New Roku Streaming Stick Review

Roku recently released a couple of new streaming sticks, and I picked up the entry-level HD version to see how it stacks up. There’s also a “Stick Plus” that supports 4k displays. In my latest Roku review, we take a look at what the new sticks are all about.

The HD model comes in at $29 and only supports 1080p. For those who want 4K, the Stick Plus is $10 more, and if you want Dolby Vision support, the Streaming Stick 4K—which they released a couple of years ago—is still the one to go with (all links are compensated affiliate links). The Streaming Stick 4k also integrates the Wi-Fi antenna into the power cord, which helps in areas with weak wireless signals.

The entry level Stream Stick I reviewed only supports B/G/N Wi-Fi, which isn’t the fastest, but for 1080p streaming it’s good enough. Setup is simple, and like other Roku products, it’s really locked down in terms of what you can install—just streaming apps and not much else. If you’re expecting app stores full of games or utilities, this isn’t the device for that.

One thing that caught me off guard was what’s missing from the box. There’s no power adapter—just the stick, the remote, and a USB-A to USB-C power cable. Most TVs can power the device through a USB port, but if not, you’ll need your own wall charger. It also doesn’t come with an HDMI extender, which might be a problem if your TV is mounted close to the wall. Roku will send you one for free if you request it, but you’ll have to wait for it to arrive.

The remote is solid and responsive, and it supports volume and power controls through HDMI CEC. There’s no IR blaster, so you won’t be using it as a universal remote, but it does support voice search. I tested it with a show on Netflix, and it launched the app and played the video quickly.

The Roku interface is still simple and snappy, though ads are creeping in more and more. Lately, I’ve noticed banner ads that animate as you navigate, and there’s talk of even more intrusive formats like video ads on pause screens. Still, it’s less cluttered than Android TV or Fire TV, at least for now.

Roku in recent years has focused on advertising supported content, so you’ll find plenty of free content offerings throughout the Roku interface. Their free Roku Channel includes a live TV grid with ad-supported channels, similar to Pluto TV. There’s also a featured free section for on-demand content. Their search works well too—look up a show, and it’ll show you where to stream or buy it across different services.

Casting from a mobile device works just like it does with Chromecast. I tested this by casting a YouTube video from my phone, and the Roku even downloaded the app automatically since it wasn’t already installed. Apple AirPlay and Miracast are also supported for screen mirroring, and I was able to show videos and photos from my iPhone without much hassle.

The Roku mobile app is still useful, though ads have started appearing there too. The private listening feature stands out—you can route audio from what is playing on the television through your phone and use headphones without disturbing others. The app also gives you quicker access to apps, a touchpad-style remote, and a keyboard for easier typing.

Overall, there’s not much new here—but that’s kind of the point. Roku keeps things consistent, and this stick delivers what you’d expect: simple, reliable streaming in a small package. It’s great for travel or a spare room, especially if you’re using an older HD TV. Just don’t expect advanced features like VPN support or ethernet connectivity. For more demanding needs, something like a Fire TV Stick or an Android box might be a better fit. But for straightforward, no-fuss streaming, this little stick still gets the job done.

An Update on my New Unraid Home Media Server!

I’ve been running my new home media server setup for about two months now, and it’s been surprisingly stable. I give you a quick update in my latest video.

The core of the setup is a GMKTec G9 NVMe NAS, along with a Wavlink USB drive enclosure that connects four SATA drives through a single USB cable. After shooting the initial video, I moved it off my desk and into a closet where it’s been running nonstop—with no reboots until yesterday morning, when I updated it to Unraid 7.1 (compensated affiliate link).

The new Unraid update addressed a key issue I’d been dealing with: Plex hardware transcoding wasn’t functional due to the kernel in the prior version not supporting Intel N150 quicksync hardware video transcoding. I can confirm with 7.1 installed, hardware video transcoding is now working.

I thought it might be plug-and-play with Plex, but it required a small tweak. Inside the Docker settings for the Plex container, I added a new device pointing to /dev/dri to enable GPU support. Once that was in place, the container rebooted, and everything was good to go.

To verify it, I played a 4K Blu-ray rip of Back to the Future on my phone. Plex was compressing it down to 1080p at 8Mbps, and both decoding and encoding were showing as hardware-accelerated. The N150 handled tone mapping and HEVC encoding without much CPU load—only around 8% usage. The result was a smooth playback experience and a crispy clear image on the phone.

This update gave me enough confidence to finally retire my old WD My Cloud PR2100, which had been serving media for nearly a decade but couldn’t handle newer 4K HEVC files.

Unraid has been a great choice for this kind of DIY setup. I like that I can move the drives and configuration to new hardware without much rework. The rig itself isn’t particularly pretty—certainly not a polished all-in-one unit like a Synology—but if you’re okay managing things yourself, the flexibility is hard to beat. I’ve got another NAS box coming in from Beelink soon and may try migrating the setup over just to see how that goes.

I’m always interested to hear how others are building and running their Unraid boxes—sometimes the best ideas come from seeing what other people are doing with their setups. Drop a comment on the video and let me know! Check out my other videos in this series to see more.

Disclosure: The GMKTec NAS came in free of charge from the manufacturer, and the drive enclosure came in free of charge from the Amazon Vine program. No other compensation was received and nobody review or approved my video or this post before publication.

Sandisk Extreme Pro with USB4 Review

I’ve been testing out SanDisk’s new Extreme Pro USB 4 SSD, one of the first drives from a major brand to support the 40 gigabit-per-second USB 4 standard. It’s backward compatible with older USB ports, but if you have a machine with USB 4 or Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5, you’ll see some great sequential read and write performance.

See it in action in my latest review.

You can find the drives on Amazon to get the current pricing (compensated affiliate link). Sandisk sent me the 2TB version and there’s a four-terabyte option as well. At the time I recorded the video, I didn’t see a one-terabyte model unfortunately.

The casing is solid metal with a rubber coating, similar to past models, but this new version is significantly larger. That’s likely due to it housing a full-size NVMe SSD along with a heat sink and other protective components. It’s IP65 rated, so it’s dustproof and splashproof. It’ll survive a short drop in water, but isn’t meant to be submerged, especially while powered on.

You only get a USB-C cable in the box, so if you need to plug it into a USB-A port, you’ll have to pick up a USB-C to USB-A cable or adapter separately. I tested it on a 5Gbps USB-A port and it worked fine—just not at its full potential speed.

Plugging it into my MacBook Air’s Thunderbolt port, I got over 2 gigabytes per seconds in writes and just over 3 gigabytes per second in reads with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. I didn’t notice any thermal throttling during sustained writes. When I switched to a Windows PC with the CrystalDiskMark, sequential write speeds hit 3.2 GB/s.

Random read and write speeds were lower than some competitors, especially in the single-threaded write test, which was one of the lowest I’ve seen in a while. For tasks involving lots of small, random data access—like running an OS—you might see better performance from other drives. Samsung’s Thunderbolt-based X5, for instance, did better in that department.

But for my use—moving large video files and backing up footage—it’s excellent. Transfers are fast and consistent, and that’s really what I need when I’m out in the field or editing on the go.

It’s compatible with game consoles, but not ideal for newer titles on the Xbox Series X/S or PlayStation 5. That’s because the game consoles have USB 3.2 ports that can’t hit the full speeds this drive can achieve. The Xbox requires propietary storage modules that connect to the system bus while the Playstation 5 uses internal NVME drives to reach adequate speeds. That said, older titles will play fine off the Sandisk drive.

I also tested it with my iPhone 16 Pro. It took a second for the phone to recognize it, but once it did file transfers were quick and easy.

For mobile and general USB storage use, it behaves like other SSDs I’ve tested. It’s not the smallest drive around, but the five-year warranty and high-speed performance for supported devices make it worth a look.

Disclosure: Sandisk sent me this drive free of charge, however no other compensation was received and they did not review or approve this before it was uploaded.

Interview: The Impacts of Tariffs on the Retro Gaming Industry

In a followup to my video last week in regards to tariffs hitting US customers of Temu and Aliexpress, we now turn to industry impacts. One micro-industry I cover frequently here on the channel, retro gaming, is getting hit particularly hard now that their costs are going up 145%. Many of these makers rely on overseas manufacturing—primarily in China—because domestic production either isn’t possible or would make the product unaffordable.

In my latest video we talk to Nick Mueller from HDRetrovision, a maker of high-end AV cables for original game consoles.

Watch the interview here.

Nick begins by telling me they had a new shipment of cables ready to go when the new tariffs were announced, and they had to ask the factory to hold the order indefinitely. They simply couldn’t afford to absorb the 145% increase in the cost of their inventory nor pass it along to customers.

Their cables come over by ocean freight in small pallet shipments, and every batch takes about four to five months from order placement to warehouse arrival. That long lead time means there’s no way to “rush in” inventory before a tariff takes effect.

HDRetrovision’s cables aren’t just wires in a jacket. Many include internal electronics, like potentiometers for brightness adjustment and precision audio circuitry. The factory they work with primarily produces medical-grade devices, and their QA process is intense. They even built custom mechanical test rigs that clamp down on the cables and run automated checks through FPGA microcontrollers to ensure voltage levels and signals are within spec—before and after the final cable assembly. If a tiny component is misaligned, the entire cable is scrapped.

Nick told me that when they started the company—initially through a Kickstarter campaign—they seriously explored U.S. manufacturing. What they found was that domestic options couldn’t meet their quality standards, and costs would have been two to three times higher. And that was before tariffs. Despite the push for reshoring, there’s no infrastructure here for low-volume, high-complexity consumer electronics manufacturing at this scale.

Now, with tariffs in place, they’re pausing all new imports and considering warehousing future inventory in Canada to avoid the immediate impact. They’ve even toyed with the idea of moving production to a different country, but that comes with a yearlong lead time to find, vet, and test a new factory—and no guarantee that country won’t end up subject to tariffs too.

Unlike big players like Microsoft, which recently raised the price of their Xbox Series S by around 26% (presumably absorbing some of the tariff cost), small companies don’t have the luxury of scale. And while the tariff structure exempts products like smartphones and computers from the steepest rates, niche items like HDRetrovision’s cables aren’t spared. There’s no lobbyist knocking on the White House door on behalf of retro gaming hardware. As Nick put it, “This isn’t capitalism. It’s crony capitalism.”

The irony here is that these are American-designed products. They were conceived, prototyped, and engineered here—but there’s no viable way to manufacture them domestically at competitive cost or quality. And now, as Nick bluntly put it, “It’s basically a non-starter for us to even exist under these tariff conditions.”

They expect to have inventory into the fall, possibly up until Black Friday. After that, if nothing changes, shelves could go empty. Even if a trade deal is struck tomorrow, it’ll take months for his supply chain to spool back up. And with every company in the same position, there’s no guarantee that their factory—shared with clients producing medical devices—will prioritize video game cables when production resumes.

It’s a sobering reminder that policies aimed at global strategy often have very local consequences. If you’re someone who values quality and preservation in retro gaming, HD Retrovision’s situation is worth paying attention to. Their cables are still in stock—for now (compensated affiliate link).

Plex Subtitles .. Again: Auto-Sync, Manual Sync and Make Your Own with On-Device AI!

This month’s sponsored Plex video is all about subtitles—again. In prior videos, I’ve covered how to automatically download them through a Plex Pass feature and also how to manage subtitle files manually. But even with the right files in place, sometimes they just sync up properly with the video. This time, I took a look at three different ways to fix subtitle syncing issues.

First, there’s a simple manual offset option. If your subtitles are off by a few seconds, you can go into the playback settings on your Plex client and shift them forward or backward in 50 millisecond increments. It’s available on most platforms. Once there, you can fine-tune the delay until things match up—or hit reset if you went too far and start over.

The second method is a newer feature for Plex Pass users: automatic subtitle sync. This one’s more sophisticated, designed to handle issues like subtitle drift, where the timing gradually goes out of sync due to differences in video encoding (like 24p vs. 60p). It works by generating a voice print from the movie’s audio and trying to match it to the subtitle file. The server needs to be running version 1.41.0 or higher, on a 64-bit platform. It doesn’t work on some server versions, including the Nvidia Shield Plex Server (although the Shield client will work) and FreeBSD, but most modern 64-bit Windows or Linux setups are fine.

Setting it up requires enabling a few options. In the server settings under “Settings > Library,” you’ll need to turn on “Generate voice activity data.” Then, within each library (under “Manage Library > Edit > Advanced”), you enable voice activity detection individually. Once that’s done, Plex will start analyzing your media files and generating those voice prints. You can manually trigger this analysis per file, and it happens fairly quickly.

When everything’s in place, a new option to autosync subtitles appears in the playback settings. If the subtitle file’s timing is off in a consistent way, this feature can bring it back in line with the spoken audio. It doesn’t work for every situation, but when it does, it’s a nice hands-off solution.

Finally, if nothing else works, there’s always the DIY route. I used an open-source tool called Vibe to generate subtitles from scratch using the Whisper speech-to-text engine. It’s a local app, so everything runs on your computer without uploading anything to the cloud. You just drop in your media file, select SRT format, and it builds a transcript that you can tweak and then import into Plex. Because it’s based on the actual audio in your file, the results tend to line up much better than trying to force in a third-party SRT from somewhere else.

Between these three approaches—manual offsets, auto-sync, and Vibe—you should have a solid foundation for dealing with subtitle syncing issues in Plex. If you’ve got ideas for future Plex topics, I’d love to hear them.

Disclosure: This was a sponsored post from Plex, however they did not review or approve this content or my video before it was uploaded.

Tariff Shock Hits AliExpress and Temu Customers This Week

A number of viewers were surprised by the steep import fees on the flash cartridge I reviewed last week for the old Nintendo 64—especially when ordering from sites like AliExpress or Temu. That’s because a major change is now underway with how tariffs are applied to small international packages, and many may be hit with taxes that amount to 145% of the item’s value.

I take a look at this in my latest video.

In the case of that flash cartridge for the Nintendo 64, while the product itself cost $40.84, the final charge ballooned to over $80 once tariffs and taxes were factored in. The bulk of that—more than $38—was tariff-related. This is due to the expiration of the so-called de minimis exemption, which used to shield low-value imports from duty charges.

The de minimis rule allowed shipments under $800 to bypass tariffs, even if the items were normally subject to import duties. It applied to direct-to-consumer shipments from overseas platforms like AliExpress, Temu, and Amazon’s new import-focused app called “Haul.” That exemption has now been eliminated for goods coming from China and Hong Kong.

To illustrate how dramatic this shift is, I recently ordered a Ugoos AM6B Plus TV box from AliExpress. I paid around $158 for it, but under the postal import rules, I would be hit with either a $100 flat fee or 120% of the product’s value whichever the postal service chooses. That flat fee increases to $200 after June 1st.

If the same item is shipped through a private courier like FedEx or DHL, the charges can be even worse. There’s a baseline 20% emergency tariff and an additional 125% reciprocal tariff on certain goods, totaling 145%, resulting in a total tariff of $229.10! Some items like computers and smartphones have been exempted from the reciprocal portion, thanks to lobbying by major tech companies.

Take for instance a mini PC with an Intel N100 chip selling for $139. If it comes via postal mail, the tariff would be around $167 or the $100 flat fee. Through FedEx or DHL, the duty is more fragmented—roughly $38 in this case—but still significant. And this exemption only applies if the item is considered a “computer” under customs definitions. A game console or a TV box would not, even if they have the same components.

It’s also worth noting that origin matters. Goods from countries like Vietnam are still eligible for the $800 de minimis threshold and may not be subject to tariffs based on how trade negotitions are going. But customs can scrutinize these claims, especially if the manufacturing process wasn’t substantial enough to qualify.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have taken interest in closing this de minimis loophole. While Biden’s team signaled support for reviewing it, the Trump administration acted quickly to close it, citing concerns over rising direct-to-consumer imports circumventing tariffs and import controls.

Right now, some platforms like Temu are starting to collect import duties upfront. AliExpress, on the other hand, may notify you of the obligation but leave collection to the post office or your shipping carrier. If duties go unpaid, the packages are considered abandoned and can be destroyed or auctioned off.

Temu does import in bulk and ships products from U.S. warehouses. In that case you won’t see a separate import charge at checkout in those cases, but the tariffs will make their way into the price of the item. Large imports are not exempt from the 145% tax and we’re starting to see companies raise their prices in response.

ASUS, for example, has announced 7% to 9% price hikes on some laptops. Anker is also reportedly raising prices by 18% or more on some items. Framework, which makes modular laptops, is also raising prices. Their situation is complicated since they sell all of their laptops’ individual components as separate products, some of which are subject to duties while others are not. That kind of business model becomes harder to manage under this kind of tariff regime, especially without the lobbying power their larger competitors enjoy.

Soon I’ll be speaking with Nick Mueller from HDRetrovision, a small business that makes high-quality cables for classic game consoles. They’ve carved out a niche in the retro gaming community, but these tariff changes could seriously impact their ability to serve U.S. customers if the costs become too high.

We’re at the start of what looks like a big shift. Prices are already moving up and will likely climb further as current inventories run out and new shipments arrive under the updated rules.

If you’re a regular buyer from international marketplaces, be very careful when shopping to ensure that you won’t get bit with enormous tariff charges when the package arrives in the USA. If the retailer doesn’t collect those fees from you at the time of purchase, you will need to pay them directly to the carrier. If you don’t, you’ll be out the item and the purchase price.

Dust of Your Nintendo 64! The Summercart 64 Review

The other day, a friend of mine mentioned that her son had dug out her old Nintendo 64 and was having a great time playing retro games. She got a real kick out of it, since that was her childhood console. I suggested she look into getting a flash cartridge to expand their game library, and one affordable option I came across is the SummerCart 64. It’s priced around $40, at least for now, before new tariffs kick in.

You can check it out in my latest retro review.

Setting it up was straightforward. I put some games on a SD card along with a menu file (instructions are on the project’s homepage), inserted the cartridge and booted up a game on the original N64 hardware with a couple of button presses.

The cartridge makes it very easy to breathe new life into the old hardware. One particularly exciting feature is its ability to emulate the 64DD disk system, a Japan-only add-on for the Nintendo 64. It opens up access to a handful of rare games and offers a glimpse at what might have been had the add-on been more successful outside of Japan.

I picked mine up from AliExpress for $40.84, but it’s important to note that this is an open-source hardware project. There’s no official manufacturer, and quality can vary between units. It’s a buyer-beware situation. Additionally, with tariffs set to kick in starting May 2025, anyone ordering from China might have to pay more than item’s value in new import taxes.

Those who want to build their own can find schematics and parts lists on the SummerCart 64 website. It’s worth considering a donation to the developers if you find value in the project, since they don’t receive royalties from commercial sales.

The cartridge I received came fully assembled with a pre-installed CR2032 battery, which maintains the real-time clock and backs up save data. Games are stored on an SD card that plugs into the side of the cart, and ROMs that work in emulators are compatible here too. Save games will backup to the SD card automatically. There’s also a USB-C port, mainly used for firmware updates, though my unit arrived with the latest firmware already installed.

Loading a game involves two button presses, and there’s a useful display showing compatibility notes, such as whether a game requires the N64’s expansion pack or a controller memory pack. It’s worth mentioning that save states and GameShark cheat codes aren’t supported. If those features are important, an emulator might be a better fit.

What really piqued my interest was the support for the 64DD system. Even without the original hardware, the SummerCart allowed me to boot up Japan-only releases like “Japan Pro Golf Tour 64” and explore community translated titles like the F-Zero X Expansion Kit. The F-Zero expansion added track and vehicle editors along with new race cups that were previously locked away behind rare and expensive hardware. There’s a great community keeping the DD system alive over at 64dd.org.

Firmware updates for the SummerCart are handled through a simple command-line tool called SC64Deployer, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Updating the firmware was quick, and the real-time clock could be synced to my computer’s clock with that tool as well. The Deployer app also enables a number of developer functions that allow for bug testing on the original N64 hardware.

Over the past few days, I’ve had a lot of fun exploring games and expansion content I never had access to when the Nintendo 64 was new. Between homebrew games, 64DD titles, and the ability to easily back up save files, this little cartridge breathes a surprising amount of new life into aging hardware for a very affordable price (tariffs notwithstanding).

Part of my excitement also stems from having Analog’s upcoming FPGA-based Nintendo 64 console on order. I’m looking forward to seeing how the SummerCart performs on that system when it arrives.

Disclosure: I paid for the cartridge with my own funds.

GMKTec K11 Mini PC Review – Decent Price and Performance

The Mini PCs keep coming! This time I take a look at the GMKTec K11, which offers a solid mix of price and performance. You can watch my video review here.

It’s running a Ryzen 8945HS processor with eight cores and sixteen threads, with performance not far off from some of the pricier Ryzen AI models. You can find it here at Amazon (compensated affiliate link).

Before we dive too much further, another option to consider if you want to save a little more is the GMKTec K8 Plus (compensated affiliate link), which I looked at recently. It has similar performance, the same case, and sometimes comes in cheaper. Either way, this mid-range category is delivering a lot right now.

The specs include 32GB of DDR5 RAM running at 5600 MHz and a 1TB NVMe SSD. Inside, there’s room to expand: you can go up to 96GB of RAM and add a second NVMe SSD, making it possible to dual boot Linux and Windows or just have some extra storage.

The K11 is equipped with an Oculink port, which allows direct bus connections to external desktop GPUs and other PCIe cards. I’ve covered that in other videos. GMKTec also sells a hardcover book-sized eGPU that connects through Oculink you can see my review of that product here.

Alongside that port is a USB 4 connection rated at 40 Gbps and compatible with Thunderbolt, which means you could hook up multiple GPUs if you really wanted to. It also includes two USB-A ports at 10 Gbps, a headphone/mic jack, and on the back, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, plus another USB 4 port. You can drive up to four displays making use of the two display outputs and the USB 4 ports. Networking is solid too, with dual 2.5 Gb Ethernet ports that performed well on both upstream and downstream in my testing.

Wi-Fi performance is a bit better than some of the other mini PCs I’ve tested, but not perfect. The downstream was a little lower than expected but upstream was close to what I should get off of my Wifi 6 access point. Still, it outperformed some previous models from GMK Tech.

There’s also a colorful RGB-lit fan on top, which you can disable in the BIOS if that’s not your thing.

Windows 11 Pro comes pre-installed and activated. Browsing performance is fast and responsive, as expected. I tested YouTube at 4K 60fps and only saw a few dropped frames—nothing disruptive. The Speedometer browser benchmark gave it a score of 29.4, putting it in line with similar systems, including newer Ryzen AI chips.

In DaVinci Resolve, simple 4K 60fps video edits with basic transitions played back in real time using the integrated GPU. More advanced effects required waiting, though, and that’s where something like an external GPU becomes important. For simple video projects like I do on the channel, this should be more than sufficient. It would also likely hold up well for livestreaming, especially with the high-speed I/O ports.

For gaming I tested Cyberpunk 2077. At 1080p and low settings, frame rates hovered above 45 fps and held steady. It’s not meant to be a high-end gaming rig, but it gets by. For retro emulation, it’s more than capable. On the 3DMark TimeSpy benchmark test, it scored 3,349, which puts it close to the more expensive Evo X1 running an AI 9 chip.

Its thermal performance is also decent, with a passing grade of a 97.2% on the 3DMark stress test. Fan noise is there under significant load, but it’s not a terribly loud or distracting fan. Under most day-to-day use cases the fan is practically silent. Power consumption sits around 13.5 watts at idle and peaks around 96 watts under full load.

With 32GB of RAM and plenty of expansion room, I also tested some local AI models. I ran the Gemma 3 12B model locally, and despite the fact that Ollama isn’t currently using the GPU for processing on these Mini PCs (even with the Ryzen AI chips), performance on the CPU was about the same as what I’ve seen on more expensive mini PCs.

I finished up by booting into Ubuntu. Everything was detected properly—Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio, and video all worked at 4K 60 without a hitch. It’s a smooth Linux experience and could even serve as a compact server or DIY NAS core with the right configuration.

Disclosure: GMKTec provided the Mini PC free of charge for this review. No other compensation was received and they did not review or approve this post or my video before it was uploaded.

Synology Says No Third Party Drives in Future Plus Series NAS Devices

For nearly a decade, Synology NAS devices have been central to my home data infrastructure, offering more than basic file storage. Their intuitive, web-based interface and built-in cloud service alternatives like the Synology Office suite, alongside capabilities such as Docker container hosting, have made these devices incredibly useful for self-hosted applications.

However, Synology recently announced a significant change: future Plus-series NAS devices will mandate the use of Synology-branded drives. Users will no longer have the freedom to choose their preferred storage hardware, creating potential complications for those looking to migrate from older devices.

I take a look at this shift and why Synology might be doing this in my latest video.

Synology confirmed that the upcoming Plus series would initially require their branded drives, citing system stability as the reason. They did leave the door open for future compatibility with third-party drives following rigorous testing, but the company has made no commitment on that.

Examining market pricing reveals that Synology-branded drives are effectively rebranded Seagate IronWolf or Toshiba NAS drives, differentiated mainly by custom firmware and a slightly higher price point. For instance, an 8TB Synology drive costs roughly $34 more than its equivalent Seagate counterpart. Other drive capacities tend to have about a $30-$40 price premium between the Synology branded drive and one made by Seagate or Toshiba.

Beyond drive compatibility, Synology has made other strategic decisions that hint at a shift away from the consumer enthusiast market. Recent NAS models featuring AMD Ryzen processors lack hardware video transcoding capabilities, impacting home media users significantly. Moreover, Synology discontinued support for certain popular video codecs like HEVC and H.264 in their DSM OS. They also discontinued the Video Station app, although third-party solutions such as Plex and Jellyfin remain viable on Intel-based units.

My take is that Synology wishes to focus on the small and mid-size enterprise market, which offers higher profit margins and fewer competitors. At the same time, consumer and enthusiast sectors are becoming increasingly competitive, with newer entrants like Ugreen, MinisForum, Beelink, and GMKTec offering affordable alternatives. Additionally, free open-source software solutions and low cost solutions like Unraid now rival Synology’s proprietary offerings, further squeezing their enthusiast market share.

Synology’s decision aims to narrow their consumer base to users seeking turnkey solutions, accepting proprietary hardware requirements in exchange for convenience, reliability and comprehensive support. Conversely, enthusiasts looking for customization and flexibility are likely to explore alternative DIY setups, a sector rapidly expanding due to accessible hardware and robust open-source software.

Personally, despite these changes, I’ll maintain a Synology device for mission-critical data due to its reliable backup and support features. However, for many other tasks, my home lab go-to is my hacked together Unraid setup using a GMKTec NAS. See more about that here.

Off Grid Meshtastic Messaging is Now Easy & Cheap: A Ham Radio Alternative?

A couple of months ago, I did a video exploring off-grid communication tools—things you can rely on when the power goes out and cellular networks fail. In that piece, I touched on amateur radio, Starlink, and even the emergency satellite messaging features found on some smartphones. But the comments section lit up with one recurring question: what about Meshtastic?

At the time, I hadn’t tried Meshtastic, but I’ve since jumped in and found that it’s surprisingly affordable and simple to get started. I demonstrate what I’ve learned so far in my latest video.

Two folks deserve some credit for nudging me into this project: Josh from Ham Radio Crash Course, whose video walkthroughs make setup very approachable, and my friend Steve (KM9G) from the Temporary Offline Ham Radio YouTube channel. Their guidance helped streamline the experience.

I started with a three-pack of cheap Heltec V3 boards on Amazon (compensated affiliate link). These little devices let you send text messages across a mesh network without needing a license or any centralized infrastructure. They operate on license-free spectrum here in the U.S., which lowers the barrier to entry quite a bit.

Setting up the firmware turned out to be a point-and-click affair thanks to the official Meshtastic flasher tool. I plugged the board into my Mac, selected the firmware, and let the browser based app do its thing. From there, I paired it with an Android phone over Bluetooth, configured the region and radio settings, and I was off and running. Messaging between phones through the radios was straightforward, and the system supports both public and private chats. If two radios are out of range, an intermediary node can relay the message—this is the mesh part of Meshtastic.

Right now, I don’t have any users nearby, so like many YouTubers covering this topic I’ve mostly been talking to myself between radios. But there’s a site called meshmap.net where you can see active nodes in your area, and some locations have thriving communities with overlapping coverage. The key to Meshtastic working well is density—more nodes in more places make for a more robust network.

As I played around with this, it got me thinking about the amateur radio world again. APRS, for example, works in a similar way to Meshtastic but operates on licensed spectrum with greater power and reach. APRS is also far more active than Meshtastic currently is. I receive dozens of APRS messages an hour from my home in Connecticut. Using my amateur radio gear, I was able to send and receive packets over a 30-mile range using about 50 watts of power. I even picked up signals from as far as Long Island via APRS, and on the HF bands my messages reached parts of Georgia and the Canary Islands through apps like VARAC. Sometimes they go even further.

Getting started in amateur radio is a lot less intimidating than it might seem. The technician license is the entry point, and if you’re capable of flashing a Meshtastic node, you’re probably capable of passing that exam. There is no longer a morse code requirement. Sites like hamstudy.org make it easy to prep and even test remotely via Zoom. I currently have a General license which gets me access to more HF bands for long distance data communications.

For now, I’ll keep experimenting with both Meshtastic and amateur radio. There’s something really compelling about these alternative communication methods, especially as open-source communities continue to expand what’s possible. Maybe one day I’ll find somebody to chat with on it!

Geekom Mini IT 13S Mini PC Review

My latest mini PC review is of the Geekom Mini IT13S, a compact computer powered by Intel’s i9-13900HK mobile processor. This chip isn’t something we usually see in a device this small, and it offers 10 cores and 16 threads—enough horsepower for media serving or other compute-heavy applications. While this machine isn’t the most powerful mini PC available at around its price point, I was curious to see how it holds up in real-world testing. Check it out in my latest review.

You can find the current price over at Amazon (compensated affiliate link), at the time of recording this video it was a little more than the lower end devices I typically look at, and a little less vs. some of the Ryzen AI PCs we’ve reviewed recently.

The PC is powered by that i9 processor, and includes 32GB of DDR4 RAM along with a 1TB NVMe SSD. The NVME SSD can be swapped out and you also have the option to add two additional drives: there’s a 2.5″ SATA slot along with 2242 M.2 SATA slot on the main board. I would’ve preferred seeing a second NVMe slot instead. RAM can be upgraded to a maximum of 64GB.

Build quality is solid thanks to the metal case and frame. The system stays cool under load, and I was pleased with the overall thermal performance. I also liked the inclusion of an SD card slot, along with plenty of connectivity on the front and rear panels. That includes two USB-A 10Gbps ports in front and a headphone jack on the front, and on the back two 40 gigabit USB 4 ports (Thunderbolt compatible), dual HDMI outputs, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, an additional USB-A 10Gbps port, and one USB-A 2.0 port. The USB 4 ports performed well in my testing, supporting both fast data transfers and video output.

Wired networking worked well, with speeds up to 2.3Gbps on my multi-gigabit internet connection. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, wasn’t as strong. Despite having Wi-Fi 6E support, it struggled to hit expected speeds—likely due to internal antenna placement. I measured only around 250Mbps downstream where 700Mbps would be typical.

In day-to-day use, the system handled basic tasks easily. Web browsing and office work were quick and responsive, even on a 4K 60Hz display. Playback of 4K video worked smoothly as well, with only a few dropped frames at the beginning. On the browserbench.org Speedometer test, the IT 13S scored 24.3, which is expected for this generation of Intel chips, but there are newer processors starting to edge past that mark.

For light video editing, the system performed well in DaVinci Resolve when applying basic effects to 4K60 footage. More demanding tasks like color grading or advanced effects began to push its limits, and that’s where the lack of a discrete GPU becomes noticeable. The USB 4 ports can support an external GPU if needed. I’m fond of the GMKTec eGPU I reviewed a few weeks ago.

Gaming isn’t a strong suit for this system. I tested Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p on the lowest settings and averaged under 30 frames per second. Other newer mini PCs using Ryzen AI chips or Intel’s latest integrated graphics tend to perform better in this area. The 3DMark Time Spy score came in at 1,882, and that lines up with what I’d expect from this generation of Intel mobile graphics.

The good news is that thermal performance was consistent. The fan stayed quiet during idle and light tasks, and the 3DMark stress test score of 98.9% suggests minimal throttling. Under load the fan is audible but not distracting. Power consumption was also low—about 10 watts at idle and a maximum of 57 watts under load.

It ships with Windows 11 Professional but supports Linux as well. I tested the latest Ubuntu release and everything worked out of the box, including audio, video, networking, and Bluetooth. If you’re planning to dual boot or run this as a Linux-based server, it’s a viable option.

Ultimately, this is a well-built mini PC with decent performance for general productivity and media use. I think a small price reduction would help it compete more effectively, especially given the rising number of mini PCs offering stronger graphical performance in the same range.

Disclosure: Geekom provided the PC to the channel free of charge. However no additional compensation was received and they did not review or approve my content prior to uploading and publication. All opinions are my own.

Big ATSC 3 / NextGenTV Update: FCC Opens Public Comment Period, Acknowledges Thousands of Anti-DRM Complaints

Over the past two years, I’ve been closely following developments around the transition to the new ATSC 3.0 television standard—particularly the implications of broadcasters encrypting over-the-air signals with digital rights management (DRM). In my area, I’ve already lost access to a couple of local networks via my HDHomeRun. That experience isn’t unique, and now the FCC is asking for public comment about how this transition should proceed.

I cover what they’re looking for and show how you can respond in my latest video. Instructions are also below.

This is the most direct invitation yet to share feedback on some key questions before any decisions are finalized. Notably, question eight on their list acknowledges thousands of consumer objections to DRM on ATSC 3.0 broadcasts—comments that many of you submitted over the last couple of years from our collective effort:

Even though the question seems to accept the idea that broadcasters may need to protect their content, there’s still room to advocate for alternatives. If you believe gateways could strike a balance between access and protection, you can say that. Personally, I don’t believe DRM is necessary at all, but the FCC appears to be open to constructive, well-supported suggestions. The key is offering real-world experiences and ideas, not just opinions.

We may still end up losing this fight, but I think it’s important that this question made it into the public notice. They did listen to us and they are interested in this topic enough to include it in the public notice. So now we have a chance to provide further clarity. So you can take the cynical route and do nothing, or spend a few minutes to share your thoughts with a commission that is at least interested in hearing from you on this topic.

Another point they’re seeking input on involves some of the mandates broadcasters are proposing as part of the transition—things like requiring all new TVs to include ATSC 3.0 tuners, putting broadcast TV front and center in menu interfaces, or even adding a dedicated broadcast button to remote controls.

What’s different this time is that the current FCC is moving faster than its predecessor. That means deadlines are tight. The main comment period ends May 7, 2025, with replies to comments due by June 6. If you submitted comments before this notice came out, please file again to have your input considered during this official period.

When writing your comments, be specific and back up your statements with facts whenever possible. If DRM has impacted your ability to enjoy over-the-air television—especially if you use HDHomeRun or hoped to—it’s important to say so. Also consider the broader impact. Small companies like SiliconDust, which produces HDHomeRun devices, face real risks. Channels DVR is in a tight spot, and Plex hasn’t even attempted to get into ATSC 3.0 because of the current restrictions. These are the kinds of real-world effects the FCC needs to hear about.

If you’re ready to comment, the process isn’t too difficult. On the FCC’s website, you’ll find two options: an “express comment” form and a more detailed “standard filing” route if you have something longer to say. Just make sure to reference docket number 16-142, and be sure to include your mailing address—it won’t be made public, but it’s required to verify your identity.

I’ve put together my own written comment organized into sections to make it easier for the FCC to follow that you can find here. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT MY WORDS AS YOUR OWN. A number of people have done this already, this hurts the cause more than helps. Take the time and relate your personal experinces.

atsc3commentDownload

Once you’ve submitted your comment, it may take a day or two to show up in the public docket. But the important thing is to submit something. Your experiences matter, and the FCC is actually listening—at least for now. Whether they’ll take action based on what we say remains to be seen, but our collective efforts are part of the official record. That alone makes it worth speaking up.

Here’s how to submit:

1. Click this link to be taken to the FCC filing form. This will take you to the express filing. You’ll also see the option at the top of the screen to select the standard filing option where you can submit a PDF or Word Doc. The instructions for submitting are the same for both.

2. On the first line for proceedings type in 16-142 . The system will then display the text “Authorizing Permissive Use of the “Next Generation” Broadcasting Television Standard.” Click on that to lock in the docket number. Here’s what it looks like:

I’ve found that sometimes on the express form that the search doesn’t always pop up correctly. Sometimes clicking over to standard and back to express will get it working. Once you click on it 16-142 will light up yellow like this:

3. Fill in your information. A US address is required and note that this will be part of the public record.

4. Write your comment in the comment section. It’s important to provide some detail especially how this change will make it difficult for YOU to consume over the air television.

We’re almost there!

Unifi 10 Gig USB 4 Ethernet Adapter Review

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been checking out some of the new USB 4.0 10-gigabit Ethernet adapters that have hit the market. In my latest review, we take a look at one from Unifi – known more for their network infrastructure equipment vs. individual adapter cards.

At $200, it sits a bit higher on the price scale compared to others, but this one stands out because it doesn’t have a noisy fan. The outer case gets a bit warm but I noticed no performance degradation under sustained loads.

This adapter is running with the same Marvell AQC113 chipset as some of the others we’ve reviewed recently. Setup was simple. On macOS, Linux (Ubuntu), and Windows, the adapter functioned as plug-and-play in my testing. UniFi also provides a direct link to Marvel’s driver download page for those who need additional support. That’s a refreshing change from some of the vendors I’ve seen who push downloads through sketchy sites.

Performance was consistent across the board. I ran speed tests on all three platforms—Mac, Windows, and Linux—and consistently saw results in the 9.4 to 9.47 Gbps range in both upload and download directions using iPerf. The adapter maintained those speeds reliably with minimal variation.

To get the full performance you will need to connect this to a USB 4 or Thunderbolt connection. In addition to 10 gigabit speeds it will also operate at 5, 2.5, 1 gigabits or 100 megabits. I’m sure it’ll probably support 10 megabits too if you happen to plug it into a 90s era hub.

Overall this one feels like a solid option for anyone looking to get reliable 10 gig connectivity and something I’m comfortable recommending.

The ADTH USB Tuner Review: More DRM Nonsense and Poor Compatibility

I’ve been recovering from laryngitis, but I’m back at it with a look at a new TV tuner from ADTH. This one comes with a lot of buzz from the broadcast industry, which is pitching it as a reliable solution for tuning encrypted ATSC 3.0 TV signals. After spending time with it, though, I found it falls painfully short of expectations. See more in my latest review.

The ADTH tuner will likely cost more than the device you’re plugging it into. It’s also imported from China, so there’s a chance future shipments might cost more due to tariffs. You can find it here on Amazon (compensated affiliate link).

It connects via USB to Android TV or Fire TV devices. Out of all the hardware I tested, the only one it fully worked with was the Onn 4K Pro box. Everything else—like the Nvidia Shield, Onn stick, and Fire TV Stick 4K Max—ran into trouble with encrypted channels. On the Shield, encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels froze after showing a single frame. The Fire TV Stick displayed an error saying DRM wasn’t supported. In each case, unencrypted channels were fine, but the whole point of this tuner is to handle encryption, and that’s where it stumbled. My friend Elias Saba of AFTVNews.com tested twenty supposedly compatible devices and found only two worked as advertised.

To make things more complicated, AC-4 audio compatibility on the host device is also required for ATSC 3 broadcasts. Unfortunately most devices don’t say whether they do. So users are left guessing.

Setting it up was relatively simple. The app is available on the Android and Fire TV app stores. After granting permission for USB access—something I had to do each time I launched the app—it walked me through a channel scan and a dongle firmware update. It found channels quickly and offered a decent guide, both a quick overlay and a more detailed grid. The app also lets you pause live TV and jump back to the live broadcast, but there’s no recording or rewinding.

One feature that stood out was the stats screen. It’s the most detailed I’ve seen for ATSC 3.0 tuning and could be useful for those trying to troubleshoot signal issues or understand what’s coming through the airwaves.

It’s worth noting that the app only works on Android TV and Fire TV but not phones or tablets. I checked some APK sites to see if there was an unofficial workaround for mobile, but couldn’t find anything that worked. It also will never work with PCs, or anything Apple- or Roku-based. That’s a big limitation for a device that’s supposed to represent the future of TV tuning.

All of this brings me to DRM and its cost. Right now, the ADTH tuner is one of the few options that’s officially sanctioned to handle encrypted ATSC 3.0. But the GT Media USB tuner we looked at last year, which doesn’t support encryption but works on a much wider range of Android devices—including mobile—sells for as little as $30 on AliExpress. It even has DVR support via an SD card. Despite being cheaper and more versatile, it’s being held back by the same DRM restrictions that limit broader innovation in the space.

As broadcasters continue to push the FCC to accelerate the ATSC 3.0 transition, we’re left with hardware that still doesn’t deliver on the promise. Two years into this DRM rollout, basic functionality still isn’t guaranteed. There’s more to come this week as the FCC opens public comments on the DRM issue, and I’ll be sharing how to get involved. For now, this is where things stand—and it’s not a great place to be.

See more ATSC 3.0 tuners here.

Disclosure: I paid for this device with my own funds.

Free App Hidden Gem: Retro Achievements for Emulators!

My latest video takes a look at RetroAchievements, a free online service that adds Xbox-style achievements to classic games played through supported emulators. Think of it as a gamified layer on top of your retro library, with score tracking, leaderboards, and a whole community of players competing to earn bragging rights.

In the video I demo an achievement I earned playing the Sega Master system version of Choplifter for gaining an extra life without losing any lives. When an achievement is reached, an on-screen badge pops up, and points get logged on the RetroAchievements website. That bumped me to rank 100,800 out of around 111,000 players. It’s not exactly elite status, but it’s a start :)!

Setting it up was straightforward. After creating an account on retroachievements.org, I linked it up with my emulators. There’s a wide range of compatible emulators, including RetroArch, Dolphin, DuckStation, and PCSX2. On my Steam Deck, I use EmuDeck, which simplifies the process even further and logs you in across all your installed emulators.

RetroAchievements has two play modes: “hardcore,” which disables cheats, save states, rewinds, and slow motion, and “softcore,” which allows those conveniences. There’s a separate ranking system for each mode, so your score stays relevant no matter how you like to play. The community enforces rules against cheating, so even in softcore, the competition feels fair.

What makes this system interesting is how the achievements are actually built. They’re tied to the emulator’s memory and look for specific values or in-game events. When the right conditions are met, the emulator triggers the achievement and reports it back to the website. You can even follow other users and compare your scores directly.

Another nice feature is the in-game feedback indicating how close you’re getting to your next achievement. While playing Afterburner II on the Sega Saturn, I went after a particularly tricky achievement called “Too Close for Missiles,” which requires destroying 150 enemies with guns on normal difficulty or higher. A counter appeared on screen, incrementing after every plane was downed with my cannons. I haven’t cracked that one yet—it resets if you game over and continue—but it’s kept me coming back to the game long after I completed it.

The achievements themselves are created by the RetroAchievements community, and becoming an achievement developer involves learning how emulators and game memory work. It’s more than just coming up with fun challenges—you actually have to build them into the game logic without breaking anything. There’s a whole process for ensuring that achievements trigger properly and don’t interfere with the game’s performance.

FPGA-based systems like the MiSTer and Analog consoles aren’t supported, at least not yet. I use a MiSTer for a lot of my retro gaming on a CRT upstairs, and it would be great to get achievements while playing there. Hopefully, support for those systems is on the horizon.

You can find my RetroAchievements profile here. If you think you can top my score in Afterburner II, go for it. I’ll be watching.

Curious about how I retro these days? Check out my video on that here!

YouTube Experiment Limits Notifications from “Clicking the Bell”

I recently came across a post on Android Authority that a viewer, James Randolph, flagged for me, and it highlights an experimental shift YouTube is making to its notification system. It looks like YouTube is quietly testing changes that could result in fewer notifications being sent—even if you’ve clicked the bell for a channel. The gist is that if you’re not actively engaging with a channel you’ve subscribed to, YouTube might just stop sending you notifications from it altogether.

I take a look at this experiment in my latest video.

The details come from a March 26th entry on YouTube’s experiment page. Initially this is a small test targeting people who’ve clicked the bell for “all” notifications but haven’t been watching those channels lately. YouTube’s reasoning? A lot of people, overwhelmed by the flood of notifications, either stop engaging or turn off all notifications at the app level.

From YouTube’s perspective, this is about cleaning things up. But to me, it seems like a fix for a problem that was never really handled well in the first place.

For years, creators like myself have been dealing with how unreliable the bell icon has become. According to my analytics, only about 10% of my subscribers actually click the bell. But of those, just 3.9% actually enabled YouTube notifications on their device.

One of my longstanding issues with the bell is how rigid it is. It pings right when a video goes live, regardless of whether it’s a good time for the viewer. Most people aren’t going to stop what they’re doing and watch immediately. For my part, I started using YouTube’s scheduled digest feature. I have all my notifications come in at 7:00 p.m. every day. That way I can review everything at once and decide what I actually want to watch. Most users likely don’t use that feature.

Another issue is the inability to add a video to the “Watch Later” list directly from a notification. Personally, I rely on the Watch Later heavily. I’ll often find something I want to check out later in the evening on the TV, and being able to queue it up is a big part of how I use YouTube. That functionality is just missing from the notifications tab.

When YouTube first introduced the bell, it was a compromise to give viewers more control after the algorithm started more aggressively recommending videos. People were frustrated that they weren’t seeing videos from creators they cared about. The bell was meant to restore that connection. But the way it was implemented—again, notifying you at the exact moment of publication—just doesn’t work for most people.

There are also little things about how the system works that don’t help. Take the example of turning off notifications for a specific channel from the notification bell menu in the YouTube apps. Turning off notifications from that menu doesn’t revert to the default algorithmic notification setting, it stops ALL future notifications from that channel.

These are relatively small usability issues, but they add up. When YouTube says people aren’t using notifications or the subscription tab, my view is that it’s not because they don’t want to—it’s because the features don’t work well for them. I’ve looked at my own analytics and have seen the same trend. Even though my subscriber count has nearly doubled since 2018, the thumbnail impressions I get from the subscription tab continue to decline. It’s not for lack of interest. It’s just that the tool itself hasn’t evolved in a way that supports how people actually watch videos.

YouTube’s algorithm clearly does a good job keeping people on the platform. But some of us prefer a little more manual control over what we see and when. I for one like to see what I’m choosing not to watch. A few thoughtful changes—both to how notifications behave and to the usability of the subscription tab—could go a long way for viewers who use YouTube as their primary video platform.

See more about my subscription tab thoughts here!

TV Group Asks the FCC to Broadcast 5G TV vs. ATSC 3.0

I’ve been following the developments in over-the-air television closely, and something interesting is brewing—what looks like the early stages of a format war. Right now, the major U.S. broadcasters are backing ATSC 3.0, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing.

Now, a company called HC2 Broadcasting Holdings, which owns about 60 low-power TV stations across the country, is asking the FCC for permission to use a different technology entirely: 5G TV. Instead of sending out ATSC 3 signals, they want to use the same spectrum to transmit using mobile phone standards, essentially turning TV broadcasting into a data service compatible with 5G phones and presumably set-top boxes. I dive more into what 5G TV is all about in my latest video.

If the FCC allows low powered stations to use 5G technology, we might be looking at two separate approaches to the future of free over the air TV. 5G TV’s backers are hoping that the technology can be cheaply built into mobile phones which have a far higher adoption rate vs. those using antennas on televisions for over the air television.

The way 5G TV works is relatively straightforward. It uses the same modulation as 5G mobile data but is designed for one-way communication—broadcasting data like video streams without requiring a return signal. It would operate in the 470 to 698 MHz range, which is the same frequency band currently used by low-power TV stations. That makes the transition more feasible from a technical perspective, assuming the FCC gives the green light.

What HC2 seems to be banking on is a future where phones can tune into TV signals without a mobile phone service subscription. In theory, a $20 prepaid phone from a big-box store could be enough to access live television and emergency broadcasts. That’s a significant departure from ATSC 3.0, which currently restricts playing back content on anything other than approved TV box.

This 5G-based approach also offers flexibility beyond just video. Since it’s essentially an IP data stream, broadcasters could use it to push all kinds of content. Speeds wouldn’t be blazing fast—maybe 10 to 25 Mbps—but that’s more than enough for several video channels. There’s also potential for emergency communication. In a stadium, for example, people could receive live camera angles or evacuation instructions without clogging up traditional mobile networks.

At the moment, there are no consumer devices that can tune into these 5G TV signals. So if a format war is on the horizon they’ll have a lot of catching up to do with ATSC 3.0 which, while flawed, still has been shipping on higher end televisions for awhile now. But given 5G TV works over the same technology mobile phones use already it shouldn’t be a heavy lift to add it to next generation handsets.

Most of HC2’s stations aren’t broadcasting high-quality content today. Most are just looping infomercials or retransmitting cable channels, often only running standard definition programming. Pivoting to data casting might offer them a more profitable path forward with a larger potential audience, especially if they can license out access or offer value-added services through the new format.

It’s worth watching how the FCC responds. If they approve the request, these broadcasters would have the option to pursue 5G TV instead of sticking with ATSC standards. That kind of flexibility could open the door to innovation, or at least force a new conversation about what over-the-air TV should look like moving forward.

My daughter takes over my YouTube channel!

My daughter Ellie really wanted to try her hand at product reviewing. So I let her take over my YouTube channel for April Fool’s Day! Ellie wanted to do her own review of the Hideal magnifier we looked at in my most recent Amazon haul video.

Check out Ellie’s video here. Will I still have a job after this?

YouTube’s automation detected her presence in the video and has restricted comments and reach on this one sadly.

Plex Update: New app, Plex Pass Price Increases and Changes to Free Tier (sponsored post)

Plex officially released its new mobile app, implementing the UI changes from the beta version that I previewed last November. Along with this release, Plex made some significant changes to personal media users running servers on the free tier.

In my latest monthly sponsored Plex video, we take a look at all that’s going on with Plex.

I found the new app is mostly the same as the beta we looked at previously. One important addition is improved support for TV tuners for live TV. Users can now easily switch between their antenna channels and Plex’s free streaming channels directly within the app. Users can set recordings for over the air channels too but can’t yet schedule them like they could on the previous version of the app.

Another big change is moving music and photos out of the main app. Plexamp now handles personal music libraries, and Plex Photos manages photo libraries. Both are standalone, free apps. Plexamp has additional features for Plex Pass users.

With this new app comes changes to how free tier users stream or share media outside the home along with the first price increase for Plex Pass in nearly a decade. Starting April 29, the cost of a lifetime Plex Pass will go up to $249, yearly to $69.99 and monthly to $6.99. Users can get a Plex Pass at the old price before April 29 using my affiliate link.

For users on the free tier, a new “Remote Watch Pass” is required remote streaming or sharing with others outside their home network. This pass costs $2 per month or $20 annually. If the server owner has a Plex Pass, free tier users can continue accessing that server for free. Additionally a Plex Pass user won’t incur fees accessing a server that is one the free tier. Plex did eliminate the mobile unlock fee previously required for Android and iOS users to stream remotely without limitations.

I have definitely heard from users who are having trouble with the new app or don’t like the changes. But this is the direction Plex is taking in order to keep the product sustainable into the future. I have been a Plex user long before they were a sponsor on the channel and still happy with it. But there are alternatives for those who disagree with the direction they’re taking.

Disclosure: The video attached to this post was a paid sponsorship from Plex. However they did not review or approve it before it was uploaded. All opinions are my own.

Gotham Steel Pasta Pot Comes with its Own TOS That Limits Your Consumer Rights!

I recently picked up a pasta pot from Gotham Steel on the Flip app, mostly because I liked the convenience factor. My kids go through a lot of pasta, and this pot has a built-in straining lid that locks in place with a couple of twistable dials. No need for a separate colander, which means fewer dishes for me to wash. Sounded like a win.

But when I opened the box, I found something unexpected: an arbitration “agreement.” It wasn’t buried in fine print either—it was front and center, making it clear that by using the pot, I was giving up my right to sue the company. If I got injured or had any kind of problem that might lead to legal action, I’d be required to go through binding arbitration. That means no judge, no jury, and no chance to join a class action suit.

I didn’t see any obvious way to opt out of it, either. Sure, I could return the pot to Flip, but there didn’t seem to be any way to just reject the agreement and still keep the product. And from what I could tell, simply using the pot amounts to accepting those terms. It should be noted that the arbitration requirement is not visible until the product is unpackaged as the agreement was resting inside the pot. Additionally there were no mentions of this arbitration requirement on the Flip product page prior to sale.

Naturally, I started digging to understand why a pasta pot would come with this kind of legal baggage. Turns out Gotham Steel was the target of a class action lawsuit a few years ago. Customers alleged that their non-stick cookware didn’t live up to the marketing, and while I don’t know how much the company had to pay out, it seems to have been enough to prompt this arbitration requirement. Now, instead of addressing future customer grievances in court, they’re steering everyone into arbitration from the start.

I’ve never come across something this blatant in kitchenware before. Maybe other companies have similar clauses tucked away in their manuals, but this was right there when I opened the box. It raises the question of how many more every day consumer products are starting to do this, and what it means for consumers in the long run.

I’m curious what people with legal backgrounds make of this kind of clause—whether it’s enforceable or just intimidation. Either way, it’s a small but telling example of how consumer rights seem to keep getting chipped away, even when we’re just trying to make a pot of pasta.