Latest Streaming Reviews
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Reviews
AirTV Player + Adapter review: An imperfect marriage of Sling TV and broadcast televsion
AirTV tries to bring Sling TV and over-the-air channels together, but it's hurt by Sling's limitations.
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Channel Master DVR+ review: Over-the-air recording that’s a bit too basic
This DVR is cheap and simple, but it doesn’t include enough features to justify its price tag.
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Tablo review: A complete over-the-air DVR solution with just a few flaws
Tablo is the simplest whole-home DVR for cord-cutters, despite some performance and feature limitations.
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HDHomeRun and Plex DVR review: For hardcore do-it-yourself cord-cutters only
This combo is a powerful whole-home DVR for over-the-air channels, but the setup's a doozy and you can't time-shift.
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TiVo Roamio OTA review: It feels like going back in time
TiVo's over-the-air DVR box feels a lot like cable, for better and for worse.Reviews
Vizio SmartCast Crave 360 speaker review: Great features, but mediocre sound
There’s plenty of value in this battery-powered speaker, which includes both Chromecast and Bluetooth tech, but its audio performance fails to excite.Reviews
WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra review: Excellent features and performance at a very nice price
For a NAS box with a boatload of software features and top-notch performance, the WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra is amazingly affordable.Reviews
Seagate Personal Cloud 3TB NAS review: Incredible bang for the buck
Seagate's Personal Cloud 3TB NAS is only a single-bay NAS, but $140 for 3TB of storage and advanced software features is a steal.Reviews
QNAP TS-251A NAS review: More media features than you can shake a stick at
QNAP's TS-251A NAS has the ability to output video directly to an external 1080 display and is a great media streamer. The advertised on-the-fly 4K transcoding, on the other hand, proved to be weak.Reviews
Synology DS216play NAS review: Great media streaming and 4K transcoding for the price
Synology's DS216play NAS is a middling performer, but there's no better NAS box available for media streaming and 4K transcoding.
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Netgear ReadyNAS 212 review: Super fast, but best for business
With a boatload of pro features and excellent performance, this is a box better suited for the small office than the home, but it streams as smoothly as any of its rivals.
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TerraMaster F2-220 NAS review: Major-league hardware and rapidly improving software
TerraMaster's FS-220 is relatively new to the NAS category, but it's a great performer with a promising interface.Reviews
Zyxel NAS520 review: New-school hardware, old-school software (in a good way)
Zyxel's NAS520 is an affordable NAS box with good streaming and backup features, but it's a bit less refined than mainstream users would want.
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Nvidia Shield TV (second generation) review: This the best media streamer for geeks
Nvidia's $200 media streamer and gaming box won't appeal to everyone, and that's okay.Reviews
WatchAir review: Promising wireless smart TV antenna for cord-cutters
WatchAir is a wireless smart antenna to view and record locally broadcasted live television within a 60-mile range on smartphones, tablets, streaming boxes, and other devices.Reviews
Kenmore Alfie Voice-Controlled Personal Shopper review: For shoppers with plenty of time but too little imagination
Years from now, we’ll look back at this product and decide that it was ahead of its time.Reviews
Sony X930D 4K UHD TV review: Color and HDR done the Sony way.
Sony has forsaken quantum dots and OLED technology to follow its own path to color and HDR.Reviews
Chromecast Ultra review: 4K HDR streaming with no frills
Google's Chromecast Ultra quadruples the pixels for double the money, but it lacks the bells and whistles of other high-end steaming devices.Reviews
Xiaomi Mi Box review: Android TV elevated with cheap 4K HDR streaming
The Xiaomi Mi Box's $69 price tag and 4K HDR streaming help paper over Android TV's shortcomings.Reviews
Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote review: A peppier processor makes this streamer worthwhile
Picking the best low-cost media streamer just got a lot more complicated.Reviews
Roku Ultra and Roku Premiere+ reviews: The priciest Roku still isn’t the best Roku
Improvements to Roku's high-end set-top boxes don't add up to a better value—unless you need 4K HDR video.Reviews
Roku Express review: A nice gift for your frenemies
The Roku Express hits a new low in streaming box pricing, but it makes big compromises to get there.Reviews
WD My Passport Wireless Pro review: A portable hard drive made for mobile streaming
With an integrated Wi-Fi hot spot and the Plex media server, this drive lets you take all your shows (and all your tunes) on the road.
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Sideclick review: This gadget fixes the biggest problem with Roku and Fire TV remotes
For $30, Sideclick consolidates TV power and volume controls into a single remote.Reviews
Netflix Flixtape review: It’s all mixed up (and ultimately not worthy of your time)
The buggy, flawed new Flixtape feature is more fun than useful, and more frustrating than fun.Reviews
Amazon Fire TV Stick review: Getting what you paid for
As streaming apps get more advanced, Amazon’s low-cost TV dongle doesn’t feel future-proof.
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Roku Streaming Stick review: The best cheap way to make a dumb TV smart
The Roku Streaming Stick offers a solid app selection, good-enough performance, and some neat tricks for $50.Reviews
Naim Audio Mu-so Qb wireless speaker review: It sounds as beautiful as it looks, it just doesn’t get loud enough
It’ll fill the smaller spaces in your home with sound, but you’ll need its bigger sibling for the living room.Reviews
The horror-movie streaming service Shudder serves up phantasmic scare fare
If you love quality horror films, this streaming service is worth the price of admission.
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PlayStation Vue review: This is the skinny-bundle sweet spot (for now)
PlayStation Vue gives you more than 50 cable channels for $30 per month, but are those prices built to last?Reviews
Roku 4 review: The best Roku player, but not for the money
The Roku 4 is a just minor improvement over cheaper models, with or without a 4K TV.Reviews
Amazon Fire TV review: The 4K box to beat (for Prime subscribers, at least)
The 4K Fire TV is better than ever at delivering Prime video, but don't bother upgrading from the original.Reviews
QNAP TAS-268 review: Can this Android-powered NAS box rival a Roku?
Qnap delivers a streaming box on steroids. But it's not the easiest device to set up, and it's light on apps for tasks other than media streaming.Reviews
VLC for Apple TV review: Goodbye format woes
If there’s a codec VLC doesn’t support, we haven’t found it.Reviews
Chromecast (2015) review: A superfluous upgrade to a high-caliber product
One of Google's best devices gets modest improvements, and that's okay.Reviews
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Wireless review: The Brits have done it again
It’s one of the best single-cabinet stereo speakers in the world, and you no longer need to be an Apple user to enjoy it.Reviews
TiVo Bolt review: The best DVR gets better
Whether you’re a cord cutter or a cable-TV devotee, this is the DVR you should be using.Reviews
Roku 3 review: An all-around safe bet
If you’re not tied to any particular ecosystem, and you want a media streamer that just works, Roku is going to make you happy.
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Google Chromecast review: Second-screen simplicity
While it's not for everyone, Chromecast is a cheap and effective way to make any TV smart.
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Nvidia Shield Android TV review: The future, at a price
If you can live with its more frustrating qualities, Nvidia's Shield Android TV is the set-top box for those who want it all and want it now.
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Amazon Fire TV review: The perfect streaming box for people who love Amazon
For Amazon Prime subscribers, Fire TV promises less time browsing and more time watching. Everyone else might feel left out.Reviews
TiVo Roamio OTA review: This DVR would be a cord-cutter’s dream machine, if not for the subscription fee
The hardware is cheap, but not everyone will want to pay for the service, as powerful as it is.Reviews
Hands-on with TiVo’s new buddy, Plex Media Server
If you're a TiVo junkie it's a great way to get more content from your computer on to your TV.Reviews
Inmarsat Isathub review: When better than nothing is very nearly priceless
Expensive and slow is usually a bad combo; but this pricey device delivers Internet and phone service in places nothing else can, thanks to orbiting satellites.
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Xbox One TV Tuner review: Just short of over-the-air perfection
The Xbox One is so close to cord-cutting perfection–especially if you’re already a gamer–but needs DVR to get over the goal line.
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Roon review: This is must-have software for hardcore music fans
The barrier to entry can be steep, but the reward is oh so worth the investment.Reviews
Wren Sound Systems V5US speaker review: A versatile, solid-sounding, but ultimately overpriced wireless speaker
This craft-built speaker supports every major wireless streaming protocol, but it’s not enough.Reviews
PowerDVD 15 review: The best picture, bar none
It’s a pay program competing with free solutions, but PowerDVD 15 Ultra easily offers the best video quality, and arguably the best sound of any software video player on the market. It's better than most hardware-only solutions as well.
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Mohu Channels review: An ugly marriage of over-the-air and streaming TV
Combining broadcast and streaming video in one device is a clever idea, but Mohu's execution is too sloppy to recommend.Reviews