Hello, I need a DVR for my 80 year old father who watches TV with an antenna. He doesn't have a smartphone nor the internet. What do you suggest? He needs a DVR with remote control. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
No What is happening is ATSC 3.0 aka NextgenTV. Virtually all DVRs are stopping production. Also notice the software update sunset date of 2026 not a coincidence since 2027 is the dream date for ATSC 3.0 to go live but to date has not even been standardized. Therefore nobody wants to invest/warranty something that may not even work. Companies are avoiding being “Dreamcasted” even the Tablo quad or duals are out of production. I’m certain the recast will return once ATSC 3.0 goes full live and a standard is adopted
I'm pretty ticked with what Amazon did with the Recast. We have relied on ours for close to four years now. Lately, the device has become buggy and it will no longer let us delete our recordings. It just deletes the oldest ones it finds before it goes to record. Sometimes it just does not record a scheduled show. I do not want to pay a subscription. I get all of the stations I need here in the JAX, FL area without having to pay for cable. But we still want to record prime-time as we often do not stay up late. We are ok with letting the commercials run, or at least just having to hit the FF button a few times till we get back to the show. The Recast met most of our needs and I am ticked that Amazon has abandoned it.
Yea, unfortunately a lot of people are in a similar situation. Ours went out fairly soon after they made the announcement. It's a shame as it was a relatively good device.
I agree with your summary of Amazon's decisions in abandoning the Recast. In talking to their customer support, they seemed to admit that the Amazon higher-ups were not supporting it like they should. It had great potential And it is a shame that Amazon, like so many other large corporations, fails to realize a large percentage of America does not have good internet service. Too bad Bezos doesn't follow through with innovations like Elon musk.
I've been looking for a good reason to abandon all my Fire TV sticks and cube and this is it! The only reason I used Fire TV sticks was for my recast. Now that they are crapping on us paying customers I'm done with them in all regards. Their streaming devices are nothing but a cluttered mess of adverts on your home page. I certainly won't miss that.
I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about boxing up my Amazon Fire devices for your same reasons. The CLUTTER of Ads on their home screen is BAD and I especially dislike how they keep moving the OTA ribbon further down the Home page making it an annoying task to scroll down 9-10 rows to find the OTA row.
I couldn't agree more. That was the only reason I went went with Amazon through my house with 8 tv's, 2 of which have built in fire stick. But I've also noticed more and more problems worth my firestick and all my Alexa (5). So I guess it's time to ditch them all and move on to something better.
This is my last year with Amazon as soon as the subscription ends I'm done it can all go in the garbage Prime shipping is almost always 2 or 3 days now instead of next day like it was. Tired of making the billionaire even richer at our expense
I purchased the Recast as soon as it was released and I have always been very happy with it, especially having no subscription fees for the guide. I did find that viewing away from home, pretty important for me, was somewhat unreliable, it worked sometimes and sometimes it didn't. Had that worked well it would have been the perfect solution for me. Now that support is going away and after looking through all of the alternatives, I am going with the Tablo whole house four tuner model. I considered HDHomeRun first but not being able to view away from home easily was a killer for me. Happy to hear other comments/recommendations.
We've been really happy with the Recast as well. But, we think it's possibly a sign that the DVR, at least what we envision it as, is on the decline. The Tablo is a solid alternative, and glad you were able to find a solution. 🙂
I use a Tablo with my Roku devices throughout my house and am very happy with it. It sends my antenna signal to any connected device. I use it to record OTA and fast forward through commercials.
Just cut the cord on cable and I'm so glad I didn't go with a Recast for local channels which are easy to get in my area. Nice to know that Amazon kept selling Recasts that they will turn into paperweights in a few years, so they can sell you something else. Already saving a lot and hopefully even more in the future with an atsc 3.0 4 tuner DVR in a couple of years.
Yea, it's the nature of the beast with companies like Amazon. We've had ours for several years, but the continuing to sell is not good. Enjoy those savings, it sounds like you're off to a good start!
I love my Recast, and am very unhappy that it is being discontinued. I cut my cable because I don't want to pay the high prices of content subscriptions. I put an antenna on my roof, and now have many free channels available to me - I just need a way to record them. I'll keep using my Recast until the guide stops working, then I'm going to have to assess my available options for over the air DVR. ☹
Even though I don't record and if Amazon doesn't bring a new recast to market. I'm hoping they'll integrate other OTA DVR Tuners into the guide on Fire devices for local channels. I like that simplicity. I would hate to go to a different app to access local channels. In my area RUclips Tv doesn't have the local CW, it's on demand. I prefer the simplicity!
Yea, it would be nice to see that added as it is a nice convenience. Time will tell. It's highly likely, in our opinion, that it'll come down to the number of people they think will use it and what it'll mean to Amazon's bottom line.
I am sad that recast is being discontinued. I enjoyed being able to watch from anywhere the ota channels from my phone or my recorded shows while away from home. current phones as in the Samsung S22 ultra started having trouble playing them and amazon blamed Samsung and vise versa. so I guess that was the start of the end of Recast. Thanks for your review!
Yea, it really is unfortunate they got rid of it. We get that it's a niche product, but those that use it tend to really like it - at least from what we've heard.
That's why I loved it. However because they are no longer planning to support the recast I'm hesitate to trust any new devices that they plan in the future. I no longer trust their continued support for any of their products.
I love my 4 tuner Recast. I hate they will stop supporting it. I liked that I didn't have to run coax to each tv. I use the recast alot. Is amazon not selling enough devices? They should have prompted it more.
I've been using an HD Homerun for the last 2 years. I set up a DVR on my computer using Channels DVR Server. Now I have all my recorded content and movie library in one place.
2 updates/clarifications on Tablo -- you DO NOT need to subscribe with Tablo to use it -- the premium service primarily gives you 2 week channel guide (and options to "record by series", "prime time" link, etc), as well as remote viewing (if you are technical enough to configure it with your home network.... ymmv). After the 30 day free premium trial -- you'll just have a 24 hour guide. You still have the ability to DVR single shows, and setup recurring. It works well. FYI -- TABLO has also recently discontinued the "Channel Skip" feature for new customers -- citing lack of premium subscription enrollment. The would seem to really gut the premium service which makes zero sense. Who'd subscribe now? Still, a useful device for OTA broadcast and recording. I wont pay $65 a month for youtube tv -- i'd just sign up for traditional cable at that cost. I also love the ability to export what is on my DVR... handy in all kind of ways.
Interesting, good to know on the channel skip feature. It was still there when we were testing it a few months back. We like the two week guide feature, but not worth the cost in our opinion. It's more of a convenience than anything.
@@FrugalRules yeah the 2 week, while nice to have, but isn't alone with $5 a month. I wouldn't bit unless it were like $.99. Your channel skip may still work (for now) -- it's only disabled for new customers. Tablo has stated it takes too many resource to support and develop - there is a press release on their site. So the writing would very likely seem to be on the wall for everyone. I suspect they are just trying to avoid a mass exodus of premium subscribers. Like your content guys!
The reason I threw an antenna in my attic and bought the Recast was to cut the cord and save some money. It seems the money-saving plan is now going out the window . I think it's time I reevaluate my need /dependency on media/TV entertainment. Time to look into hobbies and the library.
We like the Recast DVR better than the Tablo DVR Quard. Now we are upon in the air trying to decide on maybe a Tivo Edge or a cloud DVR. I prefer just one tv guide with all my OTA and streaming channels merged together.
I love my recast. Use it to watch local channels. I use hulu as my on demand. I like how I can plug the antenna into the recast box and then watch my local channels on all the firesticks in my house. I understand that I will no longer be able to record Ota tv, but will I still be able to watch my locals on the firestick? or will I have to switch from hdmi 1 to Air and watch that way. Maybe the airtv is a good idea with the free Sling subscription.
It’s July 2nd, 2023 and I finally cut satellite cord, but all of this has my head in a spin. Trying to decide which streaming service to use, how much I can get free, etc. I have my flat antenna, Amazon Prime and a few apps I’ve found. I MISS the dvr! Without one, I’ll miss all the local shows…WHEN they come back, if I can’t record. I don’t mind watching next day or later. There’s so much “you can do this, or this or that”, lol. I’m frazzled! So it sounds life RUclipstv is the only one with local stations and dvr service at $70/mth. Is that right?
We get it. And, no, YT TV isn't the only option. You can also sue Hulu Live at $69.99 a month or DIRECTV STREAM for $74.99 a month. We typically recommend YT TV or Hulu Live for most people that want a premium, cable-like, experience.
I currently have an amazon firetv and a rooftop antenna connected to a fire tv recast. That more than satisfies my need for programming as I really don’t watch much television. I would like to continue to avoid paying a monthly subscription. Could you please summarize the non-subscription dvr alternatives? Also, if I can live without a dvr, then can I just buy a tuner (again without a subscription) that will provide a programming guide and integrate with amazon prime fire tv?
Tablo would be our first recommendation. You can see our review of ours here: ruclips.net/video/JCzbkc_fbpA/видео.html Beyond that, we've not tested other models. The Tivo Edge & HD Homerun are the next most popular options. They do have subscription options to get their more robust features.
Now that my Amazon recast box is acting up and needs to be replaced, which new DVR has the best latest and greatest technology? We record 95% of all our shows and watch them on our time. We travel a lot in our RV and it would be nice to pull up our recordings on the road and watch them via our smart TV or laptop? I'm stuck between Tablo, HomeRun and Tivo. Which one is the best?
Excellent informational. I ran a complete Amazon ecosystem up until 2022. I have just about 4 of each firestick models, including the fire tv. I tried the recast when it first launched and then again about 2 years later. I was never satisfied with its performance. I live in the 7th largest city in the US and with my Tablo, I get 88 OTA channels. Each time I tried Recast, I was only getting about 46 - 48 channels. Recorded playback was also glitchy and low quality. I truly wanted it to work for me, since I had an Amazon eco. I really wanted the channels to integrated into the firestick to provide a better experience, but it just simply didn't' provide a good experience for me. I'm using a channel master amplifier and one of the best channel master antenna's there is. My equipment was not the issue. The only time I had issues is when I installed the Recast. Before I disbanded my Amazon eco, I had wished they would have improved the Recast device. I would check comments and reviews from time to time; but the same issues would continue to be commented on. I no longer run an Amazon eco but wanted to respond to your informational. I also no longer use my Tablo much, although it's still a part of my current system. I mainly use streaming services now with cloud dvr as you've mentioned. I keep the Tablo in place for when there's an occasional issue with internet outage, via severe weather, a limb falling on a line somewhere, or the most frequent, AT&T techs cut a line somewhere nearby.
One OTA DVR that you did not mention was the sling air TV 2. Which like the Amazon fire recast you don’t have to pay extra to use all the features but you do need to have the Sling TV app. Is that still an good option for Sling subscribers.
That is true. We've not personally tested it, and since it's specific to Sling so we decided not to mention. They are still promoting it, and reviews of it say it's helpful so we would think it's still a good option. Just may have to be something we test/review ourselves. 🙂
Amazon should be forced to implement a product they publicly sold for 10 years. I get terrible antenna reception so it was never a viable option for me but really feel sorry for people that shelled out money for a device they shortly dropping after marketing. Is there a subscription service for Tablo? Thanks!
That's certainly a valid point. Reception can vary widely, depending on various circumstances so we get the frustration. Yes, Tablo has a subscription. The basic one costs $5/month and they offer a discount if you sign up for a year. You can use it without a subscription, but the guide only goes out 24 hours with the free option, vs. 14 days with the paid. You also don't get some content filtering options with the free version. You can try out the paid option with a 30-day free trial. Here's our review of the one we bought & have: ruclips.net/video/JCzbkc_fbpA/видео.html
AirTv Anywhere is still free to use with OTA channels from an antenna. It is integrated well with SlingTV. Unfortunately, it still seems to have heat issues and may not be as sensitive to pick up stations as well as the Amazon Recast.
Channels DVR is what I'm using. Have a HDHomerun Flex 4k for OTA channels. RUclips TV and Philo for live pay tv streaming. Pluto TV, Samsung TV +, Stirr & Plex TV for free ad supported streaming. All combined into one interface with Channels DVR.
One of the better devices they made and then they stop. Unreal! You’d think Amazon of all places would push hard to have this availability on its platform.
well I just dumped Dish tv and cox internet, Why??? well i just found out that my samsung TV has its own network... hundreds of channels even music channels ! that with my local antenna channels is plenty! Now I just need a DVR to record programs while im away. what i am trying to find out is if the streaming i get from Samsung will not be recorded on DVR units unless the TV is actually on. It would be nice to record some programs while i am watching... but main idea is recording while away... dont want to leave the tv on all week long 24/7. FYI just subscribed... very helpful pair you two are!
Awesome, thanks for subscribing! Yep, Samsung TV Plus is a decent service. You can see our review of it here: ruclips.net/video/HRgIZXmfADc/видео.html Since it's an on-demand service, you can't record shows on it. If you're going with an antenna for your locals, you can get a standalone DVR to record over-the-air shows. This video shares a couple of the top choices to consider: ruclips.net/video/VrfQol2kTII/видео.html
@@FrugalRules Oh wow so being that samsung is on demand... the DVR will not pick up signal even if the tv is on? well now thats a bummer... lol. still not going back to pay for tv.... i was raised in the 70s if i missed the tv show... I miss the tv show... i will live. lol
@@HR-rt9nh Correct, yes. An over-the-air DVR will only record over-the-air content. But, it's not uncommon for content on free services like the Samsung one to be available to watch multiple times. 🙂
I have the two tuner recast but it doesn't always interpret PSIP data correctly. We have two stations that share 26-1 one is CW the other is MyNet it takes the guide data from CW and shows the video from MyNet instead of displaying them as 2 different channels.
I'm still using my Fire TV recast. Will firestick sync channels from these devices on the live tv menu? Looking at options for when Recast stops functioning.
I loved my Recast until the network signal stopped working. It still records and I can see that but I can't watch the video's!! Ugh. I was hoping for an upgrade since mine is a couple of years old but guess not. Oh well.
I think it sucks out loud!! I paid 200 on sale for the 1 TB n now it will be obsolete. WTF? I love my Recast but this is such a BS move by Amazon. Im not happy at all about this.
I didn't especially need the DVR function, mainly the OTA tuner to streaming device capability. But since Amazon limits you to one Recast per account, about two years ago I wound up with a Recast at one location and a Tablo at a weekend home. The handwriting was on the wall from the start. Amazon was selling something it didn't want to flourish; they just got my money and were ready to move one. The first clue was the way the guide and dvr functions became hidden in the Fire TV menu. While it was mainly change to steer me to revenue generating content rather than commonly used apps or items with greater utility, Amazon buried and ultimately virtually eliminated the guide and dvr items from the scrollable menu. Oddly, this forced me to use the voice commands of the remotes and associated Echo dots to select Fire TV content. This turned out to be much easier to do than scroll and was an advantage that the Recast had over the Tablo. Commands to the Recast in Alexa Routines have also been an advantage of the Recast. It has been my concern when buying any internet of things type device that depends on the manufacturer's server or cloud - from hubs, to cameras, to switches -- that the server would either go away when the manufacturing company failed or that fees / higher fees would be charged to continue use of the server. I didn't expect that Amazon would go out of business, although I would not have been surprised if they had started charging for some of the stuff we were getting cheap or free. I was surprised that they started to just 'nope' out of the cloud cams, recasts, fire tv boxes that aren't sticks. Ending support for the Recast may have cleansed the Amazon servers of the Recast burden in time. But ending support and introducing issues that beg for support will likely move that process along a good deal faster. Series recording isn't going to be easy without an uptodate guide. But the series recording setting seems to have gone haywire even while guide updates are still happening. We are told this is a support issue at the same time we are told that support is ending. The Recast has always favored a wifi connection to its streaming devices and had to be coaxed into making a wired connection. More recently the Recast seems to be unfindable to fire TV sticks that only have a wired route to the Recast. The Fire TV remote app on a phone is the only device that finds my Recast now. There is more going on with Recast function than simply the end of sales.
It has caused me to have a serious distrust for Amazon products. I've made their products my media and security go to. I'm now planning on eliminating all their products and replacing them except for the fire sticks with other company products. The trust is gone.
I paid over $200 for this Recast only to find out Amazon has changed their mind. A real plus for me was NOT having to wire 6 different antenna's on my 6 TV's. I also depended on this device for the TV guide and for recordings. Fortunately, I'm still able to record on-the-spot recordings to my Panasonic DVR by using a coaxial cable splitter; (one cable connected to my DVR and the other connected to the Recast), so recording OTA is not a real problem; I just won't be able to 'schedule' record to the cloud. I'm already seeing a deterioration in Amazon's lack of support for this device by the constant need to reboot my Recast due to OTA pixilation and "weak signal" messages, however, I'm getting great video from my spliced antenna (connected to my DVR), so I know it's the Recast. Also, I'm VERY disappointed in the fact that Amazon CONSTANTLY relocates "On Now" ribbons on their Home page; they keep moving it down further and further on the Home page..... I've invested quite a bit of money in Fire TV devices (6)..... this is souring my taste for them.
This is exactly why I won't buy into the Amazon "system". No Alexa for me! I have the Recast, and I have found it to be buggy and unreliable, but generally does what I want. But as so often happens, you buy into the plan, get the devices, and they change the platforms. Two companies I like -Apple and Sonos. I have Sonos equipment that's approaching 20 years old, and they still support it. My MacBook is 2009 and it still works great, and they still support it. Amazon does not give a crap about customers.
I have cut the cord yet but am planning to I was about to purchase when I saw it was being discontinued. Went searching for what to da and found this vid. I am so confused, I am currently trying to decide what antenna to get. Been looking at the cord cutter page and antenna man, so I haven't even started researching dvr's.
Yea, it's unfortunate that it was discontinued. But, getting a DVR really comes down to if you plan on doing a lot of recording vs. having a live service that offers your locals. Both of those are excellent channels as well. 🙂
Just had our VisoTV (40") die after 15 years. So soon we will be getting a smart tv it seems. The real irritating thing to us is that the viso had a program guide for looking at a particular channel and seeing what is on for that channel for a large portion of the day and moved/progressed throughout the day. So here is the dilemma; We still have another Vizio TV in the bedroom 37" that has the program guide. Both sets ran on Coax cable from an Over The Air (OTA) antenna through an amplified splitter in the attic. If we get a smart tv, I am wondering what ability we have to utilize both the new Smart TV (as that seems to be the only thing out there) to their full potential. We do not care about recording to watch later, at the moment. It seems that none of the smart TV's including Visio have an onboard program guide anymore. We really want an on TV program guide. Ant suggestions? Do we need to go with Tablo or Tivo to get that?
Based on what we know, and what we're understanding you're saying, yes, you would need something like a Tablo or Tivo. However, if you go with a Samsung, they do have something similar to what you're looking for. It brings in your locals, along with all of their free channels into a unified program guide. We have a video that walks you through that. You can watch it here: ruclips.net/video/HRgIZXmfADc/видео.html
I like the recast, since it is free after purchase of the equipment. It worked well with my old cable based home network but has issues staying connected to my fiber network. Amazon taking away the free over-the-air HD recording box is obviously a stab in the back to its customers while it tries to move to a pay-for-monthly-service model with other partners who charge.
My recast has always been a pos. It’s great when it works but it never has consistently. Currently it loads on the app on my phone but won’t load properly on the firetv. This means I cannot set recording or anything else. I changed my router recently and thought maybe that was the cause as I’m not sure when it went down. I put my old router back in and it still didn’t work. I was going to buy a firetv max but this really makes me rethink Amazon as my primary tool. Thanks for the review and options.
So far my number 1 choice is Tablo since the device is easier to install and the company has good customer support. My other choice would be Plex but that requires a tuner and hard drive storage
I just purchased a Tablo 4th Gen 4 tuner DVR today and this is what I found. 1. I cannot watch streaming channels, buffering and Tablo re-boots. Sometimes I watch a few seconds of video before it freezes. I know I do not have internet bandwidth issues. This appears to be a major defect in the Tablo 4 4tuner unit. 2. I have not hooked up any additional Hard Drives that could be blamed. 3. I have 1GB internet connection and all my other devices work fine. 4. In the setting there is no way to set the resolution. Why? 5. It doesn’t seem possible to add other streaming services which don’t work to the Tablo 4 Guide. 6. Like the Legacy Tablo, this version also loads the guide very slowly, unlike what I see with Amazon Firecast. 7. My question is how you could Tablo offer a product with so many defects. The settings menu offers nothing helpful. 8. I had high hopes this DVR would replace my Firecast which is no longer sold by Amazon with the end-of-life nearing. 9. Today I am thinking of doing a RUclips Video discouraging people from purchasing this product.
I love my recast and I'm very sad that Amazon has decided to walk away from ota recording. ALL of my TVs (7) are Fire and my recast serves them all. Do you know if TiVo supports multiple tvs on one DVR?
I own a recast have had it for almost 3 years now ,love it ,I also own a tablo as well operate both units with different antennas facing different markets .I prefer the recast as compared to tuner performance it blows away the tablo ! So i use the tablo for stations closest to me and the recast for far away stations which picks up stations tablo cant (when i tested each of them using the same antenna) thus I love the recast use it every day and have 4 tv's with fire sticks as well as Roku so can have tv's that only need power no antenna needed (as that is supplied thru either recast/firestick or tablo/Roku app via wifi)Best set up ever .I was thinking that the recast may be updated sometime soon to atsc 3.0 but looks like thats not going to happen now which is a mistake .We will see what happens in the near future .
I love my recast but it recently died. I called Amazon we spent an hour on the phone trying to revive it but to no avail. Thanks for your video. One thing you mentioned in your video but you didn't tell us what the apps were that you say can record and store in the cloud. What apps are you talking about? Thanks again for your awesome video.
@@FrugalRules thank you, so to clarify, both options allow for a higher quality even through the firestick? Meaning the firestick wasn't throttling down the quality, it was recast via amazon? I am hopeful for the higher quality!
@@FrugalRules oh one more question, what system works well with the firestick remote? I am used to saying, "show me my recordings" because of how hidden recast made it to find them. I want to not have to fish for another remote.
@@MIkeDeltaVictor Yes, both state that you can stream up to 4K so long as you're using a device that's capable. If we understand your question correctly, it's highly unlikely you'd be able to using the voice-activated search for recordings. We doubt the Fire stick would have that capability to communicate via voice control to the Tivo or Tablo.
@@FrugalRules in looking at both options I am leaning towards tivo. I can do without voice commands but it was nice to say, record the frugal gourmet... (old school reference) I am a high definition guy and had mitsu when they had the first HDTV options in early 2000s. I could not stand the lower quality from recast but didnt want to pay for dtv. Thanks for your responses.
I own the Amazon recast device. I’m not sure if you can still get some your money back before a year purchase. I’ll see if they make a new device. If not then I’ll get the Hd home run and Apple TV device Wish Amazon let us watch the recast channels on out laptops etc not just our phones. If they were smart anyone who owns a recast device, amazon should put those channels on prime video for us to which our local channels on phones, tablets and laptops etc. If they announce a new recast this month then I’ll stay with the one I have now
Decision to discontinue sucks! The whole point of having the antenna was to avoid the constant issues with retrans agreements as well. I got sick of always losing my locals because the carrier got into a pissing match with the broadcasters. The Recast had soooo much untapped potential.
Since most of Amazon Prime's content is on demand I doubt that we will see a cloud DVR like all of the other services have any time soon. Probably the best you could hope for is something like they're doing with Thursday Night Football. UNLESS... they intend to offer a live tv package similar to Hulu with live tv. 🤔 The problem with that, as I see it, is the changes to sound, video quality, and the overall UI would probably require a complete overhaul of the entire app. 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
We think you're likely correct on that. If that is indeed the case, we just hope they iron out the kinks they had with the first game. You're likely 100% correct on that thought re: live TV. They are angling to try and get more live sports, so that would certainly be a base for that.
And this is why I refrain buying the robot they have and anything but basic fire sticks, I am so tired of paying a ton of money and then they discontinue it
So sorry to hear that. Ours is dead as well. There are a few other options available. You can watch this video - ruclips.net/video/Te5UbkJ9xlI/видео.html to get some ideas.
Shame i was always miffed that the recast never made it to the uk.I use a bt box pro,hd homerun and sky glass along with firesticks,roku ultra and a apple tv.I also still use a sony bluray player from time to time.
A company that makes products an discontinues them leaving you with an expensive “brick” does not deserve the trust of customers. Al my house is full of fire tv sticks, fire cubes, echo dots and so on. I’m not planing to upgrade this devices. I’m already searching for alternatives outside of the AMAZON ecosystem. NO MODE MONEY FROM MY POCKET!!!
Amazon is the worst at supporting their devices once they think it has failed they move on immediately. I bought a gaming controller back when they first came out for 60 bucks within one year it was canceled and didn't work on the newer fire sticks. Now they have Amazon Luna gaming. This is why I don't buy their products. Is there going to discontinue products that easy they should give people credits towards movies or buying stuff on Amazon. This just happened with Google stadia which was a gaming online system and they just gave everyone their money back for everything.
Amazon is really starting to suck. They 'gave' me a free audible account without me asking for it, and then converted it to a monthly $16 charge again without me asking. Fraud!
We're sad to see it go as well. The path is a bit buried to get to it. Here's the path to get to it Settings ->LiveTV->Sync Sources->Fire TV Recast->DVR Storage
Have had the 4-tuner Recast since the beginning. Mainly because, 1.) I already had a couple FireStick 2nd Gens (later upgraded to my current 'standard' 4K's) and Echo Dots. 2.) Mainly because I'm poor and can't afford monthly costs for 'EPG' (or anything else!). Bought it on an AMEX card 5-month payment plan, 'knowing' I'd have no future costs. Now they 'stick us all in the back!' Well, when I heard that 'security updates' were guaranteed until 2026, I assumed that the Recast would remain functional! Who gives a a 'rat's *ss' about security updates, if you don't have the '2-week EPG' OR (even more importantly) the 'DVR Manager', itself?! Without a functioning 'DVR Manager,' it is a useless doorstop, yes? Why would they even MENTION the security update deal? It's not like a smartphone that had important personal info to protect. It's a freakin' DVR! What 'security' does ut even need??? Anyway, last night (Oct. 19th), while I was watching the baseball play-offs, I had FOUR OTA programs scheduled to record. When game was over, I went back to discover that NONE had recorded! And these 'series' recordings no longer had the 'red-dot' indicators showing!! These were NEW broadcasts, so they should have recorded (as they had been for years). They still showed as being set-up under 'Recording Options,' so that wasn't the issue. I decided to go in and CANCEL the Series Recording and RE-DO it ... but it wouldn't work! I had also rebooted the FireStick 4K (Fire OS 6) a couple times AND my Router. None of this helped! Finally decided to attempt to set recording on a few of these as a 'Single Event,' and THAT allowed the 'red-dot' indicator to show up again. But that's not helpful at all! I record so much that I couldn't remember all the series that I record, let alone Days and Times! Additionally, instead of the all the recordings being nested under an icon image for each series ... every single episode recording would get its OWN icon in the 'My Recordings' section! What a mess ... and ultimately unworkable! Then a thought came to me. 'I wonder if Amazon put out one of their constant minor 'updates?' They have screwed up various functionings of the Recast DVR many times in the past! Always frustrating, because they never take responsibility and you would never know how long you would have to live without the important function! Eventually, the issue would get corrected, but it could take weeks, sometimes months! Sigh. And that was when they were 'officially' supporting it! Well, just out of curiosity, I tapped the 'manual' UPDATE button and sure enough ... one was sitting there! Note: I quit doing manual updates a long time ago, as they often nade things WORSE and they would always 'freeze.' After 15-30 minutes, I'd have to give up and either 'Reboot,' if it would let me ... or unplug it from the outlet, if not! Did this 3 times, but afterwards, the 'update' would never complete! My hope being, even those their update (partial?) had likely caused my DVR 'series recording' malfunction, maybe once completed it would be restored? Finally, decided to go to Home page, put it in 'Sleep' mode and go to bed. I can only pray that the update actually completes overnight. Even so, since Amazon's 'update' is what likely broke it, I doubt that my recording ability will be working. I will call them tomorrow and pray that the C.S. person will put me with a Tech person. But will they even DO anything now, since Amazon has officially 'disavowed' us loyal customers? Just curious if you have a 'standard' 4K stick, if you could test out whether you can set-up a 'Series Recording'? Of course, you would have to 'update' it first. Whether the 'O.S. 7' devices connected to Recast DVR's wete ALSO affected like mine, I have no way to know, unless someone reports it to any of the regular content providers (TDUK, Doc Squiffy, you guys, etc). Sorry for the interminable length, but pls respond, if you would be so kind. Thanx.
Yes Amazon takes your money and then abandons the product what Amazon should do is return everyone's money and everyone should just return the product to Amazon that's playing it fair if it doesn't work give the people back their money and let us move on to something that does work. Because I did purchase the Fortuner one for a couple of my family members which cost me quite a lot of money and they should just refund my money back and they can have their product.
DVRs are dead man walking. We had Tivos for decades and when ours started dying last month searched for alternatives. We went completely to streaming with RUclips TV. Unlimited storage and 9-month retention on everything you record. And killing the TV service from Xfinity reduced the cable/internet bill from $200/mo. to $70/mo. RUclips TV is $70/mo. so we are seeing a net saving $60/mo. Plus, we can watch/control recordings on every computer, tablet, phone we have, even when we travel. The local news is the only thing that is locale specific.
Nothing can beat a local DVR. With cloud DVRs you lose some control and you're at the mercy of the provider. Channels DVR is a great product. I have RUclips TV and Philo but almost never use their DVRs because I have everything in one interface with Channels DVR.
Honestly, I'm surprised that antenna companies aren't trying to figure out a way to boost or block their TV signal unless you pay a monthly subscription fee. Unless the product produces a constant, continuous flow of revenue, I think the company loses incentive to manufacture and sell the products.
Fire TV is the worst TV I have ever had and I see why a neighbor let me just have it brand new. They suck really bad and are very difficult to manage. It's not a TV, it's something else that's very deceptive and wicked.
what ever OTA DVR you chose, DO NOT USE AirTV / Sling Nothing but firmware / Software issues for over a month.. Bought an HDHomerun with 1TB and really like it, very reliable only thing is your cant view content from outside your home connection like you could with AirTV, that's whats at issue these days Hard Drive to Slings system handshaking, not working
After three tries yesterday, I was able to get past the handshaking issue after not using my AirTV Anywhere (AIRTV3) for months. I don't know if it was ever as reliable as the Recast or other options. I liked the integration with SlingTV when I could use it.
Do you think we’re nearing the death of the DVR?
Hello, I need a DVR for my 80 year old father who watches TV with an antenna. He doesn't have a smartphone nor the internet. What do you suggest? He needs a DVR with remote control. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
@@davidhunternyc1 The only mainstream one we know of that has a remote are Tivo DVRs. We'd recommend a Tablo if there's no need for a remote.
@@FrugalRules Thank you so much.
@@davidhunternyc1 Of course! 🙂
No
What is happening is ATSC 3.0 aka NextgenTV. Virtually all DVRs are stopping production. Also notice the software update sunset date of 2026 not a coincidence since 2027 is the dream date for ATSC 3.0 to go live but to date has not even been standardized. Therefore nobody wants to invest/warranty something that may not even work. Companies are avoiding being “Dreamcasted” even the Tablo quad or duals are out of production. I’m certain the recast will return once ATSC 3.0 goes full live and a standard is adopted
Been using recast for years and it’s featured have saved me thousands over cable fees!
I'm pretty ticked with what Amazon did with the Recast. We have relied on ours for close to four years now. Lately, the device has become buggy and it will no longer let us delete our recordings. It just deletes the oldest ones it finds before it goes to record. Sometimes it just does not record a scheduled show. I do not want to pay a subscription. I get all of the stations I need here in the JAX, FL area without having to pay for cable. But we still want to record prime-time as we often do not stay up late. We are ok with letting the commercials run, or at least just having to hit the FF button a few times till we get back to the show. The Recast met most of our needs and I am ticked that Amazon has abandoned it.
Yea, unfortunately a lot of people are in a similar situation. Ours went out fairly soon after they made the announcement. It's a shame as it was a relatively good device.
I agree with your summary of Amazon's decisions in abandoning the Recast. In talking to their customer support, they seemed to admit that the Amazon higher-ups were not supporting it like they should. It had great potential And it is a shame that Amazon, like so many other large corporations, fails to realize a large percentage of America does not have good internet service. Too bad Bezos doesn't follow through with innovations like Elon musk.
Great point. It wasn't a flashy device, in our opinion, but so good at what it did. It's a shame they've axed it.
I've been looking for a good reason to abandon all my Fire TV sticks and cube and this is it! The only reason I used Fire TV sticks was for my recast. Now that they are crapping on us paying customers I'm done with them in all regards. Their streaming devices are nothing but a cluttered mess of adverts on your home page. I certainly won't miss that.
I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about boxing up my Amazon Fire devices for your same reasons. The CLUTTER of Ads on their home screen is BAD and I especially dislike how they keep moving the OTA ribbon further down the Home page making it an annoying task to scroll down 9-10 rows to find the OTA row.
I couldn't agree more. That was the only reason I went went with Amazon through my house with 8 tv's, 2 of which have built in fire stick. But I've also noticed more and more problems worth my firestick and all my Alexa (5). So I guess it's time to ditch them all and move on to something better.
This is my last year with Amazon as soon as the subscription ends I'm done it can all go in the garbage Prime shipping is almost always 2 or 3 days now instead of next day like it was. Tired of making the billionaire even richer at our expense
I just purchased the hdhomerun 4k flex atsc 3.0 (future proofing). You need to add an external usb drive.
I wish Amazon did not discontinue the fire TV recast
I agree!
Agreed!
Anything that actually works isn't good for the billionaires profit margin
Me too, I loved the recast until it stopped working.
I have tivo now , almost 2 years
I purchased the Recast as soon as it was released and I have always been very happy with it, especially having no subscription fees for the guide. I did find that viewing away from home, pretty important for me, was somewhat unreliable, it worked sometimes and sometimes it didn't. Had that worked well it would have been the perfect solution for me. Now that support is going away and after looking through all of the alternatives, I am going with the Tablo whole house four tuner model. I considered HDHomeRun first but not being able to view away from home easily was a killer for me. Happy to hear other comments/recommendations.
We've been really happy with the Recast as well. But, we think it's possibly a sign that the DVR, at least what we envision it as, is on the decline. The Tablo is a solid alternative, and glad you were able to find a solution. 🙂
I use a Tablo with my Roku devices throughout my house and am very happy with it. It sends my antenna signal to any connected device. I use it to record OTA and fast forward through commercials.
The Tablo/Roku set up is a solid option, especially if you're not an Amazon home.
Hey, which Tablo do you recommend? Thanks
@@kc310 Tablo dual 128 gb OTA DVR. It has 128 gb of built in storage and 2 tuners so you can record/watch 2 shows at once.
Just cut the cord on cable and I'm so glad I didn't go with a Recast for local channels which are easy to get in my area. Nice to know that Amazon kept selling Recasts that they will turn into paperweights in a few years, so they can sell you something else. Already saving a lot and hopefully even more in the future with an atsc 3.0 4 tuner DVR in a couple of years.
Yea, it's the nature of the beast with companies like Amazon. We've had ours for several years, but the continuing to sell is not good. Enjoy those savings, it sounds like you're off to a good start!
I have a 4 channel 1 TB recast and love it I had no idea they were discontinuing it until I seen this now I'm pissed this is some bull crap!!😡😡
Yep, we're with you. We weren't too happy about it either, but it also didn't surprise us knowing how Amazon can be.
I love my Recast, and am very unhappy that it is being discontinued. I cut my cable because I don't want to pay the high prices of content subscriptions. I put an antenna on my roof, and now have many free channels available to me - I just need a way to record them. I'll keep using my Recast until the guide stops working, then I'm going to have to assess my available options for over the air DVR. ☹
I'm not waiting on Amazon to stop the support I'm searching now. And whatever product I select I will not purchase through Amazon.
Even though I don't record and if Amazon doesn't bring a new recast to market. I'm hoping they'll integrate other OTA DVR Tuners into the guide on Fire devices for local channels. I like that simplicity. I would hate to go to a different app to access local channels. In my area RUclips Tv doesn't have the local CW, it's on demand. I prefer the simplicity!
Yea, it would be nice to see that added as it is a nice convenience. Time will tell. It's highly likely, in our opinion, that it'll come down to the number of people they think will use it and what it'll mean to Amazon's bottom line.
I am sad that recast is being discontinued. I enjoyed being able to watch from anywhere the ota channels from my phone or my recorded shows while away from home. current phones as in the Samsung S22 ultra started having trouble playing them and amazon blamed Samsung and vise versa. so I guess that was the start of the end of Recast. Thanks for your review!
Yea, it really is unfortunate they got rid of it. We get that it's a niche product, but those that use it tend to really like it - at least from what we've heard.
Tivo has same features
@@TimFrentz Tivo charges you for their service don't they? Amazon does not.
That's why I loved it. However because they are no longer planning to support the recast I'm hesitate to trust any new devices that they plan in the future. I no longer trust their continued support for any of their products.
I love my 4 tuner Recast. I hate they will stop supporting it. I liked that I didn't have to run coax to each tv. I use the recast alot.
Is amazon not selling enough devices?
They should have prompted it more.
I've been using an HD Homerun for the last 2 years. I set up a DVR on my computer using Channels DVR Server. Now I have all my recorded content and movie library in one place.
Channels DVR is great.
dang. makes sense. i just found out about this device and was looking forward to using it.
2 updates/clarifications on Tablo -- you DO NOT need to subscribe with Tablo to use it -- the premium service primarily gives you 2 week channel guide (and options to "record by series", "prime time" link, etc), as well as remote viewing (if you are technical enough to configure it with your home network.... ymmv). After the 30 day free premium trial -- you'll just have a 24 hour guide. You still have the ability to DVR single shows, and setup recurring. It works well. FYI -- TABLO has also recently discontinued the "Channel Skip" feature for new customers -- citing lack of premium subscription enrollment. The would seem to really gut the premium service which makes zero sense. Who'd subscribe now? Still, a useful device for OTA broadcast and recording. I wont pay $65 a month for youtube tv -- i'd just sign up for traditional cable at that cost. I also love the ability to export what is on my DVR... handy in all kind of ways.
Interesting, good to know on the channel skip feature. It was still there when we were testing it a few months back. We like the two week guide feature, but not worth the cost in our opinion. It's more of a convenience than anything.
@@FrugalRules yeah the 2 week, while nice to have, but isn't alone with $5 a month. I wouldn't bit unless it were like $.99. Your channel skip may still work (for now) -- it's only disabled for new customers. Tablo has stated it takes too many resource to support and develop - there is a press release on their site. So the writing would very likely seem to be on the wall for everyone. I suspect they are just trying to avoid a mass exodus of premium subscribers.
Like your content guys!
Tablo also discontinued option to purchase lifetime subscription for new customers
@@KE2AIO That would make sense for them to want to avoid a mass exodus, especially with clawing back a few features.
Greed is so prevalent now.
The reason I threw an antenna in my attic and bought the Recast was to cut the cord and save some money. It seems the money-saving plan is now going out the window . I think it's time I reevaluate my need /dependency on media/TV entertainment. Time to look into hobbies and the library.
We like the Recast DVR better than the Tablo DVR Quard. Now we are upon in the air trying to decide on maybe a Tivo Edge or a cloud DVR. I prefer just one tv guide with all my OTA and streaming channels merged together.
Extremely good video, just stumbled on your channel, enjoy the direct approach
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback and glad to have you. 🙂
I love my recast. Use it to watch local channels. I use hulu as my on demand. I like how I can plug the antenna into the recast box and then watch my local channels on all the firesticks in my house. I understand that I will no longer be able to record Ota tv, but will I still be able to watch my locals on the firestick? or will I have to switch from hdmi 1 to Air and watch that way. Maybe the airtv is a good idea with the free Sling subscription.
Yes, it's likely you'd need to switch over to Air.
It’s July 2nd, 2023 and I finally cut satellite cord, but all of this has my head in a spin. Trying to decide which streaming service to use, how much I can get free, etc. I have my flat antenna, Amazon Prime and a few apps I’ve found. I MISS the dvr! Without one, I’ll miss all the local shows…WHEN they come back, if I can’t record. I don’t mind watching next day or later. There’s so much “you can do this, or this or that”, lol. I’m frazzled! So it sounds life RUclipstv is the only one with local stations and dvr service at $70/mth. Is that right?
We get it. And, no, YT TV isn't the only option. You can also sue Hulu Live at $69.99 a month or DIRECTV STREAM for $74.99 a month. We typically recommend YT TV or Hulu Live for most people that want a premium, cable-like, experience.
I currently have an amazon firetv and a rooftop antenna connected to a fire tv recast. That more than satisfies my need for programming as I really don’t watch much television. I would like to continue to avoid paying a monthly subscription. Could you please summarize the non-subscription dvr alternatives? Also, if I can live without a dvr, then can I just buy a tuner (again without a subscription) that will provide a programming guide and integrate with amazon prime fire tv?
Tablo would be our first recommendation. You can see our review of ours here: ruclips.net/video/JCzbkc_fbpA/видео.html
Beyond that, we've not tested other models. The Tivo Edge & HD Homerun are the next most popular options. They do have subscription options to get their more robust features.
@@FrugalRules Thank you.
Now that my Amazon recast box is acting up and needs to be replaced, which new DVR has the best latest and greatest technology? We record 95% of all our shows and watch them on our time. We travel a lot in our RV and it would be nice to pull up our recordings on the road and watch them via our smart TV or laptop? I'm stuck between Tablo, HomeRun and Tivo. Which one is the best?
Excellent informational. I ran a complete Amazon ecosystem up until 2022. I have just about 4 of each firestick models, including the fire tv. I tried the recast when it first launched and then again about 2 years later. I was never satisfied with its performance. I live in the 7th largest city in the US and with my Tablo, I get 88 OTA channels. Each time I tried Recast, I was only getting about 46 - 48 channels. Recorded playback was also glitchy and low quality. I truly wanted it to work for me, since I had an Amazon eco. I really wanted the channels to integrated into the firestick to provide a better experience, but it just simply didn't' provide a good experience for me. I'm using a channel master amplifier and one of the best channel master antenna's there is. My equipment was not the issue. The only time I had issues is when I installed the Recast. Before I disbanded my Amazon eco, I had wished they would have improved the Recast device. I would check comments and reviews from time to time; but the same issues would continue to be commented on. I no longer run an Amazon eco but wanted to respond to your informational. I also no longer use my Tablo much, although it's still a part of my current system. I mainly use streaming services now with cloud dvr as you've mentioned. I keep the Tablo in place for when there's an occasional issue with internet outage, via severe weather, a limb falling on a line somewhere, or the most frequent, AT&T techs cut a line somewhere nearby.
Interesting, thanks for the insight. It always worked well for us, but no device is perfect.
One OTA DVR that you did not mention was the sling air TV 2. Which like the Amazon fire recast you don’t have to pay extra to use all the features but you do need to have the Sling TV app. Is that still an good option for Sling subscribers.
That is true. We've not personally tested it, and since it's specific to Sling so we decided not to mention. They are still promoting it, and reviews of it say it's helpful so we would think it's still a good option. Just may have to be something we test/review ourselves. 🙂
Amazon should be forced to implement a product they publicly sold for 10 years. I get terrible antenna reception so it was never a viable option for me but really feel sorry for people that shelled out money for a device they shortly dropping after marketing. Is there a subscription service for Tablo? Thanks!
That's certainly a valid point. Reception can vary widely, depending on various circumstances so we get the frustration. Yes, Tablo has a subscription. The basic one costs $5/month and they offer a discount if you sign up for a year. You can use it without a subscription, but the guide only goes out 24 hours with the free option, vs. 14 days with the paid. You also don't get some content filtering options with the free version. You can try out the paid option with a 30-day free trial. Here's our review of the one we bought & have: ruclips.net/video/JCzbkc_fbpA/видео.html
AirTv Anywhere is still free to use with OTA channels from an antenna. It is integrated well with SlingTV. Unfortunately, it still seems to have heat issues and may not be as sensitive to pick up stations as well as the Amazon Recast.
Channels DVR is what I'm using. Have a HDHomerun Flex 4k for OTA channels. RUclips TV and Philo for live pay tv streaming. Pluto TV, Samsung TV +, Stirr & Plex TV for free ad supported streaming. All combined into one interface with Channels DVR.
One of the better devices they made and then they stop. Unreal! You’d think Amazon of all places would push hard to have this availability on its platform.
Agreed. It was a really good device, and it's sad it's no longer supported.
I've had mine for 5+ years and it's been completely worry-free. Sad to learn it's going away and hopefully I can find a worthy replacement.
well I just dumped Dish tv and cox internet, Why??? well i just found out that my samsung TV has its own network... hundreds of channels even music channels ! that with my local antenna channels is plenty! Now I just need a DVR to record programs while im away. what i am trying to find out is if the streaming i get from Samsung will not be recorded on DVR units unless the TV is actually on. It would be nice to record some programs while i am watching... but main idea is recording while away... dont want to leave the tv on all week long 24/7. FYI just subscribed... very helpful pair you two are!
Awesome, thanks for subscribing! Yep, Samsung TV Plus is a decent service. You can see our review of it here: ruclips.net/video/HRgIZXmfADc/видео.html
Since it's an on-demand service, you can't record shows on it. If you're going with an antenna for your locals, you can get a standalone DVR to record over-the-air shows. This video shares a couple of the top choices to consider: ruclips.net/video/VrfQol2kTII/видео.html
@@FrugalRules Oh wow so being that samsung is on demand... the DVR will not pick up signal even if the tv is on? well now thats a bummer... lol. still not going back to pay for tv.... i was raised in the 70s if i missed the tv show... I miss the tv show... i will live. lol
@@HR-rt9nh Correct, yes. An over-the-air DVR will only record over-the-air content. But, it's not uncommon for content on free services like the Samsung one to be available to watch multiple times. 🙂
I still use recast. It won't stay connected on the tablet but works well on the fire tv stick.
I have the two tuner recast but it doesn't always interpret PSIP data correctly. We have two stations that share 26-1 one is CW the other is MyNet it takes the guide data from CW and shows the video from MyNet instead of displaying them as 2 different channels.
I'm still using my Fire TV recast. Will firestick sync channels from these devices on the live tv menu? Looking at options for when Recast stops functioning.
AWESOME video, guys. I'm a recast user and will miss it when it dies or the service is degraded. :/ -
I loved my Recast until the network signal stopped working. It still records and I can see that but I can't watch the video's!! Ugh. I was hoping for an upgrade since mine is a couple of years old but guess not. Oh well.
I think it sucks out loud!! I paid 200 on sale for the 1 TB n now it will be obsolete. WTF?
I love my Recast but this is such a BS move by Amazon. Im not happy at all about this.
I didn't especially need the DVR function, mainly the OTA tuner to streaming device capability. But since Amazon limits you to one Recast per account, about two years ago I wound up with a Recast at one location and a Tablo at a weekend home. The handwriting was on the wall from the start. Amazon was selling something it didn't want to flourish; they just got my money and were ready to move one. The first clue was the way the guide and dvr functions became hidden in the Fire TV menu. While it was mainly change to steer me to revenue generating content rather than commonly used apps or items with greater utility, Amazon buried and ultimately virtually eliminated the guide and dvr items from the scrollable menu. Oddly, this forced me to use the voice commands of the remotes and associated Echo dots to select Fire TV content. This turned out to be much easier to do than scroll and was an advantage that the Recast had over the Tablo. Commands to the Recast in Alexa Routines have also been an advantage of the Recast. It has been my concern when buying any internet of things type device that depends on the manufacturer's server or cloud - from hubs, to cameras, to switches -- that the server would either go away when the manufacturing company failed or that fees / higher fees would be charged to continue use of the server. I didn't expect that Amazon would go out of business, although I would not have been surprised if they had started charging for some of the stuff we were getting cheap or free. I was surprised that they started to just 'nope' out of the cloud cams, recasts, fire tv boxes that aren't sticks. Ending support for the Recast may have cleansed the Amazon servers of the Recast burden in time. But ending support and introducing issues that beg for support will likely move that process along a good deal faster. Series recording isn't going to be easy without an uptodate guide. But the series recording setting seems to have gone haywire even while guide updates are still happening. We are told this is a support issue at the same time we are told that support is ending. The Recast has always favored a wifi connection to its streaming devices and had to be coaxed into making a wired connection. More recently the Recast seems to be unfindable to fire TV sticks that only have a wired route to the Recast. The Fire TV remote app on a phone is the only device that finds my Recast now. There is more going on with Recast function than simply the end of sales.
It has caused me to have a serious distrust for Amazon products. I've made their products my media and security go to. I'm now planning on eliminating all their products and replacing them except for the fire sticks with other company products. The trust is gone.
I paid over $200 for this Recast only to find out Amazon has changed their mind. A real plus for me was NOT having to wire 6 different antenna's on my 6 TV's. I also depended on this device for the TV guide and for recordings. Fortunately, I'm still able to record on-the-spot recordings to my Panasonic DVR by using a coaxial cable splitter; (one cable connected to my DVR and the other connected to the Recast), so recording OTA is not a real problem; I just won't be able to 'schedule' record to the cloud. I'm already seeing a deterioration in Amazon's lack of support for this device by the constant need to reboot my Recast due to OTA pixilation and "weak signal" messages, however, I'm getting great video from my spliced antenna (connected to my DVR), so I know it's the Recast. Also, I'm VERY disappointed in the fact that Amazon CONSTANTLY relocates "On Now" ribbons on their Home page; they keep moving it down further and further on the Home page..... I've invested quite a bit of money in Fire TV devices (6)..... this is souring my taste for them.
This is exactly why I won't buy into the Amazon "system". No Alexa for me! I have the Recast, and I have found it to be buggy and unreliable, but generally does what I want. But as so often happens, you buy into the plan, get the devices, and they change the platforms. Two companies I like -Apple and Sonos. I have Sonos equipment that's approaching 20 years old, and they still support it. My MacBook is 2009 and it still works great, and they still support it. Amazon does not give a crap about customers.
I'm a big UFC fan. What can I use to record something off Kodi?
My Fire TV App on my older ipad and older kindle are still letting me record and view OTA shows.
I have cut the cord yet but am planning to I was about to purchase when I saw it was being discontinued. Went searching for what to da and found this vid. I am so confused, I am currently trying to decide what antenna to get. Been looking at the cord cutter page and antenna man, so I haven't even started researching dvr's.
Yea, it's unfortunate that it was discontinued. But, getting a DVR really comes down to if you plan on doing a lot of recording vs. having a live service that offers your locals. Both of those are excellent channels as well. 🙂
Just had our VisoTV (40") die after 15 years. So soon we will be getting a smart tv it seems. The real irritating thing to us is that the viso had a program guide for looking at a particular channel and seeing what is on for that channel for a large portion of the day and moved/progressed throughout the day.
So here is the dilemma; We still have another Vizio TV in the bedroom 37" that has the program guide. Both sets ran on Coax cable from an Over The Air (OTA) antenna through an amplified splitter in the attic. If we get a smart tv, I am wondering what ability we have to utilize both the new Smart TV (as that seems to be the only thing out there) to their full potential. We do not care about recording to watch later, at the moment. It seems that none of the smart TV's including Visio have an onboard program guide anymore. We really want an on TV program guide. Ant suggestions? Do we need to go with Tablo or Tivo to get that?
Based on what we know, and what we're understanding you're saying, yes, you would need something like a Tablo or Tivo. However, if you go with a Samsung, they do have something similar to what you're looking for. It brings in your locals, along with all of their free channels into a unified program guide. We have a video that walks you through that. You can watch it here: ruclips.net/video/HRgIZXmfADc/видео.html
@@FrugalRules Thank you for the reply; I will now look at their tvs also.
I like the recast, since it is free after purchase of the equipment. It worked well with my old cable based home network but has issues staying connected to my fiber network. Amazon taking away the free over-the-air HD recording box is obviously a stab in the back to its customers while it tries to move to a pay-for-monthly-service model with other partners who charge.
We loved the Recast as well. It's too bad, though not surprising, that they killed it off.
My recast has always been a pos. It’s great when it works but it never has consistently. Currently it loads on the app on my phone but won’t load properly on the firetv. This means I cannot set recording or anything else. I changed my router recently and thought maybe that was the cause as I’m not sure when it went down. I put my old router back in and it still didn’t work. I was going to buy a firetv max but this really makes me rethink Amazon as my primary tool. Thanks for the review and options.
So far my number 1 choice is Tablo since the device is easier to install and the company has good customer support. My other choice would be Plex but that requires a tuner and hard drive storage
Tablo is a good one to use. We preferred the Recast given how it works with other Amazon devices, but Tablo is certainly a good alternative.
I just purchased a Tablo 4th Gen 4 tuner DVR today and this is what I found.
1. I cannot watch streaming channels, buffering and Tablo re-boots. Sometimes I watch a few seconds of video before it freezes. I know I do not have internet bandwidth issues. This appears to be a major defect in the Tablo 4 4tuner unit.
2. I have not hooked up any additional Hard Drives that could be blamed.
3. I have 1GB internet connection and all my other devices work fine.
4. In the setting there is no way to set the resolution. Why?
5. It doesn’t seem possible to add other streaming services which don’t work to the Tablo 4 Guide.
6. Like the Legacy Tablo, this version also loads the guide very slowly, unlike what I see with Amazon Firecast.
7. My question is how you could Tablo offer a product with so many defects. The settings menu offers nothing helpful.
8. I had high hopes this DVR would replace my Firecast which is no longer sold by Amazon with the end-of-life nearing.
9. Today I am thinking of doing a RUclips Video discouraging people from purchasing this product.
I love my recast and I'm very sad that Amazon has decided to walk away from ota recording. ALL of my TVs (7) are Fire and my recast serves them all. Do you know if TiVo supports multiple tvs on one DVR?
Is there a wifi-based OTA DVR that will appear in the Live Guide?
I own a recast have had it for almost 3 years now ,love it ,I also own a tablo as well operate both units with different antennas facing different markets .I prefer the recast as compared to tuner performance it blows away the tablo ! So i use the tablo for stations closest to me and the recast for far away stations which picks up stations tablo cant (when i tested each of them using the same antenna) thus I love the recast use it every day and have 4 tv's with fire sticks as well as Roku so can have tv's that only need power no antenna needed (as that is supplied thru either recast/firestick or tablo/Roku app via wifi)Best set up ever .I was thinking that the recast may be updated sometime soon to atsc 3.0 but looks like thats not going to happen now which is a mistake .We will see what happens in the near future .
I love my recast but it recently died. I called Amazon we spent an hour on the phone trying to revive it but to no avail. Thanks for your video. One thing you mentioned in your video but you didn't tell us what the apps were that you say can record and store in the cloud. What apps are you talking about? Thanks again for your awesome video.
Are the Tablo or the tivo option integrated with firestick and either way, will they provide for 1080i or even 4k? Thanks!
Great question. Yes, on both. They will also allow for 1080 or 4K, given you're using one of the supported devices on the latter.
@@FrugalRules thank you, so to clarify, both options allow for a higher quality even through the firestick? Meaning the firestick wasn't throttling down the quality, it was recast via amazon? I am hopeful for the higher quality!
@@FrugalRules oh one more question, what system works well with the firestick remote? I am used to saying, "show me my recordings" because of how hidden recast made it to find them. I want to not have to fish for another remote.
@@MIkeDeltaVictor Yes, both state that you can stream up to 4K so long as you're using a device that's capable.
If we understand your question correctly, it's highly unlikely you'd be able to using the voice-activated search for recordings. We doubt the Fire stick would have that capability to communicate via voice control to the Tivo or Tablo.
@@FrugalRules in looking at both options I am leaning towards tivo. I can do without voice commands but it was nice to say, record the frugal gourmet... (old school reference) I am a high definition guy and had mitsu when they had the first HDTV options in early 2000s. I could not stand the lower quality from recast but didnt want to pay for dtv. Thanks for your responses.
I own the Amazon recast device. I’m not sure if you can still get some your money back before a year purchase. I’ll see if they make a new device.
If not then I’ll get the Hd home run and Apple TV device
Wish Amazon let us watch the recast channels on out laptops etc not just our phones. If they were smart anyone who owns a recast device, amazon should put those channels on prime video for us to which our local channels on phones, tablets and laptops etc.
If they announce a new recast this month then I’ll stay with the one I have now
I have a recast and I like it very much, I am sad they are discontinuing that service 😢.
We are as well, but it's par for the course with Amazon.
Decision to discontinue sucks! The whole point of having the antenna was to avoid the constant issues with retrans agreements as well. I got sick of always losing my locals because the carrier got into a pissing match with the broadcasters. The Recast had soooo much untapped potential.
Did not use the dvr too much. I just like I could watch my local channels on my phone or my Firestick in other locations.
Since most of Amazon Prime's content is on demand I doubt that we will see a cloud DVR like all of the other services have any time soon.
Probably the best you could hope for is something like they're doing with Thursday Night Football.
UNLESS... they intend to offer a live tv package similar to Hulu with live tv. 🤔
The problem with that, as I see it, is the changes to sound, video quality, and the overall UI would probably require a complete overhaul of the entire app. 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
We think you're likely correct on that. If that is indeed the case, we just hope they iron out the kinks they had with the first game. You're likely 100% correct on that thought re: live TV. They are angling to try and get more live sports, so that would certainly be a base for that.
Air tv 2 has a free guide. You need a Sling tv account but you don’t have a subscription.
It was crap 5 years ago $300 for 2 device guide always said (no data available) never worked much happier with TABLO
Just picked up a 2 tuner Recast back in July. It's either time to bring back the VCR, or toss the T.V. in the garbage forever.
Anyone have a good link to a demo of how to setup a HD with firestick AND antennae programming for dvr use??
I hope they can give their now-junk value by making it open source. If Amazon won't support it, they should let the amateurs give it continued value.
That would be nice, but we're not holding our breath on that happening.
The recast is what kept us using fire tv. It maybe time to make a switch
And this is why I refrain buying the robot they have and anything but basic fire sticks, I am so tired of paying a ton of money and then they discontinue it
My recast just died and I am devastated. I record local channels that have shows during the day when I work😢
So sorry to hear that. Ours is dead as well. There are a few other options available. You can watch this video - ruclips.net/video/Te5UbkJ9xlI/видео.html
to get some ideas.
Have you seen the Air tv 2?
No, we've not yet tested it but have plans to do so.
Shame i was always miffed that the recast never made it to the uk.I use a bt box pro,hd homerun and sky glass along with firesticks,roku ultra and a apple tv.I also still use a sony bluray player from time to time.
NO!!! I just got the recast ans I love it!... This sucks, providers want you to pay for everything going forward.
That sucks... It was nice to have it all in one unit
Now the thing will not play on newer versions of Android 13 etc.
Amazon Echo with built in DVR would be the prime move!
I love my recast. I will probably go back to TiVo once mine stops working
A company that makes products an discontinues them leaving you with an expensive “brick” does not deserve the trust of customers. Al my house is full of fire tv sticks, fire cubes, echo dots and so on. I’m not planing to upgrade this devices. I’m already searching for alternatives outside of the AMAZON ecosystem. NO MODE MONEY FROM MY POCKET!!!
Amazon is the worst at supporting their devices once they think it has failed they move on immediately. I bought a gaming controller back when they first came out for 60 bucks within one year it was canceled and didn't work on the newer fire sticks. Now they have Amazon Luna gaming. This is why I don't buy their products. Is there going to discontinue products that easy they should give people credits towards movies or buying stuff on Amazon. This just happened with Google stadia which was a gaming online system and they just gave everyone their money back for everything.
Amazon is really starting to suck. They 'gave' me a free audible account without me asking for it, and then converted it to a monthly $16 charge again without me asking. Fraud!
love the recast this sucks....
I liked Fire tv recast. Sad to see it go.
Can't find my recast storage anymore.
We're sad to see it go as well. The path is a bit buried to get to it. Here's the path to get to it Settings ->LiveTV->Sync Sources->Fire TV Recast->DVR Storage
I also believe that everything is going to the cloud.
Easy question, get a good VPN and download with a torrent program.
Have had the 4-tuner Recast since the beginning. Mainly because,
1.) I already had a couple FireStick 2nd Gens (later upgraded to my current 'standard' 4K's) and Echo Dots.
2.) Mainly because I'm poor and can't afford monthly costs for 'EPG' (or anything else!). Bought it on an AMEX card 5-month payment plan, 'knowing' I'd have no future costs. Now they 'stick us all in the back!'
Well, when I heard that 'security updates' were guaranteed until 2026, I assumed that the Recast would remain functional!
Who gives a a 'rat's *ss' about security updates, if you don't have the '2-week EPG' OR (even more importantly) the 'DVR Manager', itself?! Without a functioning 'DVR Manager,' it is a useless doorstop, yes? Why would they even MENTION the security update deal? It's not like a smartphone that had important personal info to protect. It's a freakin' DVR! What 'security' does ut even need???
Anyway, last night (Oct. 19th), while I was watching the baseball play-offs, I had FOUR OTA programs scheduled to record. When game was over, I went back to discover that NONE had recorded! And these 'series' recordings no longer had the 'red-dot' indicators showing!!
These were NEW broadcasts, so they should have recorded (as they had been for years). They still showed as being set-up under 'Recording Options,' so that wasn't the issue.
I decided to go in and CANCEL the Series Recording and RE-DO it ... but it wouldn't work! I had also rebooted the FireStick 4K (Fire OS 6) a couple times AND my Router. None of this helped!
Finally decided to attempt to set recording on a few of these as a 'Single Event,' and THAT allowed the 'red-dot' indicator to show up again.
But that's not helpful at all! I record so much that I couldn't remember all the series that I record, let alone Days and Times! Additionally, instead of the all the recordings being nested under an icon image for each series ... every single episode recording would get its OWN icon in the 'My Recordings' section!
What a mess ... and ultimately unworkable!
Then a thought came to me. 'I wonder if Amazon put out one of their constant minor 'updates?' They have screwed up various functionings of the Recast DVR many times in the past! Always frustrating, because they never take responsibility and you would never know how long you would have to live without the important function!
Eventually, the issue would get corrected, but it could take weeks, sometimes months! Sigh. And that was when they were 'officially' supporting it!
Well, just out of curiosity, I tapped the 'manual' UPDATE button and sure enough ... one was sitting there!
Note: I quit doing manual updates a long time ago, as they often nade things WORSE and they would always 'freeze.' After 15-30 minutes, I'd have to give up and either 'Reboot,' if it would let me ... or unplug it from the outlet, if not!
Did this 3 times, but afterwards, the 'update' would never complete!
My hope being, even those their update (partial?) had likely caused my DVR 'series recording' malfunction, maybe once completed it would be restored?
Finally, decided to go to Home page, put it in 'Sleep' mode and go to bed. I can only pray that the update actually completes overnight.
Even so, since Amazon's 'update' is what likely broke it, I doubt that my recording ability will be working.
I will call them tomorrow and pray that the C.S. person will put me with a Tech person. But will they even DO anything now, since Amazon has officially 'disavowed' us loyal customers?
Just curious if you have a 'standard' 4K stick, if you could test out whether you can set-up a 'Series Recording'?
Of course, you would have to 'update' it first.
Whether the 'O.S. 7' devices connected to Recast DVR's wete ALSO affected like mine, I have no way to know, unless someone reports it to any of the regular content providers (TDUK, Doc Squiffy, you guys, etc).
Sorry for the interminable length, but pls respond, if you would be so kind. Thanx.
Mine is having the same problem. I'm so disguted with Amazon now!
My HD HomeRun still working just fine
Yes Amazon takes your money and then abandons the product what Amazon should do is return everyone's money and everyone should just return the product to Amazon that's playing it fair if it doesn't work give the people back their money and let us move on to something that does work. Because I did purchase the Fortuner one for a couple of my family members which cost me quite a lot of money and they should just refund my money back and they can have their product.
DVRs are dead man walking. We had Tivos for decades and when ours started dying last month searched for alternatives. We went completely to streaming with RUclips TV. Unlimited storage and 9-month retention on everything you record. And killing the TV service from Xfinity reduced the cable/internet bill from $200/mo. to $70/mo. RUclips TV is $70/mo. so we are seeing a net saving $60/mo. Plus, we can watch/control recordings on every computer, tablet, phone we have, even when we travel. The local news is the only thing that is locale specific.
Nothing can beat a local DVR. With cloud DVRs you lose some control and you're at the mercy of the provider. Channels DVR is a great product. I have RUclips TV and Philo but almost never use their DVRs because I have everything in one interface with Channels DVR.
TABLO NO LONGER HAS A SUBSCRIPTION FEE !!!!!! AND IT ONLY COSTS $100.00
Honestly, I'm surprised that antenna companies aren't trying to figure out a way to boost or block their TV signal unless you pay a monthly subscription fee. Unless the product produces a constant, continuous flow of revenue, I think the company loses incentive to manufacture and sell the products.
If that happens! I’ll return it!😂
Fire TV is the worst TV I have ever had and I see why a neighbor let me just have it brand new. They suck really bad and are very difficult to manage. It's not a TV, it's something else that's very deceptive and wicked.
That is crap. I use it to record the local news an hour before I wake up so I can fast fwd through commercials and fluff.
I wonder who paid Amazon off? I think this was done to keep us from getting free TV.
I do not want a mo they payment. I like recast.
What about airtv anywhere by sling
what ever OTA DVR you chose, DO NOT USE AirTV / Sling Nothing but firmware / Software issues for over a month.. Bought an HDHomerun with 1TB and really like it, very reliable only thing is your cant view content from outside your home connection like you could with AirTV, that's whats at issue these days Hard Drive to Slings system handshaking, not working
After three tries yesterday, I was able to get past the handshaking issue after not using my AirTV Anywhere (AIRTV3) for months. I don't know if it was ever as reliable as the Recast or other options. I liked the integration with SlingTV when I could use it.