The Tablo Update & Giveaway

Cord cutting featured prominently at CES this month, including a pair of announcements by our pals at Tablo.

Later this year, they’ll offer an Android TV app that provides local television playback with DVR capabilities. Even more interesting is the upcoming Tablo Live dongle ($99) that connects to an antenna and beams your favorite programming around the home to Roku, Xbox, iPad, etc. Even better? They’re working on a cloud storage companion.

Beyond these new goodies, the company continues to enhance the compelling Tablo OTA DVR that comes in 2- and 4-tuner models. Connect an antenna and a hard drive to watch both live and recorded content from a variety of clients within the home… or beyond. And, lucky you, here’s your opportunity to win my 2-tuner evaluation model with three months of service thrown in.

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Win An Intel-Powered Laptop!

TL;DR Watch the following sponsored video for the opportunity to win a brand-spanking-new Intel-powered laptop for you and a friend. ‘Tis the season… to cash in on some amazing technological values. And I’ve been on the lookout for an economical “gaming” laptop, like this $699 HP Pavillion at Walmart, to upgrade my wife’s aging rig. She’s pretty … Read more

Cyber Monday Deals Worth Your Time

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Google Chromecast ($25, three months of HBO NOW)
Chromecast isn’t my thing. But I’m old and require a physical remote. However, this is a good deal on a generally practical solution to get app content onto a television, controlled by smartphone. Considering HBO NOW runs $15 a month and you get three free, this is a pretty stellar deal.

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Sonos Play:1 ($150, includes 3-months of Apple Music)
Sonos is my preferred whole-home music system and the Play:1 both looks great and sounds great. At $150, it’s priced similar to many well regarded Bluetooth speakers but its WiFi connectivity is infinitely more practical (assuming you run a supported service, which you probably do). Apple’s sweetening the deal with three months of Apple Music.

 

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TiVo’s Best Holiday Deal Rewards Cord Cutters

TiVo’s out with their annual Thanksgiving / Black Friday deals… and they’re way more compelling than what we’ve seen in recent years, despite TiVo’s usual poor presentation. For example, their refurbished $200 TiVo Roamio OTA represents a stellar value. Although you might not realize it because they don’t clearly communicate it includes Lifetime All-In service. We’re … Read more

Google Deals Of The Day

Google Home ($99) Google’s Amazon Alexa competitor is $30 off. And, like the Echo, it’s an always-listening speaker that can tap into a number of services such as Spotify, Nest, or Philips Hue, in addition to being a general Internet-based assistant. Reviews have largely been positive — largely comparable sound and voice recognition to Amazon with … Read more

5 Great Stocking Stuffers (under $60)

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Roku Streaming Stick ($50)
While both Amazon and Roku updated their streaming sticks this year, I give a slight edge to Roku’s offering. And, during the holiday deals season, we’ve seen it as low as $35.

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Amazon Echo Dot ($50)
The refreshed Echo Dot brings Amazon’s always-on Alexa voice assistant into homes at a compelling price point with two enclosure color options. The integrated speaker is merely sufficient, but perfectly suitable for broadcasting news (Alexa, play CNN on TuneIn) or music (Pandora, Spotify, etc) in smaller rooms. We expect the Dot to drop to $40 on Black Friday. However, should your budget be larger, both Google Home and the full-on Echo will be $30-40 off later this week.

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2016 Roku Buying Advice

After busting out several dozen new Rokus today, I wanted to chime in with some initial purchasing advice. 2015 Roku 3 (~$80) If you’re not yet on the 4K bandwagon, but want a great balance of streamer performance with a tricked out remote capable of voice recognition and headphones, I actually suggest you look for a deal on last … Read more