Games On The Go

For many, mobile gaming refers to games played on smartphones and tablets.  But there's another lesser-known kind of mobile gaming out there -- one that involves vehicles decked out in video game hardware, cruising from home to home.

These veritable arcades on wheels can be spotted in neighborhoods around the island, yet few know what they actually are.  Those who are privy to their existence, however, understand what a boon they can be to parents with lots of kids to look after.

Mobile Game Guys, founded in March 2008 by Kalani Miller and Shawn Haruno, is one such mobile gaming business on O'ahu.

-- Midweek, October 24, 2018, page 6

Paul Allen

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who had been suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, passed away at the age of 65 on Monday, his family said.

Allen had said earlier this month that he had started treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the same type of cancer he overcame nine years ago.

Born in Seattle, Allen attended Washington State University for two years before dropping out to co-found Microsoft in 1975 with Bill Gates, a friend of his from high school.

Allen, who left Microsoft in 1983, set up investment firm Vulcan Inc. in 1986 to manage his multibillion-dollar portfolio.

"Paul Allen's contributions to our company, our industry and to our community are indispensable," Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a statement. "As co-founder of Microsoft, in his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions, and in doing so, he changed the world."

Allen, who ranked 44th on Forbes magazine's 2018 list of billionaires with a $20.5 billion fortune, was a major benefactor in Seattle, funding everything from libraries and universities to brain research.

His investments include ownership stakes in several professional sports teams, including the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, NFL's Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.

Have you bought your last car?

A growing number of tech analysts are predicting that in less than 20 years we'll all have stopped owning cars, and, what's more, the internal combustion engine will have been consigned to the dustbin of history.

Yes, it's a big claim and you are right to be sceptical, but the argument that a unique convergence of new technology is poised to revolutionise personal transportation is more persuasive than you might think.

The central idea is pretty simple: Self-driving electric vehicles organised into an Uber-style network will be able to offer such cheap transport that you'll very quickly - we're talking perhaps a decade - decide you don't need a car any more.

And if you're thinking this timescale is wildly optimistic, just recall how rapidly cars replaced horses.

The OTT race

Sling remains the largest player in the total OTT pay-TV landscape with over 2.34 million subscribers. DirecTV Now T had hit 1.8 million subscribers by the end of June, which means the two largest players now control over two thirds of the more than 6 million total OTT pay-TV subscribers, according to Digiday.

While Sling leads the pack, the gap with DirecTV Now is shrinking, with only 535,000 separating the two providers, down from 836,000 at the end of the first quarter. While Sling had 41,000 net adds in the second quarter, the pace of expansion is slowing, as the service added 120,000 subscribers in the second quarter of 2017 and 91,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2018. In contrast, DirecTV Now added 342,000 subscribers in the second quarter versus 152,000 in same period in 2017 and 312,000 in the first quarter of 2018. We expect that DirecTV Now will overtake Sling within the next year, but that YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV will expand faster than their slightly older peers.

Oceanic channel updates (direct connect)

[12/13/18] HDJ

[8/10/18] Noticed OC16 was missing as well as COZI and SURF.  So I decided to re-scan.  SURF moved to 9-4, OC16 moved to 9-16, COZI moved to 83-5.  Also I'm getting CW-HD on 105-2, but I don't expect that to last long.

So here's the updated lineup:

2-8 CSPAN2
2-13  ANTENNA

2-14  KWHE

2-26  TBN

9-4 SURF

9-16  OC16 SD

9-220 Program Guide (silent)  [I think this is for the digital transport adapter]

56-63  QVC

56-64  INFO

76-6  CSPAN3

76-10  HSN

78-21  KBS

78-29  State of Hawaii Emergency Operations Center

78-30  TEC

79-1  PBSKIDS

79-3 getTV

79-10  ON DEMAND previews

83-5  COZI TV

98-4  GUIDE (with music)

[6/26/18] Well, I returned the boxes and canceled Spectrum.  But I'm still getting some channels via direct connect.  I guess they don't bother disconnecting it since it's now carrying only the few oddball channels.  Maybe they think I might re-subscribe?

Anyway I decided to rescan since I wasn't getting a couple channels that I got on previous scan.  Here's what I'm getting now.

2-8 CSPAN2
2-13  ANTENNA

2-14  KWHE

2-26  TBN

9-220 Program Guide (silent)  [I think this is for the digital transport adapter]

56-63  QVC

56-64  INFO

76-6  CSPAN3

76-10  HSN

78-21  KBS

78-29  State of Hawaii Emergency Operations Center

78-30  TEC

79-1  PBSKIDS

79-3 getTV

79-4 SURF

79-10  ON DEMAND previews

79-16  OC16 SD

98-4  GUIDE (with music)

116-5  COZI TV

No Olelo anymore.  I did get CW HD on 108-1 at first, but that lasted less than an hour.

[5/12/18] That was fast.  The cable boxes arrived the next day via Priority Mail 1-Day.  I hate for them to waste all that postage.  I guess they figure they'll make it up eventually with the monthly rental fees.

Hook it up and let's see.

Got some loading message or something on the screen.  In the meantime, set up the remote for my TV.  Then the power went off on the cable box.  Turn it on with the remote.

Then got the message your TV will be right with you.  Wait several more minutes.

Now there's a message "To Restore Or Activate Services  Call us at 643-2100.  But the pamphlet says to call 1-877-309-5869.  I wonder if it goes to the same place?  I'll call the 877 number since I remember the last time (at the in-laws) I called the local number and I had to speak to somebody.

Activate digital receiver cable box.  Nope, went to somebody talking.

Asked for my name, address.  Then the last 4-digits of my SS#.  Now on hold, waiting for the next person.

Wait a few more minutes and the signal came in.

Let's see.  Nope, no Spectrum Sports.  Mentioned briefly to the rep that the other rep said I would get Spectrum Sports.  She seemed sympathetic.  And also gave me a tip that if I pressed Guide twice I would get the option to view only the channels that I subscribe to.  OK, that's cool.

Hmm.  I'm getting the same problem that I got at the in-laws house.  The picture changes every other channel.  The solution was to reset the box on their side.  But they said if I had that problem next time that I could pull out the power and plug it back in.  Let's try that.

Nothing happens when I first plugged in the power.  Let me wait a while.

Now it says Acquiring Application Information ...
Then the screen went blank.
OK, let's turn on the power with the remote.
Your TV will be right with you ... [with a countdown ball with a number in it]
then the screen went blank again
then it goes to channel 1016.
OK, not skipping the channels now.

OK, here's the channels.

1 iCONTROL Movies on Demand [shows both free and pay movies and TV]
2 HKBFD
3 KHONHD
4 KITVHD
5 KFVEHD
6 KLEI
7 KGMBHD
8 KHNLHD
9 KIKU
10 KHETHD
11 KWHE
12 SPCSP  To receive this channel, call Customer Care at 643-2100
13 Spectrum Sports Enhanced Interactive / [sports highlights on demand]
14 Spectrum OC16 On Demand / [entire games On Demand, including Wahine volleyball] but when I tried Hawaii vs. UCLA HD, it said unavailable / I was able to load a high school baseball game in SD though.  Might be a bandwidth problem
15 Spectrum OC16 Interactive
16 OC16
17 XCAST
18 XCAST2
19 XCAST Multiview
20 SPCSU (Surf Channel)
21 Spectrum USurf
25 KALO
26 KAAH
27 KPXOHD (ion)
28 DSTAR
30 EWTN
31 INSP
45 CSPAN
46 CSPAN3
47 CSPAN2
49 olelo (FOCUS)
50 KKAI
53 olelo (NATV)
54 olelo (VIEWS)
55 olelo (OAHU)
56 KUPU (COZI)
61 TBS
79 ARIRANG
80 KBS
81 Korea Lifestyle on Demand (pay)
93 KHON2 HD (CW)
100 Online Cable Billing Center
114 Hawaii News On Demand
126 KITV2 (MeTV)
131 LEASE
132 jtv
150 EVINEHD
152 HSNHD
153 QVCHD / blank screen
154 HSNShop (on demand)
155 SZ9 (Gem Shopping Network)
156 SHOPLC
157 RFN1
158 GEM
160 RFN1
162 SHZL3 (shop zeal)
183 Government On Demand
184 OLELO On Demand
200 SportsChoice multi-screen
330 Free On Demand
332 The Green Channel
342 Information for the Ages
354 EDUTV
355 UHTV
356 TEACH
358 UH Distance Learning On Demand
408 EWTN
409 BYUTV
410 INSP
411 Digitial Instructions (blank screen - I think my signal is marginal)
432 Multi-Screen Mosaic For Kids
443 KHET2 (PBS Kids)
520 QVCHD
541 KHNL2 (Antenna TV)
543 KHON3 (get TV)
544 KGMB2 (this)
546 REELZ
551 TBS
552 HSNHD
596 Free On Demand
620 iCONTROL Movies on Demand
695 KLEI
700 In Demand Barker
782 CSPAN2
783 CSPAN3 (blank)
912 Job Listings (blank)
919 PETS (adoptable Humane Society Pets)
943 Music Choice On Demand
951 OC16 On Demand
953 Hawaii News On Demand
959 Oceanic Sports and Fitness On Demand
963 TW Cable How-To On Demand
975 Primetime On Demand
990 iCONTROL Movies On Demand

1000 iCONTROL Movies On Demand
1002 HKBFD
1003 KHONHD
1004 HKBFD
1005 KFVEHD
1006 KITVHD
1007 KGMBHD
1008 KHNLHD
1010 KHETHD
1013 Spectrum Sports Enhanced Interactive Programming
1014 Spectrum OC16 On Demand
1015 Spectrum OC16 Interactive
1016 OC16
1017 XCAST
1018 XCAST2
1019 Spectrum XCast Multiview HD
1020 Surf Channel
1021 USURF
1027 KPXOHD (ion)
1028 DAYSTAR
1045 CSPAN HD
1046 CSPAN3 HD
1047 CSPAN2 HD
1093 KHON2 HD (CW)
1132 HJEWL
1150 EVINEHD
1152 HSNHD
1153 QVCHD
1154 HSNShop
1316 The Inspire Channel
1320 CookSpace
1326 Oiwi
1330 The Green Channel
1342 Information for the Ages
1408 EWTN
1409 BYUTVHD
1410 INSPHD
1546 REELZHD
1551 TBSHD
1810 KLEI
1975 Primetime On Demand
1990 iCONTROL Movies on Demand
1999 Bulletins On Demand

Yeah, so there are a lot of channels.  But the only main channels are FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, TBS, PBS, CW.  I get the first five on YouTube TV.  I can get CW on demand (but not the live Saturday morning shows).  And of course PBS on demand.  The other channels I would be interested in are OC16 and XCAST.  But I don't know if that's enough for me to cough up $34 a month.

***

[5/11/18] Called Spectrum to cancel my service.  Told the rep that the only reason I had been keeping my basic service was that I was getting channels I wasn't supposed to have.  And that the main reason was because of Spectrum Sports (and secondarily CW).  She said I would still get Spectrum Sports.  So I caved and decided to order the cable boxes and see how it is.

Logging into the spectrum app (on my ipad) and watch.spectrum.net (on my laptop) shows the channels I'm supposed to get (theoretically).  I'll know for sure when I get the box.

16 - Spectrum OC16 (1016)
31 - insp (410, 1410)
45 - CSPAN (1045)
46 - CSPAN 3 (783)
47 - CSPAN 2 (782, 1047)
132 - jtv (1132)
152 - HSN (154, 1152)
153 - QVC (520)
154 - HSN (152, 1152)
410 - insp (31, 1410)
520 - QVC (153)
782 - CSPAN 2 (47, 1047)
783 - CSPAN3 (46, 1046)
1016 - Spectrum OC16 HD (16)
1045 - CSPAN HD (45)
1046 - CSPAN 3 HD (46, 783)
1047 - CSPAN 2 HD (47, 782)
1132 - jtv HD (32)
1152 - HSN HD (152, 154)
1153 - QVC HD (153, 520)
1154 - HSN HD (152, 154, 1152)
1410 - insp HD (31, 410)

then if you have Spectrum internet at home, you can also watch

2 - KBFD
3 - KHON (Fox)
4 - KITV (ABC)
5 - KFVE
7 - KGMB
8 - KHNL
9 - KIKU
10 - KHET
11 - KWHE
25 - KALO
26 - TBN
27 - ion
28 - Daystar
30 - EWTN (408)
43 - MSNBC (107)
56 - KUPU
61 - tbs
80 - KBS World
93 - CW (1093)
107 - MSNBC (43)
126 - MeTV
150 - evine
156 - SHOP
157 - Shop Zeal (160)
158 - Gem Shopping Network
160 - Shop Zeal (157)

162 - Shop Zeal (160)

408 - EWTN (30)

409 - buyTV

443 - PBS Kids

541 - Antenna TV

544 - this TV

546 - REELZ

551 - tbs

1002 - KBFD

1003 - Fox

1004 - KBFD

1005 - KFVE

1006 - KITV

1007 - KGMB

1008 - KHNL

1010 - PBS

1027 - ion

1093 - CW (93)

1107 - MSNBC

1150 - evin

1408 - EWTN

1409 - buytv

1546 - REELZ

1551 - tbs

I had earlier seen more channels, but maybe I didn't complete log out of the other account.  [Actually it was because I was looking at the Guide section not the live TV section.]  Looking the networks that's available On Demand, everything is locked out except for FOX, NBC, PBS, PBS Kids, Pop.

We'll see what I get when I get the box.  If I don't get Spectrum Sports (as I suspect), I guess I'll return the boxes.

I also asked the rep if they still offer the Basic service because when I tried to downgrade Tom at the Ward office, the guy said it's no longer available.  She said it's still available.  But I kind of doubt this too.

[5/1/18]  The dreaded day has arrived when Spectrum has gone all digital in our area.  While most of the channels are gone or encrypted, not all were.

Here's what my scan this morning turned up.  I'm going to cancel my service after this, so this will likely be the final lineup I post.

Current Spectrum Channel Lineup (via direct connect, updated 5/1/18)

3 Spectrum's network is now all digital.  This channel has moved to a new location.  Please go to www.spectrum.com/digitalnow for a complete list of channel locations
9-220 Program Guide (silent)  [I think this is for the digital transport adapter]
57-1 Great news! Spectrum TV is now 100% digital in your area.  This will require you to have an existing set-top box, CableCARD, or Spectrum receiver on each TV in your home to get service.
57-2 same message as on channel 3
57-10 same message as on channel 57-1
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN
78-21  KBS
78-29  State of Hawaii Emergency Operations Center
78-30  TEC
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-3 getTV
79-4 SURF
79-10  ON DEMAND previews
79-16  OC16 SD

98-4  GUIDE (with music)

111-63  QVC

111-64  INFO

112-8  CSPAN2

112-13  ANTENNA
112-14  KWHE
112-26  TBN
112-49  olelo
112-53  olelo 53
112-54  olelo 54
112-55  olelo55

116-5  COZI TV

[5/9/18 - rescanned after scanning with the Mohu antenna attached.  Noticed that the signals are weak when my Roku Stick is attached.  Must be interference.]

***

Current Spectrum Channel Lineup (via direct connect, updated 11/25/17)

2  QVC (66-63)
3  KHON (46-3 HD)
4  KBFD (114-5 HD)
5  KFVE (49-1 HD)
6  KITV (48-9 HD)
7  KGMB (48-1 HD)
8  KHNL (49-3 HD)
9  KIKU (48-4)
10 KHET (49-12 HD)
11 KWHE (82-14)
12  OC16 (83-16 HD)
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  Spectrum Sports (83-4 HD)
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FSW
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  Spectrum Sportsnet
25  KALO (47-25)
26  TBN (82-26)
27  ion (46-1 HD, 47-27 SD)
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FREEFRM
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  Spike
40  bravo
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  ion HD (27, 47-27 SD)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 2)
46-4 CW (81-3 HD)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
46-56 TEACH-f
47-1 MeTV
47-2 this
47-3 KHON SD
47-4  CSPAN
47-5 KFVE SD
47-7 KGMB SD
47-8 KHNL SD
47-10 KHET SD
47-25 KALO (25)
47-27 ion SD (27, 46-1 HD)
48-1  KGMB HD (favorite 2)
48-4 KIKU (9)
48-5 KBFD SD (114-5 HD)
48-6 KITV SD (48-9 HD)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 4)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  olelo (82-53)
54  olelo (82-54)
55  olelo (82-55)
56  ZAP2IT
57  HSN (76-10)
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DSCVRY
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN (57)
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL
78-30  TEC (46-55)
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-3 getTV
79-4 SURF
79-10  ON DEMAND previews
79-16  OC16 SD (83-16 HD)
81-3  CW HD (favorite 7) [changed from 66-3]
81-63  QVC (2) [changed from 66-63]
81-64  INFO [changed from 66-64]

82-8  CSPAN2  [changed from 119-8]

82-13  ANTENNA [changed from 119-13]
82-14  KWHE (11) [changed from 119-14]
82-26  TBN (26) [changed from 119-26]
82-49  olelo [changed from 119-49]
82-53  olelo 53 (53) [changed from 119-53]
82-54  olelo 54 (54) [changed from 119-54]
82-55  olelo55 (55) [changed from 119-55]

83-4  Spectrum Sports HD  (moved from 99-4, favorite 9)

83-16  OC16 HD  (moved from 99-16, favorite 8)

98-4  GUIDE

114-5  KBFD HD
116-5  COZI TV
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)

2/2/18 - try wait

2/1/18 - Spectrum to go all-digital starting Tuesday.  I guess they're going to remove all the analog channels?  Are they going to move any more of the analog channels to digital?  Well, we'll see if I can still catch anything without a cable box.  I think I'll still get the broadcast channels via ClearQAM?

I guess, not.  The FCC decided in 2012 that cable companies can encrypt the broadcast channels.  Goodbye ClearQAM.  I dunno, this blurb just says the cable operator can choose to carry broadcast channels only in digital form and that digital TVs with a QAM tuner should still be able to get them.  But this CNET article says that cable operators will be allowed to encrypt basic cable TV service which includes broadcast TV.

If they don't give me OCSports any more, it's probably goodbye Spectrum for me.  Stay tuned.  [According to this, Spectrum Sports is not included with Basic Service.]

Well, in Akron in November, customers TV went black.  OK, not looking good.

Apparently the signals will be encrypted.  Not looking good.  Maybe time to shop for an antenna.

OK, got a robo-call from Spectrum that they're going all digital.  Then I checked my bill in the mail.  My bill went up to $34.18 from $27.19 with this notice:

"Spectrum is going 100% digital in your area.  We are upgrading your TV service to 100% digital to bring you better picture quality, more channels and great entertainment options.  In the coming weeks. all channels will be delivered digitally and your television will require a digital receiver in order to watch these channels.  For more information call 643-2100 to learn more about how to receive your equipment."

Well, maybe I'll get the free cable box / digital adapter and see what kind of channels I'll get.  [It looks like it's free for two years.]  Then maybe cancel the next month if I don't like it.

11/22/17 - XCAST disappeared from 109-2.  Re-scanned and XCAST turned up on 110-1 with SURF HD on 110-2.  But then they disappeared shortly after that.  11/25/17 - Re-scanned again.  SURF HD showed up on 86-5, but was gone a few hours later.

11/5/17 - while going through finish labeling the channels again, I checked to see if the missing channels were back (didn't have to re-scan, but just entered the numbers of the channels that were missing from before, and the TV apparently scans for all the sub-channels of that particular channel.).  They're back!  PBS Kids (79-1), getTV (79-3), On Demand trailers (79-10), KBFD HD (114-5).  116-5 is also back, but it's now COZI TV instead of the Catholic Channel.  SURF also showed up at 79-4, but we'll see if it (and the others) stick around.  And XCAST HD (109-2) has stuck around.

***

2  QVC (66-63)
3  KHON (46-3 HD)
4  KBFD (114-5 HD)
5  KFVE (49-1 HD)
6  KITV (48-9 HD)
7  KGMB (48-1 HD)
8  KHNL (49-3 HD)
9  KIKU (48-4)
10 KHET (49-12 HD)
11 KWHE (134-14)
12  OC16 (99-16 HD)
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  Spectrum Sports (99-4 HD)
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FSW
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  Spectrum Sportsnet
25  KALO (47-25)
26  TBN (119-26)
27  ion (46-1 HD, 47-27 SD)
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FREEFRM
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  Spike
40  bravo
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  ion HD (27, 47-27 SD)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 2)
46-4 CW (81-3 HD)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
46-56 TEACH-f
47-1 MeTV
47-2 this
47-3 KHON SD
47-4  CSPAN
47-5 KFVE SD
47-7 KGMB SD
47-8 KHNL SD
47-10 KHET SD
47-25 KALO (25)
47-27 ion SD (27, 46-1 HD)
48-1  KGMB HD (favorite 2)
48-4 KIKU (9)
48-5 KBFD SD (114-5 HD)
48-6 KITV SD (48-9 HD)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 4)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  olelo (119-53)
54  olelo (119-54)
55  olelo (119-55)
56  ZAP2IT
57  HSN (76-10)
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DSCVRY
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN (57)
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL
78-30  TEC (46-55)
79-1  PBSKIDS [gone]
79-3 getTV [gone]
79-10  ON DEMAND [gone]
79-16  OC16 SD (99-16 HD)
81-3  CW HD (favorite 7) [changed from 66-3]
81-63  QVC (2) [changed from 66-63]
81-64  INFO [changed from 66-64]

82-8  CSPAN2  [changed from 119-8]

82-13  ANTENNA [changed from 119-13]
82-14  KWHE (11) [changed from 119-14]
82-26  TBN (26) [changed from 119-26]
82-49  olelo [changed from 119-49]
82-53  olelo 53 (53) [changed from 119-53]
82-54  olelo 54 (54) [changed from 119-54]
82-55  olelo55 (55) [changed from 119-55]

83-4  Spectrum Sports HD  (moved from 99-4, favorite 9)

83-16  OC16 HD  (moved from 99-16, favorite 8)

98-4  GUIDE

114-5  KBFD HD [gone]
116-5  CATHOLC [gone]
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)

10/8/17 - rescanned since I noticed last night that the 119 series had disappeared.  The 119 series has now moved to channel 82.  Also popping up (temporarily I assume) were 104-2 XCAST OC16, 107-1 SURF, 108-1 XCAST SD, 108-2 XCAST Multiview, 109-2 XCAST HD.  108-1 and 108-2 have already disappeared.  Gone are the 79 series: PBSKIDS, getTV, ON DEMAND, OC16 SD.  Also gone are 114-5 KBFD HD and 116-5 Catholic.  I wouldn't be surprised they pop up again in the coming days.

*** [9/30/17]

2  QVC (66-63)
3  KHON (46-3 HD)
4  KBFD (114-5 HD)
5  KFVE (49-1 HD)
6  KITV (48-9 HD)
7  KGMB (48-1 HD)
8  KHNL (49-3 HD)
9  KIKU (48-4)
10 KHET (49-12 HD)
11 KWHE (134-14)
12  OC16 (99-16 HD)
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  Spectrum Sports (99-4 HD)
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FSW
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  Spectrum Sportsnet
25  KALO (47-25)
26  TBN (119-26)
27  ion (46-1 HD, 47-27 SD)
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FREEFRM
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  Spike
40  bravo
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  ion HD (27, 47-27 SD)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 2)
46-4 CW (81-3 HD)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
46-56 TEACH-f
47-1 MeTV
47-2 this
47-3 KHON SD
47-4  CSPAN
47-5 KFVE SD
47-7 KGMB SD
47-8 KHNL SD
47-10 KHET SD
47-25 KALO (25)
47-27 ion SD (27, 46-1 HD)
48-1  KGMB HD (favorite 2)
48-4 KIKU (9)
48-5 KBFD SD (114-5 HD)
48-6 KITV SD (48-9 HD)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 4)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  olelo (119-53)
54  olelo (119-54)
55  olelo (119-55)
56  ZAP2IT
57  HSN (76-10)
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DSCVRY
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN (57)
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL
78-30  TEC (46-55)
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-3 getTV
79-10  DEMAND
79-16  OC16 SD (99-16 HD)
81-3  CW HD (favorite 7) [changed from 66-3]
81-63  QVC (2) [changed from 66-63]
81-64  INFO [changed from 66-64]

83-4  Spectrum Sports HD  (moved from 99-4, favorite 9)

83-16  OC16 HD  (moved from 99-16, favorite 8)

98-4  GUIDE

114-5  KBFD HD
116-5  CATHOLC
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)
119-8  CSPAN2  [changed from 134-8]
119-13  ANTENNA [changed from 134-13]
119-14  KWHE (11) [changed from 134-14]
119-26  TBN (26) [changed from 134-26]
119-49  olelo [changed from 134-49]
119-53  olelo 53 (53) [changed from 134-53]
119-54  olelo 54 (54) [changed from 134-54]
119-55  olelo55 (55) [changed from 134-55]

[9/28/17] Noticed that CW HD and the Olelo digital channels were missing, so I decided to rescan.  CW is still missing and the Olelo channels have changed their location.   The Olelo channels (along with CSPAN2, ANTENNA, KWHE, TBN) have changed from 134 to 119.  Now gone: 66-3 CW HD, 66-63 QVC, 66-64 INFO, 78-21 KBS, 78-29 CIVIL, 78-30 TEC.  46-4 CW SD is still there, so I'm hopeful that CW HD might return.  But it's not like I watch it very often (I now watch the Arrowverse  shows when they come on Netflix -- the CW app is frustrating with their quirky subtitles and long commercial breaks).  Oh yeah, Oceanic is now Spectrum.

[9/29/17] Scanned again.  78-21 KBS, 78-29 CIVIL, 78-30 TEC are back.  And good news, channel 66 has moved to channel 81.  It's now 81-3 CW HD, 81-63 QVC, 81-64 INFO.  So didn't lose any channels after all.  108-2 is SURF (which pops up temporarily then goes away).  Yesterday also got an XCAST channel that has gone away.

[9/30/17] Noticed Spectrum Sports and OC16 HD were missing last night, so I scanned again.  Spectrum Sports has moved from 99-4 to 83-4 and OC 16 HD has moved from 99-16 to 83-16.  SURF is gone again, but XCAST showed up on 86-1 and XCAST2 showed up on 108-2 (where SURF had been).  We'll see how long they stay up.

***

Current Oceanic Channel Lineup (via direct connect, updated 4/7/17)

2  QVC (66-63)
3  KHON (46-3 HD)
4  KBFD (114-5 HD)
5  KFVE (49-1 HD)
6  KITV (48-9 HD)
7  KGMB (48-1 HD)
8  KHNL (49-3 HD)
9  KIKU (48-4)
10 KHET (49-12 HD)
11 KWHE (134-14)
12  OC16 (99-16 HD)
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  OC Sports (99-4 HD)
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FSW
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  Spectrum Sportsnet
25  KALO (47-25)
26  TBN (134-26)
27  ion (46-1 HD)
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FREEFRM
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  Spike
40  bravo
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  ION HD (27)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 2)
46-4 CW (66-3 HD)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
46-56 TEACH-f
47-1 MeTV
47-2 this
47-3 KHON SD
47-4  CSPAN
47-5 KFVE SD
47-7 KGMB SD
47-8 KHNL SD
47-10 KHET SD
47-25 KALO (25)
47-27 ion SD (27)
48-1  KGMB HD (favorite 2)
48-4 KIKU (9)
48-5 KBFD SD (114-5 HD)
48-6 KITV SD (48-9 HD)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 4)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  olelo (134-53)
54  olelo (134-54)
55  olelo (134-55)
56  ZAP2IT
57  HSN (76-10)
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
66-3  CW HD (favorite 7)
66-63  QVC (2)
66-64  INFO
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DSCVRY
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN (57)
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL
78-30  TEC (46-55)
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-3 getTV
79-10  DEMAND
79-16  OC16 SD (99-16 HD)
98-4  GUIDE
99-4  OCSPORT HD  (favorite 9)
99-16  OC16 HD  (favorite 8)
114-5  KBFD HD
116-5  CATHOLC
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)
134-8  CSPAN2
134-13  ANTENNA
134-14  KWHE (11)
134-26  TBN (26)
134-49  olelo
134-53  olelo 53 (53)
134-54  olelo 54 (54)
134-55  olelo55 (55)

[4/7/17] Decided to rescan the channels on my Panasonic plasma (because I felt like starting over).  Well, not totally nuts because I decided to rescan just the digital channels so as not to lose the labels on the analog.  Pretty much no changes.  The major difference is that the digital SD channels in the 83-90 range moved to the 47 range.  Also this time, no captions were provided by Oceanic during the scan (they had previously provided the channel captions for the main HD channels), so I had to re-input all the digital captions.  Also corrected KALO and KAAH.  I had them switched on the TV.  According to the Zap2It guide, KALO is channel 25 and KAAH is channel 26.  I put on TBN instead of KAAH because that's what shows in the corner when you tune to the channel.  Similarly I put on ION instead of KPXO.  Channel 23 is now Spectrum Sportsnet instead of Time Warner Cable Sportnet (since Spectrum bought out Time Warner Cable).

[10/30/16] Current Oceanic Channel Lineup (via direct connect)

2  QVC (66-63)
3  KHON (46-3 HD)
4  KBFD (114-5 HD)
5  KFVE (49-1 HD)
6  KITV (48-9 HD)
7  KGMB (48-1 HD)
8  KHNL (49-3 HD)
9  KIKU (48-4)
10 KHET (49-12 HD)
11 KWHE (134-14)
12  OC16 (99-16 HD)
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  OC Sports (99-4 HD)
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FOXSPT
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  LAKERS (TW Sports)
25  KALO (47-25)
26  KAAH (134-26)
27  ion (46-1 HD)
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FREEFRM
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  SPIKE
40  BRAVO
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  KPXO HD  (favorite 11)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 1)
46-4 CW (66-3 HD)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
46-56 TEACH-f
47-1 MeTV
47-2 this
47-4  CSPAN
47-25 KALO (25)
47-27 ion (27)
48-1  KGMB HD (favorite 4)
48-4 KIKU (9)
48-5 KBFD (114-5 HD)
48-6 KITV SD (48-9 HD)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 2)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  olelo (134-53)
54  olelo (134-54)
55  olelo (134-55)
56  ZAP2IT
57  HSN (76-10)
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
66-3  CW HD (favorite 7)
66-63  QVC (2)
66-64  INFO
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DSCVRY
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN (57)
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL (favorite 14)
78-30  TEC (46-55)
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-3 get TV
79-10  DEMAND
79-16  OC16 (99-16 HD)
83 DKHON (46-3)
85 DKFVE (49-1)
87 DKGMB (48-1)
88 DKHNL (49-3)
90 DKHET (49-12)
98-4  GUIDE  (favorite 20)
99-4  OCSPORT HD  (favorite 9)
99-16  OC16 HD  (favorite 8)
114-5  KBFD HD (favorite 12)
116-5  CATHOLC
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)
134-8  CSPAN2
134-13  ANTENNA (favorite 13)
134-14  KWHE (11)
134-26  KAAH (26)
134-49  OLELO
134-53  olelo 53 (53)
134-54  olelo 54 (54)
134-55  olelo55 (55)

[10/30/16] MeTV is finally back.  Along with the other channels on channel 47 such as this and CSPAN.  So they were absent about 3-1/2 months.  I lived.

[9/11/16] ESPN News no longer on 122-2.

[9/7/16] Still no MeTV, but noticed today a new channel get TV (channel 79-3).  Like MeTV and Antenna TV, it plays old TV shows.  Right now there's an old Western on (apparently Tombstone Territory).  And now The Restless Gun.

Looking at the web site, it's a Sony company.  They have shows like Sonny and Cher, In the Heat of the Night.  Not many comedies, but I do see Nanny and the Professor, The Ghost of Mrs. Muir.

Oddly, I don't see it on the regular Oceanic digital lineup (yet).  Doing a search, it's channel 2.3 via antenna and channel 373 on DISH.

ESPN News has been on for a while on channel 122-2, so I'll add it to the lineup.  And I think I'll move the latest channel lineup at the top of this post and leave the comments below.

[8/6/16] My OCD compels me to rescan.  But before rescanning, I'm double-checking the labels (so I can re-enter them after scanning wipes most of them out).  Noticed a few more channels.  48-4 is the digital KIKU.  48-5 is KBFD SD.  48-6 is KITV SD.

Nope, still no MeTV.  Well there's another hour (or two) wasted (putting back in the captions).

[8/5/16] Noticed a couple more channels popped up on my direct connect channel list.  46-4 CW which is the SD counterpart to 66-3.  And 46-56 TEACH-f which looks like a public access channel.  I'll add them to the lineup.  Still no MeTV.  Don't feel like re-scanning right now.

[7/18/16] decided to rescan the Oceanic channels.  Now there's nothing in the 47 range.  Disappearing were MeTV, this, CSPAN, KALO digital.  However the "main" network digital SD channels in that range have been moved to: 83 DKHON, 85 DKFVE, 87 DKGMB, 88 DKHNL, 90 DKHET.

So here's the updated lineup:

2  QVC (66-63)
3  KHON (46-3 HD)
4  KBFD (114-5 HD)
5  KFVE (49-1 HD)
6  KITV (48-9 HD)
7  KGMB (48-1 HD)
8  KHNL (49-3 HD)
9  KIKU (48-4)
10 KHET (49-12 HD)
11 KWHE (134-14)
12  OC16 (99-16 HD)
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  OC Sports (99-4 HD)
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FOXSPT
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  LAKERS (TW Sports)
25  KALO
26  134-26 (KAAH)
27  ion (46-1 HD)
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FREEFRM
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  SPIKE
40  BRAVO
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  KPXO HD  (favorite 11)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 1)
46-4 CW (66-3 HD)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
46-56 TEACH-f
47-1 MeTV (waiting for it to come back for me)
47-2 this (ditto)
48-1  KGMB HD (favorite 4)
48-4 KIKU (9)
48-5 KBFD (114-5 HD)
48-6 KITV SD (48-9 HD)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 2)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  olelo (134-53)
54  olelo (134-54)
55  olelo (134-55)
56  ZAP2IT
57  HSN (76-10)
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
66-3  CW HD (favorite 7)
66-63  QVC (2)
66-64  INFO
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DSCVRY
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN (57)
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL (favorite 14)
78-30  TEC (46-55)
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-3 get TV
79-10  DEMAND
79-16  OC16 (99-16 HD)
83 DKHON (46-3)
85 DKFVE (49-1)
87 DKGMB (48-1)
88 DKHNL (49-3)
90 DKHET (49-12)
98-4  GUIDE  (favorite 20)
99-4  OCSPORT HD  (favorite 9)
99-16  OC16 HD  (favorite 8)
114-5  KBFD HD (favorite 12)
116-5  CATHOLC
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)
122-2 ESPN News
134-8  CSPAN2
134-13  ANTENNA (favorite 13)
134-14  KWHE (11)
134-26  KAAH (26)
134-49  OLELO
134-53  olelo 53 (53)
134-54  olelo 54 (54)
134-55  olelo55 (55)

[7/16/16] Noticed that MeTV is no longer at 47-1 (or anywhere else I can find).  I see in the agreements with programmers document dated 7/4/16 that MeTV digital was one of the channels due to expire.  It's still listed as channel 126 on the zap2it guide.

[6/17/16] KGMB HD is back on 48.1.

[6/16/16] Well, still no KGMB HD.  In fact 48.1 disappeared from the list of channels.  So I'm going to do a new scan.  The problem with scanning is that all my labels that I inputted disappear and I have to manually set them again.  So at the bottom of the post, I will put the latest channel lineup with the labels I had put on.

[6/15/16] As of last night, I noticed that KGMB HD (48.1) has no signal.  This doesn't affect me too much since I subscribe to CBS All Access.  KGMB SD digital still works (47.9).  Couldn't find any notification of this on the Oceanic site.  It may be just a local problem to my area like KITV earlier.  We'll see how long it takes to come back, if ever.  KITV HD took over 2 months before the problem was corrected.

[4/19/16] Lost a few channels this morning.  CNBC HD is gone, CW HD is gone, KBFD HD is gone.  And OC Sports has moved to 99-4.  And it looks like KHON HD is duplicated at 66-3.  Or it could be CW HD since they show the morning news at the same time.  I'll know in abount 30 minutes.  Yep, it's CW.  OK, so only CNBC and KBFD are gone with OC Sports and CW moving to new channels.

Let's check the channel lineup at oceanic.com.  The lineups have been updated.  The digital lineup is dated 4/12/16.  The analog link goes to the digital adapter list and is dated 4/13/16.  The digital adapter link goes to the digital adapter list dated 6/26/15.  That could mean that Oceanic no longer officially supports analog and will phase it out.  Here's the old "analog" lineup dated 4/7/14 which lists CNBC on 51.3 and OC Sports on 51.1.

Ah. Here's something.  (I don't know how I would find this page if I didn't have it linked below.  Well, I guess I can google it.)

"On or about 4/11/16, Oceanic Time Warner Cable will be making technical changes to our cable system that may disrupt our customers’ ability to view unencrypted (“in-the-clear”) channels on a digital television or other device that includes a QAM tuner (a “ClearQAM device”). If this occurs, viewers will need to go into the settings menu on their ClearQAM device and perform a new channel scan in order to resume viewing these channels. Customers using digital cable set-top boxes will not notice any change. In-the-clear channels on Oahu, Maui and Kauai: CW HD from Ch. 50.7 to 66.3; KUPU from Ch. 50.6 to 116.5 (Oahu only); CNBC HD from Ch. 51.5 to 117.2; OCSports HD from Ch. 51.1 to 99.4 and KBFD HD from Ch. 115.3 to 114.5."

OK, rescan and see if I can get CNBC and KBFD back.

(Shucks should have wrote down all the channel number caption descriptions before I scanned because scanning wipes them out.  I only scanned the digital, so hopefully the analog captions are not wiped out.  Well most of them are at the old list, so no biggie.)

OK there you go.  KUPU is the Catholic channel.  Whew, the analog captions are still intact.  That saves me some work.  But my favorites are all wiped out.  OK, let's put the favorites back at least.

So now here's my updated favorites on my Panasonic plasma which includes the current HD lineup.

46-3 KHON
49-1 KFVE
48-9 KITV
48-1 KGMB
49-3 KHON
49-12 KHET
66-3 CW
99-16 OC16
99-4 OC Sports
117-2 CNBC HD
46-1 KPXO
114-5 KBFB HD
47-1 MeTV
134-13 Antenna TV

There is now also a channel guide in HD at 98-4.  But it's the lineup for digital cable, so it might not be there for long.  Actually it looks like it's the listing for those with a digital adapter (e.g. it doesn't have the premium channels), so it might stick around.

The complete channel lineup (before today's changes) is here.

[3/27/16] Noticed a couple of weeks ago that KPXO HD 66-1 is now 46-1.  Updated the channel list.

[1/18/16] Hey KITV HD is back.  This is contrary to what the Oceanic guy (working at Reef's house last week) told me.  He said they're taking away those channels because we're not supposed to get them.  I found it odd when I noticed a couple of weeks ago that KITV HD was still available via direct connect at my cousin's house who doesn't live far away (even after my cousin had their service discontinued).

[11/11/15] Lost KITV HD yesterday (48-9).  Rescanned.  Nope still not there.  The KITV SD digital channel 48-6 doesn't come in either (see the analog channel lineup here).  Maybe Oceanic lost to rights to telecast it digitally (but no mention here).  Maybe they don't even know it's gone.  Well, we'll see if it (and when) it comes back.

[9/13/13] Oh well, it didn't last too long.  OC Sports HD is no longer on 115.3.  Looks like the blacked it out.  Funny it was working at 7:00 PM, then I went back to Rosanne and when I came back for the 7:30 PM game (Wahine vs. Northwestern), it was black.   And what's worse TW Sports HD is no longer on either at 51.2, though the SD signal is still at 51.4.

Couldn't resist and rescanned.  What do you know?  OCSports is now back on!  And a minute later, it disappeared :(  And now it's on again...  stay tuned.

[9/11/13] Latest scan.  Apparently Ion (KPXO) HD is no longer on direct connect.  It used to be on 46-1 for a long time, then I recently saw it on 66-1 for a little while, though I never saw a full screen picture (though transmitting in 720p).

However, more than making up for it is OC Sports back on HD.  This time it's on 115.3.  I've seen it on for a day or so.  We'll see if it lasts (cross fingers).  OC Sports is no longer on 82.1 (SD) and 51.1 (HD).  Just on 16 and 115.3 (as far as I can see).

That direct connection TV lineup on Oceanic.com is outdated.  They do have Me TV on channel 47.1.  And Antenna TV on 134.13.  CNBC on 51.3.  But not This on 47.2.

[11/23/11] A couple more channels on Oceanic

Me TV (channel 126)

and You TV (channel 604) which is actually youtoo.

(Not to be confused with Me Too which is apparently an additional Me TV channel.)

Both are kind of like TV Land showing old shows for the 60s and 70s.

[5/14/12] Antenna TV

[8/13/12] OC16 moving to channel 12 (and vice-versa)

[8/23/12] In the mail, I get a notice that Oceanic is no longer going to carry CNBC on analog.  One more reason to drop Oceanic.  Looking at the latest agreements with programmers:

Statewide, on or about September 1, 2012, CBS College Sports on digital Ch. 247 and HD channel 1247 may be added to Digital Variety Pak (DVP).

Statewide, on or about September 20, the following new Free on Demand Channels will be added: Cutting Edge on Demand on Ch. 1974, Travel on Demand on Ch. 1970 and Health on Demand on Ch. 1956.

Statewide, on or about September 20, Gay on Demand Pay-Per-View will be added to Ch. 741.

Statewide, on or about October 1, 2012 Time Warner Cable Sports Network will be launched on analog Ch. 23, HD Ch. 400 and digital Ch. 1400 on the CPST tier.

Statewide, on or about October 1, Gospel Music TV Ch. 407 will be added to the Digital Variety Pak.

Statewide, on or about October 1, the following HD channels will be added: American Movie Classics to digital CPST HD Tier on Ch. 1600 and Sundance Channel to DVP, Movie Pass and TMC Premium Tiers on HD Ch. 1646.

Statewide, on or about October 18, 2012, CNBC and CSPAN (currently on analog channel 39 and 56, respectively) will be delivered in digital format only. These channels will remain in your existing package, however they will continue to be viewable with a digital set-top box or CableCARD. In addition, C-SPAN will continue to be viewable on digital TVs (and other devices) that include a QAM tuner on QAM channel 122.3.

[9/22/12] NFL Network!  (Wow, ESPN charges $5.15 per subscriber per month!)

[10/1/12] $3.95 a month for the "Lakers" channel?

[6/16/16]  The latest lineup from Oceanic (after I rescanned after losing KGMB HD).  (The numbers are the corresponding digital channel.).  (The lineup from 2015 is here.)

2  66-65
3  46-3
4  115-3
5  49-1
6  48-9
7  48-1
8  49-3
9  KIKU (formerly also on 48-4)
10 49-12
11 154-14
12  99-16
13  HLN
14  CNN
15  FOXNEWS
16  51-1
17  MTV
18  VH1
19  NBCSN
20  FSN
21  ESPN2
22  ESPN
23  LAKERS
25  47-25 (KALO)
26  134-26
27  46-1
28  TBS
29  USA
30  GOLF
31  PRIME
32  NICK
33  DISNEY
34  FAMILY (now FREEFORM)
35  TOON
36  TVLAND
37  SyFy
38  MSNBC
39  SPIKE
40  BRAVO
41  FX
42  AMC
43  TNT
44  TCM
46-1  KPXO HD  (favorite 11)
46-3  KHON HD (favorite 1)
46-55  TEC355 (also on 78-30)
47-1  MeTV (favorite 13)
47-2  this
47-3  46-3
47-4  CSPAN
47-5  49-1
47-7  48-1
47-8  49-5
47-10  49-12
47-25  KALO (25)
47-27  46-1
48-1  KGMB HD (disappeared yesterday. favorite 4)
48-9  KITV HD (favorite 3)
49-1  KFVE HD (favorite 2)
49-3  KHNL HD (favorite 5)
49-12  KHET HD (favorite 6)
53  134-53
54  134-54
55  134-55
56  ZAP2IT
57  76-10
58  TRAVEL
59  HGTV
60  FOOD
61  E!
62  COMEDY
63  HALLMRK
64  LMN
65  DSCLIFE
66-3  CW HD (favorite 7)
66-63  QVC
66-64  INFO
67  OWN
68  LIFE
69  DISCVR
70  ANIMAL
71  TLC
72  HISTORY
73  NATGEO
74  A&E
76-6  CSPAN3
76-10  HSN
78-21  KBS
78-29  CIVIL
78-30  46-55
79-1  PBSKIDS
79-10  DEMAND
79-16  99-16
98-4  GUIDE  (favorite 20)
99-4  OCSPORT  (favorite 9)
99-16  OC16 HD  (favorite 8)
114-5  KBFD HD (favorite 12)
116-5  CATHOLC
117-2  CNBC HD (favorite 10)
134-8  CSPN2
134-13  ANTENNA (favorite 14)
134-14  KWHE
134-26  KAAH
134-49  OLELO
134-53  53
134-54  54
134-55 55

The only scientist in Congress

Before being elected to Congress in 2008, Representative Bill Foster of Illinois, a Democrat, worked for more than 20 years as a physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill. Now, as the only member of Congress with a Ph.D. in science, he says there is an urgent need for more scientists in politics.

Does partisan politics limit your ability to raise scientific issues?

In a typical hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology or Financial Services Committee—both of which I am on—you will get three Republican witnesses and a single Democrat. These committee policies are largely at the discretion of the chairman. When you look at simple reforms that would make [Congress] work in a more bipartisan, fact-based way, just having an equal number of witnesses from both sides would be a real step forward. I think it’s incumbent on us, if the Democrats do take over again, that we go out of our way to make sure the rules are not so winner-takes-all.

Politics is very different from science—in science, if you stand up and say something that you know is not true, it is a career-ending move. It used to be that way in politics. It has taken me a while to adjust to politics where, for many who practice it, the question is not “Is it true?” but “What can I convince the voting public is true?” That psychology has bled into politics more than it should.

Bots defeat humans at DOTA2

Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates has hailed what he sees as a turning point in the development of AI.

OpenAI, a company which was cofounded by Elon Musk, has created five neural-networks called OpenAI Five which are capable of playing the online multi-player game "Dota 2."

Not only can the bots play as a team, they actually destroyed humans at the game during a number of battles. You can watch the bots in action here:

AT&T WatchTV (skinny bundle)

AT&T — the newly minted owner of Time Warner — today unveiled new wireless plans that include its new "WatchTV" skinny bundle. Customers who choose two new unlimited plans, called "AT&T Unlimited & More" and "AT&T Unlimited & More Premium" will be available next week and come with access to the WatchTV app, which includes 31 live channels.

Unlimited & More is $70 per line. (Or $160 for a four-line bundle.) Premium runs $80 a line (or $190 for four lines) and also includes the option to add either HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Start, VRV or Pandora Premium or Amazon Music Unlimited to the mix. A standalone version of WatchTV will be available at some point for $15 a month.

The channels included in the new WatchTV skinny bundle are:

• A&E
• AMC
• Animal Planet
• Audience
• BBC America
• BBC World News
• Boomerang
• Cartoon Network
• CNN
• Discovery
• Food Network
• FYI
• Hallmark Channel
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
• HGTV
• History
• HLN
• IFC
• Investigation Discovery
• Lifetime
• Lifetime Movies
• OWN
• Sundance TV
• TBS
• TCM
• TLC
• TNT
• Tru TV
• Velocity
• Viceland
• WE

And coming "soon" after launch, AT&T says, will be BET, Comedy Central, MTV2, Nicktoons, Teen Nick and VH1.

Mohu Arc 40

With the switch of Spectrum going all digital, I was summoned to the in-laws to install their new cable box (previously the TV had been connected to the cable directly).

I finally got it set up and activated and had a problem with only every other channel being tuned.  A call to customer service and a reset of the box fixed the problem.

But the next morning, I got a call that they couldn't watch the channel any more.

So I figured I'd try an antenna since they don't watch that many channels and they live on the fifth floor so they might get good reception.

I stopped by Best Buy and saw a reasonably priced (i.e. cheap) antenna that had decent reviews.  4.3 on the label.  It was the Mohu Arc 40 which is featured in the Mohu video on the Best Buy web site.  Oddly the website doesn't explicitly list this model, but a more generic listing of a Mohu - Arc Indoor Curved HDTV Antenna - Black/White.  The description states a 30-mile range, while the box of the antenna I bought states a 40 mile range.  But it's has the same item number MH-110951, so it must be the same product.

Anyway, I set it up and got mixed results.  It turns out the results can change quite a bit depending on where you locate the antenna.  Only a few feet can make a difference.

I scanned several times, trying different locations.

My worst result was when I put it on the floor below the TV.  My best result was when I put it on the coffee table facing the ewa window.  In the middle was when I put it on top of the TV cabinet.

Calling Spectrum, they were able to schedule a tech to visit that afternoon.  Sure enough the problem was a weak signal and he hooked up a booster to boost the signal (the channels that were having problems were KBFD, CNN, ESPN).  After the fix, the signal looked OK and I took home the antenna.

The next day (morning), I decided the try the antenna on my TV.  I got less channels.  I got the KHON channels (channel 2), the KITV channels (channel 4) and the KAAH channels (channel 26).  That wasn't bad, because CW is included with the KHON channels so I could watch Dog Whisperer: Family Edition.  After moving around the antenna to see if I could get a more stable picture, I rescanned and was able to get KHET channels (channel 11), but the signal was really weak and the video was blocky.  Not sure if I was able to get KFVE also?  I forget, let me scan again.  Nope, no KHET or KFVE this time.

[5/16/18 - tried scanning again at home moving the antenna as close to the front door as possible.  Oddly, I lost KHON, but gained some other channels.  I noticed my TV can indicate the signal strength.  There's a current strength and peak strength, I'll put in the number that first comes when the peak stabilizes a second after the initial reading.  Moving it around to get a better signal for KITV.  OK let's try the mauka/ewa corner of the coffee table and scan again.

Now let's try to find a better signal for KGMB.  OK, I'm getting like a 50% signal when placing it on the makai/ewa corner of the lauhala mat on the floor angling between the front door and the hallway.  KHON remains about the same, but that gives me a 0% on KHET.  Also a 0% on KBFD.  But that's not bad, I'm getting pictures on KHON, KITV, KGMB, KFVE.  Just missing KHNL.  I'm surprised that the difference in orientation of the antenna makes so much difference.]

So here are the latest results (X means there's a signal.  W means a weak signal.  Blank means no signal.  A number is the approximate signal strength).

              floor cabinet table  home  door  ct  mat
2-1  KHON HD    X      X      X      W         75   85
2-2  KHON CW    X      X      X      X         78   85
2-3  KHON GT    X      X      X      X         78   81
2-4  KHON LF    X      X      X      X         81   86
4-1  KITV HD    X      X      X      X    76   83   73
4-2  MeTV       X      X      X      X    75   83   72
4-3  KITV D3    X      X      X      X    77   82   72
5-1  KGMB                     W                23   49
5-2  THIS                     W                24   52
5-3  ESCAPE                   W                22   51
9-1  KFVE DT           W      W           52   50   59
11-1 KHET-1                               63   55   
11-2 KHET-2                               62   49
11-3 KHET-3                               66   55
14-1 KWHE-D1    X      X      X      X    97   98   67
14-2 KWHE-D2    X      X      X      X    98   98   67
26-1 KAAH-D1                  W           52   47   55
26-2 Hillsng                  W           45   44   57
26-3 KAAH-D3                  W           51   44   58
26-4 KAAH-D4                  W           50   42   59
26-5 KAAH-D5                  W           55   46   58
32-1 KBFD-D1    X      X      X      X    97   93   
32-2 KBFD-D2    X      X      X      X    97   92
44-1 KWBN-DT           W      W           38

[5/7/18 - took it to my neighbor's house up the street and the signals seemed pretty strong there.  Caught all the channels (AFAIK) except for KHNL. OK, found a good home -- you can keep it :)]

[6/27/18 - she moved the antenna because PBS was weak.  So I re-scanned and now she can catch KHNL.  Good for her.

Steven Hawking

Stephen Hawking, an award-winning physicist and influential author, died early Wednesday morning, a family spokesman told ABC News. He was 76.

Hawking, whose books included "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell," was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1962.

 The family did not disclose the cause of death, but said he “died peacefully” at his home in Cambridge, England.

"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years," the family said in a statement. "His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world. He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."

Hawking leaves behind his daughter, Lucy, and two sons, Robert and Tim. They thanked his fans who have "been by Professor Hawking's side –- and supported him -– throughout his life."

Hawking was considered one of the leading voices in science because of his extensive research and work related to understanding the universe.

Here's timeline of Stephen Hawking's life, compiled by the Associated Press:

Jan. 8, 1942 — Born in Oxford, England, the eldest of four children born to Frank Hawking, a biologist, and Isobel Hawking, a medical research secretary.

1952 — Attends St. Albans School.

1959 — Receives scholarship to attend University College, Oxford, from which he graduates with a degree in Natural Science.

1962 — Begins graduate research in cosmology at Cambridge University.

1963 — Diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disorder ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at the age of 21. He is given two years to live.

Jul. 14, 1965 — Marries his first wife, Jane Wilde, a modern languages student he met at Cambridge.

1967 — The couple's first son, Robert, is born.

1970 — Jane gives birth to a daughter, Lucy.

1974 — Elected as a fellow of the Royal Society at age 32, one of the youngest people to receive the honor.

1979 — Becomes Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a prestigious position once held by Isaac Newton. Hawking holds the post until 2009. Jane gives birth to a third child, Timothy.

1985 — Admitted to a hospital in Geneva with pneumonia. He survives after an operation, but loses what remained of his speech. The next year he begins communicating through the electronic voice synthesizer that gave him his trademark robotic "voice."

1988 — Publishes "A Brief History of Time," a book on cosmology aimed at the general public that becomes an instant best-seller.

1989 — Made a Companion of Honor by Queen Elizabeth II.

1995 — Marries his nurse, Elaine Mason.

2007 — Divorces Elaine Mason.

2014 — Hawking's life is celebrated in the Oscar-winning biopic "The Theory of Everything," based on the memoir "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen," by Jane Hawking.

YouTube TV

[2/22/18] I'm going to try out YouTube TV (there's a free seven-day trial).  While I'm happy with PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV has a couple of advantages.  One is that it carries the local NBC and Fox stations in addition to CBS (which is the only local that PlayStation Vue carries).  Neither YouTube TV and Playstation Vue carry ABC live, they both offer the programs on Demand.  The other advantage is that it's cheaper.  It's currently $35 a month (to be raised to $40 for new subscribers starting March 13), while PlayStation Vue is $45 (for the package I selected because of the sports).

They also have a no-limit DVR which hold programs for 9 months (vs. 28 days for PlayStation Vue).

As far as channels they carry that I don't have on Playstation Vue: NatGeo Wild (it's on PS Vue but on a higher tier), Tennis Channel.  Among the channels the Playstation Vue has that they don't have: HGTV, diy, Animal Planet, Hallmark.  Neither have A&E or History (which Sling and DirectTV Now carry).

As far as sports, they both carry Prime Ticket (Clippers), NBC Sports Bay Area (Golden State Warriors), NBC Sports California (Sacramento Kings).  I don't see NBA TV on the list but they're supposed to be adding it "soon".  OK, maybe I'll try it later when NBA TV becomes available.

[In the meantime, I'll update my spreadsheet with the channels.]

Another disadvantage is that doesn't work yet on Fire TV.  It may be a while as Google has removed their YouTube app from the Fire TV.

[3/1/17] By popularizing video watching over the internet, YouTube, which Google bought in 2006, started the ball rolling on so-called cord-cutting, the practice of consumers’ abandoning cable and satellite television subscriptions for web-based video services. YouTube’s latest move, announced Tuesday, highlights how far it has come as well as the challenges in trying to replace cable and satellite TV.

The company said it planned to introduce a new subscription service called YouTube TV in the next “few months,” offering more than 40 channels including all four major networks, Disney Channel, FX and ESPN, for $35 a month. The subscription includes the ability to store an unlimited number of programs on a cloud-based digital video recorder for up to six accounts.

“YouTube TV represents an effort to evolve television,” said Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s chief executive.

Once vilified by media companies as a magnet for pirated video, YouTube is now embraced by Hollywood and other content creators. Almost every movie trailer or music video is released onto YouTube; all major sports leagues upload highlights there; and networks supplement traditional programming with videos that can be shared, like the talk show host James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” series.

But YouTube is now wading into the complex web of broadcast television, which has tripped up other technology companies seeking to break the grip of pay TV providers.

It’s an arduous and tedious process that demands securing deals with media conglomerates hoping to bundle its popular channels with less attractive offerings. It also requires ironing out agreements with the big four networks — NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox — and local affiliates that carry that network programming.

It appears that YouTube is grappling with both of those issues. It did not announce a specific start date, and the company said it would roll out the service first in markets where it had secured rights from local affiliates. It also did not identify those markets. And YouTube TV is missing some popular channels, like Time Warner’s HBO, CNN, TBS and TNT; Viacom’s Comedy Central and MTV; and Scripps Networks Interactive’s HGTV and Food Network.

YouTube’s incomplete lineup demonstrates how difficult it is to offer consumers what they want in a TV service while undercutting the prices offered by cable and satellite companies, said Jan Dawson, who runs the technology research firm Jackdaw.

“It highlights how resistant to disruption the TV broadcast industry is,” he said.

YouTube is joining a range of services targeting consumers who want to give up cable or satellite TV without losing access to live television. In the last few years, companies have unveiled competing services like Sony’s PlayStation Vue, AT&T’s DirecTV Now and Dish Network’s Sling TV. That does not include monthly subscription offerings like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.com or video services from premium TV networks like HBO and Showtime.

One appeal of so-called over-the-top services is that they theoretically offer consumers choice in selecting the channels they watch at a more affordable price than the traditional bundles offered by pay TV services.

One advantage for YouTube is that it is already the place where many young consumers who have never paid for a cable or satellite TV subscription get their content. On Monday, YouTube announced in a blog post that its viewers were watching more than one billion hours of videos a day.

Best Buy to stop selling CDs

Best Buy, formerly one of the biggest music merchandisers in the United States, has plans to pull CDs from all of its stores by July 1, Billboard reported.

Target could be the next retailer to do so, as it's now demanding that music suppliers sell them inventory on a consignment basis and pay for unsold inventory. One music manufacturer is leaning towards saying no to this deal, according to Billboard.


This should come as no big surprise — between streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify taking over and vinyl returning to popularity, there doesn't seem to be much of a place for CDs anymore. Over 800 million CDs were sold in the United States in 2001, but that number has since dropped down to 89 million, according to Consequence of Sound.

***

[OK, when's the clearance sale?]

Disney to buy most of 21st Century Fox

LOS ANGELES — In a move that will reverberate from Hollywood and Silicon Valley to TVs and smartphones around the world, the Walt Disney Company said Thursday that it had reached a deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox, the empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $52.4 billion.

While the agreement is subject to the approval of antitrust regulators — and the Justice Department recently moved to block a big media company, AT&T, from becoming even bigger — Disney is acknowledging that the future of television and movie viewing is online. The acquisition, which would make Disney a colossus unlike anything Hollywood has ever seen, is the biggest counterattack from a traditional media company against the tech giants that have aggressively moved into the entertainment business.

Disney has already announced an ambitious plan to introduce two streaming services by 2019. With this deal and the wealth of movies, TV shows and sports programming it provides, the company will now have the muscle to challenge Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook in the fast-growing realm of online video.

“The pace of disruption has only hastened,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive and chairman, said in an interview. “This will allow us to greatly accelerate our direct-to-consumer strategy, which is our highest priority.”

At the same time, the agreement means that one of moviedom’s most celebrated studios, 20th Century Fox, will be downsized, with some operations folded into Walt Disney Studios or refocused to make films for online distribution. Founded in 1935, the Fox studio championed Marilyn Monroe, produced classics like “The Sound of Music,” released the first “Star Wars” movie and, more recently, turned “Avatar” into the biggest ticket-seller of all time.

But lately, as most of Hollywood has, 20th Century Fox has struggled to keep pace with the changing way younger audiences view content — namely on an internet-connected device. Some analysts interpreted Mr. Murdoch’s sudden willingness to sell as his reading the writing on the wall: The business climate is going to become tougher for old-line Hollywood.

To complete the integration, a legacy-defining task, Mr. Iger, 66, agreed to renew his contract for a fourth time, delaying retirement from July 2019 to the end of 2021 and effectively ending speculation about whether he might run for president in 2020. Mr. Murdoch asked Mr. Iger to stay as a condition of the deal, which was valued at $66.1 billion including debt.

Not included in the acquisition: Fox News, the Fox broadcast network and the FS1 sports cable channel. In the news release announcing the Disney deal, Mr. Murdoch said he would spin those businesses and a handful of other properties, including the 20th Century Fox lot in Century City, which Disney is not buying, into a newly listed company. Mr. Murdoch also still controls his newspaper-focused company, News Corporation, which has holdings that include The Wall Street Journal.

Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, hopes 21st Century Fox will supercharge its plans to introduce two Netflix-style streaming services. Disney’s first major streaming effort, ESPN Plus, will arrive in the spring. A second and still unnamed offering, built around the company’s Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar brands, will roll out late next year. Rounding out its streaming portfolio will be Hulu, an established service that focuses on older viewers with programming that includes ABC shows.

Mr. Iger is buying 21st Century Fox’s minority stake in Hulu, resulting in majority control of the streaming service by Disney, which previously owned 30 percent. Comcast and Time Warner also have stakes in Hulu.

Disney is buying the Fox television studio, which has 36 series in production, including “The Simpsons,” “Homeland,” “This Is Us” and “Modern Family.” Disney’s significantly smaller TV factory, ABC Studios, has delivered series of inconsistent quality and lost its biggest hitmaker in August when the “Grey’s Anatomy” producer Shonda Rhimes decamped for Netflix.

To augment ESPN Plus, Disney is adding 21st Century Fox’s chain of 22 regional cable networks dedicated to sports, including the YES Network, which carries New York Yankees games.

As part of the deal, Disney will also get the FX and National Geographic cable networks, and stakes in two behemoth overseas television-service providers, Sky of Britain and Star of India. That component of the deal would seem to contradict Disney’s push to lessen its reliance on traditional television, a business built on third-party cable subscriptions that is now in decline as people turn to streaming services for home entertainment.

But those assets serve another of Mr. Iger’s strategic goals: making Disney more of an international player. Disney has major operations in Europe, Japan and China, where it opened Shanghai Disneyland last year. But most of Disney’s profit still comes from the United States, where ESPN dominates, despite recent struggles, and annual attendance at Walt Disney World in Florida and the Disneyland Resort in California totals 162 million people.

With the acquisition, “Disney goes from being a juggernaut to being a megajuggernaut,” Steven Cahall, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.

Mr. Cahall and other analysts said the acquisition would likely prompt other entertainment companies to join forces as a competitive maneuver. Speculation immediately surrounded Viacom and CBS, which share common ownership; Lionsgate, which owns Starz; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which controls rights to the James Bond franchise; and Sony Pictures Entertainment, which has struggled with low box office market share.

Since taking over as Disney’s chief executive in 2005, Mr. Iger has greatly expanded Disney’s theme park operations, opening in Shanghai against all odds and nearly tripling the size of Disney Cruise Line. Walt Disney Studios, bolstered by Mr. Iger’s acquisitions of Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, has become Hollywood’s runaway leader.

Playstation Vue

[11/25/17]  Hey, I'm getting all the channels on Playstation Vue now.  But not for long.

[11/5/17]  I subscribed to Playstation Vue about a month or so ago because the NBA season was starting and they had NBA TV (on the Core package for $45).  As a bonus they also have the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Clippers in my area.  The Clippers are available on Oceanic but not on Hawaiian Telcom.  Hawaiian Telcom carries none of the three.

The other reason is that Playstation Vue carries CBS Sports Network which I don't have on my Oceanic basic cable subscription and UH football was playing on that channel that week.

After having used PS Vue for a while, I decided to cancel Hulu and CBS since PS Vue also has the recent network shows On Demand.  One drawback is that Star Trek: Discovery is only on CBS All Access.  And I have noticed that the live NFL games on KGMB are blacked out (I keep getting an error when the NFL games are on, but not at other times).  It's not blacked out on CBS All Access, so I'm tempted to re-subscribe.  [Checking further, PS Vue live feed for the NFL game works on the website, my Fire tablet, and my Fire TV, but not on my ipad or Roku.]

I do like the 30-day [actually 28] DVR, but apparently there's a limit of 30 shows, so it's not really a full 30 days for programs like NBA games and College Football.  [11/25/17 - More like 21 shows, sometimes they show more shows but those haven't been recorded yet.]  [12/19/17 - the limit of 21 shows is on my Roku 3, on my Fire TV I'm getting 28 days of NBA.]

What don't they have?  A&E, Comedy Central, Hallmark, History, Nickelodeon, Spike, TV Land (DirecTV Now carries all of them).  They do carry MLB now.  [12/19/17 - they carry Hallmark now.]

So why not get DirectTV Now instead?  Well, they don't have DVR yet.  And NBA TV is available only on their Gotta Go Big ($60) packages and up.  And they it looks like don't carry the regional Fox and NBC Sports channels that carry the Warriors, Kings, Clippers.

So I would recommend Playstation Vue for sports fans.  But maybe DirectTV for others depending on what channels you want.

[7/11/17] Playstation Vue has abruptly raised their prices.  Checking the website, the Access Slim is now called Access and costs $39.99.  Core Slim is now called Core and is $44.99.

[2/2/17]  According to Cord Cutters News, Playstation Vue has added KGMB (Honolulu's CBS station).  But it's also preceded by Hawaii News Now.  Does that mean it's only supporting the news, but not playing anything else?

Well checking the website, all of the plans including the cheapie Access Slim for $29.99 include KGMB, ABC on demand, Fox on demand, NBC on demand.  That plan also has CNBC, ESPN, ESPN2, HGTV, TBS, TNT.  I could live with that.

The Core Slim for $34.99 adds CSN Bay area, ESPNU, Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West, NBA TV.  I might go for that.

[10/1/16] Cord Cutters News updated their comparison between Sling and Playstation Vue.

[7/3/16] Curious, I went to website to see what's available in my area.  There are three plans: Access Slim for $29.99/month, Core Slim for $34.99/month, Elite Slim for $44.99/month.  I assume they're all Slim because they don't yet have live ABC, NBC, Fox in my area.  The list of channels is in this article.

[7/3/16] CNET has a nice report (written 3/22/16) comparing Sling TV and Playstation Vue.  Since then Playstation View has become available on Roku.

[3/14/16] Ditching your cable TV subscription just got easier, no matter where you live in the United States.

PlayStation Vue, a service that streams live and on-demand TV over the Internet, is now available everywhere in the country, and for a lower price than ever. Starting today in 203 US TV markets, you can subscribe to the service for as little as $30 per month.

Vue is designed as an alternative to a traditional pay TV package from a satellite or cable TV provider. It delivers numerous live TV channels and on-demand programming, just like cable TV, and also lets you record shows to a "cloud DVR" and watch multiple TVs around the house from one account.

Until today Vue was only available in seven major metropolitan areas: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami. Packages in those cities start at $40 per month and include local broadcast TV channels, namely ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC (but not PBS).

If you live in one of the 203 other TV markets newly served by Vue -- places like Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, Portland, and St. Louis, as well as smaller cities and towns in all 50 states -- you'll only be able to subscribe to what Vue is calling "Slim" versions of its channel packages, starting at $30 per month.

The difference is that Slim packages don't have access to live local channels via Vue. According to Sony's press release, "Content from ABC, FOX and NBC will be available only as on-demand content in the Slim multi-channel plans. Most on-demand content will be available within 24 hours after airing. CBS live and on-demand programming will be added to select TV markets at a later date."

I spoke with Dan Myers, head of product for PlayStation Vue, and was given some additional details. If you live in one of the original seven markets you will not be able to subscribe to a Slim package that lacks local channels -- in other words, pricing in those seven markets will not change as a result of Vue's nationwide expansion, and starts at $40.

Beyond pricing, regional availability and the absence of local channels, Vue's Slim packages are identical to their non-slim counterparts. The cheapest $30 Access Slim package has 55 or so channels; the $35 Core Slim package has 70-odd with the addition of live national and select regional sports networks; and the $45 Elite Slim package has more than 100 channels.

This nationwide rollout and price drop brings Vue into even more direct competition with Sling TV, another Internet-delivered live TV service that competes against cable.

Unlike a typical traditional TV subscription, both Sling and Vue offer free trial periods and the ability to cancel service anytime, and don't charge equipment rental or other miscellaneous fees.

Sling TV is cheaper, starting at $20 per month, and available on many more devices than Vue, including Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, iPhones and iPads, Android phones and tablets, Android TV devices, Xbox One, and PC and Mac computers.

In pretty much every other way, however, Vue is superior on paper. It offers significantly more channels than Sling TV, particularly since the recent addition of ABC, ESPN and Disney channels. Step-up Vue packages even offer select (but not all) regional sports networks, the crown jewels of cable TV.

Very few Sling TV channels offer the ability to pause or rewind live TV, and there's no DVR functionality, whereas Vue's cloud DVR is basically a full-function recorder, just like you get from a cable company. Sling TV can only stream to one device at a time, while Vue offers up to five simultaneous streams -- so you can watch different TVs around the house at the same time, or even on the go with the iOS app. Vue supports multiple profiles for different family members (much like Netflix), has access to more "TV everywhere" apps, and has an intuitive interface that prioritizes shows over channels.

Of course, with Vue's steeper monthly fees compared to Sling, the main goal of cord cutting -- saving money compared with a traditional cable subscription -- is a bit more difficult to achieve. Whether you do so depends largely on what channels you need, what your local providers offer, and how much broadband Internet costs in your area.

***

[3/18/15] The long-awaited future of television has planted its flag firmly in the present.

A group of media, tech and telecom companies are racing this year to release web-based TV offerings that challenge the entrenched cable and satellite business. On Wednesday, Sony added to that flood of options with the introduction of its PlayStation Vue service, which offers a bundle of channels along with a personalized, searchable approach to watching live and on-demand television.

Starting at $49.99 a month, the service offers more than 50 channels, including CBS, Fox and NBC, and cable channels such as USA, TBS, Fox News and Discovery. Special features include the availability of the past three days of popular programming and personalization features based on a user’s viewing habits.

Targeted at gamers, the service initially is available to owners of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. It is expected to be made available on the iPad and in other United States cities. Disney-owned networks, including ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel, are not part of the service.

With the introduction of the PlayStation Vue, Sony joins Apple, HBO, Nickelodeon and the Dish Network in starting to redirect the television business with the release of streaming services that do not require a traditional TV subscription.

The services are targeted at a growing number of people who pay for Internet but do not subscribe for television. Instead, this group watches programs via streaming services, like Netflix, Amazon and now, potentially, Sony. The number of households in the United States that pay for broadband but not television was 10.6 million in the third quarter of 2014, up 16 percent from the same period in 2012, according to SNL Kagan.

Increasingly, viewers are searching not only for a discount on their cable bill — which SNL Kagan puts at an average of $90 a month — but also more choice to pay for what they want to watch, how they want to watch it, analysts said.

“The reality is, each individual service is not all that important, but when you start to layer lots of different options together, you have the ability to piece together your own bundle,” said Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research. “I don’t think it is about saving money as much as it is about empowering consumers to build the experience you want.”

***

[Ah, it's heating up.  SlingTV with no network TV.  Sony without ABC.  Apple without NBC.  But who really needs live network TV except for news and sports.  The cable networks must be squirming.]

Sony’s version of the cable TV bundle offers a wide array of programming and their intent is clear. “We don’t expect our service to be used alongside a cable service,” says Dwayne T. Benefield, Sony VP and head of Playstation Vue. With 35 million PlayStation users in the US, the majority of whom still subscribe to cable or satellite TV, Sony sees an attractive opportunity to entice part of a highly desirable demographic (18-35-year-old males) away from the likes of Comcast and Time Warner Cable and convert them into recurring video customers.

PlayStation Vue’s base package offers nearly 50 channels including CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, the Discovery Channel, Nat Geo and TNT, for $50 a month with no long-term contract.

Sports fans can opt for a $60 per month bundle that adds regional sports networks like YES (New York) and Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia and Chicago). ESPN (along with other Disney properties like ABC) remains a glaring omission for now. But by reaching distribution deals with carriers of pro franchises like the Yankees, Cubs, Bulls and Phillies, PlayStation Vue provides live home team coverage, a must for many cable subscribers. A $70 per month top-tier bundle brings the channel total to 85 with the addition of several family and lifestyle networks.

[85 channels?  Hello cable TV.  No ESPN?  Advantage back to SlingTV and Apple TV]

None of this sounds much different from a traditional pay TV package, minus the contract commitment and standalone cable box. Where Sony hopes to distinguish itself is in the user experience. Powered by its PlayStation consoles and controllers, all content can be paused or DVR’d, with the latter giving you cloud-hosted access to episodes for 28 days. For shows in syndication, PlayStation Vue will DVR episodes across all available networks. Most, but not all, of the TV programming comes with a three-day window for catch-up viewing. And if you begin watching during the middle of one of these shows you get a brief window (typically double the length of the episode) in which to start it from the beginning.

PlayStation Vue isn’t an inexpensive mini-bundle for cordcutters on a budget. The reality for consumers is that content costs money, no matter who’s delivering it to you. At $60 a month for the middle tier bundle, along with what you’ll be paying for your Internet connection, switching to Sony as your TV provider isn’t likely to save you any money. The company is betting instead that users will embrace an improved user experience as a value proposition. With PlayStation Vue the electronics giant isn’t looking to change the game but to play it better than the cable guys.

[Of course, it's going to save you money.  Most cable subscribers already have internet access.  And  $60 is cheaper than $90 (or the $110 that I'm paying Time Warner Cable now).  However the problem is that the internet access providers are also the TV providers and apparently you can get a pretty decent deal bundling internet and TV, especially if you threaten to switch.  They'll probably give you a lousy deal if you go internet only -- well except for the cheapie $15 service.]