It has been 4 years since the Fire TV Recast was released and it appears as though the over-the-air (OTA) DVR companion to Fire TV devices is being discontinued. The Fire TV Recast has been a consistent staple of the Fire TV lineup ever since its release in 2018, but now, for the first time, Amazon is no longer selling the cheaper of the two Fire TV Recast models and both versions are no longer available across several other 3rd-party retailers.
Searching Amazon for the Fire TV Recast no longer brings up a listing for the model equipped with two tuners and a 500 GB hard drive. Only the Fire TV Recast with four tuners and 1 TB of storage is currently available for purchase. Clicking to see the buy options on the cheaper 500 GB model’s review page is now redirecting to the more expensive model. Best Buy, on the other hand, does still have the 500 GB model for sale, however, it is now marked as a clearance item and the 1 TB model is no longer available at Best Buy. Both B&H (500 GB & 1 TB) and New Egg (500 GB & 1 TB) list both Fire TV Recast models as unavailable, which is further evidence that the Fire TV Recast is being phased out.
I did some checking, and sure enough, Best Buy used to list the larger Fire TV Recast as an item, but discontinued carrying it somewhere along the way. It's not simply sold out at Best Buy, it's no longer an item, though it one was.
Now, this could mean that a major refresh is in order, but there have been no rumors to that effect. So, it may be that AFTV News is correct that Amazon will be discontinuing the Fire TV Recast.
I have to say that of the three OTA DVRs that I've tried in the past couple of years, it's the one I like the least, though I do see its appeal. It does a good job of integrating live OTA TV listings into the Fire TV interface. However, mine has always been buggy -- it lost connectivity a lot; a lot -- and is the one I use the least. If you've seen my recent posts about DVR, I've mentioned Tablo and Air TV, but rarely ever mention Fire TV Recast. There's a reason. And if AFTV News is correct, my experience may not be the only bad one.
It's a shame that the setup never worked like I would have liked. The integration of Live TV into the overall interface worked well. I just wish the device had been reliable. Now it looks like it won't be in anyone's Streaming Life soon.
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