Amazon Echo Club

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ApK

Yup, I have a few of those for my UPS and my power strips.
But it's a matter of principle!
I didn't say I couldn't solve the problem on my own, I just feel I shouldn't HAVE TO!
Our Edison outlets weren't designed to have big boxes hanging from them!

(I'd settle for manufactures including one of those things in the package for us along with the wall warts, like the way some of the HDMI sticks include a six inch HDMI extender....)

ApK

I’ve got a printer power cable that has the wart in the center with a long AC cord that runs to the wall. It is better than a clunky wall wart, but I still don’t care for a rug wart. I agree, the PS should be built in if at all possible.

[tempest@de]

Originally Posted by OtinG

OTA means "over the air" as in TV stations received using a TV antenna. This device from Amazon is more for cable/cord cutters than for people with cable, satellite, streaming, etc. services.

Yes most if not all cable and satellite service providers offer a DVR service, usually at an add-on fee, to record all of their channels you get. Many of the streaming services now offer cloud DVR recording for their channels, sometimes at an addition fee. This OTA DVR is only for recording the local TV stations you can receive off of an antenna. There are still lots of folks on limited budgets, or for whatever other reasons, which don't have cable, satellite, or streaming services, so this kind of device will be for them. Also, there are some people who do have streaming services but still have to receive their local channels using an antenna, so this device will benefit them too.

A device like this OTA DVR might be something people with cable and satellite might want too so they could record local stations without worrying about the maximum total number of recordings their provider allows at any single time. For example, I have a two channel simultaneous record maximum with my service, so if there are three channels I want to record at the same time I cannot do so. I can only record two at once and if I'm recording two at the same time I can only watch those two channels during recording. If something good was on a local antenna channel this device would allow me to record it at the same time if I wanted to. Admittedly in my case it would be rare to need to record more than two channels simultaneously, but occasionally it happens.

Thank you for explaining, I hadn't understood the concept of OTA, now I get it and why it can appeal to some people.

I’m so used to recording everything without having to think about it that I forgot that not everyone can have access to the same. The only thing I watch "live" is the news, all the rest I record so I can skip the commercials. I don’t have a limit to the number of recordings I can have at the same time and there is no fee for the option of recording or navigating backwards, the only limit is for the space occupied by the recordings, but I never even got to half of it so it is more than enough.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I tried using Alexa (the app) on my iPhone connected via BT to my car stereo system. Sound quality was good. I tried Amazon Music, Spotify, and Pandora. That arrangement was usable, but there were a lot of dropouts due to loss of or poor cellular signal, and I live in a metropolitan area with 7.2 million people. I didn't use it via voice though, I just set the service to whichever one I wanted to use and then selected one of the channels to listen to. If you live in a rural area, cellular coverage might be an issue.

As far as audiobooks, it might be better to download those directly to your phone then connect the phone to your car stereo system and use an audiobook app rather than Alexa. I'm not familiar with Overdrive, so I have no clue if they will let you download the entire book or whether they force you to stream it.

The same goes for podcasts. It would be best to download the podcast to your phone then connect the phone to your stereo and use a podcasting app rather than Alexa.

As far as the pre-downloading goes, Spotify allows you to download a large number of songs to your phone so you can listen even when you don't have an internet connection. It requires the premium subscription and I think you can download at least a thousand songs, but I don't remember the exact number. I did this and used the Spotify app connected via my phone to the car stereo (no Alexa app) and it worked very well. You can also stream through Spotify, but then you risk losing the connection in poor cellular coverage areas.

Everything I listen to now, including Overdrive, is downloaded to my phone first, or mp3 ripped from my old CDs, and played via Bluetooth in the car. I was thinking that I could switch to streaming if doing so would provide usable voice controls. But, no Overdrive is just about a showstopper.

Overdrive is compatible with Android Auto, and it's been months since I tried it. I should maybe try again to see if I can get along with Google Assistant any better now.

[ApK]

All this talk about OTA DVRs....
...and here I recently bought and then returned a Tivo Roamio, because we realized there is so little OTA content that we really care about, it was just stupid to spend hundreds of dollars on a DVR just for that....
...and now here I've gone and ordered a Tablo Dual Lite (works similar to the Recast but has a Roku channel for viewing)....

I need to avoid threads like this for a while. I have kids to put though college....

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

I need to avoid threads like this for a while. I have kids to put though college....

I'll be launching the Black Friday thread in a few weeks, so be warned

[OtinG]

Many of the OTA shows from the major broadcast networks are available through their web apps and web pages. You usually have a limited time to watch them following their original airing, and not all networks do this. CBS now wants us to pay them to even watch some of their prime offerings that are not broadcast on the network without a subscription. Personally I think a network that broadcasts commercials should not be allowed to charge for the right to watch their shows at a later date, unless they cut out the commercials. Many of the cable networks rebroadcast their shows at least once after the original airing so you can tune in later and catch that episode you missed. I like that model. If I miss an episode of Kenda: Homicide Hunter on Investigative Discovery at 9:00pm I can also see it at 12:00am just three hours later and then again the next week before the new episode comes on. I wish the major broadcast networks would do that.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'll be launching the Black Friday thread in a few weeks, so be warned

Hmm...well, I'll have to check it out, just because I'll still be in my 30-day return window for the Tablo, and I'll want to see if it goes on sale....

Originally Posted by OtinG

CBS now wants us to pay them to even watch some of their prime offerings that are not broadcast on the network without a subscription. Personally I think a network that broadcasts commercials should not be allowed to charge for the right to watch their shows at a later date, unless they cut out the commercials.

Marina Sirtis and I agree with you. As she said on a Comic Con panel, regarding watching the CBS All-Access exclusive 'Star Trek: Discovery':

I have never watched it…I am going to explain why I don’t watch Discovery, before they all hate me. We were on the best Star Trek show. If CBS thinks I am going to pay to watch Star Trek, they are demented. I will wait until I go to England and watch it on Netflix, which I pay for anyway.

I'm not eager to pay extra for Disney's upcoming streaming money-grab either, but I'm afraid folks like us are going to be the big losers as the streaming scene shakes out over the next year or two.

ApK

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

Hmm...well, I'll have to check it out, just because I'll still be in my 30-day return window for the Tablo, and I'll want to see if it goes on sale....

Except the sales don't begin until about the second week in November. I start the thread in October because that's when the ads start getting leaked.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Except the sales don't begin until about the second week in November. I start the thread in October because that's when the ads start getting leaked.

Be quiet, kid, I'm rationalizing, here.

[Catlady]

Am I the only one who wants to be able to KEEP what I record on shiny discs? I use a Magnavox DVR with a 1TB hard drive. I can record to the hard drive or directly to discs; I can dub from the hard drive to discs. I have it set up so I can record cable programs or OTA.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Am I the only one who wants to be able to KEEP what I record on shiny discs? I use a Magnavox DVR with a 1TB hard drive. I can record to the hard drive or directly to discs; I can dub from the hard drive to discs. I have it set up so I can record cable programs or OTA.

I have to admit, I didn't even know such a thing was available. That would definitely interest me.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Am I the only one who wants to be able to KEEP what I record on shiny discs? I use a Magnavox DVR with a 1TB hard drive. I can record to the hard drive or directly to discs; I can dub from the hard drive to discs. I have it set up so I can record cable programs or OTA.

Unless the discs are bluray, you cannot record HDTV on them. The highest resolution you can record on DVD discs is 480i, and IMO 480i looks terrible when viewed on an HDTV. It might not bother you though. The HDD should be able to record 1080i though, so that option will work for HDTV recording. The device might be able to upconvert the 480i DVD disc recordings to 720p or even 1080i, but upconversion never looks as good as the video recorded directly into 1080i. That is why satellite services which provide true 1080i feeds have better looking video than cable services which use 720p and upconvert it to 1080i. Compare either of those to streaming services with their less compressed 1080p and you will see just how terrible cable signals are and you will probably get a better signal than even the satellite services provide. All that matters though is if you are happy with the recordings. I doubt I would be happy with DVD recordings that have to be upconverted. I would most likely be happy with the higher resolution recordings on the HDD though.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Unless the discs are bluray, you cannot record HDTV on them.

Well, sure you can...as an mp4 or something... She didn't actually say how she uses those shiny discs....

As for 480i (or preferably 480p, which is also possible on DVD). I'm blessed with small enough TVs and bad enough eyes that it usually looks indistinguishable from hd for me.

Personally I'm trying to reduce my shiny disc collection, but I do have a couple racks full of special favorites.

By the way, I hooked up the Tablo DVR tonight. Really liking it so far. I may retire a good chunk of my home distribution system, now that I have it, and a Roku (or similar) on every TV.
I think the Recast may do well, if there are enough FireTV users, or if the do the decent thing and enable non-amazon clients.

[Catlady]

Yes, I do lose some quality--for one thing, I can't use an HDMI connection with my cable box to record; it will only work with a composite or component connection. But the trade-off of quality for being able to keep something permanently is worth it to me.

Mostly I record old movies and old TV shows. For the TV shows especially, the quality wasn't great to start with, but it's good enough. A lot of this stuff isn't available commercially.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Yes, I do lose some quality--for one thing, I can't use an HDMI connection with my cable box to record; it will only work with a composite or component connection. But the trade-off of quality for being able to keep something permanently is worth it to me.

Mostly I record old movies and old TV shows. For the TV shows especially, the quality wasn't great to start with, but it's good enough. A lot of this stuff isn't available commercially.

And that is the important thing, that it works for you. We have about 80 channels of OTA broadcasting in my area, if you count the sub-channels (8-1, 8-2, 8-3, etc.). A lot of that is garbage, but a lot is the old TV series and movies. Just to name a few station affiliations, we get COZI, Quest, Justice, MeTV, AntennaTV, GetTV, Grit, ION, and others. The bad part is that they are not all the same decent quality of broadcasting. Some of the channels are blurred and basically unwatchable, while others have done a really good job of upconverting the old 480i where it looks decent, but never great. In my case, the point of source (TV reception via antenna) is already lackluster so recording it would just degrade it farther. I get Hulu and they stream a lot of old TV shows from the USA and Britain, and they manage to upconvert them really well, but my local TV stations don't seem to do that very well.

BTW, DVDs will eventually degrade enough to be unusable. They tend to have a shelf life of around a decade, or so I've read. I have only had a few bite the dust, but sooner or later my still large library of old DVDs and Blu-ray discs will deteriorate and no longer be usable. That is kind of sad to think about. My computer CDs were really bad about deteriorating and I lost a lot of stored data from the 1990s. I think almost all of those old CDs stopped being usable years ago.