How can I watch the Superbowl in real time for free on Android or Windows?

Ads are ok. But no login is desired. Certainly no credit card
for "trial offers" that I then have to beg them to decline
(and they already got what they wanted which is your data).

I don't have a TV nor am I going to put an antenna on my roof, so the
question is about real time watching of the Superbowl over the net.

Any suggestions?

On 2/9/24 11:49 PM, Gelato wrote:
> How can I watch the Superbowl in real time for free on Android or Windows?
>
> Ads are ok. But no login is desired. Certainly no credit card
> for "trial offers" that I then have to beg them to decline
> (and they already got what they wanted which is your data).
>
> I don't have a TV nor am I going to put an antenna on my roof, so the
> question is about real time watching of the Superbowl over the net.
>
> Any suggestions?
It's on CBS which is Paramount+ if you have a subscription to that service.

Or just buy this https://www.newegg.com/p/16R-06F0-000E9 (or similar) and plug into your TV. The
old conventional TV antenna setup without the rooftop.

If you want it on the phone/PC then you'd need a tuner card or usb device and a quick browse shows
those things a bit pricey.
--
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon 6.0.4
Al

On Sat, 10 Feb 2024 08:22:45 -0500, Big Al wrote:

> It's on CBS which is Paramount+ if you have a subscription to that service.

Thanks for that suggestion of watching the Superbowl from a phone or PC.
I do not have any subscriptions to anything.

I just want to watch the Superbowl over the Internet on a phone or PC.
What I'm looking for, I think, is simply a web site that will show it.

> Or just buy this https://www.newegg.com/p/16R-06F0-000E9 (or similar)
> and plug into your TV.

What TV?

> The old conventional TV antenna setup without the rooftop.

I'd have to buy a TV just to hook up that conventional TV antenna.

> If you want it on the phone/PC then you'd need a tuner card
> or usb device and a quick browse shows those things a bit pricey.

I'm aware of tuners that feed into a PC as I had them in the past.
I've never owned a TV since about 30 years ago when I gave
up on the "violence" so my young children (at that time) wouldn't
have to see constant violence. I never looked back & don't own a TV.

I also don't own *any* subscriptions whatsoever.
And I'm not going to subscribe now. Never do I need it.

I did subscribe, about a decade ago, to NetFlix when it had the DVDs.
But when they screwed us on the pricing, I vowed to never look back.

My wife does have an Amazon Prime though, for the free shipping.
(I've never used the Amazon Prime video feature and neither has she.)

Do you think the Superbowl will be on Amazon Prime?

Is there any way to watch the Superbowl from a phone or PC
without having to subscribe with a credit card to something?

On 2/10/2024 8:22 AM, Big Al wrote:
> On 2/9/24 11:49 PM, Gelato wrote:
>> How can I watch the Superbowl in real time for free on Android or Windows?
>>
>> Ads are ok. But no login is desired. Certainly no credit card
>> for "trial offers" that I then have to beg them to decline
>> (and they already got what they wanted which is your data).
>>
>> I don't have a TV nor am I going to put an antenna on my roof, so the
>> question is about real time watching of the Superbowl over the net.
>>
>> Any suggestions?
> It's on CBS which is Paramount+ if you have a subscription to that service.
>
> Or just buy this https://www.newegg.com/p/16R-06F0-000E9 (or similar) and plug into your TV.  The old conventional TV antenna setup without the rooftop.
>
> If you want it on the phone/PC then you'd need a tuner card or usb device and a quick browse shows those things a bit pricey.

The timing looks a little tight, for a planning exercise.

If you needed materials, the "Fedex overnight" might be a bit tight.

For an antenna project, a minimum 30 days lead time is recommended.
Same goes with tuners, might have to get a used tuner off Ebay.

*******

You can put an antenna in the loft, if you dislike climbing on the roof.
For a shingled wood-framed house, the loss is about 6dB. If the antenna is 15dBi,
the net improvement is 9. There is a website, which gives vector and
signal strength, if you give lat and long and height. and then you can tell if
your loft might magically align with the major axis of your new Yagi.

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Range-UHF-Element-Antenna/dp/B01BP4RF3O

You can get slightly more gain, if your Yagi is cut for a single frequency.

For the cottage in the country back home, although the distance is
prohibitive, the signal might bounce off the ocean a couple times,
and the range increases. The only problem with "tricksy" stuff
like that, is when a large vessel travels in the channel, it
can actually knock out TV until it is out of sight.

*******

The problem with tuner cards, is when the silicon goes out of production,
there's a scramble to find a replacement. The card below is on its third chipset.
And as for "disti", you might have to buy such a thing from the website
of the manufacturer (these guys might physically be Singapore).

https://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hvr1265.html#specs

OTA TV these days, is a pretty "arcane" topic :-) Even when I acquired
a couple items, the writing was already on the wall back then. I don't
watch OTA TV any more... but I have the kit for it.

Paul

Gelato <gelato@.is.invalid> wrote in
news:uq8j10$6bb$1@rasp.pasdenom.info:

> On Sat, 10 Feb 2024 08:22:45 -0500, Big Al wrote:
>
>> It's on CBS which is Paramount+ if you have a subscription to that
>> service.
>
> Thanks for that suggestion of watching the Superbowl from a phone or
> PC. I do not have any subscriptions to anything.
>
> I just want to watch the Superbowl over the Internet on a phone or PC.
> What I'm looking for, I think, is simply a web site that will show it.
>
>> Or just buy this https://www.newegg.com/p/16R-06F0-000E9 (or similar)
>> and plug into your TV.
>
> What TV?
>
>> The old conventional TV antenna setup without the rooftop.
>
> I'd have to buy a TV just to hook up that conventional TV antenna.
>
>> If you want it on the phone/PC then you'd need a tuner card
>> or usb device and a quick browse shows those things a bit pricey.
>
> I'm aware of tuners that feed into a PC as I had them in the past.
> I've never owned a TV since about 30 years ago when I gave
> up on the "violence" so my young children (at that time) wouldn't
> have to see constant violence. I never looked back & don't own a TV.
>
> I also don't own *any* subscriptions whatsoever.
> And I'm not going to subscribe now. Never do I need it.
>
> I did subscribe, about a decade ago, to NetFlix when it had the DVDs.
> But when they screwed us on the pricing, I vowed to never look back.
>
> My wife does have an Amazon Prime though, for the free shipping.
> (I've never used the Amazon Prime video feature and neither has she.)
>
> Do you think the Superbowl will be on Amazon Prime?
>
> Is there any way to watch the Superbowl from a phone or PC
> without having to subscribe with a credit card to something?
>

I use PadTV on my android tablet, but you won't be able to get it by
tomorrow.

> I just want to watch the Superbowl over the Internet on a phone or PC.
> What I'm looking for, I think, is simply a web site that will show it.
>
>> Or just buy this https://www.newegg.com/p/16R-06F0-000E9 (or similar)
>> and plug into your TV.
>
> What TV?

Those flat 12"x12" indoor TV antennas that you can tape to your window
work surprisingly well. And they're much cheaper on eBay.

You could use it with a USB Android/Windows TV tuner stick, if you had
prepared earlier.
$27.97/Amazon - Mygica A681B Analog USB HDTV Tuner stick +
Windows/Android TV tuner software (PadTV).
https://bit.ly/3SSXMEa

> I've never owned a TV since about 30 years ago when I gave
> up on the "violence" so my young children (at that time) wouldn't
> have to see constant violence. I never looked back & don't own a TV.

USB TV tuner hardware is completely portable and detachable.

MajorLanGod wrote on Sat, 10 Feb 2024 21:49:26 GMT :

>> Is there any way to watch the Superbowl from a phone or PC
>> without having to subscribe with a credit card to something?
>>
>
> I use PadTV on my android tablet, but you won't be able to get it by
> tomorrow.

I just tested this for the OP and it "might" work tomorrow for him.
https://i.postimg.cc/5tRYTmZ1/superbowl.jpg

1. I installed the CBS Sports app off the Google Play Store.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handmark.sportcaster

2. When I ran it the first time, it asked me to create a login
using my email address, asking me my DOB and other private stuff.

3. Without adding any of that information, I closed the app down
and I restarted the app and now it let me in without credentials.

Then there's a button on top to select the "Superbowl LVIII" channel.
And a button on the bottom to "Watch" what seems like "live" channels.

The strange thing is the audio was all screwed up.
a. Either a video played with no audio.
b. Or the videos played only with audio (and the screen went black).

My phone is set up for privacy, but I've never seen that happen.

I also tried the "CBS News" app which essentially did the same things.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.treemolabs.apps.cbsnews

Maybe someone else can test it out for the OP to see if they concur.
Obviously I have no idea if it will work tomorrow for the Superbowl.

On 2/11/2024 3:39 AM, Andrew wrote:
> MajorLanGod wrote on Sat, 10 Feb 2024 21:49:26 GMT :
>
>>> Is there any way to watch the Superbowl from a phone or PC
>>> without having to subscribe with a credit card to something?
>>>
>>
>> I use PadTV on my android tablet, but you won't be able to get it by
>> tomorrow.
>
> I just tested this for the OP and it "might" work tomorrow for him.
> https://i.postimg.cc/5tRYTmZ1/superbowl.jpg
>
> 1. I installed the CBS Sports app off the Google Play Store.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handmark.sportcaster
>
> 2. When I ran it the first time, it asked me to create a login
> using my email address, asking me my DOB and other private stuff.
>
> 3. Without adding any of that information, I closed the app down
> and I restarted the app and now it let me in without credentials.
>
> Then there's a button on top to select the "Superbowl LVIII" channel.
> And a button on the bottom to "Watch" what seems like "live" channels.
>
> The strange thing is the audio was all screwed up.
> a. Either a video played with no audio.
> b. Or the videos played only with audio (and the screen went black).
>
> My phone is set up for privacy, but I've never seen that happen.
>
> I also tried the "CBS News" app which essentially did the same things.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.treemolabs.apps.cbsnews
>
> Maybe someone else can test it out for the OP to see if they concur.
> Obviously I have no idea if it will work tomorrow for the Superbowl.
>

I thought phones were pretty good on compatibility issues.

Your video symptoms sound like something a PC would do :-)

The canned video may be different than what will be streamed
from the site. It might still work.

Paul

>>> Is there any way to watch the Superbowl from a phone or PC
>>> without having to subscribe with a credit card to something?

> I just tested this for the OP and it "might" work tomorrow for him.
> https://i.postimg.cc/5tRYTmZ1/superbowl.jpg
>
> 1. I installed the CBS Sports app off the Google Play Store.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handmark.sportcaster
>
> 2. When I ran it the first time, it asked me to create a login
> using my email address, asking me my DOB and other private stuff.
>
> 3. Without adding any of that information, I closed the app down
> and I restarted the app and now it let me in without credentials.
>
> Then there's a button on top to select the "Superbowl LVIII" channel.
> And a button on the bottom to "Watch" what seems like "live" channels.
>
> The strange thing is the audio was all screwed up.
> a. Either a video played with no audio.
> b. Or the videos played only with audio (and the screen went black).

Date: Sunday, Feb. 11
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS, Nickelodeon
Stream: Available via Paramount+ on all platforms, or sign in with your
TV provider on CBS.com or CBS Sports apps

After Play Store installation of CBS Sports App on my Samsung S10
(Android 12):
* Pressed the "Continue" button to skip login.
* All videos were muted by default. Pressed the video screen to expose
the speaker icon, then pressed that icon to unmute.
* No problems with playing audio with live video with the CBS Sports App
on my smartphone.

Installed from Play Store via Windows 10 Bluestacks App Player emulator:
* Pressed the "Continue" button to skip login.
* All videos were muted by default, etc.
* No audio lag with live video, played just as smoothly as smartphone.

Installed from Play Store via Windows 10 Nox emulator:
* Pressed the "Continue" button to skip login.
* All videos were muted by default, etc.
* Some audio lag with live video, otherwise OK.

"Gelato" <gelato@.is.invalid> wrote

| Ads are ok. But no login is desired. Certainly no credit card
| for "trial offers" that I then have to beg them to decline
| (and they already got what they wanted which is your data).
| | I don't have a TV nor am I going to put an antenna on my roof, so the
| question is about real time watching of the Superbowl over the net.
| | Any suggestions?

Did you try just going to cbs.com? That should work, though I
don't know about what signup involves.

I'd also suggest reconsidering TVs. A $10 antenna might or might not
work at your house, but you can get a decent TV for about $100.
We have two, both hooked up for streaming. One's connected to
Win7, the other to a Raspberry Pi 4, via HDMI.

There are lots of movies that you
can download from archive.org. There are TV shows and concerts that
you can get from youtube with a downloader program like youtube-dl
or 3dyd. If you join PBS you get free access to all of their shows. If
you have a good library they'll have DVDs and possibly provide access
to Hoopla and/or Kanopy videos. We get all that, plus a Netflix
subscription for $10/month. And we watch it all on a nice, clear, 32" TV
that cost $100. No Internet hookup on the TV.

I think the current minimum cost for Netflix is $15. Expensive? For me
it's less than one theater ticket. And these days most theaters are sleazy
chains, showing ads before the movie and overcrowded.

I don't think Netflix can afford to go much
cheaper. Though I do wonder about their strategy. They paid something
like $100 million for the old reruns of that crap TV show Friends.
Friends seems to be on almost every OTA TV station. Yet Netflix
bought it! I half expect them to pay $50 million for the Beverly
Hillbillies. Then that becomes part of their cost. And now they've bought
rights to wrestling. Wrestling! I suppose it's like the networks: Once
they become that big they cater to the mainstream as much as
possible. It's the same reason that the bestselling beers taste like
stale soda. If they were actually well made beers then most people
wouldn't like them.

Of course, you can use your cellphone, as kelown suggested. But
then you also have to figure in the cost of a microscope and a stiff
neck to actually see the game. Otherwise it's like Charlie Chaplin's
flea circus. They claim it's the Super Bowl, but how would you
know for sure? :)

Netflix gets worse by the month. Much of what they have is crap,
or aimed at teenagers. I used to order the DVDs and they had virtually
every movie made. Those days are over. It's not their fault. Companies
like Apple, HBO, etc don't want to share. For now, each streamer is
trying to create a must-have show that will push you to buy their
service.

With Amazon you can get just about anything, but at a steep cost.
Prime costs a bundle. Then most of the newer shows cost -- up to $20+!
I have a friend who spends over $300/month to be able to watch
whatever she feels like watching. Plus, Amazon is sleazy. I avoid
them altogether.

Amazon is like CVS/Walgreens or Home Depot/Lowes --
If you dump your local, privately owned store merely over price then
there'll be nothing left but chains. Then the chains jack up their
prices and you have no choice but to go along. It happens over
and over, but people don't learn. Amazon does the same online,
forcing retailers to charge at least as much at their own websites
as they do on Amazon. Eventually, Amazon could own retail and
you won't be able to buy from elsewhere.

kelown wrote on Sun, 11 Feb 2024 04:48:45 -0600 :

> Stream: Available via Paramount+ on all platforms, or sign in with your
> TV provider on CBS.com or CBS Sports apps

My phone is set up to disallow paying for anything so I tried
Paramount safely, and as expected, it refused to allow me to pay.
https://i.postimg.cc/FRQnr4VN/paramount.jpg

Even so, that's my most straightforward suggestion for the OP.
He can sign up and then cancel & ask for his data to be removed.

> * Pressed the "Continue" button to skip login.

I had not seen that "Continue" button so thanks for finding it for us.
https://i.postimg.cc/fT1SFTv2/cbslogin.jpg

I noticed it doesn't check the email you give it because I always give an
app a bogus email address, but I accidentally gave it an address that
existed at first, but then I made it more random and it doesn't verify.

So the OP and anyone else can either skip the login information or give it
bogus login information and it will let you log in if that matters at all.

> * All videos were muted by default. Pressed the video screen to expose
> the speaker icon, then pressed that icon to unmute.

For some reason I never saw (and still don't see) that speaker icon.

But your tests gave me the confidence to fiddle around and at some point
in the CBS Sports app fiddling with it finally turned the video audio on.

It's weird that it has the video muted at the start though. Why do that?

Until you responded, I had figured it was something wrong on my phone.
So I'm happy you solved that mystery that it's not just me. It's everyone.

What's unusual though is I can't STOP (pause) the video once it plays.
But maybe that's a function of the fact that I can't find the controls.

From the looks of the CBS Sports app, it "appears" that it will play the
superbowl later on today, but it's really up to the OP to figure that out.

Newyana2 <Newyana2@invalid.nospam> wrote:
> Of course, you can use your cellphone, as kelown suggested. But
> then you also have to figure in the cost of a microscope and a stiff
> neck to actually see the game. Otherwise it's like Charlie Chaplin's
> flea circus. They claim it's the Super Bowl, but how would you
> know for sure? :)

How tall is your monitor screen? A foot? A foot and a half? How tall?
That's how tall your Android phone will be when mirrored onto it.

Even better, in landscape mode the question becomes how wide is it?
That's how wide your Android phone will be when mirrored onto it.

Everything is mirrored. Video. Sound. Mic. Keyboard. Mouse. Clipbrd.
https://duckduckgo.com/&q=mirror+android+free+on+pc+monitor

"Peter" <confused@nospam.net> wrote

|
| How tall is your monitor screen? A foot? A foot and a half? How tall?
| That's how tall your Android phone will be when mirrored onto it.
|

So you're watching on a cellphone that's sent to a computer monitor?
That's better than just a cellphone. You can watch with just binoculars. :)
My TV is 32".

On 10/02/2024 04:49, Gelato wrote:
> How can I watch the Superbowl in real time for free on Android or Windows?
>
> Ads are ok. But no login is desired. Certainly no credit card
> for "trial offers" that I then have to beg them to decline
> (and they already got what they wanted which is your data).
>
> I don't have a TV nor am I going to put an antenna on my roof, so the
> question is about real time watching of the Superbowl over the net.
>
> Any suggestions?

<https://youtu.be/jQ1l5zenaKY?si=CgAvIbwua9oIaTah>

On Sat, 10 Feb 2024 21:50:00 -0600, kelown wrote:

>> What TV?
>
> Those flat 12"x12" indoor TV antennas that you can tape to your window
> work surprisingly well. And they're much cheaper on eBay.

Thanks for all the help and advice. The CBS apps never worked.

I watched it by joining a Paramount+ plan but now I have to figure out how
to unsubscribe. I don't even know what that unsubscription process is.

But I got two games out of the deal, even as my favorite team lost.

Newyana2 <Newyana2@invalid.nospam> wrote:
Newyana2 wrote on 11.02.2024 16:11Newyana2 wrote on 11.02.2024 16:11>| How
tall is your monitor screen? A foot? A foot and a half? How tall?
>| That's how tall your Android phone will be when mirrored onto it.
>|
>
> So you're watching on a cellphone that's sent to a computer monitor?
> That's better than just a cellphone. You can watch with just binoculars. :)
> My TV is 32".

I don't understand your logic.

At 16:9 a 32" diagonal monitor is about 16" tall by about 28" wide.
https://www.displaywars.com/32-inch-16x9-vs-27-inch-16x9

An average cellphone is 5.8 to 6.2 inches tall by about 3 inches wide.
https://www.coolblue.be/en/advice/smartphone-screens.html

That means in portrait mode your cellphone shows up on your PC monitor at
about 16" tall by about 8" wide, which should not need those binoculars.

In landscape mode (which is how you'd watch videos) your cellphone expands
to about 28" wide by about 14" tall, basically taking up the entire screen.

My logic would be that you can see your PC screen today, so when your phone
takes up that same PC screen, why would it be any harder for you to see?

> So you're watching on a cellphone that's sent to a computer monitor?
> That's better than just a cellphone. You can watch with just binoculars. :)
> My TV is 32".

If your 32" TV has an HDMI input port, you can connect an Android TV box
and install apps from the Google Play Store or directly install app
APKs. The experience is like having an Android on your full widescreen TV.

Ugoos X4Q Plus Android TV box/$104.99 - Android 11, 4GB RAM/64GB storage
https://is.gd/CfVkL5

On Sun, 11 Feb 2024 23:01:11 -0600, kelown wrote:
> If your 32" TV has an HDMI input port, you can connect an Android TV box
> and install apps from the Google Play Store or directly install app
> APKs. The experience is like having an Android on your full widescreen TV.

You can also install Android apps directly over Wi-Fi for free.

All you do is mirroring Android onto Windows over your Wi-Fi and grab an
APK in the Windows File Explorer GUI with your mouse and slide that Android
APK from Windows file system onto the mirrored image of Android on the PC.

You can install fifty APKs at a time that way.
I do it all the time when I set up a new phone.

Cost = $0

On Sun, 11 Feb 2024 23:09:58 -0500, Gelato wrote:

>> Those flat 12"x12" indoor TV antennas that you can tape to your window
>> work surprisingly well. And they're much cheaper on eBay.
>
> Thanks for all the help and advice. The CBS apps never worked.
>
> I watched it by joining a Paramount+ plan but now I have to figure out how
> to unsubscribe. I don't even know what that unsubscription process is.
>
> But I got two games out of the deal, even as my favorite team lost.

I gave the account information to three people, two of which used it
to watch the entire Superbowl so one account allowed multiple users.

After the overtime, I unsubscribed. It was easy to unsubscribe after I went
to the accounts page and down near the bottom was an unsubscribe button.

It tried to talk me into "one month free" if I didn't unsubscribe.
And when I did unsubscribe, it said I could still use it until the 18th.

One problem I had with Chrome is the memory filled up where it crashed at
about 2500 Megabytes according to the Memory Hogs program .

What would happen is the game would play about ten or fifteen minutes and
the memory for the highest Chrome process would climb from about 600MB to
about 1500 MB and then the whole thing would die saying "Aw. Snap!" and
then "Something went wrong while displaying this webpage" and then
"Error code: Out of Memory" (even though it's a 16GB desktop PC).

It would come back again though if I reloaded.
Wiping out the cache and cookies didn't seem to make any difference.

Of course, they have my confidential name & address & credit card & email.
Other than that, Paramount+ displayed the Superbowl fine, for free.
Thanks.

Gelato wrote:

>What would happen is the game would play about ten or fifteen minutes and
>the memory for the highest Chrome process would climb from about 600MB to
>about 1500 MB

This is a general problem with Chrome/Chromium not only in Windows but
also in Linux: It does not throw away the streaming data once it has
been displayed but keeps it until the system's RAM is full, resulting in
crashes.

-jw-

--

And now for something completely different...

On 2/12/2024 3:01 AM, Joerg Walther wrote:
> Gelato wrote:
>
>> What would happen is the game would play about ten or fifteen minutes and
>> the memory for the highest Chrome process would climb from about 600MB to
>> about 1500 MB
>
> This is a general problem with Chrome/Chromium not only in Windows but
> also in Linux: It does not throw away the streaming data once it has
> been displayed but keeps it until the system's RAM is full, resulting in
> crashes.
>
> -jw-
>

There could be a WideVine module loaded as well, for playback.

Paul

Paul wrote:

>> This is a general problem with Chrome/Chromium not only in Windows but
>> also in Linux: It does not throw away the streaming data once it has
>> been displayed but keeps it until the system's RAM is full, resulting in
>> crashes.

>There could be a WideVine module loaded as well, for playback.

So there probably is no way to alter that behaviour?

-jw-

--

And now for something completely different...

"Peter" <confused@nospam.net> wrote
| | My logic would be that you can see your PC screen today, so when your
phone
| takes up that same PC screen, why would it be any harder for you to see?
|

I see. But if you have a computer and monitor, you don't
need to get the video on a cellphone. You can just
use a browser.

"kelown" <kelown@privacy.invalid> wrote

| If your 32" TV has an HDMI input port, you can connect an Android TV box
| and install apps from the Google Play Store or directly install app
| APKs. The experience is like having an Android on your full widescreen TV.
|

I didn't know about those, but I also don't see the point. What
value is there in Android? I have an Android cellphone and I've
had to deal with constant hassles of Google trying to make me
connect to their crap. I don't install apps.

I have Win7 feeding into one TV and an RPi4 going into the
other. That allows me to stream any service through a browser.
I can also download movies from archive.org or videos from
youtube, then play those in a video player piped to the TV.
Why in the world would I want to buy a new, superfluous
device, infested by the worst spyware company in the world?
Why would I want APKs? Apps for companies like CBS are
simply more spyware, bypassing the relative privacy of the
browser. One of the advantages of the setup I use is that I
don't need a "smart" device, don't need anyone's "app", and
don't need to allow the TV to connect online.

Maybe you're playing Android games? I can't think of any
other reason why you'd want the ATVbox when you already
have Windows. But it's interesting to know about. The Internet
started out as the "information superhighway" where anything
could be accessed through a browser. Now I wonder how many
people like you there are, accustomed to using a cellphone,
and seeing the Internet as merely a selection of commercial
services to run on their kiosk device.

Newyana2 <Newyana2@invalid.nospam> wrote:
> "kelown" <kelown@privacy.invalid> wrote
>
> | If your 32" TV has an HDMI input port, you can connect an Android TV box
> | and install apps from the Google Play Store or directly install app
> | APKs. The experience is like having an Android on your full widescreen TV.
> |
>
> I didn't know about those, but I also don't see the point. What
> value is there in Android? I have an Android cellphone and I've
> had to deal with constant hassles of Google trying to make me
> connect to their crap. I don't install apps.

Without an account, it's a tad hard for Google to "make you connect
connect to their crap", but let's not stray from the issue at hand.
(Do you use factory-installed apps? *Why* do you have a smartphone, if
you dislike it/Google so much?)

> I have Win7 feeding into one TV and an RPi4 going into the
> other. That allows me to stream any service through a browser.
> I can also download movies from archive.org or videos from
> youtube, then play those in a video player piped to the TV.
> Why in the world would I want to buy a new, superfluous
> device, infested by the worst spyware company in the world?

Well, Google isn't spying on me. Microsoft isn't spying on me. Meta
isn't spying on me. Etc., etc..

Why is Google spying on you, while - I assume/hope - Microsoft isn't?
Maybe because you do know how to manage/use a Windows machine, but can't
be bothered to learn how to manage/use an Android device, while
continously ranting how bad/evil they are?

> Why would I want APKs? Apps for companies like CBS are
> simply more spyware, bypassing the relative privacy of the
> browser.

Obviously don't know about CBS, but my experience with company
specific apps is quite good. No "spyware" or privacy isues at all.

And smartphones/tablets do have browsers as well. And they can
connect/stream to a TV, so no difference there, just a *different*
platform.

> One of the advantages of the setup I use is that I
> don't need a "smart" device, don't need anyone's "app", and
> don't need to allow the TV to connect online.
>
> Maybe you're playing Android games? I can't think of any
> other reason why you'd want the ATVbox when you already
> have Windows. But it's interesting to know about.

Some streaming services are not available in a browser (or have bad
performance in a browser) and have no Windows program/'app', so if
someone wants to use those streaming services, they have to use other
devices. (And they *can* do so quite safely without any "spyware", thank
you very much.)

> The Internet
> started out as the "information superhighway" where anything
> could be accessed through a browser. Now I wonder how many
> people like you there are, accustomed to using a cellphone,
> and seeing the Internet as merely a selection of commercial
> services to run on their kiosk device.

Don't be so patronizing! He's not talking about a cellphone and is
often posting in Windows groups, so feel free to come off your high
horse.

What you do for yourself is of course fine, but please drop your habit
of patronizing others for *their* choices.

FYI: No, I don't have an Android TV box, but yes, I do use apps on my
mobile phone to stream third party content to my TV, i.e. I do not use
my Windows computer for that. I hope that's OK with you.