DVRs for over-the-air TV

Started by bayonetbrant, September 15, 2017, 06:27:28 PM

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bayonetbrant

All of our TiVo boxes are pre-digital and won't work w/ an over-the-air antenna (I tried...)

For the TVs w/ cable, we've got the Uverse boxes that come with our service.

But I've got a TV with an antenna out in the office, and I'm wondering if someone has a cheap DVR they'd recommend to hook up to it.  I'm not planning to record a lot of stuff, but would like the ability to pause & rewind when I've got live TV on out there.  Plus, it's a dry run for possibly cutting the cord and going digital w/ over-the-air as an option.

anyone got suggestions?
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Staggerwing

Back in the 00's I built a DVR from a spare PC and a Hauppauge TV card but it was a pain to set up. Supposedly the later cards and USB dongles could handle OTA digital.

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/webstore2/webstore-main_hardware.html
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

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"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
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-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

bayonetbrant

I don't have the patience to build it myself :)
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Staggerwing

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

DoctorQuest

My wife and I got ourselves a Tablo for Christmas. It is an over-the-air DVR that you can access via your home network. You can access the recorded shows (and live TV) via IOS, Android, Roku and the Chrome browser to name a few. We get all of the local stations with very good reception.
"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.

bayonetbrant

Thanks - that's great to know.  I'll look into them.  :)
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Barthheart

Quote from: DoctorQuest on January 14, 2018, 10:38:51 PM
My wife and I got ourselves a Tablo for Christmas. It is an over-the-air DVR that you can access via your home network. You can access the recorded shows (and live TV) via IOS, Android, Roku and the Chrome browser to name a few. We get all of the local stations with very good reception.

Thanks for the info. We're looking for something like this as well.  O0

DoctorQuest

We got the most inexpensive unit which will record up to two shows at the same time. There are more expensive units that increase the number of simultaneous recordings. The one we have has internal flash memory for about 40 hours of recordings (at the default resolution settings). You can also plug in an external hard drive of any size you wish to increase the number of recording hours. Ours ran right around $200 US.

My only complaint is that the Roku app is missing a couple of features found in the Chrome and IOS apps. This only affects the scheduling of recording not any playback or live TV functions. Not a biggie.

You can sign up for a "guide" service for about $5/month that makes reviewing upcoming shows and scheduling recordings easier but in the absence of that you can still schedule recordings manually. The manual scheduling function looks a lot like what you would see on a VCR scheduling screen.

We really like it so far.
"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.