[Mikeguy]

Let me first describe my set up. I have a four node Google WiFi mesh network and a large number of devices that connect wirelessly to the nearest Google Wifi node. The Recast is in the attic where it connects to a large indoor antenna and directly by ethernet to the router. My internet connection is 1Gbit/s AT&T Fiber and I get about 150-200 Mbit/s on the mesh network. I have found this network supports rock solid video and is generally far more reliable than my previous MoCa network. I have not seen any stalls or freezes on live or recorded content and I have never had to restart the Recast or Fire TV sticks. I find the picture quality excellent, but I am mostly watching on a 32" TV.

Thanks--and so, a pretty strong system there, including with the wired connection to the router. Need to "dumb down" your system to see how Recast works with more challenging (normal?) systems.

 

[shwru980r]

Amazon isn't charging for the DVR service now, but could they require a fee in the future?

This Fire Recast is going to appeal to the cord shavers much more than TiVo's Bolt OTA systems purely on price. Beyond price is the added attractiveness that it seems easy to set-up and use, uses local storage and all its legal protections and authorizations lacking with "cloud" storage, its use of a more elegant voice control than TiVo's (especially with many households already using Amazon's Echo in some form), and from a company millions already have a relationship, unlike TiVo.

1 TiVo Bolt Vox OTA DVR + All-in Plan = $2 shy of $500. Add 1 Mini Vox at $179 = Full Price a few dollars shy of $680.

1 Amazon Fire TV Recast 2 tuner model = $230
1 Amazon Fire TV Recast 4 tuner model = $280
NO ADDITIONAL CHARGES. THE ABOVE IS FULL PRICE.

Many may already have a Fire TV of some sort, so purchasing additional Fire TV's may not be necessary, but if a household needs to purchase an additional FireTV, then it a lot less expensive than a TiVo Mini Vox.

Fire TV Recast is what all those frugal cord shavers have been waiting for. Sorry, but TiVo is not going to gain anything in the market from the interest in this device, and the whloe TiVo Bolt Vox OTA looks like an even worse value than it already is. If TiVo does not price the Bolt VOX OTA at $299 (which may not be possible for TiVo to do) and the VOX Mini at $99, then its buh-bye TiVo OTA only DVR's. I have no doubt TiVo management is "freaking out" over the Recast's release. I do see TiVo, at some point before the end of the year, reducing the price of Bolt VOX OTA and even the VOX Mini, but by how much, and for how long, and will it be enough? Recast TV is the first device that is truly a decent alternative to TiVo, and Recast TV may be the first device to end TiVo's participation on the OTA only DVR segment of the business.

For a TiVo Bolt Vox OTA DVR you don't need to buy a mini if you want to watch it on a TV through HDMI. For a Recast, you still need to buy at least 1 Fire TV.

TiVo Bolt Vox OTA DVR - $498
Fire TV Recast + 4K stick = $280 + $50 = $330

Still, a significant saving for the Recast solution and there will be a wider selection of apps and the apps will be more full-featured. Plus the Recast uses Gracenote guide data while Tivo uses Rovi guide data.

 

[dlfl]

........ Plus the Recast uses Gracenote guide data ..........

Probably, and I hope it's anything but Rovi. But has this actually been confirmed? The only evidence I'm aware of is that a Verge article last year talking about the Amazon Elements TV said it used Gracenote data, and thus it's likely Amazon extended that usage to the Recast.

It's great that the guide data is free but of course there is no guarantee it will remain so.

 

[shwru980r]

Probably, and I hope it's anything but Rovi. But has this actually been confirmed? The only evidence I'm aware of is that a Verge article last year talking about the Amazon Elements TV said it used Gracenote data, and thus it's likely Amazon extended that usage to the Recast.

It's great that the guide data is free but of course there is no guarantee it will remain so.

I think this article from the verge reviewing the Recast mentions gracenote.

Amazon Fire TV Recast review: the cord cutter's DVR

I was thinking the same thing about the cost of the guide data and could Amazon impose a fee at a later date.

 

[dlfl]

I think this article from the verge reviewing the Recast mentions gracenote.

Amazon Fire TV Recast review: the cord cutter's DVR
........

Thanks. Yes it does. But how did they know/deduce that?

 

[dlfl]

I thought I would start a new thread now that they have resleased it and provided review and images.
...........

[WHINE]I wish you hadn't. Don't see anything that distinguishes the two threads, so just complicates things for those following the Recast topic. I wish the mods would lock one of these threads.[/WHINE]

Hey, I know your intentions were good but .......

 

[jgolden]

There are two Recast models to choose from: the $229.99 50GB Recast offers 2 tuners and up to 75 hours of HD storage, while the $279.99 1TB Recast offers 4 tuners and up to 150 hours of HD storage.

Amazon is already discounting the two Recast for Black Friday, $50 off on the 500GB, and $60 off the 1TB model.

 

[hoodlatch]

1st post here just for your entertainment. I can’t compare recast to Tivo since I haven’t owned both. Why the Recast was chosen for me was easy though. I’ve been waiting years to cut my cable, but didn’t want to pay extra fees for a guide.

I had remodeled my home and stuffed it with Zwave switches, outlets, thermostats, etc. I eventually added Alexa via Echo dots to voice control anything in my home. Eventually replaced some old Roku’s with Firesticks. Tivo was my favorite option(friend has a iffy CableMaster), but was just reluctant with the cost. The moment I could pre-order the Recast I did. It was the perfect addition to my house since I already had the sticks and voice control.

I couldn’t be happier, and it was affordable! After 22 years I finally chopped the now $140 cable bill.

One more thing I’ll add, which still don’t compare it or knock Tivo, is that I get 3 more channels with it than if I just hook my antenna line to my 6 month old 65” TV. It’s tuner is better than my TV.

 

[mtnagel]

Tivo was my favorite option(friend has a iffy CableMaster), but was just reluctant with the cost.

Not knocking your decision at all as I'm keeping my eye on the Recast, but when I bought my Roamio OTA, it was $400 and you got a free Amazon Echo so really like spending $300. I know they got rid of the Roamio and the Bolt OTA with lifetime is more expensive, but I thought the $300 Roamio with zero monthly fees was a great deal. I'm very happy with my decision.

 

[aaronwt]

And the deal was even better when they had a ROmaio OTA for only $200 with lifetime that I got a year or two ago. With no more fees to pay.

 

[hoodlatch]

Those were some great deals! I somehow never saw any real good deals with a lifetime guide, while I teetered back and forth with the decision.

I’m sure there are thousands of people in my situation where a Recast will flow right into their home with minimum cost or add ons.

And hopefully Tivo will respond with an even better unit at a matching price. We consumers really benefit when competition is thriving.

 

[shwru980r]

Those were some great deals! I somehow never saw any real good deals with a lifetime guide, while I teetered back and forth with the decision.

I'm sure there are thousands of people in my situation where a Recast will flow right into their home with minimum cost or add ons.

And hopefully Tivo will respond with an even better unit at a matching price. We consumers really benefit when competition is thriving.

Most every holiday sale offer Tivo has is for a recurring service subscription. The Recast seems like the obvious choice over the Bolt OTA. The guide data is unified with other apps and the other streaming apps are far superior to the Bolt. The only advantages the Bolt OTA seems to have is the ability to watch 1080i content at the original resolution and more than 2 concurrent streams, but ~$160 minis are required for additional TVs and the apps are inferior to the fire TV.

 

[dlfl]

Most every holiday sale offer Tivo has is for a recurring service subscription. The Recast seems like the obvious choice over the Bolt OTA. ..........

Probably true for a majority of people. But there is an important qualifier, which is that the picture qualty (PQ) of the 720p video supported over your wifi network is good enough for you. (Note that the Recast will negotiate lower PQ if your wifi connection isn't good enough for its best quality.)

We have very few reports of PQ using the recast but there have been several reports of noticably less sharp video for 1080i sources on this AVS forum thread:
Amazon RECAST OTA DVR formerly known as "Frank" - AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews

My guess is that if you have a large screen (e.g., 65" or more) and not-so-hot wifi, you are likely to be dissatisfied. Two possible saviors:
1. The Recast will establish a "direct" wifi connection to your client device if possible, bypassing your router, and potentially providing a much better signal.
2. You can use hardwired ethernet to connect both the Recast and your client device to your router.

And then there is the final fallback of Amazon's 30 day return policy.

 

[aaronwt]

Even if everything is as it should be. It is still down converting from 1080i to 720p. Which is fine when TiVo does it for viewing on tablets and cell phones. But on a regular TV? If you have a good quality 1080i signal, it will be noticeably degraded if it's down converted to 720P.
Although with the bitstarved OTA transmissions in many areas, I guess you might not be able to see the difference.

 

[Mikeguy]

Most every holiday sale offer Tivo has is for a recurring service subscription. The Recast seems like the obvious choice over the Bolt OTA. The guide data is unified with other apps and the other streaming apps are far superior to the Bolt. The only advantages the Bolt OTA seems to have is the ability to watch 1080i content at the original resolution and more than 2 concurrent streams, but ~$160 minis are required for additional TVs and the apps are inferior to the fire TV.

At times, I think that TiVo consumers can take for granted what TiVo offers. I would add: well-developed trickplay; QuickMode; SkipMode; the peanut remote (which generally is being overlooked, when it is such a marvel); an online interface (to the extent the Recast doesn't have that). (Off the top of my head and without knowing more about the Recast--for example, can shows be transferred to/from it, with a PC?)

 

[dlfl]

At times, I think that TiVo consumers can take for granted what TiVo offers. I would add: well-developed trickplay; QuickMode; SkipMode; the peanut remote (which generally is being overlooked, when it is such a marvel); an online interface (to the extent the Recast doesn't have that). (Off the top of my head and without knowing more about the Recast--for example, can shows be transferred to/from it, with a PC?)

Have to question if the "online interface" is a TiVo advantage. In most cases the Recast playback will be via a Fire TV streaming device which has better performing streaming apps than a TiVo.

The Recast, although it records the raw mpeg2 video, has no way to transfer it to/from a PC. The Fire TV boxes have considerable hacker support, so it would not be surprising to find that capability emerging, probably using the USB port on the Recast.

 

[Mikeguy]

Have to question if the "online interface" is a TiVo advantage. In most cases the Recast playback will be via a Fire TV streaming device which has better performing streaming apps than a TiVo.

I was thinking, I'm away from home and running late--easy to program my TiVo box to record a show that I otherwise might miss, from my closest PC.

The Recast, although it records the raw mpeg2 video, has no way to transfer it to/from a PC. The Fire TV boxes have considerable hacker support, so it would not be surprising to find that capability emerging, probably using the USB port on the Recast.

Thanks, very good to know. The current state would dissuade me--a reason I'm still on TE3. But will be interesting to see what the hacker community might do.

 

[NJChris]

Kind of glad I have the recast now. Transferred one of my Bolts to my sister. It had a 1 year commitment but the reps told me and my sister multiple times they would waive the early termination fee. today I was charged $75 termination fee. On the flip side, my Recast went on sale a few days after I got mine. I asked for a price adjustment and they said they don't do that anymore but gave me a $60 promotional credit anyway for my troubles. Then I get an email from Tivo saying they are giving me a $60 promotional credit due to the sale price. So I got $120 back in promotional credits. Customer Service alone is hugely better. I tried to chat with tivo support and they can't handle billing issues in chat. Customer Service alone is a no-brainer that Amazon has them beat by miles.

Ok sorry for the minor de-railing but I can put up with a few of the differences when I get much better support from Amazon.

 

[Mikeguy]

Ok sorry for the minor de-railing but I can put up with a few of the differences when I get much better support from Amazon.

I get my support (what little amount I have needed) here.

 

[al_wilson2]

I'm really interested in the recast for one reason, and that's the ability to integrate streaming channels like PlutoTV with my local guide. I know I'll lose 1080i, but here's one huge question. Will firetv or recast automatically stretch an SD or 4:3 program to fill a whole 16:9 screen? I love that feature on my TiVo.