So which receiver is best? None. They all go down as soon as they become popular.
HDTV digital antenna with ATSC tuner is best for free TV, it does not go down. (new VHF crystal clear digital transmission replaced the old analog UHF antenna signal (VHF antennas will still work btw and a re cheap to buy anyways), Digital HDTV is clearly on or off, no more snowy pictures in between a direct hit) Radio Shack carries the antennas and and if your older HDTV doesn't have a built in ATSC tuner you can easily add one.
... how many expensive loaders cards and irds are out there collecting dust for the short time they were used? Too many for the length of time of watching a few movies.
HDTV is free and broadcasts in digital clarity, cheap and reliable at the expense of by far fewer channels but at least it is always up.
It is cheaper to subscribe than keep buying boxes you might find, at the expense of fewer channels but at least HDTV is free with even fewer channels, like a dozen or 2, but always up.
FTA increasingly sucks now... unstable and short lived to spend a couple hundred bucks every few months for a new box. Then there is the increasing problem of where to get files eventually...
Too much trouble and too little to gain any more, until they find some new angle, like hacking the firmware firewall in the cards and I can't see a many multimillion dollar lab, let alone the people needed, going to those arduous lengths to reverse engineer a chip that is tenaciously protected or Dave would have been hacked long ago. Dare I say it is almost over unless these door stoppers start coming to life again by some miracle.
Years ago it was chipping away at epoxy to remove a chip from a BUD motherboard to replace the programming in it. Then came plastic card reprogramming. Next, STB boxes. Then STB boxes going to a private server a.k.a IKS or a variation of it.
This is not going away. I believe we are in another transitional time period for this hobby. A different method or twist will come along and the lines once again will be drawn clearly in the sand.
One thing is for sure...it sure makes for a lot of interesting reading!
I come also from the old Big Ugly Dish days. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was wide open. Those were the days....
Then came the free DirecTV days. Then the free DirecTV days were no more.
Then came the free Dish & Bev days. And now Dish and Bev have almost closed their doors on us.
They are almost done.... Once they finish (code finish22) their job, free Dish & Bev days will be no more.
Without free Dish & Bev, as without free DirecTV, as without free Digital Cable, it will be the end of an era. An era where we the pirates and free TVers used to rule.
I don't always list DTV...and nope I never worked for any compnay..but i did answer the question asked regarding " which is the best receiver now?"...a subscribed DTV one, with sub sharing w family and/or friends.!....it works 100% of the time, 100% completely safe, gets all the channels U want, and is the cheapest deal in the world, great customer service and no hassles, and will allow many more receivers than anybody else...no other receiver or provider can say the same..and DN and Bev are a joke compared to DTV, in all ways...and FTA is basically dead for now..
Same here LK My new HD receiver from DirecTv will be here today. The price and the channel line up for $34.99 a month is unbeatable. Plus this month you get price for life FREE HD channels. Free installation and free delivery. No I do not work for them or have any connection, I am just tired of waiting. This will be my last post here for a long time, Bye Bye
"My new HD receiver from DirecTv will be here today. The price and the channel line up for $34.99 a month is unbeatable. Plus this month you get price for life FREE HD channels. Free installation and free delivery. "
