Now even the FBI is warning about your smart TV’s security

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Smart TV Security

Now even the FBI is warning about your smart TV’s security

Zack Whittaker@zackwhittaker / 11:47 am PST • December 1, 2019

If you just bought a smart TV on Black Friday or plan to buy one for Cyber Monday tomorrow, the FBI wants you to know a few things.

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ATSC 3.0: The future of free antenna TV is coming, eventually

Everything a cord cutter needs to know about free over-the-air 4K HDR broadcasts.

by Geoffrey Morrison | June 3, 2018 4:00 AM PDT

It’s been two years since we last wrote about ATSC 3.0, also known as “Next Gen TV,” and a lot has changed. But with the breakneck speed of change in other areas of TV — namely streaming video — the new version of free antenna TV is moving at a snail’s pace.

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Cord-Cutting On The Rise As Cable TV Rates Have Skyrocketed Since 2000

Are you one of the millions of Americans that are sick and tired of paying high rates for cable TV and satellite packages? Many are paying outrageous prices for dozens (or even hundreds) of channels that they probably don’t even watch. Given the rising costs of TV packages, more and more people are cutting the cord.

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US TV: erosion, not implosion

TMT Predictions 2016

Deloitte Global predicts that the US traditional television market, the world’s largest at about $170 billion in 2016, will see erosion on at least five fronts: the number of pay-TV subscribers; pay-TV penetration as a percent of total population; average pay-TV monthly bill; consumers switching to antennas for watching TV; and live and time-shifted viewing by the overall population, and especially by trailing millennials (18-24 years old).

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Survey says: streaming in, cable out


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Review of the Channel Master DVR+

Free over-the-air TV forms a huge part of what we cover here on Cordcutting.com, and for good reason. Surveys show that cord cutters are increasingly awakening to the potential of OTA TV, which offers many cord cutters the chance to watch local news and major network broadcasts for free.

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Do you really need cable?

How much do you pay for cable? The first year with a new cable or satellite provider is generally affordable with the generous promotions, upgrades, and free channels provided. However, after the promotional period ends, our bills always see to creep up a bit more here and there.

Every year the bloating gets larger — an extra fee for that second box we hardly use, all the movie channels that we don’t watch often, the amount of taxes and additional fees we have to pay, and so on.

All of this leads me to my next question. Have you ever thought about cutting the cord on cable or your satellite provider?

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Of Cable, Congress and Cockroaches

Mohu study puts pay TV near bottom of food chain

Author: Mike Farrell

Digital antenna maker Mohu released a consumer satisfaction study Wednesday that seems to fly in the face of industry efforts to improve customer service, with respondents putting their cable company just a step ahead of Congress and disease-carrying vermin.

According to the survey, 50% of respondents said they held an unfavorable view toward their cable company, compared to 72% that said they had an unfavorable opinion of Congress and 92% that said they did not enjoy the company of cockroaches. No word on where rats, ringworm, or the Senate ranked in the study.

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As the NFL playoffs reach the semifinals, the big winner so far is local broadcast television.

Updated: Ratings analysis shows viewers prefer watching NFL on broadcast over cable
1/19/2016 02:57:00 PM Eastern Last updated at 1/19/2016 03:38:38PM

Scott Clarke / ESPN Images

Scott Clarke / ESPN Images

As the NFL playoffs reach the semifinals, the big winner so far is local broadcast television.

Viewers prefer to watch the games on broadcast TV over cable, according to an analysis of ratings from Nielsen data conducted by the local broadcast nonprofit trade association TVB.

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Cable channel blacked out? Antenna TV still free for the taking

Ron Hurtibise, Contact Reporter
Sun Sentinel

So you’re an AT&T U-verse customer and you flipped on your TV to watch this month’s NFL playoffs — only to discover a static screen and a message that “This channel is temporarily unavailable and we are working to return it to you soon.”

You might have checked the news and learned the channel was blacked out due to a transmission fee dispute between WSVN, Miami’s Fox affiliate, and AT&T.

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When Cable Outages Hit, HDTV Antennas Provide Back-Up

By Anne Badalamenti
GoMohu.Com

Time Warner Cable Outage Strikes Carolinas

Over the weekend, thousands of Time Warner Cable subscribers experienced cable outages, internet outages, and even phone outages. The outages lasted for hours. People were frustrated they were missing Week 16 NFL action, unable to stream Netflix, etc. And understandably given the ever-increasing cost of cable and internet. This type of outage is nothing new, unfortunately. They seem to occur with such frequency that folks acknowledge it’s part of the package when they sign up with a provider like TWC.

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Mohu Channels review: An ugly marriage of over-the-air and streaming TV

Over-the-air broadcasts are enjoying something of a renaissance in the cord-cutting age. If you live within range of broadcast towers, a simple antenna will deliver basic channels—including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS—in beautiful high definition for free. It’s the perfect supplement to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

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5 TV antenna tricks for the modern-day cord cutter

Jared Newman | @onejarednewman | TechHive

When I was growing up, it seemed like almost everyone had cable, and owning a TV antenna meant you were stuck in the past.

But with the rise of cord cutting, the lowly over-the-air antenna has experienced a rebirth. More than just an old-school way to get basic channels like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, an HD antenna can pair with all kinds of high-tech hardware, unlocking capabilities that were never possible before.

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The case for the free cord cutter DVR

Tivo’s new over the air (OTA) only DVR, the Tivo Roamio OTA, is a test of both the market – and pricing.  Tivo’s aggressively priced it at $49 – over $100 less than any other Tivo product, and $150-200 less than competing cord-cutter products like Tablo or SimpleTV.

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TECHNOBABBLE: Cutting the cord to help the environment

I’ve talked before about the benefits of “cutting the cord,” that is, canceling your cable TV subscription but keeping your Internet connection. I cut the cord a few years ago and I find that I can see almost everything I want right away.

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Look Before You Leap: Checking the Antenna Option for Watching the NFL on Free TV

In this week’s column, Bob explains the role antennas for over-the-air broadcasts play in delivering live NFL games (and more) to fans that don’t pay for typical pay-TV programming packages and as an option to those that are contemplating cutting the cable cord.

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Spending Smart: Antenna helps kick cable TV habit

As more people rethink ways to get television programming outside the traditional cable and satellite companies, the unsung TV antenna is becoming a fundamental component of their cord-cutting strategy. That makes sense. Not only are broadcast TV signals free, but even a simple antenna can produce the best picture you’ve ever seen on your TV because the high-definition signals are less compressed than through cable or satellite.

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Simple antenna can help kick costly cable TV habit

As more people rethink ways to get television programming outside the traditional cable and satellite companies, the unsung TV antenna is becoming a fundamental component of their cord cutting strategy. That makes sense. Not only are broadcast TV signals free, but even a simple antenna can produce the best picture you’ve ever seen on your TV because the high-definition signals are less compressed than through cable or satellite.

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