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TORONTO — Makers of DVRs that enable people to watch free over-the-air television hope to lure cord cutters who fear missing out on the Olympics on live TV.

Nuvyyo, an Ottawa-based company, is using Rio’s Summer Games to pitch its device called Tablo – essentially a 2016 version of a rabbit ears and VCR combo that allows users to access digital over-the-air transmission of television signals and enables them to pause live broadcasts, record shows or skip commercials. Its American competitor Channel Master has a similar online marketing campaign.

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Over-the-air TV doesn’t require monthly payments, it’s perfectly legal thanks in part to Sony Betamax’s legal victory against Hollywood in the 1984, its uncompressed signals result in higher quality than paid services, and it’s available to 97 per cent of the population.

Yet Nuvyyo CEO Grant Hall said many Canadians don’t realize they can access free broadcasts by using an antenna to pick up over-the-air signals, which broadcasters must transmit if they want their content included in basic service packages. While most (82 per cent) Canadian households have a TV subscription, less than 10 per cent watch via over-the-air transmissions.