The Digital Media Zone

A listener asked us what our favorite shows and movies are, and we couldn’t resist diving into it! On the news side, Sonos nixed their video device. Google Chromecast has been broken for days. Pocket Casts is getting more free. According to insiders, Xbox has a handheld coming this year. But what does that actually mean?

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #680.

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• Sonos has canceled its streaming video player | The Verge
• Scores of Google Chromecast users affected by casting glitch
• Pocket Casts makes its web player and desktop apps usable without a subscription
• Xbox’s new hardware plans begin with a gaming handheld in 2025 | Windows Central

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #680 – Our Favorite Movies and Shows and Sonos Nixes Video appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

DirecTV Genre Packs could shake up the streaming television marketplace. YouTube Premium Lite is now official in the United States. SportsCenter+ brings a new version of the hit show to a surprising location. Technics AZ100 are premium new earbuds with a feature no other earbuds have. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is here and is greatly improved over the previous generation. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 has arrived and it’s giving NVIDIA the competition it has needed for years!

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #679.

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• DirecTV launches Genre Packs, a more affordable way to get channels you actually want
• YouTube Premium Lite officially launches for $7.99/month
• New ‘SportsCenter+’ daily show to launch on Disney+ in March
• Technics AZ100 review: Supreme sound quality and a unique Bluetooth tool
• MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: This cat got its bite back
• AMD Radeon RX 9000 reviews put the RTX 5070 to rest — “Nothing short of the graphics card everyone’s been asking for.”

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #679 – DirecTV Genre Packs and AMD Radeon RX 9070 appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

YouTube Premium Lite may soon be coming to the US. You no longer need an expensive dedicated box to sync your Hue lights with your television. Max won’t charge you extra to watch sports and live news unless you’re on the Standard plan. Channels 6.2 has two great new features for Apple TV and iOS. Lenovo’s Legion Go S improves over the previous model in some ways, but were they able to find the right balance with it?

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #678.

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• YouTube Premium Lite Plan is Reportedly Coming Soon to the US and Other Markets
• Philips Hue Sync now available on LG smart TVs, eliminating the need for a control box
• Max to keep Bleacher Report Sports Add-On free, but only on ad-free plans
• Channels 6.2 for Apple TV & iOS
• Lenovo’s Legion Go S is the latest Windows handheld casualty

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #678 – YouTube Premium Lite and Hue Sync appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Apple TV finally comes to Android phones and tablets. People spend more time watching YouTube on televisions than on mobile devices. Sonos is planning to build a video streaming device. Reviewers have used most of the Nvidia GeForce 5000 series cards. Should you buy one? With Forza coming to PS5, what does that mean for the future of Xbox?

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #677.

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• Apple TV+ crosses enemy lines, will be available as an Android app starting today – Ars Technica
• YouTube on TVs replace mobile as ‘primary’ viewing device, 2025 goals detailed
• Sonos Preps First Video Product – Thurrott.com
• Amazon Music Unlimited Gets a Price Increase in the US, UK, and Canada
• NVIDIA GeForce 5070 Ti review: A ‘sensible’ 4K powerhouse for $749
• Forza Horizon 5 On PS5 Isn’t The End Of Xbox, But It’s A Change That Cannot Be Reversed – IGN

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #677 – A Sonos Video Streamer? appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Each year at CES, before the actual show opens, the media has multiple opportunities to get ahead of the show’s news. Three “preview” events and numerous press conferences offer journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and influencers a peek under the tent—mostly before the show even starts. Smarthome influencer and DMZ contributor Jimmy Hawkins joins Richard in person for this episode to talk about the companies and products that caught their attention in their CES pre-gaming.

Listen to the episode here or download it.

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• CES Unveiled: AI in All The Things
• Follow Jimmy’s smart home videos on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube

Home: On is part of Technology.FM, a curated collection of technology podcasts, including great shows like The HomeTech Podcast, The Spoon Podcast, and The Smart Home Show, co-hosted by Richard with Adam Justice.

The post Home: On #159 – Pre-gaming CES with Jimmy Hawkins appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Fubo follows YouTube TV’s playbook and is raising the cost of its subscription streaming TV service. The Apple Sports app makes discovering the network airing your favorite team’s game easier. Spotify and UMG may be working to create a new tier of music streaming services. Xbox is signaling an important shift in their gaming strategy while Sony tries to sell more PlayStation 5 consoles. There is finally a place to buy eBooks and still support your local bookstores, and it’s Bookshop.org.

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #676.

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• Fubo raises price of all plans, including Essential by $5
• Apple’s Sports app now tells you where you can watch nationally broadcast games | The Verge
• New Spotify and UMG deal could create pricier ‘superfan’ subscription | The Verge
• Xbox Developer_Direct 2025 Recap: Everything We Announced
• Sony Cutting PS4 Games from PlayStation Plus Next Year – IGN
• Bookshop.org is now selling ebooks

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #676 – Buying eBooks Locally and Spotify’s Superfan Tier appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Plex is following through on their promises from last fall. DirecTV is launching MySports in the wake of Venu Sports’ demise. Netflix is doing so well, so why are they raising prices again? YouTube Premium now allows higher bitrate audio. Xbox is adding support for gargantuan hard drives and a useful widget to the Xbox Game Bar on Windows.

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #675.

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• New Year. Same Mission. | Plex
• DirecTV launches MySports streaming bundle with live NFL, NBA, and MLB games – The Verge
• Netflix Subscriber Base Surges, So It’s Raising Prices Again – Thurrott.com
• YouTube Premium adds 256kbps audio ‘experiment’ for music videos
• Xbox beta tests support for massive amounts of external storage – The Verge
• Microsoft’s Steam-like browser overlay is now available on Windows 11 – The Verge
• Lenovo Legion Go 8.8″ Handheld Gaming PC (Buy on Amazon)

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #675 – Plex Updates, MySports, and Game Assist appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

Disney is merging Hulu Live TV with Fubo, but Venu Sports is still dead. You’re going to be able to stream the Super Bowl in 4k for free! Sonos has fired its CEO and others from the C-suite. The Nintendo Switch 2 was announced in a very weird way. We also recap some of the biggest gaming news from CES, including the Nvidia 5000 series RTX chips, the Lenovo Legion Go S, and the Acer Nitro Blaze 11.

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #674.

• Subscribe via RSS
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• Amazon.com: Terasako Magnetic Charging Cable 6-Pack [1ft/3ft/3ft/6ft/6ft/10ft], 3 in 1 Nylon Braided Magnetic Phone Charger, Compatible with Micro USB, Type C, iProduct and Most Devices
• Disney to merge Hulu Live TV with Fubo in groundbreaking deal | TechCrunch
• Venu Sports shuts down before it ever launches – The Verge
• Tubi will livestream the 2025 Super Bowl for free in 4K
• Sonos Finally Fires Its CEO – Thurrott.com
• Sonos’ chief product officer is also leaving the company
• Nintendo Switch 2 announcement: all the news on the next console – The Verge
• Nvidia announces next-gen RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs – The Verge
• CES 2025: The Lenovo Legion Go S is the first third-party SteamOS handheld
• The Acer Nitro Blaze 11 is an absolutely massive handheld gaming PC
• Xbox App Headed to LG Smart TVs This Year – IGN

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #674 – Venu is dead and Switch 2 is Alive appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

It’s CES, and Richard is on the ground in Las Vegas! On this show, we’re discussing the best TVs and headphones that were shown at the show. There were also some other notable announcements, including Gemini on Google TV and a new HDMI standard. And we had to wrap up by asking about the other cool things Richard has seen across the show floor.

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #673.

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• Displace TV’s 55-Inch Television Hangs From a Wall Using Suction Cups – CNET
• LG’s OLED evo TVs for 2025 come with AI and a 165Hz refresh rate
• Samsung’s CES 2025 TV lineup includes 8K AI enhancements and a wireless connect box
• TCL Touts Precise Dimming with QM6K, Teases More Mini LED TVs Soon – CNET
• Samsung’s Frame Pro TV features the company’s high-end Neo QLED panel
• New Hisense TVs Get Enormous With Cutting-Edge Tech – CNET
• HDMI version 2.2 adds support for bandwidth of up to 96Gbps
• Google is Bringing Gemini to Google TV – Thurrott.com
• Samsung will debut Eclipsa Audio format in collaboration with Google on 2025 TVs
• JBL’s New Tour One M3 Headphones Have a Key Feature Missing From Sony, Bose and Apple Models – CNET
• Technics AZ100 earbuds hands-on: Magnetic fluid drivers deliver a big audio boost
  • Purchase on Amazon now!
• Audio-Technica debuts earbuds with a whopping 25 hours of battery life at CES 2025

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #673 – CES 2025 TVs and Headphones appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.

We’re finishing the year with a special episode. This week we discussed all the devices we use in our entertainment centers, cars, and on the road, to consume our favorite movies, music, shows, and games. We also dove into the services and content sources we use.

Join us most weeks for the live recording of Entertainment 2.0 on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET!

Click here to download episode #672.

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The intro music is a song called Rogue by Raw Stiles.

The post Entertainment 2.0 #672 – A Deep Dive into Our Entertainment Centers appeared first on The Digital Media Zone.