Time to look at a dedicated DVR

Post #426,085 by drook 10/26/18 10:18:14 PM 10/26/18 10:18:14 PM Reply	Time to look at a dedicated DVR Our cable company just pushed an update that blocks fast-forward and reverse during commercials. I've wanted to cut the cord for years, but they've always made it just convenient enough to not be worth the effort. This is the straw. -- Drew
Post #426,086 by a6l6e6x 10/26/18 10:44:26 PM 10/26/18 10:44:26 PM Reply	That it is a low blow on their part! Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #426,090 by lincoln 10/27/18 2:07:41 PM 10/27/18 2:07:41 PM Reply	Re: Time to look at a dedicated DVR If you find one that isn't from a cable or satellite company, let me know. Many years ago, right after over-the-air broadcasts went digital, I bought a Panasonic unit that recorded to rewritable DVDs. Its tuner worked with digital stations. It died when our house got flooded (guessing when the water hit the wall outlets there must have been a surge or something). Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous. - - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
Post #426,093 by a6l6e6x 10/27/18 10:44:05 PM 10/27/18 10:44:05 PM Reply	If you're going OTA, I can recommend Channel Master DVR+ OTA -- over the air, i.e. old fashioned TV antenna. For example: DVR+ Digital TV Receiver/Recorder You need WiFi access for a channel guide. I use one in my motor home when there is no cable. And I use a USB jump drive for storage. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #426,095 by drook 10/28/18 12:25:14 AM 10/28/18 12:25:14 AM Reply	Are MythTV boxes still a thing? -- Drew
Post #426,097 by static 10/28/18 4:39:22 AM 10/28/18 4:39:22 AM Reply	They are. Had mine for more than a decade. Been through several PCs and tuner cards, though. However I retired it a few months ago and went for a DVR supplied by my ISP, mostly so I can get catch-up TV integration. Wade.
Post #426,104 by Another Scott 10/28/18 11:31:57 AM 10/28/18 11:31:57 AM Reply	MythTV has trouble with encrypted channels. Supposedly CableCARD is supposed to do the magic to let you see encrypted channels, but there are noises that some outfits are encrypting everything now. https://www.google.com/search?q=mythtv+encrypted+channels I signed up for YouTubeTV when it was $35 a month. (It's $40 now.) Still haven't used it, but they keep adding more channels all the time. We have AcornTV for the British murder mysteries, etc., also too. (And Prime, but we've never streamed anything from Amazon either.) I'd be surprised if MythTV were worth the hassle, unless you have a lot of free time, love a challenge, and love to tinker. The cable companies are going to force us all to cut the cord, but they don't care because they're busy becoming WiFi vendors, movie and TV studios, phone companies, etc., etc. They think they'll get our money one way or another... Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #426,101 by Ashton 10/28/18 8:10:58 AM 10/28/18 8:10:58 AM Reply	Curious.. Surely you vacated before inundation (?) Did you not kill house main switch? (Still, I failed also to do this) re the fires/house already no-electricity then.. but I failed to think ahead re surges ..when/IF?? power came back on. {sigh} Ve gets so soon old und so late smart.
Post #426,103 by lincoln 10/28/18 11:09:11 AM 10/28/18 11:09:11 AM Reply	Re: Curious.. Surely you vacated before inundation (?) Water was coming in before we evacuated. We spent the weekend carrying stuff upstairs to save what we could. We couldn't get out of the driveway by Saturday morning - the streets were too flooded already after Friday's 10 - 15 inches of rain. Did you not kill house main switch? No, it didn't cross our minds; we had way too much else on our minds. Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous. - - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
Post #426,106 by Ashton 10/28/18 6:40:49 PM 10/28/18 6:40:50 PM Reply	(Ditto that last..) What nobody wants.. getting better at remembering this stuff/via practice. :-/
Post #426,114 by crazy 10/28/18 11:42:44 PM 10/28/18 11:51:35 PM Reply	Unnecessary Laptop with HDMI port. Tiny remote keyboard. Linux Kodi (which is the modern fork of xbmc) Popcorn (addon, ignore the tv tuner options) 95% of what you want to watch. And I truly mean, all the stuff you wanted to see, and missed, is there. Realtime news? Various websites. Want real real time? Digital antenna. Done I have gotten so annoyed with cable shenanigans that even the stuff I can get on cable I go to the kodi box. Stuff I've recorded, and then thought, wait a sec, why bother fast forwarding commercials when I can just queue it up on kodi? Edited by crazy Oct. 28, 2018, 11:51:35 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #426,116 by drook 10/29/18 10:23:04 AM 10/29/18 10:23:04 AM Reply	Might do that Maybe I'll see if I can still get a Kodi box. Don't need a whole laptop under the TV to do that. And I don't want to have to train my mother-in-law how to use the laptop. -- Drew
Post #426,142 by crazy 10/31/18 2:59:55 AM 10/31/18 2:59:55 AM Reply	I picked up a dedicated box a couple of years ago Booted, gave pretty interface, failed miserably. Tried again a year later using Ubuntu. Reused the remote keyboard that came with the box. Simply worked.
Post #426,145 by drook 10/31/18 9:55:00 AM 10/31/18 9:55:00 AM Reply	Looks like I can install on a Fire stick But first I'm going to put it on my phone and do some screen mirroring via the Roku I've already got. If the content selection and UI looks good I'll get the Fire stick. -- Drew
Post #426,163 by crazy 11/1/18 7:55:07 AM 11/1/18 7:55:07 AM Reply	I thought that as well Failed on my samsung g6. Could have been me.
Post #426,129 by pwhysall 10/30/18 8:16:46 AM 10/30/18 8:16:46 AM Reply	I can't even be bothered with that If the XBox One X doesn't show it, I don't watch it. TV is just not important to me any more.

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