 |
|
 |
| This week on TechHive: What a pricier flat-panel antenna gets you |
|
 |
| A couple years ago, I took advantage of an antenna deal that seemed too good to be true: A brand I’d never heard of, called 1byone, was selling flat-panel antennas with an advertised 35-mile range for $18. That was about half the price of what bigger brands like Mohu and Winegard were charging, and Amazon’s user reviews looked positive, so I took a gamble and ordered a pair.
My story has a happy ending. The two antennas have served me well for both personal use and product reviews, with no issues picking up all the free broadcast stations I care about. But since my purchase, even more no-name brands have emerged, advertising the same or greater mile ranges for even less than what I paid. I’ve always wondered how these cheap flat-panel antennas really compare to the mainstream brands.
To find out, I asked antenna makers and other experts a simple question: What’s the difference between cheaper and pricier flat-panel antennas, given the same advertised mile range? Read the full TechHive column for their answers. |
|
| Weekly rewind |
| Pressing pause on TV subscriptions: Although live TV streaming services such as Sling TV and DirecTV Now are easy enough to activate and cancel, you might want the option to suspend the subscription instead. That way, you won’t lose any favorites or DVR recordings, and won’t get billed for any unused portion of the month.
This week, YouTube TV added the ability to pause subscriptions for a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of six months. Just head to membership settings and select “pause” instead of “cancel.” While paused, YouTube TV won’t make new recordings or let you watch existing ones, but it will continue to save existing recordings for up to nine months from the air date. It’s a nice update for what I believe is the best overall live TV service for most cord-cutters.
Hulu also lets users suspend their subscriptions, but with different rules: You can pause service up to three times over a three-month period. With other live TV streaming services, you’ll have to cancel outright.
Speaking of YouTube TV … One of the biggest gripes with the service is its policy of replacing DVR programs with on-demand versions, which may not allow you to skip advertisements. This caused somewhat of an outcry earlier this year, when the policy become more noticeable for a variety of reasons.
Now, YouTube is apparently working on a solution. “Fixing this,” Christian Oestlien, a director of product management at YouTube, wrote on Twitter last week in response to a string of complaints. “Definitely hear you on this topic. Definitely hear you on this topic. I apologize, but thanks for your patience in the meantime.”
What that solution might look like is unclear, but my guess is it’ll involve a higher price tier, similar to how Hulu charges an extra $15 per month for ad-free DVR with more storage. TV networks are loathe to give up ad revenue getting without something in exchange. |
|
|
|
|
| Save more money |
 |
| It looks like Tablo is still selling refurbished models of its original two-tuner and four-tuner over-the-air DVRs for just $90 and $140, respectively. Tablo pulls in live TV from an antenna, then lets you watch and record the video from other devices over Wi-Fi.
The two-tuner model had been my pick for best DVR for most cord-cutters, before it had been replaced by the Tablo Dual, which is functionally similar but has a new design and speedier 802.11ac Wi-Fi support. The four-tuner deal is especially noteworthy, as it lets you watch and record up to four programs at once, and Tablo has yet to update this model to the new design at all. |
|
|
|
