users with paid subscriptions to Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium — $5 and $10 per month, respectively — can now automatically sync music for offline play when in close proximity to their Watch.

According to Pandora’s app description, “we bring you a brand new, built-from-the-ground-up app that’s seamlessly integrated into the Apple Watch experience.” The Pandora app also claims better integration with the Watch interface, utilizing the larger faces of the Apple Watch 4.

Much like Apple’s own Music app, paid Pandora users can simply play downloaded music directly from their Apple Watch. I couldn’t find exactly how much music is stored on the watch, but I assume it’s more than enough for a nice long run.

As a Spotify subscriber, this is something I’ve been longing for on my own Watch for some time. I’d love to be able to head out for a walk or run and listen to music without my iPhone jangling around in my pocket. It’s somewhat disappointing for me to see Pandora beat Spotify to the punch on this, but it’s great news for their subscribers.

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Pandora now offers offline playback for Apple Watch originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 6, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Philo is a new streaming service for your cord cutting toolbox

NEWS – I received an email a few days ago informing me that my DirecTV monthly service is going to have a price increase in January. To say that I was annoyed by this email is an understatement given the fact that I’ve been with DirecTV for at least 20 years and they continually raise their prices. If that’s not bad enough, since their big firmware update this past spring or summer, the DVR’s electronic programming guide is buggy as heck. Half the time the shows and movies that were previously recorded don’t show up on my list unless I reboot the DVR. Add that to the fact that there’s a line item on my monthly bill for HD content when 99% of all content has been HD for years, I’m just ready to cut the cord.

I already stream some movies and shows with the big guys like Netflix and Hulu, but I haven’t been able to cut the DirecTV cord because Jeanne, my significant other, has several favorite programs on stations that aren’t on either of those streaming platforms. Or if they are, they don’t have the latest episodes.

Philo is a new streaming TV service that focuses on entertainment, knowledge, and lifestyle channels, the exact kind of programming that Jeanne likes and they are running a special holiday deal of $99 for six months of top entertainment programming, including channels like the Hallmark Channel, A&E, AMC, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Lifetime, Logo, MTV Live, History Channel, Nickelodeon, TLC, Travel Channel, VH1, Viceland, and more.

You can stream through your computer’s browser, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Android, and more to come.

Philo stands out from the streaming service crowd because it features 43 popular channels for only $16.50 a month, plus an additional 12 channels for a $4 add-on. Compare that to the $125 a MONTH that I pay for DirecTV programming which does not include any premium movie channels, and it’s almost a no-brainer to sign up at that price. Visit Philo.com for more info.

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Philo is a new streaming service for your cord cutting toolbox originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 27, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Tablo DUAL 64GB OTA DVR review


REVIEW – As I continue to seek out cord cutting options to either lower or completely eliminate my cable TV bill, I readily accepted the opportunity to test and review this device that promises to take me one step closer to my goal.

What is it?

The Tablo DUAL 64GB OTA DVR is a 2 tuner streaming box with DVR capability to record 2 channels simultaneously via a connected OTA antenna.

What’s in the box


1 x Tablo DUAL 64GB OTA DVR
1 x AC Adapter
1 x Ethernet Cable
1 x Instruction Manual
1 x Registration Information Card

Design and features

The Tablo DUAL 64GB OTA DVR works as a DVR for the entire home and can be connected via either WiFi or Ethernet to stream live over-the-air channels and recorded content via the Tablo app to any compatible connected devices inside your home. If you choose to pay the subscription of $4.99 monthly, or $49.99 yearly or $149 lifetime, you get the added bonus of a 14-day TV guide with thumbnails, out-of-the-home sharing anywhere you have high-speed internet via the Tablo Connect app, and the ability to schedule automatic recordings for entire series.

Here is a chart of Features based on subscription:

On the top front of the Tablo, there is a blue LED that indicates that the power is on.


On the rear of the Tablo from left to right, there is the coaxial antenna jack, a reset button, a USB port, an Ethernet jack and the power port.
Here are some addition specs:
Storage:
64GB onboard storage
Support for up to 8TB USB hard drive

Processing:
512 MB RAM
64 GB Flash

Networking:
100 Mbps Ethernet
802.11n dual band WiFi with MIMO

Dimensions:
Height – 37 mm (1.46″)
Width – 125 mm (4.93″)
Depth – 123 mm (4.84″)

Weight:
210 g (7.4 oz)

Video Format:
H.264 (HLS: HTTP Live Streaming)

Setup and Performance:
Once the Tablo is connected to your network (in my case I connected via an Ethernet cable), and you download the app, connecting is easy. It quickly connects to your network and allows you to create an account and log in. Shortly thereafter, it populates the screen with the thumbnails, and the current TV guide for all of the OTA channels is quickly available. See the App screens in the “App” section right below.

App

Connection screen:

The main screen once connected:

Toolbar: (By selecting the icon in the upper left corner of the Main screen)

Live TV Guide:


Whenever you make a new selection via the Tablo app, it takes a few seconds to populate the screen. However, this device works flawlessly for me, and the ability to record and schedule recordings is great. Many of the channels that I watch and that broadcast my favorite shows are free channels that I receive over-the-air. The ability to add up to an 8TB hard drive and to record and keep my shows with little regard for the usual storage space concerns of the conventional cable box is simply great.

Tablo has just announced a new feature for Tablo OTA DVRs which is the addition of 5.1 Surround Sound. Once your device is updated to the latest Tablo firmware update (version 2.2.22), it will be capable of passing Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound audio through to supported viewing devices. It is important to note that not all streaming devices will initially support this new feature.

To see what streaming devices support this new feature and how to enable it, click here.

What I like

  • The DVR capability from 2 channels simultaneously.
  • The size and weight.
  • The Ethernet\WiFi function that eliminates the need to connect to any TV.
  • The app availability on multiple devices
  • The readily available and organized thumbnails for the guide.
  • The onboard 64GB storage for recorded content and the ability to add up to 8TB.
  • The out-of-home streaming capability (with monthly subscription)

What can be improved

  • The added ability to stream other available content like Netflix, free internet channels, etc. (Even if the DVR capability has to be disabled for the “other” content). In my opinion, the added ability would help to justify the subscription and the cost of the device.
  • The cost of the device.

Final thoughts

As I continue my efforts to find the best devices to replace at least a part of my cable services and eventually completely replace all services, I realize that there is no single solution that can replicate cable TV. However, I have found that utilizing the inputs on your TV with multiple devices is beginning to close the gap. As things stand right now, the Tablo DVR definitely helps because of its OTA channel streaming capability coupled with its DVR functionality. Many of the TV shows that I watch are on the local Prime Time channels, and the Tablo allows me to DVR tons of episodes and shows with no restrictive space limitations. If this device also hosted streaming channels, it would then be miles ahead of any other device in the game, but obviously, there would be the issue of recording and sharing copyrighted content that the networks definitely don’t want us to do. Until a better solution comes along, the Table DVR box definitely adds value. I think that the question for most will be whether the value is worth it based on their individual TV viewing habits and preferences, and the cost of this device.

Price: $175.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Tablo.

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Tablo DUAL 64GB OTA DVR review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 6, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Plex Pass review

REVIEW – With all the internet streaming available online, it’s nice to be able to have a place to aggregate all of your favorite media that you might still own. This can include home videos taken by your parents or grandparents, old DVDs, or those CDs you’ve been wanting to rip for ages. Plex Media Server is the perfect way to keep all of your old media in one central location and allow it to be seen on any digital device. The Plex Pass gives you even more options, so let’s take a look to see what it has to offer!

What is it?

The Plex Pass is video streaming, DVR, and podcast software.

Hardware specs

This is a tricky question since the answer will be what you’re streaming and what you’ll be doing with your Plex server.  From Plex’s support article it states that at minimum, if you’re not doing any transcoding, you will need an: Intel “Atom” 1.2GHz or higher. For reference, I’ve set up a small Ubuntu 16.04 server with an ASRock AM1B-ITX with AMD Athlon 5350 AM1 CPU and 8GB of RAM and am able to run all of my videos just fine.

Design and features

The free version of Plex offers a ton of features as-is. If you need basic video streaming for within your home, you can get started on that already. This includes casting from a smartphone, tablet, or computer to any Chromecast. You can organize your media into various libraries such as movies, photos, music or create your own. I created a custom “Home Videos” library for all of our old VHS home videos from when I was a kid. You can also create playlists much like any other media service.

You can view almost any video format in Plex, which gives you lots of flexibility. It also included 4K support if you happen to own a 4K tv or create your own 4K content.

As for the premium version of Plex – called Plex pass – you can take advantage of tons of nice features:

There are premium photos, which lets you get auto-tagging and places to sort photos and albums, similar to Google Photos. You can do automatic backup of photos to your media library. This is awesome for me since I do that with and Google Photos, but it’s really nice to have another option and upload it straight to a personal media server. I already do this with my own install of Nextcloud, but can eliminate the need for another bit of software since I can do it with Plex Pass!

You can use cloud sync, which lets you save a copy of your media to the Plex mobile app, so you can view or listen offline.

A nifty feature I like is premium music, where you can create playlists, mix songs by mood and display song lyrics. It reminds me of what Spotify premium does, but you can do it with your own music library instead.

With Plex Pass perks, you can get access to promos and discounts on partner products such as digital tuners and other hardware to use with Plex Pass.

For the parents out there, (or for those of you who have snoopy roommates) you can enable parental controls for your Plex media library, as well as create multiple users to keep everyone separate. I use this feature and love it.

You can also watch live broadcast TV directly on your device or mobile app with Plex Pass. You will need an antenna and compatible tuner. If I get a chance to get my hands on a digital tuner, I will update this review. You can also record free HD broadcast channels right to your library and watch them on any device, anywhere.

Setup

To set up a Plex media server, all you need is a relatively modern computer (at least an Intel Atom processor equivalent and higher), with 2GB or RAM or more. You can view more options here, as well as via the Plex Forums. You can install Plex on Windows, Mac and Linux. There are multiple NAS manufacturers that support Plex as well.

Performance

As mentioned before, I run Plex on a very inexpensive AsRock/AMD motherboard combo running Ubuntu 16.04 and I’ve had no problems running Plex locally or remotely from anywhere. All my video plays well with no buffering.

What I like

I really enjoy everything about Plex. I’ve used the free version of Plex for years with a basic server, just to hold my home movies and music, but with Plex Pass it makes the deal even sweeter by enabling auto upload of my photos, lyrics and mixing for my music, and allowing everything that I use streaming services for already and enabling it for me at home. I love that I can keep everything private as well. If you’re a digital tuner user, I can imagine it being even more awesome.

What needs to be improved

The one thing I did try about Plex Pass but wasn’t af an of was the news and podcast features. News for me was not the best quality, although it did pull from various sources online. I’d rather jump into Youtube or read the web to get news video. As for the Podcasts Beta feature, it was nice to be able to sync the podcasts to my phone, but I already have a bunch of podcast apps to do this. Sync did work well however.

Final thoughts

I really enjoy using Plex Pass for the extra bells and whistles it has to offer. If you are a person who still likes to keep your own personal copy of music, movies, photos, and all various media to your own server, I’d definitely recommend getting the Plex Pass for extra nifty features.

Price: The costs for Plex Pass are monthly ($4.99/month) and yearly ($39.99/year) options, but the lifetime price ($119.99) is well worth it for constant updates and new features.
Where to buy: The Plex Pass is available to purchase via their website.
Source: The Plex Pass for this review was provided by Plex. For more information, visit Plex.

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Plex Pass review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 30, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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