Amazon Debuts Fire TV Recast, a DVR to Watch, Record Live Over-the-Air TV

Amazon has announced Fire TV Recast, a new companion DVR that lets you easily watch, record, and replay free over-the-air TV programming on Fire TV, Echo Show, and on compatible Fire tablet, iOS, and Android devices.

Connect Fire TV Recast to a HDTV antenna (sold separately) for instant access to free over-the-air TV content available in your area, such as live shows, local news, sports, and more from channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, and The CW – all with no monthly fees.

“We are focused on making Fire TV an easy way to watch all the entertainment you love, whether it’s through streaming video services, cable and satellite providers, or even local broadcast stations,” said Marc Whitten, Vice President of Amazon Fire TV. “Now with Fire TV Recast, we’ve made it simpler to find, watch, and record live over-the-air TV at home and on your mobile devices.”

Place Fire TV Recast and a HDTV antenna anywhere in your home, and all of your compatible devices will automatically connect, giving you immediate access to local over-the-air TV programming. Available in two models, Fire TV Recast allows you to record up to four shows at once, and stream to any two compatible devices at a time.

Advanced wireless technology automatically optimizes the use of bandwidth on your local network, delivering the best HD picture quality possible—even when streaming across multiple devices in a congested Wi-Fi environment.

In addition, you can now take your over-the-air shows with you on-the-go. Use the all-new Fire TV companion app for Fire TV Recast to watch live and recorded content over Wi-Fi or when connected to a cellular network. Mobile streaming for Fire TV Recast is available on all compatible mobile devices with no extra monthly charges or subscription fees.

When connected to a Fire TV streaming media player or a Fire TV Edition TV, your favorite live, recorded, and streaming content is all in one place. You can use the ‘On Now’ row to view what’s currently airing, or the Channel Guide and ‘DVR’ tab to search for live shows, manage recordings, and view up to two weeks of programming. Plus, live TV listings from Prime Video Channels and PlayStation Vue are integrated directly into your ‘On Now’ row and Channel Guide—right alongside your local over-the-air content.

Even easier with Alexa

With Alexa on Fire TV or Echo Show, it’s easy to control Fire TV Recast with your voice and quickly get to the programs you want. Use your voice to change the channel, search for your favorite live TV shows, schedule, cancel, browse, delete recordings, and more – try “Alexa, open Channel Guide,” “Alexa, play ‘The Voice,’” “Alexa, show my recordings” or “Alexa, tune to NBC.” Plus, since the Alexa service is always getting smarter, Fire TV Recast is going to get even better over time.

“After extensively testing Fire TV Recast, I found it to be a great way to compliment my existing home entertainment setup,” said Patrick Moorhead, Principal Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “In addition to filling gaps in existing cable and streaming packages, I think customers are going to be excited by the simplicity, as well as the unique ability to stream everywhere, not just on your home TV.”

Getting started is simple

To set up Fire TV Recast you need a HDTV antenna and access to the Fire TV app on a compatible Fire tablet, iOS, or Android device. During setup, the Fire TV app helps you discover the place in your home with the best reception, and walks you through the channel scan process. Once Fire TV Recast is set up, you can watch, record, and replay live over-the-air TV on any Fire TV streaming media player, Fire TV Edition TV, Echo Show, or compatible Fire tablet, iOS or Android device.

Availability

Fire TV Recast is available for pre-order in the United States beginning September 20 and will begin shipping on November 14. It is available in two models: a 2–tuner model with 500GB of storage that allows you to record up to 2 shows at once and holds up to 75 hours of HD programming for $229.99, and a 4–tuner model with 1TB of storage that allows you to record up to 4 shows at once and holds up to 150 hours of HD programming for $279.99. Fire TV Recast does not require any additional monthly charges or subscription fees. Coming soon, you will be able to expand the built-in storage of your Fire TV Recast by connecting an external hard drive to the USB port on the back of the device.