I read the FAQ and didn't see any mention of related fees... what might they be if you don't have Prime? Also it keeps referencing a Fire TV is required for setup. Can you use an generic Android device to do such as in say a NVIDIA Shield TV?

I guess we'll know more tomorrow when people first start getting their devices. For lots of people this will be a good, easy, all in one solution to OTA recording.



I did not see what the fees were, but I did not research it very deeply since I have Prime. OTOH, I also have Plex Pass and may just buy an HD Homerun for over $100 less.


From the FAQ it appears you have to have a "fire" device, and that at least as of its release date it will not work with other Android devices. It would not surprise me, though, if apps for other Android devices quickly started showing up.



SMK

The below is the one thing that is disappointing for me. They are going for lowest common denominator vs detecting what Client capabilities are and streaming best capability of that client. I guess it makes sense since they are targeting amazon device ecosystem.

The Fire TV Recast stores all content to its internal hard drive as unprotected raw MPEG-2 video files in their native resolution. This is important because it means that the full 1920×1080 resolution of channels that broadcast in 1080i is maintained for all recordings. Remember, no US channels broadcast in 1080p. They all broadcast in either 1080i or 720p.

When watching content from the Fire TV Recast, whether it’s live or recorded, and regardless of whether you’re watching through a Fire TV, Echo Show, or mobile device, the raw MPEG-2 video files are transcoded to H.264 with a maximum resolution of 1440×720 at 60 frames per second. This is done to ensure compatibility with a wide range of devices, including older Fire TVs that cannot de-interlace 1080i video.
http://www.aftvnews.com/video-record...ire-tv-recast/

That's an interesting statement.

At the other thread, they mentioned that only the 1 TB model has four tuners. The 500 GB model only has two tuners. Thought I'd mention that before someone picks up a 500 GB Recast expecting four tuners.

I sort of agree; transcoding to h.264 is fine IMO, but it should choose the best resolution for the target device vs. always converting to 720p. Ideally there should even be an option to up-convert to 1080p if your device supports it; that way, no info is lost regardless of the resolution of the original recording.

But I sort of understand too: real-time transcoding requires a lot of CPU horsepower, and transcoding to 1080p or even 1080i may have just been too much to ask of the hardware.

Luke over at Cord Cutter News has posted his review of the Recast.

https://youtu.be/fNjyBDPWhQg

I always trust his opinions, and he is really detailed with his reviews of ROKU products. I think this will be a big seller, but It is primarily for the Amazon Fire TV Eco-system. Luke agrees that most homes have a combination of devices, and that is most likely the only downside.

Well I'm just thrilled to have the live TV and DVR so cleanly integrated with my FireTV and mobile devices. I don't think the PQ is quite as good as watching live channels on my TV, but its good enough. Streaming live TV to mobile dives over my home network works very well, couldn't be happier with that.


Channel setup was a bit fiddly and finicky, the tuner in this box wants a pretty strong signal. Again I get better performance from my TVs onboard tuner. The available channel signal strength indicator is inadequate. We need more than "weak" and "Good" indications. What's wrong with an actual meter display? If you have a portable TV with a decent antenna setup routine you might want to use it to position your antenna.

First impression is good. Glad there is a red lamp on front of device to let you know it’s recording something.
Thank god the FF button is set up with 30 second increments.

Only stumbling block was setting up iPhone app to recognize Recast.
Called support, they had me delete and reinstall. All good.

Also requested some enhancements.
Ability to proceed faster in guide, ie 24 hour increments.
Ability to view documented new episodes in guide.
Some testing I did with recording options indicates the data base knows if show has previously aired. So the option to record new only seems to work. But needs more time to know for sure.

Ability to view in any room and mobile makes all my dreams.

Certainly no need for Stream+ which I rarely used due to its clunky ness.

Recast is smooth. Alexa channel 9!!! And it works.

Have to agree with an above statement that the picture is not sharp as the built-in tuner on my LG C7. As for the channels they don't seem to be in order from top to bottom but rather as they were detected. Annoying. I think I may just mount another antenna and use both the the LG's internal detected channels and the Recast channels just for recording. Glad I now have the option to record though.

I'm curious what the framerate is. is it 60fps ? Good for sports for example?

@ JoeKusta & JHBrandt

All the information I posted came straight from the Amazon product link I posted.

Hopefully people would at least notice that there are two different models.

Could be interesting. It seems though, that their "mobile App" is only compatible with my sons fire tablet, and not my daughters iphone? Just me or an actual issue?

Thanks. I should have posted it's one of the most interesting "marketing" statements I've seen in a while. I have a Fire TV so I follow Amazon and it's consumer products. This should be an interesting product to watch.

It works on my iPad, but I had to sign out of the FireTV app and sign back in to get it working. Just make sure you have the FireTV app and not one of the other Amazon apps. Its sometimes called the "FireTV Remote".

I'm interested in more details regarding transcoding. I have read that it reverts to lower PQ than necessary, even if you have your Fire TV at 4K, to support Fire TV devices that can't handle that stream quality.

Any one have a way to verify if there is a way to totally bypass transcoding.

When watching ON NOW and recorded episodes, curious if the fire sticks in various rooms are receiving wifi signal from from the actual Recast device, or from my ATT BGW210 router?
I am guessing the signals to fire sticks are coming from router, just like it does the streaming for apps.

While testing Recast last night, noticed Alexa voice is very very very loud compared to content. Resolution for that?

You don't need another antenna, just splitter on the one you currently use.

Amazon is goofy. I ordered the 2 tuner for $230 YESTERDAY, they announced today it gets a $50 TGiving discount (Sunday?). My Recast hasnt arrived so I chatted and asked for a $50 partial refund. They reused and told me to send the Recast back ,and then re-order at the discount price FOR THE SAME ITEM in a couple of days.

So much for saving time, effort, and the environment.

Agreed, it's weird Amazon wouldn't just credit you the difference. At $179.99, the 500 GB Recast looks a little more enticing. I'm a bit curious if other OTA DVRs will also be discounted for BF.

The 4 tuner will also be discounted to $219, but I can't think of why I would need 4 tuners for OTA programming. 2 seems plenty - for me. I guess the 500 gb of extra space (1TB total) may be worth the extra $, especially as I was OK paying $230 for the 2 tuner, which I will now be sending back . So for $10 less than I was paying, I would get an extra 2 tuners and 500 gb.

$180 is a good price for the 2-tuner model. The AirTV BB is (regularly) $120 (don't know if AirTV will have a BF sale) but you have to add your own HDD, so it comes out about the same.

$220 for the 4-tuner model is even better. As for the need, I guess it depends on your TV viewing patterns.

For me, two tuners is enough 95% of the time, and three would cover at least 99%, maybe 100%. But if you're a heavier TV viewer and all the shows you like happen to be on at the same time, you might really need four tuners.

Yes, it's clear there are two models. I already knew that one has 500 GB of storage, and the other has 1 TB and costs $50 more.

What wasn't clear was how many tuners each had. Before your post, I had assumed both had two tuners, which of course was incorrect.

When I saw your post, it sounded like both had four tuners - but it turns out that's also incorrect. The 500 GB model has two and the 1 TB model has four.

That actually makes the price difference make more sense. There's not much difference in cost between 500 GB and 1 TB, but two extra tuners would make the 1 TB model more expensive.

Speaking of cost, the BF prices for the Recast have been announced: $180 and $220 respectively. Those prices sound much better than the regular prices!

This is the part that concerns me.





To use Fire TV Recast to watch and record over-the-air TV, you’ll need the following (sold separately):

• An HD antenna—specific channel availability and reception varies by location. Learn more
• A Fire TV streaming media player or Echo Show.
• Access to the free Fire TV app on a Fire tablet (5th Gen or above), or an iOS 10 (or above) or Android 4.4 (or above) mobile device.

I have my HD Antenna & Amazon Fire TV. Do I really need to have the Fire TV app on a Fire tablet?

Mainly just for setup. Any phone with the FTV app will do.

It seems the media really likes the Recast:

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/amazon-...t-2018-review/
https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/14/...treaming-alexa

I'm interested in hearing the pros and cons from regular users. I may take the dive next week if it is as good as it's cracked up to be.

Mine's just arrived and Im stopping myself from opening the box. Amazon won't "price match" with the sale price on Sunday - $50 off. Back it goes and then reorder at 12:01 AM on Sunday - so silly.

The times I really need 4 tuners, is when there is an overlap due to padding. If I'm recording 2 Prime Time network shows from 9:00 to 10:02, then also recording 2 from 10:00 to 11:03, I use 4 tuners during the 2 minute overlap.

I don't get the setup based on the first link you posted. The picture shows four connections on the rear: Antenna, USB (non functional yet), Ethernet, Power.

You can connect your antenna to the Recast, but how do you get the signal to your tv?

Attached Thumbnails

 

You need a FireTV device. It goes over the network.