RFI: Over The Air DVRs

[Evil_Ed]

How manual do you want to get with it?

The way I did it required a dedicated pc, a connection between the TV antenna and my local network (see HDHomeRun below), and a specific audio card in the pc to send audio optically to my receiver setup for 5.1/7.1 surround audio (since it could handle movies as well as tv). The PC required specific software to get the tv stream via ethernet. How:

SiliconDust sells an HDHomeRun box which you can plug your antenna into, and basically puts TV on ethernet. You can stream it to anything at that point in your local network (but it's a hard-wire connection to your ethernet...not wifi unless they put out something new). Works for basic cable too; anything unencrypted and uses coax to send the signal, basically. SiliconDust has specific windows software you can install to watch TV, and I think has some basic DVR functionality in it though...it's really, really basic.

There's about a thousand different DVR softwares out there; I used to use MythTV on a dedicated linux box. The main thing, of course, would be making sure whatever pc you've decided to dedicate this to, can connect to your TV and use the TV as a monitor, so you could replay things (or watch things live).

Then there's the audio situation...probably not a big deal if you only use the TV's speakers, sending audio over HDMI or something, but it becomes a bigger problem if you have an external 5.1/7.1/etc setup like you would use for home movie night or something. I bought an auidio card that had a compatible optical out to plug into my (then ancient, and now dead) Sony receiver; it allowed me to watch anything in 5.1/7.1/Dolby/THX/etc surround sound. Great for movies and tv. Now that nearly everything's HDMI or DisplayPort...this may not be such a huge deal anymore, but it does bear some research.

It might be a little more involved than you want to do - but it works great, it's expandable, you can stream it to anything on your network/watch from anywhere in the house, and it's %100 controllable by you. The only things you're actually paying for is the hardware. The software's all freeware.

[HeavyDuty]

I don’t see myself doing that, I’d much prefer a plug and play solution like the Tablo I ordered. I got confirmation from Eero that I can plug the Tablo right into the upstairs beacon without issue, and then I can stream to any smart TV in the house that can access the Wi-Fi. That simplicity is worth the $50 a year Tablo charges for their advanced functionality.

In theory, anyway - I’m half expecting a major “gotcha!” to pop up.

[Redhat]

I don’t see myself doing that, I’d much prefer a plug and play solution like the Tablo I ordered. I got confirmation from Eero that I can plug the Tablo right into the upstairs beacon without issue, and then I can stream to any smart TV in the house that can access the Wi-Fi. That simplicity is worth the $50 a year Tablo charges for their advanced functionality.

In theory, anyway - I’m half expecting a major “gotcha!” to pop up.

Forgot to mention...Tablo also pushes out firmware updates a couple times a year.

[HeavyDuty]

Forgot to mention...Tablo also pushes out firmware updates a couple times a year.

I suspect that is good.

[Redhat]

I suspect that is good.

Did it work out for you?

[HeavyDuty]

Did it work out for you?

So far - we’re still not at the house full time, but it seems fine. I have it upstairs with an antenna in a window, it’s connected to the wifi. The TVs both access it that way. (Both are smart TVs.)

No dealbreakers yet.

[Jaywalker]

I have it upstairs with an antenna in a window, it’s connected to the wifi.

When you say it's in the window, do you mean it's inside the house? If so, you probably won't have the grounding problems I had.

I had to give up on my effort a few years ago because of the grounding issue for an outside antenna. Because of terrain I would have had to put it on the opposite side of the house from my electrical service connection where the house is grounded. Given that I would have had to run the ground line from the antenna inside the house which I didn't think I wanted to do. If I grounded it outside then the house would have had two separate grounding wires, which implies a potential (voltage) between the two unless I connected the two locations, which would have been difficult.

I'm not entirely certain that running the ground line inside the house would have been a bad idea, but I found myself guiding the antenna installer more than I was comfortable, so he couldn't answer me about that.

Ideally, I've have put the antenna on a mast on the electrical hookup side of the house, but that would have looked odd.

[HeavyDuty]

Yes, it’s a cheap powered flat antenna that I stuck to the top corner of an inside window. No ground issues so far.

[Redhat]

I use this antenna

https://www.gomohu.com/

[HeavyDuty]

I have this one - I didn’t want to spend much testing the concept.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H1KQ3SH