How Orby TV Is Targeting Cord-Cutters

To sign up for Orby TV, you’ll have to buy a receiver in store or online from Best Buy and Target or from Orby TV’s website. 

A basic receiver costs $100; a DVR receiver is $200. The DVR has two ATSC tuners for receiving over-the-air broadcasts, plus two tuners for receiving the satellite TV signals. That allows you to record one show from either source while watching another, or two shows at once if you’re not watching TV. The 500GB hard drive DVR can hold about 100 hours of HD programming.

The company advertises freedom from the add-on fees that aggravate many cable TV customers, but it does charge a $4-a-month DVR service fee if you have a programming package.

Adding Orby TV to other televisions in your home requires a $50 installation fee for each set, and you’ll need separate receivers. There’s no extra programming charge—the monthly packages support up to four televisions.

One unique aspect of Orby TV is that, since you own the receivers, you can play and record over-the-air TV shows, and access recorded satellite TV shows, even if you suspend or cancel the paid-TV programming. You just have to pay a $12-a-month DVR/program guide fee. If you do suspend service, you’ll see the live satellite channels in the channel guide, but they won’t be accessible until the programming is restarted.