TV apps

DirecTV adding voice search to smartphone app this summer

With satellite and cable TV packages hovering around the "thousand channel" mark, the common complaint isn't that there's nothing to watch--it's that it's difficult and tedious to find what you're looking for.

That's the problem that DirecTV's upcoming voice search functionality is aiming to solve. While DirecTV already offers search functionality on its DVRs, the new voice search features let subscribers ditch the tedious text-entry process by speaking to the DirecTV smartphone app, which is available for both iOS and Android.

DirecTV is far from the first to bring voice search … Read more

The half-cut cord: What's bugging me about cable

I cut the cord years ago. My wife sat across from me on the sofa and finally convinced me that paying well over $100 a month for the privilege of a bunch of random cable channels wasn't worth it. We could save money, learn to live lower to the ground, read more, and watch TV shows and movies on demand. Netflix, Hulu Plus, and iTunes. I agreed. With apprehension.

It worked. We relaxed, we used an over-the-air antenna, we caught our TV shows on broadcast networks and just sat through commercials. I even borrowed an old DTV Pal DVR … Read more

What is the blockiness in my TV's picture?

A common complaint I get via e-mail or in comments on other articles involves a picture that breaks up into what look like little blocks.

Often, people incorrectly refer to these as "pixels," or blame their TV settings.

In fact, this artifact is in the source, and unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it.… Read more

TWC TV app turns Roku into a cable box for Time Warner customers (hands-on)

Roku streaming boxes can now be used as cable boxes for Time Warner Cable subscribers.

The feature upgrade comes courtesy of the free TWC TV app, which went live in the Roku Channel Store earlier today. The app was first announced at CES in January.

Once installed, the app provides access to hundreds of live channels, including most major broadcast and cable networks. The only requirement is a valid Time Warner Cable username and password; that security feature verifies that you're a current paying customer, and that you're accessing the stream from within your own home via your … Read more

Samsung HomeSync lets Android take over your TV

BARCELONA, Spain--Announced on Saturday at Mobile World Congress, the Samsung HomeSync is a home theater media hub that aims to inject a little Android OS into your TV via your Galaxy handset. Slated for April, the device can stream videos, games, and other media from your Galaxy phone to your big-screen TV through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Think of it as an Apple TV for the Samsung faithful.

Design The Samsung HomeSync is packaged in a minimalistic glossy black box, and it's about the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of one another. When placed on a flat … Read more

Apple, HBO reportedly in talks to bring HBO Go to Apple TV

Apple and HBO are in talks to bring HBO's on-demand programming to Apple's set-top streaming box, a new report says.

Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg says the two companies are still working out a deal with hopes of adding it to Apple's streaming lineup by the middle of this year.

Apple declined to comment on the report, calling it rumor and speculation.

"We've said we would like HBO GO accessible on all preferred platforms so we are always having discussions with a variety of companies," an HBO spokesperson told CNET.

Apple's set-top box currently … Read more

Updated Aereo app adds improved live TV streaming to Roku

The Aereo app on Roku boxes just became a much more potent alternative to traditional cable TV.

Aereo -- the Barry Diller-backed online video startup that streams local TV channels to multiple devices for a monthly fee -- had previously been available on Roku boxes, but it required an iPhone or iPad to use as a remote. But the updated app, which went live on Roku earlier this week, allows viewers to use an onscreen navigation with the standard Roku clicker.

Disclosure: CBS, the parent corporation of CNET, is currently in active litigation with Aereo as to the legality of … Read more

The 2013 TVs of CES are bigger and smarter, but what about the picture?

Will flat-panel TV picture quality get even better in 2013?

I'm guessing "Yes" in the case of the Best of CES nominee Panasonic TC-PZT60 and the re-engineered Samsung UNF8500, very likely the two best-performing TVs of 2013 under $10,000.

But those two are hardly the TV hardware poster children of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, where all the headlines touted expensive 4K and OLED sets -- still stupid and chronically under-delivered, respectively -- as well as new gadgetry of questionable usefulness. Finger-gesture control, anyone?

I got a chance to see both the Panasonic and the Samsung … Read more

Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga's CES 2013 keynote: Join us Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. PT (live blog)

The entire consumer-electronics world will be focused on Las Vegas this week as the 2013 International CES kicks off in Las Vegas. Today is about major press conferences from the industry's leading companies, but tomorrow, the eyes of the industry will be on the opening keynote address from incoming Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga, who will follow brief remarks on the state of the industry by CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. PT (11:30 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, January 8, and CNET will be there covering it live. We'll … Read more