Slashdot Mirror

does this magical antenna thing work on your phone or tablet?

I don't necessarily agree with everything else the gp said, but with Tablo you can watch antenna TV on your mobile device:

https://www.tablotv.com/blog/a...

Or you could just get a Tablo and pay a one time fee (There's a separate charge if you want the 14 day channel guide).

And you can get a DVR experience from Tivo that works well with Antenna.

Or you can buy a SiliconDust box (for about $90) that works with an antenna. The 2 tuner HDHomeRun Connect for example.

You can even build a backend system to record OTA television.

Does anyone have any experience with the TabloTV DVR, especially in conjunction with an AppleTV (4th gen) box?

Their offerings look pretty enticing (if just a little pricey); but they have up to 4 tuners, and can stream to multiple set-top boxes (and mobile devices). Plus their control-App fits right into the App ecosystem on the AppleTV, making it easy to use for non-techie family members like I have.

They may have other Set-Top Box Apps, too, like for Roku.

Nice that you can just connect one antenna to that box, and have OTA tuner/DVR capabilities anywhere (including outside the home if you wish) without having to mess around switching inputs on your TV.

https://www.tablotv.com/produc...

Disclaimer: Haven't bought one yet; but it seems to be a serious contender to the HDHomeRun stuff.

Coax is a good way to distribute Over the air TV. I do that. Antennas do not need to be powered or expensive, unless the reception conditions are particularly bad, so if you already have an outside antenna try what you have first.
tablotv
No Cable
Your Free TV
FCC OTA site
antennaweb.org
Making your own antenna is also possible and simple
fractal can type
fractal panel type

You can run Windows Media Center on Windows 10. Some great guys have made a patched version which works well. Windows 10 gives you Netflix and Amazon on the same box. https://forums.mydigitallife.i... also there is this https://www.tablotv.com/tablo-...

Thanks for the links. I'm going to have to try out the WMC for Windows 10. Might be a way to keep that running for a bit longer, and an easier way to switch to streaming.

The Tablo looks interesting, but it's pretty the same thing as the SiliconDust tuner, except it only tunes ATSC and not QAM. SiliconDust does have some ATSC-only devices like that, but I'm already using one with the cable card. The SiliconDust DVR separates the recording devices from the tuner box, so I can record to a NAS and/or the WMC. So it's a little more versatile.

It would have been nice if SiliconDust had been able to deliver what they promised in their KickStarter. There have been no updates since August, and I'm starting to think they're just having a difficult time getting the licensing in place to support protected content. That's a shame because it would really be a great system, pretty much everything else is working.

You can run Windows Media Center on Windows 10. Some great guys have made a patched version which works well. Windows 10 gives you Netflix and Amazon on the same box. https://forums.mydigitallife.i... also there is this https://www.tablotv.com/tablo-...

Unless they're buying out TiVo, they're already second to market... I haven't cared in a LONG time what channel or time my show is coming on, I just use the TiVo app on my phone to search for what I want and magically it appears on my screen. Want to watch a series? Not a problem! My TiVo will assemble all the episodes of that series on the DVR from any source it can get it from including recording it from air, netflix, amazon prime, hulu, etc.

If OTA is your only source, then Tablo is another option. A simple click & it too will gather all episodes of series from whatever channel(s). (So record current series from Channel A & re-runs from Channel B ... I'll start watching when I have them all. Attach your own large USB drive.) Much better (& networked) interface then my cable company DVR, when I had one.

Full disclaimer: I have no affiliation with TiVo in the slightest... except I own one and it obviates the problem described above.

s/TiVo/Tablo/

I used HULU the first month it came out so I know how long it's been around. It's funny you mention Disney as a backer of HULU since Some of the best original content on Netflix are Disney properties (DareDevil, Jessica Jones, and soon The Punisher, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders). But the fact remains HULU is niche product (although 12 million subscribers is nothing to sneeze at) looking for that breakaway hit but the networks keep trying to get it using the old style pablum "we'll feed it to you when we're ready for you to have it" mentality. If I want that I'll get a Tablo/Channel Master DVR+ and an antenna.

Are you saying Aereo would have been OK if they'd sold one of those OTA DVRs and colocated them at their warehouse? Aereo's fatal flaw is that they rented people a homogeneous device rather than selling them one of a menu? That, my friend, is a legal Rube Goldberg much more intricate than the technical workaround Aereo intended.

Not exactly. The way I understood how the SC ruled was the device would need to get the signal directly from the broadcaster and be located in the consumer's residence. So a consumer would need to have the DVR located on the premises and receive the signal directly from broadcasters via a local antenna. The Tablo is basically the same as the Aero service except you own the device and set it up at home. The Tablo doesn't even have a video out port. It's tuners are only accessible through streaming clients. It doesn't solve the concrete/metal interference problem that Aero did and perhaps they should pursue that argument on their appeal. I disagree with the SC finding as Aero was not altering in any way the content being delivered whereas the cable/satellite companies actually inject extra content/advertising into their rebroadcasts. Ultimately the networks want Aero to have to pay for retransmission and are lobbying even the courts to make that a reality.

The difference is the DVR in question. Aero's DVR is in the cloud and Dish's is in the home of the subscriber. It seems the Supreme Court saw a big enough difference in Aero's distribution as to be infringing while Dish's distribution has been covered for decades by fair use rules. Dish's DVR is no different than a VHS or VCR system from a legal standpoint. In fact I can get a modern DVR for Over The Air (ATSC) recording from several different companies. In fact I just found this article discussing Aero alternatives and it mentions all three of the devices I just linked to. The only problem for a select few is that Aero had chosen a choice location for its array of antenna and some people can't get a good signal due to metal walls or distance from towers.