They’re providing services, which need to be paid for somehow.
However, I do prefer to limit how much I use software and services from companies that sell user-data and advertisements.
I’m sort of curious as to the hardware inside the Recast and how it compares to Tablo regarding transcoding capabilities. Anyone know what chipset they are using? Yes I’ve read the comments that it is currently limited to 720p but I’m guessing that may move to 1080p with a firmware update. Not sure I’d be thrilled with Amazon logging everything I watch but the pricing is very competitive.
Yes, can only stream to 2 devices simultaneously (regardless of Recast model).
But, in my opinion, there are even more severe limitations because the Recast appears to use a tuner channel for playback of any stream (Live,as expected, but also Recorded) which means that if you are watching the MAX 2 streams on a 2-Tuner Recast you CANNOT record any shows!
See my post in another community thread about the Recast for more detailed information as well as a link to the Recast FAQ page.
I got to see (and play around with) one of these. I was shocked at the size! Compared to a Tablo, HD Homerun, Shield, AirTV box or even a Bluray player, it is HUGE. Maybe overstating a bit, but from the perspective of what’s “normal” in DVR and streaming boxes, it seemed gargantuan to me.
To put this in perspective: If you still have the Box that your Tablo Lite or Tablo 64 came in, that’s almost exactly what the Recast looks like. If you don’t own one of these Tablos, pull one off the shelf next time you’re at a Best Buy and imagine that on your shelf / cabinet / AV system.
This is not a slam against Recast, just a big surprise. In the world of consumer electronics these days, you expect everything to be svelte, elegant and aesthetically pleasing. This thing is a chunk. Guess I’ll be putting mine in the attic somewhere.
…
In Texas, if we put in the attic, it will eventually get smaller and smaller until it’s just a puddle. Could take several years to totally evaporate.
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I’ll take your word on that. I’m a frequent visitor to Dallas and Austin … and have friends in Wimberley, with whom I visit once or twice a year.
I too have had some disconnect issues with my Tablo, but I cut the cord almost 4 years ago and stayed with it. I have no plans on getting one of these Fire TV Recast devices. To address the disconnect issues I was having (I later discovered it was due to wifi), I purchased a couple of MoCA adapters from Amazon and connected the Tablo via ethernet over coax back to my router. NO more disconnects! I would like to see Tablo greatly improve the channel changing times, however.
I’d be happy if they could get it to 5 seconds or less. Right now it takes about 10-12 seconds for a channel change.
Will make an expensive but excellent doorstop.
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They are heavy and more bulky than what I’d expected but I’ve been having a gas with it. After getting over the size and weight of the device, the thing that surprised me (a LOT) was when first installed, the Fire Boxes, Sticks and devices around the house picked up on it and changed their respective GUI / Interfaces to reflect the fact that a Recast was “here”. Even finds its way into the Settings tab of the devices.
As to overall aesthetics, one thing I do like is the fact it has a very subdued, almost unnoticeable logo, and that its on the top, where you don’t even see it. I expected it to have a huge (and gaudy) “Amazon” branding all over it. Despite its (relative) heft, it does look great on a cabinet behind glass, with subtle backlighting.
Does it run hot
My instinct with these type of devices is to put them on some sort of mesh or net trivet (as with my Tablo), but this doesn’t need anything of the sort (just a stronger, heavier cabinet 
.)
The Tablo folks have a good blog comparing the Recast to the various Tablos.
What I found really interesting is that the Recast does capture the TV stream in native MPEG2 mode and then transcodes on the fly when a client requests it. While I am sure there are some Tablo users that wish the Tablo did this (solves the 5.1 / 2 channel surround sound problem, as well as adjusts the streaming quality on the fly depending on network conditions), it limits users to streaming on only two concurrent devices, as well as using a whole lot more electricity.
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Thank you for reading that War & Peace length post.
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For some cord cutters, one of the major motivations to cut was to no longer be dependent on the set top box provided by the provider for your TV features. Locking up recorded content on a specific box from a specific service means the choices that provider makes, the business alliances they have, the pricing model they employ, are all out of the consumer’s control.
Changing providers means in many cases leaving previously purchased digital content behind. I had 100s of hours of movies built up over a decade of Dish Network service, which I thought of as “my” content, but when I dropped Dish, I lost all of that content since it was stored in their encrypted format on MY third party disk.
I’d never go back to a model that effectively allows the provider to lock me into their service for content I think of as mine.
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If I were spying on you I’d try to make myself less noticeable too! lol
Amen brother preach it! That’s why I only buy carrier unlocked phones that support all the major base bands!
That was also my second biggest reason I liked the Tablo. First reason being it’s not tethered to a TV or any other device.
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@issom They are not that heavy, just (relatively) bulky when compared to an HD Homerun, Tablo, Air TV player, etc.
The internal hard drive probably adds to the size plus larger cooling facilities given the additional components inside. It’s a dual core processor (CPU) with 2 GB of memory, USB3 and gigabit ethernet. So it packs some punch and does require extensive cooling compared to the Tablo! Maybe even has a MiniMe Jeff Bezos roamin inside…
Are you getting an Alexa to talk to the Recast?
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I’ve got Echos, Echo Dots, Echo Spots and Echo Shows all over the house, so I had that covered before getting the Recast.