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  1. Hi everyone, thanks for the help I've received here so far. I recently bought a Channel Master based on advice from here and it is what I wanted, exactly plus more! Lots of things to tinker with on that equipment.

    HOWEVER... They have used toxic Chinese plastics to manufacture it. I am extremely allergic to it, and actually no one should be exposed to these plastics. You can smell it - sweet, acrid and toxic smelling. I have allergic physical reactions, and my husband cannot stand the smell.

    Strange request: I may have to go with Tablo (even though I don't want to) and can anyone please give theirs a whiff 😆 and let me know if it has that acrid plastic smell?

    I don't know why companies use this plastic. My brand new Roku has no odor.

    And if anyone knows another techie solution for me to dvr from OTA if Channel Master can't help with proper replacement? (i have a support call into them)
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  2. Member
    Join Date
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    The vast majority of electronics have a plastic enclosure, which means outgassing is a possibility, especially when they are in use. This often stops after a while, but there is a possibility that some odor will persist.

    Be aware that Tablos require a subscription to their guide service for more than a 24-hour program guide. If the free guide is based on EPG data, it may not even provide 24 hours of guide data for all channels.

    I have a Silicondust HDHomerun networkable tuner product for cable TV. All of the HDHomerun products, including the OTA models, also have plastic enclosures, but I don't recall smelling a strong odor initially and don't smell one now after 4 years of use. Full disclosure: I have respiratory allergies, and some strong odors set them off, but plastics are not generally a problem.

    All of Silicondust's current HDHomerun products need a computer for set-up, scheduling recordings, and storing recordings. There is compatible PVR software available for them that can utilize EPG data from OTA channels, but the guide has to be updated every day, maybe even twice a day because the EPG data individual channels may not even have 24-hours worth of program information. I use NextPVR for scheduling recordings and have a subscription to Schedules Direct for guide data at a cost of about $25/year. IMO it is worth the cost. I have a PCI-e OTA TV tuner card installed in one PC, so I have experience with using PVR software for OTA TV tuners too.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  3. Thank you for the reply. I looked at the SD HR but didn't see one that was for OTA. Plus my computer setup isn't such that this would work for me now.

    Well I'm kinda at the end of my ropes here. It shouldn't be this hard. Things were easier with lesser technology! Could tape shows no problem with inexpensive equips. I love tech so much but sometimes some things are such a project! All I want to do is record some exercise shows and some games for hubby without paying subs for guides, without putting my health at risk with chemicals and without a major project undertaking.
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  4. Member
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    Originally Posted by Gankaku View Post
    Thank you for the reply. I looked at the SD HR but didn't see one that was for OTA. Plus my computer setup isn't such that this would work for me now.
    The SiliconDust HDHomeRun CONNECT DUO and HDHomerun CONNECT QUATRO have ATSC tuners. ATSC is the OTA DTV system used in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Whether they could work for your setup is another question entirely.

    Originally Posted by Gankaku View Post
    Well I'm kinda at the end of my ropes here. It shouldn't be this hard. Things were easier with lesser technology! Could tape shows no problem with inexpensive equips. I love tech so much but sometimes some things are such a project! All I want to do is record some exercise shows and some games for hubby without paying subs for guides, without putting my health at risk with chemicals and without a major project undertaking.
    I have reservations about it, but Amazon has a new OTA DVR, their Fire TV Recast. It transcodes recordings on-the-fly to H.264 at a lower resolution for streaming to FireTV products and is very much a part of Amazon's FireTV/Alexa ecosystem. If FireTV/Alexa is not your thing, then it is probably not a great choice, and transcoding would likely remove closed captions, which is a downside if anyone in your home uses them. Plus, it is a new product and needs de-bugging and maybe a few more features. I have no idea whether it would be an option for someone with chemical sensitivities.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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