Thanks for nothing, Supreme Court — there’s no other simple or cheap way to watch network television stations on a mobile phone or tablet now that the highest court in the land ruled Aereo infringed copyright law.
The genius of Aereo was that it allowed viewers to watch live or recorded TV from major over-the-air networks such as ABC and Fox, with minimal fuss or cost ($8 a month). Viewers could watch their favorite shows on computers, iPads or smart phones wherever they went.
A few other options do exist. The problem is, they require sometimes sizable upfront costs, a fair amount of tech know-how — and a bit of patience to set up.
One of the most promising bets is a device from a new company called Simple.TV. Attach a small box to your home-network router, add a digital over-the-air antenna ($20 and up) and install the software on your PC. That will allow you to watch over-the-air shows such as NCIS or The Good Wife on your computer, laptop or other mobile devices.
Users can even add a separate drive ($60 and up for 500 gigabytes) to store shows for later use and have DVR-type functions.
Cost: $250 for the device and a one-year subscription. Or $350 for a box and lifetime subscription. That’s just slightly more than what a three-year subscription to Aereo would have cost.
A more elegant, but expensive, solution is the TiVo Roamio.
TiVo, the king of DVR technology, sells an “entry” level Roamio that has a built-in HDTV over-the-air tuner and it can store hours of video. The Roamio ($170) is easy to set up and use, but to send TV programs to your phone or iPad, you’ll also have to buy the TiVo Stream ($125) accessory.
If $300 worth of hardware isn’t enough, viewers would also have to buy a “lifetime” subscription that costs a whopping $500 (there is a $15 monthly subscription option as well).
Another possibility is a Slingbox such as the Slingbox Pro-HD ($170). The older model, unlike newer ones, has a built-in over-the-air antenna. Connect it to your router by Ethernet cable (sorry, no WiFi), download the software and away you go, though some customers say the device can be a bit finicky at times and video signals aren’t true HD quality. Nor do users get DVR functionality.
If you just want to watch and record over-the-air HDTV programs at home, a device such as Channel Master DVR+ ($300) might suit you. The small, flat box requires an HD antenna and – don’t be fooled by the name – a separate USB-enabled hard drive to store recorded shows. It has to be connected to your network via cable so you’ll need a WiFi adapter ($40) if your TV is far from your router.
Other products meant to stream live or recorded over-the-air shows around the house, or even around the world, include Tablo and HomeRun.
Just keep in mind that these options might require some tech skills to set up or limited in other ways. Some devices don’t have WiFi built in or enable streaming outside the home, for example. Others lack comprehensive television guides that make setting up recordings as easy as more costly technologies such as TiVo.
The Holy Grail of cheap streaming television might arrive soon for a mainstream audience, but it’s not here yet.