Your best bet to see today’s total eclipse if you live in an area where it isn’t visible is to stream NASA’s cross-country broadcast. It’s available from some cable providers and to stream on your computer, but what if you want it on your TV screen and you’re a cord-cutter? Roku users might download a NASA channel available in their channel store, but they’re in for a bad experience if they do. [More]
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Comcast Launching Xfinity App For Roku, But Not Ditching Set-Top Box Just Yet
By 1.31.17
With the FCC officially dropping set-top box reform from its agenda, the best we can hope for is a gradual shift toward app-based access to pay-TV programming. Comcast and Roku helped nudge things an inch in that direction today, announcing an Xfinity TV app that comes with as many questions as it does benefits. [More]
Dish’s New AirTV Device Combines Streaming 4K Video With Over-The-Air TV
By 1.3.17
Remember how Dish kind-of, sort-of, possibly-accidentally quietly announced it had new streaming hardware on the way? Well, that device — the AirTV player — is today finally a real thing, with a real price tag, that you can buy if you want. [More]
Dish’s New Device Merges Streaming Services With Over-The-Air TV
By 12.21.16 — Updated: 12.30.16
Millions of us have crossed the threshold where TV just comes from the internet now, and millions more are likely to follow in coming years. So it’s not really surprising that a traditional pay-TV company would be doubling down on selling access to its internet-delivered content… and its internet-connected delivery device. [More]
Facebook’s Out Of Ad Space On Facebook, So It Wants To Put Ads On Your TV
By 11.4.16
First Facebook took over your web experience. Then it took over your phone. And now, more than a decade after the internet’s second-biggest advertising company (Google’s first) launched infamously in a Harvard dorm room, Facebook is all set to start delivering video ads on a whole new platform next week: your TV. [More]
From “Yay” To “Boo” To “Shrug,” Here’s What Everyone Had To Say About FCC’s Set-Top Box Proposal
By 4.26.16
When the FCC voted in February to consider new rules for your cable box, that kicked off a multi-month cycle of public comments, where anyone and everyone can have their say. The deadline for the first round struck at midnight Friday, which means most of the comments are just rolling onto the internet for all and sundry to have a look at. [More]
Time Warner Cable’s Cable-Free Cable Is Still Basically Cable, Just On A Roku
By 11.10.15
Reports dropped a couple of weeks ago that Time Warner Cable was planning to roll out a cable-free streaming option to bring in more TV subscribers. The company has now confirmed that they’re definitely doing that… but not in as flexible a way as consumers had hoped. [More]
Time Warner Cable Launching Pilot Program To Sell Cable-Free Cable To Cord-Cutters
By 10.29.15
As it has often been foretold, so it is coming to pass: another major cable company is planning to sell cable-free, internet-based cable to its cord-cutting customers, starting with a pilot program in New York City. [More]
Roku Releasing 4K Streaming Video Player For $130
By 10.6.15
Weeks after Amazon announced that its new generation of Fire TV boxes will support 4K video, the folks at Roku are also jumping onto the ultra-HD bandwagon with the release of the Roku 4. [More]
Showtime’s Standalone Streaming Service Is Now Available For Cord-Cutters To Buy
By 7.7.15
After months of waiting, cord-cutters can now get access to Showtime’s streaming service without having to subscribe to basic cable (or use a friend’s login info). [More]
Showtime’s New Streaming Service Will Be Available On Roku, PlayStation Vue
By 6.8.15
With Apple’s big developer conference getting underway this morning, we expect to hear more news of Apple exclusives. But fans of Penny Dreadful and Homeland who aren’t into the whole Apple ecosystem thing get a nice bonus this morning, as we find out that something isn’t actually locked only to Apple’s world. [More]
Netflix Announces First Slate Of “Recommended” TVs
By 4.7.15
At International CES in January, Netflix revealed that it was going to begin evaluating web-connected TV sets to determine which ones were the best for accessing Netflix’s videos. Today, the company unveiled its first slate TVs that will carry its “Recommended” badge of distinction. [More]
Roku Boxes Will Let You Know When It’s Cheaper To Stream New Movies
By 4.6.15
If you’re willing to wait out the initial on-demand release of a new movie, you’ll likely be rewarded with a price drop. But it can be annoying to remember to check to see whether it still costs $6.99 to rent that video. The folks at Roku are hoping that a new price-tracking feature will ease that particular pain. [More]
Free Amazon, Roku Streaming Devices If You Prepay For 3 Months Of Sling TV
By 2.12.15
While some people have touted the recently launched Sling TV service as an option for cord-cutters, it’s really better-targeted to consumers who don’t have cable but want a few more live-TV viewing options. That’s why the service is now pushing deals that will allow some Sling subscribers to get free or deeply discounted streaming devices. [More]
Roku And Comcast Finally Make Nice, Will Allow HBO Go And Showtime Apps
By 12.16.14
A personal anecdote, if you’ll allow… A few years back, I — ever a good son — bought my mother a Roku box for her TV (that I’d also bought her), only to find out that she, like millions of other Comcast subscribers, was not allowed to access the device’s HBO Go app because she’s a Comcast customer. But those darks days are coming to an end, now that Kabletown and Roku are suddenly buddies. [More]
Roku, Apple TV Losing Ground To Chromecast & Amazon Fire TV Streaming Devices
By 12.3.14
A year ago, Roku and Apple TV dominated the market for streaming video devices, accounting for nearly 75% of all video streaming products sold in the U.S. in 2013. But in the last 16 months, Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV devices have stolen a significant chunk of Apple and Roku’s business. [More]
Amazon Finally Unveils New fireTV Streaming Thingy. What Is It?
By 4.2.14
After years of speculation, reports, and rumors that Amazon was developing some sort of set-top box, the company finally pulled back the curtain on the long-awaited development this morning. It’s called the fireTV and it does just about everything you’d expect a new streaming service to do; perhaps more if your expectations were low. But is it worth it? [More]
Roku TV Is The Connected TV Your Parents Might Actually Use
By 1.7.14
In an era where connected TVs and apps on gaming consoles mean consumers don’t need to clutter their living rooms with additional boxes to access streaming video, makers of streaming devices like Roku need to adapt or die. The logical solution: Roku TV. [More]
