Recording broadcast TV [NA]

murphey

murphey

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murphey
With the move to digital, my VHS is no longer useful. What can I use to record broadcast TV? Turns out that my digital TV does not have a USB or other output option, so it's got to be between the antenna (HDMI) and the TV.
 
murphey said:
With the move to digital, my VHS is no longer useful. What can I use to record broadcast TV? Turns out that my digital TV does not have a USB or other output option, so it's got to be between the antenna (HDMI) and the TV.
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TIVO has a version for over-the-air recording. TIVO has worked well for us, though we have the cable versions.

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
TIVO has a version for over-the-air recording. TIVO has worked well for us, though we have the cable versions.

Ron Wanttaja
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Looking for a box, not a service I have to keep paying for.

Next?
 
A $35 software-defined radio will do the job.
 
I was hoping for a box with storage. The Cloner would work but I'd need to get another SSD for the storage. As for the VHS, I still have a very large collection of VHS tapes and they can be played thru my projection system with fairly good quality. As for the SDR, wouldn't I need to re-program it each time I want to change the channel?
 
Channel Master.

www.channelmaster.com

Channel Master: Over-The-Air Broadcast Entertainment Products

The official Channel Master website. Consumer electronics brand established in 1949, focused on innovation, quality products and first-class customer service. Shop professional-grade TV Antennas, installation accessories and more. Get product recommendations and installation support from our...
www.channelmaster.com www.channelmaster.com
 
Mason said:
Channel Master.

www.channelmaster.com

Channel Master: Over-The-Air Broadcast Entertainment Products

The official Channel Master website. Consumer electronics brand established in 1949, focused on innovation, quality products and first-class customer service. Shop professional-grade TV Antennas, installation accessories and more. Get product recommendations and installation support from our...
www.channelmaster.com www.channelmaster.com
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tivo, tivo and the analog converter. Not a PVR or DVR that I could find on the website.

I've been looking at the Tablo but can't understand why an internet connection would be needed when I'm only looking for OTA and not connected to any internal network.

All I really wanted to do was record some of the PBS Great Performance broadcasts. I think a PBS Passport membership would be easier.
 
murphey said:
tivo, tivo and the analog converter. Not a PVR or DVR that I could find on the website.

I've been looking at the Tablo but can't understand why an internet connection would be needed when I'm only looking for OTA and not connected to any internal network.

All I really wanted to do was record some of the PBS Great Performance broadcasts. I think a PBS Passport membership would be easier.
Click to expand...
Tablo uses an app to access the data (OTA tuner, program guide, and DVR). Same as HDHomerun. The network access is how you interface with the unit. It has no need for a physical connection to the television.
 
I have an iVIEW device that I've had for over a year now. I just leave a cheap 1TB portable SSD drive attached to it to use it as a standalone OTA recorder. The link is a newer version than the one I have.

 
Axtel4 said:
I have an iVIEW device that I've had for over a year now. I just leave a cheap 1TB portable SSD drive attached to it to use it as a standalone OTA recorder. The link is a newer version than the one I have.

Click to expand...
Don't need the converter, just want to record OTA (digital) then play it back (digital) when I have time. Ah....it does have antenna in, hdmi out. For $30, may as well experiment! Rats, now I need to go get another SSD. Or a cheap spinny HD.
 
TiVo. Before you say service, they have(or at least had)a lifetime(of the box) one time fee service option. I paid for mine some 7 years ago and haven’t paid a penny since. Box and service was less than the last vcr I bought :).

Also. Look into Plex(free). There is a way to record live tv with a tuner(not free)
 
The reason you need internet and "service" with Tivo is for the guide. Makes live a lot easier. You can create manual scheduled recording with Tivo, but it just a lot simpler to do with functional guide. I'm pretty sure you can use and record with Tivo without service if you really want to go down that route. Service for life is $250.

I have Tivo Roamio OTA(digital - 1080p) circa 2016 with lifetime service. You can find them used on ebay for under 250 with lifetime service. Upgrading drive(if needed) is piece of cake.
 
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murphey said:
As for the SDR, wouldn't I need to re-program it each time I want to change the channel?
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I imagine the OEM software (or MythTV, or whatever) does that for you on the fly.
 
another Tivo user here with lifetime of the box subscription.... actually on the second go around
I bought my wife one probably 20 years ago. That box got so long in the tooth and wasn't happy, so instead of fixing it (or trying to) I just bought another box and had to buy a new "lifetime" service. That second box was bought Oct 2016. She still uses it almost daily, but with the streaming services being so prolific now it gets less use now days...

You can set up your own DVR on a computer. I played around with this idea using a Mac Mini probably 13 or so years ago...but abandoned the idea... just because I'm not interested enough in it to push through the laziness to do that project over all the other projects I seem to always have....
 
Brad W said:
another Tivo user here with lifetime of the box subscription.... actually on the second go around
I bought my wife one probably 20 years ago. That box got so long in the tooth and wasn't happy, so instead of fixing it (or trying to) I just bought another box and had to buy a new "lifetime" service. That second box was bought Oct 2016. She still uses it almost daily, but with the streaming services being so prolific now it gets less use now days...
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We also started on TIVO 20 years ago, and currently have two full TIVO boxes and two Minis (which don't require monthly subscription). We were motivated to find SOMETHING that let us skip through commercials (it was an election year) and settled on TIVO. We go to relative's homes for the holidays and are STUNNED at the number of commercials they sit through.

The monthly payment is worth it, as far as I'm concerned. Everything is automated. Want to watch Channel 6 news at 6 PM? Set it up as a season pass, and it automatically records each program. Set it to save the last N recordings, and it automatically deletes the older ones.

Looking for an older movie? Set it up on the wish list, in case any of your stations ever air it.

Wanna see movies with particular actor(s)? Add "Gregory Peck" to a Wish List and it records all of Peck's movies (or offers them to you to select to record). I hadn't realized that Henry Fonda was in a TV western series in the 1950s....

You can set up a wish list for program genres, too...Western, Science Fiction, War, etc.

Not to mention the ability to do "Instant Replay" or "Slo-Mo" for sporting events, like any DVR.

Many of our streaming services are set up via the TIVO, so not only do you need only one remote control to access everything, the remote works the same on all the services.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Many years ago I recorded from cable and broadcast TV to my computer. The setup included an IR emitter that changed the channel on the cable box.

There are still similar systems around.

Now we hardly watch tv anymore, you guys are my entertainment.
 
bflynn said:
Now we hardly watch tv anymore, you guys are my entertainment.
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I finally got off the netflix 2-dvds-a-month plan in 2020, now I'm on the ebay handful-of-dvds-per-year plan...
 
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