I love technology when it makes my life more fun. I like it better when it’s easy.
I’m a fan of a number of TV shows out of the US like Orange is the New Black, Games of Thrones etc. but not enough to go through the hassle of setting up NetFlix from Australia. So, like most people I am watching the streaming space to see how the players pan out especially with content availability.
So, when Stan announced they would be showing the Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul, I was in (Tim Burrowes piece on Mumbrella made some vaild points as well)!
During the process of making that decision I was a little annoyed that I couldn’t find exactly what shows and movies Stan did have in it’s library. But, hey it’s only $10 per month, you can control the service using your mobile phone, tablet or laptop and the first month is a free trial so I signed up. The library of content is small but will be added to over time (clearly no HBO content though).
This is where it became a little disappointing. First, while excited with the prospect of using this new service, I discovered that I needed to buy a Google Chromecast HDMI connection to enable streaming to my TV (naive new user) which cost $49. Second, I found that none of the mobile phones in my house (HTC One, Samsung S5) were supported by Stan. Hmmmmm….. At least I can run it from the laptop.
I set about getting everything sorted, I got the Chromecast service to work, added a Chrome add-on to stream/cast to the TV and began testing last night because Better Call Saul was going to air in about an hour!! I was showing my son how to do it and sat through a 1/2 hour YouTube play list of Biggie Smalls videos and an episode of South Park. All was working as expected and now it was time to start the show!!
Wouldn’t you know it?? I could not get the show to stream on the TV – you are kidding me! It played fine on the laptop but hung on the TV screen (it’s not a problem with Stan and more likely a hiccup with the HDMI connection). Sadly, I couldn’t get it to work on the TV so I ended up watching it on the laptop.
Nonetheless, the show was great and I have high hopes (it is the highest rated TV series launch in cable history) for the rest of the series. I was very stoked to see Mike and Tuco – I’m hooked. Definitely pay a visit to the website: DUI? Dealing Drugs? Better Call Saul.
The second episode is tonight; hopefully it works or I may have a Google Chromecast dongle for sale, cheap!
