Amazon Fire Recast TV 2 Tuners 500 GB $129, 4 tuners 1 TB $179

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 20, 2021

2,669 Posts

Joined Jun 2011

Jun 20, 2021

2,669 Posts

Hell yeah, been waiting for this a couple months. Great deal, was about to post it too. This is the lowest it goes according to CCC.

Last edited by ElectronicsAddict June 20, 2021 at 03:35 PM.

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heygreene

Jun 21, 2021

1,093 Posts

Joined Nov 2016

Jun 21, 2021

heygreene

Jun 21, 2021

1,093 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank heygreene

I've had my 2 tuner recast since Black Friday and when it works I absolutely love it. However that's probably 50% of the time. You never know when it's going to "act up" and be completely unresponsive (while everything else on the mesh network is fine). Always seems to happen at the worst times. It does it less than it used to... it was a problem daily, but now it seems to happen about once or twice per week. Seems the more I use the device the better it does. I've also started rebooting it once a week which has helped. I would not buy this again though just based off of it not being reliable.

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1

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Joined Jun 2011

Jun 21, 2021

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Quote from heygreene

:

I've had my 2 tuner recast since Black Friday and when it works I absolutely love it. However that's probably 50% of the time. You never know when it's going to "act up" and be completely unresponsive (while everything else on the mesh network is fine). Always seems to happen at the worst times. It does it less than it used to... it was a problem daily, but now it seems to happen about once or twice per week. Seems the more I use the device the better it does. I've also started rebooting it once a week which has helped. I would not buy this again though just based off of it not being reliable.

When you say everything else on the mesh works ok, does this mean you're running it over WiFi? Wondering if you've tried running an ethernet cable between it and your network switch/router? I've noticed devices connecting over WiFi are generally less reliable and sometimes only one or two devices will experience an issue requiring a power cycle of an AP everyone once in a while.

1

heygreene

Jun 21, 2021

1,093 Posts

Joined Nov 2016

Jun 21, 2021

heygreene

Jun 21, 2021

1,093 Posts

Quote from ElectronicsAddict

:

When you say everything else on the mesh works ok, does this mean you're running it over WiFi? Wondering if you've tried running an ethernet cable between it and your network switch/router? I've noticed devices connecting over WiFi are generally less reliable and sometimes only one or two devices will experience an issue requiring a power cycle of an AP everyone once in a while.

It actually performed worse when it was hard wired directly to my router, oddly enough. It is now in the attic streaming wirelessly but has full bars and a great signal. An example of a couple of problems is the preview of a channel works great when you are in the fire stick interface, but when you select the channel it streams for two or three seconds and then freezes. Other times it will just not connect at all (guide will see what's on but no channels will load). Normally a reboot fixes it, but it's a hassle to have to do all the time.

5

Munkynutss

Jun 21, 2021

1,044 Posts

Joined Feb 2009

Jun 21, 2021

Munkynutss

Jun 21, 2021

1,044 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Munkynutss

Quote from heygreene

:

I've had my 2 tuner recast since Black Friday and when it works I absolutely love it. However that's probably 50% of the time. You never know when it's going to "act up" and be completely unresponsive (while everything else on the mesh network is fine). Always seems to happen at the worst times. It does it less than it used to... it was a problem daily, but now it seems to happen about once or twice per week. Seems the more I use the device the better it does. I've also started rebooting it once a week which has helped. I would not buy this again though just based off of it not being reliable.

Yeah, unreliable as hell. Needs to be hard reset or re-paired with the firestick every few days. I'm on my 4th, 3 previous were replaced by Amazon for being buggy and defective.

When it works, it's amazing. But like this ^ guy said, that's about 1/2 the time, at best.

Just be aware of what you're in for.

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1

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Joined Jun 2011

Jun 21, 2021

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Quote from heygreene

:

It actually performed worse when it was hard wired directly to my router, oddly enough. It is now in the attic streaming wirelessly but has full bars and a great signal. An example of a couple of problems is the preview of a channel works great when you are in the fire stick interface, but when you select the channel it streams for two or three seconds and then freezes. Other times it will just not connect at all (guide will see what's on but no channels will load). Normally a reboot fixes it, but it's a hassle to have to do all the time.

Interesting, I hope that's not normal or they probably wouldn't be selling them for long. I'll keep this in mind though, have you tried getting a replacement through warranty to see if you just have a defective unit? Did it ever function correctly or been like this since day 1 or 3?

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Joined Jun 2011

Jun 21, 2021

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Quote from Munkynutss

:

Yeah, unreliable as hell. Needs to be hard reset or re-paired with the firestick every few days. I'm on my 4th, 3 previous were replaced by Amazon for being buggy and defective.

When it works, it's amazing. But like this ^ guy said, that's about 1/2 the time, at best.

Just be aware of what you're in for.

Thanks for the feedback, it's good to hear in case I start experiencing the same thing, can send it back. How long ago did you purchase it and is the 4th one ok now? Sometimes hardware revisions can make a difference if they had a problematic production run...

Munkynutss

Jun 21, 2021

1,044 Posts

Joined Feb 2009

Jun 21, 2021

Munkynutss

Jun 21, 2021

1,044 Posts

Quote from ElectronicsAddict

:

Thanks for the feedback, it's good to hear in case I start experiencing the same thing, can send it back. How long ago did you purchase it and is the 4th one ok now? Sometimes hardware revisions can make a difference if they had a problematic production run...

I'm on the 4th and not the 5th because from here on out I'll probably only get refurbs. In short, no, it's still buggy. It seems Amazon has no interest in fixing the bugs in these things, it's about finding a workaround now. I got it back in November. Swapped the first one when it become unresponsive (wouldn't take commands like "erase") within 30 days. Next one was the same. Swapped both the Recast and the 4k Firestick this time, trying to eliminate variables. 29 days later I'm swapping the Recast again. 30 days later I'm on number 4 and having to reset nightly to see recorded shows.

Now every 2-3 days I'm unpairing the recast and re-pairing it to see recorded shows and get deletes to take from that day. Knowing what I know now, I'd look for another option.

Sadly, the last software update made the thing even more unstable, and the new UI is god awful.

If I was smarter I'd have gotten a refund while I was able, but I'll suffer through until I find something better and more reliable, since I'm not the kind to throw away good money already spent.

4

1

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Joined Jun 2011

Jun 21, 2021

ElectronicsAddict

Jun 21, 2021

2,669 Posts

Quote from Munkynutss

:

I'm on the 4th and not the 5th because from here on out I'll probably only get refurbs. In short, no, it's still buggy. It seems Amazon has no interest in fixing the bugs in these things, it's about finding a workaround now. I got it back in November. Swapped the first one when it become unresponsive (wouldn't take commands like "erase") within 30 days. Next one was the same. Swapped both the Recast and the 4k Firestick this time, trying to eliminate variables. 29 days later I'm swapping the Recast again. 30 days later I'm on number 4 and having to reset nightly to see recorded shows.

Now every 2-3 days I'm unpairing the recast and re-pairing it to see recorded shows and get deletes to take from that day. Knowing what I know now, I'd look for another option.

Sadly, the last software update made the thing even more unstable, and the new UI is god awful.

If I was smarter I'd have gotten a refund while I was able, but I'll suffer through until I find something better and more reliable, since I'm not the kind to throw away good money already spent.

Thanks, really appreciate the feedback. If I have any of these issues within the return window I will surely get a refund and try something like Tablo or AirTV Anywhere.

1

new33

Jun 21, 2021

8,818 Posts

Joined Jun 2007

Jun 21, 2021

new33

Jun 21, 2021

8,818 Posts

Might as well hook these up to a smartplug for easy reboot. If you use the app to control recordings will have to be done a few times a week. Not a big deal 30 seconds. I don't have any other real issues but mine is hardwired to mesh.

tanman99

Pro

Jun 21, 2021

4,206 Posts

Joined Mar 2009

Jun 21, 2021

tanman99

Pro

Jun 21, 2021

4,206 Posts

Reading the reviews it seems like Amazon has abandoned this hardware. Seems like people still have issues and it's been out for several years with no new revisions.

2

new33

Jun 21, 2021

8,818 Posts

Joined Jun 2007

Jun 21, 2021

new33

Jun 21, 2021

8,818 Posts

Quote from tanman99

:

Reading the reviews it seems like Amazon has abandoned this hardware. Seems like people still have issues and it's been out for several years with no new revisions.

Yes but if you are looking for OTA DVR situation you really should try it out first. I stayed away for along time then finally bought last year and for the most part it's doing just fine ( hardwired not wireless , limited time on wireless and noticed some freezing right next to Router/mesh running great hardwired )

1

PeteyTheStriker

Pro

Jun 21, 2021

12,195 Posts

Joined Nov 2010

Jun 21, 2021

PeteyTheStriker

Pro

Jun 21, 2021

12,195 Posts

Quote from Munkynutss

:

I'm on the 4th and not the 5th because from here on out I'll probably only get refurbs. In short, no, it's still buggy. It seems Amazon has no interest in fixing the bugs in these things, it's about finding a workaround now. I got it back in November. Swapped the first one when it become unresponsive (wouldn't take commands like "erase") within 30 days. Next one was the same. Swapped both the Recast and the 4k Firestick this time, trying to eliminate variables. 29 days later I'm swapping the Recast again. 30 days later I'm on number 4 and having to reset nightly to see recorded shows.

Now every 2-3 days I'm unpairing the recast and re-pairing it to see recorded shows and get deletes to take from that day. Knowing what I know now, I'd look for another option.

Sadly, the last software update made the thing even more unstable, and the new UI is god awful.

If I was smarter I'd have gotten a refund while I was able, but I'll suffer through until I find something better and more reliable, since I'm not the kind to throw away good money already spent.

Quote from ElectronicsAddict

:

Thanks, really appreciate the feedback. If I have any of these issues within the return window I will surely get a refund and try something like Tablo or AirTV Anywhere.

SD Flex 4k Tuner, 4K OTA antenna, and a Plex subscription and you have something stable that will work anywhere in the world every time as long as you got a internet connection. It will also work with just about any device, if your in a 3.0 area you need devices that support 4k OTA 3.0 sound decoding so need brand new devices for that but thats a minor concern.

For recording and DVR functionality a NAS with plenty of storage is recommended but there are other cheaper and easier options. Link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnuqfica-iQ

You guys are welcome, this work 99.9% of the time as long as you got good internet.

3

1

Munkynutss

Jun 21, 2021

1,044 Posts

Joined Feb 2009

Jun 21, 2021

Munkynutss

Jun 21, 2021

1,044 Posts

Quote from PeteyTheStriker

:

SD Flex 4k Tuner, 4K OTA antenna, and a Plex subscription and you have something stable that will work anywhere in the world every time as long as you got a internet connection. It will also work with just about any device, if your in a 3.0 area you need devices that support 4k OTA 3.0 sound decoding so need brand new devices for that but thats a minor concern.

For recording and DVR functionality a NAS with plenty of storage is recommended but there are other cheaper and easier options. Link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnuqfica-iQ

You guys are welcome, this work 99.9% of the time as long as you got good internet.

I should point out I'm not the most tech-savvy fella out there. I (and I'd assume others considering this) wanted something plug-&-play after cutting the cord from DirecTV, Dish, AT&T, or whomever. While I read about 10 different versions of what you already posted, it was a little beyond me then, and probably still now.

Thank you for the info. Maybe it will be of help to others.

heygreene

Jun 21, 2021

1,093 Posts

Joined Nov 2016

Jun 21, 2021

heygreene

Jun 21, 2021

1,093 Posts

Quote from ElectronicsAddict

:

Interesting, I hope that's not normal or they probably wouldn't be selling them for long. I'll keep this in mind though, have you tried getting a replacement through warranty to see if you just have a defective unit? Did it ever function correctly or been like this since day 1 or 3?

I forgot to mention the first one was way worse and functioned like the other guy here says... constantly unpairing. Amazon swapped it and while the newer one is better it's still very unreliable and flaky. But I'm outside of warranty swap now so nothing I can do. Phone app is lame and has no guide, this thing could be SO great but it appears it's abandoned.

Amazon Fire Recast TV 2 Tuners 500 GB $129, 4 tuners 1 TB $179 - Prime Member Exclusive

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