Since writing last month’s article about cutting the TV cord, I have come up with two more technologies that may make your choice even easier. These are not new technologies, but you may not have heard of them yet.
The first is over-the-air (OTA) programming. This is not the old “rabbit-ears” analog TV that they stopped broadcasting in 2012 … this is the free digital OTA television mandated by our own CRTC. All you need to pick up the signal is an OTA receiver ($10 and up), and maybe an antenna … with no ongoing fees.
If you want to read more about OTA, simply google “digital OTA TV”.
The second technology has been around for over 10 years, but is even more applicable today than it was back then. Slingbox was the first device I saw that could rebroadcast your TV signal so that you could watch on a device in another room, or in another country, with no extra fees.
And, there are devices that combine those two technologies … allowing you to receive free digital HD OTA TV and rebroadcast to your phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, SmartTV, etc. Two such devices, from a company called SiliconDust, are the HDHomeRun Connect (~$150) and HDHomeRun Extend (~$250). These two products each have two tuners, so you can watch or record two different programs at the same time. The Extend model simply has a better “compression engine” so the resulting video can run smoother. Also note that the newest SiliconDust model, HDHomeRun Prime (~$230) doesn’t do OTA.
With an antenna, you have a chance of picking up more of the channels broadcast from your local broadcaster (43 emanate from our local Mount Seymour). With a computer or a NAS, you can record shows to watch later. QNAP (mentioned in previous articles) just announced support for these devices for recording and playback, which prompted this article.
With an HDHomeRun Extend and $30 booster antenna, I can report that setup is quick and easy. Viewing streaming TV from any device on your home network is also very slick. Recording can be done for free with a bit of effort, or for a fee (US$35/year) quite easily. I have not yet determined how to view live from outside of your home network, but that should also be possible.
Unfortunately, you can only receive a few channels in our area (Southern Vancouver Island): 5 with an antenna, 10 with a “booster” antenna, and potentially more with a very expensive antenna. The selection is limited, but if want free “local” TV or you like shows from the 60s-80s, then this OTA technology may be a good option for you.