Barb Gonzalez

The Dish-owned subsidiary AirTV has launched a new device that can stream free local television to smart TVs, media players, tablets, and phones in your home or on the road.

It is now possible to stream almost any TV show using dedicated apps. HBO Go, NBC, and other “TV Everywhere” apps provide unlimited access to stream new TV series’ episodes and movies if you already subscribe to the channel and sign in with the cable, satellite, or telecom provider. With more and more people switching to live TV streaming services, apps can now be authorized if you subscribe to the channel on Hulu Live TV, Playstation Vue, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, and others, though not all channels are offered by all live TV streaming services.

Apple is throwing its hat into the arena of original programming in hopes of capturing a piece of a very lucrative market pioneered by Netflix and more recently capitalized on by Hulu and Amazon. Details have been emerging about production deals for which Apple has budgeted $1 billion.

The Tablo Dual OTA (over-the-air) DVR can record local broadcasts and stream local TV to devices both in your home and while you're on the road. In my hands-on testing I was pleasantly surprised.