DrBill.TV #493 – Video – The Ventoy is a Cool Utility Edition!

Walmart is officially now selling its Android TV streamers, Locast launches in Raleigh-Durham, NC, video link on the new features of Android 12, Beta 2, GSotW: Ventoy! Loki starts on Disney+! (Jun 15, 2021)

Links that pertain to this Netcast:

TechPodcasts Network

International Association of Internet Broadcasters

Blubrry Network

Dr. Bill Bailey.NET

BitChute Referral

www.DrBill.TV/VPN


Start the Video Netcast in the Blubrry Video Player above by
clicking on the “Play” Button in the center of the screen.

(Click on the buttons below to Stream the Netcast in your “format of choice”)








Streaming MP3 Audio

Streaming Ogg Audio

Download mp4 Download WebM Download MP3 Download Ogg
(Right-Click on any link above, and select “Save As…” to save the Netcast on your PC.)

You may also watch the Dr. Bill.TV Show on these services!

 

Dr. Bill.TV on YouTube Dr. Bill.TV on BitChute Dr. Bill.TV on Rumble Dr. Bill.TV on Vimeo

 


DrBill.TV #493 – Audio – The Ventoy is a Cool Utility Edition!

Walmart is officially now selling its Android TV streamers, Locast launches in Raleigh-Durham, NC, video link on the new features of Android 12, Beta 2, GSotW: Ventoy! Loki starts on Disney+! (Jun 15, 2021)

Links that pertain to this Netcast:

TechPodcasts Network

International Association of Internet Broadcasters

Blubrry Network

Dr. Bill Bailey.NET

BitChute Referral

www.DrBill.TV/VPN


Start the Video Netcast in the Blubrry Video Player above by
clicking on the “Play” Button in the center of the screen.

(Click on the buttons below to Stream the Netcast in your “format of choice”)








Streaming MP3 Audio

Streaming Ogg Audio

Download mp4 Download WebM Download MP3 Download Ogg
(Right-Click on any link above, and select “Save As…” to save the Netcast on your PC.)

You may also watch the Dr. Bill.TV Show on these services!

 

Dr. Bill.TV on YouTube Dr. Bill.TV on BitChute Dr. Bill.TV on Rumble Dr. Bill.TV on Vimeo

 


Loki is Out on Disney+!

Tom Hiddleston as LokiLoki started Wednesday Night on Disney+ and it is tons of fun! Tom Hiddleston brought his weird, fun, “tongue-in-cheek” character to TV with panache! I loved it! The whole “Time Variance Authority” was a story-line from Marvel Comics that was sprinkled through-out many comics, but it is brought together here for a lot of fun! Owen Wilson joins him as “Mobius” a bureau chief at the TVA. Mobius needs help from Loki to catch a renegade (called a “variant”) that they are having problems catching… Loki himself! Theories abound among fans as to how the “TVA” will be used in future movies, plot, and plans! I am definitely along for the ride!

Geek Software of the Week: Ventoy!

VentoyHere’s a handy utility to turn you USB stick into a quick install tool!

Ventoy Web Site

Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files.
With Ventoy, you don’t need to format the disk over and over, you just need to copy the ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files to the USB drive and boot them directly.
You can copy many files at a time and Ventoy will give you a boot menu to select them (see screenshot).
x86 Legacy BIOS, IA32 UEFI, x86_64 UEFI, ARM64 UEFI and MIPS64EL UEFI are supported in the same way.
Most types of OS supported (Windows/WinPE/Linux/Unix/VMware/Xen…)

100% open source (license)
Very simple to use (Get started)
Fast (limited only by the speed of copying iso file)
Can be installed in USB/Local Disk/SSD/NVMe/SD Card
Directly boot from ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files, no extraction needed
No need to be continuous in disk for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files
Both MBR and GPT partition style are supported
x86 Legacy BIOS, IA32 UEFI, x86_64 UEFI, ARM64 UEFI, MIPS64EL UEFI supported
IA32/x86_64 UEFI Secure Boot supported
Persistence supported
Windows auto installation supported
RHEL7/8/CentOS7/8/SUSE/Ubuntu Server … auto installation supported Notes
FAT32/exFAT/NTFS/UDF/XFS/Ext2(3)(4) supported for main partition
ISO files larger than 4GB supported
Native boot menu style for Legacy & UEFI
Most type of OS supported, 700+ iso files tested
Linux vDisk(vhd/vdi/raw…) boot solution
Not only boot but also complete installation process
Menu dynamically switchable between ListView and TreeView mode
“Ventoy Compatible” concept
Plugin Framework
Injection files to runtime environment
Boot configuration file dynamically replacement
Highly customizable theme and menu style
USB drive write-protected support
USB normal use unaffected
Data nondestructive during version upgrade
No need to update Ventoy when a new distro is released

The NC Capitol Area Gets Locast!

LocastThey are getting closer to the Triad! Come on, guys! You can do it!

Locast Launches in Raleigh-Durham, NC!

Cord Cutters News – By: Jess Barnes – “Locast has expanded to a 33rd market, launching in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina today. The free streaming service is bringing 40 local TV channels to nearly 3 million residents in the area which includes Fayetteville, Chapel Hill and Rocky Mount.

Locast offers local broadcast TV via the internet for free, though the service will frequently ask for a $5 donation until that donation is set up by the user. Locast says that offering the channels is a public service offering news, weather, sports, entertainment, and emergency information to viewers via internet connected devices.

“Especially in hilly regions where over-the-air broadcast reception can be unreliable, Raleigh-Durham residents can use Locast to watch their local TV channels via the internet on their phones, tablets, laptops or streaming media devices.”

The 40 local channels available in Raleigh include WRAL NBC 5, WTVD ABC 11, WNCN CBS 17, WRAZ FOX 50, PBS, PBS Kids, as well as DABL, Univision, Antenna, CourtTV, Mystery, MeTV, TrueCrime, the CW, GetTV, BOUNCE, Quest, LAFF, COMET, HSN, GRIT, COZI, and more.

Locast is accessible to viewers in 23 counties in the Raleigh-Durham DMA including Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Nash, Northhampton, Orange, Person, Sampson, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson. The DMA also covers Mecklenburg, Virginia.”

Walmart is Selling a Super Cheap Streaming Stick

Onn TV StickWalmart’s even-cheaper Android TV stick will apparently cost $25 w/ 1080p streaming, and they have added a 4K “Roku-like” set-top box.

Walmart officially now selling its Android TV streamers; the 4K model leaves a good impression

9to5 Google – By: Ben Schoon – “Up until this past year, Google’s Android TV has lacked the cheap hardware that pushed competitors like Roku and Fire TV to the masses. Now, Walmart is looking to wage a war on price by debuting an ultra-cheap $25 Android TV streaming stick.

Over the past day, a listing has gone up on Walmart’s website for the “onn FHD Streaming Stick,” an Android TV-powered streamer that costs just $24.88. That’s the lowest cost Android TV device set to be sold in the United States ever. News of the price comes from @AndroidTV_Rumor, who was able to capture a screenshot of the price, something we can’t see on the same listing.

This is the same device we reported on earlier this year when it passed through the FCC.

How is Walmart able to hit such a low cost? We don’t have specifics at this point given the product still hasn’t been officially announced. However, we do get a hint of where costs have been cut in the specs the listing does provide. 1GB of RAM is specifically mentioned, a total that’s pretty much the bottom of the barrel for Android TV devices. It’s something we speculated could be the cause of inconsistent performance on the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick last year. The device also drops down to 1080p streaming only, which hints at a less costly chipset too.

Walmart directly mentions that its Android TV stick supports Netflix but makes no direct mention of Prime Video. Disney+ and HBO Max are also mentioned on the remote. That remote, notably, is the same G10 design that Google commissioned for Android TV devices this year.

A release date for this product isn’t mentioned, but it’s probably safe to assume it’ll arrive around the same time as the $30 4K streamer we’ve seen from Walmart a few times at this point. With such affordable prices, it’s clear the retailer is aiming to make a major play against the likes of Roku this year.

I’ve been using the 4K option from Walmart’s lineup for the past few days and, frankly, I’ve been rather happy with it so far. For being so inexpensive I fully expected the experience to suffer considerably. However, I’ve only been happy with just about everything so far. Overall performance is solid, to say the least, with apps generally feeling snappy and the Android TV homescreen running just as good as any other box/stick I’ve used. It’s easily on par if not better than the Chromecast with Google TV in that aspect.

The highlight has been the remote, of course. This is the first use of the Google-designed G10 remote in the mass market, and it’s a very, very good design. It takes just about everything that was good about the remote included with the new Chromecast — the IR blaster, the input button, the clicky buttons, etc. — and makes it more comfortable with a longer, slightly flatter design.

It’s not all good news, though. I have run into a few bugs that I’d consider more than minor. The remote has had disconnection issues on multiple occasions, specifically with the streaming box disconnecting from the remote. This left me unable to control the box at all, with a reboot being the only solution, a pain when the box was mounted behind my wall-mounted TV. On another occasion, HBO Max seemingly crashed the device, but that issue only cropped up once.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with what Walmart is bringing to the table. It’s a snappy, capable box that delivers Android TV without any major compromises. At just $30, it’s a tremendous value and is basically an impulse buy when you need a streamer. Is it worth it over the Chromecast at just $20 less? I think there’s an argument to be made, but I’ll have more to say about that in a full review soon.”

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