Would've been nice if they had "Antennae in"

[steve-p]

Not necessarily. I have an XBOX one with the USB HD tuner and with it I get access the xbox guide. My TV doesn't do that. I can just channel up/down, etc.

And in the new year, the XBOX is rumored to get a DVR for that tuner. For me, as a cord cutter, I get access to local OTA content and still use netflix/itunes/hulu for tv shows

I am holding off getting the USB tuner for my Xbox One until I see whether or not they really add DVR functionality, and how good it is. There are very few DVRs with just a single tuner, as it's not practical. Most have two or three tuners. I don't know if you can add more than one USB tuner, or maybe they could make a similar USB box with multiple tuners in it.

With regard to ATV (or any similar globally sold STB device), it's unlikely you will ever see internal tuners of any kind. There are too many regional and delivery system differences to account for, and it would add cost, when not everyone would use it. Adding a separately connectable accessory tuner device is a much better idea, and could facilitate a global system for different regions, frequencies, cable, satellite, etc. I can't see Apple doing it, though. I'm sure they believe the future is entirely IPTV based, and one day there won't be any broadcast TV that doesn't just come over the Internet, so why start supporting all those different legacy broadcast methods at this stage.

 

[d21mike]

They release an app for the fire tv meaning no need for the mini. As soon as they release an app for the Apple TV 4 I will probably give them a try.

 

[campyguy]

I wasn't saying that the OTA signal wouldn't be good through the TiVo. I was saying that OTA signal in general, is great. And, I imagine that going the signal going through the Tivo would also be phenominal. If I stick with fios, I will probably pick up a bolt and one of their mini's. Both boxes for a total of $12.50/mo is a steal. That would cut the price I pay to fios for a dvr and extra box to less than half. I really like all the features of the bolt. Did you get the 500GB or 1 TB version?

No worries, I didn't think you did - life's too short to let stuff like this get under our collars! I'm slammed with work, sorry if I came across in an adversarial way - I meant no ill will!

FWIW, I'm maybe 8 miles as the crow flies from the HD antenna arrays that serve the Metro PDX area, but with a couple of rows of trees to somewhat fetter the line of sight - I pull in all of the available channels, tho'. My quick test to compare with was to record a couple of shows over OTA on the Bolt that I knew would repeat later, then compared the OTA to the recorded shows later in the day - some local football, a couple of shows on the local CBS and ABC afilliate (I'm kind of addicted to Castle and Criminal Minds). I pulled in a few friends and we all tried to distinguish the Bolt from the OTA and none of us could - two of them went to the nearby Best Buy and bought a Bolt. 'Nuff said.

As to the Roamio, between the three viewing options I have, OTA and the Bolt were tied for 1st and the Roamio was a distant 43rd. I didn't mention this earlier, but the sound coming out of the Bolt is much, much better - on live and recorded events.

For tips, head over to the Tivocommunity.com and DSLForums.com forums (I'm on the latter), and there's plenty of input about the new Bolt on those two sites.

One tip is to NOT buy a Mini yet - the 4k-compatible version won't drop until next year. I'm not concerned about 4k, however, I can bet that the picture quality will be waaaay better than the current version. Also, networking is built into even the 500GB model (which is what I have) - faster wifi, and broadcasting to an iOS device via the app; I have an iPad Air and use a articulating arm on my bedroom couch - beaming to the Air from the Roamio is a piece of cake and the picture is great, and I'm using some Grado cans to listen to the show I'm watching.

I owned the 500GB Roamio and have the same size spinner on my Bolt. Given that they're both pretty much the same configuration, and the Bolt has expansion options built in and there's lots of instructions of how to stuff in a 2GB drive I found the 500GB drive and $100 lower price point very attractive. There's much made on the web about a Bolt Pro dropping early next year, with more storage options and 6 tuners. I have a life and find 4 tuners are perfect for me. You might find that you don't need a Mini and, IMHO, the Bolt's interface is so much nicer than what FIOS has to offer. Cheers, ya'll!

 

[xmlninja]

Not if the point of the TV is to be THE tv box, especially for cord cutters. Since they are having so much trouble getting agreements with local stations, adding this functionality would have solved a lot of problems for them. Most people have the ability to get free local HD stations with a decent antenna.

Looks like I'll have to get a Tablo for this. According to the Tablo forums, they are starting on an app for the TV so it's a decent compromise, just more money I wish I didn't have to spend.

Well they already ditched the agreement road. With app store broadcasters are gonna beg to get on the Apple TV platform.

 

[newdeal]

Check out https://www.tablotv.com/tablo-products/ . They sell either a 2-tuner or 4-tuner device that streams OTA content over your local network, and also allows recording content to a USB drive like a DVR. On their forums, they have said that their iOS team is looking forward to working on the tvOS dev kit, so I'm sure they will have an app ready soon. If their iOS, Roku, AndroidTV, and FireTV apps are any indication, it will be exactly what you (and I) are looking for.

This is lame, they charge $5 a month to get a guide on it. Guess what, windows media centre has been doing this for free for years. I have no idea about the apps but I can buy an xbox 360 to extend my media centre to any tv for $99 on sale anyway.

 

[oneMadRssn]

This is lame, they charge $5 a month to get a guide on it. Guess what, windows media centre has been doing this for free for years. I have no idea about the apps but I can buy an xbox 360 to extend my media centre to any tv for $99 on sale anyway.

Yea, I would buy the $150 lifetime subscription.

WMC used to be a good solution, but I wouldn't invest in it anymore. Microsoft clearly has abondoned it, and has no plans of updating it ever again. If you already have WMC running, then you don't need Tablo. But for someone who doesn't have a way to record ota right now, investing in WMC would be a bad move.

Also, I think the major benefit of Tablo is that all your content then lives in one "input," with one remote. Switching from netlfix to youtube to live broadcast tv is as easy as switching apps.

 

[HoiPiet]

The Tablo would be great for me as it outputs to ethernet rather than feeding an HDMI cable. I have one window where I can put an antenna given all the leaded glass on the side of the house it has to go on and, well, decorating restrictions. I can stick it in the window of the unused bedroom, put the Tablo in there and get the LAN to it.

It sounds as if a lot of users have a fair degree of frustration with the company though. Ditto for the Channelmaster I was thinking about. Right now I'm thinking of getting a $35 Homeworx to just grab some stuff now and then till a better choice sorts out of the current mess and go ahead and order an ATV before I expected.

 

[newdeal]

Yea, I would buy the $150 lifetime subscription.

WMC used to be a good solution, but I wouldn't invest in it anymore. Microsoft clearly has abondoned it, and has no plans of updating it ever again. If you already have WMC running, then you don't need Tablo. But for someone who doesn't have a way to record ota right now, investing in WMC would be a bad move.

Also, I think the major benefit of Tablo is that all your content then lives in one "input," with one remote. Switching from netlfix to youtube to live broadcast tv is as easy as switching apps.

I don't like the idea of a lifetime subscription with a company that could be out of business in a couple of years. Clearly OTA tv isn't a huge money maker or microsoft wouldn't have abandoned the idea

 

[oneMadRssn]

I don't like the idea of a lifetime subscription with a company that could be out of business in a couple of years. Clearly OTA tv isn't a huge money maker or microsoft wouldn't have abandoned the idea

I am somewhat confident they will be in business for at least 30 more months .... which is what is required for the lifetime subscription to be cheaper than just paying monthly.

 

[mpainesyd]

I did read what you wrote, it seemed to me that you were looking for simultaneous audio out or routing the audio to the desired device. The linked-to unit does that, plus several other features. I've also used the older, 1080P (not 4k) unit and that worked perfectly, actually it still does but for a friend I gifted it to - we both have some older but still-perfectly working audio hardware that can rattle the windows! Cheers, and pass on if it works out!

Got my ViewHD device today. It works well. The iMac is sending video to the projector and audio to the hifi and EyeTV is in lip-sync. Thank you. No need for atv ota!

 

[campyguy]

Got my ViewHD device today. It works well. The iMac is sending video to the projector and audio to the hifi and EyeTV is in lip-sync. Thank you. No need for atv ota!

Excellent! You're welcome!

 

[mpainesyd]

News update:
Channels App Adds Live TV to the Apple TV’s Capabilities
http://tidbits.com/article/16178
"The fourth-generation Apple TV hosts a boatload of programming, and can play anything you can record and import into iTunes, but one glaring omission has been broadcast television. No longer. The tvOS Channels app tunes into over-the-air (OTA) broadcast digital television on an Apple TV..."
Maybe, just maybe, this development will temp me to "upgrade" to the ATV4.

 

[2010mini]

News update:
Channels App Adds Live TV to the Apple TV’s Capabilities
http://tidbits.com/article/16178
"The fourth-generation Apple TV hosts a boatload of programming, and can play anything you can record and import into iTunes, but one glaring omission has been broadcast television. No longer. The tvOS Channels app tunes into over-the-air (OTA) broadcast digital television on an Apple TV..."
Maybe, just maybe, this development will temp me to "upgrade" to the ATV4.

Tablo OTA DVR app/hardware is also coming to the ATV 4

 

[ftaok]

while nice to see OTA and DVR capability, I'm waiting for CableCard (or equivalent) support. Maybe Silicon Dust with have their DVR software working someday.

 

[d21mike]

while nice to see OTA and DVR capability, I'm waiting for CableCard (or equivalent) support. Maybe Silicon Dust with have their DVR software working someday.

I am using the beta with by 2 Prime CC setup. I can say it works but of course not ready for normal users.

 

[Irishman]

while nice to see OTA and DVR capability, I'm waiting for CableCard (or equivalent) support. Maybe Silicon Dust with have their DVR software working someday.

I wouldn't hold my breath for it, as even the cable companies want to pretend that cable card doesn't exist. Tru2Way has been promised for so many years, it's become the poster child for vaporware.