Amazon Fire DVR

Off Topic
38

That’s a very good point. It pulls the viability of OTA into the mainstream and does so in a very huge way. Personally, this bothers me a bit. I like being part of a (relatively) private little army of “Tablo-ites”, people who know the product, love the product and are invested in it’s success.

This is going to facilitate cord-cutting to the masses, making it easy and (more important) making it known, helping people understand how easy it is and just how much great / free programming is out there.

Using myself as an example: up until three months ago, when I stumbled upon (and bought) a Tablo in a Best Buy, I had never even heard of Quest, Justice TV, Cozi, Comet, Laff, Ion, Antenna TV, Joe, Decades, Start TV, any of it. I had never seen (nor heard of) Dominique Dunne, New Detectives, Dog Town, or variety shows with Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Sonny & Cher, Dolly Parton, Mac Davis … ANY of that.

Like me, there are many people out there to whom none of this would ever occur. Amazon’s presence in this space can increase the awareness of this OTA world and with their resources, make anything they want of it.

And of course, Amazon never stands still for more than a few minutes. One year from now, they will have made tons of improvements, adjustments & “fixes”, probably even a newer / better version (or two) and of course, lower price points.

…

39

That box is likely going to be too locked down for my taste. I also like Tablo and Roku because they aren’t part of the “war” like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google. We won’t support your app. We are suing for this or that. Tablo and Roku are like neutral parties. They include everyones apps/hardware.

PS: Amazon is also getting into the microwave oven market with an Amazon basics smart microwave.

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40

If you look at the Amazon FAQ for the Recast, it really shows it to be a locked down device in a closed environment. That’s why the usage of internal, non-removable drives.

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41

That’s why I didn’t like my Direct TV DVR back in the day. You couldn’t even change or upgrade the hard drive. At least TiVo now allows an external drive. I also like being able to rip my recodings with the Tablo. Earlier today we had a power outage and thanks to my Tablo + ota2go I had something to watch till the power came back.

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42

you are correct in what you are saying…when the original rumors came out, there was no info or details to base anything on, thus my comment.

43

Yes, the FAQ page for the Recast states that you can only watch content recorded on the Recast on two devices at once (but you can pair as many compatible devices as you want/have) .

Below are some FAQ question/answers from the FAQ page.
Note that the Recast appears to use a tuner for playback of Live TV (as expected), but also uses a tuner channel for Recorded TV Playback (this is a SEVERE limitation in my opinion).

Here are some FAQs:

How many devices can I pair with Fire TV Recast?
You can pair Fire TV Recast with all of your compatible devices registered to the same Amazon account (including Fire TV streaming media players, Fire TV Edition televisions, Echo Show devices, and compatible mobile devices). You can watch live or recoded programs on any two of these devices simultaneously.

Can I watch my recorded programs on multiple devices simultaneously?
Yes – you can watch up to 2 programs (live or recorded) on 2 different devices at the same time. This includes playback within the Fire TV app on any mobile device.

Can I transfer my recordings from Fire TV Recast to another device?
No – this feature is not supported.

How many programs can I record at once? Can I record a program while watching another live or recorded program?
With a 2-tuner Fire TV Recast, you can:

  • record 2 programs at once,
  • watch a live or recorded program while recording another; OR
  • watch 2 live or recorded programs on different devices at once.

With a 4-tuner Fire TV Recast, you can:

  • record 4 programs at once;
  • watch 1 live or recorded program while recording 3 other programs in the background; OR
  • watch 2 live or recorded programs on different devices at once while recording 2 other programs in the background.

Read that last section above about playback from a 2-Tuner Recast (for example) closely - If you are watching two (simultaneous) Live OR Recorded shows from the 2-Tuner Recast you BLOCK any recording capability!
And even with the 4-Tuner Recast, if you are watching two (simultaneous) Live OR Recorded shows then you are only going to be able to RECORD two shows.

Also, implied but not directly stated, is this: If your Recast is already recording the MAX number of channels (2 or 4, depending on model) then you are going to be BLOCKED from watching anything from the Recast!

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44

As far as the cost of Recast vs. Tablo, what I am currently contemplating (not a user of any OTA DVR yet, but soon) is to purchase the REFURBISHED 4-Tuner Tablo for $140 and the lifetime guide for $150 (I already have a spare 4T WD Drive).

That would bring my cost to $290 (not including drive), only about $60 more than the 4-Tuner Recast BUT with 4X the storage (and up to 8X if you want to buy an 8T drive).

The main point I am making here is that the Tablo is more flexible in my storage options; using a drive I already have or choosing to purchase a drive of whatever size I feel that I need (up to 8T).

But the even bigger reasons I am heavily leaning towards Tablo are the number of streams I can watch (6 on Tablo, 2 on Recast), and the ability to use third-party programs to transfer my recorded content to my PC (cannot do this with Recast).

45

Regardless of any known short comings of the device and what little is known about the internal hardware or who is supplying the DVR software, at least you get a 50 watt power supply.

Fifty watts seems like a tad much?

46

Amazon will keep track of what you watch.

Does Amazon collect data when I watch over-the-air live TV using Fire TV Recast? Why?

Yes, Amazon collects information relating to your use of over-the-air TV content which may include the name of the channel watched, the name of the program watched, and the duration.

47

The Recast is not a Tivo-like device at all, it is a Tablo-like device. In fact, they’ve completely copied / adopted the Tablo process … and (ironically), Tivo is now copying as well, with their newest Bolt, which they announced just two days ago.

http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire-tv-recast-will-support-external-usb-storage-after-launch/

48

You can upgrade / add Hard Drive capacity on the Recast.

http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire-tv-recast-will-support-external-usb-storage-after-launch/

49

Any update on whether it will support more than just 720p recording?

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50

That’s nice but I see “Required equipment 1 fire TV stick per TV”. Deal breaker!

51

It seems certain, they’ll address that at some point. If you look at the difference between their original Echo, for example, and how the form, functionality (and price points) exploded in such a short period of time, this Recast will probably look (and function like) an ancient dinosaur within 12-18 months.

For now, Amazon probably figures that seventy or eighty percent of it’s Fire appliance users will either not care or not know the difference, as they are far less discerning than the average Tablo-ite, Plex-er or Homerun-ist (Homerunist???)

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52

Tabloista, Plexerista, Homerunista…:woman_artist:

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53

Amazon could have done better by building a centralized satellite Antenna for local channels in every city and stream it thru their own App and charge customers thru Prime… This could eliminate the headache of Antenna setup which every customers mostly having issues with… Unless, there’s some prohibitions that will not allow them to do so?

54

Yes there are issues with monetizing free OTA.

55

Then Amazon would have to pay carriage fees for the retransmission.

Locast tries to use an FCC loop hole by claiming/incorporating as a non-profit company.

I don’t think anyone is going to believe Amazon is a non-profit.

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56

It was a great idea.

57

It’s always a great idea when you can make money off of others intellectual property without paying them.