I Need a New OTA DVR (again)

[tulak]

Interesting. Would you need a Plex server to stream to Roku or is there another way?

I'd use a Plex server. I'm not aware of any other way to make it work.

 

[easysurfer]

I got my OTA Maganvox DVR and am getting familiar with it and already have set the timer recordings.

But a little irony, the first thing I noticed when opening the box is an advertisement flyer for Direct TV

 

[easysurfer]

easy, ERD50 suggested a distribution amp if your incoming signal from your antenna goes through a splitter. My SIL lives in a rural area and was having similar troubles getting good OTA signals. I purchased and installed a simple splitter/distribution amp and it improved her reception significantly (she still has an occasional weather-related problem.)

Those amps run less than $30 and I'd give that a try before purchasing a new DVR that may have the same problem.

The new DVR also has problems with CBS. I went ahead on ordered that distribution amp thingy. Hopefully, this will help, otherwise I might have to try plan C.

That said, I like my new DVR over the old one and will probably keep it.

 

[REWahoo]

Hope the amp helps. If not, is "plan C" an antenna upgrade?

 

[DallasGuy]

Simple.TV has a 1 tuner DVR for $89.99 at woot.com today. That includes the lifetime guide. They're releasing a newer 2 tuner DVR later this month for around $249 and you pay extra for the guide (see their website for options). For both DVR's you supply your own external hard drive.

Here's the link to today's deal at woot:

Simple.TV: The Ultimate DVR

Here's Simple.TV's website:

https://www.simple.tv/

I have their 1 tuner DVR. It's not perfect but one of the cool things about Simple.TV DVR's is that you can watch your recorded shows anywhere you are located over the internet either through an app or through the Chrome browser. So if I'm on vacation in another city, I can watch my recorded shows on the internet. They're supposed to come out with an Android app at the end of this month. I believe they already have the Apple app.

 

[easysurfer]

Hope the amp helps. If not, is "plan C" an antenna upgrade?

I tested "plan C" but that didn't work. I live in a condo and on top of the building is an antenna. At one time (different DVR), I got CBS using the roof top and and A/B switch between that and my indoor. But no go with this DVR.

I tried the leaf antenna in the past (with other DVR) and that seemed to not really work any better than my coat hanger one.

What happens now is I do a scan and get CBS. But then shut off the machine awhile, then when I turn it on, CBS is gone.

 

[ERD50]

I tested "plan C" but that didn't work. I live in a condo and on top of the building is an antenna. At one time (different DVR), I got CBS using the roof top and and A/B switch between that and my indoor. But no go with this DVR.

I tried the leaf antenna in the past (with other DVR) and that seemed to not really work any better than my coat hanger one.

What happens now is I do a scan and get CBS. But then shut off the machine awhile, then when I turn it on, CBS is gone.

Is CBS a VHF station? If so, you will need a VHF capable antenna. I don't think the Leaf is optimized for VHF.

If the Leaf was no better than a coat hanger, then neither is a good antenna for your situation.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

I'm going along the same lines. I decided to cancel my order for that amp thingy and got another antenna instead that does VHF as CBS does broadcast on VHF.

We shall see.. I'm supposed to get the antenna on Sat.

Amazon.com: Winegard FreeVision FV-30BB HDTV Antenna: Electronics

 

[easysurfer]

I got the antenna today and just put it up.

The good: The antenna does pick up CBS

The bad: I already noticed some noise and ended up doing a rescan.

So, the jury is out on whether this antenna can hold the channel and perform better than my coat hanger antenna (which I took down).

Plus, I ended up buying a new, quad shielded cable to use.

Location, location, location as I'm facing opposite most of the transmitting towers and since the windows only face one side, don't have much of a choice

With the new antenna, I did pick up several new channels, so that's a good sign.

 

[ERD50]

Do any of the connected components provide a signal strength indication? If so, you can use that to try to rotate the antenna to get the best signal strength for CBS, and then verify the other channels are OK.

But w/o that, you are still kinda shooting in the dark. There is a hairline between 'good enough' and 'noise/pixelation'.

Quad shielded cable might have higher loss than standard cable. If your problem is signal strength (not interference at the cable level), it might b e doing more harm than good. Though, for a short cable, this might not be a significant effect.

But what I'm saying is, this is a system. It's not about any one component. They all have to be matched to the job. But I saw the reviews on that antenna, and there did seem to be a lot of positive comments on improvements for VHF stations, so I think you are on the right track.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

Yeah..there are so many variables involved.

Like I said, the jury is still out on whether the new antenna brings enough to just get over that hairline.

 

[Animorph]

That should be way better than a coat hanger at least, though about the smallest "real" antenna you can get. The rescan will pick up new stations, but it won't affect noisy picture. Just find that position and orientation that works for the stations you want to watch. Hopefully the stations you're looking for are all in somewhat the same direction.

 

[easysurfer]

I have freight trains that go by and interferene with the signal. Tonight as the train went by, I still noticed interference, but I think the new antenna did a better job of recovering once the trains passed by.

 

[easysurfer]

Doing some reading, looks like the bad reception my OTA system is getting is what's called "Multipath Interference" where when a train passes by, the signals bounce off the train and confuses the tuner so the picture breaks up.

 

[ERD50]

Doing some reading, looks like the bad reception my OTA system is getting is what's called "Multipath Interference" where when a train passes by, the signals bounce off the train and confuses the tuner so the picture breaks up.

How's it going now? One thing you might try, though it would be really hit/miss/trial/error - try rotating the antenna and keeping notes, you might find a direction that provides somewhat lower signal strength (but still high enough for a stable picture), but is a better direction for eliminating multi-path from the train.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

The antenna I bought is a little better than my coat hanger antenna so I just use the new one. For CBS, I put a couple of marks to rotate to as CBS (vhf) is the only channel that needs it's own position.

I think in my case (indoor, window only facing one direction, can't mount on roof) there's really no getting around the multi-path interference (unless the train line stops, which I don't see happening ).

Overall, though not perfect, I'm quite happy with my antenna and new OTA DVR. It's so nice to just press a button to pause live tv and to skip commercials with few presses of a skip forward button.

The funny thing is I schedule programs to record the old fashioned way like an old VCR (start day, start time, end time) and I love it, simple and old school. I really don't miss the on screen programming too much. I do peek at tvguide.com on my computer to see what programs are airing from time to time.

If one could invent something to filter out the multi-path interference for indoor antennas, one could strike it rich. Just a thought.

 

[ERD50]

...
If one could invent something to filter out the multi-path interference for indoor antennas, one could strike it rich. Just a thought.

I'm no expert on the antenna side of things, though I worked with people who were and probably picked up a little by osmosis. But one possible solution would be to use two antennas and connect them with a combiner, one of those little things like a splitter - one in two out to split a signal to two devices - but run in reverse. This is called a 'diversity' antenna connection. The theory is that with both antennas physically separated, but pointed at the desired signal, they will sum together, but the multipath signals will hit each antenna a little differently and not sum as well. So the desired signal rises above the multipath signals.

That likely is not practical from a physical standpoint, but it is an option that might help.

In some cases these splitters are symmetrical, and will work as well as a combiner as a splitter, but I don't think that is always the case. At any rate, a combiner should be a cheap thing.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

I did notice something odd yesterday when I turned on a football game on our OTA channel 8.1. The channel disappeared but I found it on channel 9.1. This happened one other time and I thought it was a fluke. Now it's happened twice. I haven't had this problem for non-sports TV. I googled the problem but didn't see any explanations.

KiraC,

Just curious, what video cable do you use for the Magnavox DVR? I initially used a HDMI cable with the upconverted setting to 1080p, but the pixelation was still noticeable (especially for sports).

So I instead connected using component cables and the picture improved (I can easily spot the football on the screen ). Though the audio isn't as good (RCA vs HDMI audio). Yet, well worth the trade off for great picture quality.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm no expert on the antenna side of things, though I worked with people who were and probably picked up a little by osmosis. But one possible solution would be to use two antennas and connect them with a combiner, one of those little things like a splitter - one in two out to split a signal to two devices - but run in reverse. This is called a 'diversity' antenna connection. The theory is that with both antennas physically separated, but pointed at the desired signal, they will sum together, but the multipath signals will hit each antenna a little differently and not sum as well. So the desired signal rises above the multipath signals.

That likely is not practical from a physical standpoint, but it is an option that might help.

In some cases these splitters are symmetrical, and will work as well as a combiner as a splitter, but I don't think that is always the case. At any rate, a combiner should be a cheap thing.

-ERD50

I bet, if you can invent something that corrects the multi-path and put that in a little black box that simply goes inline, you can make a fortune! The product would be like a "MagicJack of OTA." That is, if there's a large enough demand for OTA folks. If there was something like that in the market, I'd easily pay $100 for such a device.