Standalone TV Tuner / DVR?

[Atomic Playboy]

My wife and I are joining the ranks of people who are looking into cutting the cord to ditch the monthly cable bill for hundreds of channels that we don't even watch. We picked up the Mohu Leaf 50 earlier this week since Amazon had it on sale for $38, down from $70. But it occurs to me that once we ditch cable, we'll be losing the cable box that we've been foolishly renting for years, and we'll need a tuner to plug the Leaf into.

I realize that our TV has a built-in tuner, but we currently have everything running through an HDMI switch into a receiver so we can get full surround audio. I don't feel like setting up audio output cables from the TV to the receiver if there's any way to avoid it, which means if I used the TV as the tuner, we're stuck with the TV speakers, which is unacceptable. So we need a standalone device.

Here's what I'm looking for: a standalone device, with included remote, which can be connected to an RF cable from the antenna and connect to our existing setup via HDMI. All it needs to do is receive HD OTA broadcasts. DVR functionality is completely irrelevant, but if our only option is a standalone DVR, we're open to that. I'd rather avoid monthly fees, which turns me away from Tivo and Tablo, although I guess they have lifetime memberships which eliminate the monthly bill.

From my brief research, it seems like the Cadillac model that does everything I'm looking for (and more) is the Channel Master DVR, but that's awfully expensive considering the whole point of cutting the cord is saving money. Is there another device which will receive HD OTA broadcasts without any of the bells and whistles and not break within the next 6 months? Or am I pretty much limited to using the built-in TV tuner and setting up an audio passthrough to the receiver?

 

[ControlD]

Tivo sells a Roamio OTA model for something like $49. Have you looked into that?

Sorry. Missed the monthly fee part of your post so you can disregard the above.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Hmm...

The Mediasonic HomeWorx 150PVR or 180STB would work I bet. That is a good cheap option for you.

I will admit though I don't have any experience with one. I have my OTA antenna hooked to a HDHomerun that then outputs via a HTPC setup I already had.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Tivo sells a Roamio OTA model for something like $49. Have you looked into that?

Sorry. Missed the monthly fee part of your post so you can disregard the above.

I'd rather not add another monthly bill if we can avoid it. The TiVo is available with a "lifetime" subscription cost of $250, but I don't know if the added features of the TiVo justify the expense for our uses.

Hmm...

The Mediasonic HomeWorx 150PVR or 180STB would work I bet. That is a good cheap option for you.

I will admit though I don't have any experience with one. I have my OTA antenna hooked to a HDHomerun that then outputs via a HTPC setup I already had.

I looked at the HDHomeRun, but I'd rather not run things through the PC if I can avoid it. My PC is hooked up to the entertainment center, but it would preclude me playing videogames while the wife watches TV, and that's an option I very much want to keep open.

I looked into the Mediasonic devices, and I think I'm leaning that way now, but it seems like they have a lot of complaints about reliability and breaking. Which I guess is to be expected for a $30 device, but I'd rather not have to replace them every few months. My biggest concern: is there an observable difference in the picture quality between the cheap-o units and something like the TiVo, Tablo or Channel Master?

 

[Binky]

The HDhomerun doesn't have to run through a "PC." Keeping it cheap and simple, it could run into a FireTV Stick (android), or a Raspberry Pi2 (Linux) through Kodi, with full DVR abilities and a guide ($20/year) if desired. The "HDhomerun Extend" can also play on tablets, phones, or directly into the FireTV etc.

What is you level of technical skill? Are you good with Android, or Linux? Windows?

 

[Atomic Playboy]

The HDhomerun doesn't have to run through a "PC." Keeping it cheap and simple, it could run into a FireTV Stick (android), or a Raspberry Pi2 (Linux) through Kodi, with full DVR abilities and a guide ($20/year) if desired. The "HDhomerun Extend" can also play on tablets, phones, or directly into the FireTV etc.

What is you level of technical skill? Are you good with Android, or Linux? Windows?

My level of technical skill is enough that I could probably make something like that work, but I'm also lazy and I don't really watch enough TV to justify going to a huge amount of trouble building a network of devices if there's a single set-top box that meets my needs. Even a blu-ray / DVD player with a built-in tuner would work, I expect, though I don't know if they even still make those.

-EDIT- OK, so it looks like the HDHomeRun can also be accessed through game consoles like the PS3 or Xbox 360, both of which I have in my current setup. Is it pretty easy to use with those (particularly the PS3, as I already have a remote for it, and the fewer remotes I have to juggle, the better)?

 

[Binky]

The PS3 should be fine for basic viewing. Keep in mind that you will need to move to something else (WMC, Kodi) to get DVR functionality.

You can read many comments on the Silicondust forums. Your (smart?) TV may be able to access it as well.
https://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=47

 

[Atomic Playboy]

The PS3 should be fine for basic viewing. Keep in mind that you will need to move to something else (WMC, Kodi) to get DVR functionality.

You can read many comments on the Silicondust forums. Your (smart?) TV may be able to access it as well.
https://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=47

Trying to avoid doing it through the TV itself as that would require connecting audio output cables to get sound output to the receiver, and doing that would allow me to use the TV's built-in tuner which negates the need for a standalone device in the first place. And DVR functionality is not required (although it would be a nice bonus). I'm thinking if I have the PS3, HDHomeRun and a PC all connected (wired connections) to a router, I should be able to use the PC to record and still view through the PS3, correct?

 

[Binky]

Yes. The HDhomerun dynamically allocates tuners on a first come, first served basis. You can connect (i.e. configure) multiple devices to use the tuners, and the viewing/recording devices can "grab" tuner usage as needed. I haven't run this in an environment where conflicts occur, but imagine it just reports that no tuner is available if there is a conflict. I have connected multiple devices to the tuners with zero problems. The Hdhomerun OTA tuners are by far the best I have used.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Excellent. I think I'll look into that one. Only $80 through Amazon, which is roughly my monthly cable costs, and it seems like it will be fairly easy to use (important factor for wife consideration).