Zapperbox M1 Review - ATSC 3.0 NextGen Tuner Box with 4K HDR

[Antenna Man]

Time for another AWESOME video from Tyler the Antenna Man!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IztfRyV9zoQ

Direct YouTube Link - Zapperbox M1 Review - ATSC 3.0 NextGen Tuner Box with 4K HDR
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[Hyper Casey]

Wow, that was a great review!

This would fit my needs 100%.

Love the EPG and the Signal meter.

But followed the link and the price was higher than i was hoping.

Still, might have to get one, in fact put it in my Amazon cart.

Thanks Tyler the Antenna Man!

Your reviews give me confidence and trust in the products i consider.

 

[Hyper Casey]

If anyone see's the price of this drop on eBay or Amazon, let me know please!

Maybe on Prime Day?

Fingers crossed. lol

Official Site release notes:

https://zapperbox.com/pages/release-notes

Supposed to have the DVR function released mid July 2023

 

[primestar31]

If anyone see's the price of this drop on eBay or Amazon, let me know please!

Maybe on Prime Day?

Fingers crossed. lol

Official Site release notes:

https://zapperbox.com/pages/release-notes

Supposed to have the DVR function released mid July 2023

Casey, if anything, they'll RAISE the price. Don't expect them to ever lower it. I've followed this since a year before release. It's WAY overpriced IMO.

 

[Hyper Casey]

I will be waiting to see if they do release the DVR function on July 10-12 like their website says. If so, i will be impressed. But now i see they are encrypting ATSC 3.0 channels, in fact my local CBS 5.1 here in the Flint, MI area is encrypted from what i see at rabbitears, so i will really wait to see if they (Zapperbox) will have a fix for this down the road. The support site says they will, we shall see.

 

[primestar31]

I will be waiting to see if they do release the DVR function on July 10-12 like their website says. If so, i will be impressed. But now i see they are encrypting ATSC 3.0 channels, in fact my local CBS 5.1 here in the Flint, MI area is encrypted from what i see at rabbitears, so i will really wait to see if they (Zapperbox) will have a fix for this down the road. The support site says they will, we shall see.

WNEM encrypted for one day, then removed it. It's not encrypted right now, and none of the others in our DMA are encrypted, YET.

 

[Hyper Casey]

WNEM encrypted for one day, then removed it. It's not encrypted right now, and none of the others in our DMA are encrypted, YET.

Thank you for that information Mike.

Why the heck are they doing encryption anyway?

 

[primestar31]

Thank you for that information Mike.

Why the heck are they doing encryption anyway?

They claim it's to STOP piracy, IE: pirates setting up tuner farms, and selling IP tv at a price people actually are willing to pay. Since the providers themselves won't do that without huge fees...

It won't stop the pirates, BUT, it'll likely "watermark" the video in a way that's traceable, and then they can track them, and shut them down much faster.

 

[navychop]

They can limit recording. And limit playback. Defeat trick plays. Force you to watch commercials, or at least commercials that maybe pay for the feature to be enabled.

They ain’t doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.

 

[primestar31]

They can limit recording. And limit playback. Defeat trick plays. Force you to watch commercials, or at least commercials that maybe pay for the feature to be enabled.

They ain’t doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.

Yep, I agree these are all the TRUE reasons, versus what they claim are the reasons.

 

[Hyper Casey]

Looks like they (Zapperbox) did indeed release firmware to add DVR on Aug 28th, 2023

https://zapperbox.com/pages/release-notes

I dont have one, so can not comment on how it works.


Coming Soon according to the release notes

v2.2 Support for Secure Content (aka DRM/Encrypted Channels) (approx. Sep 18)​

• Support content security (aka DRM/encrypted channels).
• Recording buffer; start recording early, record for extra time
• Jump by day or page within grid guide
• Show posters for recordings
• Repeat manual recordings
• Series recordings for shows in OTA guide data but not in 14-day extended guide data.

 

[primestar31]

Yeah, no way I'm paying almost $300 bucks for a single tuner box like that. Maybe if it was 4 tuner, and already had full dvr and DRM support at no added cost. Otherwise it's more than twice what it's worth, IMO anyway.

 

[Mr Tony]

Yeah, no way I'm paying almost $300 bucks for a single tuner box like that. Maybe if it was 4 tuner, and already had full dvr and DRM support at no added cost. Otherwise it's more than twice what it's worth, IMO anyway.

actually its $275 for a dual tuner unit

 

[primestar31]

actually its $275 for a dual tuner unit

Yep, almost $300 bucks. For a tuner. Nope!

 

[N6BY]

...
Coming Soon according to the release notes

v2.2 Support for Secure Content (aka DRM/Encrypted Channels) (approx. Sep 18)​

...

In my lifetime I have seen (countless times) where planned software features never happened. In this case I'm not saying it won't happen -- just that it's not a certainty.

If I was in the market for one of these DVRs I would wait until I could verify that DRM support was actually implemented.

But I have no intentions of getting a new DVR until ATSC 1.0 goes dark. And after that I will want a DVR that lets me skip commercials -- assuming one even exists.

 

[primestar31]

They have been taking preorders with a deposit for about 2 years! It's still not released as of this writing.

That's untrue. They stopped taking preorders within a few months, & canceled the dvr until further notice, and refunded all monies paid.

Be aware that NONE of the add-on tuner companies KNEW up front that the providers were hell-bent on encrypting "normal" FTA channels. THAT threw everything into the crapper right there when A3SA came out and suddenly started locking down stations. Lucky for Tablo, it happened before their announced 3.0 dvr came out (without drm capability) so they were able to cancel it, and wait until A3SA got their *hit together on what and how they'll allow access to the decryption keys.

Tablo is Refunding Pre-Orders of Its ATSC 3.0 DVR But Still Plans to Release It | Cord Cutters News

Earlier today, Tablo started to email customers who had preordered its ATSC 3.0 QUAD HDMI DVR for use with Next Gen OTA TV that they would be getting a full refund of their DVR pre-order. “We had hoped to ship pre-orders before the end of 2022 but were obviously unable to meet that target. ATSC […]

cordcuttersnews.com

This gives even more info why it all surprised them:

New Tablo OTA DVR Lacks Support for ATSC 3.0

EW Scripps cites ongoing DRM issues

www.tvtechnology.com

 

[N6BY]

That's untrue. They stopped taking preorders within a few months, & canceled the dvr until further notice, and refunded all monies paid.
...

Thanks for the correction. I still see references to the $29.95 pre-order on their website. But it must be out of date.

I deleted the paragraph about them in my post above.

 

[primestar31]

Thanks for the correction. I still see references to the $29.95 pre-order on their website. But it must be out of date.

I deleted the paragraph about them in my post above.

I plan on getting one myself, when it's finally released. DRM is the Devil...

 

[navychop]

Don’t feed the Devil.