Recording Formats and Quality

Playground
#1

I am looking to "cut the cord" so I have been experimenting with different broadcast sources and recording programs. My objective is to find the best quality recording without cable.
The 4 combinations I have tried are

  1. ChannelsDVR – OTA
  2. SageTV – HDHomeRun Prime – Comcast
  3. ChannelsDVR – Locast
  4. PlayOn – CW app

The first observation is 5.1 audio is not available with streaming services as the source (Locast, CW app).

The video quality is not significantly different. (ASTC 3.0 is not available in the NYC area yet.)

I used MediaInfo to get detailed info.

Recording Formats and Quality
Recording Formats and Quality1628×875 372 KB

#2

2 things that surprised me about my own transition from a single source (DirecTV):

  1. I miss 5.1 audio a lot less than i thought i would, although admittedly my OTA/cable sports watching dwarfs my TVE one, so this might be somewhat placebo
  2. The TVE streams, with a few exceptions, look excellent. In some cases, the TVE stream beats my local cable feed, due to bit starving on their end.
#3

In my Case ... I find Locast to be Terrible quality but better than nothing I guess.
best Video quality ...

Channels DVR OTA
Channels DVR TVE
Comcast Cable
Locast

Best Audio Quality ...

Channels DVR OTA
Comcast Cable
Channels DVR TVE
Locast