Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: (06/07/15 - 5 Stars ---- Still) Some exciting things appeared on my DVR when I updated it yesterday. It now has 20+ streaming channels that include Vevo Hits, Vevo Nashville, Free Speech TV, RT, RT Documentary, BBC News, ABC News, Sky News, France 24, plus a handful of religious channels, food channels, and random HSN type channels. This is pretty huge! The channels come up in HD and supplement the interface nicely. They look just like other channels in the TV guide so you can simply channel up/channel down to scan through them without much lag or buffering between them. It says on their website that they plan on adding more channels in the coming months. I have a couple of gripes though. 1) I had to create an account to view the channels on ChannelMaster's website, which took about ten minutes since it took a while to load. 2) There's no pause/fast-forward/skip functions on the stream. I think this is a very fresh approach to handling streaming content and I don't have to pay for these extra features, so regardless of whether or not I like these new channels, it seems like a great value add. I love news channels and international channels so for me this is great! You can also selectively delete these channels if you don't like them (so I deleted all the "Food" channels because frankly I don't need anything else tempting my appetite on a daily basis). The interface seems to move zippier now and the YouTube app seems a little less clunky with the latest update (but still not an "amazing" experience). For the rest of my review, scroll down. Update: (11/25/14 - 5 Stars). The manufacturers of this product are clearly working on making this box as much as a Tivo-killer as possible with the resources they have. Keep in mind there are still some limitations, you don't pay for a TV guide function like Tivo, so some of the free info isn't always perfect. For major shows though, it's always been accurate (every sporting event, every primetime show, etc), I haven't run into an issue yet. They added two apps since my last review; YouTube and Pandora. Both are slow and clunky, but completely passable in usage. My Blu-ray player handles both apps with a little more grace and shorter loading times, so that will be my preferred streaming box for now. But if you don't have a streaming box/smart blu-ray player, it's a nice feature. Regardless, the streaming services shouldn't be the selling point. You're buying this because you would like a DVR, but don't need cable or a cable bill. The main interface is snappier than it's ever been. Setting recordings is just as easy as Comcast's DVR, and now that I can isolate "New" shows and not perpetually record repeats, I'm very happy with it. The interface has slight improvements from my original review, but I can honestly say it's one of the most elegant DVR's out there. It's transparent and no-frills. Unlike Comcast (Motorola/Scientific Atlanta set-tops) ugly blue grid with pixilated fonts, the Channel Master has high-def fonts and a very logical layout. All in all, this device has earned its 5th star with all the updates they've released. This company listens to customer feedback and has been addressing each issue systematically since the product was released. I commend their development and QA staff as they seem to be tackling the right issues in the right order. I've very glad I've purchased this product. Original Review (8/25/14 - 4 Stars): I decided four years ago to drop cable because both of the giants in my neighborhood (UVerse and Comcast) scared me off hard with their adjustable packages. I'm used to having to sacrifice some entertainment for it, but at $50+ a month for cable tv that I barely watch, I've been surviving on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Instant just fine. But first run OTA shows and sports have always been a problem. I used Simple.tv for a year, but it's slow (interface is crappy on almost all devices) and has too many caveats to make it practical (it slightly missed the mark everywhere with quality, reliability, subscription fees, slow tech support, etc.). And I refuse to pay Tivo $15 a month for a glorified TV guide subscription. This seems to be the best DVR I can possibly get for what I needed. Just ask yourself some questions. Who should buy this? Cable cutters who can live without Bravo, MTV, or your politically-charged, angry, biased news channel. If you watch sports on NBC, FOX, CBS. And tend to watch shows on those networks, this is likely for you. MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY GET THOSE CHANNELS WHERE YOU LIVE. The best way to test is by plugging in an antenna to your HDTV and doing a channel scan. I get every alphabet soup channel (ABC, NBC, etc) perfectly in my area with the Terk FDTV1A antenna (previously, I had the MoHu leaf, and did not get as many channels). I live in the SF Bay area, so I know I had good reception, my last apartment was in the bottom floor of a GA suburb so I understandably got cruddy reception. Know-how required? Unlike Tivo or Simple.TV, this doesn't require technical experience to install. You literally plug in the HDMI to your TV, plug in a hard-drive, plug in the antenna, and turn on the device. There's a really simple setup process (basically type in your zip code to download the tv guide and scan channels) and it works just like my old comcast cable box (only without ugly and awful). It doesn't have distracting images or nonsense setting it up. The only thing "technical" I had to know was the password to my wifi network. To my surprise (and delight) there was a software update when I turned it on, I had to manually figure this out by going to Settings -> Technical Info -> Software update. What do you need? Antenna - I have the Terk FDTV1A antenna. I've bought multiple expensive antennas over the years and this was by far the best working. It's up to you though... Bunny ears work at my neighbor's unit just fine. Hard Drive - I originally used a USB 2.0 hard-drive on this unit, but I did notice it would show digital distortion (or static) from time to time while recording... which I found very annoying as I'd miss the punchline to a joke or miss the actual hit on a baseball game. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND USE A USB 3.0 HARD-DRIVE. After changing to 3.0 1 TB from Western Digital, no more glitches! TV - HD TV... I have a 55" 1080P and most channels look just as good as my Blu-Ray disks. Internet connection - If you want the "Detailed Channel Guide" like you have on your TWC/Comcast box, you need internet. My unit came with the WiFi adaptor, but if you don't have one, an ethernet cable to your router works just fine (I've tried both). Without the internet, the TV guide seems to only go for a day or two and isn't always accurate (for instance, I can never tell if an episode is a repeat w/o internet because instead of the plot description, it will just display the TV show). I highly recommend the WiFi adaptor if your TV isn't ethernet cable's length from your router. What about the internet apps? I used the Vudu app to rent some episodes of cable shows that I missed (Shotime Shows specifically that I miss). Seems to work pretty well (though the interface was slightly sluggish). What's the quality? The unit is smaller than I believed it would be. Feels very solid and worth the price tag. The images on the screen were never laggy or distorted (after using a good hard-drive). The 1080P clearly delivers. The Channel Guide is accurate and allows me to record series, specific games, etc. The interface looks really nice and it's really simple (no confusing settings). Rewinding/FFW, recording multiple shows at once, organizing recordings works perfectly. Everytime. What's the downside? High upfront cost - (Unit + Hard-drive + Good Antenna + Optional WiFi Piece). The $250 unit can easily cost you $350 or more... Still saves you in the long run (think $50 a month for the basic cable package... in 5 months, it's free). Since I'm a nerd, I already had the antenna and hard-drives. But even if I didn't, I'd spend that money again if it means never having to deal with a Comcast rep again. Internet Apps - (really just "App") Just Vudu for now... Which is good enough the handful of cable shows I'm willing to pay a-la-carte for; but for Netflix, Amazon, etc... I have to switch over to my other inputs. Not so smart recording preferences - THIS IS THE BIGGEST DRAWBACK FOR ME AND IS THE ONLY REASON I'M TAKING OFF A STAR. I can select "Record every episode" of my favorite show, or "Record just this episode"... So basically, I'm forced to record every episode of Modern Family on Channel 7, when I really only want new episodes and not re-runs. And since they play syndicated episodes on the same channel, I get a few entries a day (just wasting space on the hard-drive). So once a new episode does premiere, I have to sort through a bunch of re-runs to get to that episode. I feel like the meta-data should be there to only record new episodes, or only record episodes that come on at a certain time. I feel like this really missed the mark as I've never encountered this with any other DVR ever. The remote - It's ugly and feels cheap... But it was compatible w/my TV, so I'm not too upset. All the functions are there. Am I happy with my purchase? You betcha! I can record sports, first run shows, watch the news live, and I don't have to pay for a Comcast or Hulu subscription? That's a pretty good deal. The quality is wonderful, and my friends don't even realize that I don't have cable when they come over to watch the game. I've had this for four months and I couldn't be happier with it. Two months from now, it'll have paid for itself. Plus I can record two shows at once! No more sacrificing Agents of Shield for Survivor (a dreadful choice I had to make while using the inferior Simple.TV DVR). If the new software updates come out (which I'm optimistic about) to address my recording preferences issues, I'll be made-in-the-shade. There's some decent reviews for the product on YouTube you might want to check out as well. If you're upset w/Comcast/ATT/TWC/etc., check out the OTA channels available in your area. You'd be surprised at how many channels you might get. I even get Huffington Post Live and France 24 news (I'd never watch them, but it's cool that they're there). No subscription fees, unlike the competition, made the choice easy.