Top positive review
364 people found this helpful
*** PERFECT OTA SETUP with DVR ***
By Casper on Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2019
Hey Guys, this is one of the first reviews of a device that really needed the "props" it truly deserves! I'm a Network Specialist & have always used Amazon reviews in all my purchasing choices. It's people like you that make this buying community so great. Just wanted to return the favor in this review. This is the Perfect Setup for Cord-cutters!!! Trust me, I've tried a lot. So lets get started... I'm going to try to keep this quick and clean but, can give as much Tech details if needed. Please just follow ALL Manufactures Instructions first. Lets Begin. What you need from Amazon? Just 3 Things. 1. AirTV 2 by AirTV-LLC 2. [2019 Latest] HD Digital Amplified TV Antenna – Support 4K 1080P & All Older TV's Indoor Powerful HDTV Amplifier Signal Booster - Coax Cable Included 3. SanDisk Cruzer 256GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (SDCZ36-256G-B35) *********************** **Product Notes** This month I've tried both the first gen AirTV & this second AirTV2 model which was just released. The difference is night and day! The AirTV2 is hands down the better product to buy for just a few bucks more. (Currently even comes with a $25 off Promo code to Sling new & current customers). The Antenna is perfect! **This is important** It has both UHF & VHF Capabilities. The first HD antenna I bought(from a different manufacturer)didn't have the VHF. I ended up not being able to get all of the OTA HD channels in my area. No NFL Games. So Please folks, whatever antenna you buy, make sure it can also receive the VHF Spectrum. I have it in the bottom of my window and it's a dream. 1byOne is the manufacturer of this antenna. They come in Black and White. 1byOne makes several models but the one I bought is the "UPDATED" model not the prior "UPGRADED". I'm sure the prior one works just as good though. AirTV2 OTA DVR So this is going to be a HUGE HELP to all of you I hope, because I haven't seen much info on the web. How many Gigabytes = Hours of AirTV2 OTA DVR Storage? My personal verified answer is: ***Every 128GB = 20Hours OTA DVR on AirTV2*** AirTV2 OTA DVR supports a minimum of 50GB and a max of 2TB of USB 2.0 Storage(No USB v3.0). So with this review, that SanDisk 256GB Flashdrive gets you 40Hours of OTA DVR Storage. And yes save your money guys with this USB 2.0 flash drive. When you run the math, don't bother with an External Hard Drive or SSD. This flash drive is fast and perfect. *It has TWO TUNERS built in for your LAN. Meaning Unlimited Local TVs can connect & watch DVR content, but only TWO can simultaneously view Live Streams at once. Gotta juggle it guys, kinda like all our other favorite streaming apps. But it has the ability to use ONE of those streams for "Outside" the Home Cellular/WiFi viewing. A Huge Plus!! You can watch the game from anywhere. :-) Only Pro Tips I'd recommend is put a small piece of black electrical tape over the middle of this USB Flash drive. Keeps the flashing orange LED activity light from view behind the TV. Also GENTLY tighten the coax antenna cord to the device with a Pliers. Coax always finds a way of loosening when it's only "Hand" tightened. A small loose turn, means poor/no reception. I've seen it countless times in my field. Trust me! **Final Notes** If you are subscribed to Sling WITH DVR Service, you are all set. It will integrate with the Sling App. If you don't have Sling, this Perfect Setup here will still work awesome with the Free AirTV App & has NO DVR service fees. Ethernet I can't stress this enough. We all love WiFi but it can only handle so much weight. Any "Stationary Device" such as a TV, Blu-Ray Player, Roku Devices, etc, should be if at all possible, connected with an Ethernet Cable. I've seen so many times in a customer's home that the Roku and Game system are sitting 3ft from the modem and they are using WiFi to connect them. Hard line everything with CAT6 Ethernet Cable that can be & you won't believe how much those devices improve and your total overall WiFi experience does. When those bandwidth eating toys get put on a corded connection, everything else Wifi has room to breathe. All in all my Friends, happy cord-cutting. :-) This is my best recommendations for current, Perfect OTA Channels & DVR Setup.
Top critical review
10 people found this helpful
Not what I was hoping for!
By Goldndoodle on Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025
I have been a long time user of HD Homerun and Channels Whole House DVR - I have a lot of experience using an over the air antenna hooked up to my WiFi to broadcast TV signals to every Roku and AppleTV in my house. Over the years I’ve gotten tired of switching between apps for premium content, then to Channels app to watch network shows. In an attempt to combine everything into one app, I signed up for Sling Blue because I read that the AirTV would put my locals from my OTA into the Sling guide, and allow me to record OTA series into the same app. Sounded great - just what I was looking for! Unfortunately, reality did not meet expectations! In order to get the AirTV 2 to record, you need to attach an external hard drive to it. Depending on which external drive you select, you’re talking anywhere from $30 - $100 dollars on top of the price of the AirTV 2. Not too bad, but needs to be considered. I connected the AirTV to my OTA, my WiFi (an Eero 6E router) and the hard drive. You can only set it up with Sling via a mobile device connected to WiFi. Setup was glitchy through out. The AirTV would lose the connection to my iPad during the setup, randomly shut down several times, but finally connected and scanned for local channels after about 30 minutes of frustration. Once connected the good parts were few - the channel logos on the guide looked nice! That’s it! That’s when the real frustration started! The frustrations - Some shows being recorded from the OTA lacked icons. Some shows could not be setup for a “Series” record - they would have to be done manually every time they aired. And I’m not talking about some local produced weekly show, I’m talking about NATIONAL shows - SNL, This Week, Celebrity Jeopardy, etc. Any show that would allow a “series” recording would only do so with the “Record new and reruns” option. It would error out whenever I tried to set it to “Only record new episodes”. The resolution for the live shows was HORRIBLE! Blocky, smearing - just miserable. Made my 4K OLED look like it was playing 1970’s low def rabbit ear antenna broadcasts. Just to confirm, I dropped out of Sling and checked the same shows on Channels - looked like they were in 4K off of Channels. Live shows were buffering so much, it was nearly impossible to watch. It was literally buffering every 2 to 3 minutes for LONG times. Again, checked Channels - no buffering. I figured a recorded show would not have issues with buffering - I WAS WRONG! The recordings looked just as bad, and were buffering just as much. I next thought maybe it was the WiFi connection limitations - connected the AirTV to the nearest Eero station via Cat5e cable - still horrible resolution and buffering like wild. Checked online for solutions to fix either issue - the only thing I found was to unplug the AirTV for 10 seconds, plug it back in, hard reset the app, wait 5 minutes, start the app again. Did that - no improvements. I contacted the Tech Support line for the maker of the AirTVs - their solutions for everything was to tell me my antenna, WiFi or Internet providers were probably to blame. When I explained that I had experience with, and still using an HD Homerun w/ Channels, and there were none of the issues with the Antenna, WiFi, Internet providers on that device like I was having with the AirTV - they basically told me they couldn’t believe it. In the end, Tech Support could not provide a solution to fix the issues. So everything got removed, and returned to Amazon. Sling subscription cancelled! Back to the drawing board!
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