OTA DVR Options

[Donut417]

We are a house of cord trimmers. We sub to Netflix, Hulu ($12.99) and we have OTA antennas. Recently we switched from Hulu Live, due to the price increases. I should also mention we have a 1 TB bandwidth cap, so this has been a bit of a challenge as we use 700-900 GB each month, and we came close at least one month of going over. Seeing how most of my shows are on OTA TV, I was thinking of recording from over the air. ALSO, some content I watch on OTA TV is behind the Hulu Live TV paywall. While I go throw on my eye patch and raise my jolly roger, Im looking for a more elegant solution. 

 

What Im looking for

1. Recording live TV as well as watching Live TV at the same time
2. Skipping commercials
3. Decent storage options, preferably something that can be upgraded in the future. 
4. Easy to use 

What would be nice to have but not a deal breaker

1. Share recordings across the network for others to view
   1. Use both Firesticks and Roku Sticks in the house
2. Streaming built in 
   1. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Google TV/Movies, Youtube

What I dont want

1. Monthly fees, Im cool with a one time charge as long as its not too much money, as in $300+ is not something I want to spend on top of hardware 

 

I have considered Plex, not sure how the Live TV functions are on Plex. I do have a gaming laptop that I dont use any more with the 4th Gen i7, 16 Gigs of ram and a 1 TB SSHD, id be willing to convert that in to a plex server. 

[circeseye]

plex?
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watch-record-live-tv-plex-dvr/

 

and heres other products
https://www.amazon.com/slp/digital-tv-recorder/mskjo7ryeoaf6ef

[lieder1987]

Most of the ones I have seen (besides plex) have annual guide fees so watch out for that.

[ahw6224]

I do the Live TV for Plex, through my Cable Subscription, but it would work just the same over OTA.

 

You could get a 4 Tuner box, the HDHomeRun Connect Quatro, which has 4 tuners in it, so it could record/watch TV for 4 TV's at once.

 

The Plex interface works with Roku, and Fire stick, for watching recordings, as well as Live TV functions. 

 

 

I enjoy the guide that they use for it, It usually shows at 2-3 weeks in advance, you can setup Series recordings, so you don't miss a show. 

It can cut out Commercials, when it records. However It's not perfect, but it has improved greatly over the past 6 months.

 

 

Plex does have a Monthly/Yearly/Lifetime purchase fee, and the HD Homerun would have a one time charge as well. 

 

But overall I would recommend using Plex for an OTA DVR Solution

 

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, ahw6224 said:

I do the Live TV for Plex, through my Cable Subscription, but it would work just the same over OTA.

 

You could get a 4 Tuner box, the HDHomeRun Connect Quatro, which has 4 tuners in it, so it could record/watch TV for 4 TV's at once.

 

The Plex interface works with Roku, and Fire stick, for watching recordings, as well as Live TV functions. 

 

 

I enjoy the guide that they use for it, It usually shows at 2-3 weeks in advance, you can setup Series recordings, so you don't miss a show. 

It can cut out Commercials, when it records. However It's not perfect, but it has improved greatly over the past 6 months.

 

 

Plex does have a Monthly/Yearly/Lifetime purchase fee, and the HD Homerun would have a one time charge as well. 

 

But overall I would recommend using Plex for an OTA DVR Solution

 

Would this machine work for the server :https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Y50-70-Laptop-Computer-Generation/dp/B00V7RJH0E

[ahw6224]

50 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Would this machine work for the server :https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Y50-70-Laptop-Computer-Generation/dp/B00V7RJH0E

I don't see any issues with that machine. I run mine off of a 3570k with 8GB of ram. 

 

I would just make sure to keep it hardwired, to get the best results. 

[Donut417]

Just an Update. HD Homerun arrived today. Currently got Live TV playing in my other monitor, I really like this. Im also currently digitizing my DVD's. 

[ahw6224]

42 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Just an Update. HD Homerun arrived today. Currently got Live TV playing in my other monitor, I really like this. Im also currently digitizing my DVD's. 

Glad to here, that everything is working well.

Try out some recordings, and see if you like the quality. If you set the Device settings to Transcode, while it s recording, you can reduce the size of the recordings. I have some recordings that are massive sized, and that has helped reduce file sizes. 

 

I also did the same with my DVD and BluRay library, Running out of space though. 8TB upgrade? Maybe? 

 

 

[Donut417]

13 minutes ago, ahw6224 said:

Glad to here, that everything is working well.

Try out some recordings, and see if you like the quality. If you set the Device settings to Transcode, while it s recording, you can reduce the size of the recordings. I have some recordings that are massive sized, and that has helped reduce file sizes. 

 

I also did the same with my DVD and BluRay library, Running out of space though. 8TB upgrade? Maybe? 

 

 

Yeah, The laptop only got a 1 TB SSHD in it. Might have to look for a larger portable drive.