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Win one of six Annke BR200 PIR security cameras with light strobe and alarm (US, UK, EU) (Update: Winners)
Or save up to 15% on the BR200 and 5% on an Annke DVR
As imaging technology has evolved to encompass higher resolutions and improved frame rates, home security cameras have graduated from an added convenience to a necessity for many. However, despite the growing prevalence of smart cameras, only a paltry 38% of Americans own a home security product. This week, you can be among these lucky few when you enter to win one of six Annke BR200 PIR security cameras. Here's everything you need to know.
The Nvidia Shield TV started receiving Android 9.0 Pie yesterday, making it the device's fourth major software update. That being said, you may want to hold off on upgrading if you use your Shield TV as a DVR for HDHomeRun, as it seems to have broken this functionality — though a fix is being worked on.
Amazon has various Fire TV boxes that stream video from the internet, but the Fire TV Recast is something new. This is a DVR tuner box for watching and saving video from OTA sources like Fox and NBC. However, the Recast doesn't have anything to do with displaying the video. For that, you need another piece of hardware.The $230 base model Fire TV Recast comes with 500GB of storage (enough for 75 hours) and two HDTV tuners. That means you can watch one channel while recording another or record two channels at the same time. The $270 upgraded model has double the storage and tuners. There are no video outputs on this box, so all setup and configuration happens via the Fire TV app or a connected Alexa device. For example, you could tell your Echo to record a show, and it would automatically program the Recast.
You need one of several devices to watch video from the Recast. You can use a Fire TV device, of course, but Android and iOS devices with the Fire TV app will also do the trick. The Echo Show is supported as well. If using a mobile device, you can stream live or recorded TV anyplace. It's not clear if the Recast is smart enough to stream directly over your local network when you're at home, but I hope so.The Fire TV Recast is available for pre-order right now, and it'll ship on or around November 14th.
Some people are cord cutters — fed up with cable bills that seem to rise every month, hardware rental fees, and the unshakable sense that they aren't getting a ton of value for their entertainment buck. The just-under $150 Channel Master Stream+ and its ability to both stream online content and record free over-the-air broadcasts promises to keep them happy in a cable-free world. Does it deliver?
Sling's $5-per-month Cloud DVR service is expanding to a number of new devices. Subscribers can now watch their stored shows in the Chrome browser and on any screen that functions as a Chromecast receiver, as well as on Xbox One, LG smart TVs, and Samsung smart TVs from 2016 or later.
The Android TV ecosystem currently consists of the SHIELD and some other things no one buys. There may soon be another Android TV device worth picking up. The Stream+ from Channel Master is up for pre-order, and it ships later this month. This is an Android TV box, but it also has built-in dual TV tuners and DVR functionality.
Sling TV offers a compelling value for cord cutters who want to stream cable television channels without paying the hefty prices. One of its weaknesses was its all-live setup, which it addressed with the Cloud DVR "First Look" program. Initially limited to Fire devices, the company has now expanded access to the service to Android and Roku players.
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- The update should be live in the Play Store, but if you don't have it yet, you can grab it from APKMirror. As you can see in the changelog, this is the update that brings the beta support for HDHomeRun network tuners.
If you've been itching to DVR the live TV that you get via your OTA broadcast or cable card receiver on an Android TV box, then I've got some great news for you. Google has partnered with SiliconDust, creators of HDHomeRun, to bring you just that. If you have an Nvidia SHIELD or Nexus Player and a current-generation model of an HDHR, then you can get to recording and saving live TV.
While Sling TV makes a pretty compelling offering for those who want to ditch expensive conventional television service, its all-live setup is something of a bummer - recording has become so ingrained in the premium TV mindset that it's hard to give up. The company is rectifying that shortcoming with Cloud DVR, a (wait for it) DVR service that uses cloud storage to hold recorded TV episodes and other content. It's in closed beta right now - prospective users can sign up and cross their fingers at this address.
Google sells fiber Internet access and television service through the Google Fiber brand. Yeah, you might have forgotten that, since the rollout process is about as fast as continental drift, and even if you live in the US odds are overwhelming that you don't have access to it. Google also makes set-top box software called Android TV... which you might also have forgotten, since it's still pretty limited in terms of actual users. Fiber started in 2012, with Android TV starting in 2014, so they've never been running the same software, but they're getting a little closer now.
tinyCam Monitor Pro v6.2 Brings Built-In Web Server Enabling Remote Playback Of Recordings, And More
tinyCam recently made the big leap to version six dot oh, dragging along a new icon and material design. On the functionality front, we saw the introduction of 24/7 background video recording. This allowed users to keep recording long after they've switched their attention to another app.
The people who brought you HDHomeRun, a set of cable tuners that allow you to watch television on devices other than your base TV, are now close to bringing a DVR to market. With over $100,000 pledged on Kickstarter, they have now reached their funding goal to release this new, more practical product.
You don't have to know what DVR is to recognize the name TiVo, the company that became synonymous with the word. The company's products have allowed users to return to previous shows and watch them on their own schedule since long before Netflix and Hulu came around to help people cut the cord.
AT&T U-Verse customers can use the Android companion app to watch live channels on a phone or tablet, turn their handset into a TV remote, and manage DVR. The user interface hasn't looked particularly holo over the last several years, but after the latest updates, it now looks kind of ready for KitKat just in time for everything else to go material. Hey, at least it's something.
With so many ways to catch up on your favorite shows, sitting down when a cable network wants you to and putting up with dozens of ads doesn't sound particularly compelling. But if you record that stuff to get back to later, then it's not so bad (VCRs taught us that). There are multiple ways to go about this, but right now you can get a Simple.TV DVR with a lifetime subscription for $99 on Woot. That's a discount of 0.
Why would you want to watch TV shows on a TV? That’s so 2005. The options for live streaming your favorite TV shows on various devices abound. But until now, the options for live streaming on Android were hard to come by. None of the popular apps (Hulu, Netflix, Crackle, etc.) have this feature. This is why Aereo is different. It has been available for a while on iOS, although curiously not through an app, but via the browser. Now it’s available for Android in the Google Play store. This is great news for cord cutters. You no longer need to walk around with your fingers in your ears to avoid those Glee spoilers, while awaiting its availability on Hulu. Well, it’s great for those in seven cities, anyway. Oh, and those with Android 4.2 or higher. However, for that small subset of people, you’ll love Aereo, even with the slight beta glitches.
The time has finally come, couch potatoes: Aereo is here. This service has been making waves ever since it launched in February of last year, offering rebroadcasted over-the-air television across the Internet. The web service and iOS app has been available for entirely too long, but now it's time for Android to play (albeit in beta form). The Aereo app is a free download, but the service requires a subscription... and Android 4.2 or higher.
Likely not wanting to get left behind by the likes of Comcast, whose XFINITY for Android app has been quite well-received, Time Warner Cable is preparing to release a comparable remote control app for its cable subscribers at the end of November.
Do you have Comcast XFINITY cable? If not, this app may have you considering a switch of providers. The Comcast XFINITY TV app has been around for a while, but a lack of Gingerbread and Honeycomb compatibility has left many users frustrated - and drooling. Why? Because this app is awesome. Take a look at these Honeycomb screenshots taken from a XOOM:
Earlier today, Comcast dropped its 2nd mobile app for Android into the Android Market, the direction of which puzzled even me - and I work for a Comcast-owned company. The new app, XFINITY TV, is clearly targeted at TV viewers, while the previous app called XFINITY Mobile was a more general application for address book management, SmartZone email, Digital Voice, and... TV, DVR, and On Demand.