Record OTA?

[dmagerl]

If you're using a compass, just make sure you convert properly between true north and magnetic north. Most of the antenna websites use true instead of magnetic north.

[StinkyImp]

If you're using a compass, just make sure you convert properly between true north and magnetic north. Most of the antenna websites use true instead of magnetic north.

We used a compass and a laser pointer outdoors to determine which end of the house would provide the best unobstructed "line of sight" for the majority of the towers. There's a 6 degree negative west declination here but the TV Fool report includes both True and Magnetic directions, so that helps.

@stuartm -> Is falling through the rafters considered a negative? I figure it would provide some "extra" air flow.

According to Danny's I need a VHF UHF preamp which they were more than happy to sell me, and I was more than happy to buy!

Roofing is standard stick covered in ply and asphalt shingles. The only thing up there is the air handler and it's half a house away and not obstructing the direction we have to point.

Thank you both for these pointers. I won't be starting the install until some time in the next few weeks so feel free to pop in and give me two more cents if the mood strikes! I like free money!

[DSperber]

Might as well just go with a Hauppauge WinTV QuadHD (4-tuners) OTA/ATSC.

Can never hurt to have spare tuners for those times when multiple events just happen to be airing all together.

I have two HTPCs, each with both (a) 6-tuner Ceton PCIe for Spectrum cable, and also (b) 4-tuner Hauppauge QuadHD for OTA/ATSC (roof antenna).

And of course two Schedules Direct channel lineups to feed EPG123 on each machine.

[StinkyImp]

I have two HTPCs...

Unfortunately this is a pure "Tablo -> Roku" build and includes no HTPCs (or any computers at all).

In fact, the more I fiddle with this system, the more I'm convinced that THIS is the direction I'm going when WMC finally becomes obsolete technologically infeasible.

[adam1991]

yeah, well, except for the fact that the Tablo units are junk.

Maybe I'm just spoiled with WMC, but the harder I looked into them, the worse the answers got. Or there were no answers. Or there was flat-out denial that "such and such feature you're talking about is not reasonable, no one would ever want it, and it will never happen on Tablo".

Seriously, it was clear that Tablo either had never heard of ReplayTV/WinWMC and was completely re-inventing the wheel, or else was just flat-out sticking their heads in the sand, denying things that we accomplished 20 years ago.

Take for example the sad excuse for a feature that is Tablo commercial skip.

Even today, I mourn ReplayTV's commercial skip. Nothing else has ever come close to touching it. We have commercial skip today, but it depends on post-record processing. On modern systems that still takes only a minute or two, but Replay marked them live as it recorded. You could sit down 20 minutes into an hour long show and start watching it while it finished recording, and have it skip all the commercials until you got to the end of the show right as it stopped recording.

We stand on the shoulders of giants, and ignore what they brought us.

[StinkyImp]

yeah, well, except for the fact that the Tablo units are junk*.

Maybe I'm just spoiled with WMC...

Spoiled with WMC? Looks like you've abandoned it...

I, too, have moved on. Plex DVR on Synology NAS.

The solution you've moved to requires computers and software. You must have glossed over their requirement that there be NO computers or software. So in their opinion* Plex is junk. Don't be pedantic and say, "Roku and Tablo are computers that use software." because you know exactly what I mean.

Have you ever used a Tablo or have you just "read" about them? Because the one's I've actually worked with are fantastic, and I'm a long-time WMC user. I haven't abandoned it but when the time comes I'll go the Tablo-Roku route*.

As far as commercial skip? Neither of us care a single iota about commercial skip because we know how to use FF and rewind... which is NOT overwhelming to master.

Update to everyone (stuartm, dmagerl, garyan2, DSperber) that gave constructive advice, the install is going swimmingly and they're absolutely thrilled with their new system! Thank you for taking the time to provide your knowledge and insights! They've been INVALUABLE!

* Opinions are just like a**holes, everyone's got one.

[adam1991]

Yes, I abandoned it. Technically it's superior to anything else out there, but I've moved on to where recording TV signals isn't nearly as relevant to me as it once was.

Similarly, Courier HST Dual Standard is the best modem ever made; that I have no need for it anymore, that I "abandoned" it, doesn't change that.

Sorry if I called your baby ugly, but I looked hard at Tablo awhile back and the facts are the facts.

I never said that it wasn't suitable in a non-computer situation, or that Plex was better. I'll be the first one to ding Plex for what it doesn't do. (But recording TV is an afterthought for my needs; as long as I have it for other uses, I might as well use it for the very light DVR I need.). But when I was looking at WMC alternatives and Tablo came out, I took a very hard look at it and started asking questions. And the answers I got were...shall we say incredibly less than satisfying. Worse was their user base--it was like watching a convention of Tesla users who identify by their brand of car. There's no reason you'd want anything else, never mind the deficiencies compared to existing products and known technologies. It was weird.

Like I use Plex for a very specific reason (it's there and I barely do DVR anymore), you're looking at Tablo for a very specific reason. But don't let that blind you, a seasoned WMC user, to its very real deficiencies. And I'm not talking about merely commercial skip.

The real problem is, Tablo went forth and actively ignored what ReplayTV and WMC have shown the world. ReplayTV was standalone, and worked superbly. To ignore what it provided to the user is...unreal.

[stuartm]

Update to everyone (stuartm, dmagerl, garyan2, DSperber) that gave constructive advice, the install is going swimmingly and they're absolutely thrilled with their new system! Thank you for taking the time to provide your knowledge and insights! They've been INVALUABLE!

Good to hear that things are working out. Have been meaning to ask how the install went.

On the not using WMC topic: I'll switch to something else when they pry my WMC remote from my cold dead hand
(i.e. when my OTA and Cable providers no longer provide WMC compatible input)

[adam1991]

https://community.tablotv.com/t/not-a-f ... ment/28162

This is a perfect example of what you get from the Tablo community. "It doesn't have it, therefore you're an idiot for wanting it--because Tablo by definition is perfect--and therefore it is our duty to bully you about your suggestion."

[dkrom]

Even today, I mourn ReplayTV's commercial skip. Nothing else has ever come close to touching it. We have commercial skip today, but it depends on post-record processing. On modern systems that still takes only a minute or two, but Replay marked them live as it recorded. You could sit down 20 minutes into an hour long show and start watching it while it finished recording, and have it skip all the commercials until you got to the end of the show right as it stopped recording.

We stand on the shoulders of giants, and ignore what they brought us.

I’m a little confused, are you saying WMC doesn’t do live processing of shows while recording? I’ve been doing that for years on my system.

[StinkyImp]

Sorry if I called your baby ugly, but I looked hard at Tablo awhile back and the facts are the facts.

Well... Let's see? You start your "contribution" to this thread flat out calling the Tablo junk. Did you expect everyone to just roll over to your superior, condescending, and unsolicited expertise based on what you read? Don't think for a second I didn't read those same things. Instead of relying on the opinions of others I actually BOUGHT ONE to test and make my own determination. Did you?

Now you're doubling down by once again posting things you've read from inexperienced and frustrated users. You have no real world experience with their system. You come off as a childish, uninformed, blow hard. Your backpedaling is quite humorous and speaks volumes about your egotism. Your "read only" opinion doesn't matter in this particular circumstance.

Even if you bought one now and then came on here cutting it to ribbons about its deficiencies, we already know that your only goal would be to nit-pick every single little thing that wasn't WMC, Plex, or ReplayTV because you're pretentious.

You can tell me all day long about how wrong I am and it won't matter one single bit. I've actually physically tested two different Tablos in two different markets and I can say conclusively in my experience... you're wrong. The only thing I can agree with is that it's not WMC, nothing is.

The bottom line is that WMC will go away some day and we're all trying to figure out what might work best for us. You coming on here and disparaging perfectly valid and FIELD TESTED ideas isn't helpful in that regard.

On the not using WMC topic: I'll switch to something else when they pry my WMC remote from my cold dead hand
(i.e. when my OTA and Cable providers no longer provide WMC compatible input)

I'm 100% with you on this!

Based on my real world experience (and not some BS I read somewhere) I've found that the Tablo-Roku experience is an adequate substitute for my WMC system when the time comes. YMMV

PS - This is just my .02$ cents opinion. (Yep Adam, that's for you since you're "that guy")

PSS - Adam, don't bother responding to this post...

[adam1991]

yup. I did call it junk. And you know why.

And it's not because I read things from "inexperienced" and "frustrated" users. I simply used that thread, and the whole "feature request" section, as an example of how anyone who dares declare Tablo to be less than glorious must be bullied and beaten down.

I did my own careful research, and discovered major flaws--not only in the device and its capabilities, but in the developers themselves. That was a couple of years ago, and I see today that nothing's changed. To anyone who's had ReplayTV and WMC, Tablo is an insult of a product--and they only double down on that by insulting anyone who dares to want more features, based on what we know the world already knows about DVR. Zippy and his friends, ignorant of what ReplayTV and WMC are and offered, are happy to tell you that you must be happy with what Tablo is and that you may never want anything more.

I'm happy for you that you found use for it. I have an old Courier HST DS on the shelf that you're welcome to, if you can find a use for that. I've moved on from it.

[StinkyImp]

Final update for this install.

The HD Stacker antenna from Denny's (with a Winegard LNA-200 amp) is doing an awesome a BEYOND EXCEPTIONAL job. This thing is picking up channels the FCC, Rabbit Ears, TVFool, Antennas Direct, Antenna Web, etc. says are either borderline or unreachable! And they're crystal clear!

They are thrilled with the capabilities of the Roku-Tablo system and are ready to tell Spectrum to "shut it down" soon. I can say from my personal experience using and watching their "cable" for the past few months, this system blows Spectrum's cable boxes and offerings away. Watching their cable has made me extra appreciative of my WMC system at home. This is definitely a HUGE upgrade for them and a HUGE money saver.

They're able to capture and record 100% of the shows they were accustomed to and their "breakeven" is between 3 to 4 months. They're also able to receive channels that Spectrum wanted extra for!

All in all it was (and is) a resounding success!

@stuartm
@dmagerl
@garyan2
@EVERYONE that provided constructive, impartial, and useful advice...

THANK YOU!