US Olympics Coverage Makes Sense (for the first time ever)

I can say in all honestly that I’ve waited literally decades for this moment. For the first time ever, Olympics coverage in the US finally makes sense. No need to juggle a dozen channels and time zone differences whilst awaiting broadcasters holding back content for prime time. I ended up a Peacock subscriber as my … Read more

Netflix Really Wants You To Upgrade

It turns out Netflix isn’t solely interested in recouping lost revenue due to password sharing as both our Roku and Fire TV streaming devices spammed prompted us to upgrade the Ultra HD (UHD) tier earlier today. Upon selecting the account holder’s profile, the above interstitial appeared, before my daughter could pull up Captain Underpants. The … Read more

TiVo Stream Activation Bricked

If you were unfortunate enough to purchase or factory reset a TiVo Stream 4K this weekend, your online video plans are on hold. Potentially until July 5th. You see, TiVo, in their infinite wisdom has taken their entire customer portal down for several days… to include TiVo Stream’s requisite web-based activation, which redirects to this … Read more

Walmart To Release Google TV Streaming Stick?

Hot on the heels of the recently refreshed Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box, Walmart is prepping what could be a new “Google TV” streaming stick based upon this new FCC filing. While I don’t actually see mention of “HDMI Stick” in a quick skim of the documentation, the “streaming device” details and label above … Read more

ATSC 3.0 Was Never About You

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

Channels DVR Software Now Controls Tablo TV Hardware

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

Fire TV Still On Sale (PSA should Roku lose YouTube)

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

Why Doesn’t Roku Offer A Web Browser?

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