Due to expanded DRM deployment and associated consumer disruption, Cord Cutters News recently resurfaced the story that various ATSC 3.0 broadcasters had began encrypting their antenna channels beginning early this year. While televisions imbued with so called “NextGen TV” tuners for direct playback are unaffected, network tuners that relay video content and platforms that record … Read more
On the eve of the Slingbox Shutdown, placeshifting remains alive and well, both institutionally and amongst us geeky… as Channels DVR can now latch onto Tablo hardware. For those unaware, Tablo is a line of network tuners with subscription-based DVR capabilities. Without the subscription, Tablo is an inexpensive way to stream over-the-air antenna television around … Read more
By way of AFTVnews, we learn various Amazon Fire TV models remain on sale. But not for much longer. As Roku and Google haven’t yet come to an agreement, YouTube may be pulled from Roku devices December 9th … and many owners may be seeking an inexpensive insurance policy to retain access. As such, here … Read more
One redditor wonders why Roku doesn’t offer a web browser. Only Roku employees know for sure, but we can make some educated guesses. First, and most likely, is that web browsing just isn’t what Roku’s designed to do and therefore not something they’d prioritize development or support of (despite the many web technologies brought to … Read more
The new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max sees its first discount ahead of Black Friday. As the second most powerful Fire TV device Amazon’s ever released, the Max was already competitively priced at a $55 MSRP. But now it’s quite the bargain, more than a third off, at $35. The original 4K Stick was … Read more
From Xperi’s quarterly call, we learn of TiVo’s triumphant return to Best Buy… in the form of the TiVo Stream 4K, as the DVR pioneer continues its retail transformation — moving away from its legacy hardware technologies as it refreshes its branding. But, while the company has pivoted its hardware approach, TiVo remains committed to … Read more
While YouTube TV is unavailable to new customers on Roku due to contractual matters, YouTube TV has effectively been unavailable to TiVo Stream 4k owners due to technical issues. And, after nearly four months, TiVo has resolved the playback bug. Which makes sense, given the large investment Google recently made in TiVo for their YouTube … Read more
Despite months of platform YouTube TV playback issues, Google has worked a deal to provide select subscribers a free TiVo Stream 4K. While TiVo’s Android TV dongle runs $40 these days, it’s currently on sale for $30. So, although the dollar value isn’t significant, this is still a real nice perk for customers and on-point … Read more