Over the air TV + DVR

[RedAggie03]

I'm considering getting a basic internet package and running OTA HD TV and a TiVo box for DVR duties and streaming from Pandora / Netflix etc...

Anyone else doing this??

Is there a "TiVo" like device that does not have a monthly cost??

I was looking at Vonage for $11.99 a month for phone duties (we have unlimited cell phones, but my wife wants a land line)

So far It looks like I can save about $120 a month over my U-Verse bundle I'm paying for now.

 

[Fubeca]

I do it with a computer running Windows Media Center. No cost other than the tuner card for the TV. My TV is connected to the computer. Since it is on my network, I can watch the shows from all my computers too.

 

[Torque1st]

I use my wired network to distribute programming in my house. TV tuner cards are cheap. There is a Seagate network interface box on my TV. They all work with Netflix.

I use http://www.phonepower.com/services/voip/voiphome.aspx for landline phone service.

 

[mmhouse]

I do it with a computer running Windows Media Center. No cost other than the tuner card for the TV. My TV is connected to the computer. Since it is on my network, I can watch the shows from all my computers too.

I don't use Media Center but my techie brother does and it works quite well. The more I read about it the more I realize just how good it is. Unfortunately it's been poorly marketed and apparently won't be incorporated into Windows 8.

 

[bad_idea]

I am watching House on Hulu right now. I got tired of paying for cable. I upgraded my internet service to 3 mbps so it wouldn't glitch when streaming. Netflix, Hulu, and an antenna provide all the entertainment my wife and I need.

 

[58Yeoman]

We use an antenna for the local channels only, but bought a dvr from Walmart online for around $200 a couple months ago. It works great.

 

[REDRYDER63]

I have a magnavox 500 gb dvr works great with over the air signal.

It was 248.00

 

[theoldwizard1]

I do it with a computer running Windows Media Center. No cost other than the tuner card for the TV.

Skip the USB adapters !

I haven't found one that works good enough that I would keep it.

IMHO Hauppauge make the best tuner cards. I have a WinTV-1600 which has both analog and digital inputs, so it can record from cable analog signals as well as OTA digital and QAM.

Their software isn't that good.

 

[RedAggie03]

Wow, lots of info here - I figured GJ would have some tech savvy folks! I think I am going to try a little bit at a time and just get the antenna setup first along with internet. Then I will figure out the phone situation and finally DVR. I would like to keep my current number, so I guess I need to figure that out before I disconnect it.

Oh the phone side, all of the providers give you a box that goes between your modem and the phone, but phonepower.com for example give you a two port adapter. So I can setup two phones in the computer room? no thanks... So, how do I get those ports to say the living room downstairs and our bedroom if the modem is in lets say, the office with the computer??

 

[Torque1st]

With Phonepower or any other VOIP device you plug a 4-wire phone cable into an existing phone port on the wall anywhere and into the modem. Disconnect your outside phone lines at the demark block. When the modem powers up it energizes your house phone wiring. You can plug a phone in anywhere in the house and it should work. With two lines it gets a bit more complicated but with standard adapters or some wiring connections you can have a second phone line anywhere also. I live alone so I don't use a second line on my Phonepower adaptor but the house is wired for it.

The VOIP companies will issue you a temporary number until your old number can be transferred over which takes about two weeks of phone company foot dragging and red tape.

I record everything onto my Network Access Server (NAS) which gives me a Terabyte of redundant storage. I have used a USB adapter and tuner cards. The software isn't that great for either but it works.

 

[ilovevocs]

I have been contemplating this route as well. The cost for our direct TV is getting out of hand honeslt. The shows that i cannot dvr from local channels i can purchase on itunes through apple TV. Even purchasing a large qty. of tv shows from itunes it will still be dramatically less than the current cost of dish.

I am thinking of just building several small media pc's to use for dvr, netfilx, itunes, hulu, youtube, ect.

I see this as an emerging trend, if i had stock in direct tv I would sell, sell, sell. People are becoming more frugal; some have been forced to, others are have just become more aware of their spending habbits during this economic roller coaster we have been on.

 

[RedAggie03]

I agree.

I think I might get a Roku box for my main TV for simplicity for my wife and run my PS3 on my upstairs tv for me since it can do Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix now as well. The biggest loss is the whole home DVR...You can do it with the TiVo, but it's $150 a pop and $14.99 a month for service (STUPID).

Are there any other options out there that you can watch from any tv without having to have a PC at each TV??

 

[Cryptic1911]

I wish I could get OTA signals.. I am surrounded by tall trees, and live in a gulley, so the signals don't get down there well. I just grab everything over the internet

 

[vartz04]

im seriously considering doing this.

HD Antenna - $50-$100
Roku Box - $60
DVR - $200-300
Hulu - $7.99/Month

So for $310-$510 +7.99/month you are set for TV

$50ish for comcast 6mps Internet ($29.99 for first 6 months) or you can go AT&T DSL For $24.99 for first 12 months (same speed)

I don't need a phone so I won't add that in so im talkin about less than $60 a month for tv/internet. with a $300-$500 up front fee. Thats a pretty good deal.

 

[vtx531]

Just so you know, you must get a DVR specifically made for OTA signals. A dish DVR or cable DVR won't work.

I have an old DTVPAL that I bought used and for the most part it is great.

 

[Doozer]

Is this an option for someone that lives in the country? I know there use to be some sort of website that showed you available OTA stations based on your zip code. Do you guys still have info like that? My zip is 30427. I am going to have to look into some options like this. We don't watch a lot of TV, but we have our channels and shows we like. Like most people I would think. Saving $50-$70 a month is a lot of money. Definitely something to think about.

 

[Cryptic1911]

Is this an option for someone that lives in the country? I know there use to be some sort of website that showed you available OTA stations based on your zip code. Do you guys still have info like that? My zip is 30427. I am going to have to look into some options like this. We don't watch a lot of TV, but we have our channels and shows we like. Like most people I would think. Saving $50-$70 a month is a lot of money. Definitely something to think about.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

 

[Doozer]

Six stations (the major ones) with an attic mounted antenna. All of the stats are Russian to me but I definitely have some reading to do.

 

[RedAggie03]

My biggest issue right now is finding a OTA DVR that doesn't have a monthly cost that works and isn't real expensive without having to build a computer.

 

[Neerbeer]

Search for a Tivo with Lifetime for sale on CL or Ebay. I got mine on Ebay several years ago and have been happy. I use an OTA antenna in the attic and a Series 3 TIVO with lifetime service. The lifetime service is attached to the unit not the user so be sure to find the unit you want before buying one. You can add lifetime service to most units but it is spendy. I think something like $299. I would look for a Series 3, series HD or Primer unit. They all will support the HD programs. I had to replace the hard drive in mine earlier this year so i upgraded to a 2TB that is the largest that my TIVO will recognize. Now I can record more than I could ever want. I have also tried the app you can download onto a PC and transfer your tivo recordings to a computer to watch. It takes a little time to transfer but seemed to play just fine on the PC.

 

[bugnout]

For the phone, I ran Vonage for about 6 years, but the price started approaching the cost of PSTN. started at $15 a month, but over time its almost $30. I don't make a lot of phone calls from home or much in the way of long distance and was looking for a way to cut that cost even further. We use cell phones mostly, but still nice to have a house line.

So I tried MagicJack+. So far so good. About $100 bucks to get started including the first year, $30 a year there after, successfully transfered my old phone number. Program it, plugged it into my router and the other into the houses phone distribution junction box and I was in business. Switched in Jan, no complaints so far.

 

[Torque1st]

The Netflix and Hulu services allow a person to get along without a DVR for the most part. It is very nice to just make a show selection at any time of the day or night and be able to pause it or resume whenever. Some of the new shows are not available but I quickly got over that because of the huge (and growing) selection of programming available. There are a few new shows I would have liked to watch like 'Men of a certain age' but the network is being a real ******* about allowing internet viewing. So they lost a viewer and just don't get the chance to show me any ads at all.

There are a number of stand alone boxes that can be hooked to a TV to view internet and network content. Go to NewEgg.com for a large selection.

 

[betcd]

The only thing i wish is that there was a way to get sporting events over the internet like nascar or football. If there was a way to do that i would kick the cable to the crub.

 

[vartz04]

you can get most any NFL game on regular tv. Some baseball too but I only watch football so that is okay with me.

 

[Torque1st]

The only thing i wish is that there was a way to get sporting events over the internet like nascar or football. If there was a way to do that i would kick the cable to the crub.

That is what the local pub/sports-bar is for....

 

[RedAggie03]

I agree!!

 

[m_hatcher]

I have been cable free for almost 2 years now. We were paying about 150.00 a month for internet and cable thru comcast with a HD DVR. I started noticing that we only watched a handful of shows that actually enjoyed and the rest of the time we would just flip through the channels. So we got Netflix first to test the waters and really enjoyed it but we went through our data cap 3 months in a row, and Comcast didnt like that so they threatened to shut it down. Well I got pissed at them because we have been customers so long and them always having ****** service anyway, so I switched to business class internet and turned off the cable. This got us no data cap and 12mb down speed. We now have hulu and netflix and I built a cheap DVR with dual tuners to grab OTA and we are very happy with it. We pay 65 a month

 

[langss]

I have no personal experience with this product, so I'm only offering this as information. http://www.channelmastertv.com/ makes a DVR/HDTV converter box so off air broadcast is just like having cable. The main drawback I see is price. The cheapest I have seen it is around $400. I have considered it because I refuse to pay for the crappy products offered by the Cable and Satellite Companies. When I moved I had to take down my C-band Dish, so I only watch off air tv. There is a lot of content that's on and for the amount of time I have to actually watch tv.....free is good.

 

[RedAggie03]

The channel master looks ok, but you can only stream from Vudu and there is a premium service for $50 a year that gives you the extended guide. TiVo looks better to me than this one.

 

[theoldwizard1]

HD Antenna - $50-$100

Unlike the old NTSC standard, it is easy to build a good cheap digital, OTA antenna for under $50 !

There are plans all over the 'net and and YouTube.

Most antennas are directional, but instead of buying a rotor, many people combine multiple antennas.

 

[RedAggie03]

Well, I ordered Danny's Antenna. We move in on Friday, so I will be setting this up soon.

http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/ez_hd_tv_Antenna.html