Dwight Silverman

Hulu, the second-oldest streamer after Netflix, will be merged into the Disney+ app across various platforms next year.

In its earliest days, one of the biggest draws for cord cutting was the ability to watch your favorite TV shows without commercials. When I began writing about ditching cable TV for streaming in 2013, I advised buying season passes for the cable and…

If you’re a cord cutter who relies on streaming services for your TV fix, chances are good you’re paying more for the privilege – in some cases, a lot more. This past month has seen a slew of price hikes, many of them substantial. The increasing…

A new streaming contract means some live baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer broadcasts will soon end up on Max (formerly HBO Max). So, what does this mean for the future of live sports, and what does it mean for cord cutters? Does this mark the…

Last month, streaming surpassed cable, satellite, and over-the-air television to become the predominant way Americans experience television. That's right, cord-cutters are the largest percentage now. That's just one of a number of things happening in…

If you're a cord cutter who canceled cable TV to embrace the brave new world of streaming, congratulations: You are now part of the mainstream. Nielsen, which measures television viewing, reported recently that streaming, at 38.7%, surpassed other…

An informative SmartTechCheck podcast with tech journalists Dwight Silverman, Stewart Wolpin, and John Quain on the waning momentum of ChatGPT, legacy tech.still with us and coming chaos to the streaming video content segmentSubscribe to…

From removable cell phone batteries, to the Netflix password crackdown, to the launch of Apple's Vision Pro, there is a lot happening in the world of consumer technology these days. On the fourth Monday of every month, Houston Chronicle consumer tech…

Finally, it begins. Netflix launched its long-expected crackdown on password sharing in the U.S. last week after testing it in a handful of other countries, and the estimated 100 million people who are using the biggest streaming service without…

Netflix, founded more than 25 years ago to rent movies on DVD through the mail, began allowing customers to stream them in 2007. I was a DVD customer back then, and I didn’t try streaming until three years later. My first Netflix streamed video was…

Netflix this week finally began to detail how it will crack down on password sharing, with an approach that appears to be stricter than expected and – so far – with no mention of the “paid sharing” option that its executives had mentioned earlier.…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Because I love my lovely wife very much, I keep a set of Bluetooth, over-the-ear headphones on the end table next to my perch on the sofa. Our entertainment tastes are similar, but there…

Netflix at one time was the invincible king of the streaming mount, the original pioneer in a business that is disrupting traditional, linear TV. But now the company struggles as competitors learn from both its successes and mistakes, and Netflix may…

When I started writing a guide for dropping cable TV and switching to streaming, I offered a strategy for saving money but still watch your favorites: Focus on the shows, rather than channels or channel bundles, and buy individual season passes. As I…

A little more than three years ago, I predicted that the golden age of streaming — when prices were low and TV shows and movies were concentrated in a few apps — was about to end. Not only was I right, but sadly, I was right with a vengeance. It used…

Each month, when your Comcast bill comes due, many of you pay a monthly fee for the device that provides internet access in your homes. Rental for what’s known as the Xfinity Gateway typically runs $14 a month, or $168 a year. You don’t have to pay…

When veteran rocker Neil Young said last week that he would remove his music from Spotify over COVID-19 misinformation being touted by comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan there, it caused a lot of people to rethink their relationships with the streaming…

Long ago, but not so far away, I used to do an annual awards column, calling out what I thought were the best new tech products of the year. That schtick fell by the wayside around the turn of the century, but maybe it’s time to bring it back in more…

Q. I’m on the verge of buying a new 4K TV and a new soundbar. I am making sure both support eARC, based on your 4K TV shopping guide, but I am really confused about cables. I have some fairly new HDMI cables but I have no idea if they support ARC or…

(Note: This story originally appeared in my Release Notes newsletter. Get the good stuff first by signing up. Release Notes drops each Tuesday morning.) I recently embarked on a quest for a new 4K TV, after having lived happily with an HDTV for 10…