Wow, that makes it even less valuable than I realized. Thanks to digital broadcasting, I get a perfectly clear picture with a $10 rabbit ear antenna from a thrift store.
How does Aereo charge $8/month for this?
How does Aereo charge $8/month for this?
The DVR functionality is nice. Sure, assuming your antenna can pick up the OTA channels you want, you can build your own DVR but if you want it to be better than an old VHS recorder (simply setting channel start & stop days/times), you need a good source of TV schedule data which last I heard you have to pay for (not $8/month, but something). Aereo can be set to record only new episodes and has options to start a recording early and/or stop it late (especially helpful on Sundays when sports seem to regularly delay CBS programming).
I also pay $8/month for Hulu Plus and mostly watch that. I use Aereo (through a Roku3) to watch shows on channels that aren't on Hulu (CGS, PBS) plus Saturday Night Live (because sometimes Hulu's version is edited).
$8/month for Aereo a bit much for how I use it but it's still cheaper than Comcast's DVR set-top box. One could watch a lot more through Aereo, in the Boston area there ~25 channels available, but they're pretty crappy. https://aereo.com/channels
(more info: I'm in Greenville, SC, which is part of a TV market that covers a large, mountainous area and has 4 cities in it. The stations actually based in my city (NBC, Fox) come in very clear; the stations based farthest from my city (ABC) don't come in at all.)
http://www.channelmasterstore.com/Digital_HDTV_Outdoor_TV_An...
It does sort of demand a permanent installation. I guess similar designs are good too, I think the Channelmaster is actually better, but it is discontinued.
Many people are unable to receive digital broadcasts over the air. This is a solution for them. The features on top of that are just gravy.