OTA & Streaming options growing on LG TVs
LG has been improving its Smart TVs by expanding the ways people can add over-the-air channels and free streaming services.
SiliconDust announced this week that the HDHomeRun app is now supported on TVs dating back to 2016. LG television owners should be able to find the HDHomeRun app in the LG Content store this week.
Connecting a TV antenna directly to a LG TV for free over-the-air channels isn’t anything new. LG also has a built-in streaming platform called LG Channels that’s powered by XUMO, according to its website.
But support for HDHomeRun adds some new possibilities. An HDHomeRun Scribe DVR has a 1TB internal hard drive and does not require any kind of server setup like the popular HDHomeRun Connect or Extend tuners.
HDHomeRun tuners and DVRs have a second function that might not be well known among Smart TV enthusiasts. Once a TV antenna is plugged into a HDHomeRun, free over-the-air channels become available across your home network. So your desktop PC, tablet, laptop and smartphone essentially become portable TVs.
The HDHomeRun DVR service costs $35 per year, and provides a 14-day channel guide.
The HDHomeRun app adds a third feature for over-the-air fans. The Discovery tab can surface major sporting events, TV shows and movies that are available for recording. It’s a much easier way than scanning through a grid-style channel guide.
In August, Sling TV announced that its app on 2020 LG Smart TVs with webOS 5.0 would integrate over-the-air channels. The only similar user experience comes with Sling’s line of OTA DVRs, the AirTV, AirTV 2 or AirTV Anywhere.
This fall, Pluto TV will become available as part of a software update for 2016-2019 models of LG TVs. The free streaming service has over 200 streaming channels and got added to 2020 LG TV 2020 Smart TVs over the summer.
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