HDHomeRun Premium TV Not Long For This World?

Silicon Dust’s groundbreaking cord cutter service that co-mingles pay television with over-the-air broadcasts, via HDHomeRun hardware, appears to be on the ropes given a lawsuit filed against Omnivese, their upstream content provider: “Plaintiffs (Disney, Sony, Fox, etc) have not granted licenses that permit Defendant DeMeo or Omniverse to stream the Copyrighted Works or sublicense streams … Read more

Significant Apple TV App Updates Expected in 2019

Noted Apple gossip blog Bloomberg indicates the company intends to beef up its TV app on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad: Right now, the TV app aggregates content from other providers, allowing people to locate shows from a wide array of apps and channels like ABC, NBA League Pass and HBO, rather than having to … Read more

Sling TV Unveils Big-On-Personalization Update

Pioneering Internet streaming service Sling TV has unveiled their upcoming interface refresh from CES. And our pal Brad Linder went hands on. Beyond recent guide presentation updates, the thrust of this transition is functional — with personalization taking center stage. A new MyTV dashboard collates content you’ve previously flagged as Favorites, Recommended content based on viewership, and any On Demand programming you may … Read more

New Roku Activations Unlock Tons Of Free Premium Content

Giving or getting a Roku this Christmas? The streaming pioneer has lined up an impressive array of free trials. Some of the more compelling offerings: Hulu – 3 months free HBO Now – 1 month free Netflix – 1 month free Showtime – 1 month free CinemaNow – 3 movie rentals Some of the promos, like Netflix … Read more

Apple TV To Debut Universal Search

Word on the street is that Apple TV will gain Siri-powered “universal” search with a rumored new $149 model being unveiled next week. Which would be quite curious if they also deliver a more open app platform as, suddenly, Apple iTunes video could compete directly against the likes of Amazon and Vudu. Presumably, should both come to pass, Apple would be … Read more

Commercial-Free Hulu Is Here*

Hulu just overcame one of its two biggest shortcomings in launching an ad-free tier. Whereas the Hulu we know and rarely love runs $8/month, the new offering clocks in at $12/month. I’m certainly willing to pay more for video streaming without commercial interruption, but I wonder if Hulu is 30% better than Netflix – which … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

Roku Feed and voice search now available through the Roku mobile app for Android and iOS The CW Network has picked up “The Flash” and “Arrow” spinoff, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” Sonos spends millions fighting ‘patent troll’… and wins We should rent our Nest thermostats, Sonos speakers and smartlocks, according to the CEO of internet-of-doorlocks … Read more