Verizon Fios Samsung app nixes cable box

We’re getting closer and closer to getting rid of the dreaded cable box.

Believe it or not, there was a time when all you needed to do if you wanted to watch TV was to plug in your television set and turn it on.

Thanks to a new app on Samsung smart TVs, that is close to becoming a reality again. The difference is that this time, you get more than just a couple fuzzy channels.

Verizon has launched its Fios TV app on all 2012 Samsung Internet-connected TV sets. It allows existing Fios subscribers to stream live TV without the need of a cable box.

Unfortunately, though, it only supports 26 channels so far. So it is being touted as an option for those who want to have a secondary virtual cable box for another TV, as opposed to something that can genuinely replace your existing box.

However, this is the trend of the future so it is only a matter of time before more pay TV services start offering similar services, and eventually someone will offer a completely 100% live TV streaming option.

For now, though, Fios is the one on the cutting edge. The live TV channels on the app include CNN, MTV, HBO, TBS, TNT, Food Network, and HGTV.

Also, users can access 20,000 movies and TV show episodes on-demand. Of course, Verizon still requires you to pay for its service in order to access all of its digital content.