Community Forums

**NLOVNIT** · 11-29-2019, 08:38 PM

Background, we're in an area where I've got 3 choices:
OTA
Spectrum
Satellite

We've had Spectrum (in different company names) for 25 years. It's been quite reliable. However they've raised my bill for the last time. I'm tired of being nickel & dimed to death. They're the only cable provider in our area, so it's them or nobody for cable TV. We've kept cable for so long because we like the whole house DVR set up. DH will NOT watch a commercial if there's any way to FF past it & the DVR set up allows us to do that. However I've probably paid for the recorder/playback units several times over in rental fees over the years.

I don't like the satellite dish set ups because we have friends with those & if snow or rain gets on the dish, channels crap out.

We live close enough to a large city where I can get a couple dozen OTA channels with a small antenna. The vast majority of our TV viewing are local channels anyway. There's, maybe, 6 cable channels I like I wouldn't have access too, but I could do without them.

I'm considering OTA plus the Amazon Fire TV Recast. We've already got Firesticks for our TV's & with the Recast, we'd own the recorder.

I did a search but only 1 thread with 1 post in it about Recast - & that was from a year ago, when they first came out.

Anyone have any experience with these boxes from Amazon Fire TV?

Lori-

SkiSmuggs · 11-30-2019, 06:14 AM

I have the AirTV network Dvr with Sling and found it to be quirky. I've heard Recast has some issues so research before you commit. I switched to the Tablo Dvr for recording OTA and it is a huge upgrade over AirTV. Both the Tablo and AirTV are connected to the antenna and network so locals and/or recordings can be watched from any of the 3 TVs in the house or while away via the Tablo app or Sling (AirTV - OTA only).

wildtoad · 11-30-2019, 06:47 AM

Something we’re looking into. Keeping Spectrum for internet but dropping the tv service. This eliminates several of the nickel and dime costs such as box rentals, guide fees, local channel surcharge, and lowering some of the tax amounts. Then to replace the “Cable Networks” signup for UTube TV which has a lot of the channels we watch and record. With UTV you get unlimited cloud based DVR services. Have not none any of this yet but the UTV lineup looks good. We’ll add to this an outside OTA antenna to receive the 30-40 channels in the area.

But first we’re going to swap to Spectrums mobile phone service ( which uses the Verizon network) from Verizon which will slice that bill in half.

Then when 5g comes to pass, rethink everything.

Spk64 · 11-30-2019, 07:12 AM

We are going through exact same thing now with our Spectrum service. Looked at several of the options (Hulu, YTTV, Sling) and currently testing YouTube TV. They seemed to have the best value. We already had Netflix, Amazon Prime and added Disney +. One nice thing about any of the streaming services is you can stop or switch at any time. Which brings up one important item and that is making sure you have a streaming device that can work with other services. We chose Roku for most TV’s and have Apple TV for main TV. Roku devices seem the most flexible and easy to use. I did not look at the Fire Sticks as we already had some Roku devices. Looks like Recast is just for recording OTA channels which may be all you are looking for but with YouTube TV it also has unlimited DVR capabilities and can be accessed anywhere if you have internet access.

LarryJB · 11-30-2019, 07:55 AM

Lori,
Any particular reason you like the ReCast over AirTV or Tivo or any of the other OTA DVR devices? It seems to me the ReCast is a bit over priced for what it is.

Jim A · 11-30-2019, 11:09 AM

I will second the suggestion of Tablo. I have two of them, one at home and one in the coach, and am very happy with them. One lifetime programming subscription covered both of them. You add your own USB hard drive.

In addition to being able to scan through commercials like any DVR, many programs can use a relatively new commercial skip feature. It automatically jumps over the commercial breaks.

But be aware it does require a wifi network or ethernet connection. It does not connect directly to the TV like conventional DVR's. It provides a streaming signal for its output, not a HDMI output. I stream through an Nvidia Shield and/or a Roku. It is not a simple plug it in and turn it on device.

For RV use, once you set up a program for automatic recording, it will search for that program on whatever stations are available as you travel to different locations. You do need to put in the local zip code and scan for available stations, just like any digital TV device.

SkiSmuggs · 11-30-2019, 11:13 AM

Lori,
Tablo is a far better DVR for OTA than AirTV and, cheaper than Recast if I remember that right. Best Buy had the $150 Tablo Dual Lite for $110 two weeks ago when I got it and $100 this week.

ByeTheWay · 11-30-2019, 02:45 PM

Cut the cord several years ago. I use "Channel Master" DVR for OTA. I'm not a Full Timer so I have 2 DVRs at my stick house set to record pre-determined shows, plus I have 1 DVR in the RV, which record when I have a signal, or I can watch pre-recorded shows without a signal. I swap the hardrives as needed so that I have a lot of pre-recorded shows to watch in the RV when leaving for a trip. My CM DVRs ran less than $300 each and there is no monthly fee.

timjet · 12-01-2019, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim A

Snip
But be aware it does require a wifi network or ethernet connection. It does not connect directly to the TV like conventional DVR's. It provides a streaming signal for its output, not a HDMI output. I stream through an Nvidia Shield and/or a Roku. It is not a simple plug it in and turn it on device.

Snip

Jim, as I understand, you download the Tablo app from the Roku website and program the Tablo from a PC, tablet, or cell phone.

Is this correct?

LeisurePursuits · 12-04-2019, 09:59 AM

We have the Amazon Recast and a Fire stick. Works great!

**NLOVNIT** · 12-04-2019, 12:09 PM

Thank you all for your input. Since we already have either the Fire TV or Fire Stick (depending on which TV), I went with the Recast. The 1TB/4 tuner was $100 off for Cyber Monday & we had some Amazon dollars to offset it even more.

I'll post back after I've got it set up & used it for a bit.

Lori-

Jim A · 12-04-2019, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timjet

Jim, as I understand, you download the Tablo app from the Roku website and program the Tablo from a PC, tablet, or cell phone.

Is this correct?

That is mostly correct. You download the app on your Roku device itself, and then you can program it from either the Roku (and TV set), PC, Tablet, or cell phone. Some "smart" TV's have an app for Tablo as well, although I didn't like the app on my LG TV.

The Roku app does not support the Tablo Connect feature for viewing programs from your home Tablo, but the Nvidia Shield app does.