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Karl asked: “Interested in getting more information on place shifting. In particular, want to get my off-air signal from my living room to a different room, using my iPad. I’d also like to pickup the off-air signal and watch it at a different location using my Macbook. I have ITV software on my desktop Mac, not sure if it’ll do it. I’m also looking at Tablo, Slingbox and Sage open source software. Some ideas, please.”
If it’s over the air TV only for you, then you’re going to need a product like a TiVo Bolt, a Magnavox OTA DVR, or a Tablo. None of these are perfect solutions.
The TiVo products are oriented toward subscription services. Yes, they’ll handle OTA recording, but they really want to work with your cable or satellite provider via CableCard, and TiVo themselves will charge you a service fee. You buy the box and still pay for the service.
The Magnavox OTA DVRs are interesting. They do one thing (record over the air TV and play it back, including place shifting) and they do it pretty well, but that’s all they do. No smart apps in the devices themselves at all. If you want Netflix, look elsewhere. There are three models coming out this fall, all of them pricey, with the difference between them being one model includes a DVD burner while the other two differ in the number of tuners supported.
If you want Netflix, look elsewhere.
Tablo’s box handles the OTA DVR and place shifting just fine, but it doesn’t have any video output of its own. So you can’t connect a TV to it in your primary location. Everything is place shifted, you’d need another streaming media console that would work with the Tablo. If all you want to do is place shift and you don’t care to watch content at the device itself, it’s worth considering.
All of us like Slingbox products here, but Sling Media won’t confirm or deny their new AirTV product that may or may not be coming soon. In the meantime, Slingbox works with your existing subscription services. Sling TV, their streaming service, would be an interesting alternative, but you’re back to paying for the content.