The pace of smart home innovation hasn’t slowed a whit in 2024, with new products such as the Amazon Echo Show 21 being unveiled just this week. The better news is that the smart home is no longer a niche market appealing only to enthusiasts willing to tolerate steep learning curves. In other words, the water’s fine! Come on in! We are, however, still living in a world of smart home silos; namely, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home. The increasingly important Matter standard will unify those ecosystems one day, but that won’t happen until Matter incorporates every smart home category. Today, for example, it doesn’t account for security cameras or video doorbells. Considering that, we’ve picked more than one product in several categories, based primarily on which silo your smart home is in. As in years past, the products we’re awarding best-of-the-year status weren’t necessarily introduced in 2024, they are the best products in their category regardless of when they were first brought to market. As for what’s on the horizon, artificial intelligence is poised to radically change what it means to live in a smart home, but it’s much to early to pick winners on that front. Best video doorbell for Alexa users: Ring Battery Doorbell Plus Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $99.99 View Deal Dell Home $129.99 View Deal $149.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $99.99 at Best Buy$129.99 at Dell Home$149.99 at Amazon Ring invented the video doorbell business, and Amazon snapped the company up in a $1 billion deal in 2018. The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus isn’t Ring’s absolute best doorbell, but it is the one most Alexa users should buy. It’s reasonably priced–especially when it’s on sale–and it’s loaded with features, including a 150-degree field of view (horizontal and vertical), package detection, and a 1:1 aspect ratio that shows your visitors from head to toe in 1536 x 1536-pixel resolution with high dynamic range (HDR). The camera can discern between the movement of people and other things, such as animals and bushes, ignoring the latter. The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is very easy to install and set up, and it can operate on either battery or low-voltage power if you’re replacing an old-school doorbell. Stay tuned for our hands-on review of the cheaper Ring Battery Doorbell. which retains that 1:1 aspect ratio, albeit at a slightly lower resolution of 1440 x 1440 pixels, but has a fixed battery that requires the entire assembly to be dismounted for charging. Read our full Ring Battery Doorbell Plus review Best video doorbell for Apple Home users: Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $95.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $95.99 at Amazon If you’ve used other video doorbells, you might find the Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4 a little quirky. It runs on battery power, but not a rechargeable battery–it comes with half-a-dozen disposable AA cells. Alternatively, you can connect it to a low-voltage power supply. While its camera’s video resolution is a pedestrian 1920 x 1080 pixels and it lacks high dynamic range (HDR), it can be trained to recognize familiar faces. It also comes with plug-in chime with a microSD card slot that can host cards with up to 512GB of memory. But for Apple users, the Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4’s most attractive feature will be its support for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video. You’ll need Video privacy is one of the chief benefits of Apple’s Secure Home Video service. You’ll need an Apple HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV on your home network, as well as an iCloud+ subscription, but you’ll be able to store the camera’s recordings in Apple’s cloud with end-to-end encryption. We’re also working on a review of the wired Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera, so we’ll update this space when that’s finished. Best video doorbell in the Google Home ecosystem: Nest Doorbell (Battery) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $99.98 View Deal $141.99 View Deal Dell Home $179.99 View Deal Google $179.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $99.98 at Best Buy$141.99 at Amazon$179.99 at Dell Home Like the Nest Cam, the Nest Doorbell (Battery) came to market way back in 2021. And like that product, this one remains best in its class—provided you define that class as doorbells in Google’s smart home ecosystem. Don’t let its name fool you. Like the Ring product discussed above, the Nest Doorbell (Battery) can run on either its internal battery or the wiring your existing doorbell uses. And like the Nest security cam that came out the same year, Google’s doorbell performs its image processing on the device itself, instead of compromising your privacy by uploading video to the cloud. It can recognize familiar faces, discern between people, animals, and vehicles, and it can alert you to the presence of packages on your doorstep. Read our full Nest Doorbell (Battery) review Best smart display for Alexa users: Amazon Echo Show 8 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $84.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $84.99 at Amazon The third-generation Echo Show 8 was introduced in late 2023, but it remains our top pick in this category by virtue of its ability to perform as a Matter-compatible smart home hub. Equipped with a Zigbee radio and a Thread border router, it can control a wide range of smart home devices and stream video feeds from many brands of home security cameras and video doorbells (remember, Matter has yet to take security cameras into account). It can also make video calls with its integrated camera, and like all Echo Show devices, it can act like a Fire TV device to stream video entertainment, including live TV. Also worthy of mention: The 3rd-gen Echo Show 10, with its pivoting display, and the wall-mountable Echo Show 15. And for those looking for a smaller wall-mountable screen, don’t overlook the Amazon Echo Hub, especially if you’re using a Ring Alarm system. Amazon has also announced a 2nd-generation Echo Show 15 and the gargantuan Echo Show 21. Read our full Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen, 2023) review Best smart display for Google Home users: Google Nest Hub Max Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Google $229 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $229 at Google Five years is an eternity as far as the smart home goes, yet 2019’s Nest Hub Max still ranks as the best smart display for Google Home users. Despite its age, the Nest Hub Max still boasts cutting-edge features, including the ability to identify nearby faces as well as answer queries without the wake word when you’re looking at the screen. It’s also kept up with the times, acting as a Thread boarder router for Matter devices, and it will eventually host a more “fluid,” Gemini AI-aided version of Google Assistant.   Read our full Google Nest Hub Max review Best smart speaker for Alexa users: Amazon Echo Spot (2024) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $44.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $44.99 at Amazon The second-generation Echo Spot is a fantastic smart speaker with almost the perfect combination of features (it supports Matter over Wi-Fi, but it doesn’t have a Thread radio). It’s a great clock—and an even better alarm clock—and it can also report current weather conditions as well as the day and date on its 2.83-inch touchscreen. You can of course control any Alexa-compatible device with a voice command, but the speaker’s ultrasonic motion detection can trigger an Alexa routine, so you don’t need to utter a word. When we think of smart speakers, we typically value their smart home features much more than their audio performance. Putting both in the same box necessarily increases the price tag. If you want both smart home control and high-fidelity audio, consider something like the JBL Authentics 300 or the Sonos Era 100 instead. Read our full Amazon Echo Spot (2024) review Best smart speaker for Apple Home users: Apple HomePod mini Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $99 at Apple The Apple Home ecosystem feels like it’s on the edge of something big, with word that Apple may be close to unveiling a touchscreen home hub that can be wall-mounted or docked in a speaker stand. At the same time, Apple’s existing HomePods—the full-size, second-generation HomePod, and the more affordable HomePod mini—have been left behind in terms of Apple Intelligence support. Given the uncertainty, those who want to invest in Apple’s smart home hardware now should hedge their bets with the HomePod mini, which offers the same smart home connectivity as the pricier second-gen HomePod—including Thread and Matter support—for a fraction of the price.  Read our full Apple HomePod Mini review Best smart speaker for Google Home users: Google Nest Audio Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $49.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $49.99 at Best Buy Only a year younger than the aging Nest Hub Max, the Nest Audio remains a swell-sounding smart speaker, complete with great low-frequency response, detailed highs, and an overall smooth, rich sound. You can pair two Nest Audios for stereo sound, and if you’ve grown weary of stilted Google Assistant conversations, don’t worry–a more “fluid” conversational style is coming to the assistant, courtesy of Google’s Gemini. If you want a higher-fidelity smart speaker, consider the exceptional JBL Authentic 300. Best smart lighting ecosystem overall: Philips Hue Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $43.99 View Deal $49.97 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $43.99 at Best Buy$49.97 at AmazonNot Available at Adorama With its robust ecosystem, which now extends into security cameras, as well as a terrific app, Philips Hue remains the undisputed leader when it comes to smart lighting. Yes, you’ll need to pay a premium for Hue lights, lamps, and other Hue accessories, but the extra cost is worth it—just ask anyone who’s sunk cash into a cheaper smart light only to watch it drop its connectivity for no apparent reason. Best of all, Hue lights work with all the big smart home platforms, including Matter (if you use the optional but highly recommended $60 Hue Bridge). The simple White Ambiance bulb is the natural entry point, but the White and Color Ambiance model adds the fun of color. Read our full Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 (Bluetooth + Zigbee) review Best lighting-control system overall: Lutron Caséta Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $69.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $69.95 at Amazon Smart bulbs are the smart-home entry point for many people, but enthusiasts will tell you that having smart switches and dimmers in your walls is even more convenient. And having one doesn’t preclude having the other. Despite being a member of the consortium behind Matter, Lutron apparently has no plans to make its awesome Caséta smart lighting ecosystem compatible with it. And that’s just fine with us. Devices like the Lutron Diva Smart Dimmer shown here are already so broadly compatible with other smart home products—from the likes of Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Ring Alarm systems and security cameras, to even Sonos multi-room audio systems—that Matter compatibility just doesn’t, uh, matter. Read our full Lutron Diva Smart Dimmer review Best smart thermostat overall: Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $215 View Deal $249.99 View Deal Dell Home $249.99 View Deal Lowe’s $249.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $215 at Amazon$249.99 at Best Buy$249.99 at Dell Home If you don’t buy any other smart home product, an investment in a smart thermostat will pay dividends in energy savings, convenience, and sheer comfort when you’re home. The Ecobee Premium is not only the best product in its class, but it can also function as the hub of an entire home security system. Ecobee also has its own excellent indoor camera and a wired video doorbell we’ve been meaning to review for months (both are also Apple Home compatible). But you don’t need to be an Apple user to like this thermostat, it’s compatible with Google Home, Alexa, and Apple Home, too (its onboard smart speaker can answer to either the Alexa or Siri wake words). Best smart thermostat for Google Home users: Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) The headline above is probably sells the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) a bit short. Because it’s a Matter-certified device, you can integrate this absolutely beautiful smart thermostat into any smart home ecosystem. Matter compatibility is the biggest advantage it has over Ecobee’s best thermostat, although some would say Nest’s offering is also prettier. Nest has a long tradition of building smart home devices that are supremely easy to install and use on a daily basis, and that’s certainly the case here. Nest’s Dynamic Foresight technology that changes the information displayed on the thermostat based on how close to the thermostat you are is pretty cool, too. And if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Google Home aficionado, there’s nothing wrong with looking for purity in your smart home life. Best smart lock overall: Level Lock+ Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $349 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $349 at Amazon If you’ve held off on installing a smart lock on your door because you’re put off by the image of hulking slabs on both sides of your entry door, you need to consider a Level Lock+. We called it “the closest thing to a perfect smart lock” in our review, and it’s only gotten better since then with the activation of its previously dormant Thread radio. In addition to looking no different than an ordinary deadbolt—on either side of your door—it can be opened with a touch, a smartphone app, an iPhone Home Key, or an NFC card—including one you can put on a keychain. Level also offers a numeric keypad accessory you can mount next to your door, so you don’t need to carry anything with you when you go out for a run. If you’d prefer to retrofit the deadbolt you already have, take a look at the Level Bolt, which has all the same features (That lock’s Thread radio will be activated soon.) Read our full Level Lock+ (Level Connect bridge included) review Best home security camera overall: Arlo Pro 5S 2K Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $99.99 View Deal $142.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $99.99 at Best Buy$142.99 at Amazon No security camera beats the Arlo Pro 5S 2K in terms of performance, quality, and with a 2024 firmware update, its compatibility extends to Apple Home (note that you’ll also need an Arlo Base Station or Arlo SmartHub for that). This camera also works in the Amazon Alexa and Google Home ecosystems, so you can stream its feed to those companies’ smart displays as well as to an Apple TV. This camera captures video in 2K resolution with HDR, and it has an onboard spotlight to capture nighttime scenes in full color. It has a 160-degree field of view, an integrated siren, and it operates on batteries (or solar or AC power, with accessories), so you can install it anywhere within range of your Wi-Fi network. Speaking of networking, where most of its competitors can only join crowded 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, the Arlo Pro 5S 2K can also operate on the less crowded 5GHz frequency band. If you want all your security cameras to be in one family, there’s a complete range of other Arlo cameras, including battery- and AC-powered floodlight models. The Arlo Home Security system is pretty great, too. Read our full Arlo Pro 5S 2K (model number VMC4060P) review Best home security camera for Alexa users: Ring Stick Up Cam Pro Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $179.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $179.99 at Amazon If your smart home revolves around Alexa, the Ring Stick Up Cam Pro remains the best security camera to keep an eye on your property, indoors or out. Available in battery, solar-powered, or plug-in configurations, it can be deployed almost anywhere, but radar motion detection is its biggest selling point. It will trace the path an intruder took as they approached the camera, but the pre-roll feature that captures them even before the camera alerts you to their presence is even better. You’ll also get color night vision, an onboard siren, and dual-band Wi-Fi support. If you also have a Ring Alarm Pro system, you can store video recordings locally on a microSD card. Ring has shipped other security cameras since this one came out–including the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam–but nothing as excellent as this. Read our full Ring Stick Up Cam Pro review Best home security camera for Google Home users: Nest Cam Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $154.99 View Deal Google Nest $179.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $154.99 at Amazon$179.99 at Google Nest Google’s Nest Cam (battery) hails from the department of Oldies but Goodies. Yes, this indoor/outdoor camera still rocks despite its coming to market way back in 2021. Everything about the hardware feels designed to make things easy for the homeowner, including the magnetic mounting system makes placement, aiming, and removal a breeze. This was one of first security cameras to be capable of not only distinguishing between people, animals, and vehicles but to recognize familiar faces. And while its 1080p resolution might seem pedestrian now, its support for high dynamic range (HDR) helps it capture clear images even in bright sunlight. Read our full Nest Cam (Battery) review Best floodlight camera overall: Eufy Floodlight Cam E340 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $219 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $219 at Amazon The Eufy Floodlight Camera E340 is tops in its class, with dual cameras capturing both high-res wide-angle and telephoto views simultaneously. The cameras are mounted to a motion-tracking pan/tilt motor, so they can track a person’s path through your property. The floodlight element, meanwhile, consists of a pair of dimmable LED light panels that can produce up to 2,000 lumens of white light. Those panels can be programmed to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise. Up to 128GB of video recordings can be stored on an onboard microSD card slot. You can also opt for one of Eufy’s network-attached storage solutions, such as the HomeBase 3, or store video in the cloud with a subscription. Read our full Eufy Floodlight Cam E340 review Best smart home hub overall: Samsung SmartThings Station Yeah, Samsung has integrated its SmartThings into many of its home appliances and smart TVs, but anyone serious about building out a smart home will want a purpose-built device; namely, the Samsung SmartThings Station. And yeah, it doesn’t look like much, but this little box packs everything you need to build out a modern and Matter-compatible smart home, including a Zigbee radio and a Thread border router. And if you don’t know what those things are, it doesn’t matter. Just buy Matter-certified devices when you go shopping and they’re guaranteed to work. When you’re ready to install them, just tap the “add device” button and scan the device’s Matter QR code. The app takes care of the rest, and the device is immediately available for control via SmartThings. Read our full Samsung SmartThings Station review Best DIY home security system overall: Ring Alarm Pro Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $249.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $249.99 at Amazon We reviewed the Ring Alarm Pro way back in November 2021, and it remains our favorite DIY home security system. It incorporates an Eero Wi-Fi 6 mesh router, with battery and cellular back-up in case of power and internet outages. It’s equipped with a Z-Wave radio to support motion, door/window, water-leak, and other types of sensors, as well as certified third-party Z-Wave smart home products participating in the Works with Ring program. That list includes smart deadbolts, garage door openers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and more. You can add Ring home security cameras and Ring doorbells, of course, with local processing and storage of those cameras’ video recordings on a microSD card. Alternatively, a new feature enables 24/7 camera recording to the cloud for certain wired Ring cameras. Finally, the Ring Alarm Pro also serves as a Wi-Fi bridge for Ring’s smart lighting products. While you can self-monitor a Ring Alarm Pro system, many of its most important features require a subscription. And most people will want professional monitoring that can dispatch first responders to their home in the event of an emergency. Ring recently renamed, restructured, and increased the prices of its subscription services, ultimately resulting in a $10-per-month increase for those who want everything. There are other good home security systems, including the Arlo Home Security System we reviewed earlier this November, but if we had to pick a runner-up in this category, it would be Ring’s simpler Ring Alarm (2nd gen). Read our full Ring Alarm Pro (8-piece kit) review Best smart delivery box: Loxx Boxx Classic Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $294.74 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $294.74 at Amazon Tired of porch pirates absconding with the goods that were just delivered to your house? A smart delivery box will solve that problem, and the Loxx Boxx Classic is the best one we’ve found yet. Fabricated from steel, the box connects to your home Wi-Fi network and logs every delivery when the driver enters the last four digits of the package’s tracking code. Cloud-to-cloud connections to Amazon, DHL, FedEx, UPS, and USPS help you track, trace, and log every delivery. The box runs on battery power–you can buy a solar panel to keep it topped off–so you don’t need to worry about having an outdoor outlet, and there’s an LTE option if you can’t connect it to your Wi-Fi network. Read...

The wild success of K-entertainment - from pop hits to mushy dramas - has been in the making for years. Read...

It’s fashionable these days to complain about the state of streaming, and for understandable reasons. Over the past year, many streaming services have raised prices or introduced commercials, and some are trying to stop folks from sharing passwords, even among close family members. Streaming devices have stagnated as well, with device makers focusing less on innovative ideas and more on finding new spots for advertising. But it’s tradition around here to find things to celebrate each year, and we can still make it work in 2024. Here are the best streaming devices, most useful streaming services, and otherwise notable happenings that made the past year in cord-cutting memorable: Best new streaming device: Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro Walmart keeps putting out surprisingly great streaming boxes under its Onn brand, and the Onn Google TV 4K Pro is its best one yet. For $50, you get a speedy streaming box with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, and a generous 32GB of storage. The remote control shines as well, with backlit keys, a remote-finder function, and loads of useful shortcuts. No other streaming player offers this much for this little. Read our full Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro review Best streaming device overall: Apple TV 4K (3rd-generation, model A2737) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $123.49 View Deal $124.50 View Deal $129 View Deal $139.49 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $123.49 at Best Buy$124.50 at Adorama$129 at Apple$139.49 at Amazon Apple didn’t release a new streaming device this year—or last year, for that matter—but the late 2022 Apple TV 4K is still the best example of what a high-end streaming box should be. While other platforms keep sticking obnoxious banner ads in more places, Apple’s tvOS interface remains refreshingly clean and useful (especially if you follow my setup advice), and it’s still the most responsive streaming box around. Apple also introduced some thoughtful updates this year, including machine learning-powered dialogue enhancement and a separate home screen row for shows you’ve bookmarked for later. If cost isn’t an issue, this $129 box is still the one to get. Read our full Apple TV 4K (3rd-generation, 2022) (64GB, model A2737) review Best streaming service that didn`t raise prices in 2024: Netflix For all the talk of streaming TV price hikes, Netflix’s Standard tier has held at $15.49 per month for nearly three years now, with the last hike dating back to January 2022. Of course, the company found other ways to boost revenue since then, including an ad-supported tier ($6.99 per month), stricter rules around password sharing, and the elimination of its single-stream Basic tier. But none of those moves detract from the value of a regular Netflix plan, whose steady price deserves credit in an increasingly expensive world. Best free streaming service: Philo Lots of streaming services offer free, ad-supported content now, but Philo is the rare one that actually lets you skip the ads. Philo’s free tier, which landed earlier this year, includes a 30-day DVR that can record an unlimited number of shows, and once you’ve made a recording, you can fast-forward through the commercial breaks. (Philo’s paid version, which includes a bundle of sports-free cable channels, costs $28 per month.) The only other free streaming service with DVR is Sling TV’s Freestream, but it has a much stricter 10-hour recording limit. Read our full Philo review Best new use of streaming: The Olympics on Peacock Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Peacock $7.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $7.99 at Peacock Peacock’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics was the perfect example of what streaming can do. Instead of offering the bare minimum, Peacock turned the games into an interactive affair, with multiview feeds that let you zoom into individual matches or highlight them to hear the corresponding audio. Combine that with whip-around “Gold Zone” coverage, a slew of alternate live feeds, and a vast replay library, and the whole affair felt like a choose-your-own Olympics adventure, one that every sports streamer ought to replicate. Unholiest streaming alliance: Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery To fund their forays into streaming, TV programmers blew up the cable bundle model, forcing ever-higher prices for increasingly hollowed-out channels and driving valuable customers away in the process. Unfortunately for them, the streaming subscribers they traded for are more fickle, and have learned to cancel services they no longer need. All of which helps explain the unlikely alliance that emerged this year between Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. The two companies are now offering all of their streaming services—Disney+, Hulu, and Max—in one big bundle starting at $17 per month, in hopes that customers will be less likely to drop any one of them individually. Bundles like this won’t be worthwhile for everyone, but they’re an easy way to save money if you were subscribing to everything already. Unexpected slayer of bloated bundles: DirecTV Standing up to Disney isn’t easy given that ESPN carries some of the most sought-after sports on television, but that’s what DirecTV did when it was time to negotiate a new carriage agreement this year. The satellite provider refused to accept another bloated channel lineup at higher prices, and demanded that Disney accommodate more smaller, more flexible packages. And it worked. After a two-week blackout, DirecTV and Disney emerged with a new agreement that will split the latter’s channels into three packages around sports, entertainment, and family programming. Those options are not yet available, and it’s unclear exactly what they’ll look like, but they could forever transform the pay TV bundle as we know it. In memoriam: Google Chromecast Chromecast helped usher in the streaming age in 2013, offering a cheap way to play videos on your TV using a phone as the remote. But 11 years later, Google has retired the Chromecast brand and discontinued the last of its Chromecast dongles. Casting still lives on as a standard feature of Google TV devices, but it goes by “Google Cast” now, and Google has pulled out of the cheap streaming dongle business in favor of the pricier Google TV Streamer box. Even if little has changed on a practical level, it still feels like the end of an era. Cord-cutting MVP: The U.S. government No, seriously. Every year we cap off these awards by honoring an entity that’s helped make cord-cutting easier or better. In 2024, it’s hard to think of better recipients than the current FCC and FTC. The FCC’s Broadband Facts mandate, for instance, requires internet providers to prominently disclose their regular, non-promotional rates along with expected speeds, data caps, and equipment fees. The FCC also approved “all-in” price disclosure rules for cable and satellite TV providers, effectively killing the “broadcast TV” fee that cable providers love to omit from their advertised prices. Both rules will help cord cutters comparison shop for internet and TV service. Meanwhile, the FTC has approved “click-to-cancel” rules, which say that if you sign up for a subscription online, you should be able to cancel it online just as easily. That means no more drawn-out customer-service calls from your cable company, full of upsells for unrelated services. A Republican-led FCC and FTC could always unwind these rules, which both commissions’ Republican members opposed. But for now, let’s just enjoy this little moment, in which cable companies have been forced, kicking and screaming, into doing the right thing. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV insights. Read...

Live TV streaming services are a natural starting point when you’re cutting the cord. These services offer many of the same channels you had with cable or satellite TV, but deliver them over the internet to your smart TV or streaming device. They include cloud-based DVRs so you can record your favorite shows—and skip through the commercials—in many cases, they’re the only way to watch specific pay TV channels. Still, the cost of live TV streaming services can get quite high, and in some ways they won’t be exactly like what you had with cable. Our top picks will help you avoid overpaying and get the TV features you most care about. Why you should trust us As TechHive’s resident cord-cutting expert, I’ve been reviewing live TV streaming services ever since the launch of Sling TV back in 2015, and I’ve been a cord-cutter myself since 2008. Beyond just product reviews, I write a weekly column about streaming and over-the-air TV for TechHive, and my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 readers. Updated December 20, 2024: We’ve updated this story with the most recent price changes (or should we say price increases) and performed a general refresh of this story. The TV streaming services we recommend YouTube TV — Best TV streaming service overall Pros Simple interface makes live TV easy to navigate Unlimited DVR allows for a huge on-demand library (with skippable ads) Broad selection of local, news, sports, and entertainment channels Cons Can’t delete recordings or mark them as watched on TV devices One-off recordings only work for live sporting events Menu doesn’t clearly separate DVR and on-demand video (with unskippable ads) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price YouTube TV $82.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $82.99 at YouTube TV Why we like YouTube TV YouTube TV is the best drop-in replacement for cable or satellite TV. It’s not exactly cheap at $83 per month, but it offers a broad mix of the local stations, live news, national sports, and entertainment channels you’d get with a typical pay TV package, almost certainly at a lower price. Its interface is easy to comprehend, its cloud DVR lets you record an unlimited number of programs for up to nine months, and you even can bundle NFL Sunday Ticket at a discount. Who should get YouTube TV If you want to cut the cable cord without overthinking it, this is the easiest starting point to recommend. Still, other services may offer a better value—either by bundling other services or omitting popular channels—or by delivering more regional sports coverage. Read our full YouTube TV review Hulu + Live TV — Best TV streaming service, runner-up Pros Excellent value for Disney bundle subscribers Expansive on-demand catalog Recommendations and staff picks make the app fun to explore Cons Live TV can be inefficient to navigate Hard to figure out which programs allow ad skipping Can’t watch on TV devices while traveling Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Hulu.com $82.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $82.99 at Hulu.com Why we like Hulu + Live TV The main thing that distinguishes Hulu + Live TV from YouTube TV is its inclusion of the full Disney bundle, so you get Hulu’s on-demand catalog, Disney+ (with ads, unless you were grandfathered in), and ESPN+ in the $83-per-month base package. Hulu’s cloud DVR service lets you save an unlimited number of shows for up to nine months, and while the interface can be busy, it ties everything together in a way that encourages discovery. Who should get Hulu + Live TV Hulu’s live TV package makes a lot of sense if you’re paying for any of Disney’s other streaming services. Disney+ and Hulu each cost $10 per month on their own (or $11 per month together), while ESPN+ is even pricier at $12 per month (also available with Disney+ and Hulu for $17 per month). With Hulu + Live TV, you get all those services at no extra cost. Read our full Hulu + Live TV review DirecTV Stream — Best TV streaming service for sports fans Pros Excellent grid guide with useful sorting options More sports (at least in its $100-per-month tier) than other streaming services DVR is easy to navigate and has its own dedicated menu section Cons No visual preview when fast forwarding on Fire TV and Android TV Sluggish performance on some lower-end streaming devices Some national sports channels are pushed out to more-expensive packages Best Prices Today: Retailer Price DirecTV Stream $101.98 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $101.98 at DirecTV Stream Why we like DirecTV Stream DirecTV Stream’s starting price is $101.98 per month, but the main attraction is its $115-per-month “Choice” package, which includes more sports coverage than other live TV streaming services. In some markets, it’s the only way to stream certain regional sports channels that remain tied to pay TV bundles. The cloud DVR and grid guide are highlights as well, with an interface that will make cable or satellite converts feel at home. Who should get DirecTV Stream YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV only offer patchy regional sports coverage, and standalone streaming options are still limited. Sports fans who can’t stream their local baseball, basketball, or hockey teams any other way would be wise to consider DirecTV Stream despite its steep price. Read our full DirecTV Stream review Sling TV — Best budget-priced TV streaming service Pros Lower entry price than any other streaming bundle Simple menu system with easy access to favorites DVR supports ad-skipping, partial recordings, and time-shifting Cons Price can quickly escalate to get certain channels Most channels top out at 30 frames per second Only supports one user profile Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Sling TV $40 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $40 at Sling TV Why we like Sling TV Sling TV’s starting price of $40 per month is a lot lower than most other bundles, which it accomplishes by splitting its channels into two base packages and omitting local broadcasts in many markets. The DVR feels a bit stingy—you get 50 recording hours, or 200 hours for an extra $5 per month—but it’s still the cheapest way to access certain cable channels without a big cable bundle. Who should get Sling TV Sling TV is an invaluable option for those who can skate by without a full range of local channels. It pairs especially well with an over-the-air antenna for local channels, and you can even use an AirTV device to feed those channels into Sling’s app. Read our full Sling TV review Philo — Best budget-priced TV streaming service, runner-up Pros DVR has helpful ad-skipping features Easy to find your favorites and recently-watched shows Integrates well with Fire TV, Google TV, and Apple TV devices Cons No sports, major cable news, or local broadcast channels Channel guide layout is disorienting No surround sound or adjustable streaming quality Why we like Philo For $28 per month, Philo offers lots of entertainment channels in an easy-to-navigate interface, and its cloud DVR even marks up commercial breaks to help you skip through them. Equally notable, however, is what’s missing: Philo doesn’t include any local channels, sports channels, or major cable news networks, which is a big part of why it’s much cheaper than other live TV streaming services. Who should get Philo Cord-cutters who favor reality shows, documentaries, and other forms of comfort food TV will find plenty to watch on Philo. Cheaper standalone services such as Max or Netflix might scratch a similar itch at lower prices, but they don’t have the same live TV and DVR features. Read our full Philo review How we test live TV streaming services Beyond just watching a lot of TV, we evaluate each service’s channel lineup to point out any important omissions, while also comparing basic features such as simulataneous streams and out-of-home viewing restrictions. We scrutinize each service’s DVR capabilities, including the ease with which you can access recordings, manage your storage, and skip through commercials. To evaluate video quality, we look for features such as 60-frames-per-second video support across a broad range of channels. We also examine every corner of each service’s interface, comparing features such as the grid guide, on-demand menu, and home screen. Our in-depth reviews include plenty of screenshots, so you can see for yourself what each service looks like. Other notable live TV streaming services we’ve reviewed Fubo prides itself on live sports and is only rivaled by DirecTV Stream on regional sports, but its lack of Warner-owned channels (including postseason sports staples TNT and TBS) leaves some serious gaps in its coverage. It costs $80 per month, including regional sports fees. Philo offers a terrific live TV streaming service for just $28 per month if you’re not interested in watching live sports. Frndly TV is the cheapest live TV streaming service by far, starting at $7 per month, with a channel lineup that leans heavily into classic TV reruns. It probably won’t fulfil many cord cutters’ needs on its own, but may be worth considering as a supplement to other services. Frequently asked questions about streaming live TV 1. How are live TV streaming services different from services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video? On-demand video services such as Netflix (also known as SVOD (streaming video on demand) or direct-to-consumer services) offer original programming you can’t find on cable, along with catalogs of movies and shows licensed from Hollywood studios. Some of these streamers are dabbling in live sports—most notably, Max’s B/R Sports add-on offers every event that airs on its cable channels—but for the most part this coverage is different from what’s on cable. By comparison, live TV services carry the exact same channels you’d find in a cable or satellite package, including major networks such as ABC and CBS, news channels such MSNBC and Fox News, and sports channels such as ESPN. They have similar grid-style channels guides and DVR features as well. 2. How do I watch live TV streaming services? Each of these services offer their own apps, which you can install on your smart TV, streaming device, smartphone, or tablet. You can subscribe to these services through their own websites, or in some cases directly through the app. 3. What about DVR? All live TV streaming services include some form of cloud DVR, allowing you to record live programming and skip through the commercials. The recordings are stored online, rather than on a box in your home, so you can access them from any of your devices—even while traveling. 4. Can I watch live TV streaming services while traveling? Yes, though some services have restrictions on what you can watch and how you can watch it. This article has more details. 5. Are there equipment or activation fees? No, live TV streaming services do not charge activation fees, and you can log in to watch on as many devices as you want at no extra charge. You may hit a limit on how many devices can be actively streaming at the same time—usually it’s two or three, depending on the service—and some services allow you to pay for more simultaneous streams if you need them. Read...

A monitor that you can take with you anywhere? Imagine how much more productive you could be as you work on your laptop on the go. But a slim, portable monitor can also be a great addition for your mini PC, your Nintendo Switch, or even your phone. Right now, you can get one at a great price if you snag this Arzopa portable monitor for just over $72, a good 34 percent off its original $110 price tag in this limited-time holiday deal. With a 15.6-inch IPS display and 1080p resolution, this portable monitor is on par with what your laptop has to offer, delivering crisp images, vibrant colors, great contrast, and color accuracy. It also has an anti-glare coating so your eyes won’t suffer as much fatigue over long hours, and the 60Hz refresh rate is adequate whether you’re doing work, watching Netflix, or doomscrolling all day long. This particular monitor model is plug-and-play with USB-C. No special software or hardware needed. Just plug in a USB-C cable and connect it to your device. With the ubiquity of modern USB-C, it’ll be easy to hook this up to your laptop, phone, gaming console, or whatever else. Don’t have USB-C? There’s also a Mini HDMI port. And it truly is portable. At just 0.3 inches thick, this Arzopa monitor is thin enough to slip into your bag right next to your laptop. And because it only weighs 1.7 pounds, it won’t weigh you down. So hurry up and upgrade your laptop productivity or portable entertainment setup with this portable monitor that’s only $72 on Amazon during this limited-time holiday sale. Save 34% on this portable USB-C laptop monitorBuy now at Amazon Read...

If YouTube TV’s forthcoming price hike feels like a breaking point to you, you’re not alone. Over the last week, I’ve heard from a bunch of folks who say the rate hike—from $73 per month to $83 per month, starting January 13, 2025—is the last straw. They’re now seeking alternatives to YouTube TV that will provide comparable channel coverage for less. Unfortunately, that sort of easy escape hatch doesn’t exist. Like every other live TV service (including satellite and cable), YouTube TV keeps raising prices because TV programmers keep demanding more money for their channels. Unless the entire industry embraces cheaper, more flexible bundles, the bill for all of these services will keep going up. This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best live TV streaming services. The only alternative is to ditch your big pay TV package entirely. While this approach does involve sacrifice, the savings can be significant. Here are your options: Consider an antenna With an inexpensive over-the-air antenna and good-enough reception, you can watch the big four broadcast channels—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—for free, along with PBS and a smattering of rerun-centric subchannels. An antenna won’t entirely replace a bigger bundle, but it’ll give you a big head start. You can even set up an over-the-air DVR to record shows for later. Antennas won’t work for everyone. Roughly speaking, you’ll want to be within at most 30 miles of local broadcast stations to use an indoor antenna, and within 60 miles for an outdoor model. Even then, obstructions and topography can impact the signal. Use the Antennaweb site to look up nearby stations for a sense of what you need, and be prepared for some trial and error. If you’re ready to experiment, we have a list of the best indoor and outdoor antennas available. Stream (some) local stations If an antenna isn’t feasible, you can stream some local stations instead, but it’ll cost you: Paramount+ with Showtime ($13 per month) includes a live feed of your nearest CBS station, including NFL coverage, along with on-demand access to primetime CBS shows. The cheaper Paramount+ Essential tier with ads ($8 per month) does not include CBS, but does offer the NFL games. You can often get Paramount+ for free in one-month increments. Peacock Premium Plus ($14 per month) includes a feed of your nearest NBC station, including Sunday Night Football, plus on-demand access to primetime NBC shows. The cheaper Premium tier with ads ($8 per month) does not include a local NBC feed, but does carry NFL games. The PBS app includes live feeds of local PBS stations for free, along with on-demand PBS programming. An optional $5-per-month “Passport” donation unlocks additional content. You can also use the free NBC and ABC apps to watch some network TV shows without a subscription, while the Paramount+ app offers some CBS programs for free as well. Unfortunately, live feeds of ABC and Fox are unavailable without a large pay TV package, but you can watch primetime shows from both networks on Hulu, which starts at $10 per month. Look for live news The major cable news networks—CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC—are not available without a big pay TV package, but you can access some of their content in alternative ways: Max offers an alternative CNN live feed with much of the same programming, but not in the same order as CNN proper. MSNBC’s website and mobile app offer live audio of the cable network for free. Some primetime Fox News shows are available on-demand via Fox Nation, but there’s no live feed. In lieu of cable news channels, consider the many free options available for streaming the news instead: Local news: Many local stations offer their newscasts for free if you know where to look. Check out NewsOn, Zeam, Local Now, Haystack News, or your local station’s own website. You’ll also find local news via Tubi, the Roku Channel, Amazon’s Fire TV News app, and the free channels on Google TV devices. National and international news: Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Xumo, and Sling TV Freestream, all offer round-the-clock streaming news channels, even from major networks such as CBS and NBC. That may scratch the background TV itch you’d otherwise get from cable news. Find favorite shows elsewhere Outside of news and sports, it’s rare for cable channels to carry exclusive new shows that aren’t available on standalone streaming services. If there’s a show you like on YouTube TV (or cable), sites like Reelgood or MyBundle can tell you where else to find them. And if by chance a show is only on cable—like Yellowstone, whose final season was exclusive to Paramount Network—you can always buy that show individually through stores like Amazon Video, Fandango, or Apple TV. Sort through sports streaming options Sports are where replacing a service like YouTube TV gets tricky. Currently, there’s no way to watch ABC or Fox without a big TV package or an antenna. ESPN isn’t available on a standalone basis either—although that will change in 2025—nor are FS1, FS2, or college conference channels such as SEC Network and Big Ten Network. So what can you get without a service like YouTube TV? Some options: As I mentioned earlier, the ad-free tiers of Paramount+ and Peacock include live feeds of CBS and NBC respectively, including all sports coverage. Max streams all sports coverage from TNT, TBS, and TruTV. This will eventually cost an extra $10 per month on top of a standard Max subscription, but is included at no extra charge for now. Many regional sports networks are now available on a standalone basis. I’ve compiled the options for NBA and NHL teams. MLB TV and NBA League Pass offer games that are not broadcast in your local market. ESPN+ offers the same service for NHL games. NFL+ offers local and nationally-televised football games, but only on a phone or tablet. Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and even Netflix are picking up more sports programming as well, but their offerings are fairly scattershot. I’ve also compiled some additional tools to help sort through the sports streaming options, particularly if you’re trying to follow a specific team or league. Not ready to unbundle? Some other options: For now, the most complete live TV streaming service that’s markedly cheaper than YouTube TV is Sling TV. It offers a smaller bundle of pay TV channels, but still carries major sports channels, with three available base packages: Sling TV Orange ($46 per month) is currently the cheapest way to access ESPN and other ESPN-owned channels, such as SEC Network. Sling TV Blue ($46 per month) is the cheapest way to access FS1 and FS2. It also includes live access to NBC and ABC in some markets, and on-demand programming from all three channels everywhere. Sling Orange + Blue ($61 per month) combines both of the above packages. Unfortunately, Sling’s local channel coverage is lacking, with ABC, Fox, and NBC available only in select markets, and no CBS anywhere. For that reason, it pairs best with an over-the-air antenna. Hulu + Live TV is also worth a look. While it’s no cheaper than what YouTube TV will soon cost at $83 month, it includes the full Disney bundle (Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu’s on-demand catalog) at no extra charge. If you subscribe to any of those services on their own, you’ll save money by switching from YouTube TV to Hulu + Live TV instead. Lastly, you might take a look at some TV packages that don’t include sports or local channels. Because they omit the most expensive content on cable, their prices are significantly lower: Frndly TV ($7 per month) offers Hallmark Channel and a smattering of other largely rerun-centric channels. Philo ($28 per month) offers entertainment channels with a big emphasis on reality TV, but no sports, broadcast, or major cable news channels. Comcast’s NowTV is a $20-per-month bundle of entertainment channels and Peacock, with an option to add Netflix (with ads) and Apple TV+ for $10 per month extra. It’s available to customers with Xfinity home internet or Comcast’s cheaper Now Internet plans. Spectrum TV Stream is a $40 bundle of entertainment channels that also includes CNN and Fox News, available to Spectrum home internet customers. Just let go If you’re thinking that the cost of a la carte streaming adds up to more than YouTube TV or even cable, you’d be right. This has been the case for years, is not an original thought, and entirely misses the point. Unbundling your TV options does not automatically save you money, but it does let you decide what’s truly worth paying for. For that reason, standalone services are also highly incentivized to offer seasonal sales, comeback deals, and other discounts. These can considerably defray the cost of having a bunch of services at the same time. When you drop a live TV streaming service such as YouTube TV, you’re adopting a different mindset, in which you make peace with not having everything. The sooner you realize you weren’t going to watch it all anyway, the easier unbundling becomes. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice. Read...

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Some people can hardly remember the time before YouTube. The video host was founded in 2005, and year after year the platform got bigger and bigger. As early as 2006, around 100 million clips were viewed there every day. By 2010, this figure had risen to more than two billion per day. Today, users upload around 500 hours of video material every minute. No wonder, really. The largely free service offers almost endless entertainment, how-to and tutorial videos, music, and much more. Of course, users also have the opportunity to upload videos themselves, collect followers, and earn money with them. However, even passionate users often don’t know all the tricks for an optimal streaming experience. You can find such tips in this article: How to use YouTube perfectly on your PC, smartphone, smart TV and co. Further reading: I block every ad on YouTube and I’m not ashamed to admit it General YouTube tips These settings and tricks promise a better YouTube experience across all devices. Create GIFs from YouTube videos You can create GIFs from YouTube videos free of charge – flexible settings included.Foundry Did you know that you can create a compact GIF from a YouTube video with just a few clicks or swipe gestures? It’s even free: Visit the GIF generator at makeagif.com and insert the YouTube link to the relevant video. You can then specify the desired output quality (maximum medium for free use), determine the GIF length, and adjust the playback speed. Note: Free users must tolerate watermarks and a lower resolution. Use dark mode A small setting with a big effect. Dark mode makes YouTube more enjoyable, and not just in the late evening hours. It is particularly pleasant and useful to switch to dark mode when using the app for long periods of time, as it reduces eye fatigue and saves battery power. On the PC, we simply click on our profile picture and then on “Display.” Here you can now select the dark design. Dark mode is also available in the official YouTube app (Settings->General->Display). Variable playback speed In the playback options (gear icon), you can gradually adjust the playback speed of YouTube videos. This allows clips to be played back at twice the speed or up to four times slower. This is super handy if a YouTuber doesn’t want to get to the point in their videos, or if you want to watch a step in a tutorial in detail. Show subtitles If you’ve ever watched a video from the American South or a Seitenbacher advert, you’ll know the problem. Sometimes you can’t understand a word. However, the solution to such language barriers is easy to find, you can simply activate subtitles in many YouTube videos. The button for this can be found directly next to the small cogwheel below the video when using the browser, for example. More fun with YouTube on your smartphone or tablet These tricks and tips make YouTube even more fun on mobile devices. Play YouTube videos in the background on your mobile device (with Android or iOS) You can also play videos in the background on your smartphone with Firefox if you install a free plug-in.Foundry There is one small restriction on YouTube that can be really annoying. If you watch videos on your smartphone where you are only interested in the audio track (such as music or radio plays), you always have to keep the display activated and play the video in the foreground. As soon as you switch to another tab or deactivate the display, the playback also stops–quite annoying. The workaround for Android: A free plug-in is available for the Firefox mobile browser (Android | iOS): “Video playback in the background.” You can find this in the browser menu (three dots) and then under “Extensions” (see image). It also works on iPhone: First, start the video in the browser and then switch to the desktop version of the website in the settings. (You can skip this step on the iPad). Now, leave the website using the iPhone’s home button and open the quick settings using the usual swipe gesture (top right corner). Here you can now simply restart the video with the play button, it will then play in the background and you can hear the sound normally, even if the display is off. Tips and tricks for better YouTube on your PC MP3 download, keyboard shortcuts, or editing playlists together. If you enjoy browsing YouTube on your PC, you should know these practical tricks: Download YouTube music and save it locally as an MP3 You can convert YouTube videos to audio files (MP3) in a flash.Foundry Even beyond YouTube Music, the classic video host has plenty of music to offer from all genres and pretty much every decade since the invention of the sound carrier. And although YouTube itself doesn’t like it that much, you can convert such tracks with various web services in no time at all and save them locally as MP3s. You can do this here, for example. Use keyboard shortcuts There are many practical keyboard shortcuts available for YouTube videos, which promise more convenient operation and can save a lot of time, especially for frequent viewers. Note: If the shortcuts do not work, click on the video once (this will bring the player back into focus). ShortcutsShortcut functionSpace barPlay / PausekPlay / PausemMute videoleft / right arrow keyfast forward or rewind 5 secondsUp / down arrow keyVolume up or down (5 % each)jrewind 10 secondslfast forward 10 seconds.With paused video to the next frame,To the previous frame when the video is pausedShift key .Accelerate playbackShift key (Shift) ,Slow down playbackNumbers 1 to 9Jump to 10 to 90 % of the videoNumber 0Jump to the beginningfFull screen modecSelect subtitles (if available)Shift key (Shift) nNext videoShift key pPrevious videoPOS1 keyJump to the beginning of the videoEND keySkip to the end of the video Link to the exact playback position of a video You can quickly create a link to any playback position.Foundry You want to show a friend a funny moment in a YouTube video, but the clip is 15 minutes long? No problem. You can easily create a link to the exact position of the current playback. To do this, simply rewind to the point you want to link to and right-click on the video. Then click on “Copy video URL at this point” in the small window. The link will then be copied to the clipboard and can be inserted at any time by right-clicking and pasting or by pressing CTRL V. Edit playlists together with friends You can invite friends to edit playlists together.Foundry If you would like to allow friends or acquaintances to collaborate on your YouTube playlists, this is not a problem. First, open the playlist that you would like to share for editing. Note: If the list is not yet public, you still need to select/set this. Now you can select the “Invite employees” function via the Share button and generate a link that you can then forward to contacts. Make sure that the “Edit together” and “Allow new collaborators” functions are activated in the window. Play adverts 16 times faster with Chrome or Edge Gone again: This Chrome extension allows you to play adverts 16 times faster.Foundry If you’re sometimes annoyed by adverts on YouTube, we can understand that: The provider regularly places intrusive adverts in front of us before a video and often in the middle of it. Added to this is YouTube’s increasingly rigid approach to ad blockers. The solution (at least for Chrome users) is called “Ad Speedup – Skip Video Ads 16X Faster” and is available as a free extension for Chrome and Edge. It automatically plays ad sequences at 16x speed and skips them in no time at all. Useful YouTube tips for your smart TV Naturally, YouTube really comes into its own on the TV. The large display offers space for all the details and you can sink into the couch and relax while watching. These tips will make the video service even more fun on your Smart TV. Show or hide subtitles If you don’t know how to show or hide subtitles for YouTube on your Smart TV, it can be quite annoying. Fortunately, the function is very easy to access: Firstly, we pause the video and press the up button on the TV remote control. Here we now select the settings (usually on the far right; cogwheel symbol). In the following window, we can now select subtitles if they are available. In case of playback problems: Use an Ethernet cable This is not just a tip for YouTube, but a useful solution to problems when streaming is jerky or clips are slow to load (and also helps with problems with Netflix and the like). If you connect your smart TV to the internet via Wi-Fi, you sometimes have to deal with connection problems or slow data transfer, depending on the distance to the router. The solution? Lay an Ethernet cable from the router to the Smart TV, then the full bandwidth and unclouded video enjoyment is available there. Avoid adverts with YouTube Premium Google doesn’t exactly make it easy for us to install ad blockers with the app for the Smart TV – after all, this contradicts the business model of the free service. The remedy is to switch to YouTube Premium. This currently costs $13.99 per month (for individuals), deactivates all adverts, and allows uncomplicated background playback and offline music. More options: Stream to the TV via smartphone instead of the YouTube app There are a few advantages to streaming YouTube to your TV using your smartphone. You can also display comments or post them yourself (writing only on your smartphone). You can read how to set up such a stream here. For families: Activate parental control To prevent children from watching inappropriate content on YouTube on the TV (of which there is plenty), you can filter such content directly in the app. To do this, first go to the app settings on the smart TV, search for the “Restricted mode” entry, and activate the function. 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