Cord Cutting

TiVo Takes A Page From Apple; Launches Trade-in Program

In a first for TiVo, the DVR pioneer is testing a familiar-looking upgrade program. Apple recently offered me $250 for my iPhone 7 in the form of credit off the purchase price of a new iPhone XR. My old phone will be refurbished or responsibly recycled and I get a nice discount on a significant … Read more

Unboxing DirecTV Now Android TV Streamer

Beta testers, such as a well-connected associate, have begun receiving AT&T’s DirecTV Now Android TV streaming box. Both the packaging and startup sequence prominently display that “beta” designation – and with good reason. While DirecTV Now fires up fast, a subset of cloud DVR programming is conspicuously unavailable. As full-on Android TV, the Google Assistant … Read more

99 Cent Hulu Deal Still In Play

One of the more favorable deals of the season has been Hulu’s 99 cent offer. Yeah, it’s not the ad-free tier, but $12 for an entire year of their fairly extensive catalog is quite amazing. We generally use it for the shows we didn’t know we should be DVR-ing — plus it’s the only streaming … Read more

Hacking Amazon Fire TV Recast DVR

Now that Amazon’s surprise over-the-air Fire TV Recast DVR has been out a few weeks, we’ve begun to learn more about its capabilities. While it’s not the right solution for me, as I run mixed streamer household, it seems like a great value with tons of potential. And, as such, AFTVNews has begun hacking the … Read more

DirecTV Unveils Video Streaming Android Box

An industry peer passed along a fascinating invite soliciting existing DirecTV Now customers to test a new AT&T Android streaming set-top first uncovered by Variety. As to why this box needs to exist, I can’t quite say… given the great options AT&T and DirecTV already leverage, like the similarly Android-powered Amazon Fire TV. But AT&T/DirecTV … Read more

Craig Newmark Cuts The Cord

Scary… That card means I've "cut the cord"… Also, because, "boo"… pic.twitter.com/TTKWGDpYrC — craig newmark (@craignewmark) October 31, 2018 You may recognize Craig Newmark as founder of the eponymous craigslist and noted philanthropist, but I know him as a TiVo aficionado and television buff… who just cut the cord and dropped the hardware DVR. Which reinforces … Read more

Prepping For Black Friday

With Black Friday rapidly approaching, it’s time to begin preparations. And, while BF is often associated with holiday shopping, it’s also an ideal time to stock up on just about everything your household may need, from power tools to hiking boots. Heck, I even ordered a high chair about 50% off a few years back… before my daughter was born. As such, you need to create a wishlist – to scan deals efficiently and to avoid impulse purchases. Which ties into monitoring tools. I rely on the Slick Deals app for smartphone alerts (based on products in the aforementioned laundry list) and Wirecutter’s Twitter deals feed. Lastly, you need an ebates account for decent cash back from retailers (other than Amazon).

Read morePrepping For Black Friday

TiVo Targets Cord Cutters With Bolt OTA

While the cord-cutter-centric TiVo Bolt Aereo Edition was scrapped, prior to release, TiVo’s re-evaluated market conditions and unveiled the Bolt OTA DVR. And it represents a pretty significant upgrade over its Roamio OTA predecessor, including native streaming to mobile apps and  a bundled voice-control remote. Timing of the $250 device may appear challenging given Amazon’s Fire TV … Read more

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