# Nomad Questions



## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

I'm considering Nomad, but I have a couple of questions.

First, does it connect to only one DVR? I have two HR DVRs, and I would consider nomad if I could offload programs from both easily.

Second, what are the approximate file sizes? As I understand Nomad, it offloads a show to your (in my case iPhone) and you watch it later. So, since I have a 32 GB iPhone 4s, I'm concerned that a hockey game of 2 1/2 hours would be 10 GB or so.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

islesfan said:


> First, does it connect to only one DVR?
> Second, what are the approximate file sizes? As I understand Nomad, it offloads a show to your (in my case iPhone) and you watch it later. So, since I have a 32 GB iPhone 4s, I'm concerned that a hockey game of 2 1/2 hours would be 10 GB or so.


I have it connected to 7 DVRs and I think the Limit is 10 DVRs.

I believe it is 800 MB for a 1 Hour HD MPEG-4 Recording as I remember what Doug Brott told me so with 32 GB you could Offload at least 30 Hours of Programming and still have room for other stuff.

So 8 Gig would be approximately 10 Hours of HD Recording Capacity. 24 Gig would be 30 Hours with 8 Gig left over for other stuff.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Your DVRs need to be on your network. One nice feature the software has is you can select which DVRs to "see". In my case, I've deselected the kid's DVR so I don't see their playlist when selecting shows to send to the nomad.


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## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

Richierich said:


> I have it connected to 7 DVRs and I think the Limit is 10 DVRs.
> 
> I believe it is 800 MB for a 1 Hour HD MPEG-4 Recording as I remember what Doug Brott told me so with 32 GB you could Offload at least 30 Hours of Programming and still have room for other stuff.
> 
> So 8 Gig would be approximately 10 Hours of HD Recording Capacity. 24 Gig would be 30 Hours with 8 Gig left over for other stuff.


Thanks! That sounds really good! Looks like that would be a good solution for me!


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

islesfan said:


> I'm concerned that a hockey game of 2 1/2 hours would be 10 GB or so.


I'm using an iPad(1) 16GB. I have the following on my iPad: four 1-hour TV shows all in HD plus the Detroit/St Louis game from last night in HD (3 hours because of the extra 30 minutes I added for Live Event). So 7 hours total. Right now under Usage the iPad shows Nomad as using 3.8GB (and some of that has to be the client software?).


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## bennasar (Oct 5, 2010)

I dont think that the resolution affects the size of the recording on the nomad, it encodes at a fixed resolution.

Miguel


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## dirtyblueshirt (Dec 7, 2008)

Has anyone else wondered why the shipping packaging is practically amazon-level overkill?


Packaging overkill? by dirtyblueshirt, on Flickr

Also mine seemed to be resealed for some reason (are they selling us refurbs?)


Double sealed? by dirtyblueshirt, on Flickr


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## LimeyFK (Feb 17, 2012)

trh said:


> I'm using an iPad(1) 16GB. I have the following on my iPad: four 1-hour TV shows all in HD plus the Detroit/St Louis game from last night in HD (3 hours because of the extra 30 minutes I added for Live Event). So 7 hours total. Right now under Usage the iPad shows Nomad as using 3.8GB (and some of that has to be the client software?).


trh, it looks like you were able to fix the issue you were having downloading NHL games that you mentioned in the other thread. How did you resolve it? I'm having the same problem. I'd PM you but my post count is <5.


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## LimeyFK (Feb 17, 2012)

Hate to do this, but need 2 more posts so I can send a PM and find out if/how he fixed it. It's a strange rule..


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## Sully (Dec 5, 2005)

I have another Nomad question (2 actually). I'm considering getting one, but the main reason would be so I could watch shows on my iPad...without being tethered to a TV. Is there any chance DirecTV will allow streaming of recorded content directly to an iPad sometime down the road?

Also, does the content produced by the Nomad device ever expire? It would be nice to create a library of shows and have my kids pick which shows they wanted on their iPods before traveling.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Sully said:


> I have another Nomad question (2 actually). I'm considering getting one, but the main reason would be so I could watch shows on my iPad...without being tethered to a TV. Is there any chance DirecTV will allow streaming of recorded content directly to an iPad sometime down the road?
> 
> Also, does the content produced by the Nomad device ever expire? It would be nice to create a library of shows and have my kids pick which shows they wanted on their iPods before traveling.


I believe that there is hope that recorded content will be able to be streamed to a the iPad in the same sense that it does for DirecTV2PC.

As for expiration of content, after 30 days the content needs to be re-downloaded to your device from the Nomad.

- Merg


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## Sully (Dec 5, 2005)

Thanks for the quick reply! I think I'll wait to see if DirecTV soon gives us the ability to stream recorded content. Until then, I'll continue to lug around my laptop and use DirecTV2PC.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

You can do some limited streaming right now with an iPad -- as long as you are on your home network. Free DirecTV app on iTunes.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I seriously doubt there will be any streaming from a DVR recording to nomad when you're off your home network.

Would love it, but just don't think it's gonna happen.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

dennisj00 said:


> I seriously doubt there will be any streaming from a DVR recording to nomad when you're off your home network.
> 
> Would love it, but just don't think it's gonna happen.


Have you read *this thread?* It won't be to a nomad device -- it will be to 'any' mobile device.


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## Sully (Dec 5, 2005)

"trh" said:


> Have you read this thread? It won't be to a nomad device -- it will be to 'any' mobile device.


Yes...I have read that thread. If I understand it correctly, we'll be able to watch DirecTV programming while outside of our home network. However, this does not mean we'll be able to watch recorded content from our own DVR(s) on our mobile devices. For that, transferring shows to our devices via Nomad will be our only option (at least for now). I'm waiting for the day we can stream recorded content from our own DVR(s) directly to our mobile devices (just like we can stream to our PCs on our own network via DirecTV2PC).


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## mattgwyther (May 22, 2007)

TVEverywhere should allow for steaming, however I then the response was regarding streaming of DVR content (like a sling box) not sure if nomad will ever be allowed to do that out of the home, or what streaming nomad will do.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Sully said:


> I'm waiting for the day we can stream recorded content from our own DVR(s) directly to our mobile devices.


Slingbox is probably the best we're going to get.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

trh said:


> Have you read *this thread?* It won't be to a nomad device -- it will be to 'any' mobile device.


Maybe I should have said 'via' nomad and YES I read the thread.


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## zimm7778 (Nov 11, 2007)

Ok, I have a question about this nomad. I thought at first it was something that would allow me to transfer DVR recordings to a mobile device while at home and then I could watch them somewhere else, like a mall or in a hotel room. Now looking at it it appears to only work within the home network so if I left home I couldn't watch anything. Which way is right?


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## shedberg (Jan 20, 2007)

zimm7778 said:


> Ok, I have a question about this nomad. I thought at first it was something that would allow me to transfer DVR recordings to a mobile device while at home and then I could watch them somewhere else, like a mall or in a hotel room. Now looking at it it appears to only work within the home network so if I left home I couldn't watch anything. Which way is right?


Your first assessment is mostly correct. You need to be on your home network to download from the DVR to Nomad and from Nomad to your mobile device but then you can watch the shows anywhere after download.


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## mchero (Feb 18, 2012)

Don't forget that if your going to start streaming content to your mobile device you better have the proper data plan. I'd much rather go the Nomad route. The frekin data plans are a cash cow for the wireless providers!


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Sully said:


> Thanks for the quick reply! I think I'll wait to see if DirecTV soon gives us the ability to stream recorded content. Until then, I'll continue to lug around my laptop and use DirecTV2PC.


Just remember with the Data Plans for Verizon, AT&T and others that are no longer Unlimited you can use up 5 Gig in a Heartbeat when Streaming HD.

That is why I Love Nomad. I Download what I want to watch and watch it when I have the time such as being 36,000 feet in the air on a Jet to Hawaii for 10 hours.


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## bosoxfan (Dec 15, 2011)

I've heard there are limits on what can be processed through the Nomad. Where do I find this list?


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## Sully (Dec 5, 2005)

"Richierich" said:


> Just remember with the Data Plans for Verizon, AT&T and others that are no longer Unlimited you can use up 5 Gig in a Heartbeat when Streaming HD.
> 
> That is why I Love Nomad. I Download what I want to watch and watch it when I have the time such as being 36,000 feet in the air on a Jet to Hawaii for 10 hours.


This is a very good point!


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## Sully (Dec 5, 2005)

"bosoxfan" said:


> I've heard there are limits on what can be processed through the Nomad. Where do I find this list?


Limits? I'd like to learn about these limits too...


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

bosoxfan said:


> I've heard there are limits on what can be processed through the Nomad. Where do I find this list?


*Nomad User's Manual* or *DBSTalk First Look at Nomad* both contain a lot of information.


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## KenW (Nov 16, 2005)

On Demand and Over the Air can not be downloaded. I think folks have trouble with shows of 3 hours and more, but I've never tried. 

I've watched all of Downton Abby this week from my hotel.


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## KenW (Nov 16, 2005)

Sully said:


> Limits? I'd like to learn about these limits too...


Also the DirecTV forum:
http://forums.directv.com/pe/action/forums/displaypost?postID=10951087


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

KenW said:


> On Demand and Over the Air can not be downloaded. I think folks have trouble with shows of 3 hours and more, but I've never tried.
> 
> I've watched all of Downton Abby this week from my hotel.


I believe the Limit is at least 5 Hours and 30 Minutes as I have Downloaded the Super Bowl that is 5 1/2 Hours long.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

LimeyFK said:


> Hate to do this, but need 2 more posts so I can send a PM and find out if/how he fixed it. It's a strange rule..


Unless a poster has expressed a desire for PMs it's customary to post in the thread where he-and many others- will see it and respond.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

dennisj00 said:


> I seriously doubt there will be any streaming from a DVR recording to nomad when you're off your home network.
> 
> Would love it, but just don't think it's gonna happen.


+1

And for many of us, streaming to the iPad while on the home network has very limited appeal. (one reason I have multiple TVs).


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## bosoxfan (Dec 15, 2011)

Wonder why they prevent "adult" content?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> And for many of us, streaming to the iPad while on the home network has very limited appeal. (one reason I have multiple TVs).


OTOH, I'd love to be able stream to full HD with trickplay to my iPad while at home, a la DirecTV2PC. Here in NY, both Cablevision and TWC offer this capability, AFAIK.


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## KenW (Nov 16, 2005)

bosoxfan said:


> Wonder why they prevent "adult" content?


Must be PPV. Cinemax shows marked as Adult are fine.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> +1
> 
> And for many of us, streaming to the iPad while on the home network has very limited appeal. (one reason I have multiple TVs).


I'd have to agree with Steve that streaming from the DVR recordings would be EXTREMELY useful here. Whereever I can carry the iPad and have wifi (almost anywhere on my property), deck, garage, boathouse, and be able to watch a program - or like Directv2PC, start a recording and watch near live!

But it's GOT to have trickplay and the ability to start / restart anywhere in the program.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Steve said:


> OTOH, I'd love to be able stream to full HD with trickplay to my iPad while at home, a la DirecTV2PC. Here in NY, both Cablevision and TWC offer this capability, AFAIK.


Does TWC offer streaming from the DVR or just Live with no trickplay - of selected channels? As far as I know, here it's just live channels - what you see is what you get. And you have to be on a TWC internet connection.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

dennisj00 said:


> Does TWC offer streaming from the DVR or just Live with no trickplay - of selected channels? As far as I know, here it's just live channels - what you see is what you get.


If so, you're right. All that glitters...

I'm looking for DirecTV2PC-like ability to play back recordings on the iPad. I thought that's what they were offering.



> And you have to be on a TWC internet connection.


Not surprising they may require a bundle. Same with Cablevision, I'll bet.


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## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

mchero said:


> Don't forget that if your going to start streaming content to your mobile device you better have the proper data plan. I'd much rather go the Nomad route. The frekin data plans are a cash cow for the wireless providers!


Not a problem for me with Sprint, but even still, you could stream via WiFi from elsewhere.


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## DawgLink (Nov 5, 2006)

Got the NOMAD and had it for a week. I just wasn't prepared for the wait required to put shows on my devices. It was easy to setup and access but the speed was (in my opinion) quite slow.

I instead got a Slingbox and am happy so far.

It was my fault really as I am someone that needed a on-the-go device because of my crazy work hours and the Slingnbox better suits me.

The Nomad is for one set of people
Slingbox is for another

Not a knock really on the Nomad


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

I have 2 Slingbox Pro HD Devices and the only thing I don't like it that you have to have almost Unlimited Bandwidth and a Fast Bitrate which I don't have in my Marriott Vacation Villas so I quit using them.

Also, using Verizon WiFi Hub I only have a 5 Gig Limit which is $50 and you can eat that up pretty quick.

How are you going to get enough bandwidth to watch it?


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