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YouTube TV has been removed from Roku's channel store, after Roku and YouTube TV parent Google failed to come to a distribution agreement amid accusations that the tech giant made anti-competitive demands. Why it matters: These spats happen regularly between Pay-TV providers and linear TV networks. But in the digital era, this is one of the rare times in which consumers will have a major streaming network removed from their platform's channel store due to a breakdown in negotiations. Details: The channel will still be available for existing YouTube TV customers, but new users that wish to download the app...

Last week Apple sucked up most of the air in the tech press with its newest gadgets, which included a long-awaited, new Apple TV. This week, Amazon has some TV box news of its own. The e-commerce giant just announced a variety of updates to its Fire TV product line. The newest Fire TV set-top box, a flat, plastic box that plugs into your TV and offers a variety of internet video content, now supports 4K Ultra HD video, a claim that Apple can't make with its own set-top box. (You'll have to be watching 4K content, on a 4K...

Perhaps unsurprisingly given Google’s now somewhat defunct plans for GoogleTV, YouTube has been one of the glaring omissions from the Roku platform. But not any longer. Roku has announced that a YouTube channel is now available on the Roku 3 in USA, Canada, UK and the Republic of Ireland. Older Rokus will be getting the channel next year, though the exact timing is unclear. For non-Roku owners, a channel is roughly equivalent to an app on other platforms. The YouTube channel supports full 1080p HD and the press release suggests that subscriptions will carry over from other platforms so that...

I have an old laptop connected to my TV to share my network and wifi. Is there a set top box that would allow me to access my network and internet with surfing ability? The boxes I see seem to be limited to Hulu and Netflix but not able to look at my hard drive in the other room. If I wanted music or films stored on the bed room puter, is that possible with a set top box? I wouldn't do away with my laptop unless I could get the same service as the laptop. Also, what if I...

Android 2.2 is expected to take the spotlight at Google’s I/O conference on May 19th. Among the features are incredibly fast speeds, data tethering, and a WiFi hotspot. Google TV is rumored to make an appearance, also running off of Android. It is a platform and service that runs web applications through set-top boxes onto your TV. The set-top box is allegedly powered by Android and Intel's chips, and will make Sony televisions and even Blu-ray DVD players function like computers, running Google's search, Chrome Web browser, YouTube and other programs.