Channels & viewing

[MDeBonis]

I just purchased a Roku Ulta streaming device and I need help viewing over the air channels. According to what I’ve read online, I should be able to view OTA channels through the Sling app, however they are not showing up when I run Sling on my Roku device. I have an AirTV player and can view 42 OTA channels, but I want to avoid switching devices to view them. I don’t know if this means anything but my AirTV remote turns Roku on and off, but my Roku remote does not activate the AirTV player.  

I do not know if this is a hardware or software setup issue, any help with this is appreciated, thanks.

[DBDukes]

@MDeBonis 

The Air TV device you have is a Sling-centric streaming device. To use Air TV with other platforms -- Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android/Google TV -- you need one of the other Air TV devices.

The Air TV Mini is NOT the one that will work with other platforms. It's the current Sling (who owns Air TV) streaming device, and is NOT designed to work with other streaming platforms.

The Air TV 2 is an option. It has two tuners and DVR capability (add an external drive). It's $99. Connecting it to your network (via the Sling mobile app) lets you watch OTA channels on any Roku (or other) device running Sling TV app.

The Air TV Anywhere is the top of the line device. It's $199. Same as Air TV 2, but four tuners and includes a 1 TB drive for the DVR. That's the one I have. It works well.

[MDeBonis]

Thank you for the explanation. I wish this was clear before I purchased the Roku device, nothing I found on the web mentioned this. Now I need to decide if I will keep the Roku or go back to Dish as integration is very important to me. Do you know how well AirTV works with Roku in displaying OTA channels (both the guide and actual viewing)? Thx.

[DBDukes]

@MDeBonis 

Yeah, it works great. Your TV channels show up alongside the other content in Sling. It integrates within the guide, and on the front page of the app.

Do you have the Sling TV app? Sling TV has free content, in addition to the content you can get with subscription. Just launch the app. It'll suggest you subscribe or some such thing, but just tell it you want to watch free stuff. Then you can see the menus and the live guide. Here are screen shots of the Sling TV interface.

With Air TV, the OTA channels show up right in the menus/grids. The major channels are at the top, but they'll all be there.

It works well.

If you want the cable/satellite channels, you can subscribe to Sling TV (starts at $35/month). Since Sling TV is Dish Network's streaming service, you're probably used to the channels. I don't know about the interface, since I've never done satellite and haven't done cable in over a decade. But, you have a Roku and can use Sling TV free service just to see what it's like.

[MDeBonis · Accepted solution]

Yeah, I had sling a few years ago accessed through the AirTV player, liked it but our internet service was slower then so we kept on getting re-buffering, which was annoying. The integration of OTA Chanel’s in the guide was really nice, good to know it still works that way through the app on Roku.  Thanks for all of your help.

[DaveInAZ]

I have a Roku Ultra player w/HDMI to connect to my Onkyo receiver, 7.1 Dolby Atmos speaker system, and TV. I had the original AirTV player that stopped working. If I get a AirTV2 player that doesn't have HDMI, can I access the AirTV2 player through the Roku Sling channel and play antenna channels & recorded shows through the Roku Ultra HDMI connection?

So many of the OTA receivers, Tablo, AirTV, etc., use your home network. I want them to go through my receiver for the superior audio quality.

[DBDukes]

@DaveInAZ

Air TV uses the Sling app, and it works through your local network Don't confuse your local network with your Internet connection. Those are not the same thing.

My Air TV device is connected to my network via Ethernet, not wireless. However, you can use the wireless connectivity if you prefer. My Air TV device, with the TV antenna cable attached, is located near my network router and switch, so I use an Ethernet cable to connect it. That is always the preferred way. However, if your antenna cable is not near your router, you can connect Air TV via WiFi, but again, wired is preferred.

By the way, none of the Air TV devices have HDMI, except for the Air TV Mini, which is actually a streaming device. You would have to switch your TV input to the HDMI for the Air TV Mini to watch it. The better devices, the Air TV 2 and the Air TV Anywhere, use your network to distribute the content to your Sling apps (Roku, or whatever platform).

[DaveInAZ]

Thanks DBDUKES. Yes, I call it my home WiFi to not be confusing with Internet connection. Well, my original AirTV player, the white & blue player had HDMI. But it also had an external USB Tuner, and that's what stopped working last fall, Sling apparently stopped supporting that in the latest Sling app update.

I know a wired home WiFi is best, but I use wireless for everything as I have T-Mobile Home Internet, the best option for my rural property. So I have to have the T-Mobile router in a kitchen window facing the cell tower, away from all my home theater equipment in the living room. And I understand that players that use your home WiFi are best for families with multiple TVs, but I primarily use my 4K TV in my home theater setup.

I did try a Tablo OTA player after my AirTV1 player stopped working, but it required a paid subscription to its TV Guide to access the Tablo player through my Roku player. So once I setup an AirTV2 player to my Sling account I will be able to access it through Roku with no fees or any other hassle?

[DBDukes]

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

... So once I setup an AirTV2 player to my Sling account I will be able to access it through Roku with no fees or any other hassle?

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Yes. It will set it up similar to as you did Tablo, And the local channels will show up inside the Sling TV guide. It is a very smooth integration. It truly brings the local channels into Sling TV.

[edroksense]

I would like to buy Air Tv 2 by sling or other similar to this:

How to connect air tv to existing roku 3 player ( roku player is connected by wire to ethernet ) and roku player by hdmi to sony tv.

Purpose is to view local channels using antenna free live local channels. No subscription to sling.

Please give youtube video for better knowledge, thanks any way.