The tuners will work on Plex but not storage you have to Pay $35 dollars ... I am one of the original KICKSTARTERS so I get the DVR free for now until when and if they get DRM recording.
So, my understanding is that the 4k part is just naming gimmicks, and should as well say atsc3 instead. I would hope that the newer generation of tuners would perform better, being newer and better and all. That's what they said anyways.
Considering in the future it will play 4K content, I don't see it as a "naming gimmick". Probably at least another year or two.
What little research I have done shows that their software is pretty poor, especially compared to Channels (and Plex).
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The only good thing is if you want to constantly record as you can have as many DVRS running and the APP sees all the recordings as one DVR. They will never record a duplicate show... and they all share the Passes.
You Can Have one running on a NAS one running on a PC one running on a Shield... and to the APP if either one records you will see the recordings as one.
That's really the only benefit I can think of (though I should point out it's using ATSC 1.0 reception to achieve that). The Duo sounds like the right value for you at this time.
The fanless chipset swayed me towards the Duo...
I certainly would go with the 4K model if there was even one good program ota at 4K resolution. Maybe next Labor Day, or two.
forget about 4k. Look at how many OTA stations you get that aren't even broadcasting in 1080p.
Stations are using their bandwidth to supply crappy sub channels along with their main signal. Main signals are often 720p
Of the 4 major networks in my area, only 1 is broadcast in 1080, the rest are 720
The sub stations are little more than infomercials stations with repeats of old TV shows
I don't see anything in ATSC3 thant will change this
Sadly you are probably right. Streaming is king now. Putting resources in an old tech like ota is certainly counterproductive. Maybe once there is more 4K infrastructure, maybe the networks will throw a bone.
"I don't see anything in ATSC3 thant will change this"
It will. ATSC3 can achieve up to 57mbps instead of atsc1 19mbps. They'll be able to make the 'major' channel 4k and the sub channels 720p/1080i HD.
It also has the huge advantage of HEVC video codec and AC-4 audio which can carry a DD+ Atmos signal. It can compress the video at half the rate of ATSC1 while looking just as good. Currently Atlanta is playing 5 major networks on ONE RF channel and they are slightly better quality at 1080p and half the bitrate of their ATSC1 stations.
4k could do one major at 20mbps and 4+ 1080p sub channels at 5mbps or less.
The discussion is about the motivation to move to 4K when most channels aren't even HD. Not the specs of atsc3. A simple search can get the details and specifications.
How long do YOU think it will be before we even get one station broadcasting 4K continuously in the USA?
I hope you are right, but since my main point was economic, not technical, It remains to be seen
Advertising is a dead end as a growing revenue stream. what atsc3 could offer is premium content by its ability for encryption and content access protection
If you're still trying to find a good antenna you could call Antennas Direct 1-877-825-5572. I bought a Clearstream 4Max from them and when I called for support I gave them my address and they gave me aerial images of the best places on my house to put the antenna. I get 124 channels including ATSC 3.0.
It's only a matter of time but it will be 3-5 years I'd say. ATSC1 has to go the way of analog and ATSC3 take over. When we get close to that, most primetime shows will start broadcasting in 4k, and then local stations will start transmitting it on their ATSC3 channel.
But with no FCC push to change to ATSC3, it may be much longer.
My guess is 2-3 years so I guess i'm a bit more optimistic. Time will tell...
I don't know where people are getting the $2 million profit from. They did make $4.37 million in revenue from user fees, which at $60 per subscriber per year means they only had about 73,000 paying full-time equivalent subscribers.
My 2¢ (and worth half that much on a good day): 
Pay a TV antenna installer to put up an antenna and ensure you get a solid signal on all available channels to all of your TV set locations. After several years of buying increasingly better and more expensive antennas and still having too much pixelization and drop-outs, I finally turned to an expert to make it right. I paid about $500 for the antenna and installation which seems like a lot, but I was used to paying $70-$80/month in cable TV charges which the antenna eliminated. Therefore, it was only a matter of 6-7 months before I paid for the antenna by the monthly savings. This was all about 10 years ago, so I figure I've saved almost 10,000 because of the antenna. It's been worth it to have no monthly fee network programming. The installer was even able to install a big enough antenna in my attic to reliably bring in the signals without dropouts or pixelization. I like an attic location because the antenna is protected from the wind and the weather and the house looks better without an antenna and tower hovering above it. The roof does cut back on the amount of signal the antenna receives, but if your installer knows what he's doing, he can compensate for that and still get a reliable signal, in most (but not all) locations. Good luck!
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Hi Scottâ I don't know if you got the answers you were looking for but here's a list of things anyone can do to get the most out of their Channels DVR:
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Download the RCA SignalFinder app. It'll show you where your transmitters are located in relation to your home and will provide estimated signal strength.
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Buy an antenna. Unless you've got landlord issues, I wouldn't bother with indoor flat antennas or rabbit ears. A REAL antenna isn't expensive, and if you're close enough to the transmitters you can mount it in the attic. In my case, I live about 30 miles from the major broadcast towers serving Sacramento. The terrain is flat, but indoor antennas always resulted in occasional breakup on one or two channels. Most all broadcasters are in the UHF band now, regardless of their virtual channel assignmentâ and that helps. I get solid signals from every major station in the market via a $50 RCA mini yagi antenna from Home Depot. I used the RCA app to steer it on the pole.
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Get the HD HomeRun Quattro. It's got four tuners. You'll likely need all four occasionally.
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One benefit of digital TV is it doesn't require long runs of coaxial cable and amplifiers. I mounted my antenna outside an upstairs window about 15 feet from a home network switch for the coax feedâ and the home network distributes the HD HomeRun signal everywhere in the house, on ethernet and wireless.
I'm sorry to see Locast go, but I'm pretty sure most of the people it served can find a way to get OTA signals without it. It just takes a little effort.
-George
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It would be helpful if Channels could use a FireTV Recast as its DVR. That way one would get OTA channels and the much better playback than the Recastâs own system provides. I wouldnât expect Amazon to help but perhaps someone can figure out how to do that.
How would a recast be different than a Hdhomerun?