Yesterday, Comcast announced a new $5 a month streaming service. This new service will aggregate both paid and free streaming apps into a single place called Xfinity Flex. This new service includes 10,000 free online movies and TV shows—including live streaming TV—from ESPN3, Xumo, Pluto, Tubi TV, Cheddar, YouTube, and more. If you want access to live TV channels like ESPN you will need to subscribe to Xfinity TV as Flex does not have any US-based live TV streaming services like YouTube TV or PlayStation Vue. What may be a better way to describe this new service is a new streaming player that costs $5 a month. A streaming player that would cost $60 a year for what is in short nothing more than a Roku with a monthly subscription. This new Xfinity Flex is nothing more than an Xfinity X1 set-top box without the cable TV subscription. (You will be able to subscribe to Xfinity TV through the new Flex box.) All the free content that Xfinity Flex will offer comes from free services like Xumo, Pluto TV, Tubi, and more that are already available for free on streaming players already in the market like the Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV. Not only do they want cord cutters to rent this streaming player from them, but it will only work if you connect it to a Comcast Internet service. That means unlike your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV you won’t be able to take it with you when you travel. Read the full article …
Industry News
Building a Smarter Home? Here’s Where You Start
Smart home technology is everywhere. From smart speakers in your living room to smart doorbells, lights, locks, kitchen appliances, and more, there are endless ways to make your home life more intelligent and as connected as you want it to be. The overwhelming array of choice can simply make it tough to decide where to begin. PCMag recently surveyed 2,075 US consumers age 18 and older about everything related to smart homes, including which category of devices they want to try first. For 20 percent of respondents, they started with entertainment: smart TVs and remotes, including media streaming devices like Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku. (We didn't include smart speakers on the list, since they've become so ubiquitous in the past couple of years—and some consumers may not realize that they are a legitimate building block for a smart home.) Read the full article …
4 Smarthome Hubs You’ve Never Heard Of (And Why You Shouldn’t Use Them)
Hubs are often the backbone of the smarthome, and you can pick from an extensive list of hub manufacturers. But not all smarthomes are made equal, and not all are worth your consideration. Here’s a few to skip. The first thing you should learn with smarthomes is that there is no single standard for communication between smarthome devices. Some smart devices use Z-Wave, some Zigbee, and others use either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. When you want a Z-Wave smart light to work with a Wi-Fi outlet, you need something to bridge the gap. Right now smart hubs are one way to fulfill that role. Wink and SmartThings are well known smart hubs, but there are numerous other options with varying features. While some of these alternatives may be fine, others you shouldn’t put into your home. They may not stay around for the long haul, or they may not be compatible with enough smarthome devices. Read the full article …
Leviton launches smart Load Center with iOS app control for circuit breakers, detailed consumption monitoring, more
Leviton has unveiled its next generation electrical Load Center. The new breaker panel works with an integrated Wi-Fi or Ethernet hub to offer remote circuit control, monitor electrical consumption, set up smart alerts, and more with its iOS and Android app. Leviton made the announcement about the new smart Load Center at the 2019 NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. Leviton’s COO said that consumers want smarter homes and the new connected Load Center is easy to install for contractors and provides great smart functionality along with a nice design for end-users.Read the full article …
Smart Homes Explained: What is a Smart Home Protocol and Who Uses Each
The smart home space operates with a patchwork of protocols. Smart home devices communicate with each other as well as smart home hubs via several technologies. While there’s some overlap, the likes of Zigbee and Z-Wave offer different advantages. Plus, since their inception, most home automation protocols evolved. Here’s a primer on smart home protocols! What is a Smart Home Protocol? Simply put, a home automation protocol is a means of communication between devices. It’s sort of like a language, but for smart home gadgets. While many such as Z-Wave utilize wireless communication, still others opt for wired protocols which take advantage of wiring for communication. With smart home protocols, your devices such as smart lights, thermostats, switches, and home assistants will be able to “talk.” Then, you’ll be able to configure automations and control gadgets remotely or via apps. Wireless protocols are generally fast, secure, and boast superb compatibility. Whereas most often wired connections yield increased security and speed, wired smart home protocols such as X10 and UPB are plagued by slower speeds and worse encryption. That’s because they tap into your wiring for communication, similar to powerline Ethernet adapters. Within the wireless smart home protocols, you’ll find the likes of Zigbee, Z-Wave, Insteon, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Wired protocols on the other hand are X10 and UPB. Read the full article …
Gardena smart garden watering system is now HomeKit-compatible
The Gardena small garden watering system promised HomeKit compatibility in the first quarter of the year, and has now made good on that promise. Four products get the update: Smart Water ControlSmart sensorSmart Irrigation ControlSmart Power external socket In addition to Siri control, HomeKit support means that you can now have integrated scenes, like switching on external lighting and automatically watering the garden at sunset. Read the full article …
Amazon’s Acquisition Of Eero Validates Mesh Networking In Today’s Connected Home
Amazon’s decision to cancel its recently announced plans to build a new headquarters in New York City. Relatively little coverage was given to the e-commerce behemoth’s announcement earlier in the week that it was acquiring Eero, a startup specializing in mesh networking solutions for the home. While acquisitions like this are always a surprise, Amazon certainly has good reasons to make the move. Its Alexa-enabled speakers have been a massive success, and the company’s stated goal is to have Alexa-based solutions (Amazon-branded and third party) throughout the home—even in remote crevices of the home that may have difficulty accessing a reliable Wi-Fi signal. The connected home is so completely dependent on robust and dependable Wi-Fi that it’s honestly a bit of a surprise that Amazon didn’t move on this type of acquisition sooner. Read the full article …
Hubitat Elevation Review: A Smart Home Hub for Power Users
If you have a lot of smart home devices — lights, motion sensors, locks, garage door openers, security cameras — a smart home hub can help you link them all together. Samsung's SmartThings hub does a pretty good job at this, but the Hubitat Elevation hub is meant for those who want to go even further. While more complex in its setup and operation than the Samsung device, this $99 hub lets you create much more sophisticated automations and rules for all your smart home devices. You just have to be willing to put in a little effort. Read the full article …
How to set up Apple’s HomeKit for your smart home
Apple’s HomeKit may not be the most popular of the major smart home systems, especially when compared to competitors like Amazon’s Alexa ecosystem and Google Assistant, but it still has a lot of benefits, particularly when it comes to its deep integration with Apple’s platforms. In fact, even if you prefer using Alexa or Google Assistant, you can still benefit from HomeKit. While there are plenty of smart home products that only support either Alexa or Google Assistant, odds are that if your light bulb, outlet, or fan supports HomeKit, it’ll work with another service, too. Since there’s no penalty for using accessories with multiple services, you can configure products with, say, Alexa and Apple’s Home app to get the best of both worlds. It’s easy to do. Here’s how to make the most of your HomeKit gear. Read the full article …