Aereo Alternatives are better for mobile users in any case

1 July 2014 DVR Tablo

As a fan of the cut-off of the cord, I was saddened by the decision of the supreme court last week that effectively killed Aereo, the innovative streaming service for local television.

See, it's pretty easy to abandon cable if you subscribe to the likes of Hulu and Netflix, but these options do not give you local programming. And even if you connect an antenna to your TV to catch live broadcasts, Aereo let you DVR it (somehow) for later viewing - neat.

A limitation often overlooked in service was the location obligation. To display recorded shows, you had to be in your "area of origin". Even if your records are stored online and streaming of Netflix-style, you could not look at them when you were out of town.

If I was traveling outside Detroit and wanted to watch the Tigers match that I had recorded the day before, I couldn't. Based on the IP address of your mobile device, Aereo knew if you were "out of bounds." Slingbox a poor man, that it was not.

Now that Aereo is dead, "Alternative Aereo" are arise repeatedly in search engines. As it happens, however, a couple of these alternatives were better Aereo already - especially for mobile users interested to watch live and local emissions moving registration.

I am referring to Simple.TV 2 and Tablo, a pair of standalone DVR that would make your old VCR cry. These small boxes work like this: connect an antenna and a USB hard disk, and then use your computer, smartphone, Tablet, roku or similar box to schedule recordings and watch television.

The Simple.TV 2

You may have noticed I have said nothing on it makes their connection to the TV - and this is because you do not have. Instead, you store it out of the way, or at least whenever get you the best reception of the antenna. Any interaction takes place via your network home and Internet.

I note for the record, of the two, I prefer the Tablo, if it doesn't because it offers a Wi - Fi connectivity. The Simple.TV must be physically connected to your router, which could force you to run cable Ethernet somewhere that bothers.

In regards to pricing, here's where it gets... unfortunate. For both products, it is up to you to provide an antenna and a hard drive, even if the latter is actually a good thing: you are not limited to storage comes with the box. Instead, you get to connect the larger drive that you want to store shows as much as you want. However, it is an additional expense, but you can easily find a 1 TB external drive - enough for hundreds of hours of recordings - for around $70, if not less.

The Simple.TV itself is $199,99, while the Tablo starts at $219.99. Then, plan another $150 for a lifetime subscription to their service plans respective 'premium', without which you will be limited functionality. You can also opt for an annual service, for an amount of $ 50 to $ 60.

Aereo being only $8 every month, it'll be a long time before recover you your investment. But enjoy significantly more storage, and better yet, streaming capabilities that work everywhere where you go.

Photo credit: Simple.TV, Tablo

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