Google is gearing up for the release of the Google Home smart speaker on November 2 with the release of the companion app. Originally called Google Cast, the new Google Home app, released this week, lets you cast content to compatible devices over your network as well as set up multiroom audio groups. While the …

Now playing: Watch this: What to look for in a budget Blu-ray player 2:00 These days, it’s all about streaming. But there are plenty of us who still have giant collections of DVDs and Blu-rays. Thankfully, that’s no longer an either-or proposition: you can get a good disc player that also doubles as a good streamer. But before we look …

AT&T has signed a multi-year deal with singer Taylor Swift which will features “performances and content” including a DirecTV concert the night before the Superbowl. Taylor Swift will headline a DirecTV Super Saturday Night in Houston with tickets available to customers through exclusive AT&T promotions and campaigns. AT&T says it will disclose further details of the “multi-faceted” deal between the …

With hours to go until Google announces its newest products, wireless company Verizon has accidentally leaked details of the new Pixel phones, which include something called “Google Magic.” Gizmodo has published images of the Pixel and Pixel XL that Verizon let slip on its Enterprise site. It lists the number one feature as “Google Magic” alongside business phrases such as …

Whether you call it “immersive audio” or the more nebulous “object-based audio,” there is a new type of surround sound coming to a home theater near you. It’s designed to let you feel closer to the action than before with the help of height channels, which just like the name indicates, are speakers shooting sound upwards. However, like most everything …

Amazon is continuing its march into your smart home by announcing it will be integrating voice control for the Denon HEOS multiroom speaker system. Coming in Q1 2017 users will be able to control their HEOS products by using the Alexa voice service on an iOS, Android or Amazon Fire device. HEOS is a multiroom series of products that enables …

Polk has outlined its newest line of affordable speakers, called the Signature Series, with prices starting at $199 — and they’re a step up from the entry-level T series. The new collection includes three sets of floorstanders, two center channels and three bookshelf speakers. All of the speakers are between $200 and $900. Polk The Signature Series and T series …

Ad-blocking software maker Eyeo has announced it will start allowing publishers to buy “non-intrusive ads” that will appear to users of its Adblock Plus software. Eyeo and ad-tech company ComboTag will let publishers choose from “a marketplace of pre-whitelisted ads” that meet the criteria of its “Acceptable Ads Platform“. The ads will be visible by users who have elected to …

Yamaha has detailed five new products joining its MusicCast wireless music family, including a small benchtop speaker and a high-end sound bar. MusicCast is Yamaha’s proprietary multiroom system which allows streaming from user’s phones, network devices or services such as Spotify, Pandora and SiriusXM. Until now the MusicCast range has been missing two important elements: an entry-level speaker, and a …

“Alexa, tell Geneva to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.” That’s just one of Alexa’s new skills. Amazon on Tuesday said its voice assistant has over 3000 “skills,” with more on the way. That number has increased by 300 percent in the three months since June 2016, Amazon said in a release. The Alexa Skills Kit and the Alexa Voice …