TechHive opened for business in 2012 as a general consumer tech site. In 2017, we narrowed the focus to smart home and video streaming, responding to the hottest new developments in personal tech. It’s been a great run, but today we’re announcing that all new TechHive content will be published to sister site PCWorld on a just-launched TechHive section. Why the change? First, we want TechHive content to reach as many people as possible, and PCWorld simply has a much larger audience of tech...| TechHive
While most modern soundbars rely on an HDMI cable to connect to HDTVs and 4K TVs, there are still plenty of soundbars on the market with legacy audio inputs that will work with older TVs—and yes, that includes many CRT (aka “tube”) TVs that are decades old. By connecting an aging TV to a soundbar, you can give your older set a massive audio boost, complete with thumping bass and even virtualized 3D sound. And if your ancient flat-screen or tube TV has the right outputs, hooking it up to...| TechHive
So you just unboxed your new entertainment gear, hooked everything up, and you hear buzz, whine, hiss, chatter, or any number of other annoying noises that have been known to plague audio equipment. You might even see some banding or waves on your TV. So you take it all back to the store, only to watch the salesperson plug it in and have everything work perfectly. What’s going on here? You might just need a simple ground loop isolator, like the $16 TII Network Technologies TII 220. Or if au...| TechHive
If you’ve ever considered signing up for Peacock, now’s the time to grab a fantastic deal. New subscribers can score either a full year of ad-supported entertainment with a one-time payment of $19.99, or six months of service for just $1.99 per month. That’s a whopping 75 percent discount from Peacock Premium’s usual price of $79.99 per year or $7.99 per month; unfortunately, you can’t take advantage of this if you’re already a paying subscriber. Surprisingly enough, however, anyo...| TechHive
Whether you’re shopping for your very first video doorbell, looking to move up to a higher quality device, or buying one as a gift for someone you love, Cyber Monday is a great time to score a great deal. A video doorbell provides a more discrete form of outdoor home security than a camera mounted to your home’s walls or eaves. They also give visitors and delivery people an easy way to let you know they’re at your door. You can even entertain them while they wait, since many manufacture...| TechHive
Philips Hue’s smart lights might not be the cheapest, but let’s face it—they’re the best, and you can scoop up some enticing discounts on Hue bulbs and bundles during the manufacturer’s Cyber Monday sale. Signify-owned Philips Hue is shaving up to 50 percent off its most popular lights during holiday sale week, starting with a 3-pack of the classic Hue A19 White and Color Ambience smart bulbs, which is selling for just $75.98, an eye-popping 44-percent price cut. Also on sale is a...| TechHive
The best way to ensure your home is protected is to install home security cameras, so you can see what’s going on, inside and out. Cameras outside your house can deter intruders, because they’re an visual indicator that your property is being monitored. Having them inside your home will protect your family from people you hire to work there–think nannies, house cleaners, and contractors–who turn out to be untrustworthy. Even if you already have a camera or two, there’s always some a...| TechHive
Ready to give your streaming video setup a boost? There’s no better time than Cyber Monday to trade up for a new and improved streaming video player, and we’ve spotted some enticing deals on streaming devices from Amazon and Roku. Amazon is serving up deals on its latest streaming devices, including the just-released Fire TV Stick HD and Fire TV Stick 4K, while Roku is offering discounts on its popular Streaming Stick 4K, Express 4K+, and more. We’re also keeping an eye out for Cyber Mo...| TechHive
Want to keep watch on your doorstep? The tireless Nest Doorbell won’t miss a thing when it comes to activity on the porch, and it’s getting an enticing 46% price cut for Black Friday. On sale now for $98, nearly $82 off its $179.99 list price, the Nest Doorbell connects to wired power and keeps an eye on your doorstep all day, every day, perfect for notifying you of visitors or giving you a nudge when a package is waiting. The Nest Doorbell uses on-device processing to detect people, ...| TechHive
Wish you had a smart speaker in every room? You can make it happen with this steal of a deal on Amazon’s ever-popular Echo Dot. On sale for Black Friday at a mere $22.99—an all-time low—Amazon’s steeply discounted Echo Dot is a no-brainer if you’re looking to turn your house into a smart home. Already got a Dot but want more? There’s no better time to add to your Dot collection. The Echo Dot packs in a bevy of smart features given its size and price. Naturally, the Dot’s bes...| TechHive
Want to keep an eye on your indoor spaces while you’re away? Ring makes some of the best security cameras on the market, and you can grab a Ring cam for less than $30 on Black Friday. On sale now for just $29.99, the second-generation Ring Indoor Cam is getting an incredible 50% Black Friday discount, making this a terrific time to jump into the Ring ecosystem—or, if you’ve already gone the Ring way, to add mode cameras to your security setup. Be sure to check out Black Friday disco...| TechHive
Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without turkey, stuffing, your family around the table, and a full year of Hulu for just shy of a buck a month. Yes indeed, Hulu’s Black Friday deal is back, and it’s as good as ever: a year’s worth of Hulu with ads for just $0.99 a month. That means you can stream such Hulu hits as The Bear, Abbot Elementary, Only Murderers in the Building, and more for 90% off for 12 months. If you want a little Disney to go with your Hulu, you can nab the Dis...| TechHive
There’s no easier way to give your yard a serious glow-up than with a set of smart string lights, and you can grab one of our favorites for cheap during Black Friday. On sale now for $99.99, a whopping 41 percent discount, the Govee Smart Outdoor String Lights 2 will shine multicolored light in any outdoor space, and it’s designed to survive the elements as well as respond to voice commands. This 144-foot string of smart lights earned high marks from our reviewer, who praised their li...| TechHive
We hear all too often of smart home products that turn into paperweights with little or no warning, and now the FTC wading into the hot-button issue. In a newly released paper, staffers at the Federal Trade Commision said they picked 184 different smart products and looked for disclosures on how long their manufactures would offer software updates for the devices. The results were unsurprising, with the FTC researchers saying they couldn’t find details about the “support duration or e...| TechHive
At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Washes its own mop pad Improved “Dirt Detect” functionality Upgraded navigation Performs mop-only runs Cons So-so mopping performance Self-emptying bin sometimes left heavier debris behind Our Verdict While the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max + AutoWash base boasts a variety of welcome improvements, including the ability to wash its own mop pad, its vacuuming and mopping performance doesn’t match those of its predecessors. Price When Reviewed This valu...| TechHive
HBO has some incredible series this year, including the spin-off of The Batman, The Penguin,and Dune: Prophecy, which is rolling out now. If you want to watch them, now is the perfect time. New and returning subscribers can sign up to Max for just $2.99 per month for half a year–but Max’s definition of “returning subscriber” means your subscription has expired or you’ve previous cancelled it. Get 70% off Max's ad-supported plan You can sign up for this on the Max website, but the...| TechHive
Tired of digging through so-called “hamburger” menus on the Plex mobile app to get your personal Plex media library? If so, good news. Plex is kicking off a public preview for its revamped Plex mobile app, and from what I’ve seen so far, it offers welcome changes for those of us with personal Plex libraries of movies and TV shows. Among the best changes in the revamped app is what’s no longer there: the three-line “hamburger” menu in the top corner that included everything fro...| TechHive
Bigger is better, right? Guess we’re about to find out, as Amazon has unleashed its largest Echo Show smart display to date. A bigger version of the just-refreshed and wall-mountable version of the Echo Show 15, the Echo Show 21 ranks as Amazon’s largest Alexa-powered smart display yet—and indeed, we’re hard-pressed to think of a roomier smart display, period. The 27-inch, Wi-Fi-connected Skylight Calendar Max ($600) is even bigger, but it’s designed for tracking appointments, to...| TechHive
There’s nothing quite like the tedium of vacuuming floors. While it doesn’t come with the ick factor of scrubbing toilets, pushing and dragging a noisy, cumbersome vacuum remains its own kind of torture. Fortunately, robot vacuums are here to do that thankless task for us–and an increasing number of models can mop your floors, too. Once you’ve dealt with the initial setup, robot vacuums require little effort to manage. They don’t have unwieldy cords to wrangle or hoses to contend wi...| TechHive
Home weather stations are getting more accurate and sophisticated all the time. Follow our buyer's guide to ensure you're not left in the cold or soaking wet.| TechHive
