# Streaming DVR



## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

Why has no one developed a streaming DVR? Several folks have OTA boxes with multiple rf tuners, but nothing to record any streaming service. I guess one could cobble together a streaming box with a PC, but one would have to program up a channel changer system to control the whole scheme. Back in the analog ota days happaugue and others had PC based dvr's; I'm sure folks will say 'why' as services like Netflix are 'on demand' as it is, but content gets ripped off and on rapidly, and most 'live' streaming services have variable 'built-in' DVR's with restrictions as time/size. I'd like local storage limited by ME, not the 'services'. 

Any ideas out there?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

1948GG said:


> Why has no one developed a streaming DVR? Several folks have OTA boxes with multiple rf tuners, but nothing to record any streaming service. I guess one could cobble together a streaming box with a PC, but one would have to program up a channel changer system to control the whole scheme. Back in the analog ota days happaugue and others had PC based dvr's; I'm sure folks will say 'why' as services like Netflix are 'on demand' as it is, but content gets ripped off and on rapidly, and most 'live' streaming services have variable 'built-in' DVR's with restrictions as time/size. I'd like local storage limited by ME, not the 'services'.
> 
> Any ideas out there?


You do realize you can download a lot of content from NF? And if one streaming video service drops programming another SVS will usually pick it up. I've been streaming for several years and don't see the need for a DVR. Just my opinion on this, tho.

Rich


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

Missing most/all the point. The idea that if one service drops x programming then another picks it up is.... not true. And it assumes that either folks subscribe to every streaming vendor out there or drops and changes at the whim of these folks. 

Again, I'm tired of even the 'big three' (Netflix, hulu, Amazon) flipping this or that *and faster and faster* as of late.

Give me a $200 box that will enable me to choose a streaming service that has poor or expensive or absent DVR. Make it even if I have to buy an additional streaming box to hook up to it.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

1948GG said:


> Why has no one developed a streaming DVR? Several folks have OTA boxes with multiple rf tuners, but nothing to record any streaming service. I guess one could cobble together a streaming box with a PC, but one would have to program up a channel changer system to control the whole scheme. Back in the analog ota days happaugue and others had PC based dvr's; I'm sure folks will say 'why' as services like Netflix are 'on demand' as it is, but content gets ripped off and on rapidly, and most 'live' streaming services have variable 'built-in' DVR's with restrictions as time/size. I'd like local storage limited by ME, not the 'services'.
> 
> Any ideas out there?


PlayOn

The limitation I see is that their playback max's out at 720p, however it seems it will do what you are looking for.


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## NYDutch (Dec 28, 2013)

Take a look at the "FitzyTV" app for FireTV, Android devices, and Chromecast:

Cloud DVR & Streaming TV Platform | FitzyTV


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

NYDutch said:


> Take a look at the "FitzyTV" app for FireTV, Android devices, and Chromecast:
> 
> Cloud DVR & Streaming TV Platform | FitzyTV


Looks interesting but I don't see anything about resolutions. Do you use this app?

Rich


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## NYDutch (Dec 28, 2013)

Rich said:


> Looks interesting but I don't see anything about resolutions. Do you use this app?
> 
> Rich


I haven't used the DVR feature yet, but I thought it was interesting enough to mention it. I do use the app though, for the consolidated guide. The app is free...


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

I don't get all this reliance on extremely expensive (and potentially problematic) 'cloud' storage. At their rates of $5/25 hours that works out to 10,000 times as expensive as a local storage solution. I also don't see any cost breakout except a yearly option.

Also, don't see any multiple profiles so with several family members all the recordings get mashed into a single account and get hard to find and recover. That should have been the first thing to figure out in their 'system' programming.

I tried this out, and it is so convoluted and suffers from typical 'programmer never makes a mistake' syndrome it's unusable.


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## grover517 (Sep 29, 2007)

1948GG said:


> I don't get all this reliance on extremely expensive (and potentially problematic) 'cloud' storage. At their rates of $5/25 hours that works out to 10,000 times as expensive as a local storage solution. I also don't see any cost breakout except a yearly option.


My suspicion is that once recorded on a subscribers local storage device, the provider/content owner lose control of said content. As long as it's in cloud storage, they retain control of the content, it's playback scheme and retention/deletion.


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## NYDutch (Dec 28, 2013)

Local DVR storage is not always a viable option. Case in point, when streaming with most devices like the FireTVstick, Roku, etc, there's insufficient memory for any significant storage. Cell phone streaming also has limitations, leaving only PC's/MAC's as viable options. On the other hand, cloud based DVR's are available to all devices.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

NYDutch said:


> I haven't used the DVR feature yet, but I thought it was interesting enough to mention it. I do use the app though, for the consolidated guide. The app is free...


Everything looks interesting then I try them...and I'm disappointed. Kinda like shopping for new cars.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

NYDutch said:


> Local DVR storage is not always a viable option. Case in point, when streaming with most devices like the FireTVstick, Roku, etc, there's insufficient memory for any significant storage. Cell phone streaming also has limitations, leaving only PC's/MAC's as viable options. On the other hand, cloud based DVR's are available to all devices.


I have one ATV that has 64 GB of storage capacity. Never saw the need to store anything on it and I don't know if that fits into this conversation. Most ATVs come with 32 GB IIRC. Not much capacity but it might be better than nothing. Don't know what you can store on them.

Rich


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## steve053 (May 11, 2007)

Saw this earlier today: This DVR records both over-the-air and streaming cable channels

For a certain kind of cord-cutter, combining over-the-air broadcasts and cable channels into a single DVR has always been the dream scenario. While we've seen several attempts in the past-including Dish Network's AirTV, FitzyTV, and HDHomeRun's ill-fated Premium TV service-none are quite as elegant as what Channels DVR is launching today.

The $8-per-month do-it-yourself DVR service now lets users record TV Everywhere streams, which networks offer at no extra charge to pay-TV subscribers.......


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

NYDutch said:


> Local DVR storage is not always a viable option.


I guess you've never heard of USB hard drives, or s/w that streams that content across local and internet devices (several out there).

As far as 'control', I have multiple devices that record and save streams off streaming devices (sd and hd), the only thing is they are manual intensive, nowhere near automated, but the programs are saved off on terabyte NAS. Pretty kludgy but does work. Any content that I have paid for and comes into my home to be displayed is fair game.


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## NYDutch (Dec 28, 2013)

1948GG said:


> I guess you've never heard of USB hard drives, or s/w that streams that content across local and internet devices (several out there).
> 
> As far as 'control', I have multiple devices that record and save streams off streaming devices (sd and hd), the only thing is they are manual intensive, nowhere near automated, but the programs are saved off on terabyte NAS. Pretty kludgy but does work. Any content that I have paid for and comes into my home to be displayed is fair game.


Of course I've heard of USB drives and have many of them in various capacities. Now tell me what you recommend for recording streaming video services that has the common DVR controls like timed recording, multiple source recording, advanced scheduling, etc... Just saving streaming programs is pretty basic with a PC and a video or screen capture program.


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

steve053 said:


> The $8-per-month do-it-yourself DVR service now lets users record TV Everywhere streams, which networks offer at no extra charge to pay-TV subscribers.......


Not quite there yet; keep an eye on it, perhaps they'll continue to upgrade.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

NYDutch said:


> Of course I've heard of USB drives and have many of them in various capacities. Now tell me what you recommend for recording streaming video services that has the common DVR controls like timed recording, multiple source recording, advanced scheduling, etc... Just saving streaming programs is pretty basic with a PC and a video or screen capture program.


TV Antenna Receivers & Antenna Converter Boxes | Channel Master


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## the2130 (Dec 18, 2014)

Athlon646464 said:


> PlayOn
> 
> The limitation I see is that their playback max's out at 720p, however it seems it will do what you are looking for.


The 720p limitation really isn't a big deal. I sometimes watch 720p content on my 75" TV and it looks just fine. One issue with the app mentioned above is that the streaming services hate it and try to break its functionality so you can't record from them, at least until the software is updated.


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## NYDutch (Dec 28, 2013)

jimmie57 said:


> TV Antenna Receivers & Antenna Converter Boxes | Channel Master


I see nothing there that records streaming media, OTA only DVR's...


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

A couple get close, but no cigar as of yet. I have never understood why there are boxes that do cable card, plus multiple ota, stream saved content all over hell and beyond, but no saving of actual streams. One would have thought on of the dozen streaming box folks would have used the USB ports they put on their boxes to attach storage that could at least be streamed on the local network. 

I wait. Two companies deep in the tech to be able to do this almost instantly are TiVo and Hauppague. Roku spends time and effort on a wifi repeater (2 dozen competitors in that market) rather than on something that would zoom around the competition.


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