Items tagged with smart tv
With many folks around the country still stuck indoors due to the coronavirus -- and bored out of their mind as a result -- many out there are wishing they had a larger TV for gaming and watching movies in their extended downtime. Not surprisingly, Best Buy currently has some very impressive deals going on a couple of large Roku 4K Smart TVs from TCL that could be the perfect cure for shut-in blues. The first of the TVs is the largest offering, and it's a TCL 75Q825 with a 75-inch a $K UHD HDR panel and mini-LED backlighting. Mini-LED backlighting allows for more precise local dimming and more uniform illumination. TCL also fits the TV with Quantum Dot technology for improved brightness...
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Pretty much all new TVs these days have smart functionality built into them. This can vary by model—some are simply loaded up with streaming apps, like Netflix and Hulu, while others offer voice control. Some even have built-in cameras, both for facial recognition and to utilize apps like Skype. In response to these increasingly sophisticated TV sets permeating the market, FBI Portland has issued a warning that they can pose security and privacy threats. Of course, this has been known, and for quite a while. Around this time in 2012 (seven years ago), it was discovered that some smart TV models (including some Samsung smart TVs) were susceptible to a vulnerability that could allow an attacker...
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If you have purchased a TV over the past few years, there's a high chance it features smart capabilities, tapping into your Internet to beam streaming content. Smart functionality is a standard amenity these days. Lower pricing is also a trend, despite the advanced functionality, but have you ever wondered why costs have come down so much over the past few years? It might be because your TV is watching you as much as you watch it. Princeton University and the University of Chicago co-published a study titled, "Watching You Watch: The Tracking Ecosystem of Over-the-Top TV Streaming Devices," and it contains some interesting findings. The study focused on various streaming services and products,...
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TCL has just revealed its 2019 lineup of 4K Roku TVs, and as usual, the company is bringing a wealth of features at price points that undercut its rivals. The new big screen televisions include the all-new 8-Series along with updates to the exiting 5-Series and 6-Series lineups. Both the 6-Series and 8-Series models are adopting Quantum Dot (QLED) color technology that has long been championed by Samsung. TCL is promising 100 percent color representation in the DCI-P3 color space and that its new TVs will deliver more saturated colors across the board. The QLEDs are used in conjunction with high performance mini-LEDs which helps to boost contrast performance, delivering inky blacks in darkened...
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Anyone who is in the market for a new TV will want to check out the deals going on a couple of smart TVs from TCL right now. The TCL 75-inch Class 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart LED TV 75S425 is on sale at Amazon for $799.99, a massive $200 off the normal $999.99 retail price of the TV. The catch is that Amazon is out of stock on the TV as of writing. However, the TV is likely to pop back up in stock so buyers wanting to order from Amazon should keep an eye on the official page for the TV here. An alternative location to purchase the 75-inch TCL 4K Roku Smart TV is via Walmart where the TV is offered for the same $799.99, $500 off the normal MSRP of the TV which is $1,299. Anyone not happy with...
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With good intentions, Samsung took to Twitter to remind smart TV owners to scan their televisions for malware, and the Internet reacted about as you would expect. Snarky and indignant replies followed, and of course so did the jokes. And with good reason—after all, Samsung just made one heck of an argument to avoid buying a smart TV. We understand that periodically scanning our PCs for viruses and other malware comes with the territory. To a lesser extent, this can be true of smartphones and tablets, particularly if you venture away from reputable store fronts to grab your apps. But have we really reached a point where we must also scan our TVs? Apparently so, according to Samsung, which...
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Updated 3/21/2019 @ 3:00pm Best Buy has puts its version of the TCL 75-inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart LED TV (75615) with IR remote on sale for a bargain $1,499 with free shipping. Original Story: Amazon has been offering smoking deals on TCL smart TVs over the last few months, and now the retailer has another deal on a mammoth flagship 4K panel that measures an astounding 75 inches across. TCL's 75-inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart LED TV was announced earlier this year and was previously only available at Best Buy (in a 75615 variant). Now Amazon is carrying the 75R617 model which comes with a Wi-Fi Roku remote (instead of infrared) and is priced at $1,899.99. This set slots...
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Bloatware has unfortunately become a fact of life when it comes to many of the electronic devices that we purchase these days. Chances are if you buy a PC or carrier-locked smartphone, it will come preinstalled with bloatware that -- 99 percent of the time -- you won’t even need or use. Samsung and McAfee have just announced a partnership that will see the firm's security/antivirus suite preinstalled on the brand new Galaxy S10 family of smartphones. While that move is somewhat expected (but mostly unnecessary) these days for an Android phone that will see its fair share of app downloads, the partnership also extends to Samsung Smart TVs. Wait, what??That's right, all of Samsung's...
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Samsung announced that the 2019 models of its 4K and 8K QLED Smart TVs are now available for purchase. In addition to their high resolution, these TVs also feature a number of other improvements to help enhance image processing and picture quality. "Our 2019 QLED line is designed for users who want the best combination of picture quality, smart TV capabilities and design," said Andrew Sivori, VP, TV Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics America. "This year's lineup represents our largest screen size offering ever. It brings together innovative feature enhancements and exciting content and service partnerships to deliver a truly groundbreaking viewing experience and unprecedented value." In total...
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Samsung has been doing a lot with display panels in recent years thanks in part to its innovative OLED technology, but the company doesn't appear to be resting on its current achievements alone. A new patent filed on Christmas Day has revealed Samsung's plan to develop what it is calling a rollable display. Looking at the images included with the patent, which was first uncovered by LetsGoDigital, Samsung's rollable display at first glance looks more like a patent for some sort of flash drive, but it is actually an image of the rollable display in its most compact state. The left and right sides of this device can be pulled, opening the device up to more closely resemble a conventional...
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Would you like to use the big screen in your living room to control devices like your desktop, notebook or even smartphone? Well, Samsung seems to think that the answer is a definite "yes", so it is enabling the functionality in its upcoming 2019 lineup of smart TVs. The TVs will come preloaded with a feature called Remote Access, which is built using the VMware Horizon Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platform. Connections -- both wired and wireless -- are locked down using Samsung's Knox technology for Remote Access for those concerned about security. So, how does it work? Well, once connected through Remote Access, you'll be able to use a keyboard and mouse to, for example, control a notebook...
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Black Friday will be here before you know it and while we are still a couple of weeks away, retailers are already touting their deals to get shoppers ready to buy. So far we have seen some very slick deals from Costco, Sam's Club, Kohls, Target, and Amazon. We can now add Best Buy to the Black Friday frenzy, and if your Christmas list has a new 4K UHD smart TV on it, you will want to hit up Best Buy after recovering from all the turkey and ham. One of the top deals that Best Buy is offering is a Toshiba Fire TV Edition 43-inch LED 4K UHD Smart TV with HDR for $129.99. That is a $200 discount off the normal price of the TV. Smart TV shoppers wanting a larger screen can get a Samsung 65" LED Smart...
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Smart TV owners know that using the menus and performing searches using the normal remote control that comes with a TV can be a challenge. On-screen keyboards have never been the easiest things to use when you can only enter a single character at a time. Voice controlled remotes can help substantially, but there are times where you don’t want to talk to your TV, such as late-night binging sessions when others are home and asleep. Logitech has a new product that should help you navigate your smart TV menu and perform your searches in near silence, however, called the Logitech K600 TV Keyboard with Integrated Touchpad and D-Pad. Logitech says that the keys are silent, comfortable to...
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Vizio is one of the more popular smart TV makers in the U.S. thanks in part to decent specs and low prices. However, the TV maker found itself in hot water with the FTC in early 2017 over the practice of collecting TV user viewing data without the express permission of the users. While this happened over a year ago, there are still likely some Vizio TV owners out there who have no idea that their watching habits were monitored. That will soon change with Vizio rolling out notifications to affected users via their TVs directly. Last week attorneys working on the case against Vizio asked the judge overseeing the proceedings to extend the time to submit a motion for preliminary settlement. That...
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Consumer Reports has found that millions of smart TVs are vulnerable to hacking, and according to the publication, the exploits are often easy to find and execute. TVs vulnerable to these hacks include Samsung and TCL smart TVs along with other brands that use the Roku platform. Streaming devices are also vulnerable with the example cited being the Roku Ultra. Consumer Reports (CR) wrote, "We found that a relatively unsophisticated hacker could change channels, play offensive content, or crank up the volume, which might be deeply unsettling to someone who didn’t understand what was happening. This could be done over the web, from thousands of miles away." Consumer Reports Smart TV...
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Roku's family of devices is the most popular streaming platform out there, and some smart TVs even come with Roku integrated by default. Roku users now have another option for watching their favorite content and cutting the cord from satellite or cable providers: YouTube TV. The app used on the Roku device is the same YouTube TV app that is available currently on Android TV, Xbox One (launched in October), and other platforms. That means you get the same features that users on other platforms are enjoying, namely the unlimited Cloud DVR, personalized recommendations, and a grid-style programming guide. A YouTube rep also told CNET that YouTube TV would be “coming very soon”...
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Back in early March, WikiLeaks gave the world an early glimpse into just a small sample of the hacking arsenal at the disposal of the CIA. As part of WikiLeaks’ “Vault 7” dump, we were made privy to software hacks that targeted Android- and iOS-based smartphones, Windows- and OS X-based PCs and even Samsung smart TVs. Today, WikiLeaks released the CIA’s actual user guide for “Weeping Angel”, the exploit use to hack Samsung smart TVs. We’ve also learned that Weeping Angel is actually based on another piece of malware, “Extending”, that was developed by the British MI5 spy agency. Weeping Angel (and Extending) are capable of tapping into a Samsung smart TV’s internal microphone, where it can then...
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It's been a pretty big year for the Internet of Things (IoT) movement and it's posed to grow even bigger in 2016. With that in mind, Samsung has decided to make its entire 2016 lineup of smart TVs IoT ready with support for SmartThings, an open platform that allows users to connect and control smart devices. All of Samsung's upcoming smart TVs will feature IoT hub technology, allowing the TVs to act as the sort of control center for the entire smart home. It's not a just a matter of mashing technologies together and hoping for cohesiveness, either -- Samsung developed its own IoT hub technology in collaboration with SmartThings for its 2016 smart TV roll out. The upcoming TVs will be able to...
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It's been a bumpy road for webOS, the mobile operating system initially developed by Palm and later mishandled by Hewlett-Packard. LG stepped in nearly three years and acquired webOS, which it's been using as the platform for its smart TV lineup ever since. That trend will continue in 2016 as LG gets ready to unveil a new smart TV lineup featuring webOS 3.0. LG is pitching webOS 3.0 as a significant update, one that will bring advanced new features to the platform. Users can expect a faster, more intuitive and streamlined interface for juggling and navigating digital content. "The new webOS 3.0 is a major update since this advanced TV platform technology was first introduced in 2014," said Brian...
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If it's been several years since you last upgraded your mobile device or other electronic gadgets, you may lose the ability to use the Google's YouTube app. In an updated support document, Google says that select devices manufactured in 2012 and earlier are affected, including Sony TVs and Blu-ray Discs, Panasonic TVs and Blu-ray Discs, older iOS devices, and devices running older versions of Google TV."As we upgrade the YouTube Data API to bring more features, we'll begin shutting down the old version on April 20, 2015. This will result in the current YouTube app not working on certain device models from 2012 and older," Google states.For those of you with a device running Google TV version...
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Samsung has confirmed that some of its slightly older Smart TV models are currently uploading recorded voice communication without any form of encryption to protect the user's privacy. This goes against what Samsung stated in a recent blog post clarifying the limited circumstances in which voice commands are recorded and transmitted to a server. Backtracking a moment, the web freaked out when it was discovered that Samsung's Smart TVs were seemingly eavesdropping on living room conversations. The truth wasn't quite as nefarious, though a supplement to Samsung's privacy policy did reveal that some voice commands could be transmitted to a third-party service to convert the speech to text, in part...
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Samsung can't seem to separate itself from drama surrounding its smart TV platform. It started with recent complaints that its TV voice recognition software was eavesdropping on living room conversations, and now users are complaining that Pepsi ads are running when they're not supposed to, like when watching locally stored content through Plex. A user took to Reddit to post his complaint, noting that things have been working fine for the past year but have taken a turn for the worse -- "Recently it has been stopping half way through a show or a movie and has played a Pepsi ad that is muted." According to the user who posted the complaint, the ad doesn't appear on any other platform running Plex,...
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