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Simple.TV DVR

post #1 of 22
4/18/12 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
Looks like these are getting pretty close to release. Beta testers have been running it through its paces.



From the site:
The Simple.TV DVR replaces your existing cable box with a smaller, less power-hungry (and frankly better-looking) device. It's a powerful HD tuner and DVR in one simple package. Just connect an external USB hard drive for storage, plug in your TV and Ethernet cables and complete the setup with your PC or Mac browser at www.simple.tv.
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post #2 of 22
4/18/12 at 7:25pm
Smaller, better-looking... maybe, but I consider this form factor a negative. My Blu-Ray player stacks neatly on my TiVo, and I could reverse that stack order if I had to. But if I had this, it could only go on top. And damnit, they can't all be on top. It's the same complaint I have about (especially) the Boxee Box, among other devices.
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post #3 of 22
4/18/12 at 7:54pm
It's been covered in other threads. For starters it's only a single tuner... at that point what else matters. Not to mention a monthly fee which won't go over well with most here.
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post #4 of 22
4/20/12 at 5:55am
It looks like a pill.
Hard to swallow.
Quote:


Not to mention a monthly fee which won't go over well with most here.

Don't even start that discussion up here.
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post #5 of 22
4/20/12 at 2:04pm
Does this use a CC? If not I can't see how this would be too useful for cable folks...and AFA the design, I agree I like to stack my components, something like this and the other couple of funny designed CECBs are frankly a pain to work around.
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post #6 of 22
4/20/12 at 4:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjeff View Post

Does this use a CC? If not I can't see how this would be too useful for cable folks...and AFA the design, I agree I like to stack my components, something like this and the other couple of funny designed CECBs are frankly a pain to work around.

No, Cable Card is not supported. Anybody using this on cable would have to put up with the clear QAM BS.

It seems there is a trend for manufacturers to make funky little boxes that follow no certain size format.
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post #7 of 22
4/21/12 at 9:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles R View Post

It's been covered in other threads. For starters it's only a single tuner... at that point what else matters. Not to mention a monthly fee which won't go over well with most here.

Buy two. Also the review I read says no fee unless you want to sling it to your phone. Then only 4.99.
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post #8 of 22
9/21/12 at 12:42pm
According to multiple outlets it looks like this will be shipping on 09/27/12! http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/20/simple-tvs-149-dvr-for-iphone-ipad-roku-and-web-ships-september-27/
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post #9 of 22
9/21/12 at 5:00pm

Based on my wants/needs the only redeeming value is the ability to stream to Roku (and future streamers?). On the other side, I currently have four tuners (2 networked HDHomeRuns) and a Windows 7 PC running WMC at zero per month for a total investment of $410. No, I couldn't live without series scheduling, guide, etc so is it $5 a month for one device or $20 if I purchase four?

 

Cost wise it would be $600 (Simple.TVs), $90 for Roku (wired version) plus the monthly subscription. With my current setup I can view TV on any Windows PC (live or recordings)/Mac (live)/laptop/etc. I see it's using MP4 which makes me wonder about the quality of its image... quite a few unknowns I look forward to seeing answered. If they retain the native image quality, support enough clients and integrate multiple units management and interface transparently I'll take a closer look.

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post #10 of 22
9/21/12 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles R View Post

Based on my wants/needs the only redeeming value is the ability to stream to Roku (and future streamers?). On the other side, I currently have four tuners (2 networked HDHomeRuns) and a Windows 7 PC running WMC at zero per month for a total investment of $410. No, I couldn't live without series scheduling, guide, etc so is it $5 a month for one device or $20 if I purchase four?

Cost wise it would be $600 (Simple.TVs), $90 for Roku (wired version) plus the monthly subscription. With my current setup I can view TV on any Windows PC (live or recordings)/Mac (live)/laptop/etc. I see it's using MP4 which makes me wonder about the quality of its image... quite a few unknowns I look forward to seeing answered. If they retain the native image quality, support enough clients and integrate multiple units management and interface transparently I'll take a closer look.

I have a similar setup to you currently as well. I have my Main PC with two Dual ATSM/QAM Avermedia tuners running W7 + WMC and 3 xbox 360's at each of my TV's. I'm also running Plex and currently have 3 Samsung BD-D5300's that are used for Plex, Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc. I'm mainly trying to get over the Roku and the ability to have everything in one device is very appealing to me.

We'll see once it starts shipping late next week, I didn't get in on the kickstarter project so I'm guessing I'll be able to order one next week hopefully.
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post #11 of 22
10/3/12 at 10:23am
Just saw where this guy has been delayed another couple of weeks. Lifetime service is priced at $300... for only one-turner. Personally, for OTA (only) I find even four tuners some what restrictive. As an example Monday night WMC found five of my series to record... sure on some nights it's close to zero. However with very little selection to start with missing a show (worth recording) hurts. More so than with pay-TV where the likelihood of the show being repeated is much greater.

Has it been confirmed Lifetime is per unit not installation (x per?) and or individual? Is the interface able to merge multiple units seamlessly?
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post #12 of 22
10/3/12 at 11:15am
Lifetime is per user. But, only 1 user per Simple.tv account.
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post #13 of 22
10/3/12 at 12:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brajesh View Post

Lifetime is per user. But, only 1 user per Simple.tv account.

$750 - for 4-tuners ($450 for two)? on one network... how about a common interface? Or do you have to bounce between each device manually? Let's see which one is supposed to record The Good Wife...
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post #14 of 22
10/5/12 at 6:04am
From their forum, it appears you'll need to unpair/pair (via Roku and other supported devices) everytime you want to switch between tuners/units. This sucks. Add to this the inability to archive your recordings (to your computer or home server), and recordings being re-encoded to H.264 (not kept as original MPEG2 transport streams), I got less interested. Hoping Boxee will bring out a new box this Fall (rumored only) with OTA DVR capabilities, but for now I'm using WMC with HDHomeRun.
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post #15 of 22
10/5/12 at 6:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brajesh View Post

From their forum, it appears you'll need to unpair/pair (via Roku and other supported devices) everytime you want to switch between tuners/units.

To my thinking this thing is so outdated before it even ships that I have zero interest in it. I'm hoping the next release of XBMC's DVR features are strong enough that I'll move in that direction.
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post #16 of 22
10/5/12 at 8:49am
Agree with you, but for users who simply want to record to view via Roku or another connected device or mobile, and don't care that they are tied to Simple.tv's ecosystem, I guess there is some appeal over costlier options like TiVo with their add-on box for streaming.
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post #17 of 22
10/5/12 at 9:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brajesh View Post

From their forum, it appears you'll need to unpair/pair (via Roku and other supported devices) everytime you want to switch between tuners/units. This sucks. Add to this the inability to archive your recordings (to your computer or home server), and recordings being re-encoded to H.264 (not kept as original MPEG2 transport streams), I got less interested. Hoping Boxee will bring out a new box this Fall (rumored only) with OTA DVR capabilities, but for now I'm using WMC with HDHomeRun.

Ouch! I didn't realize they were going to make it that difficult. I'll be sticking with my 360 Extenders for now it seems!
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post #18 of 22
10/5/12 at 12:38pm
They are promising the ability to let users offload recordings w/o DRM (or in a non-proprietary method) to your computer for playback anywhere "in the future".
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post #19 of 22
10/22/12 at 1:02pm
Did anyone receive their Simple.tv yet?

Randy
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post #20 of 22
11/15/12 at 1:27pm
I received my Simple.tv HDTV tuner.

It's obvious that they still have a few things that need to be cleaned up in the software and interface. Having said that, I like how it works and think that it's a good product.

Randy
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post #21 of 22
11/15/12 at 7:23pm
What devices are you using it with?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rfpublic View Post

I received my Simple.tv HDTV tuner.
It's obvious that they still have a few things that need to be cleaned up in the software and interface. Having said that, I like how it works and think that it's a good product.
Randy
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post #22 of 22
11/16/12 at 12:31pm
I use a Roku XD/S to display the Simple.tv on a 46" 1080p display.

The image quality for HD programs is very good. The biggest issue is that the audio sometimes gets out of sync with the video. The Simple.tv is still in beta, so I'm willing to put up with a few minor glitches, which I think will be fixed soon by a software update. So far I think that it's a good product, which will be a great product, with a bit more development.

Randy
Edited by rfpublic - 11/20/12 at 11:51am
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