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andy_horton
andy_horton
Last reply · posted in General Home Theater Equipment

Recording using "drive?" thru my Vizio TV?

On side of my Vizio Smart T.V." I have a USB port. According to a " flash drive ( portable stick) available in sizes from 1-3TB, the pack said you plug it into the USB and the smart tv can record OTA onto the drive? Seems easy enough IF my tv has the program for setting recordings. I assume I'd play back on laptop or tv...Also saw a "converter" that has HDMI pass thru that will do the same thing..(assuming the converter will use the same kind of "stick.." Seems if I were to buy at least the stick and plug in, if my tv has the smart app, 1TB is a lot of memory just for OTA. Can go as high as a 3TB stick. Also wondered if it would work for media like this. Packaging was vague but the converter (looks like a digital to analog but also allows HD with a HDMI port for tv for HD allowing you to put a stick in the slot to record and it being like a "stripped down TiVo (no sub fees, etc...) Thoughts on this? Thanks!!

Sent from my LG-M322 using the SatelliteGuys app!
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harshness
harshness
Maybe you should restate your question. Better yet, explain in general terms what you hope to accomplish (i.e. "I want to record OTA programming", "I want to pause live OTA programming" or some combination).

The way I read your post, you hoped to plug in a USB flash drive into your television's USB port and transform your TV into a DVR.

If you're contemplating the purchase of a cheap (<$40) OTA tuner with DVR features, that's a completely different question and has absolutely nothing to do with your TV.
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andy_horton
andy_horton
harshness said:
Maybe you should restate your question. Better yet, explain in general terms what you hope to accomplish (i.e. "I want to record OTA programming", "I want to pause live OTA programming" or some combination).

The way I read your post, you hoped to plug in a USB flash drive into your television's USB port and transform your TV into a DVR.

If you're contemplating the purchase of a cheap (<$40) OTA tuner with DVR features, that's a completely different question and has absolutely nothing to do with your TV.
Click to expand...
To clarify, buying a converter box, which allows you to plug in a USB drive into the front of the converter, will allow you to record ota tv. You may then pause, few, FF and delete as wanted/needed at my leisure. The USB drives come in a 3 pack 16GB per drive, or, 2pack 32GB drives. You may also purchase 1TB, 2TB, or 3TB USB drives by themselves. On the packages you purchase that have the USB drives in them, they say they also are compatible with all Vizio smart tv's. Why this would make a difference I simply didn't know other than thinking maybe Vizio has a feature on some of their smart tv's to insert the drive if wanted into the side USB port to watch as my tv remote has all the few, FF, etc buttons and it's not a universal remote. Just the remote that came with tv. So, yes. Different questions, but same end result..I would assume I could watch thru the converter box with USB drive in its port or maybe if I chose directly into the tv's USB port.

Sent from my LG-M322 using the SatelliteGuys app!
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harshness
harshness
If you can find small USB hard drives, they're typically a lot cheaper than flash drives and will last a lot longer.

You need to read the TV manual page I mentioned regarding what you can (and cannot) use the USB port for (the -E1 model is entirely useless for video content).

All modern tuners feature HDMI outputs and a few of them include composite outputs. None that I've seen feature more than one USB port and that port is tied up by the storage drive.

You don't need to speculate about OTA tuners with DVR functions. Amazon carries many different models (soon to include their own Recast DVR). I would note that most of the inexpensive ones don't offer "trick play" on live programming.

I highly recommend you read some reviews and watch some unboxings on YouTube of these tuners. They'll tell you more than you wanted to know so you don't have to resort to guessing and deriving half-baked theories about how you might accomplish what you want. Starting with how you'll provide storage or connect to the TV is going at it completely backwards.
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andy_horton
andy_horton
harshness said:
If you can find small USB hard drives, they're typically a lot cheaper than flash drives and will last a lot longer.

You need to read the TV manual page I mentioned regarding what you can (and cannot) use the USB port for (the -E1 model is entirely useless for video content).

All modern tuners feature HDMI outputs and a few of them include composite outputs. None that I've seen feature more than one USB port and that port is tied up by the storage drive.

You don't need to speculate about OTA tuners with DVR functions. Amazon carries many different models (soon to include their own Recast DVR). I would note that most of the inexpensive ones don't offer "trick play" on live programming.

I highly recommend you read some reviews and watch some unboxings on YouTube of these tuners. They'll tell you more than you wanted to know so you don't have to resort to guessing and deriving half-baked theories about how you might accomplish what you want. Starting with how you'll provide storage or connect to the TV is going at it completely backwards.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. The 19 yr old at Best Buy talked 90 miles a minute on everthing and wanted a sale. That's why I came here knowing going in I could only speculate. I'll prob in all honesty purchase a typical (major manufacturer) ota DVR. Because we all know you get what you pay for.

Sent from my LG-M322 using the SatelliteGuys app!
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harshness
harshness
Doing initial research at Best Buy is suicide. Confirming your last few questions before purchase will show you how little some of the salespushers know.

YouTube is full of comparisions and expositions on many of the models. Amazon has lots of reviews that go into considerable detail and there are some reviews on cord cutter sites and Lifehacker that should be treated with a certain amount of distrust. You don't have to rely on the Smurf Shirts to do your research for you.

In the DVR business there are no "major manufacturers" as every one of them subcontracts at least the hardware. There are only well-known names and not-so-well-known names. You really do have to do your homework.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
harshness said:
Smurf Shirts
Click to expand...
I like that. I think I'll use that in place of sales droids.
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dfergie
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in TV Shows

NCIS: Origins

Hard getting used to the new younger Gibbs, Mark Harmons son had the right look but I understand he didn't want the role.
Still I'm enjoying, pretty good job with Franks.
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"MysteryMan"
"MysteryMan"
Best episode ever.
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dfergie
dfergie
I liked the retcon for the change from NIS to NCIS...
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Jimbo
Jimbo
MysteryMan said:
Best episode ever.
Click to expand...
I actually think the very first episode was One of the Best ...
S1 E1 Yankee White
Where it all started in what was it, 2003 ?

edit:
Sorry, I got the shows mixed up, were talking Origins ...
I've liked Most of them once we've gotten past the 1st 3-4, getting to know who was who took a bit in the beginning.
It's a bit harder seeing we already Know the person, then go back and see how they became that person.
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KAB
KAB
Mark Harmon is coming back as Gibbs in Origins, for the full season. Just saw, Dinozzo too, on NCIS . That will be an interesting writing project.
deadline.com

Mark Harmon Returning To 'NCIS: Origins' As Gibbs For Season 3

Mark Harmon is returning to NCIS: Origins for a season-long arc.
deadline.com deadline.com
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dfergie
dfergie
dfergie
Really good one with OG Gibbs bookending it...
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TheRatPatrol
TheRatPatrol
Last reply · posted in TV Shows

NCIS

Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Jimbo
Jimbo said:

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BIdMzUBHvjw?feature=share
Click to expand...

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
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Howard Simmons
Howard Simmons
Jimbo said:
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
Click to expand...
Tony as the director.🙄
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Howard Simmons said:
Tony as the director.🙄
Click to expand...
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
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dfergie
dfergie
I liked this episode and a toned down Tony...
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H
Houston Rockets
Last reply · posted in FTA Receiver / Equipment Support

OTHER  Mini Multiswitch

I just received 6 receiver 2 port mini Multiswitch and it work great, no external power need it, and you can connect 6 receiver instead of 4 on most Mini Multiswitches... If anyone is interested in where they can get one PM me....
IMG_1786.webp
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Titanium
Titanium
Have you tested using external power? Over the years, have found unpowered polarity switching to be unreliable. Especially problematic when used with DiSEqC motors or switch stacking.
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H
Houston Rockets
No I have not. I just got it the other day and it is connected to six receivers working just fine. What I do is non power mini multi-switches work best with LNBF's and with LNB's
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H
Houston Rockets
It also has a IPS and a OPS switch on the side of it with a power led light showing when is on. It seems to be very nice build switch
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum

Hughesnet cancelling email addresses

Wasn't exactly sure where to post this. Just had a customer come in inquiring about internet. He has HughesNet and had heard good things about mine. He asked if we provided email addresses and it kinda caught me off guard. I said he should be able to keep whatever email he had been using....my sister in law is still using a BellSouth email addy and they haven't been around here for many years. He said he had gotten a letter from HughesNet stating that they had until Nov 16th to save, move, forward, whatever, their Hughesnet emails because they would lose them after that date.

I have never heard of a company simply mass-deleting email accounts (the customer still has his HughesNet service). From what I understand, in the past, the company who was ditching their email service simply sold the customer base to a company like Google.

Anyone else getting this letter. He said he would show it to me tomorrow when I go out there and set up his internet.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Doing a Google of the HughesNet Email notice, it seems that HughesNet has been trying to eliminate hosting emails since 2019. And with HughesNet filing Chapter 11 back in August, it would be a smart move to switch to a more stable Email provider. Even AT&T farmed out their Email to Yahoo! years ago.

SpaceX's Starlink and the Cellular 5G Home Internet solutions have pretty much relegated HughesNet and its high latency, low bandwidth Internet service to History. If Earth had shorter days, maybe a Geostationary Internet Solution might have stood a fighting chance…
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Well, I helped him set up a gmail acct....I actually wanted to see what the new process is for setting up a gmail acct since it had been years since I set mine up. Anyway, I showed him how to forward the emails he wanted to keep over.
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navychop
navychop
Foxbat said:
If Earth had shorter days,
Click to expand...

Wouldn't we then die of old age sooner?

🙄
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Foxbat
Foxbat
navychop said:
Wouldn't we then die of old age sooner?

🙄
Click to expand...
Still the same number of years, just more Sunsets…😉
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K
klang
Foxbat said:
Even AT&T farmed out their Email to Yahoo! years ago.
Click to expand...

I still have one of those although I've been trying to wean myself off it.
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Bobby
Bobby
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Dish 4K Event Listings (No Discussion)

This is a thread that will keep you apprised of 4K events that will be showing on Dish channel 540. Keep looking here for information.

As of today, 9-27-17, there are no scheduled events posted for the next 2 weeks. That is subject to change on a daily basis.
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Bobby
Bobby
MLB, Brewers at Dodgers, Wednesday 10-14, 5PM PDT, Channel 148-02.
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Bobby
Bobby
MLB, Brewers at Dodgers, Thursday 10-15, 6PM PDT, Channel 148-02.
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Bobby
Bobby
CFB, Notre Dame at BYU, Saturday 10-27, 4:30PM PDT, Channel 148-03.
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Bobby
Bobby
NASCAR, Freeway Insurance 500, Sunday 10-18, 12PM PDT, Channel 148-04.
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Bobby
Bobby
CFB, Ohio State at Indiana, Saturday 10-17, 9AM PDT, Channel 148-01.
CFB, Arizona State at Texas Tech, Saturday 10-17, 12:30PM PDT, Channel 148-01.
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Former member 209992
Former member 209992
Last reply · posted in SatelliteGuys Support Center

Site is slooooow

For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Yeah. It's probably something going on with the MacBook as my iPhone has been pretty snappy.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
I have been optimizing the site the past few days... and got us here now. :) We are rocking now!

Screenshot 2026-10-15 144737.webp
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Foxbat said:
Yeah. It's probably something going on with the MacBook as my iPhone has been pretty snappy.
Click to expand...
I rebooted my MacBook Air and it's zipping right along. Sorry, but it was taking over 20 seconds to load pages, with the pulsing blue bars so it was munching on something.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Scott Greczkowski said:
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
Click to expand...
WTF… …What the Foxbat!😱
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Man falls to his death on roller coaster at 6 Flags in GA

Can't help but wonder if a worker overlooked checking the harness. I rarely ride a roller coaster anymore but when I do I check the harness myself pretty aggressively.
Can't imagine what the son is going through.

www.dailymail.com

Dad levitated and bled then fell to his death from coaster

Eyewitnesses have shared fresh details of the horrific accident that happened at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday afternoon.
www.dailymail.com www.dailymail.com
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Back on the Goliath Roller Coaster ... I'm interested to find more details as well ...
Like where on the track did this happen (somewhere I read that it was on the climb up the top), which is impossible ...

They really need to take that ride and add at the very least, seatbelts ...

The Park is opening back up on Friday, the ride will Not be opening ... personally, I would keep it closed until different type of restraints can be designed and installed (over the winter).

I find it hard to believe that this ride is even allowed to be running with the restraints that exist at the moment, there are other rides that use the same type and they have been shut down across the country.

You got to believe that every ride has at least 2 types of restraint systems in place.

I wonder what and when we will hear from the Manufacturer ... and whatever governing bodies control these ...

Just think, this is a Major Amusement Park .... I would not have any problem getting on the Roller Coasters I have rode ...

Imagine what these County Fairs and others like them, I would not be caught Dead on one of them ... they get put up and tore down every other week, where is the safety for those rides ... No Thank You.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
bgtsafari.com

Could B&M’s Patent on the “Clamshell” Ride Restraint Design Offer Clues as to What Happened on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia?

Incredibly sad news out of Six Flags Over Georgia as it’s being reported one man was killed after being ejected from Goliath, the B&M hyper coaster. Many news outlets have posted pictures of pe…
bgtsafari.com bgtsafari.com
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navychop
navychop
Jimbo said:
I would not be caught Dead on one of them
Click to expand...

Yet IF you were on one, you might be caught dead.
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Jimbo said:
bgtsafari.com

Could B&M’s Patent on the “Clamshell” Ride Restraint Design Offer Clues as to What Happened on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia?

Incredibly sad news out of Six Flags Over Georgia as it’s being reported one man was killed after being ejected from Goliath, the B&M hyper coaster. Many news outlets have posted pictures of pe…
bgtsafari.com bgtsafari.com
Click to expand...
Had no idea there were that many redundancies built into those restraints.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
dishstaller said:
Had no idea there were that many redundancies built into those restraints.
Click to expand...
It makes sense, however, I would want more types of restraints, so if one doesn't work, the other does ... the restraints coming over the shoulder I would have expected ... with a Seat belt as last resort.

Fwiw, I inquired with what they use on Coasters at Cedar Point, various Coasters, different restraints according to what the car and track requires ...

NONE of the Coasters at CP use THAT particular system :)
I'm glad to see ...
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Jimbo said:
with a Seat belt as last resort.
Click to expand...
According to the article, when you see a seat belt on a ride like this, it is basically used as a way of making sure the rider isn't too large/fat to safely ride the ride.
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Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0

Kenwood TM-D750 vs ICOM ID-5200: Don't Buy One Before Watching This!

Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!


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


Direct YouTube Link - Kenwood TM-D750 vs ICOM ID-5200: Don't Buy One Before Watching This!
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Tech News Weekly 459

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


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


Direct YouTube Link - Tech News Weekly 459
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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iJustine
· posted in iJustine

Meet up in San Francisco! NVIDIA RTX Spark Meet & Greet 10/16!

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qd-RuBfiRUM


Direct YouTube Link - Meet up in San Francisco! NVIDIA RTX Spark Meet & Greet 10/16!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
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