HDTV

[MarkCO]

Well, I guess I have an idea, still does not make sense to me, but then I have not been accused of being normal very many times.

[trlcavscout]

I totally agree with you, and I would not pay for service I didn't need to either, but most people are "hands off" and just want it to work. Another funny thing I notice is that people would rather pay $100 a month then to pay a one time $500 expense.

[MarkCO]

It took me a year, and I stretched it out, over a year. I think if a person was tech savvy, they could spend $500 and get it all done in a day.

[DHC]

It took me a year, and I stretched it out, over a year. I think if a person was tech savvy, they could spend $500 and get it all done in a day.

Took me two days - yesterday PM and today - from when I received the Tablo and Chromecast, to get it all operational. If Dish had not sent me certificates for 2 free movies, I'd be calling them today to place my account in suspended mode. Here is my configuration:

Previously Owned Equipment:

* Panasonic Plasma 50" HDTV
* Yamaha AV Receiver
* Android Smartphone
* Kindle Fire HDX Tablet
* Antennas Direct DB4 OTA Rooftop Antenna
* Samsung Blu-Ray Player w/native apps for Amazon, VUDU, Netflix and others

New Equipment Purchased:

* Tablo Quad Tuner
* Chromecast
* Toshiba Canvio 2TB Portable hard drive

New Equipment On Order:

* ASUS Android Tablet - only because the Tablo App for the Kindle does not currently work with the Chromecast

I first connected the Chromecast to the Yamaha receiver on one of the available HDMI-In slots. Once installed, the rest of the setup was a snap. It took at most 5 minutes to get the Chromecast device fully operational.

Next up was the Tablo. I already had the OTA antenna installed on the roof/chimney (been intending to use OTA signals since they were still broadcasting them from downtown Denver). I also had already installed the Tablo App on both the Kindle and the Smartphone. Connected the coax to the Tablo and moved the ethernet cable from the Dish box to the Tablo. Connected the USB hard drive and then powered it on. First tried to connect to the Tablo thru the Kindle App, but it kept losing connection. Went to the Tablo App on the Android phone and was successful with getting the Tablo configured within just a few minutes. From there it was a matter of the Tablo formatting the hard drive and downloading the Program Guide - both done in the background. There was a bit of a learning curve with getting the Tablo App on the smartphone to cast to the Chromecast. In fact, I learned the Kindle App simply does NOT work with Chromecast presently - and the Android App is a bit buggy. Fortunately, the Web App from my laptop worked perfectly.

At this point all 4 Tablo tuners are in use and recording, and have played back several of the recorded programs. While I think the Kindle will be fine for viewing, my primary interest in the tablet app was to act as a smart remote for the Tablo and for the receiver. I decided to spend the extra money for a new Android tablet running the latest version of Android (4.4) and will add an IR capability so that it can control all the devices from one small 'box.'

So tallying up the costs to get it running (not including smartphone and HDTV) looks like this:

* Tablo 4-tuner $270
* Chromecast $30
* Toshiba Canvio 2TB hard drive $95
* Antennas Direct antenna $90

Just a bit less than $500.

We will use the Blu-Ray player for access to Amazon and VUDU. At some point the Tablo people plan to create an App for the Fire Stick which would simplify things slightly. A couple of things my kids will miss from Dish are Nickelodeon and Disney channel. I'm exploring options to see how I can get these, but if not, there is still plenty of programming available.

Thanks to Mark for initiating this thread. While it has cost me some time and money in the short-term, being able to dump Dish and their $100+ monthly bills will pay off quickly.

[MarkCO]

Awesome!

[MarkCO]

DHC, how does the Antennas Direct Antenna work for you?

I bought a RCA mast style, then bought the amplifier...it was worse. I ended up returning the $75 worth of RCA stuff and am using a flat panel RCA 360 degree in house one that gets me two more channels than I am "supposed" to be able to get. About $30, direct attach to the Tablo, and almost all in full 1080HD.

[SamuraiCO]

The wife and I have wanted to get a newer smart TV. Can't think of a better reason than to cut the satellite bill as well.

[DHC]

DHC, how does the Antennas Direct Antenna work for you?

I bought a RCA mast style, then bought the amplifier...it was worse. I ended up returning the $75 worth of RCA stuff and am using a flat panel RCA 360 degree in house one that gets me two more channels than I am "supposed" to be able to get. About $30, direct attach to the Tablo, and almost all in full 1080HD.

I am using an older Antennas Direct DB4. It brings in all the stations from Lookout Mountain at excellent signal strength (about 30 miles away). Couple of days ago I put a 3-way splitter on the unamplified coax cable and the Tablo connection still reads all channels with excellent signal strength - the only exception being channel 59 which is now moderate strength.

The newer version of the antenna I have is called the ClearStream 2V (https://www.antennasdirect.com/store...V-Antenna.html).

BTW, the reason for the splitter is I now feed the cable to; (a) the Tablo for recording, (b) the HDTV for appointment viewing and (c) the HD Radio input on the receiver. I was surprised to learn of so many OTA HD radio signals on sidebands of the more popular stations.

IHTH

PS - you can order that ClearView antenna from your local Walmart. They even have them on the shelf in a few. FYI

[MarkCO]

Another update. I got the SlingTV (about 8 channels for $20/month). If you order and pay for 3 months, get a FireStick for Free. Will try it for a few months and see how much I actually use it. Dropped the home phone and DSL and got the Comcast internet. All told I went from about $180/month to $40/month and have a lot more options.

Been getting about 55M down and 5.5M up from Comcast which is more than 5 times what I was getting from CenturyLink for about the same price.