Hey folks,

By now, some of you may have noticed that this isn't my only newsletter. I also write a separate one, called Advisorator, which provides tips and advice on all kinds of tech topics, including phones, computers, and apps. Check out a recent sample issue to see what it's all about.

As a belated kick-off to 2021, I'm offering a sale for new Advisorator subscribers. Sign up this week to get your first three months for $2 per month, or your first year for $40. In addition to the newsletter itself, you'll also get some extra perks:

• Personalized advice on any tech topic (including cord cutting), either via email or live chat room
• Deal alert emails on tech products that I think are worth your attention
• A members-only website with every previous Advisorator issue (and more to come)

If you like what I'm doing here with Cord Cutter Weekly, please consider giving Advisorator a try. All subscriptions start with a four-week free trial, and you'll also get a reminder before your trial ends, email receipts every month, and a no-questions-asked refund if you forget to cancel. (I hate sneaky subscription fees as much as you do.)

Anyway, thanks for reading and hearing me out! Your regularly-scheduled Cord Cutter Weekly continues below.
 

Every so often, I’ll get an email from a fellow cord-cutter who’s worried about future-proofing for ATSC 3.0.

The big broadcast TV upgrade, also known as NextGen TV, represents a major leap over the current ATSC 1.0 standard for antenna users, promising 4K HDR video support, Dolby Atmos and DTS-X audio, on-demand video, and possibly better reception. But since ATSC 3.0 is incompatible with today’s TV tuners, cord-cutters will eventually need new TVs, tuner boxes, or over-the-air DVRs to take advantage. If you hear enough industry hype for the new standard, you might reasonably wonder whether it’s worth buying ATSC 1.0 hardware anymore.

From what I’ve heard, though, not much has changed since last year, when I wrote that most people shouldn’t be seeking out ATSC 3.0 hardware yet. While more stations are broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 than a year ago, the vast majority are still in an experimental phase, and major TV networks haven’t yet committed to features such as 4K and on-demand video. Compatible hardware also remains expensive and scarce, and even an industry spokesman acknowledged that it's “very early days” for the standard.

Some NextGen TV hardware options do exist today, and we’ll likely see some more later this year. Still, I would advise against blowing your budget on ATSC 3.0 gear right now, or delaying your cord-cutting plans just for the sake of future-proofing. Read the full column on TechHive.
 

More free Apple TV: Apple is once again extending its free access period for Apple TV+, so it'll no longer expire in February. If you received a free year of TV+ in exchange for purchasing an Apple product, you can keep using the service until July at no extra charge instead of having to pay $5 per month or $50 per year. (Apple had previously extended the free offer from November to February.)

According to 9to5Mac, customers should receive emails about the extended offer within the next couple of weeks. You can also head to Settings > Your Name > Subscriptions on an iPhone or iPad to check on your new end date.

Spectrum ditches data cap push: Although Comcast is now rolling out 1.2 TB data caps in all of its markets, Spectrum customers can rest easy for now. Charter Communications is no longer asking the FCC to let it enforce data caps for Spectrum customers starting this year. Although Charter previously agreed not to enforce data caps until May 2023 as a condition of its merger with Time Warner Cable five years ago, the company had requested an early reprieve last year, arguing that people actually want limits on their internet service.

Charter may have hoped for a friendly response to this ridiculous argument from Ajit Pai, who as FCC Commissioner was responsible for dismantling cable box competition rules along with any semblance of protection against data caps. Now that Pai has stepped down, Charter presumably saw its request as a lost cause. As a Spectrum customer myself—one who uses a fair amount of data for both work and play—I'm breathing a sigh of relief.

TVision bulks up: T-Mobile is packing more channels into its TVision live streaming service, which I reviewed just a few weeks ago. As The Streamable reports, The service's $50-and-up packages now include NBA TV, American Heroes, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, Great American Country, and Science.

Most of those are owned by Discovery, whose channels were originally relegated to a separate $10 per month version of T-Mobile's service. After the network raised a stink, T-Mobile agreed to add the channels to its pricier packages as well. It hasn't yet raised prices for all these extra channels, though it seems like a matter of time before that happens. TVision also remains exclusive to T-Mobile or Sprint wireless customers for now, and could cost more once it's available to everyone else.

Also worth noting, though: T-Mobile has started adding TV Everywhere access to the service as well, so you can access individual network apps or TVision's service into a Channels DVR setup for a far superior DVR experience.
 

It's slim pickings for deals out this morning, but some Amazon customers might have luck getting Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K for $30 with the code 4K21FTV at checkout. That's $20 off the regular price. (Apparently it's just for "invited" customers, though I'm seeing the offer myself on the product page as we speak.)

Amazon is also selling the most recent Roku Ultra for $89.19, which is about $11 off the regular price. The streaming box had been on sale for $69 over Black Friday, and more recently for $80, so not an amazing deal, but a deal nonetheless on the only Roku player with Dolby Vision HDR and Bluetooth for playing audio from a phone.