cable

With "Game of Thrones" now the most pirated show on the Internet, a site has sprung up calling for HBO Go to become available without a cable membership, but unfortunately it's unlikely to work.

The site, started by Web programmer Jake Caputo and called Take My Money, HBO!, is designed to convince HBO to sell individual memberships to HBO Go to reduce piracy.

In response, several sites have pointed out why this strategy is doomed to fail. Even the company itself seems happy with its current domestic situation: in response to my request for comment, a HBO spokesperson instead pointed me to this tweet, which links to a TechCrunch article detailing why "HBO doesn't want your money."… Read more

If you've been following my reviews of Thunderbolt devices, which you should, you can't help but notice how I've been lamenting about the cable.

There are a couple of things about the Thunderbolt cable from Apple that thins my hair: none of the devices comes with one; it's expensive at $50; it has a ridiculous single-size length (video); and you can only get one from Apple.

Now things have changed a bit, but the future doesn't seem much brighter.

Kanex, the maker of the first MHL-HDMI cable for Android phones, announced today that it's … Read more

BOSTON -- Is Netflix a friend or foe to the traditional cable TV companies? Cox Communications CEO Patrick Esser says it's a "frenemy."

There's no question that Netflix and other over-the-top Internet-based video services have shaken things up for traditional TV distributors and content owners. But is Netflix destroying the cable industry's business model?

Cox's Esser acknowledged today during a panel discussion here at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's Cable Show that there are times when Netflix may compete for an audience with cable TV providers. But as a broadband provider, he … Read more

BOSTON -- Comcast is taking aim at wireless operators with new services introduced here at the NCTA's Cable Show that will undercut mobile carrier fees for text messaging and offer an alternative to mobile data services.

Over the past two days Comcast has made two new product announcements that could threaten revenue for wireless companies. At the same time, though, the company is also partnering with the nation's largest wireless provider, Verizon Wireless.

In the latest Comcast product announcement, the company said it will allow its voice subscribers to make phone calls and send text messages for free … Read more

BOSTON -- Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav warned Dish Network that it's playing with fire when it comes to a new commercial hopping DVR technology.

During a panel here at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's annual tradeshow, Zaslav told CNN's Erin Burnett that the new feature Dish Network introduced recently on its Hopper DVR, which skips advertising during shows that are recorded from broadcast TV, could disrupt the industry in a negative way. He said the model is unsustainable since program owners need the advertising revenue to help cover the cost of their shows.

Dish co-founder … Read more

BOSTON--The nation's biggest cable operators are banding together to offer free Wi-Fi access to their broadband customers in more than 50,000 hotspots around the country.

On Monday, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable announced on the first day of the Cable Show here that they'd enable each other's broadband customers to access their metro Wi-Fi hot spots. The companies are calling the new network "CableWiFi," so that subscribers will be able to find the hot spots when they're roaming outside their own cable territory.

In early 2010, Cablevision, … Read more

HBO Go, the service that provides unlimited on-demand access to everything in HBO's catalog, past and present, rocks.

Unfortunately, it's had something of a rocky start. The service is available only from select cable/satellite providers, and only on certain devices.

For example, HBO recently updated the HBO Go Android app to support devices running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). But tablet users? Outta luck.

Not for long. As PC Magazine reported last week, HBO Go for Android tablets is in the works and "coming early this summer," according to an HBO spokesperson. The updated … Read more

Everybody wants to tell the cable or satellite TV company what to do with that three-figure monthly bill that pays for a lot of stuff you don't even want, right?

Today, thanks to Internet-delivered TV, you can actually put some teeth behind that. Know that it's not as simple as throwing a switch and cancelling an account. In this episode of Device & Conquer we show you what we've learned about the process and how you can do it. It might be right for you, it might not. But whether you do it now or do it later, odds are you'll do it eventually. … Read more

Buying an Apple TV or Roku box? A Blu-ray player? A $99 Xbox 360? These and other TV-centric devices have one thing in common: they don't come with the HDMI cables necessary for the optimal connection to your TV.

Shoppers often make the mistake of assuming that whatever the local electronics store charges for an HDMI cable is just the price you have to pay. But although retail prices have come down in recent years, they're still way higher than what you can find online.

For example, Best Buy charges $24.99 for a Dynex 6-foot HDMI cable. … Read more