Items tagged with smart tv
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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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When it comes to smartphones and tablets, Samsung has relied heavily on Google’s Android mobile operating system. Android dominates the smartphone and tablet markets, and Samsung has done its best to differentiate its Android offerings by overlaying its love-it-or-hate-it TouchWiz user interface. But Samsung is looking to break free of its reliance on Google and branch out with its own homegrown operating system: Tizen. Tizen has already been featured in Samsung’s growing smartwatch lineup, and recently launched on digital cameras and the budget Z1 smartphone for emerging markets. However, Samsung...
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Fancy yourself a PlayStation gamer? In the need for a new television? If you answered "Yes" to both questions, then hang tight and be on the lookout for new Samsung smart TVs coming out in the first of 2015. Why? Samsung has partnered with Sony to integrate its PlayStation Now game streaming service on select models, giving you access to hundreds of PlayStation 3 games streamed from the cloud, no console required! It's the same feature that's offered on the PlayStation 4, along with a variety of other platforms. Using PlayStation Now, gamers have access to over 200...
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LG is planning to showcase a new line of smart TVs with a newer version of webOS that's supposed to increase the user experience with a boot time that's been reduced by 60 percent and several other upgrades. According to LG, webOS 2.0 sports a "long list of improvements," such as up to 70 percent faster load times when switching from the smart TV home screen to applications like YouTube. "With the newest features introduced in webOS 2.0, the overall user experience has become even simpler, easier and more intuitive," said In-kyu Lee, senior vice president and head of the TV and monitor division...
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Up until now, if you wanted to enjoy Roku on your television, you needed to purchased a dedicated set-top box or HDMI dongle. Now you have two more options -- purchase a Hisense or or TLC smart television with built-in Roku support. This is a vision Roku first shared with the public back at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January, and it's now come to fruition. "Just like our Roku players, Roku TV offers an exceptional streaming experience filled with endless entertainment choices. But we didn’t just stick a Roku player inside the TV. We enhanced the Roku operating system...
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When smart TVs first started to mingle with their regular flat screen counterparts, they were comparatively expensive with sometimes poorly implemented smart capabilities that were either buggy or slow (or both). And now? It's actually more difficult to find a non-smart TV, and you're not likely to save much, either. That now being the case, it's no wonder that smart TVs are expected to account for 73 percent of all flat screen TV shipments around the world by 2017. Citing its own paid report, Business Insider says there will be around 25 million million smart TVs in American households by the...
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Qualcomm had big plans of dominating the smart TV market with its Snapdragon 802 System-on-Chip (SoC), a powerful part capable of playing up to four HD videos simultaneously on the same TV while also being able to stream them to connected devices. Those plans proved premature, however, as demand for chips designed specifically for smart TVs turned out to be lower than Qualcomm thought, and so the Snapdragon 802 is no more. In a brief statement posted to its website that almost comes off solemn, Qualcomm announced its decision to retire its smart TV chip. "Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has decided...
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