UFC 265 has Lewis vs. Gane in the main event tonight, and MMA fans are ready to see who wins this trilogy by watching UFC 265 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 265 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Lewis vs. Gane in the ESPN app.

On August 7, UFC 265 will be broadcast live from the Toyota Center in Houston. The Pay-Per-View Main Event is headlined by two of the biggest baddest heavyweight fighters in the UFC fighting for an interim title. 

Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (25-7) is already deserving of a proper shot at the undisputed heavyweight title, but the Champion Francis Ngannou needed just a little more time to recover from his last fight. Instead of waiting, the UFC has lined up an interim title fight for Lewis, but he’s going to have to take on a powerful new foe. That opponent is Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane (9-0), an undefeated fighter who was the heavyweight champion in a smaller promotion earlier in his career. Can Gane beat the “Black Beast” and earn his way into the octagon with Ngannou?

Learn how to watch UFC 265 Lewis vs. Gane online from anywhere

UFC 265 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN2, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 265 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the new "Stephen A's World" series.

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 265 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 265 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 265 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 265 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 265 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $89.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you already subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 265 PPV alone for only $69.99.

UFC 264 has Poirier vs. McGregor 3 in the main event tonight, and MMA fans are ready to see who wins this trilogy by watching UFC 264 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 264 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Poirier vs. McGregor 3 in the ESPN app.

On July 11, UFC 264 will be broadcast live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Pay-Per-View Main Event is headlined by two of the biggest names in the UFC fighting the decisive match of an epic trilogy.

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (27-6) is looking for a title shot, but first he’ll need to handle his business one more time against a big name rival. He will fight against “The Notorious” Conor McGregor (22-4) for the third time, and McGregor is looking for redemption after Poirier’s highlight knockout of Conor went viral. The winner should have next for UFC Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, but nothing is guaranteed so they have to make the best of this headline spot.

Learn how to watch UFC 264 Poirier vs. McGregor 3 online from anywhere

Also Gilbert “Durinho” Burns (19-4) will have a showdown against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (16-4-1). Burns is coming off of a knockout loss to the UFC Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, and he needs a big rebound. Thompson is a tough out, but with a 3-2 record in his last five fights he needs a big win if he wants to push through to a title shot of his own.

UFC 264 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 264 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the new "Stephen A's World" series.

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 264 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 264 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 264 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 264 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 264 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $89.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you already subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 264 PPV alone for only $69.99.

UFC 263 has two exciting title fights tonight, and MMA fans are ready to see who gets dethroned by watching UFC 263 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 263 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 in the ESPN app.

On June 12, UFC 263 is broadcasting a night filled with title fights live from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The Pay-Per-View Main Event is headlined by two UFC championship fights.

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya (20-1) is defending his UFC Middleweight championship in a rematch against Marvin “The Italian Dream” Vettori (17-4-1). Adesanya is coming off of his first career loss in his quest to become a two division champ, but he still has this strap and he plans to keep it. Vettori scored a win on one scorecard the first time he faced Adesanya, but lost a split decision based on the two other judges.

Learn how to watch UFC 263 Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 online from anywhere

Also Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1) will defend against his number one contender Brandon Moreno (18-5-2). Plus Welterweight superstars collide as Leon Edwards (18-3) takes on Nate Diaz (21-12).

UFC 263 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 263 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the new "Stephen A's World" series.

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 263 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 263 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 263 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 263 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 263 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $89.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you already subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 263 PPV alone for only $69.99.

UFC 261 has three exciting title fights tonight, and MMA fans are ready to see who gets dethroned by watching UFC 261 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 261 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Usman vs. Masvidal 2 in the ESPN app.

On April 24, UFC 261 is broadcasting a night filled with title fights live from the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas. The Pay-Per-View Main Event features three championship fights, headlined by a title fight rematch from last summer.

Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman (18-1) is has become one of the highest regarded and most feared fighters in the UFC, and last summer he quite literally stomped all over Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (35-14). Last time, Usman used his weight, power and tons of foot stomps to dominate Masvidal, who couldn’t get in a strike or a takedown. Can Jorge come up with a new game plan? 

Plus you can watch Women’s Strawweight champion Zhang “Magnum” Weili (21-1) defend her title against “Thug” Rose Namajunas (10-4) and Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko (20-3) as she takes on Jessica Andrade (21-8).

UFC 261 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 261 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the new "Stephen A's World" series.

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 261 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 261 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 261 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 261 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 261 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $89.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you already subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 261 PPV alone for only $69.99.

UFC 260 is almost here, and MMA fans are ready watch the heavyweight title up for grabs on the go by watching UFC 260 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 260 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 in the ESPN app.

On March 27, UFC 260 is broadcasting a full night of fights live from the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas. The Pay-Per-View Main Event features a rematch title fight between the reigning UFC Heavyweight champion and his number one contender.

Stipe Miocic (20-3) is one of the all time greats at Heavyweight in MMA, and he has already once stopped the rise of Francis “The Predator” Ngannou (15-3). Miocic is coming off of his trilogy of classic fights against Daniel Cormier, and just as iron sharpens iron, Miocic somehow looks more dynamic and dominant than ever. Ngannou is riding an impressive four fight win streak, and has promised that he has new styles and defenses to avoid a repeat of his 2018 loss to Miocic. Who will emerge once these two big men start throwing hands at each other?

UFC 260 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 260 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the new "Stephen A's World" series.

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 260 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 260 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 260 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 260 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 260 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $89.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 260 PPV alone for only $69.99.

If you're looking to pick out the best antenna, there can be an overwhelming amount of choices to pick through. Indoor. Outdoor. HD. 4K. (Thoes last two things were a trick. Whether a box talks about a 4K or HD antenna doesn't matter, by the way. An antenna is an antenna.)

What you want is the best antenna. But even then, what you really need to be focused on is getting the best antenna for your situation. Outside and up high is better. But it might be that the best antenna for you is going to be an indoor antenna.

The good news is that all of those options means you're probably covered for every situation.

Having the best antenna is just half the battle, though. As important is making sure it's facing the best way for the stations where you live. All that said, let's take a look at some of our favorites in the battle for the best antenna. None breaks the bank, and all should serve you well.

Whether you're looking for a large range or a cheap price, you could be shuffling through antennas for hours. I'd recommend taking a look at the ClearStream 1MAX outdoor antenna if you're looking for a decent antenna at a good price. Make sure to keep reading for even more information on what makes this the best overall antenna. There are several great antennas to choose from, based on what you need and what you're looking to spend on them.

The best antenna — ClearStream Fusion

I've had this antenna on my house for a couple years now. It's survived the Florida summer sun. It's gone through a minor hurricane and a couple tropical storms. That's not the best idea, by the way — I probably should have taken it down. But the point is that it's served me really well. That has as much to do with the fact that I mounted it on a mast on the side on my house, and it's facing the correct direction for my local broadcast channels. (Which, for me, is west. Your direction may well be different.)

The ClearStream Fusion advertises a 60-mile range. Don't necessarily take that literally, but it should give you an idea of what to expect. It also comes with a 20-inch mast and mounting hardware, and a 20 db amplifier with a 5-foot microUSB cable and adapter. (That part most definitely goes inside.) UHF is rated at 3.7 dBi, and Hi-VHF is rated at 1.9 dBi.

So you'll connect your coax cable to the Fusion, then run it through the amplifier inside your house, and then connect directly to your TV, or to an over-the-air streaming box like HDHomeRun. It just works. And it doesn't look like something that's meant to pick up alien traffic, which is nice.

For more, see our full ClearStream Fusion antenna review.

If you don't want to go the Amazon route, you may also be able get the Fusion on sale at Antennas Direct.

Best antenna alternative — ClearStream 2V

The ClearStream 2V another excellent alternative. I used its cousin — the ClearStream 2MAX — before switching to the Fusion, and it also performed admirably. (With these things, either they work or they don't, and it worked great.)

It's got a decidedly different profile and works well indoors or out. If you're mounting it on a mast, you won't need to be quite as concerned about wind, since it's not a single large piece and the breeze can easily get through it.

The same rules apply whether you're using it indoors or mounting it outdoors — you'll want to make sure it's facing the correct direction.

You can get the ClearStream 2V from Amazon.

Best antenna for indoors — Mohu Blade

The worst thing about most antennas — even the best antennas — is that they still generally look like antennas and aren't necessarily something you want laying out for everyone to see.

The Mohu Blade is the exception to that rule. This is the sort of antenna you won't have to have poking out from the back of your entertainment center, or alongside it on a bookshelf. (Which is exactly where I had it for my Mohu Blade review.)

The Blade is rated for 40 miles and as far as antennas go, it's designed more like a piece of art than a cheap way to watch TV. The antenna itself is flat and thin, with a small ring on the back that houses the other electronics. It looks surprisingly nice, and it also will fit neatly in a window sill, if that's the best way to go about things.

The best antenna for windows

Another popular strategy for indoor antennas is to use one that mounts on a window. That does a couple things. First, it allows you to tuck it out of the way (provided that it's a window that you're not actually, ya know, trying to see out of.) Second is that aside from the glass, it eliminates most other interior structures that could interfere with the signal.

And because most homes have windows on all sides of the house, you've got a better chance at facing one of these in the direction that's best for where you live. (Notice how we keep pointing out how important that is?)

There's a lot of surface area on this flat, 50-mile antenna, which is good for reception as well as actually sticking to the window. It comes with a 15db inline amplifier and is rated 3.6 dBi for UHF, and 2.0 dBi for Hi-VHF.

You can snag a ClearStream Flex from Amazon.

The best antenna bottom line

There are tons of antennas to choose from to fill any needs you may have for your TV experience. As for which is the best antenna? It really has more to do with your individual setup. If you're able to mount an antenna outside and on the roofline (or chimney) or higher, that's best. And if you're not able to do that, then you'll need to need to grab the best antenna for indoor use that you can.

There are a lot of antenna options out there. So many that you almost can't go wrong — so long as you heed our other advice and get it as high as you can, and as close to to the outdoors as you can.

And after that? It makes finding the best antenna so much easier.

UFC 258 is almost here, and MMA fans are ready to get every fight by watching UFC 258 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 258 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Usman vs. Burns in the ESPN app.

On February 13, UFC 258 is broadcasting eleven total bouts live from UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas. The Pay-Per-View Main Event features a title fight between the reigning UFC Welterweight champion and his number one contender.

Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman (17-1) is ready to add to his impressive UFC resume, and to do that he’ll need to take down Gilbert “Durinho” Burns (19-3). Usman has had two dominant title defenses so far, and he shows no signs of slowing down as he clears out this division. Burns is a tough as nails contender ready for the title shot that eluded him when he fought as a lightweight. Is Burns hot enough to pull the upset, or will he be just another victim?

UFC 258 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 258 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance.”

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 258 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 258 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 258 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 258 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 258 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $89.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 258 PPV alone for only $69.99.

If you've been in the market for a laser projector but just haven't been able to pull the trigger because they're, well, not cheap, today is a good day. At $1,949, the VAVA 4K laser projector still isn't inexpensive — but it's also $850 cheaper thanks to some sweet Cyber Monday pricing. Normally the unit runs $2,800, so you're getting 30 percent off here.

And it just so happens that I've had this laser projector in my home for review. It's simple to set up — just stick it in front of a wall or, ideally, an ambient-light-rejecting screen. You'll do a little tweaking on the picture size and focus, and then you're good to go.

It's got an Android-based operating system built in, if you want to keep things as simple as possible, but it also will handle any HDMI-capable streaming hardware you want. (And that's what I'd recommend doing. Just skip even hooking it up to Wifi.) Once you're up and running you've got a 4K-quality picture with HDR, 2500 ANSI Lumens of brightness, and 25,000 hours of run time. It's also got an integrated 60-watt speaker if you don't want to run through any other sort of sound system, and the audio quality is surprisingly good.

The one bad thing here? Having a projector like this isn't just like swapping out televisions. It really will change the way you watch TV, and the way you think about watching TV in your living room. 

The latest must-see MMA event is available only by streaming online, so it’s important to know how to watch UFC 253 on Apple TV. UFC is returning to Fight Island, a.k.a. Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Two title fights are the main attraction, including a long awaited middleweight title fight. On Sept. 26, Adesanya vs. Costa will headline UFC 253, and if you have an Apple TV, we’ve got all the details you need to live stream this event.

Apple TV has long been one of our favorite streaming devices to recommend. It’s powerful and it has a very polished interface. It may be pricey too, but they say you get what you pay for.

On Sept. 26, UFC 253 is broadcasting eleven total bouts live from UFC Fight Island, also known as Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. The Pay-Per-View Main Event features two championship fights, including a face off between two premier unbeaten fighters.

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya (19-0) is defending his middleweight title against Paulo “The Eraser” Costa (13-0). Adesanya has made it a point to take on the best challengers he can, and Costa may be this striker's most difficult opponent yet. In the co-main event, Dominick Reyes (12-1) and Jan Blachowicz (26-8) will face off for the vacant light heavyweight championship.

Here is how to get UFC 253, and watch it on your Apple TV.

How to order UFC 253 Pay-Per-View

UFC 253 is only available streaming online, and it streams exclusively on ESPN+. However, they make it easy to get everything you need.

UFC 253 and ESPN+ make a great pairing. ESPN+ has all the UFC pay-per-view events, along with UFC Fight Night events too. In fact, there are two coming up next week. Also, as more sports return to live action, ESPN+ will be loaded up with plenty to watch.

When you order UFC 253, you’ll have the option to bundle it with a full year of ESPN+. However if you already have an ESPN+ subscription, you can buy just UFC 253 and save a few bucks.

Watch ESPN+ on Apple TV

Now you need to get the ESPN app installed onto your Apple TV. You can install the ESPN app in a snap using your remote.

Find the App Store on your Apple TV, and click your remote to open it. Then use the search feature to find ESPN: Live Sports & Scores. You’ll need to select Get to install the app, and maybe sign in with your Apple ID depending on your security settings.

Now just open the ESPN app and log in with your brand-new ESPN account. It’s just that easy.

Do you have an older Apple TV? If your Apple TV 3rd generation doesn’t support the App Store, you still have options. Just install the ESPN app on your iPhone or iPad, order the fight, and use AirPlay to send UFC 253 onto your Apple TV. It isn’t perfect, but it will work.

How much will UFC 253 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 253 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $84.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 253 PPV alone for only $64.99.

Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa are powerful, and you’ll need a powerful device to stream their fight, so you have to learn how to watch UFC 253 on Xbox. Everybody knows that Xbox means gaming, but the system also makes a great streaming device. It already has a spot in your media setup, and it has the power to run any app you could want. That includes the ESPN app, which is all you need to stream tonight’s UFC 253 Pay-Per-View on ESPN+.

Let’s do a quick rundown of what you’ll need to do exactly that. You’ll need an Xbox, but chances are you already have one of those. You'll also need a subscription to ESPN+, and then you can purchase the UFC 253 Pay-Per-View. If you don’t have ESPN+, don’t sweat it. You can bundle it with the Pay-Per-View, though, which will earn you a discount on the streaming sports service.

Now you may need the basics on the fight. UFC 253 will be broadcast live on Saturday, Sept. 26, from “UFC FIght Island”, also known as Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.The Pay-Per-View Main Event features two championship fights, including a face off between two premier unbeaten fighters.

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya (19-0) is defending his middleweight title against Paulo “The Eraser” Costa (13-0). Adesanya has made it a point to take on the best challengers he can, and Costa may be this striker's most difficult opponent yet. In the co-main event, Dominick Reyes (12-1) and Jan Blachowicz (26-8) will face off for the vacant light heavyweight championship.

If you are ready to lock in to watch, then here is everything you need to know about getting UFC 253 on your Xbox.

How to watch UFC 253 on Xbox

1. Open ESPN Xbox One app. 
2. Select the "ESPN+" tab on the top right corner. 
3. Scroll down and you should see a giant banner for the UFC 253 fight on Saturday. 
4. If you don't see the banner, scroll down further past "Live" and "Top On Demand" to the dedicated "Get Ready for UFC 253" section. 
5. The first banner should take you directly to the fight. 
6. If you haven't bought the fight yet, it will offer you a chance to purchase it, along with an annual plan.

How much will UFC 253 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 253 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $84.98.
• Already a monthly ESPN+ subscriber? Upgrade to an annual plan to bundle UFC 253 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $84.98.
• If you subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 253 PPV alone for only $64.99.

Two major MMA titles will be on the line this weekend, so fans with mobile devices need to learn how to watch UFC 253 on iPhone and iPad. You want to make sure to have things setup on your Apple devices before the UFC fighters enter the octagon. These are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 253 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Adesanya vs. Costa in the ESPN app.

 On Sept. 26, UFC 253 is broadcasting eleven total bouts live from UFC Fight Island, also known as Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. The Pay-Per-View Main Event features two championship fights, including a face off between two premier unbeaten fighters.

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya (19-0) is defending his middleweight title against Paulo “The Eraser” Costa (13-0). Adesanya has made it a point to take on the best challengers he can, and Costa may be this striker's most difficult opponent yet. In the co-main event, Dominick Reyes (12-1) and Jan Blachowicz (26-8) will face off for the vacant light heavyweight championship.

UFC 253 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN2, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 253 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance.”

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 253 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 253 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 253 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 253 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 253 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $84.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 253 PPV alone for only $64.99.

UFC 252 will be streaming soon to MMA fans around the world. You want to make sure to have things setup on your device to watch the UFC fighters in the octagon. Devices by Apple are great choices for watching nearly every streaming service imaginable, if you know what to do. Here’s how to watch UFC 252 on iPhones and iPads, featuring Miocic vs. Cormier 3 in the ESPN app.

On Aug. 15, UFC 252 is broadcasting eleven total bouts live from the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas. The Pay-Per-View Main Event sees two heavyweight legends run it back one last time, as Stipe Miocic (19-3) is defending his heavyweight title against Daniel “D.C.” Cormier (22-2).

The Main Card also features “Sugar” Sean O'Malley (12-0) taking on Marlon “Chito” Vera (15-6-1) in the co-main event.

UFC 252 will be broadcast with fight cards on ESPN+ and ESPN, plus the Main Card only on PPV. You can watch it all conveniently in the ESPN app.

How to watch UFC 252 on iPhone and iPad

You need to start by installing the ESPN app from the Apple App Store. Then you’ll need to login to your accounts in the ESPN app. 

There are two types of accounts supported in the app. There is an ESPN account, which can access ESPN+ content and is used to purchase the Pay-Per-View card. If you have credentials from a Live TV streaming service or cable that includes the ESPN channel, you can use it as well to unlock extra content from ESPN, like the Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance.”

You can install the ESPN app a couple of different ways. The easiest way is to click over to the ESPN app page on the Apple App Store Store. Then you just need to tap the Get button, followed by the Install button to add the app to your iPhone or iPad. If you have security setup (and we hope that you do), you will need to enter your Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or password before the install will complete.

You’ll have the option the first time you open the app to Log In, which gives you the chance to enter your ESPN account or Live TV streaming service credentials. If you miss that chance, simply tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the app at any time.

Once you are logged in, you are all ready to watch UFC 252 on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Watch section to find all the UFC 252 programs, including the Prelims and Pay-Per-View card. You will find a Combat Sports Live & Upcoming section in the Featured tab. There is also a dedicated UFC 252 area in the ESPN+ section.

How much will UFC 252 Pay Per View cost?

• Are you new to ESPN+? Get a special offer of UFC 252 PPV and a year of ESPN+ for only $84.98. Monthly subscribers can also upgrade to an annual plan and save too.
• If you subscribe to ESPN+ or get ESPN+ through the Disney+ bundle, you can choose to purchase UFC 252 PPV alone for only $64.99.

Tablo today announced air of new over-the-air boxes that address one of the bigger barriers to entry: You no longer have to purchase and install your own hard drive, or make do with Tablo's lone internal offering of a mere 64 gigabytes.

The new Tablo Dual and Tablo Quad feature two and four tuners, respectively, and allow you to attach an over-the-air antenna and stream that free TV to multiple devices on your home network — as well as record at will.

The new Tablo Dual has a 128GB hard drive installed — that's double the storage of the old Tablo Dual — and the Tablo Quad comes with a 1TB hard drive.

Tablo says the Dual will allow for up to 80 hours of HD recording, and the Quad can pack away a whopping 700 hours of HD recording. Both boxes continue to allow for external storage and can handle up to 8TB.

"The recent surge in new cord cutters has resulted in an increased demand for OTA DVR solutions that are simple to set up and use," Grant Hall, CEO of Nuvyyo, said in a press release. "With onboard storage, the new Tablo DUAL 128GB and Tablo QUAD 1TB meet this need as all the customer needs to do is attach a TV antenna and their Tablo DVR is ready to record and stream live TV to all their internet-connected devices, right out of the box."

While installing a hard drive in previous Tablo models didn't exactly require a degree in electrical engineering, it definitely was a barrier to entry that competitors in this space didn't have. (Really it was just a matter of working some screws and plugging in the drive.)

The Tablo Dual 128GB will retail for $170 in the United States, and $235 in Canada. The Tablo Quad 1TB will run $240 in the states and $330 up north.

You can order them both today from Tablo .

Nuvyyo Launches Two New Tablo OTA DVRs With Onboard Storage

Tablo DUAL 128GB & Tablo QUAD 1TB Deliver an Enhanced Over-the-Air TV Experience for Cord Cutters Right Out-of-the-Box

OTTAWA, Ontario – July 7, 2020 – Nuvyyo, makers of the Tablo OTA DVR for cord cutters, today announced two new storage-included Over-the-Air DVR models are joining its product family, the Tablo DUAL 128GB OTA DVR and the Tablo QUAD 1TB OTA DVR.

The new Tablo DUAL 128GB, based on the incredibly popular Tablo DUAL LITE OTA DVR, enables cord cutters to watch and record up to two OTA channels simultaneously, and includes up to 80 hours of HD recording storage onboard.

The Tablo QUAD 1TB, a variant of the top-of-the-line Tablo QUAD OTA DVR, enables cord cutters to watch and record up to four OTA channels simultaneously, and includes up to 700 hours of HD recording storage in its factory-installed, formatted, and tested 1TB SATA drive.

For maximum flexibility, both the Tablo DUAL 128GB and Tablo QUAD 1TB OTA DVRs also allow users to expand the recording storage of their DVR up to 8TB*.

"The recent surge in new cord cutters has resulted in an increased demand for OTA DVR solutions that are simple to set up and use," said Grant Hall, CEO of Nuvyyo. "With onboard storage, the new Tablo DUAL 128GB and Tablo QUAD 1TB meet this need as all the customer needs to do is attach a TV antenna and their Tablo DVR is ready to record and stream live TV to all their internet-connected devices, right out of the box."

All Tablo OTA DVRs feature:

• Broad App & Platform Support
• Tablo OTA DVRs are powered by the full range of Tablo apps, making it easy for cord cutters to watch, pause, and record live network broadcast TV programs on:
• Streaming media devices: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV Smart TVs: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV
• iOS/Android smartphones and tablets
• PC/MAC computers
• Free Regular Updates & Basic DVR Functions
• All generations of Tablo OTA DVR devices receive free regular firmware and app updates, as well as basic DVR functionality, including:
• 24 hours of TV Guide Data (traditional grid guide)
• Manual recording (one-time or recurring)
• Playback controls including pause, rewind, and fast-forward
• Support for 5.1 Surround Sound passthrough
• Optional Tablo Guide Data Service: All Tablo OTA DVRs include a 30-day free trial of the Tablo TV guide data service which gives cord cutters total control over DVR scheduling and viewing. Along with episode and series synopses, cover art, and metadata for programs airing over the next two weeks, a Tablo TV Guide Data Service subscription provides powerful, and yet easy-to-use advanced DVR features like: ++One-touch series recording (ALL or ALL NEW) Advanced recording options (adjustable start/stop times, keep X recordings, record by channel) ++Automatic extended time on live TV show recordings ++Automatic avoidance of duplicate recordings ++Out-of-home streaming via Tablo Connect, and much more
• Optional Tablo Automatic Commercial Skip Service: All Tablo OTA DVRs include a 30-day free trial of the optional Tablo Premium Service subscription which enables the Automatic Commercial Skip feature. Automatic Commercial Skip makes it easy to enjoy most recordings from Tablo OTA DVRs without any commercial interruptions, eliminating manual fast-forwarding. Unlike other offerings which rely on intensive computing power or humans to identify commercial breaks, Tablo uses a cloud-based hybrid of digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and machine learning to deliver more accurate results.

Tablo DUAL 128GB and Tablo QUAD 1TB OTA DVR Pricing and Availability

• MSRP for the Tablo DUAL 128GB is $169.99 USD or $234.99 CAD.
• MSRP for the Tablo QUAD 1TB is $239.99 USD or $329.99 CAD.

Both OTA DVRs are available now exclusively at TabloTV.com.

Whether you want to add more apps to your smart TV or else equip an HDTV with streaming functionality, there are a ton of streaming sticks available to choose from. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is one of the best, thanks to its excellent functionality, Alexa integration, and sheer volume of content. If you're interested in something outside of the Amazon ecosystem, we've gathered a few others below - choose the one that best fits your needs!

Best Overall: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

The Fire TV Stick 4K is fast, compact, powerful, and — best of all — incredibly affordable. coming in at just $50, it's one of the most affordable 4K streaming devices on the market. You wouldn't know that from looking at it, though.

For one, Amazon's Alexa Voice Remote has never been better. It looks slick, it feels great in the hand, and it's armed with Amazon's powerful AI assistant. This allows you to do a whole lot more than stream content — you can have Alexa display everything from the weather forecast to movie listings.

The Fire TV Stick 4K is also a beefcake in the hardware department, allowing for lightning-fast streaming of even the highest-quality video. Menus are responsive, with a huge selection of different apps and games to choose from. And its support for multiple video formats means content pretty much always looks great.

Unfortunately — and here's the biggest drawback — Google Play and iTunes are not among them. As such, if you're in a Google household, you're probably better off going with the ChromeCast Ultra, or else one of Roku's offerings. If you're a fan of Amazon's products and services, though?

This one's a must-buy.

Pros:

• Excellent voice search via Amazon Alexa
• Affordable compared to other 4K sticks
• Support for a wide range of video and streaming formats

Cons:

• No support for Google Play or Google Home
• Ethernet requires an adapter

Easiest to Use: Roku Streaming Stick Plus

If there's one thing Roku's streaming devices have going for them, it's ease of use. The search functionality on the Roku Streaming Stick + is absolutely peerless, with a ton of different options for sorting your results. And though it's menus look a bit unpolished compared to the competition, they're some of the most intuitive on the market - it only takes a few minutes to get the hang of using them, if that.

It also offers a significantly more diverse app selection than much of the competition, in addition to streaming a limited selection of television networks free of charge. And if 4K video is your thing, the device's 4K spotlight lets you know exactly which apps, networks, and shows are available in that format. Other draws of the platform include the Roku Channel, which offers a library of ad-supported movies from a wide range of different sources.

As with the rest of the system, Roku's remote control is easy to use, as well. It also doubles as a universal remote, automatically programming itself to whatever TV the dongle's plugged into. Finally, the device is equipped with an advanced wireless receiver, designed to improve signal and stream quality on WiFi networks.

Pros:

• Incredibly simple to setup and use
• Allows you to stream free TV, live news, sports, and music
• Roku's remote doubles as a universal remote for your TV
• 4K Capable

Cons:

• Menus aren't particularly pretty
• No support for 5 GHz or 802.11ac WiFi

Budget Buy: Roku Express HD

A lot of the streaming sticks we've covered so far include a ton of bells and whistles. Voice search, smart home integration, 4K video games...what if you just want to stream content, and don't care much about all the other stuff?

That's where the Roku Express HD comes in. It's quick, inexpensive, and - as befitting Roku - incredibly easy to both configure and use. Although the menus aren't very aesthetically pleasing, they're easy to navigate and understand, and the device's search functionality makes it a breeze to find something that's worth watching.

Of course, as is often the case, you get what you pay for. The Roku Express HD needs to sit in front of your TV in order to receive a signal from the remote, so there's no hiding it like you can with other hardware. Said remote also isn't universal, so you won't be able to use it to control your TV. It's also powered by a USB adapter, which means more cable management on your part.

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Easy to configure and use
• Fast

Cons:

• Menus are somewhat ugly
• Awkward physical design
• No universal remote
• Doesn't support older TVs

Best 4K Dongle: Chromecast Ultra

If you prefer a more neutral approach to your streaming, then the Chromecast Ultra is a great choice. It supports the majority of streaming services, with iTunes being a glaring exception. It's incredibly powerful, with full support for HDR video and ultra high definition streaming. Provided you've a decent Internet connection, content streamed (or "cast" as Google calls it) to the device loads quickly, with no noticeable buffering or lag — oh, and it works with Google and Nest Home devices.

Although the Ultra doesn't come with a remote control, you can control it from any smartphone (or from your desktop PC). This allows you to cast a ton of different things, including both photos, videos, and music. There are also plenty of Android apps that support casting — you can find a full list here .

Another big draw of the device is the external adapter that adds an ethernet port. It may be 2020, but not everyone has high-quality WiFi. And even a high-end wireless connection tends to be slightly slower than wired — so if you want that extra edge with your streaming video, the Chromecast Ultra's got you covered.

Lack of remote aside, the biggest drawback of the Chromecast Ultra is its slightly janky design. Unlike the other streaming sticks on the list, it hangs from the TV. Granted, you probably won't see it, but that could be a deal-breaker for some.

Pros:

• Add on ethernet port
• Lets you stream media from your desktop browser
• Seamless integration with Google Home
• High-fidelity, fast 4K streaming

Cons:

• No remote control or onscreen menu
• Somewhat expensive
• Slightly awkward physical design

Essential Streaming Dongle: Google Chromecast

If you don't have a 4K TV and are interested in a more price-conscious option, then Google's Chromecast is the way to go. It does pretty much everything the ChromeCast Ultra can do, allowing you to stream from any Internet-connected smartphone or desktop. It's also equipped with full Google Home integration, meaning you can use your Google Assistant to activate it and stream media as you please.

The Chromecast is capable of streaming a huge selection of apps and games to your television. Basically, if you want to watch or listen to something on one of the major streaming platforms, you can - the exception being iTunes. Better yet, through Google Chrome, you can stream whatever's displayed on a particular browser tab, be that a video, a picture, or music.

All in all, if you don't care about streaming in 4K and can get by with a Wi-Fi only connection, the Chromecast is a safe choice.

Pros:

• Low cost compared to other options
• Supports most major streaming apps
• Seamless integration with Google Home
• Stream from your desktop via browser.

Cons:

• No remote control
• Slightly awkward physical design
• No ethernet support

Bottom line

Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K stands out as one of the best streaming sticks on the market, offering a perfect blend of content, functionality, with smart home integration added in. Amazon has been making great streaming devices for a while now, and backed them up with a great content library — not to mention Alexa.

Of course, Amazon's offering isn't the only option and at the end of the day, all the sticks and dongles we've listed above are excellent at what they do. It's ultimately just a matter of taste - your experience isn't going to be that much different if you're just watching Netflix, after all.

Those of us of a certain age can remember the Age of the Antenna. When the only way to watch TV involved adjusting a pair of rabbit ears. Or sticking some god-awful metal contraption atop our home, then hoping the weather was right to avoid a snowy picture.

This, kids, is what we had to deal with back in the day.

And the funny thing is antennas never really went away. Sure, most of us moved to cable TV — and have since moved on to a "cord-cutting" way of life. But the trusty antenna remains. And it actually plays a big part in making up the difference between cable TV, and streaming all the things.

Antennas are still kind of clunky, however, and they still involve running a cable into a tuner. But the tuners themselves are smarter — and they can share that free over-the-air TV with just about any connected devices.

A big player in this is SiliconDust, with its HDHomerun line of products. Here's what you need to know.

What is HDHomerun?

HDHomerun is, in a nutshell, a TV tuner that takes the signal from an over-the-air antenna and shares it over your home network, so you can watch it on a television, or on a tablet, phone or computer.

Actually, HDHomerun is a series of boxes with multiple tuners, so you can watch different channels on multiple displays simultaneously.

You plug in the cable from your antenna, fire up the app, and watch TV — free TV, at that, and at up to 1080i resolution — on just about any smart device in your home.

What is HDHomerun Premium?

On August 17, 2018 (or Aug. 18, depending on the dateline), HDHomerun Premium was announced . It's a 45-channel streaming service that requires an HDHomerun Connect or HDHomerun Extend box, and costs $34.99 a month.

Which HDHomerun should you get?

That depends. The simplest of the bunch has two TV tuners. So you could be watching, say, ABC on one TV while someone else watches NBC at the same time on a tablet. There's also a "Quatro" model that sports four tuners.

HDHomerun Extend is another two-tuner model, but it has hardware onboard that transcodes the video from MPEG-2 to H.264. It's for older networks that can't handle as much bandwidth.

And if you just have to have some cable TV, there's a model that takes a CableCard and shares that stream on your home network.

More: How to choose the right HDHomerun for you

What's good about HDHomerun

As far as connected devices go, HDHomerun itself is really simple to set up. You just plug in your antenna, plug in the power, and plug it into your router via an Ethernet cable, and you're good to go. Fire up an app on nearly any device, and it handles the setup for you with surprising ease.

And you get a free (though limited to a single day) electronic programming channel guide.

It's really that simple.

What's not so good about HDHomerun

Video needs a lot of bandwidth. And even on my 802.1ac router I occasionally see hiccups on one of my TVs. (Admittedly, it's outside, though not far away, and running through a Fire TV dongle and not a larger, more powerful set-top box.)

Setup can be a little tricky if you have to have a locally-stored DVR — it's actually sort of a weird hybrid thing. You pony up $35 and then an record through a service like Plex. It's not exorbitant, but neither is it quite as simple as we'd like.

What's coming next

HDHomerun has a couple new boxes on the way in 2018.

HDHomerun Connect Duo+ has two tuners and 250 gigabytes on built-in storage, finally making DVR as easy as it should be.

And HDHomerun Prime 6 has CableCard support with six tuners built in.

Neither price nor release dates are known.

Indoor over-the-air antennas are a dime a dozen. That's because they're inexpensive and they're easy to set up, and they're a great addition to any television if you're a cord-cutter. You just can't beat free over-the-air television. But so many of these antennas just look like antennas, with minimal amount of time and effort spent on any sort of aesthetics.

The Mohu Blade ($39 at Amazon) bucks that trend a bit. It's billed as an indoor/outdoor antenna, but we're going to focus on indoor use — mostly because if we're going to go to the trouble of mounting something outside, we're going to use something with a bit more range. (And any price difference probably will be minimal.)

In the box we've got the antenna itself — about 18 inches by 5 inches, and not quite an inch thick. (And most of that thickness is in the little hardware ring on the back of the antenna — and that ring is actually very nicely designed in brushed metal with the Mohu name on top.)

You've got a few options for mounting the Mohu Blade. There are brackets for screwing it in to a wall, or you can just leave it horizontal on an entertainment stand or windowsill. I prefer the foot that lets it sit up vertically. There's no single right way to do it here — it's all going to depend on your setup and what works best for you. Any of these methods is simple, and Mohu included a basic wall-mount template on the single-page instructions, if that's the route you chose to go.

Once you've got the whole mounting thing figured it, it's just a matter of attaching some coax cable (there's 10 feed included in the box) to the antenna, plugging the coax into the "Power Injector" (which is not optional — you must use it for the antenna to work), and then you plug that into your TV or tuner box.

And then you scan for channels.

So how well does it work? Again, it depends on a lot of things, including where you've placed it, the direction it's facing and how far away your towers are, and whether the antenna makes your living room look like a science fair, earning you many a scowl from your spouse. (Sorry, honey.)

This isn't a magic antenna. The same VHF channels I didn't get the last time I used an indoor antenna I'm not suddenly getting with this one. That's not unexpected. But neither does that mean the Blade is a bad antenna. Far from it. Again (and we can't stress this enough) it's all going to come down to positioning. My setup needs more than an indoor antenna. Yours may not.

And that brings me back to how the Blade looks. I love it. Between the design itself, and the sort of flaked, composite look of the plastic, this is an antenna that I absolutely don't mind somebody seeing in plain sight. That goes a long way. Maybe even longer than the "40-mile" rating Mohu gives the Blade.

But for close-in signals in a design that you won't be ashamed for guests to see? The Mohu Blade absolutely is worth a look.

So you've got your over-the-air antenna and are ready for some sweet free TV. The question, now, is what to plug it into. Sure, you could go straight into your television. And that works fine. But surely that's not the only way you'd love to enjoy your local channels, right?

AirTV (from Dish — which owns Sling TV) is an interesting option in the connected tuner department. It's a pretty basic box. It's not small, and it's almost like it's trying to look a little too cool. (Three red LEDs mean you're going to hate it if it's in your bedroom.)

It's not the over-the-air streaming available. It doesn't have the most tuners. (You're stuck with just two.) It doesn't have the best user interface. (At least if you're using AirTV on its own.) But it does have a couple of tricks up its sleeve that make it an intriguing option.

What is AirTV?

AirTV is a connected tuner. You plug an antenna into the $119 AirTV, and hook the AirTV up to your home network, either via Ethernet (which is always better), or over Wifi. (It handles 802.11n, which is a step below the current high-end standard.

Then you'll sign up for an AirTV account, which is an annoying extra step but proves to be important. (And, OK, it's not really that annoying.)

Air TV is available on Android TV, Apple TV, iOS and Android phones and tablets, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV. So, pretty much everything.

And as a bonus, AirTV integrates directly with Sling TV, if that's your streaming service of choice. So your local channels will appear alongside you Sling packages. That's pretty handy, if you're a Sling customer. However — that doesn't work with Apple TV. You'll be stuck with the sub-par AirTV app if you're on Apple TV.

One last trick: You can use the AirTV app while you're away from home. You'll be limited to one stream at a time, and chances are it won't look the best. But it does work.

Which AirTV should you get?

The trapezoidal AirTV box is the latest hardware from this Dish/Sling family. But there's also the previous-generation AirTV Player . This is a dedicated Sling TV streaming box (with child-like remote control) — based on Android TV — that also has an optional OTA dongle.

If you're way into Sling TV (or really want to take advantage of the $50 Sling subscription credit), it's an interesting option. But other than that it's not really one we'd recommend.

Where to buy AirTV?

As with just about everything these days, the new AirTV is available at Amazon . We're not yet seeing any price drops, but if you've got some Amazon Bucks stored up (erm, that is, credit), you can use them here.

AirTV is also available from its own website .

What's good about AirTV?

What's so great about AirTV, you ask? First is that it's pretty easy to set up, at least as far as the hardware is concerned. All you'll find in the box is the AirTV box, and the power supply. Just plug in your antenna — you do have an antenna , right? — and plug in the AirTV, and you're set.

OK, you're almost set. You'll have to set up an account first. And then update the AirTV. And then scan for channels. But after that, it just works.

If you use Sing TV as your streaming provider of choice, the integration of AirTV is excellent. Local broadcast channels appear in the guide alongside your subscription channels as if they were native. It's really well done.

The AirTV app itself is functional. Integration with the Sling app is much better.

What's not so good about AirTV?

The AirTV app itself is functional, but far from great. In fact, it's pretty bad. Setup took me a few tries — and you have to use an Android or iOS device to do so.

The guide is an exercise in how not to use space efficiently. (To say nothing of the overall design in the first place.) Video playback on Android and on iPhone — at least on my Pixel 2XL and iPhone X — isn't centered on the screen, which is ridiculous. (The option to view in either 16:9 or 4:3 is kind of laughable at that point.)

It works, but it's a hot mess.

Viewing on a television is better, but still pretty rudimentary. It works, and it works OK. But not great, and definitely not anywhere near what we'd promote as a good experience.

It's almost startling how bad the AirTV app is in comparison to the way the channels get integrated into the Sling TV app.

The AirTV apps

AirTV has apps for the following devices:

• iOS
• Android
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Apple TV
• Roku

And you can view local channels via AirTV in the Sling app on iOS, Android, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. (Apple TV and Roku require the standalone AirTV app.

Best answer: Yes, you can replace the hard drive. There a few points to keep in mind when choosing the replacement hard drive, but it can be done.

• Take two: HDHomeRun Scribe Duo ($200 at Best Buy)
• For the win: HDHomeRun Scribe Quatro ($250 at Amazon)
• Keep it together: Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB ($110 at Amazon)

DIY Storage

The HDHomeRun Scribe from SiliconDust is a great product to consider if you're interested in using an OTA antenna. With both the availability of a dual and quad tuner option, as well as built-in storage, the Scribe can fit in your home DVR set up nicely.

Both the Duo and Quad come with a 1TB hard drive, and while that is a good amount of space, maybe you want more. Perhaps you need to replace the drive because you're out of warranty, and the drive has failed. Regardless of the reason, you need to be aware of some specifics before doing so.

One of the first things you need to know is that only 2.5-inch and 7mm tall SATA hard drives are supported, and the Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB would be a great choice. Something worth noting, while it would be nice to run two hard drives at once, the Scribe will only work with one. The other important point to know before you open up your Scribe is to be wary if your device is still under warranty. According to the company's website:

Any damage done to the HDHomeRun or the original hard drive as a result of the modification is not covered under warranty. If a hard drive has been replaced and a customer needs to make a warranty exchange, the original hard drive needs to be reinstalled before sending it in.

Before you attempt to do it yourself, double-check to see if it's still covered under warranty. If you're all good, it's time to give it a go.

Time to dig in

If you're comfortable with doing your own hard drive swap out, then let's cover the rest of the changeover. Once you install a new hard drive into the HDHomeRun Scribe, it'll automatically be initialized, but only if it's blank. Blank doesn't necessarily mean empty, only that the Scribe thinks it's empty. See the documentation for more details . Setting things up takes about 15 seconds for each terabyte of the new drive's size, so things will probably be done fairly quick. Be sure to give everything a good read before you start, so you understand how to partition or format the drive, and you won't have any trouble.

There is still a process to initialize the drive, and HDHomeRun details the process thoroughly in a walkthrough to ensure the process goes smoothly for you.

So whether you want to replace the hard drive to increase storage capacity for your HDHomeRun Scribe OTA DVR or due to an out of warranty hard drive failure, there is a path to get your DVR back up and running.

One of the easiest ways to watch free over-the-air television — as in with an antenna — is now officially available on the largest streaming hardware platform. HDHomeRun has graduated to the official Roku Channel Store.

There are caveats, though.

Most important is that HDHomeRun, in its tweet announcing the release, says that you still basically need to treat the channel like a beta product, because it is. It's just "much easier to install now," they wrote — and they're certainly correct about that. It's not going to blow up your Roku or anything, but it's also definitely not as nearly as polished a product as we'd like to see.

Another caveat is that the Roku channel still only handles live TV. So if you're using the new HDHomeRun Scribe or Servio, or recording on your own home server, you won't yet be able to play things back via Roku.

And, of course, you'll need to have one of the supported Roku devices. If you have something relatively new you should be OK. But just know that there are version requirements.

We've been using the HDHomeRun Roku app in its beta form for a few weeks now. It's not all that much in the looks department — there's certainly still some work to be done there. But it pretty much gets the job done, allowing you to watch your home antenna feed over your Roku devices. Why is that so important? It was a pretty big hole in the lineup of supported devices, and that was a big miss considering Roku has something like a 36-percentage point lead over the next biggest streaming hardware provider.

HDHomeRun also is available on Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Mac and Windows.

Add the HDHomeRun channel to your Roku

One trick veteran cord-cutters have long employed is a tried and true over-the-air antenna, which plucks all those free broadcast channels out of the sky and pipes them into your home. But one antenna going into just one television leaves out every other device on which you routinely watch TV. That's where HDHomeRun comes in. You plug in an antenna, plug the HDHomeRun box into your network via Ethernet, then watch on just about any device you have. The question, then is which HDHomeRun box is best for you.

• The full smash: HDHomeRun Scribe Quatro
• The best tuner: HDHomeRun Connect Quatro
• The standalone DVR: HDHomeRun Servio
• 2 tuners, 1 DVR: HDHomeRun Scribe Duo
• Two tuners: HDHomeRun Connect Duo
• Low bandwidth: HDHomeRun Extend
• Coming eventually: HDHomeRun Prime 6

Choose wisely ...

There's really no wrong choice here. It's mostly a matter of how many devices you might want to watch OTA TV on at any one given time. If, say, you know you'll be using HDHomeRun while you're entertaining in a large home with lots of TVs, or with folks also watching on their phones or tablets at the same time, then perhaps a Quatro is the way to go. Or if you're flying solo, then perhaps a Duo will get things done.

The other question is whether you'll want some easy recording capability. You can still use network-attached storage (NAS) and a Plex account to record, but the new Scribe and Servio boxes are all-in-one solutions that should make saving your favorite broadcast shows so much easier.

The one caveat to all this comes into play if you're using Roku. Because most of the HDHomeRun boxes stream the native MPEG-2 streams (which means more bandwidth is needed on your home network because there's less compression), they don't play nicely with Roku devices. That's just a thing.

One last thing to note: If you snag a Scribe or Servio box, you get a year's worth of free DVR service. (Which costs $35 annually otherwise.)

Beyond that? Pick the HDHomeRun box that's best for you. Or combine them! You can plug multiples into your system to watch all the things.

HDHomeRun has long been my go-to box for over-the-air TV. It's simple: You plug in your antenna, hook the HDHomeRun up to your network, then stream on all kinds of devices. (Basically anything but Roku.)

The only thing missing has been easy recording. Sure, you could use network attached storage as a local DVR, but it never really was simple enough for most normal folks.

That's where HDHomeRun Scribe and Servio come in.

Scribe is a combination tuner/DVR box (it's available with dual or quad tuners) that includes 1 terabyte of storage, for more than 150 hours of recordings.

Servio is a standalone DVR that works with an existing HDHomeRun box and includes 2TB of storage.

Playback works just fine on Windows 10, Mac, iOS, Android and Xbox One. (No Amazon Fire TV? We'll just have to see about that.)

The Scribe Duo (with two tuners) is available for preorder from Best Buy for $199.99 and should be delivered by July 4. (It also includes a free year of DVR service.) The Scribe Quatro ( $249 ) and HDHomeRun Servio ( $149 ) can be ordered direction from HDHomeRun.

Which HDHomeRun box should you buy?

Tablo TV today updated its app — excuse us, it's channel — on the Roku platform with what pretty much everyone agrees are some long-awaited features.

Here's what's new in version 2.9.0:

• You can now manually schedule recordings from the live TV grid and the scheduled screen. (The former requires you to have a paid guide subscription from Tablo.)
• The movies menu now includes ratings.
• Live TV will auto-resume when a recording ends or begins.
• Plus improved connectivity and other bugfixes.

For the uninitiated, Tablo TV is an over-the-air streaming box that takes the signal from a single antenna and allows you to share that feed among multiple devices. So you can watch your local channels on a TV and a phone and a computer and a tablet — pretty much wherever you want, with a single piece of hardware pointed at the sky.

Tablo TV also has one of the easiest implementations of DVR you'll find with this sort of thing. Just plug in a hard drive and start recording. No server boxes, no cloud storage.

For more on Tablo TV, check out our review of the Tablo Quad . And you can get the Tablo TV Roku channel here .

Want to watch live TV on your Mac? The HDHomerun is a magic box that puts OTA TV channels onto your home network, and viewing them on your Mac is super simple. For the purposes of this guide, we're using the HDHomerun tuner. There are alternatives, but the HDHomerun has the best global availability so it applies to more people for what we're explaining here.

Products used in this guide

• The Mac: Mac Mini (From $799)
• The magic box: HDHomerun Connect Duo ($100)
• The antenna: ClearStream 2MAX ($60)
• The software: Kodi for Mac (Free)

How to setup HDHomerun

Once you've unpacked the HDHomerun and you've gathered all the parts that came in the box, follow these steps.

1. First, connect the HDHomerun to a wall outlet.
2. Connect your OTA TV antenna to the back of the HDHomerun.
3. Use the included Ethernet cable to connect the HDHomerun to your router.

How to set it all up on the Mac

Once you see a green light on the back of the HDHomerun, head on over to your Mac.

1. Head to myhdhomerun.com in Safari.
2. The site will now detect your hardware.
3. At first setup, you'll need to click on detect channels for any HDHomerun you installed on your network.
4. To watch TV, download the HDHomerun for Mac software.
5. A terminal window will open and check for any firmware updates.
6. Open the HDHomerun app from your Launchpad or Applications folder.

The app is what you'll use to watch TV and interact with the HDHomerun DVR service, if you subscribe to that. The DVR service is excellent value at $35 per year, and once set up you'll be able to watch recorded shows on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV with the use of the third-party app, Insta TV .

The app will also automatically take care of any firmware updates for your HDHomerun hardware. At any time you can rescan your channel lineup, check on the system status, firmware and tuner status from within the myhdhomerun.com web app. So it's a good idea to stick it on your favorites bar.

Using Kodi

If you have loftier ambitions for your Mac when it comes to TV and home media, Kodi might be of interest. The free and open source media center application is up to version 18, Leia, and has a version for the Mac.

Kodi has support built in for the HDHomerun, all you have to do is enable the HDHomerun PVR add-on from Kodi's TV add-on browser, and the software will pull in your TV channels and guide data into Kodi's native interface.

If you just want to watch TV, then using the HDHomerun app will be an easier solution. But if you want to build a true media center with TV just a part of it, then perhaps explore using Kodi and see what it can do for you.

Our top equipment picks

If you want to watch OTA TV on your Mac, the HDHomerun is easily the best piece of kit for the job.

It supports just about every platform you can think of and is easily one of the most versatile products on the market for anyone interested in cordcutting or home media centers. Pair it with the DVR service and you get to save your favorite shows to watch back whenever you like.

Additional Equipment

If you're looking to make a home media center from your Mac, there's no better choice than the Mac Mini. And Kodi might well be the software you're looking for.

Updated March 8, 2019: Tablo CEO Grant Hall has announced that any account created before March 7, 2019, will be grandfathered in and won't have to pay for new guide subscriptions. This post has been updated accordingly.

Over-the-air streaming box maker Tablo this month is set start selling its four-tuner Tablo Quad box, which also allows for an internal hard drive. And on March 7 Tablo announced a fairly major update to the way it does subscriptions for its on-screen guide.

Previously, subscriptions were tied to accounts. Pay once, and use on however many Tablo boxes you have.

Going forward for new Tablo accounts created after March 7, you'll have to pay per device . The reason for the change, Tablo says, is "to facilitate the addition of optional secondary paid features — like the upcoming Cloud DVR service."

The move created a predictable backlash. And a day after announcing the change, CEO Grant Hall walked things back a bit in a post in the company's community forums , as well as in an email. (We've included it at the end of this post.)

Tablo says via a blog post that you'll be able to switch which device the paid guide is tied to. So if you upgrade from an older two-tuner Tablo to, say, the Quad, you don't have to pay a second time.

There's still a free guide, of course — as well as a free trial of the paid guide.

Also: On June 1 the Tablo Cloud DVR will transition from a free beta (with limited recordings) to a fully paid-for option. It'll cost $4.99 a month in the U.S., and $5.99 a month in Canada. That's per instance of Cloud DVR, they say, and it'll offer 64GB of storage and requires a guide subscription. Or you can still pay annually for $49 total, or get a lifetime subscription for $149.

If you're currently using Cloud DVR in beta, you'll have until June 1 to actually add the paid service. After that, you'll have 30 days to watch (but not record anything new) until things shut off.

Tablo also says that its commercial-skipping feature is still coming, but they've had to push it back a bit until late April.

Here's the full post from Tablo's CEO communicating the change to the change:

Hi Everyone –

Yesterday, for the first time since we launched Tablo, we announced a change to the structure of our optional TV Guide Data Subscription 10.

This change was not made with the intention of extracting additional revenue from our valued customers, but to enable per-device subscriptions for optional add-on features like Cloud DVR.

What we should have done is grandfather all existing customers and honor the promise we made when you purchased your subscription, allowing you to add multiple DVRs on a single subscription.

But we didn't. And that was a mistake.

We hear you loud and clear, and we want to make it right.

That's why I've made the decision to honor the original promise we made to our customers with an active subscription created prior to March 7, 2019.

Like before, these customers can continue to add multiple new DVR units to their active subscriptions at no additional cost.

Unfortunately, we can't enable this in the self-serve account management portal, but any customers wishing to add a net new Tablo DVR to their grandfathered active subscription can contact support with their newest Tablo's serial number so we can add it for them.

All Tablo customers can continue to swap the Tablo DVR to which their Tablo subscription account is connected via the account management portal at account.tablotv.com.

We have been so fortunate to enjoy the support of such an amazing community of cord cutters since we launched the first Tablo DVR over five years ago.

We hope that you continue to proudly support us despite this misstep and look forward to bringing you new features and firmware updates that will increase your enjoyment of the investment you've already made in us.

And as always, we are listening. We value your feedback because it makes our company, and our product better.

If you ever have any concerns, questions, or product support issues, please email us, call us, or leave us a message on Twitter or Facebook.

Yours truly,

Grant Hall CEO, Nuvyyo Inc.

Best answer: No. Tablo Quad does not come with a hard drive. You'll need to bring your own.

• Amazon Tablo family of devices
• Tablo Tablo Quad ($199)
• Amazon: WD Blue 2TB 2.5-inch SATA drive ($82)
• Amazon: Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 2.5-inch SATA drive ($48)

If you want to record with Tablo Quad, it's BYOD

Tablo Quad is the latest over-the-air streaming box from Nuvyyo. In many ways it's exactly like the Tablos of old. You plug in an antenna . You connect it to your network. You scan for channels. And if you connect a hard drive, you'll be able to record that free over-the-air television. But like most other Tablo boxes, this one doesn't actually come with a hard drive.

If you want to record TV using the Tablo Quad, you'll need to bring your own internal, 2.5-inch SATA drive. (It accepts up to 8TB of capacity.) That's the bad news. The good news is that you can get a 1TB drive for about $50. (And that's if you're not trying real hard to not even spend that much.)

The other good news? Tablo Quad moves the hard drive to the inside of the box. (Thus the whole "internal" thing.) So there are not drives laying around, looking all junky. You won't even see it.

You'll just have to buy your own, is all.

Over-the-air TV is still a thing, and it will remain so for a long, long time. The ability to use an antenna to pluck free TV signals out of the air can fill gaps streaming services may still leave behind — even as more and more of them offer local channels.

Tablo has long been a player in the OTA space with a remarkably easy setup: you plug in your antenna and hook a Tablo box up to your home network, and you're able to watch your OTA feed across multiple devices — and on pretty much any device you have, at that.

The Tablo Quad is Tablo's best box to date. It's the one I'd recommend you buy, but that's not the end of the story.

It's got a few more things you need to know about.

Pros

• Simple, stylish hardware
• Takes an internal SATA hard drive
• Excellent user interface

Cons

• Not inexpensive
• Doesn't come with a SATA hard drive
• Upgraded on-screen guide costs extra
• Transcoding makes the experience a little slow

About this review

This Tablo Quad is a review unit that was provided by Tablo before it was publicly available at retail. I've used it at home for a number of weeks now.

The good stuff

Tablo Quad What I Like

Seasoned cord-cutters have long praised Tablo TV, and for good reason. It takes an over-the-air signal — as in the local TV you get via an antenna — and shares it across your home network to all kinds of devices. It also makes it super-easy to record that local TV — all you have to do is plug in a hard drive.

And that continues with Tablo Quad.

If you've used any Tablo device previously, you'll pretty much know what you're getting into here. The Quad doesn't drastically change the overall Tablo experience, it just makes it better. Just plug in an antenna, hook the Tablo box up to your network, and you're on your way.

The "Quad" part of the name points to the four tuners built into the box. That means you can watch or record up to four things at one time, on multiple devices at the same time. More tuners is always a good thing, especially if you intend on using this with multiple televisions at home. But that also includes things like phones and tablets and gaming consoles and other displays. This isn't Tablo's first quad-turner box, though, so it's not even the sexy part of this equation.

Tablo Quad still supports connecting to your network over Ethernet or Wifi. It still supports 5.1 surround sound. It still lets you watch your local TV stream even while you're away from home.

What's new and awesome this time around is that you don't have to futz around with external hard drives, which is great if you're the sort who doesn't like seeing external drives out in the open. Instead, it uses a 2.5-inch SATA drive that slides into the bottom of the box.

Installing the hard drive is simple. Just remove a single screw, pop off the protective plate, slide in the drive (it's pretty idiot-proof), and screw that plate back in. Boom, you're done.

Sure, you can still use an external drive if you'd really like — it just plugs into the USB port in the back like every other Tablo box. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I'd argue that internal is almost always better. It's cleaner. You don't risk accidentally unplugging it. And it takes up less space.

So the hardware is simple. Plug in an antenna, plug in power. Plug in Ethernet, if you so desire, and that's it.

The software remains pretty darn good, too. Tablo has dedicated apps for nearly every platform you can think of. Apple TV. Android TV. Roku. Amazon Fire TV. Phones. Tablets. PlayStation. Xbox. And a web browser, if that's how you roll.

The heart of any live streaming video service is its guide. If the guide is no good, then the service is no good. Fortunately, Tablo has one of the best on-screen guides you'll find anywhere. It's nicely laid out and highly intuitive, whether you're using the grid, or the list of channels that pops up while you're watching something, enabling you to quickly move from one channel to another. (That's great for those of us who flip around a lot.)

The not-so-good stuff

Tablo Quad What I Didn't Like

I can boil down what I don't exactly like about Tablo Quad (and Tablo in general, I suppose) to a couple different things.

First we've got to talk about the price. Paying $199 for this sort of hardware would be a lot more palatable if the Quad came with a hard drive. Sure, you can snag a 1-terabyte 2.5-inch SATA drive for about $50 , but now we're talking about a $250 investment — and that takes you into Tivo Bolt territory.

Then there's the matter of the on-screen guide. I get the idea of paid subscriptions for guides, even if I'm not crazy about it. All that data has to come from somewhere, and it's not free for Tablo to license. And $5 a month (or $50 a year, or $150 for a lifetime subscription) isn't really all that much to ask. It's less than a cup of coffee a month.

And you get a free monthlong trial to test it out. If you decide you don't want to pony up that kind of cash, you'll still get 24 hours of guide info. Just nothing beyond that, and far fewer recording options. (Plus no streaming outside the home.)

But a big change going into the launch of Tablo Quad is that the subscription guide is no longer per account . Rather, it'll be tied to individual devices. So if you have, say, an older Tablo Dual Lite and want to keep it and use a Tablo Quad, you'll need to pay again for the guide subscription. (Older devices themselves will be grandfathered in, though. This only applies to new devices.)

But like the hard drive you'll have to have, it's one more expense that jacks up the price of the Tablo Quad even further.

More: The recommended hard drives for Tablo Quad

Then there's the matter of speed. Or, rather, lack thereof. See, Tablo transcodes the incoming video feed. That is, it changes the file format of the video on the fly, as it's coming in. That can cause a bit of lag as you're changing channels.

That lag has improved over the years, and Tablo deserves kudos for that, for sure. But it's definitely still noticeable, and it's something you'll want to take into consideration. If you're not much of a channel flipper, it probably won't be as big a deal. But it tends to drive me a little nuts.

Neither of those complaints is exclusive to Tablo Quad, though. All of Tablo's products are BYOHD (save for the model with a 64GB drive built in, but I wouldn't recommend paying $250 for that little amount of storage), and they all transcode the video.

It's just the way things are.

The bottom line

Should I buy it? Sure, but ...

Tablo Quad is a very good product. If you want to record over-the-air television, there's no easier way to do it. (Those of you pointing to Plex and HDHomerun, I hear ya. But I also don't want to teach your mom how to work a NAS box.)

By all means, buy the Tablo Quad when it becomes available in March 2019. Just recognize that it might well cost you more than the listed $199.

And also recognize the limitations. It's not the fastest experience out there because of the transcoding.

Other than that? You get a great way to watch and record over-the-air TV. It's easy to use. The guide is great. It's gorgeous across pretty much every platform.

It just costs a little more than you might first realize.

$199

Best answer: Tablo recommends using either Western Digital Blue or Seagate BarraCuda internal SATA drives with the Tablo Quad.

• Amazon: WD Blue 2TB 2.5-inch SATA drive ($82)
• Amazon: Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 2.5-inch SATA drive ($48)

Tablo recommends hard drives for a reason

When it comes to recording over-the-air TV via a Tablo box, you don't want to mess around with just any old hard drive. And that makes sense, right? Tablo has tested things to make sure they actually work. And you want to make sure that what you record actually records . So do yourself a favor and stick with their recommendations. (Or play with fire. Your call.)

And to that end, Tablo recommends either Western Digital Blue or Seagate BarraCuda internal hard drives for the Tablo Quad. That doesn't mean other drives won't work — they've got a fairly extensive list of drives that have been tested by users and are technically compatible. But given that hard drives are so inexpensive these days, we'd recommend just going with what Tablo says is the best. No reason not to, really.

HDHomerun is filling a pretty major gap in its product portfolio at CES 2019 — local (and easy) DVR service. HDHomerun Scribe Duo is the first dual-tuner box from the company that includes an internal 1-terabyte hard drive for recording TV shows.

The Scribe Duo will cost $199, with preorders starting in March. It'll officially go on sale in April and include a free year of HDHomerun DVR service, which normally costs $35. (That pays for the channel guide subscription.)

The Scribe Duo appears to be inside the same box as the current HDHomerun Duo and Quatro (be sure to check out the one we took apart ), which means won't take up much space at all.

Also, HDHomerun Servio was announced. It's a lookalike box that houses a 2-terabyte hard drive to triple the amount of storage in the Scribe Duo. Or, if you prefer, you can use it with an existing HDHomerun box. It'll run around $150, according to early reports , and also come with the free year of DVR service.

HDHomerun allowed for recordings before the Scribe and Servio, but it required use of network-attached storage and a service like Plex — something that may be old hat for those of us of the nerdier persuasion, but certainly not as easy to use as the built-in offerings from competitors like Tablo.

This makes four major players in the OTA DVR market, with HDHomerun now more directly competing with the likes of Tablo (which just announced a new tuner of its own at CES), and AirTV , which integrates directly with Sling's streaming service. There's also the new Amazon Fire TV Recast , which in addition to being far larger (and more expensive at $229) allows you to record over-the-air TV directly through the Fire TV interface.

The world of cord-cutting — that is, eschewing traditional cable and satellite TV for an all-streaming scheme — moves fast. Really fast. Services add and remove channels all the time, and often without much fanfare. New hardware comes and old hardware goes.

And as consumers, it's pretty simple to switch from one service or piece of hardware to another.

But some things stand out more than others. Some services provide more flexibility and options. Some simply provideo more . Some hardware truly stands out.

This is the best of the best of 2018.

Look, this is a perfectly reasonable question. Should you put use an indoor over-the-air antenna? Or an outdoor over-the-air antenna? Seems like simple enough, right?

On the one hand, an indoor antenna is easy. The antenna is already inside your house. The coax cable is already inside your house. It's just a matter of figuring out where to put the antenna, and where you need to run the cable.

On the other hand, outdoor antennas are almost always rated higher for range, right? And it's certainly more out of sight and out of mind than sticking a flat antenna on your living room wall would be.

OK, OK. We'll just answer the question: You almost always want to have your antenna outside of your home, and as high as possible.

That's it. Higher is better. Outside-um-er, is better.

The reason, of course, is interference. That's the name of the game when it comes to radio signals of all sorts. (Frequency is another thing for another time.) You want as "clean" a signal coming from the broadcast source to your antenna as possible.

Walls are interference. The pipes within the walls are interference. (Particularly if they're metal pipes.) Electrical wires cause interference. Ever been in a place where your phone all but shut down while you were inside, but once you went outside you had all the bars all over again? Same principle.

Even outdoors, though, interference is still a thing. Topography can be a problem. Live at the bottom of a mountain? A TV signal could have a hard time going through that. Even trees can make a difference. You'll want to avoid them, if possible.

Not everyone can use an outdoor antenna, of course. If you're in an apartment building or are renting from someone who just won't let you attach something to a mast on the side of your house, well, indoors may be the only option. In that case, think about how you can get that antenna as close to the outdoors as possible. Use an exterior wall. Stick it in a window, if possible. And still keep it as high as you can.

And one final tip, and this one maybe is more important than the indoor/outdoor question: Direction can matter a lot. You want your antenna to face your broadcast towers, if at all possible. And you might have to fiddle with it a bit to get the best signal. (Back in the old days we were constantly adjusting the rabbit ears attached to our huge TVs — ask your parents, kids.)

To find out the best direction to face your antenna, use a site like TV Fool or Antenna Web . They'll point you in the right direction. (I apologize for nothing!)

When something stops working unexpectedly, you don't throw it away. You don't immediately order a new one. Instead, you look for exposed screws. And the three that piece together the HDHomerun Quatro give very little resistance. So when mine started to act up (likely because of a short in the power cable, a replacement for which which I've since ordered), I grabbed a screwdriver.

What is HDHomerun? It's a TV tuner that shares your free over-the-air channels across your home network, allowing you to watch on any number of devices. The most basic version lets you watch on up to two things at once — this HDHomerun Quatro lets you watch on as many as four devices simultaneously. And we're talking anything from Android to iOS to Amazon Fire TV, Linux, Mac and Windows. Basically, anything save for Roku, because of the way the stream is encoded. HDHomerun also allows for digital recording through things like Plex. While DVR costs a little extra, HDHomerun's basic guide service doesn't, which is nice. (Other services often have a monthly fee attached.)

I didn't expect this to be a particularly intricate device on the inside, and that proved to be the case. If you've ever built a PC or pored over the guts of a smartphone, you'll be largely nonplussed here. The only exposed ports are for coax, Ethernet and the power supply. (The latter is what I wanted to make sure was still soldered to the PCB.) There's obviously more going on inside the tuner itself, but that'll have to save for a deeper diagnosis some other time.

In addition to handling over-the-air TV, there's also HDHomerun Premium , which puts a few dozen network channels alongside your OTA offerings for just $35 a month.

By the way, now's a perfect time to mention that HDHomerun is on sale through Dec. 24, with this HDHomerun Quato model going for just $119.

See at Amazon

It used to be that getting rid of cable and switching to an all-streaming solution meant you probably would be giving up your local channels. And it almost certainly meant that you'd lose the ability to record them, at least easily.

That's changed a good bit in 2018. Many streaming services now include the major local broadcast channels. And products like Tablo (and to a different extent, HDHomerun ) have made watching over-the-air TV throughout your home a relatively simple endeavor.

Now it's Amazon's turn with a combination over-the-air TV tuner/digital record — the Amazon Fire TV Recast.

More: The best over-the-air antennas

The Good

• Easy to set up
• Integrates well with Fire TV
• Simple DVR function
• Works with Amazon Alexa

The Bad

• Is fairly expensive
• Only works with Fire TV
• Transcoding hurts video quality
• Max 2 simultaneous streams

It's easy and it works great

Amazon Fire TV Recast What I Liked

The Amazon Fire TV Recast very much resembles products we've seen before. Most specifically, Tablo, which takes over-the-air TV and broadcasts it through your home network, while also allowing you to easily record shows.

The Recast takes that premise and makes it even easier. No accounts to create. No monthly billing for guide access. No external hard drives to deal with. You just buy the thing, plug it in, set it up, and start watching (and recording) on an Amazon Fire TV device, on an Android or iOS device, or on the Amazon Echo Show.

There are two models from which to choose. One has two tuners and a 500-gigabyte hard drive. It costs $229. The other doubles both of those specs — four tuners and a 1-terabyte hard drive — and costs $279. These are not inexpensive OTA streamers.

The setup is extremely simple. Plug in an antenna. Plug in the power. Use your phone (or a Fire TV device) to set the thing up on your network. Scan for channels. Watch TV. That's it.

Amazon has done a brilliant job integration the Recast into its home screen. Scroll down a few rows, and there are all of your live channels. (Interesting is that if you also subscribed to Amazon Prime Video Channels — say, HBO, those channels also will appear in this home screen section.) It's all perfectly integrated — maybe to a fault. I actually passed over this section the first few times. But there it is.

And Amazon's on-screen guide may be the best I've seen from anyone who does this sort of thing. It's fast (Amazon is known for obsessing exactly as much as it should over that sort of thing), and easy to read.

Same goes for the experience of recording shows. I couldn't even tell you if there were instructions in the box for that sort of thing, because at no time would I have needed them. Everything works through the Alexa Voice Remote exactly how you'd expect it to. And if voice control is more of your thing, you can just tell Alexa to pause or rewind or record or delete or whatever.

The Amazon Fire TV Recast is, in a word, simple.

But there are limitations

Amazon Fire TV Recast What I Didn't Like

That's not to say the Recast isn't without its faults. Or, rather, caveats. It's not that there's really anything wrong with the Recast — you just need to know its limitations.

First — and most important — is that this works with Amazon Fire TV devices. That includes the new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, and the lesser (and more expensive) Fire TV Cube. You're able to watch all this OTA through any of those devices, as well as through the Amazon Fire TV (not the Prime Video) app on an Android or iOS device.

If you're using Apple TV or Roku or Android TV or something else, then the Recast is not for you. It just won't work. That's a big limitation.

Second is that you can only watch up to two streams simultaneously. That's whether you're using the two-tuner Recast or the four-tuner recast. There are all sorts of permutations for watching live and recording in the background, but you can only watch on two devices at once. For some folks, that may be just fine. And if so, great. But in my four-person household, I've bumped up against that plenty of times with other OTA tuners — especially if we're hosting a football party or the like.

What are all the recording and live-streaming permutations, you ask? Here's how Amazon does the math:

With a 2-tuner Fire TV Recast, you can either:

• Record up to 2 programs at once,
• Watch up to 1 live and 1 recorded program on different devices, while recording another;
• Watch up to 2 recorded programs on different devices, while recording 2 programs in the background; OR
• Watch up to 2 live programs on different devices at once.

With a 4-tuner Fire TV Recast, you can either:

• Record up to 4 programs at once;
• Watch up to 1 live and 1 recorded program on different devices, while recording up to 3 other programs in the background;
• Watch up to 2 recorded programs on different devices, while recording up to 4 programs in the background; OR
• Watch up to 2 live programs on different devices at once while recording up to 2 other programs in the background.

So there are options. But the live streaming is what's most important to me. Your requirements may well vary.

Then there's the matter of video quality. Over-the-air TV comes in at a maximum resolution of 1080i. (Think pretty much like the 1080p you're used to hearing about, just not quite the same, and not quite as good.) Sometimes it'll come in at 720p or even 480p. But never more than 1080i. But the Recast (and like it, Tablo) takes the incoming video and transcodes it to a different format, to make it easier to stream and record. And in doing so, you lose some quality. The Fire TV Recast will never play back a show at anything better than 720p resolution.

That might not be a big deal if you're watching on your phone, or on the Echo Show. You probably won't notice the lower resolution. But it's definitely noticeable on my 4K TV in the living room. That's one thing that's kept me with HDHomerun all these years, and it's a big strike (in my eyes, anyway) against the Recast.

Again, none of those things are what I'd consider to be flaws in the Fire TV Recast. It's doing what it's supposed to do, and it's doing it very well. But those are limitations in what it can do.

Amazon Fire TV Recast

Should You Buy It? Maybe

The Amazon Fire TV Recast is a very good product. It's a great little piece of tech because it's easy to set up, and easy to use, and it integrates into the Amazon Fire TV beautifully. It is very well done.

The question you have to ask yourself is whether the limitations are deal-breakers. If you don't use an Amazon Fire TV — either one of the things you plug in, like the Fire TV Stick 4K or Fire TV Cube, or an Amazon Fire TV Edition (which uses Amazon Fire TV as its operating system) or intend to only watch on a phone or tablet or Echo Show — then you're out of luck. Full stop.

If you don't care about recording over-the-air TV, then save yourself some money and look elsewhere, too. Either HDHomerun or Tablo. Because Fire TV Recast is expensive . You can get a four-tuner HDHomerun Quatro for half the price of a Recast.

And then there's the matter of video quality. Watching 1080i video transcoded and compressed to within an inch of its life just isn't worth it for me — particularly if I'm able to watch the same thing through a streaming service.

So ask yourself if those things are worth it for you. If so? Snag a Recast. You'll be happy with it. But if not, there are better options.

$229/$279 at Amazon

While there are a few options out there if you want to watch and record OTA ("over the air") broadcasts, you can do it all in Plex, which is great if you already have a Plex account and server set up. It's also great to be able to have all your media in one place. Here's how to watch and record live TV with Plex!

Products used in this guide

• Plex: Plex Pass ($120)
• Amazon: Mohu Blade TV Antenna ($30)
• Amazon: SiliconDust HDHomeRun Connect Quatro ($149)

How to set up Live TV

If you already have an antenna you love , you don't need to go buy anything new. Also, if you already have a tuner like HDHomeRun , you can use that with Plex. If you're not sure if your tuner works with Plex, check out the list of compatible models . You'll need to pay for a Plex Pass in order to use the Live TV & DVR feature.

1. Plug your tuner into your router, a free USB port on your desktop, or a PCIe slot in your desktop (depending on which tuner you have).
2. Attach the coaxial cable from the antenna to your tuner.
3. Open Plex .
4. Sign into your Plex account.
5. Click Settings on the left side.
6. Click Live TV & DVR under Manage .
7. Click Set up Plex DVR.
8. Plex should automatically detect your tuner. If it does not, make sure the tuner is plugged into your network or USB port properly. Once it's working, click Continue .
9. Plex will start scanning for channels your antenna can pick up. Once it's done, click Continue.
10. Enter your ZIP Code so Plex downloads the correct guide. Click Continue . Downloading the guide can take a few minutes, so sit tight.

That's it! You can start watching your shows while Plex downloads the guide.

How to watch Live TV

Most of Plex's platforms support watching Live TV, though the exact interface and naming will vary. For example, the Plex app on Roku labels the Live TV feature as Guide , while on Xbox One and Android it's labeled as Live TV . It's also available in the Microsoft Store .

1. Open the Plex app on your device.
2. Navigate and select Guide or Live TV .
3. Select the program you want to watch.

That's it! Now you're watching Live TV! Depending on the platform, you can pause and rewind the shows so you don't miss your favorite scenes.

How to schedule a recording

If you can't be home when your shows air, never fear! It's pretty easy to schedule a recording, even from the Plex app on your phone.

1. Open Plex.
2. Tap or click the name of the show you want to record .
3. Click Record. If you're using a smartphone, tap the three-dot icon, then tap Record.
4. You can select if you want to just record one episode, or all episodes of that show. You can also change which library with recording will appear in.
5. Select Show advanced to change settings like resolution, how many minutes before and after the scheduled time to record, and whether to remove commercials.
6. Select Record .

That's it! Your program will record as it airs. The amount of recordings you can have at once depends on how many tuners your unit has. For example, having four tuners means you can record four shows at once, or record three shows and watch one live. You can also watch the show while it's recording.

How to watch your recorded shows and movies

1. Open Plex .
2. Navigate to the library where your recordings are stored.
3. Select the show you want to watch.
4. Select the episode you want to watch.

That's it! You're watching your recorded TV show or movie!

Our top equipment picks

You need just a few pieces of hardware to get Live TV up and running in Plex.

More tuners means you can record more things at once, so if you know you'll want that, spend the extra money up front. This tuner from HDHomerun can handle four streams at once, and it works perfectly with Plex.

If you want a good looking antenna, the Mohu Blade is for you. It'd look nice mounted on your wall, or sitting at the edge of your TV stand. The Blade is weather proof, so it can be mounted outside as well. And when all is said and done, you should be able to pick up every channel in your market.

Plex makes it super easy to have access to your favorite movies, TV shows, music, photos and more, from anywhere you have an Internet connection. Plex is adding new services all the time, like Live TV and DVR recording.

The Tablo OTA DVR is a surprisingly simple device. It's a TV tuner box with transcoding hardware built in, and software that makes recording OTA content as simple as plugging in a USB hard drive.

But that doesn't meant you don't have a choice to make. There currently are four Tablo devices from which you'll want to choose. Each is a little different, and one we'd go so far as to say is niche.

Let's take a look at them.

A fun fact about over-the-air antennas: They're not magical. While antenna technology certainly has improved over the years, we're still talking about the same basic premise.

A station transmits a signal, and your antenna receives it.

So I'll be perfectly honest here — I wasn't expecting a huge improvement when I switched from the ClearStream 2MAX to the newer $99 ClearStream Fusion , which Antennas Direct sent over.

And you know what? I didn't see a huge improvement from a typical-user standpoint. All my same channels still worked — even the problem channels. So from that standpoint, I've got nothing but praise here. Job well done.

But that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about here.

First, the basics. This is a fairly sizable indoor/outdoor antenna. It's about 17 inches wide and 12 inches deep, and about an inch and a half thick. It's going to stand out — maybe even more so than my old 2MAX — because what you see is just a solid slab of plastic. There's no hiding this thing in plain sight. Does it stick out more than the 2MAX? Maybe. On the other hand, it's not huge , and if you're not looking for it in the first place ...

Put it this way — it's still not like it's a giant clothesline of an antenna, right?

And now's a good time to mention what may be my only real worry here — wind. Is this thing going to become a sail if a good gust hits it? Only one way to find out. (And in the event of any serious storm here in Florida, I'll just take it down till things blow over.)

Some other basics: We're looking at 3.7 dBi of gain on the UHF side, and 1.9 dBi on the VHF side. The ClearStream Fusion also comes with a slightly revamped 20 dB in-line amplifier. The only new thing there really is that it's now powered by microUSB instead of a barrel plug. That's a little more exciting than maybe it should be, because microUSB is ubiquitous these days, and you can plug it into your TV so it'll shut off when you're not actually watching television.

But I'm more excited because the microUSB plug should be less prone to come undone than that barrel connector was.

When it comes to mounting, the Fusion came with the same J-mount mast and hardware as I was previously using. Everything you need — save for a drill and a screwdriver — was in the box. Swapping out the antenna took about 5 minutes — it'll maybe take 15 if you need to mount the mast itself first. As is usually the case here, figuring out where to run your coax cable should be the only hard part. (And take your time with that — do it right the first time!)

As for the nitty gritty. Like I mentioned, I'm not getting any additional channels via HDHomerun . Nor did I expect to. But I am seeing a slight improvement in reception on one of my must-have problem channels, which is now showing 100 percent reception quality, up from about 90 percent.

That's ultimately a good thing. The Fusion works as I'd expect it to. Slightly better than the (slightly) lesser 2MAX, with a new look to go along with it.

As is always the case, everyone's needs are different. The stations you watch will be in a different location — and surrounded by different terrain — than mine. This is part science, part art. Maybe you'll put your antenna outside — remember that outdoors and higher is always better — or maybe you'll leave it inside. Maybe you're closer to the towers than I am. There are a lot of variables that go into this sort of thing.

But for me? The Fusion is working out nicely.

When it comes to over-the-air TV, you can chose to go the easy way and just plug an antenna into your TV. And that's fine, but it's also pretty limiting. One antenna, one television. And that's it.

There is, of course, a better way. It involves plugging your antenna into some sort of set-top box, which then spits out that OTA signal — and the free over-the-air channels that come with it — on your home network, to be picked up by an app on any of your devices.

But that leads us to a question: Of the three major over-the-air solutions — HDHomerun, Tablo and AirTV — which one is right for you?

Here's a quick breakdown of the three options:

The bottom line

That's how the three boxes stack up. It really is a matter of each doing its own thing different than the others. (At least until HDHomerun comes out with its 250GB DVR box.)

Which one's right for you? It all depends on what it is you want.

AirTV — the over-the-air streaming box from Dish that integrates directly with the Sling TV app — today announced a dual-tuner adapter that lets you record two streaming simultaneously, or watch one show while you record another at the same time.

The dual-tuner adapter costs $29 on its own, or you can pair it up with a new AirTV for $119. (The dual-tuner adapter works with any current-generation AirTV device.)

See at AirTV

AirTV Player introduces dual-tuner capability, allows users to watch and record local channels simultaneously

Dual-tuner adapter allows users to watch one local channel while recording another one or record two local shows simultaneously

AirTV Player + dual tuner adapter available today for $119
AirTV Player + single tuner adapter available for $99

Englewood, Colo., Sept. 26, 2018 — AirTV today introduced its first dual-tuner capability to AirTV Player, allowing users to watch and record two over-the-air (OTA) broadcast channels simultaneously. With the new dual-tuner adapter, AirTV Player users can watch one OTA channel while recording another, or record two OTA channels simultaneously through AirTV Player's Local Channels DVR. Available today, customers can purchase the new dual-tuner adapter for $29 or bundle the dual-tuner adapter with the AirTV Player for $119.

"We are committed to making it as easy as possible to view free local channels alongside other popular streaming content through our AirTV products," said Mitch Weinraub, director of product development for AirTV. "Now, with the dual-tuner adapter, customers are able to watch their hometown team on a local channel while recording an episode of a popular show on a separate local channel, meaning they won't miss any of their favorite programming."

AirTV Player, the 4K Android TV-based streaming media device that launched in January 2017, integrates Sling TV, Netflix, YouTube and thousands of apps from the Google Play Store with free local OTA channels on one platform. OTA channel integration requires an AirTV Adapter and an OTA antenna, each sold separately. Local channel availability depends on geographic location and antenna quality and placement. In February 2018, AirTV Player debuted its Local Channels DVR, allows users to record shows on free over-the-air broadcast channels (external USB hard drive or thumb drive required).

The AirTV Player with AirTV dual-tuner adapter bundle is available for $119 today at airtv.net. The new dual-tuner adapter can be paired with all AirTV Player generations for $29. Starting today, the AirTV Player with AirTV single-tuner adapter is available for $99. Additionally, the AirTV Player is $89, originally $99. The AirTV Player adapters can only be paired with AirTV Players.

The Amazon Fire TV Recast is one of the more interesting devices released by Amazon in recent memory. That's not because it's particularly original — we've used other similar devices before.

Instead, it's what it means for the streaming TV industry as a whole that intrigues us. The Fire TV Recast is going to be a boon for over-the-air television in the internet age. It's going to be a boon for anyone who sells antennas. (Especially on Amazon.)

And it's going to help fill any holes left behind by the streaming services, which don't always carry local channels in every location. Plus, it makes recording those local channels simple.

Here are the major questions asked regarding the the Amazon Fire TV Recast — starting with a big red button pointing to where you can buy it.

• See at Amazon
• $230 at Best Buy

What is the Amazon Fire TV Recast

The Amazon Fire TV Recast is what we like to call an over-the-air streaming box. It takes an over-the-air TV signal from an antenna and shares it to multiple devices.

The Recast works, for starters, with Amazon Fire TV devices — sticks, the Amazon Fire TV Cube and 4K pendant, and Amazon Fire TV-powered televisions. You'll also be able to watch content through Amazon's Android and iOS apps.

The Fire TV Recast also comes with a built-in hard drive so that you can record all that over-the-air content.

There are two versions of the recast — a two-tuner model (so that you can watch and record more than one thing at a time) with a 500-gigabyte hard drive for, and a four-tuner model with a 1TB hard drive.

How much does the Amazon Fire TV Recast cost?

The two-tuner Amazon Fire TV Recast costs $229. The four-tuner Fire TV Recast costs $279.

What else do I need to use a Fire TV Recast?

The Fire TV Recast is a headless box. It's just tuners, and a hard drive. To use a Fire TV Recast you'll also need either an Android phone or an iOS device, or an Amazon Fire TV device — and you'll also need an over-the-air antenna.

(We'll assume you already have a home Wifi network set up.)

You also can watch on the Amazon Echo Show.

Does the Amazon Fire TV Recast come with an antenna?

It does not. You'll need your own over-the-air antenna.

You can find our recommendations for the best over-the-air antennas here .

Can the Fire TV Recast record more than one show at a time?

It sure can. The two-tuner Fire TV Recast can record two channels simultaneously. The four-tuner Fire TV recast can record up to four channels simultaneously.

Here's the full breakdown, per Amazon:

With a two-tuner Recast:

• Record up to 2 programs at once,
• Watch up to 1 live and 1 recorded program on different devices, while recording another;
• Watch up to 2 recorded programs on different devices, while recording 2 programs in the background; OR
• Watch up to 2 live programs on different devices at once.

With a four-tuner Recast:

• Record up to 4 programs at once;
• Watch up to 1 live and 1 recorded program on different devices, while recording up to 3 other programs in the background;
• Watch up to 2 recorded programs on different devices, while recording up to 4 programs in the background; OR
• Watch up to 2 live programs on different devices at once while recording up to 2 other programs in the background.

Does the Fire TV Recast transcode video?

It does. Videos are recorded natively as an MPEG-2 file at 1920x1080 resolution. (And we're willing to bet someone will figure out how to rip those files right out of the Recast.)

The Recast then transcodes the files (for those of you who don't speak nerd, that just means changes the file format to make the file smaller and easier to stream) before shooting them out to all your devices.

It's precisely the same scheme as you'll find with a Tablo OTA streaming box.

How many channels can I watch simultaneously?

Here's where the fine print kicks in. While you can record as many as four channels at once (on the four-tuner model), you only can watch as many as two channels at the same time.

That's because the Fire TV Recast only has two transcoding tuners.

Does the Amazon Fire TV Recast use my internet data?

If you're only watching through your home network, internet use should be limited to whatever it takes to update the on-screen channels guide. The Recast prefers to connect directly to whatever device you're watching on — actually bypassing your home network, so that you'll get the best playback possible.

If you're watching on a phone outside your home network, it'll have to upload the data on the fly, and that will get your ISP involved.

Over-the-air television is a big part of cord-cutting. It fills in the local holes that might be left behind. It's relatively inexpensive — the content is free, once you've got the hardware. And there are no services for which to register, no contracts to sign.

It's cheap. And it's pretty easy. And Amazon is about to make that already not-small industry huge , now that it's announced the Amazon Fire TV Recast . It's an over-the-air streaming box with either two tuners and a 500GB hard drive, or a four-tuner model with a 1TB hard drive. The former is $229, the latter is $279.

Why is this going to be such a big deal? Well, for a couple reasons.

See at Amazon

First, it's Amazon

There's no getting around this. Anything Amazon decides to do is a big deal. It's been selling over-the-air antennas forever. It's been selling over-the-air streaming boxes from HDHomerun, Tablo and AirTV forever.

But that's not the same thing as Amazon selling an Amazon OTA streaming box. If you think those other three companies are having a bit of an "oh, shit!" moment, you're almost certainly right.

Amazon Fire TV Recast will get — and already has gotten — more promotion than HDHomerun, Tablo and AirTV ever would. It's hard to beat that.

And we've not even seen bundles yet. How long before we have a Fire TV Recast and a Fire TV Edition television sold side-by-side at a pretty deep discount?

It'll be a boon for antenna sales

Over-the-air antennas already are inexpensive — you can get a basic indoor antenna for something like $20 or $30. (They are, however, not necessarily the right antenna for you.) Amazon has an OTA box, and it's also going to sell you something to plug into it.

While it might not be on the product listing page just yet, you better believe that Amazon's going to be pushing antennas alongside the Fire TV Recast. Because the only thing better than selling a single product is selling a single product that also requires you to have another product.

Speaking of which, you can find our list of the best over-the-air antennas here.

It makes recording OTA TV extremely easy

Recording over-the-air television is either extremely easy, or extremely hard. HDHomerun is great, but most normal folks aren't going to set up a media server just to record something. Tablo is better, but most of its boxes still require you to bring your own hard drive. (And its one model with built-in storage is still pretty anemic.

Fire TV Recast does it right. Two models — you'll either get 500 gigabytes of storage for something like 75 hours of recording, or a full 1TB model for twice as much. (And also with four tuners.) All you'll hit to do is hit record.

Or, just tell Alexa to do it.

Better connections (hopefully)

We'll have to wait until we actually get to try this one out, but the prospect of the Fire TV Recast connecting directly to Fire TV devices to help alleviate any network-induced lag will be a very good thing. Again, real-world testing will prove just how fast things are. But that Amazon is taking latency seriously is a very good thing.

Plus, it'll automatically switch back to regular network operation if you want to watch while you're outside of your home. Very cool.

The bottom line

Really, though, it's that first point that truly will make the Fire TV Recast a big deal. This is Amazon's baby. OK, it's one of 12 Amazon babies birthed in this latest wave of Amazon hardware. But it's going to be a very important one going forward.

Amazon has a strong streaming game with Prime Video and Prime Video Channels. Now it's looking to sew up the over-the-air streaming game. We can't blame it at all, especially since it'll play back through Android and iOS devices. (And maybe one day it'll work through Roku or Apple TV or Android TV? We'll just have to see.)

It's not inexpensive. But it's also the sort of device that you could end up using every day, for a long, long time.

See at Amazon

Tablo is a really interesting option when it comes to over-the-air TV. You'll plug in an antenna, then plug in an external hard drive, and you're off and running. Tablo takes care of the heavy lifting and streams to just about any device you can think of.

Oh, darn. We just blew the rest of this post in a single sentence. Yeah, if you have pretty much any modern smart devices — iPhone, Android, Xbox, whatever — Tablo can stream to it.

Let's take a brief stroll through the full list, per Tablo itself :

• Android phones and tablets
• Android TV
• NVIDIA Shield TV
• Apple TV
• iPhone and iPad
• Xbox One
• Chromecast
• Roku
• Amazon Fire TV
• Web browsers (via my.tablotv.com )
• Samsung Smart TVs
• LG smart TVs with webOS
• Kodi add-on

The only big strike we see here? No PlayStation app. That's not overly surprising given the size of the PS store itself, but it's still a miss. But for most folks, there's bound to be something on this list that you've got laying around.

It may not be the cheapest model, but the Chromecast Ultra is the best option if you want to cover all your bases. Want a Chromecast that's going to last you for years, will support 4K TV, and has an Ethernet adapter just in case your internet is lackluster? Then go for the Ultra.

Who should buy this Chromecast?

If you want to unwind with your favorite shows after a long day, a Chromecast is for you. There's nothing to troubleshoot or configure, so you don't need to waste any time before hitting the couch. Just open the Hulu app on your phone, press the Cast icon, and watch away! In addition, the Ultra will support just about every device you try to connect it to.

Is it a good time to buy this?

Yes. The Chromecast line has been around for years, so other services besides Hulu will have certainly integrated Casting into their apps. The Chromecast Ultra was released in 2016, and there's no reason to believe a new version is on its way.

Reasons to buy

• The only Chromecast that streams 4K content
• Includes an Ethernet adapter

Reasons not to buy

• Twice the price of the 1080p Chromecast
• If you don't need 4K streaming

Why you should spring for the Chromecast Ultra

While you can get by with a less-expensive Chromecast model, the Ultra is the best to get if you want something future-proofed. We're seeing more content support 4K and HDR and it's only going to become more prevalent with Hulu and other services. The Chromecast hardware is completely mature, so there's not going to be a new model every year like with smartphones and laptops. The Ultra should then support your streaming throughout many of the predicted upcoming trends.

The included Ethernet adapter is a great bonus, too. That normally goes for $15 on its own, and it isn't included with the 1080p Chromecast. If you have spotty Wi-Fi, the Ethernet adapter is almost crucial. The Chromecast Ultra ends up being just $10 to $20 more than the 1080p Chromecast and Ethernet adapter purchased separately, which makes for an easy upgrade.

Finally, 4K TVs are becoming more and more affordable. These TVs often have their own operating system to get to Netflix and Hulu, so you may not need a Chromecast Ultra right away. However, sometimes those operating systems aren't updated as often as we'd like. A good Chromecast can bypass that.

Alternatives to the Chromecast Ultra

If you're not sure about spending so much for a Chromecast, there are alternatives from Google and others.

The standard Chromecast may not be able to handle high-resolution content, but it's still just as easy to install and use as the more expensive model. Just plug it in, connect it to your wireless network, and Cast away.

The bottom line

Whether you're watching Hulu or another streaming service, the Chromecast Ultra is a great streaming stick to use. More and more movies and TV shows will be coming out in 4K, and the Ultra is the only Chromecast that handles that resolution.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Tom Westrick spends way too much time binge watching old shows on Hulu and Netflix. When he's not writing about technology, he's drooling over projectors or playing guitar. You'll mainly find him on Android Central and CordCutters, or you can follow him on Twitter.

Phil Nickinson is the editor of CordCutters.com , the Head Dad behind Modern Dad and Editor Emeritus of AndroidCentral.com. He's been a journalist since starting at his hometown newspaper in 1998, and with Mobile Nations since 2009. Follow him on Twitter: @Mdrndad .

Streaming TV is great. But it's not the only game out there. Antennas — yes, antennas — are more popular than ever given their low cost and their ability to fill the gaps in content that streaming services leave behind. That is, a decent over-the-air antenna can pull in free TV from your local broadcast channels for a one-time expenditure on hardware, and a few minutes of setting things up.

There are a few ways to go about all this, though. You can run an antenna straight into a television, of course (assuming it has a tuner built in), but that presents the problem of only having access to all those free channels on that one single set. Maybe that's fine for you. But there are other options.

Let's take a look.

Antenna straight into a TV

This is the simplest way of going about things. Rig up an antenna — outside your home, inside your home, whatever works best for you — and plug it into a television set. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's a perfectly fine way of getting all that free OTA TV into your house.

But there's the obvious problem of only being able to watch those channels on that one TV — the one the antenna is physically plugged into.

It's possible to use a splitter — physically separating the signal and running it into multiple televisions. That can start to present problems with signal degradation, though. And frankly it's not a very 21st Century answer, right?

There are other options.

The best over-the-air antennas

OTA antenna to HDHomerun

HDHomerun probably is our favorite OTA box right now thanks to its simplicity and relatively low price. You plug in an antenna, and plug the HDHomerun box into your internet router via an Ethernet cable. The box then does all the work, sharing the over-the-air signal among multiple devices. So you have one antenna but can watch the channels on your phone or tablet, computer, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV — all sorts of devices.

And depending on the HDHomerun model you get, you can watch on at least two (and as many as six) devices simultaneously . So it really is a whole-home sort of solution.

The only real limitation to HDHomerun is the quality of you home network, and how badly you care about being able to record OTA content. (HDHomerun isn't the simplest of devices for DVR, though a new box with a built-in hard drive is on the way.)

See at Amazon

OTA antenna to Tablo

Tablo is the same sort of thing as HDHomerun. You plug in an antenna, and the channels get shared across your home network to all kinds of devices. But Tablo is set up for DVR support out of the box. All you have to do is plug in your own external hard drive, let Tablo do its thing — and it just works. (Or you could use the Tablo box that has 64GB of storage built in , but you can buy a bigger hard drive for less money on your own.)

Tablo has options for two tuners or four tuners.

• See at Amazon
• $604 at Walmart

OTA antenna into ... something else

Tablo and HDHomerun are our two favorite OTA tuners, because of their simplicity. If it ain't easy to use, you shouldn't be using it. But that doesn't mean there aren't other options.

Tablo has a USB device that plugs into an NVIDIA Shield TV (which is the only Android TV box we recommend) that'll let it act as a DVR, which is cool. And there's AirTV, which is a different sort of Android TV box that has an add-on that can put your OTA content right along the listings of Sling TV. (In addition to doing most everything else an Android TV can do.)

The point is — there are myriad ways to pipe free over-the-air TV into your home. The only real question is figuring out which method is right for you.

The Channel Master CM-2018 antenna. ( $65 at Amazon

An over-the-air antenna is a great way to round out a cord-cutter's setup. Free TV, beamed over the air (duh), and right into your home. Local channels for as far as the eye can see. (Almost literally.)

A question we get all the time, though, is whether you need to have an amplified on your antenna. And the answer is yes. Or no. Or maybe. Or it depends.

Signal amplifiers are quick and easy to use, and they're not all that expensive. For about $30 on Amazon , you can get an amplifier that not only boosts the incoming signal, it also allows you to split it up and run it to multiple televisions.

The question, then, is whether you actually need an amplifier.

There's no real art to this. It's science. First, you need to consider what it is an amplifier does. As the name tells you, an amplifier amplifies a signal, making it stronger. How much stronger depends on the strength of the signal in the first place — how far away you are from the broadcast tower, and how well your antenna picks up the signal. And radio signals, of course, can be measured.

Cheap signal meters are a dime a dozen on Amazon. (OK, they're a little more than that.) But the truth is you don't even have to bother with that if you don't want to. If you want to do things on the cheap, all you have to do is this:

1. Buy an amplifier and plug it in.
2. Tune to all your usual channels.
3. Do you get more channels than you had before? Great!
4. Did you lose any channels that you had before Not great! Unplug the amplifier!

The Channel Master CM3414 amplifier. ( $33 at Amazon

The thing about over-the-air TV these days is that the signals are all digital. You either get them or you don't. What you can anecdotally measure is how quickly they drop off. So that'll be pretty obvious. My local Fox station is always my one "trouble" station. If I can receive it, I know my setup is good.

But pay attention to Point 4 above. It's also absolutely possible to over-amplify a signal. So if you have a channel that suddenly struggles after you installed an amplifier, that could be the problem. Unplug it and see what happens.

There's another way to measure things that doesn't involve buying signal meters. If you're using an OTA streaming box like the ones from HDHomerun and Tablo, you can get basic signal metering from them, too. When you scan for channels, Tablo shows you a cell phone-like series of dots for signal strength. And there are apps that tie into HDHomerun that let you see exactly what it's seeing, which is fun. (Get one here for Android , and one here for iOS . Apps like those also can help you make sure your antenna is facing the proper direction, too.

So, no. You don't need an electrical engineering degree or even need to have basic knowledge of math to figure out whether you need an amplifier on your antenna. It can be a simple as trying one out and seeing how it works. But a little research (and a decent signal meter) can help you understand the results a little more.

It's one of those seemingly simple questions that we get all the time. And we don't blame anyone for asking it. Because back in the bad old days, you most certainly could get a cable signal and your internet through the same coax line. (Ain't splitters wonderful.) But when it comes to running coax from an outdoor, over-the-air antenna and your cable internet into a single line into your home — well, you just can't do it.

We don't really worry about why this is, because it doesn't really change anything. (But it has to do with frequencies and other sort of dark magic.)

The question, then is what's the best way to go about things?

Everyone's home situation is going to be different. You'll have a different layout for your cable drop — that is from the street (or underground box) to your home. You'll have different requirements as to the number of TVs you want to get an OTA signal to. And your home network may come into play as well.

Here are a few things to consider:

Run a new coax line from your antenna

There's nothing inherently magical about coax cable. It's pretty thick and pretty robust, and as far as home improvement projects go, running a new line isn't all that difficult. The hardest part usually is getting it inside your home. And all that really takes is the right tool for the right job. (And taking a few minutes to make sure that you're not going to drill through a pipe or — worse — electrical wire.) Or maybe you can sneak things through an attic instead, avoiding breaching an external wall. Again, everyone's home is going to be different.

All you'll have to do is run a rough length of coax, get it inside your home, and then use fasteners to keep everything in place.

If you want, you can user splitters and amplifiers to get a single antenna signal to multiple televisions. But this is 2018, and I think there are sexier ways to go about this.

If you're at all concerned about breaking something, call a professional. It's a relatively quick and easy job if you're willing to spend a few bucks for the peace of mind.

Run a single line from your antenna to an OTA streaming box

This is my current favorite method to do things. You'll still have to get an over-the-air antenna line into your house. But instead of running it directly into a single television, you'll run it into a set-top box like HDHomerun, Tablo or AirTV. Those boxes connect to your home network and then allow you to watch the OTA signal through an app, on multiple devices.

Tablo is the easiest box when it comes to just making things work, as it can connect to your network via Wifi. (It's also our pick if you need DVR for your OTA antenna.) HDHomerun is great if you just want to watch live TV — but it requires an ethernet connection to your router. And given that your router probably is in the same room as your modem — and your modem probably has a cable line with internet running into it, which is want prompted all this talk in the first place — well, things can get a little complicated.

(My setup actually is kind of fun, and I used the existing cox runs from when I had cable TV. I've got my OTA antenna running into a bedroom and into an HDHomerun box, which then uses an ethernet passthrough to connect to my router in an adjoining room. Two rooms, two coax lines, zero problems. But it required the ethernet passthrough to be installed in the connecting wall.)

Say again?

OK, that's it in a nutshell. You can't really run coax from an antenna and your internet drop into a splitter, and then both into one line in your home. Just ... no.

But you do have options, and it's easier than ever to have free over-the-air TV once you've cut the cord.

The second semifinal of the 2018 FIFA Men's World Cup. England — looking to #BringItHome — is up 1-0. (That's pronounced "nil."

And YouTube TV — the streaming video giant's live streaming video service — is glitching to hell. The game is unwatchable. Croatia ties it up, and a lot of folks missed it.

You had one job, YouTube TV.

More: The best over-the-air antennas

This is a stark reminder that sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. And why it's absolutely worth taking the time and spending just a little bit of money and rigging up a good over-the-air antenna.

Like everything else online, it's all about the back end. It doesn't matter how many Ks your TV has, or how highly dynamic its range is. It doesn't matter how many megabits per second your network can move, or how many your ISP can pump into your home.

If the source is bad, everything that comes after it is moot.

And such was the case Wednesday when YouTube TV bit the turf. It wasn't the fault of any of the paying customers. Reboot your router, unplug your TV — it doesn't matter when YouTube TV itself was the source of the issue.

Fortunately, many of us had more tested solutions.

That's right, kids. Antennas. My go-to answer when anyone asks about cutting the cord. Because as great as streaming services are — even the ones that include local broadcast networks — you just can't beat an antenna.

For one, the back end of the nation's broadcast system is built out. It works. And it has fewer points of failure than streaming services, taking your home network and ISP out of the equation. For another — it's the sort of thing that doesn't really change unless you change it. There's no software update to break things. No real hardware to break down. Sure, an antenna is yet another expenditure — but we're talking from as low as around $30, to $100 or so on the high end. Take your time and set it up once — outside and higher is always better, and maybe toss in an amplifier if you need — and it'll last you for years .

To be fair, YouTube TV wasn't the only streaming service to have issues the last week of the World Cup. FuboTV began serving up a 4K stream of the Fox broadcast — HDR and all. It worked pretty well initially. But as the tournament ran from the quarters into the semis, and FuboTV opened up the 4K stream to more devices, it, too, became subject to issues .

https://twitter.com/mdrndad/status/1017108344547528707

A couple of clicks later, and the game was back as it should be. Albeit in 1080i instead of 4K resolution. But still in 60 frames per second. With the audio synced to the video. Ready to go — all I had to do was change inputs.

And the video watchable in the first place.

HDHomerun Quatro has — wait for it — four tuners, so you can watch up to four shows at one time on multiple devices. ( $119 at Best Buy

If you're in the market for a good over-the-air tuner that also shares that sweet free television with almost any device on your network, today is a good day to buy. Best Buy has the HDHomerun Quatro on sale for just $119 , which is one of the lowest prices we've seen.

Why HDHomerun? It's got the easiest setup of any of the OTA streaming boxes we'e used. (So long as you don't need DVR or want to use it with Roku.) Just plug it in, fire up the app, and you're good to go. And the quatro has four tuners, so you can watch different channels on multiple devices — up to four, because quatro — at the same time. It's perfect if you have multiple televisions in your house, or know that you'll be watching on multiple mobile devices at the same time.

It works with web browsers. It works with Android. It works with iOS (via the Channels app). It works with Linux. And Windows 10. And Plex and network-attached storage.

And that $119 sale price is spot-on.

More: The best over-the-air streaming box for cord-cutters

See at Best Buy

When it comes to over-the-air antennas, it's easy to overthink things. It's 2018. We can stream video from our phones to the other side of the planet in near-real time. We can order things using our voices. We can watch television in 8K Ultra Super-Duper High-D Asterisk Definition.

Oh, what a time to be alive.

What you do not need, however, is an "HD antenna."

Here's the thing. An antenna is an antenna. Twas ever thus.

Sure, antennas have gotten better over the years. We can do remarkable things with antennas of such a small size that we're able to have computers in our pockets. (And, uh, we have for a long time.)

And televisions have gotten better, too. If you don't have one that's capable of high-definition playback — that is, HD — then it's seriously time to think about upgrading.

But, to repeat: What you don't need is an "HD antenna." There is no such thing as an HD antenna. That's a marketing term, and a bad one at that.

What does an antenna do? It receives a signal. The signal doesn't care what "kind" of antenna you have. If it's capable of receiving the signal, it's going to receive the signal. It's your TV tuner's job (and that's separate from the display itself) to sort out exactly what that signal is and what to do with it.

This whole HD thing is dependent on, first and foremost, the source of the signal in the first place. Today, in 2018, we generally see local broadcast stations top out at 1080i. (Yes, eventually — and with ATSC 3.0 —  we'll see higher resolutions, and that will require new tuners. But not necessarily new antennas. And in any case it's still a long ways off.)

It's not unusual to see broadcast channels spit out their signal in 720p or even 480i. But the point is your antenna doesn't care. Because there is no such thing as an "HD antenna."

What does matter downstream is your tuner and your TV. But even then, it's not really something you're going to have to worry about with modern hardware. If you have a TV with a built-in tuner or something like HDHomerun or Tablo or AirTV , it deals with all that for you, passing it through whatever streaming hardware you're using, be it Apple TV or Roku or whatever. And then your TV worries about what resolution to view it on.

But none of that cares whether you have an "HD antenna." Because there is no such thing.

No. More important when it comes to OTA antennas is where it's located (outdoors and higher is always better than indoors and lower), the positioning of the antenna (pointed towards the towers is best), and then the basic specs for things like gain. (And more gain isn't always better, but that's another thing for another time.)

What's not important? Whether it says "HD" on the box.

More: The best over-the-air antennas

Back in 2015, Microsoft promised that they'd be offering a way to record live TV on the Xbox One. For one reason or another, that feature never arrived . (Hint: It always comes down to lawyers.)

Will Microsoft ever launch DVR for Xbox?

It's looking pretty unlikely that we'll see some sort of native DVR support on the Xbox. Microsoft originally noted that it would indefinitely suspend plans to bring this feature as it shifted to a gaming-first strategy. That doesn't mean it will never happen, with Microsoft suggesting that overwhelming user feedback could possibly, maybe, eventually get them back on the ball . But you shouldn't be holding your breath if this is something you need in your life.

Don't let that stop you from doing exactly what you're here to do, though. There are a couple of viable options for recording live TV on your Xbox — erm, or sort of through your Xbox — as you would on your cable or satellite DVR box.

Recoding over-the-air with Tablo and Xbox

When it comes to recording OTA content, it doesn't really get any easier than Tablo . Plug in the box to your network, plug an external hard drive into the box (or buy the model that has 64GB built in), plug an antenna into the Tablo, and you're on your way.

You'll need the Tablo Xbox app , of course, and that's easily downloaded. And because this is one of those boxes that works across your network, you'll also be able to watch recorded TV across all over your other devices — not just your Xbox.

A basic two-tuner Tablo box runs $199.

• See at Amazon
• $100 at Best Buy

Recording TV over-the-air with HDHomeRun Connect

Looking for another (and less expensive) to record TV shows from standard over-the-air digital TV broadcasts? You'll need an HDHomeRun box . You'll need to decide which box is best for you, and how many tuners you'll need it to have. The basic two-tuner model runs about $100, but there are other options as well — and an extra $35 annual subscription for DVR service.

If you can stomach that investment, you're in for a treat. The HDHomeRun Connect allows you to pair your incoming digital TV signal with DVR functionality. It requires a separate hard drive — either the one in your PC or one connected directly to your network — to store everything. (And setup may be a bit of a thing.)

Once you've got DVR service set up, the HDHomeRun app for Xbox will make it easy to not only watch your shows, but also pause, rewind, record, and schedule future recordings. You can also hook the HDHomeRun Connect into Plex's DVR system, provided you have a Plex Pass subscription.

See at Amazon

Recording TV shows on Sling TV

Sling TV is a fantastic alternative route. While the primary service offers access to premium live TV for a nominal fee, you can get a Cloud DVR add-on that gets you 50 hours of recorded TV for just $5 extra per month.

With the Sling Xbox app, you'll be able to record and pause live TV, including individual airings and setting up full-season recording schedules.

There's one caveat: you can't use it on all of Sling's channels. ABC- and Disney-owned channels are unsupported, which unfortunately includes ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney JR, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN 3, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded and the SEC Network. You also can't use it for any on-demand-only channels.

Sign up for a free Sling trial

Your Xbox, your shows, your schedule

Hopefully by now you've figured out which route is right for you onward to Xbox DVR glory. Where Microsoft can't, you can take charge and record all the live TV you want.

A couple years ago AntennaWeb hit me up and asked if I wanted to look at its ClearStream 2MAX antenna . (I forget when and I forget why — probably after I did one of my early cord-cutting videos.) I do, however, remember taking them up on it for one very simple reason:

An antenna that's mounted along the roofline was going to do better than a cheap one stuck to the inside of my window, facing the wrong direction. So why not.

This brings me to the important part of any antenna review: Where you live and where you put the antenna will affect the real-world results more than anything else. And my results will vary from yours. (None of us lives in anechoic chamber, right?)

So the most important part of any antenna for me is going to be the installation process. How clear are the instructions, how easy is the mast to erect, and how easy can the antenna be mounted?

Oh, and how easy can you take it all down again should the need arise?

The good news is that the ClearStream 2MAX passed all of those questions with flying colors.

I decided to mount it just along my roofline, facing west. My problem VHF channels come from that direction, and an indoor antenna on an east-facing window just wasn't getting it done.

Installation was simple. A few bolts into the side of the house — along with a nice set of sealing pads to keep wood, water and metal separate — and the mast was up. It pivots, so you can adjust things however you want. And the antenna rotates on the mast just fine (don't forget to tighten the U-bolt later, though), so you can adjust things as needed.

I wasn't scientific at all about this. You can dial things in all you want — I just pointed the 2MAX in the right direction, attached 50 feet of coax (the connection has a decent rubber hood on it), ran it into my HDHomerun Connect Quatro , and hoped for the best.

The end result? Definitely good enough. I now have more channels — for free — through the antenna than I want to watch. HDHomerun is showing 37 channels, but realistically there are just six channels we care about —  our local ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS affiliates. Everything else is just a bonus, and not something we watch very often anyway. But the networks are important for live news and sports. And the two trouble spots — the CBS and Fox affiliates — are well within the 60-mile advertised range, and don't drop out anymore.

There's really nothing bad about this antenna. It was easy to install, and it'll be easy to take down. (Which I plan on doing if an when a hurricane eventually makes its way here.) It still looks like an antenna, and it's not exactly inconspicuous, but it's also not the most homely antenna you'll find.

All in all? Put it in the right location for you and it should serve you just fine.

The Good

• Doesn't break the bank.
• Won't blot out the sun.
• Stands up to a good Florida monsoon.
• Easy setup, with a pivoting mast.

The Bad

• Not conducive to hanging laundry.
• May attract aliens.
• Seriously, it's just a good antenna.

Streaming TV is great. But it can still leave holes in your entertainment scheme. That's where over-the-air antennas — and the free TV that comes with them — come in.

Plugging an antenna straight into a TV is fine. It works. One that one TV. And you pretty much can forget about recording anything with that setup.

What's better? Running an antenna into an OTA tuner box like Sling, AirTV — or Tablo. Each has its merits. Here we're going to focus on Tablo.

What is Tablo?

Tablo is an external tuner box with DVR capability that also takes the over-the-air broadcast and lets you watch it on all kinds of devices in your home. You plug in an antenna, hook it up to your network, and Wifi takes care of the rest.

There are a few different models at a few different price points. And it's a good bit more expensive than other OTA boxes out there. But the real selling feature of Tablo is that it's dirt simple for recording that free over-the air content.

So let's revise that previous statement: You plug in an antenna, and plug in a external hard drive. (More on that in a second.) Then hook it up to your network. And now you can easily watch and record free over-the-air TV throughout your home.

Which devices? Tablo works on Android phones and tablets, iPhone and iPad, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TVs, NVIDIA Shield TV, LG TVs with webOS — and there's a web interface, too, so you can watch through your computer.

Which Tablo should you get?

Here's where things get a little interesting. There currently are four models of Tablo. Three boxes, and one USB dongle thing that's made for a specific use case.

Note: Prices may vary, because Amazon likes to change things up.

• Tablo Dual Lite ($139): This is the basic model. It's got two tuners, so you can watch two shows on two devices at the same time. You'll need to provide your own external hard drive (up to 8TB) for recording shows. ( See at Amazon
• Tablo Dual 64GB ($179): This is basically the Dual Lite box, but with a 64GB hard drive built in. Here's the thing though: That's an $40 premium over the box in which you bring your own drive. You can add at least 1 terabyte of external storage for that money instead — if not more. (See at Amazon)
• Tablo 4-Tuner ($299): This is exactly what you think. The same Tablo experience — external hard drive required — with four tuners built in, so you can watch (and record) simultaneously on twice as many devices. ( See at Amazon)
• Tablo DVR Engine for NVIDIA Shield TV ($69): As the name implies, this one is a USB TV tanner that plugs in to an NVIDIA Shield TV. (Which is the only Android TV box we currently recommend, by the way.) You'll use it in conjunction with a app specifically for Shield TV. You'll still need an external hard drive, also plugged into the Shield TV. ( See at Amazon)

The Tablo guide subscription

In addition to the added expense of an external hard drive (if you don't already have one to use), Tablo also has a subscription fee for an expanded online guide. It's $4.99 a month, $49.99 a year, or $149.99 lifetime. (Add $1, $10 and $30 respectively if you're in Canada.)

You don't have to order the guide subscription. Tablo still works fine with without it. But you'll get a number of extra features, including 14 days of guide data (instead of 24 hours). You'll also get dedicated views for movies and sports, along with other filters. And you'll get additional information on series (as well as the ability to record by series. And you'll be able to use "Tablo Connect," which lets you stream live and recorded video from outside your home. (Think Plex.)

What's good about Tablo?

While it seems like there's a lot going on with Tablo, it's important to stress just how easy it is to use. To put it simply — it's the easiest thing product I've used for recording over-the-air TV. Yeah, it costs a little more than other OTA tuner boxes. But they're not as easy to use (not by a long shot) when it comes to recording that OTA content. Period.

The Tablo apps for mobile — as well as the online interface if you're streaming through a browser — are very well done. Setup is simple, and they're easy to use. And adding the guide subscription is quick and easy, too. (If you're going to use the DVR functionality, I'd go ahead and pony up for this.

In short, it's a well-done, simple product.

What's not so good about Tablo?

One thing we haven't touched on yet gets a little technical. Tablo has some additional hardware inside that "transcodes" the video stream from MPEG-2 to H.264. If you're not up on your video codecs (and we don't blame you at all if that isn't the sort of thing you think of on a regular basis), that means the video stream is converted from one format to another.

The idea behind this is twofold, in this case: Tablo transcodes the video so that it takes up less room on the hard drive when you're recording, and so that it requires less bandwidth when you're streaming the video to various devices in your home.

Transcoding in and of itself is not a bad thing. But the downsides to this? First is that there's a noticeable lag time when you change to a different and it starts the transcoding process. We're talking 10 or 15 seconds or so. If you're an impatient channel flipper (ahem), you'll absolutely notice this.

The other thing is that video quality can definitely suffer a bit, even though H.264 is supposed to help with that. It'll depend on your network and what devices you're streaming to — there can be a lot of variables here. Just be prepared, is all we're saying.

More: Routers 101 — what you need to know for streaming