These days whenever high-stakes elections happen, all eyes turn towards various social media platforms as hate speeches and fake news begin to be circulated due to myriad vested interests at play.
And as four major States go for polls in India, the Facebook is again under the scrutiny.
But this time, the social media giant has come up with steps to clamp down on malicious content on its platform.
"We believe Facebook has an important part to play in creating an informed community, and helping people access all the information they need to take part in the democratic process. We also remind people to exercise their democratic right to vote," it said.
Facebook has said it would temporarily reduce the distribution of content from accounts that have recently and repeatedly violated the company's policies.
This content will be removed if determined to violate Facebook's policies, but its distribution will remain reduced until that determination is made.
"We recognise that there are certain types of content, such as hate speech, that could lead to imminent, offline harm...To decrease the risk of problematic content going viral in these states and potentially inciting violence ahead of or during the election, we will significantly reduce the distribution of content that our proactive detection technology identifies as likely hate speech or violence and incitement," Facebook said in a blogpost.
Facebook uses tech to weed out hate speech
Facebook said it is taking steps to enhance civic engagement, combat hate speech, limit misinformation and remove voter suppression amid elections across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.
"We also continue to closely partner with election authorities, including to set up a high priority channel to remove content that breaks our rules or is against local law after receiving valid legal orders," it said.
Facebook pointed out that under its existing Community Standards, it removes certain slurs that it determines to be hate speech.
Facebook also uses technology to identify new words and phrases associated with hate speech, and either remove posts with that language or reduce their distribution.
Facebook said its policies prohibit voter interference, defined as objectively verifiable statements such as misrepresentation of dates and methods for voting (for example text to vote). It also removes offers to buy or sell votes with cash or gifts.
Facebook fact-checks in 11 Indian languages
Facebook also works with third-party fact-checkers --- it has eight partners in India --- to provide people with additional context about the content they're seeing on Facebook.
In addition to English, these eight partners fact-check in 11 Indian languages including Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Assamese.
When a fact-checker rates a story as false, such content is labelled and shown lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution.
For the record, Facebook has been taking such measures during national elections across many countries, including India.
During 2019 national election in India, Facebook had set up a high priority channel with the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to receive content-related escalations.
But this is probably the first suo motu announcement from Facebook for Indian State elections.
Its announcement for State polls show how important India is to Facebook. India is among the biggest markets for Facebook and its group companies, WhatsApp and Instagram. India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook users, and 21 crore users of Instagram.
Rian Johnson scored a big win with 2019's Knives Out, a star-studded 'whodunnit' that proved both a critical and commercial hit for the writer-director following his successful-yet-divisive Star Wars film, The Last Jedi.
Johnson announced plans for a Knives Out sequel shortly after the first film's release that would see Daniel Craig return as detective Benoit Blanc to solve an entirely new mystery.
Although news on the follow-up has been quiet since then, a major development has occurred today, with Variety reporting that Netflix has purchased the rights to not one, but two Knives Out sequels for the astonishing price of $450 million.
The deal will see Johnson return to write and helm the two sequels, alongside Craig who will reprise his role as the brilliant, Southern-fried investigator who must solve an especially complex murder mystery with numerous suspects.
While $450 million may seem like an outrageous sum to pay for two mid-budget mystery films, the purchase does provide Netflix with a ready-made franchise which already has a built-in fanbase.
Netflix has amassed an enormous audience over the years, but has so far struggled to develop compelling film properties which have lasting appeal.
Recently, the company has attempted to kick off a number of blockbuster-style franchises with the likes of The Old Guard, Project Power and Outside the Wire, but most (with the exception of the Chris Hemsworth's record-smashing actioner Extraction) have faded from memory rather quickly.
On top of this, Netflix now has to compete with Disney Plus and HBO Max, which have a number of enormous franchise films in the pipeline from the likes of Star Wars, Marvel and DC, so it makes sense for the streaming giant to aggressively build its own exclusive properties with legitimate franchise appeal.
The first Knives Out made an impressive $311 million at the global box office from a budget of just $40 million. The film also earned Johnson an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. At present, it's unknown whether Knives Out 2 and 3 will also be released theatrically.
A host of different services will now let you put a website online, quickly and easily, no coding skills required – but if you're looking for something to show off your talents as a musician then you need a more specific set of features.
Primarily, a way of uploading and sharing your tunes in a simple and secure way, even if it's just snippets of songs rather than whole tracks or indeed albums.
If you're a musician for hire then it can be useful to have some kind of booking system in place as well, or at least a contact form. On top of that, there are all the extras you might be interested in, like support for your own domain name or gallery pages to show just how many people came to your last gig.
Here are our picks for the best website builder for musicians to create a presence online.
Top 3 website builder services
1.Wix - a top-notch website builder that's great value Wix is top dog when it comes to free website builders, but it also offers some powerful paid plans. These start from as little as $8.50 per month for the Combo plan (over three years) which removes the adverts from your site, as well as giving you 3GB of storage space, a free domain and free SSL certificate.
2.Gator is a great website builder service Gator Site Builder from Hostgator has a superbly cheap Starter package which comes with free hosting and a domain name included, plus a free SSL certificate. You get constantly available customer support, too, and the benefit of website analytics to boot: all with 50% off meaning you pay just $3.84 per month.
3.Zyro - a serious, high-quality site builder Hostinger-owned Zyro offers a website builder that is very easy-to-use and ideal for novices, allowing anyone to get their site up swiftly. You’ll pay very little for the privilege too and even the premium "Unleashed" plan costs just $3.09 monthly.
Website builder designed specifically for musicians
Sell music, tickets and merch
Plug in all your social accounts
Not the most flexible theme editor
You won't find too many website builder services aimed specifically at musicians, but Bandzoogle gleefully jumps in to provide a bespoke service specifically for bands and artists. While it lacks some of the polish of the big names, because it focuses on the musician niche in particular, it has everything you should need.
That includes, of course, the ability to upload your own tracks and let visitors stream them from your website. You can get tracks organized into entire albums if you really want to go to town, or just share (or even sell) single tracks. And then, as well as that, you've got simple ways to post gig dates, blog updates, and so on.
Whether you need to build a contact form or a video diary, Bandzoogle makes it easy, no coding required – you can really make a site that's as simple or as complex as you like, and the end result is something that looks like you hired a specialist.
You've got over 100 themes to choose from (there is even one for crowdfunding), they're all straightforward to edit and tweak, and connecting up social accounts (including the likes of SoundCloud and Bandcamp) only takes a few clicks as well. As an added bonus, you can sell fan subscription, merchandise and tickets right through Bandzoogle as well.
This all makes, in our opinion, Bandzoogle the best overall website builder for musicians.
Check out any list of website builders for any purpose and Wix is likely to feature on it, but not only does this service earn that high reputation, it also has some useful tools for musicians – not least the ability to upload your own tracks so visitors to your website can listen to them without any extra software or browser extensions.
Platforms that you're probably already using, like Bandsintown and Songkick, can plug directly into your Wix site: you can set up integrations like these in just a few clicks. What's more, you can add on an e-commerce portal to your site, for the purposes of shifting albums, T-shirts, or whatever else you need to sell.
Wix has a very solid selection of templates, with more than 500 to choose from, and if you delve into the music section you'll see there are options for solo artists, bands, DJs, producers, or anyone else connected to the industry. Have a click around these templates to see the kind of sites it's possible to create.
After that you've got all the features Wix has become known for: a site editor that's a breeze to use whether or not you know what CSS stands for, custom domain name support, easy blogging and simple social media support, and a free tier that lets you work out whether Wix is for you before you part with any cash.
Overall, Wix offers a great website builder, and especially a website builder for musicians.
Music Glue is a little different to the other website builder services we've featured here: it focuses first and foremost on the merchandise and ticketing aspects of the music business, and indeed powers the online stores for some of the biggest names in the industry. Its pricing system is unusual too, taking a 10% cut of whatever you sell rather than a flat fee.
That does at least mean you won't be out of pocket if your online marketplace doesn't attract much attention to begin with. There are no additional fees for payment processing, and customers can rock up with debit or credit cards, or PayPal.
Music Glue is less impressive on the website building side, although you do get the basics – a choice of themes for the site attached to your online shop, the option to bring over your own custom domain name, tools for tweaking the code and layout of your site, and so on. It's possible to plug in social media accounts and even set up a mailing list.
If your priority is the mechanics of selling music and tickets to your audience, then Music Glue is a good bet, and has some very famous clients on its books, as we mentioned. If you don't really have anything to sell right now and want to spend more time fiddling with a site design and layout, then maybe look elsewhere.
French website Difyd2c isn't the most well-known website builder for musicians out there, and it doesn't have the same breadth of tools and features as some of the big names – but where it really comes into its own is in getting your music online quickly and easily.
If you'd rather just get your stuff up quickly with a few pictures and links, rather than spend ages choosing a theme and editing HTML, Difymusic could be for you. It relies on plug-ins – like Spotify or SoundCloud for getting your music up, for example – but it supports an awful lot of them, so you're bound to find something that works.
If you want to sell merch and tickets, then you can pay to add that on your main site, with a one-time €9.99 setup fee (about £9 or $12) and then 5% commission based on sales, but the basics are free. Connect up your Facebook page and your YouTube channel and you're good to go in just a few minutes.
Admittedly the choice of templates and editing options aren't very strong, but the designs you can play around with are decent enough, and certainly won't put anyone off your music. Difyd2c lets you get started quickly, and scale up as required.
Tumblr isn't a website builder in the conventional sense – it's more of a half blogging, half social media platform – but if you take a longer look at what Tumblr has to offer, it's actual very appealing for musicians. For one thing, it's completely free to use, plus it already attracts a busy community of creatives.
You can post up to one 10MB MP3 file every day, as well as links, text posts, videos, photos and more. Those MP3s appear as streamable files for visitors to your site – they can listen to the tunes in their browser, no plug-ins or extra software required, so it's a great way of showcasing your talents without paying anything.
If Tumblr was simply a blogging platform and that was it, we probably wouldn't recommend the service, but it also supports pages alongside your blog (for a gallery or a contact form), custom domain names (so you can pay extra for whatever URL name you like), and posting from mobile apps too.
On top of all that there are a host of themes to choose from, some of which cost money, but many are free, and a lot of them would suit a musician's portfolio. If the theme isn't exactly to your liking, you can tweak it with the integrated options or your own CSS, and switching between themes whenever you like is simple, too.
Godzilla vs Kong has arrived on HBO Max, and there's a lot of action and plot stuffed into its near two-hour runtime.
One of the movie's biggest reveals is to do with its real villain. As some viewers might have worked out, neither Godzilla or Kong is the antagonist of the latest MonsterVerse film. For those of you who were surprised at the inclusion of a manmade titan, however, we're here to provide you with details on who or what Mechagodzilla is.
If you're here, you really should have watched the entire film by now. Should you have stumbled on this by mistake, though, there are major spoilers for Godzilla vs Kong incoming. Yes, you'll have had this reveal ruined for you, but there are other details below that will spoil the movie for you further if you haven't seen it yet. Turn back now if that's the case.
Godzilla vs Kong: Mechagodzilla's history explained
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Before we dive into how Mechagodzilla was created in Godzilla vs Kong, let's take a brief look at the character's history.
Mechagodzilla was initially created in 1974 by Japanese film and theater production company Toho. Toho were the studio behind Godzilla and the other monsters that the lizard titan faced, and Mechagodzilla was conceived as a more serious villain to its two predecessors Gigan and Megalon. Toho considered this duo to be creative disasters, and Mechagodzilla's robotic nature was cheaper to construct in comparison to the mutated monsters that Godzilla was fighting at the time.
In Godzilla's film history, Mechagodzilla's first appearance came during Japan's Shōwa period. The robotic version of Godzilla was originally created as a weapon of destruction by an alien race known as the Simians, who wanted to use it to help them conquer Earth.
Of course, the Simians' attempts were foiled after Godzilla and its ally King Caesar defeated their creation, but the cybernetic villain kept returning in various guises. Mechagodzilla was built as an anti-Godzilla weapon during 1993 movie Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II, while Millennium Godzilla appeared in 2002's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
Mechagodzilla was briefly seen in the Godzilla anime film trilogy, which was released in Japan between November 2017 and November 2018, and was supposed to be used as a countermeasure to Godzilla in these movies. It's never fully utilized before humanity has to abandon it following a Godzilla attack, but its AI is repurposed to build a facility called Mechagodzilla City, as well as battlesuits known as Vultures, in the trilogy's second film Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle.
Mechagodzilla has an arsenal of weapons that it deploys to combat Godzilla and any other titans. Throughout its history, it's been capable of firing missiles from its toes, fingers and knees, energy beams from its eyes, and creating force fields to protect itself. Other weapons in other adaptations have included a mouth-based lazer cannon - akin to Godzilla's nuclear breath - while its diamond-coated shell has often proved effective in repelling Godzilla's atomic ray ability.
Godzilla vs Kong: Mechagodzilla in the MonsterVerse
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
As you'll have worked out by now, Godzilla isn't the movie's chief bad guy. The trailers had installed Godzilla as the villain of the piece, but we know that's not true now. It is, in fact, Mechagodzilla.
To find out how Mechagodzilla is constructed, we need to look back to 2017's Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In that film, Godzilla killed King Ghidorah - an alien apex predator who had wanted to upset the natural order and establish itself as the king of Earth's titans.
We had suspected that King Ghidorah's remains would be cleared up by Monarch, but it appears that the secret scientific organization - or the authorities in general - didn't do a good enough job of removing Ghidorah's shattered body.
As it turns out, Apex Cybernetics - a sinister scientific corporation - acquired one of Ghidorah's skulls. Ghidorah's three heads were able to telepathically communicate with each other, so Apex uses this ability to help it create Mechagodzilla. Apex's scientists found a way to harness Ghidorah's psionic powers and, connecting it to supercomputers at its Hong Kong headquarters, were able to create a neural link between Ghidorah's skull and Mechagodzilla's robotic body. This allows anybody to control Mechagodzilla from inside Ghidorah's skull, providing that they wear a psionically linked helmet to complete the circuit.
It isn't explained how Apex built Mechagodzilla's shell and robotic parts, or what materials they used to make it. As a cybernetics company, though, we imagine that it's made up of the best and strongest materials known to man. What we do know is that Apex have been building Mechagodzilla's parts in secret at its various laboratories and sneaking them off to Hong Kong even when Godzilla has attacked its bases, much like it does in Florida.
Despite building Mechagodzilla and having one of Ghidorah's skulls, Mechagodzilla isn't exactly powerful to begin with. Sure, it can tear a Skullcrawler in half with ease, as we see in the film, but it wouldn't be a match for Godzilla in a one-on-one fight.
That's where Apex's plan concerning Kong comes in. After the corporation taps Dr. Lind to help them, they convince Kong's main researcher Dr. Ilene Edwards and her adopted daughter Jia, who Kong has a trusting relationship with, to lead Apex to the Hollow Earth. This subterranean world contains a well of unlimited energy that, when harnessed correctly, could power Mechagodzilla and give it the edge over Godzilla.
Long story short, Apex manages to steal some of this energy and use it to power Mechagodzilla. Despite its cybernetic pilot Ren Serizawa warning that further tests are needed to see how Mechagodzilla reacts to this newfound power source, Apex CEO Walter Simmons tells Serizawa to proceed if they want to beat Godzilla and show it that humanity is Earth's top dog.
True to form, things go terribly wrong. Powered by the Hollow Earth's energy and Ghidorah's remaining consciousness, Mechagodzilla becomes sentient. It electrocutes Serizawa through his psionic helmet and kills Simmons in his office. Breaking free of Apex's laboratory, Mechagodzilla seeks out Godzilla - who has just beaten Kong for a second time - in a bid to defeat it and install itself as Earth's new apex predator.
Of course, there's more to the movie's final battle that this. Instead of spoiling that for you here, we have a Godzilla vs Kong ending explained article that dives into the climactic fight, who is crowned champion, and whether there will be more MonsterVerse movies.
Godzilla vs Kong is out now on HBO Max and in theaters in the US, as well as cinemas worldwide.
Nearly four years after the launch of the Apple TV 4K and a year after the launch of Apple TV+, we're champing at the bit to find out what Apple might have planned for a possible hardware refresh of the 4K HDR streamer that could arrive, potentially, at WWDC 2021 that starts on June 7.
According to tech analyst Jon Prosser, the model is ready to ship, and could "drop at any time". Of course, this was back in 2020, and he's since said we won't get one until at least 2021, so those claims have turned out to be rather optimistic.
Most recently, we've heard rumors that Apple could be revamping the Apple TV remote that will replace the divisive Siri Remote we've seen since the launch of the Apple TV HD in 2015, but Apple has stayed tight lipped about the rumors.
So when could a new Apple TV arrive? Our best bet right now is it'll launch soon after WWDC 2021, coinciding with the release of The Morning Show season two later this year. That said, nothing is certain at this point. The Apple TV 4K still generally seems to be considered a niche product by Apple – it doesn't get the annual upgrades that the iPhone, iPad and Macbook get, only getting a few minutes on stage at WWDC each year to talk about changes coming to tvOS.
Hopefully, though, the next Apple TV will be worth the wait. The 4K-enabled Apple TV that arrived in 2017 finally saw the streamer meet the promise it’s always held, boasting super-high-resolution playback, some fun gaming options and voice control that actually worked.
So what will a possible follow-up look like? Here's what we might see from the Apple TV in 2021, which would be the 6th generation of the box.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Cut to the chase
What is it? A new version of Apple’s set-top box
When is it out? Apparently, it was ready to go over a year ago
What will it cost? Likely around $159 / £150 / AU$250
Apple TV 6 (2021): release date
As ever with unannounced Apple products, outside the annual iPhone release, it’s hard to know when, if ever, a new product will hit stores. But we can make educated guesses based on previous models’ release dates.
The fifth-generation, 4K-capable Apple TV model was revealed on September 12, 2017, almost two years to the day that the 4th generation Apple TV was announced.
Given that timeline, we thought we might hear more in September 2019, but Apple tends to save hardware announcements – like its latest iPhones – for that time of the year. That date came and went, and we're now waiting to see what 2021 might now bring.
As we detailed above, the latest rumors from Jon Prosser, a knowledgeable, sometimes-right Apple leaker, hint at a release date in the first half of 2021. There's also a rumored Apple event taking place in March 2021, which would make sense for a new Apple TV launch, but given nothing has been made official yet we wouldn't bet on it.
New Apple TV 4K with A12X - 64GB/128GB ready to ship. 👀Codename: Neptune T1125Another one of those things that could drop any time. Apple got no chill right now 😬😂I’ll let you know if/when I hear a date. Who knows, maybe Apple can keep it a secret from me 🤗May 7, 2020
Apple TV 6 (2021): price
Of course, without a confirmed spec sheet, it’s difficult to speculate on cost. Apple knows that messing with the formula too much might hurt sales, though.
It's worth bearing in mind that as far as set-top boxes have gone in the past, Apple’s has always commanded a premium price.
For the sake of context, the current-gen Apple TV costs £179 / $179 / AU$249 for the 32GB version, while the 64GB option costs £199 / $199 / AU$279.
Analyst Jon Prosser has speculated around a $149 RRP, though we wouldn't be surprised to see the cost go higher, especially with a more advanced A12X processor inside the hardware.
Apple TV 6 (2021): what we want to see
The Apple TV line has made some solid steps forward over the last two generation revisions, but there’s still room for improvement should a 6th-generation Apple TV ever hit stores.
Apple’s approach to content and voice control still frustrates at times, and it’s in these areas we’re mostly looking for some progress with a new Apple TV, what with the underlying hardware being reasonably solid at this period in time.
Apple tipster @choco_bit has revealed on Twitter that new Apple TV models will come featuring the Apple A12Z Bionic chip (currently powering the 2020 iPad Pros) and an enhanced version of the Apple A14 Bionic chip (currently powering the 2020 iPad Air 4).
A more user-friendly remote
The remote that ships with the current Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K really broke the mold when it released in 2015. Unfortunately, mold-breaking doesn't always equate to being user-friendly. We're really hoping that the next Apple TV remote (codenamed ‘B519’) finds a way to be more user-friendly than the last-generation one – but we're not holding our breath...
An open approach to apps and third-party video
The walls of Apple’s closed garden have been slowly eroding over the years, but it’s still quite picky about what makes it to its TV-based app store. That’s particularly clear when you’re comparing the Apple TV with something like Android TV-based set-top boxes, where a wide range of applications (including some more controversial options like Kodi) are available.
It’d be great to see Apple take a similarly open approach to its TV viewing options in the future. Tastes across the globe vary, and a wider variety of programming and streaming options (as well as ways to play back your own media) would go down a treat if they were included in the Apple TV 2020
More gaming options
The last two generations of Apple TV have seen the company dip its toes deeper into the world of gaming – something that, outside of the iOS app store, it’s been reticent to do in a home space in the past.
But with the 5th-gen release and the partnership with Thatgamecompany for its game Sky, it started to seem like it was finally taking home gaming seriously – not least with the arrival of Apple Arcade, a game subscription service that allows players to access quality titles across their iOS devices.
An improved processor would do much to sell the Apple TV 4K to iOS-minded gamers, given the 5th-gen model wasn't really designed with that capability in mind.
Deeper voice control with Siri
Controlling your TV with voice commands is still a thrill, but Apple’s Siri lags behind the capabilities of Google’s Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.
The TV space would be a great area for it to invest in, given the relatively narrow contextual window it has to work within.
We’d love to see Siri integration really dive deep with the 6th-gen Apple TV 2020 – perhaps scheduling a calendar notification for your favorite show release date, for instance.
(Image credit: Apple)
Better HomePod syncing
Apple’s smart speaker can frustrate thanks to Siri’s sometimes weak recognition capabilities, but one thing that is undeniable about the hardware is its sound quality.
It’s easily the best-sounding smart speaker on the market – if among the most expensive of them, too.
Now that HomePod speakers support stereo pairing and multi-room, would it be possible to get the HomePod to automatically set up in a surround sound configuration if multiple speakers and the TV box are present?
It’d be great to be enveloped by an epic Hollywood soundtrack through those speakers.
A beefed-up Apple TV Plus content library
While Apple finally released its TV streaming service, Apple TV Plus, in 2019, it still offers a pretty paltry offering of shows. A bigger catalogue of programming, and more exclusives to draw viewers to the service, would do much to make an Apple TV 4K device look more tempting – especially given how Apple services tend to run best on Apple products.
Video on-demand service Hulu has been entertaining Americans since its inception in 2007. Over the years it’s evolved to become a great value VOD platform with a vast library of edgy, exciting films and TV shows, and a comprehensive replacement to cable TV. Its Hulu + Live TV plan is currently the most subscribed to IPTV service in America with 4 million members, comfortably ahead of YouTube TV and Sling.
Already sold?Head straight to the Hulu website to sign up and get a free trial
While Netflix yields the most viewers worldwide, Hulu is the more versatile service – and incredibly affordable thanks to its ad-supported option. A $5.99 basic plan lets you dive into a world of classic and contemporary films, award-winning Hulu Original content like the Emmy-winning The Handmaid’s Tale, and entire seasons of TV series from networks like FX and ABC. And, unlike Netflix, Hulu has a TV plan including over 65 live broadcast channels.
It’s brilliant value, a steal for students, and the platform’s original content keeps winning awards, with both Nomadland and The United States Vs. Billie Holiday bagging Golden Globes this year. You can have it all with Hulu, and here we’ll explain exactly what a subscription actually entails and how to sign up.
As you'd also learn from our full Hulu review, a basic Hulu subscription grants you instant access to over 2,500 films and 1,650 TV series. This includes original series and movies from Hulu in addition to content from major networks like ABC, AMC, Comedy Central, VH1, FX, Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel, plus new episodes of hit TV shows a day after airing.
Upgrade to the ad-free plan for $6 more and you’ll endure fewer interruptions (for licensing reasons ads remain on a select few programmes). You can also bolt-on extras to your basic plan to make it fit your viewing needs better. Unlimited Screens, for example, lets you share your account with any number of people (theoretically) as long as they’re connected to your home network. And, if you want, you can add Premium channels like HBO Max or Showtime for an extra fee.
For those missing the eclectic diversity of traditional cable, then a Hulu + Live TV subscription will grant you more than 65 channels without breaking the bank. You’ll get news and sports (local and national), reality TV and documentaries, scripted comedy and drama, lifestyle programming, and much more. That’s on top of the thousands of hours of on-demand content that comes with a Hulu basic plan. You’ll also benefit from Hulu’s Cloud DVR, which lets you record up to 50 hours of live television.
The same Hulu basic extras are available with a Hulu + Live TV plan. Additionally, you can purchase the Enhanced Cloud DVR to increase your storage to 200 hours, or bolster your line-up with the Entertainment Network and Español Network Add-ons.
Know which plan you want to go for? You can sign up to Hulu now!
An entry-level Hulu membership lets you binge entire seasons of hit shows, catch new episodes the day after broadcast, enjoy kid’s entertainment and Hulu Originals, and watch TV series and films old and new from major studios.
There are hundreds of exclusive Hulu Originals, among them the Emmy-winning The Handmaid’s Tale and the Golden Globe-nominated Palm Springs. Castle Rock, Little Fires Everywhere, The Act and Monsterland are just a few gripping original drama series, while idiosyncratic comedies include Future Man, PEN15, Woke and Ramy. But, in addition to more mature material, you’ve got a healthy dose of children’s entertainment, like the Steven Spielberg-produced Animaniacs revival and Utopia Falls.
The platform also hosts older shows from dozens of networks, among them A&E, AMC, VH1, MTV, TNT, Disney Channel, and Discovery. So, you’re just a click away from Sons of Anarchy (FX), Modern Family, Black-ish, and American Idol (ABC), Broad City and Key and Peele (Comedy Central), and animated classics like Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons (Fox). Whatever you pick, you’ll have a lot of fun watching it.
Of course, you can bulk up your roster of content with the renowned Disney Plus Bundle. It unites a mind-boggling amount of popular TV shows from Hulu and blockbuster films from Disney+ with live sports action from ESPN+ - and all at a very reasonable price.
What can you watch with a Hulu + Live TV subscription?
Everything detailed above, PLUS over 65 live channels which range from sports, news, lifestyle, entertainment, film, documentary and children’s programming. Subscribers receive both local and national channels, so depending on your location you could get well over the advertised number (a New York City zip brings back well over 80).
Hulu + Live TV has something for everyone. You get amble sports coverage from myriad ESPN channels, the Big Ten Network, Motortrend, CBS Sports and more, while breaking news comes from the likes of CNN, Fox, NBC and CNN International.
There’s a respectable amount of general entertainment here too. Thirsty TV and film fans will be sated by ABC, FX, The CW, A&E, Bravo, Turner Classic Movies and TNT, while those looking to work their gray matter can turn to Discovery, National Geographic, or Animal Planet. Then there are the networks looking to pacify younger viewers, with programming from the Disney Channel, Freeform, Cartoon Network and Universal Kids.
How much does Hulu cost?
It’s $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year for the basic Hulu plan, which makes it one of the best value VOD platforms around. Students have it better, though, because they only need to pay $1.99 for the same content. Note that you can upgrade to the ad-free plan, or purchase Premium channels, but doing so will increase your monthly bill.
At $64.99, the Hulu + Live TV plan isn’t cheap. But for that you get a plethora of live TV coupled with an incredible amount of on-demand content. Again, you can pay extra to tweak your subscription plan, by upgrading your Cloud DVR to 200 hours or purchasing Unlimited Screens, and the ad-free option is available here too. There’s no dodging the adverts on live broadcasts, but you can fast-forward through them if watching content recorded on your DVR.
Check out our Hulu plans and prices guide for a full breakdown of subscription options and Add-Ons. Or, if you're ready to sign up, why not visit Hulu's website now?
Oh yes! And it’s a doozy. If you want to try the Hulu basic or it’s Hulu (No Ads) equivalent, you’re entitled to a 30-days free trial, which gives you a month to explore the platform’s thrillingly diverse programming. Note that the free trial is only available to new members or eligible returning customers (that means a year must have lapsed since you were last subscribed).
Meanwhile, Hulu + Live TV plan provides a 7-day free trial before you have to pay a thing. Cancel before the week is up to avoid being charged, or do nothing to keep your subscription active.
How to sign up to Hulu
Registering to Hulu is pretty simple. Just click on the “Start your Free Trial” button on the homepage and select the plan you want to subscribe to. There are four options: basic Hulu, the Hulu (No Ads) plan, Hulu + Live TV, and the Hulu, Disney Plis, and ESPN Plus bundle option located just below the three main options.
After you click “Select” on the plan you want, you’ll be asked to enter your email address, account password, name, and date of birth. Press “Continue” to enter your billing information on the next screen, including credit card details and zip code. Valid methods of payment are U.S based credit or debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), or a digital payment service like PayPal or Venmo, and remember that you won’t be charged until the free trial expires.
Then just submit your info, sign in and start streaming!
Hulu app: what devices can you watch on?
The latest Hulu app and all its features, including Live TV and Premium Add-ons, are supported by the follow devices:
Android phones and tablets
Android TV (select models)
Apple TV (4th generation or later)
Chromecast
Echo Show
Fire Tablets
Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
iPhones and iPads
LG TV (select models)
Nintendo Switch
Mac and PC browsers/apps
PlayStation consoles
Roku (select models)
Samsung TV (select models)
VIZIO SmartCast TVs
Xbox consoles
Xfinity Flex Streaming TV Box*
Xfinity X1 TV Boxes
Click here for a detailed list of Hulu-compatible devices and models.
* While PlayStation 3 and Xfinity devices have the latest Hulu app, they do not support live TV programming.
If you’ve got the hardware to support 4K Ultra HD, then you’re in luck because some of Hulu’s best shows are available to stream in this format. Considering Hulu is home to over 4,000 titles, it’s a pretty small selection. But it still provides around seventy with which you’ll get a sharper image, deeper colour, and 8 million pixels pummelling your eyeballs.
Pretty much all Hulu Originals are ready to stream in 4K – that includes supernatural thriller Helstrom, science-fiction comedy Future Man, all seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale, and horror anthology series Into the Dark. There’s also a clutch of FX titles to enjoy too, like Mayans M.C, Black Narcissus, and the star-studded miniseries Mrs America. Any content available in this format will display a “4K” badge on the details page.
You can currently watch 4K UHD content on the following devices: Apple TV (5th generation and above), Chromecast Ultra, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, LG TVs (2017 UHD models and above), Roku, Vizio SmartCast TVs, and Xbox One (S and X models).
However, HDR is not supported right now, so all 4K UHD content would be streamed in Standard Dynamic Range (SDR).
Hulu vs Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video vs HBO Max
The most ubiquitous VOD platform, Netflix boasts over 5,000 films and TV series. It produces hundreds of Netflix Originals a year, including Oscar-nominated films and highly popular shows like Stranger Things. But at $8.99 a month for an entry-level plan, providing one stream in SD quality, a Netflix sub doesn’t offer the best value. Hulu may have less content, but for a few dollars less a month you still get thousands of thrilling titles, two simultaneous streams, and access to HD and UHD content.
Amazon Prime Video is even pricier than Netflix. But with circa 18,000 titles its content library is more beefed up than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Granted, the overall quality is questionable, but Prime Video does include plenty of brilliant Amazon Originals like The Boys and high-calibre movies old and new.
Yes, it’s around twice the price of Hulu. But the benefits of a subscription, such as free delivery, Prime reading and ad-free music streaming, justify the inflated price. On the downside, you’re limited to three streams per account (you can purchase “Unlimited Screens” with Hulu), and, when it comes replicating the cable experience, Hulu + Live TV is far more cost-effective than adding individual Amazon Channels.
On the most expensive end of the VOD spectrum is HBO Max. It’s the most expensive of the quartet, which allows you to stream to three different devices at once. If you’re a fan of HBO’s output – and let’s face it, who isn’t? – then registering is a no brainer. Yet as well as ground-breaking dramas like Six Feet Under, The Wire, and Game of Thrones, subscribers get a wide range of titles from Warner Brothers, their subsidiaries, and third-party companies.
That means easy access to all Studio Ghibli animations, DC Comics movies, The Lord of the Rings films, and a curated selection of classic movies thanks to TCM. You could just add HBO Max to Hulu as a Premium Add-on.
Godzilla vs Kong is out now on HBO Max, and the latest MonsterVerse movie was a fun ride, in our opinion. It isn't without its issues but, as far as blockbuster films go, it's one of the more enjoyable ones we've seen in 2021.
As the dust settles on their epic bout, though, there are some lingering questions that remain following the film's final scenes. We imagine that you'll have your own queries about Godzilla vs Kong, including questions about its ending.
That's where we come in. We're here to answer some of those questions, such as who was crowned the winner of the duo's battle, how the movie ends, and whether there will be any more entries in Legendary's MonsterVerse.
Bear in mind that there are major spoilers for the movie after the sub-headline below. If you haven't watched Godzilla vs Kong in its entirety yet, leave this page and come back when you have. Otherwise, you'll have the movie spoiled for you.
This is a big question to kick things off with, but it's better to explain it now in order to provide more context to the section below.
For those unfamiliar, director Adam Wingard told IGN that there would be only one winner from the duo's fight. "This is the decider," he said. "You don't have to debate it anymore. You watch this film. That's Godzilla, that's King Kong. They're beating... each other, and one wins, and that's it."
Godzilla and Kong only lock horns twice in this movie, which is a little disappointing for a movie that billed this as the ultimate showdown. Either way, despite how the final scenes of the film play out - more than this later - there's only one clear winner.
It's Godzilla.
Why? Well, because the prehistoric sea monster wins both fights. In the first, Godzilla almost drowns Kong. But for the US navy's depth charge barrage, it would have succeeded, too. Kong makes his way back onto his ship and is clearly in no condition to carry on fighting. The US navy's entourage even turns off its engines, lights, and weapons to trick Godzilla into thinking it's won, so that it doesn't come back and finish Kong off.
In the second fight, Godzilla beats Kong again. Sure, this bout is more evenly matched thanks to Kong's smarts and his Hollow Earth axe, but he's still outmuscled by Godzilla. It's the latter who tears at Kong with its sharp claws and stomps on his chest to finally end the contest.
Again, if it isn't for humanity's intervention to aid Kong in his hour of need, he wouldn't have survived. It's Dr. Lind who uses one of Apex Cybernetics' H.E.A.V ships to restart Kong's heart and allows him to help Godzilla defeat the film's real antagonist, which we'll get onto below.
By the movie's end, there's a begrudging respect between the pair. In our minds, though, it's evident that Godzilla is the monster supreme in the MonsterVerse, no matter what Kong or his fanbase will say.
Godzilla vs Kong: how does the film end?
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Adam Wingard's movie may have been billed as a titantic clash between the titular pair, but they aren't the only monster in the movie. As it turns out, certain sections of humanity haven't learned their lesson from Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, or Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
What have they done now? Well, they've made a robotic version of Godzilla. You read that right. Through a combination of cybernetics, one of King Ghidorah's skulls, Apex Cybernetics and some Hollow Earth energy, Apex Cybernetics - the film's antagonistic corporation - have made Mechagodzilla.
If you want a primer on who, or what, Mechagodzilla is, you can read more in our Mechagodzilla explainer article. If you just want answers for the film's ending, however, read on.
As it turns out, Apex Cybernetics have created Mechagodzilla so that humanity has a way to combat Godzilla if it ever turned on them. It's a stupid idea on their part, given that Godzilla has left humanity alone since the end of King of the Monsters, but there's always someone looking to take advantage of a situation.
To function properly, Mechagodzilla needs a greater energy source than Apex is able to provide. Long story short, they steal some Hollow Earth energy to power their creation and, true to form, things go terribly wrong. Mechagodzilla becomes sentient - thanks to a combination of the Hollow Earth power source and King Ghidorah's lingering consciousness - and starts leveling Apex Cybernetics' Hong Kong base.
Godzilla, who has just bested Kong, finally meets its match during the ensuing battle. Powered by the Hollow Earth's energy and King Ghidorah's rage, Mechagodzilla immediately gains the upper hand of its namesake. Godzilla doesn't stand a chance against its arsenal of weapons, Hollow Earth energy surges and metallic shell, so it's unsurprising to see Mechagodzilla overpower its counterpart.
Not all hope is lost, though. As we mentioned in the section above, Kong rejoins the fight after Jia, the little girl who Kong has a trusting relationship with, convinces him that Godzilla isn't his enemy. Rescuing Godzilla from certain death, Kong and his former adversary put their differences aside and team up to take Mechagodzilla down.
After a pulsating clash that tos-and-fros, Godzilla supercharges Kong's axe with its nuclear breath and Kong cuts off Mchagodzilla's sting-like tail. Another axe swipe and its right arm falls to the ground; oil loosing from the wound in its shoulder.
With Mechagodzilla on the backfoot, Kong continues his assault. A chest-splitting swing is followed by Mechagodzilla's left arm and right leg being amputated, which results in it falling to the ground. Mechagodzilla prepares to unleash a nuclear breath attack, but another axe smash from Kong stops it in its tracks. Kong jumps onto his foe's fallen body and rips its head and upper spinal column out to finally end Mechagodzilla's reign of terror.
Exhausted, Kong slumps to the floor. As humanity celebrates Kong's victory, however, Godzilla rises and heads towards the giant ape. Kong grabs his axe and readies himself for another fight. To his surprise, Godzilla silently recognizes that Kong saved its life and seems to offer him its respect. In reply, Kong drops his axe to de-escalate the situation.
With the pair knowing where they stand, Godzilla swims off into the Pacific Ocean. Kong, alongside Jia, Dr. Lind and Dr. Andrews, returns to the Hollow Earth, which is now their home.
Godzilla vs Kong: will there be another movie?
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
It's hard to say. Godzilla vs Kong's ending certainly leaves the door open on solo movies for the pair, but Wingard himself says that any sequels will be dictated by audience demand.
Speaking to DreadCentral ahead of the film's release, Wingard said that the MonsterVerse was "at a crossroads now. It’s really at the point where audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things. If this movie is a success obviously they [Warner Bros] will continue forward."
If there are to be sequels, it's likely that they'll take place in the Hollow Earth. There's still a lot we don't know about this subterranean world where titans are supposedly born. Additionally, exploring this world would ensure that there isn't another repeat of Warner Bros. 'titans fighting on Earth's furace' formula. The Hollow Earth gives them creative license to portray the Hollow Earth however they see fit, and show that there are threats for Kong to deal with in his new kingdom.
For now, Kong and Godzilla have gone their separate ways, and it's unclear if we'll see them or the MonsterVerse again. It's up to global audiences to decide whether there are future instalments.
Godzilla vs Kong is out now on HBO Max and in theaters in the US, as well as cinemas in other world regions.
DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) is not exactly a new technology, and it is something that is supported by all of the big-name browsers.
Google has already implemented the privacy and security boosting feature in the Windows, macOS and mobile versions of its Chrome browser, and now the company is working to bring it to Linux.
With the platform attracting a very security-minded groups of users, the only surprise here is that it has taken Google this long to bring DoH to Chrome for Linux. Once implemented, the change means that both DNS queries and DNS responses will be securely transmitted over HTTPS. But the Linux implementation is set to differ slightly from versions of the browser for other platforms.
The reason it has taken longer for Chrome for Linux to benefit from DNS-over-HTTPS is that it makes use of Chrome's own built-in DNS client, and this is disabled by default on Linux. This has been the case for quite some time because of Chrome's failure to respect advanced Linux DNS configuration through nsswitch.conf, which is in turn because of the complexity and variety of Linux distributions.
The solution that the Chromium Project has come up with involves building support for the browser to read and parse DNS configuration that have been put in place. It also needs to be able to disable DNS-over-HTTPS on configurations that do not support it.
Safe as houses
In the design document, the team behind the project explains: " As Chrome's resolver does not support changing such mechanisms or their order, Chrome's support for respecting nsswitch.conf will be limited to detection of whether or not the configuration is a common configuration compatible with Chrome behavior". As a fallback, Chrome will not autoupgrade to DoH or use the built-in resolver unless a DoH server is explicitly selected via Chrome configuration settings.
At the moment it is not clear exactly when DoH support will arrive in the Linux version of Chrome, but it is thought to be version 91 or 92. This means that the feature should be available for testing in a matter of weeks, and will hopefully roll out on a wider basis soon after this.
Chromebooks have an apparently serious security flaw which can allow a snooper to see the location history of where the device has been – and therefore (presumably) where you’ve visited – in the past week.
Getting this info involves logging into the device in guest mode when the Chromebook is first turned on, which anyone can do (providing it hasn’t been disabled). The whole point of this mode is that it allows guests to use the device to browse the web without knowing the laptop’s password.
Unfortunately, when in guest mode on Chrome OS, there’s a security issue which a snooper can leverage to discover your location history. Namely, Wi-Fi logs are accessible and unprotected in local storage in guest mode, and that includes logs pertaining to the password-protected accounts on the system.
While those logs may be gobbledygook to the average user, somebody who knows what they’re doing can find out the history of which Wi-Fi networks the computer has been connected to – and therefore, with a bit of extra work, the locations where the laptop has been. The aforementioned logs could contain details of location history going back up to a week.
While a password isn’t required to exploit this bug, the perpetrator needs to be able to physically access the Chromebook when the owner isn’t there to be able to extract those location details.
Guest who?
As The Verge, which reported on this, points out, these kind of location details may not be of any particular interest to the typical cyber-criminal, but they could be to tech-savvy people close to Chromebook owners – the likes of spouses or work colleagues – who might want to surreptitiously check up on where the owner has been.
Google has acknowledged this, and said it’s looking into the issue, so hopefully we’ll hear more from the firm soon. Meantime, Google has advised that users who are concerned about any possible security risks can turn off guest mode if they wish.
To do this, when logged into your (owner) account (and not guest mode), go to ‘Settings’ (click on the clock, bottom-right, and then on the ‘Settings’ gear cog at the top of the panel that pops up).
Click on ‘People’ in the menu on the left side panel, and then on the right, click ‘Manage other people’. Here you’ll find a slider to ‘Enable Guest Browsing’, so simply turn this off – but obviously bear in mind that now, people won’t be able to use guest mode with the device at all, whether they have snooping intentions or not.
LG's rollable OLED TV is finally on sale in the UK, two years after it was first expected to launch worldwide, and several months after a trial sales period in LG's home country of South Korea.
It will, however, set you back £99,999, starting this week to pre-order, meaning you may have to choose between a deposit on a sizeable house and a TV that rolls up into a tube. So, a no brainer, really?
Since LG first showed off the Signature OLED R (65RX), it's inspired awe and fascination in many a technology pundit, utilizing OLED's flexible panel materials to furl and unfurl – much like a carpet – at the touch of a button.
It's an incredible space-saving measure, allowing viewers to hide away the screen entirely or set its height at 'half mast' for some limited smart display functionality.
LG tells us that "Each rollable TV is produced to order, painstakingly assembled and finished with a craftsman-like attention to detail by the most experienced production professionals at LG’s factory in South Korea." So at least there aren't piles of these televisions lying around.
The pricing is certainly above what was expected. The RRP in South Korea launched at ₩100,000,000, and confirmed to be $87,000 in the US – which converts to around £67,000 / AU$123,000. The UK pricing, then, has seen a 30% uptick, though importing fees may have made this more complicated.
At the start of the pandemic, Google announced it would remove the limits on its Meet video conferencing service, allowing anyone with a Gmail account to host calls of effectively unlimited duration.
The idea was to help people keep in touch with family and friends during periods of lockdown, with face-to-face meetings no longer an option.
With Covid-19 making further lockdowns necessary across the globe, despite the vaccine rollout, the company has announced it will extend the availability of unlimited Meet calls until June 30.
This marks the second time Google has extended the deadline. The initial agreement was that the 60-minute time limit would be reinstated on September 30 2020. This deadline was later extended to March 31 and now again, into the summer.
Google Meet extension
Although video conferencing fatigue is currently at an all-time high, more than a year since the transition to remote working, the extension of unlimited Google Meet sessions will be a relief to many.
However, many of these offers have now lapsed, leaving individuals and businesses still struggling with pandemic-related disruption in the lurch. By offering another extension, Google will hope it can relieve some of the burden.
The move is also likely designed to further bolster the reputation of Google Meet, which has largely played second fiddle to rival service Zoom during the pandemic, despite enjoying a bumper year for growth.
Sky is continuing with its now-regular update drop of features coming to its Sky Q and Sky Go TV and streaming platforms. And if you’re looking for more accessibility features from the TV viewing experience, this is the update you’ve been waiting for.
The Sky Q update for Spring 2021 is heavily focussed around accessibility features, as the broadcaster pushes to make its content more readily available to all customers, right across the spectrum of accessibility needs.
Sky Q review: the best TV platform, tried and tested
Voice Guidance is chief among these. Easily switched on by saying, “Voice Guidance on” or “Voice Guidance Off” into your Sky Q voice remote, it will offer spoken descriptions of menus from the Sky Q UI as you’re navigating them. Without such a feature, blind and partially sighted users would have to memorise placements and button presses to get to the item they’re searching for.
Voice search generally is getting a boost too – those using their voices to search for specific content in Sky’s expanding library of third-party content providers will be pleased to hear that Disney Plus shows and movies can now be found through voice searches.
This is in addition to the High Contrast mode (aka ‘dark mode’) option that Sky introduced towards the end of last year, putting easier-to-read white text against a black background throughout the UI, as well as an accessibility remote control with larger text and tactile point buttons, and the option to search for “British Sign Language Zone” content via voice command.
Sky Go gets Recap
It’s not only Sky Q preparing for the next update, either. Sky Go, the mobile / streaming option that’s bundled in with Sky TV packages, is also getting a fresh lick of paint.
The main new addition to the Go platform will be the introduction of ‘Recap’ playback for sporting events. It’s already available on the Sky Q box, and allows a sports fan to catch up on the key moments of a game in progress with picture-in-picture highlights of a match so far. It’s been hugely popular on the home box, and should prove equally useful on the go.
The Sky Go app is slowly closing in on parity with the at-home Sky Q box experience too – at least in terms of curation. Tailored homepage content, including a “today’s top picks” rail now pulls in a combination of platform algorithm data along with your own taste profile and content suitable to the time of day to make suggestions on Go. The “Continue Watching” feature now extends to content watched either on the Sky Q or Sky Go services, letting you pick up and carry on with a show from wherever you are, no matter which device you continue from.
Sky is also committing to taking better advantage of the unique platform features of the devices that Sky Go can be found on, be that games consoles, Android tablets or iOS phones. For instance, you can find Sky Go widgets for use in the latest versions of iOS, including deep-link recommendations and last-played bookmarks that can sit in your sidebar.
Though no fixed release date has been yet set for the above updates across Sky Q or Sky Go, Sky is expecting users to see the new addition roll out to their devices from the end of March into early April.
LG OLED TVs are the first television displays to receive a 'discomfort glare free' certification, with the global safety science company Underwriters Laboratories (UL) confirming that LG's displays emit no glare – something that should help to reduce eye tiredness and fatigue.
A press release from LG states that: "Discomfort glare causes eyes to get tired easily due to stark differences in brightness. A typical example is the discomfort a viewer might feel when watching a bright smartphone screen in a dark bedroom.
"In an industry first, LG Display’s OLED TV panels have been recognized as the first display that emits no glare."
UL's testing uses something called the Unified Glare Rating (UGR), an international standard that designates the level of reflective glare.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) states that glare is "where bright or reflected light can affect our ability to see or is uncomfortable to look at. Many people with low vision need more light than usual to read. However, too much or the wrong sort of light can cause problems with glare."
The benefits of OLED panel's self-emissive pixels means that overall brightness is quite low compared to the average LCD or QLED screen, but it does appear to have helped remove glare from the equation – so that's something to keep in mind when opting for a new television.
An eye for an eye
Eye health is becoming more of a hot topic for TV manufacturers these days, and it's unsurprising to see LG seek out official certification for OLED's benefits.
TVs are getting bigger and brighter than ever before, and many shoppers may be conscious of the impact of long viewing sessions on their retinas – including the effect of blue light with LCD screens.
Last year, Samsung was awarded two separate safety certifications for its 4K and 8K TVs. According to Samsung, US-based Underwriters Laboratories has classified both sets as being “no photobiological LED hazard”, while the German Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker has granted them an “eye safety certification".
Chinese manufacturer TCL also met the requirements of the EyeSafe Display Standard, lowering the risk of high blue light emission that could negatively impact your eyes. A press release for the announcement called the EyeSafe Display Standard ”the most advanced health and safety requirement for protecting users’ eyes from the most toxic regions of blue light while maintaining color integrity.”
It's reassuring to see TV makers taking the issue seriously, especially at a time when sales of second screens have risen, and the average home has more screens than ever, from TVs and smartphones to laptops and smart displays.
Samsung and TCL don't have 'glare free' certification, though, and we don't expect that will happen for their bright LCD televisions.
Of course, one of the safest ways to protect your eyes is probably to vary your viewing distance throughout the day – desk workers like yours truly are recommended to look out at a distance of 20 feet, for 20 seconds, every 20 minutes, which is something we occasionally remember to do (via NHS).
Want to see what else LG has? Here's the entire LG TV 2021 catalogue
