Roku’s wireless speakers aim to make TV audio more bearable

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TV sound quality can vary wildly, but upgrading it can often cost a ton of money.

Roku aims to make better TV sound more accessible with its TV Wireless Speakers, a pair of easy-to-set-up stereo speakers that cost $199.99. The speakers themselves are small rectangles (sitting vertically like a Sonos One) and come in a pair, along with two remotes. However, the company did some neat work with the technology inside them.

The only cable you need is a power cord since connection from the speakers to the TV is via Roku Connect, a proprietary connection that eliminates the need for extra wiring — but also means the TV Wireless Speakers only work with TVs that support Roku’s tech. The setup seems pretty straightforward, but we have to wait to test these out in person. Read more…

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Bose’s headphones with Google Assistant aren’t that smart, but they still sound superb

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Bose QuietComfort 35 II
$349.95
The Good

Well-balanced sound with little to no distortion • Long-lasting battery life • Comfortable

The Bad

Google Assistant integration is better in theory than in practice

The Bottom Line

The Bose QuietComfort 35 II takes a great pair of headphones and refines it, but the Google Assistant integration falls flat.

Mashable Score4.0
Cool Factor3.0
Learning Curve3.0
Performance5.0
Bang for the Buck4.0

Bose is mostly known for sound quality and advanced noise-cancellation technology. Google is known for its AI smarts and the Google Assistant. Read more…

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U.S. podcast ad revenues hit record $314 million in 2017

The U.S. podcasting industry had a record year in 2017, reaching $314 million in revenue – a figure that’s up 86 percent from the $169 million in 2016, according to new study out this morning from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and jointly conducted by IAB and PwC U.S. The firms are also estimating podcast revenue […]

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Native Union’s new speaker strikes directly at my weakness for tasteful brass accents

Bluetooth and smart speakers are a dime a dozen these days, and many of them aren’t bad — so what it often comes down to is style. Native Union has my number with its latest device, which accentuates the classic bookcase speaker look with a tech-heavy back end and brass volume knob.

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Listen to the moment Southwest 1380 tells air traffic control someone was sucked out of the plane

A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to make a perilous emergency landing on Tuesday when a piece of its engine broke off, shattered a window, and caused a passenger to be partially sucked out of the cabin. 
SEE ALSO: Terrifying images emerge …

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Podcasting app Anchor can now find you a cohost

Fresh off its relaunch as an app offering a suite of tools for podcasters, Anchor today is rolling a new feature that will make it easier for people to find someone to podcast with: Cohosts. As the name implies, the app will now connect you – sometimes immediately, if people are available – with another […]

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Adobe brings more of its AI smarts to its video tools

Right in time for NAB, Adobe today announced the latest updates to its Premiere CC and After Effects CC video editing and motion graphics tools. The general theme of this release is the introduction of two new AI-powered tools that will make the life of editors easier, as well as a variety of small updates […]

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Anchor’s new app offers everything you need to podcast

 Broadcasting app Anchor, which helps anyone record and share audio, is relaunching its app today with a new focus on serving the larger podcaster community. While in the past, Anchor was carving out a niche for itself in the short-form, social audio space, the new version – Anchor 3.0 – aims to be everything you need to record, edit, host, publish, and distribute a podcast of… Read More

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Hear360 begins shipping its ASMR-ready omni-binaural microphone, the 8ball

 Magic 8-Balls have been known to hold some disappointing, trivial answers to teenage life’s hardest questions, but one LA startup is hoping to find success in them. Hear360 has just begun shipping pre-orders of 8ball, a souped-up binaural 360 microphone rig geared toward professionals that are all about experimenting in new immersive mediums. Read More

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