Cord cutters: DVR options for OTA / Roku / Apple?

[asp_125]

Alright, after years of being tied to Comcrap/DISH etc, we're cutting the cord. I just bought an OTA (over the air) antenna and so far we've been able to grab a bunch of local stations and some HD channels. Next will be 1G internet to augment our Apple TV and Roku.

The last piece of the puzzle will be some sort of DVR. I know there've been some threads over the years here about this topic; like Slingbox some time back. So.. school me on what current trends are to be able to record OTA and streamed content?

It would be nice to record MotoGP and WSBK too.

[FZRguy]

Will follow suit soon. School me on what you've done so far for OTA reception.

[asp_125]

Will follow suit soon. School me on what you've done so far for OTA reception.

We have the Winegard Flatwave (aka Home Depot) indoor antenna. Winegard is a trusted name in RVs (we had one of their units in our rig). I considered using an outdoor one where our DISH network dish was, and simply re-using the hardware and cable run, but after looking at the distance to the TV and specs of outdoor vs indoor we went with the indoor. Install is really easy, stick the antenna on a table, window, or wall. Connect the RG6 plut to the "ant" on the TV, and run through the TV setup. I still have cable attached so we flip back and forth between it and air. Honestly the OTA HD content is the same visual/audio quality as from cable.

We get about a 35-40mi radius which is enough to pick up the towers on Lookout mountain. We get a slew of PBS stations, the handful of local networks in HD, and a bunch of (useless to me) shopping/religious/foreign language broadcasts.

The Roku / Apple TV streams everything else we need. Now I just want to be able to record stuff and am looking into standalone DVRs without tying ourselves to cable/sat contracts.

[Kim-n-Dean]

...Now I just want to be able to record stuff and am looking into standalone DVRs without tying ourselves to cable/sat contracts.

Just buy the equipment. It's not that expensive. I own my receiver and my antenna and we've been with Dish Network for over 19 years and have never had a contract. We just pay a monthly fee for access to their programming. We also have a Winegard Carryout automatic dish for the RV. Just bring the receiver and we have all of our channels anywhere we go.

[asp_125]

Other than what's bolted on the wall (previous owners) there's no DVR in the house, we have basic Comcast w/o a DVR. There seems to be a few OTA DVRs out there for a couple hundred dollars. I assume it's simple to feed the antenna signal to the DVR and would be the same for the streamed signal via an HDMI in/out port?

[Kim-n-Dean]

Other than what's bolted on the wall (previous owners) there's no DVR in the house, we have basic Comcast w/o a DVR. There seems to be a few OTA DVRs out there for a couple hundred dollars. I assume it's simple to feed the antenna signal to the DVR and would be the same for the streamed signal via an HDMI in/out port?

Hmm, I would think so, but I really don't know for sure. I've never used a stand-alone DVR.

[longrider]

For an OTA DVR about the only real option IMHO is the TiVo Bolt. Yes, there is a service charge ($150/yr) It is so much better than your present DVR you will kick yourself for not getting rid of the Comcast DVR years ago. While there are other OTA DVRs out there they are more like a digital version of the old VHS deck - select a time and channel you want to manually record. The TiVo will play your streaming services but not record them. Recording streaming services is a very gray area. While it is in direct violation of Netflix's terms of service I highly doubt they could really do any more than cancel your account. The only option I am aware of for recording streams is PlayLater from PlayOn and it requires a PC so to watch it on your TV you need either the PC connected to the TV via video card, a smart TV that can stream from the PC or a box such as a Hulu that can stream from local sources.

[Mother Goose]

Or just download the shows you want to watch via torrents. I've been doing that for years and all you need is a computer and a way to get it to your tv. I have an OTA antenna and my desktop plugged into my tv.