OTA Recorder

[Photog_7]

Many of us would not be on this forum is TV reception was also something of a hobby in addition to a necessity. Myself, I have been interested in it since I was a kid in rural Florida mounting rabbit ears outside my bedroom window.
Of course I was excited about ATSC 3.0 and even briefly owned a TV with the built in tuner. I thought the picture was slightly better than 1.0 especially considering they had to squeeze in the channels that were moved to make room for 3.0.
I am loosing interest in 3.0 due to the complexity of DRM and uncertain future. The one change that could turn me around would be if all the digs-nets were to be offered in at least wide screen 720p rather than "too blurry to watch" 480i.
The internet is less than ideal where I live and streaming is unreliable. At this time I am on the least expensive package with DirecTV but I can not justify that expense forever. I suppose it is a hobby in itself trying to keep up with the available and ever changing options.

I agree about the fuzzy pictures, but remember that most TV shows from the 80's weren't shot in HD or widescreen. The notable exception was the original Law & Order, which had the foresight to shoot in HDTV before most anybody owned the sets to watch it that way. It has certainly paid off financially though. The reruns seem to be on 24/7 somewhere, and they look as if they were shot yesterday.

 

[videobruce]

I have 'time-shifted' ever since 1978. I wouldn't be w/o it.
From VHS, S-VHS, then HDD's starting with the DVR Sony had before they dropped the Guide, basically making that useless.
I did have a CATV DVR for a very short period of time, but I didn't like not having the ability to bypass/lockout channels.
I wound up biting the bullet and went TiVo inspite of their "Lifetime Service". But I found, buying a used one that already had the service was not a big deal. I have had or worked on (setup for others) probably at least eight of them over the years, ending up with the Series 6 Roamio OTA (Over The Air) model which is what appears to be their last OTA version. Anything after that are CATV only which is a real stupid move.

In spite of many mis-beliefs, recordings made from OTA stations CAN be xfered to a PC with the correct programs (TiVo Desktop & VideoRe-Do), which will convert their file format to a common MP4 which can be edited (to get rid of the commercials, or anything other reason).

AND, their Guide goes out TWO WEEKS w/o leaving the DVR and searching elsewhere or using some other device to find programs. Also, with their Series 6, if the HDD goes bad, all one has to do is swap drives, their O/S is stored within the DVR and it will automatically 'load/format' the HDD by itself, no command lines working in Linux anymore like previous models (Series 3, 4 and 5)

 

[videobruce]

To update the above, I don't like monopolies, ESPECIALLY when they own almost all the patents to a specific device, in this case DVR's. Which is why there aren't any other true one piece (all in one)TV DVR's available new anymore. Note I stated "all in one". All the others , you need one or more 'other' hardware pieces to make them work. Namely, a separate HDD and depending on which one you are looking at a Computer.

Their series 6 Roamio model 846500 or 846510 (depending on the size of the HDD) can be had for as low as $250 on eBay IF you are lucky. At that price, it won't be there long. I saw one get sold in less than one hour around 5am if you can believe that. A more common price is between $300 and $350 (w/ Lifetime Service of course). 90% or more of the units for sale do NOT have Lifetime Service which runs separately around $500. Or you can buy it monthly which all of those had before the owner put them up for sale. (not sure what the monthly cost is).

Anyway. below are screen shots of the Guide (that goes out 2 weeks) and the important System Information screen showing the Service level (note the yellow arrows). Look for that shot in their ad, if he didn't include it, ask for him to post the Menu shot. I always ask if he is the original owner and if he has the original box and how long has he had it. Confirm the size of the HDD, many have put larger drives in the DVR (2 or 3TB with some).

Oh, the number of channels( the main channel and the sub-channels) available in my market is around 80 (eighty). No, I'm NOT exaggerating, depending on where you are, and mostly where your antenna is (outdoor of course)

 

[Jim5506]

I also have had a series of TiVos, Series 2 TiVo HD, TiVo Premiere, TiVo Bolt and TiVo Edge, All OTA.

Yes TiVo has an OTA Edge and an OTA Bolt (sold by Channel master) but the Roamio OTA has the best tuners and it has four of them.

 

[videobruce]

Yes, I did forgot to mention that series does have 4 tuners AND w/ a optional 'Mini' you can have a DVR in another room using one of those tuners as a stand-alone device as long as you have a Cat 5/6 cable connection to/from the Mini.
I have two of them.

 

[Corrado]

I have a few Tivo OTA Roamio models and one active with lifetime service. Not sure how long that will be but it still works fine and it was really inexpensive used several years ago. I like the EPG going out for the 2 weeks and makes it easy to not forgot something in the future.

I also have one of those inexpensive DTV converter boxes similar to the Mediasonic Homeworx models that works but will miss recordings if turned off before the timer events. It also stores files in .MTS format which add up quick but is overall acceptable for simple quick time shifting especially in manual mode. I can play the recordings back on my TV or Edision Mio satellite STB media player and skip the ads easily.

My overall favorite is the Edision and USB Hauppauge ATSC tuner dongle that can also do EPG like recordings.

 

[HighlanderCFH]

My MIL is looking to drop Dish and was needing OTA DVR capabilities. I did a bunch of searching online. It seems there are three main players, Tablo, AirTV, and HDHomerun.

Tablo seems to have rave reviews for their older stuff, but not new stuff.
AirTV appears to stream well to devices, though doesn't seem to work with Apple (?), and with it connected to SlingTV, I'm a little nervous about this maybe disappearing in a couple years as Dish and Directv merge. Also, reviews seem a little mixed
HDHomerun seems to be the only device that is still quality. Need to provide an EHD, but that already exists with her recv'r. Seems more costly, and you need to pay for the guide, but it is 2024 and $100 doesn't buy what it used to.

Am I in the ball park here?

My only experience is with Tablo. My main issue was with the reliability of the hardware. First off, I'll say that the Tablo support people are fabulous. They respond to a client's problem & try to resolve it. Unfortunately, in my case, it did not help.

I bought my first Tablo dual tuner around 7 years ago, so it's been a while. I got the unit & found it pretty easy to set up when it arrived. But, after a short time, it stopped functioning. I contacted customer support & they had me put it on a remote setting so they could analyze the problem. I was then informed that the unit was defective & they sent me a replacement.

Unfortunately, some issue (I can't recall the details) eventually surfaced with the replacement unit and, again, they checked it remotely and -- once again -- I was advised that the unit had developed some sort of problem that could not be fixed.

I was interested in receiving another replacement, but was advised that the unit had already passed the warranty period. I was a bit disappointed since my initial investment in the unit was, if I recall, about $225. And now I was stuck with what amounted to a paperweight.

They offered to sell me a refurbished model, at a smaller price, but I was a bit unnerved both technologically & financially at a third attempt. I was not in good shape, money-wise, and frankly had run out of confidence with their machines.

So I just canceled my Tablo account & that was it. I suppose Tablo is a fine product/company, but my luck was simply that of a snowball passing through hell.

Today I simply use an OTA antenna & have a VCR and DVR (an old Panasonic DMR E80H recorder with a built-in hard drive). I use one of those to record any OTA content I'm interested in.

It's a bit more awkward to record in this manner (cannot schedule/change channels automatically, must be done manually), but I usually manage & have never looked into the other two services.

Good luck,
Chuck

 

[Peter Parker]

My only experience is with Tablo. My main issue was with the reliability of the hardware. First off, I'll say that the Tablo support people are fabulous. They respond to a client's problem & try to resolve it. Unfortunately, in my case, it did not help.

I bought my first Tablo dual tuner around 7 years ago, so it's been a while. I got the unit & found it pretty easy to set up when it arrived. But, after a short time, it stopped functioning. I contacted customer support & they had me put it on a remote setting so they could analyze the problem. I was then informed that the unit was defective & they sent me a replacement.

Unfortunately, some issue (I can't recall the details) eventually surfaced with the replacement unit and, again, they checked it remotely and -- once again -- I was advised that the unit had developed some sort of problem that could not be fixed.

I was interested in receiving another replacement, but was advised that the unit had already passed the warranty period. I was a bit disappointed since my initial investment in the unit was, if I recall, about $225. And now I was stuck with what amounted to a paperweight.

They offered to sell me a refurbished model, at a smaller price, but I was a bit unnerved both technologically & financially at a third attempt. I was not in good shape, money-wise, and frankly had run out of confidence with their machines.

So I just canceled my Tablo account & that was it. I suppose Tablo is a fine product/company, but my luck was simply that of a snowball passing through hell.

Today I simply use an OTA antenna & have a VCR and DVR (an old Panasonic DMR E80H recorder with a built-in hard drive). I use one of those to record any OTA content I'm interested in.

It's a bit more awkward to record in this manner (cannot schedule/change channels automatically, must be done manually), but I usually manage & have never looked into the other two services.

Good luck,
Chuck

Are there VCRs that work with digital signals?

 

[dishdude]

Are there VCRs that work with digital signals?

JVC HM-DH3000U

 

[Comptech]

A lot of people frown on the zapperbox but I love mine. My first M1 had some problems but was replaced hassle free, the and fast no charge. The second one worked fine, except Fox Caroling was showing encrypted and would not decode. Customer service was great and said they had a local on their team and would check it out. Next day got a message from the local guy and said they just went encrypted and sent out a update. All is good. $29 a year for guide and recordings are dead on. Also with the mini's you have in home network available to watch on any TV. Still no ability to watch remotely but promises of it coming. So far all is coming true. Put my SD 4K flex in storage as 3.0 DRM never happened with them and won't. Over all is a great little box with a excellent tuner. I still have a stellar labs VHF high antenna up and receive 86 channels and the lighthouse channels from the backside of it fine. As soon as the weather permits, two Televes are going up!

 

[Yespage]

So after a bit of time and more rate hikes across the board, I got a HD Homerun Quatro as I prep to let go of Dish Network. Device is relatively small. Hook up is easy, and as you add the app on different devices, it goes straight to the HD Homerun unit, no logging in. So great for the older folks.

Seems like the Google iOS app is a bit wonky with my router (Willow acts the same way). But the FireStick App handles the router just fine. It costs more than Tablo, and it doesn't come with a hard drive, so, in theory, paying for a better device. Needed to add a thumb drive for storage, it did not like the powered external hard drives, which I already had a couple of. $35 annually for recording/guide, not free, but not pricey. 256 GB thumb drive, more than enough!

My biggest worry was about the quality of the tuner and managing the signal. The tuner is fine and receives/processes like the TV tuner can, a little better than the Hopper 3. The recording quality is very good. Recorded an EPL and NFL game, and while it didn't look uber super awesome, it definitely looked HD. The Toons channel recorded fine as well. Obviously the sub channel quality varies based on how compressed the sub-channels are. It loads the channels quickly and the DVR'ing pause, FF, RW is very quick.

What I found very useful is the Discover option, which includes Netflix like icon breakdown of everything that is currently showing. Makes it obvious what is on. DVR recordings are foldered up by program, which is as it should be. Being computer savvy, managing recordings on the computer is helpful as well. You can even download recordings! I don't think I"ll ever need to, but always nice to have the option. The TV interface itself requires getting used to, but it is sufficient.

Definitely recommend this device. It'll cost more, but you'll get what you paid for.

 

[cpalmer2k]

So after a bit of time and more rate hikes across the board, I got a HD Homerun Quatro as I prep to let go of Dish Network. Device is relatively small. Hook up is easy, and as you add the app on different devices, it goes straight to the HD Homerun unit, no logging in. So great for the older folks.

Seems like the Google iOS app is a bit wonky with my router (Willow acts the same way). But the FireStick App handles the router just fine. It costs more than Tablo, and it doesn't come with a hard drive, so, in theory, paying for a better device. Needed to add a thumb drive for storage, it did not like the powered external hard drives, which I already had a couple of. $35 annually for recording/guide, not free, but not pricey. 256 GB thumb drive, more than enough!

My biggest worry was about the quality of the tuner and managing the signal. The tuner is fine and receives/processes like the TV tuner can, a little better than the Hopper 3. The recording quality is very good. Recorded an EPL and NFL game, and while it didn't look uber super awesome, it definitely looked HD. The Toons channel recorded fine as well. Obviously the sub channel quality varies based on how compressed the sub-channels are. It loads the channels quickly and the DVR'ing pause, FF, RW is very quick.

What I found very useful is the Discover option, which includes Netflix like icon breakdown of everything that is currently showing. Makes it obvious what is on. DVR recordings are foldered up by program, which is as it should be. Being computer savvy, managing recordings on the computer is helpful as well. You can even download recordings! I don't think I"ll ever need to, but always nice to have the option. The TV interface itself requires getting used to, but it is sufficient.

Definitely recommend this device. It'll cost more, but you'll get what you paid for.

Try Channels DVR out if you're using an HD Homerun unit. I think you will find it a lot better than their DVR setup if you have a device you can run the Channels server on.

 

[dweber]

I have read that the zapper box M3 (client only) does not work with encrypted channels.

Playback of encrypted recordings and encrypted Live TV on connected devices (like the M3) is expected with the v4.0 software release, planned for December 2025.

However the consensus is that A3SA will not allow gateway products to decrypt broadcasts.

So you need a M1 or M2 zapper box for each TV. That can get expensive if you have multiple TVs.


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