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- Ub3rg33k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Why? Can't be bothered to plug this into your router?
Besides, HD over wireless isn't necessarily the best idea unless you're running N. If this thing initiates 1 on 1 connections, you're not going to be able to have more than about 2-3 clients connect before there's a problem. Multicasting helps, but it still would steal most of your bandwidth. You'd have to set up a whole separate wireless network just to stream content. - 1021, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Product page... slow, may sell out in a few secs given the great description for this digg story.
http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/products/hdhomerun
Sellers from the above page,
http://www.9thtee.com/hdhomerun.htm
http://www.pcalchemy.com/hdhomerun.html
http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/hdhomerun.cfm
http://www.cyberestore.com/hdhomerun-networked-hdtv-digital-dual-tv-tuner-p-508.html - cfaslave, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The HDHome Run is an excellent device. I haven't tried it with Linux, but I use it with Snapstream's BeyondTV and love it. For anyone interested, I did a review on the HDHomeRun QAM tuner last month here:
http://brentevans.blogspot.com/2007/03/silicondust-hdhomerun-qam-tuner-review.html - puithove, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7It's time for something like this with CableCard so I can have MythTV and be able to DVR HBO & other premium HD channels without using the cable co's AWFUL DVR boxes. Sure, I could go with Tivo Series 3 but it's expensive as hell and I'd rather have something I could customize like MythTV.
Of course that'll never happen because of the DRM lovers... - fjc8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7That's a bad idea because wifi (in its current standardized implementations) cannot reliably sustain a full HD MPEG2 stream in some conditions where it works fine otherwise. The theoretical maximum for a single ATSC 8VSB channel is 19.39mbit/sec, or 36% of 54mbit 802.11g bandwidth. With most HD streams I have seen using around 10-15MBit, two streams would probably cause problems.
But I have gigabit ethernet, so I don't waste my time with wireless unless I'm actually using a portable device. - subliminalurge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@mississippiman
First of all, they DID make something that works. It works great. Secondly, it DOES work with Media Center. I currently use it with Vista Media Center, and lots of people run it on XP Media Center.
As for "hours of searching forums to program the thing"? Shut the ***** up until you actually have a clue what you're talking about. It took me all of five minutes to set the thing up under Vista, and the majority of that was waiting for Vista to download guide data. - 1021, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6yes, you can stick with media center AND use this device since it has a driver that will enable it to run in MCE.
- embeem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Exactly right; there is no recording functionality built into the HDHomerun, it's just a capture source, similar to installing a PCI card. The difference here is that if I want to watch/record on a different machine, I just tell it to stream to a different IP address instead of pulling apart the computer and swapping cards.
- kkuphal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5They work with cable, but only for HD stations. They will not pick up any stations that your cable provider encrypts. It isn't hacking any more than an HDTV tuner in your TV is hacking your cable. It is simply limited to that "in the clear" stations that your cable company provides. Any other HD stations would require the cable company box instead of this device to tune.
- subliminalurge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yes, but for just a few bucks more this box gets you dual tuners, and the ability to share those tuners between all of the PCs on your network. The only thing you give up is the ability to tune NTSC, but at least in my area that's no big deal since anything I could get NTSC is also available ATSC. It works great with QAM, but I switched back to OTA since my cable company is still broadcasting several of the local stations in analog. OTA gives me a better picture than the cable companies high def anyway.
- DonCarcharo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I had DirecTV for a few years with their HD package and the $800 HD Tivo. I found that most of what I watched was actually the local HD content (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.). Above that it was premium content, specifically HBO. So now that HBO has canceled virtually all of their good shows (Rome, Sopranos, Deadwood, etc.) I gave OTA HDTV a shot.
It's not bad. I get about 15-20 channels using an archaic UHV antenna mounted on my roof. Of those many are educational (and at least a few are in Spanish) but I still get my basic network stuff and the picture quality is gorgeous. What I found most frustrating about the experience is the complete lack of information on all this. OTA HD seems much more prevalent in Europe and the equipment needed much less expensive. Here in the US there actually seems to be a lot of disinformation on the topic. Almost like a concerted effort not to get people to switch. - Scyth3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Is it just me, or does it look like a cracked out SNES box?
Either way, I'm looking at buying it now :) - zizzybaloobah, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I wonder if we'll able to use our government's oh-so-generous $30 converter box coupons for this?
- g808, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If anyone cares I posted a guide for setting up the HDHomeRun with Beyond TV:
http://projecthtpc.wordpress.com/2007/03/26/how-to-record-unencypted-hd-cable-with-beyond-tv-hdhomerun/ - DonCarcharo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4After HBO's Rome ended this past season I decided to cancel DirecTV altogether. I just don't enjoy TV enough to be spending $100 per month on it. Especially since most of what I watch is on basic cable. So I rerouted all the cable wire in my house up to an old UHF antenna on my roof and I've now got free over the air HD TV and I've been pretty happy since. Except for one thing - Tivo. I *really* miss my Tivo. The problem is an HD Tivo is pretty much the same price as a full year's subscription to DirecTV. So I decided to build myself a really cheap media center PC.
Operating system-wise I looked at Linux (MythTV, Freevo) and Vista (Microsoft Media Center). Since I own an unused copy of Windows Vista I've opted to try Vista first. Besides, it should be the easiest setup. Hardware-wise was far more difficult since I'm on a budget. My goal was $200 or under. If I can't do this inexpensively then what's the point? So I purchased the following:
$89 - MSI Hermes PC: It's tiny though a bit anemic. It's a P4 2ghz system with built in DVI. With parts laying around I was able to upgrade the stock 40gb hard drive to a 200gb 7200 RPM w/ 8mb cache. I also went from 256mb ram to 1gb. The biggest downside? This system features no AGP slot (just regular PCI) so I am concerned about video performance. If I can get it to drive 720p I'll be happy. Details on the built in graphics are sketchy at best.
$79 - WinTV HVR-1600 MCE PCI TV Tuner Card. This should have me covered with ATSC (OTA) HDTV. It comes with a remore and works with Vista Media Center out of the box. Seems to be good reviews all around.
All the parts haven't arrived just yet so I don't know how well it will all work but I'm hopeful. OTA HD is actually pretty nice. The picture quality is beautiful on my 42" LCDTV and, heck, it's free. - mre5765, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It's early in the morning, I'm a bit slow, and caffeine is off my diet: How does one actually record with this thing since there's no hard drives on it? I gather MythTV is used for doing the recording.
Is the idea the Silicon Dust box streams a packet stream over the home's IP network
to yet another box running Linux/MythTV, and Myth then records?
I agree, the sub $200 for dual HDTV tuners is very interested compared to what Tivo wants
for its HD DVR. - embeem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3As far as networking is concerned; it's not a server you connect to. Instead, you provide it with an IP address and UDP port number and it starts streaming back the transport stream. You're allowed to specify one IP/Port per tuner.
Control is done as TCP to the HDHomeRun, MPEG data is sent back UDP from the HDHomeRun.
The PVR software automates everything, so the above is somewhat irrelevant.
(Oh -- it is possible to have it stream to a broadcast address if you want to watch the same stream on several computers) - paiguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah. Its pretty much a script. You copy the files into your script directory, and then you can run the script file from the file browser. To make things easier, you can also add a shortcut to your scripts menu, or even add it to the main menu.
Install Instructions
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Xbox_Frontend#Install_XBMC
Download Page
http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmcmythtv/
The script actually uses samba, but will connect up with your MythTV backend to get all the recordings listings and info. Hope that helps.
There might be a little hacking required. I believe I had to change the mythprotocol version, and also manually re-enter in my username and password in MySQL. There was some bug causing the second issue. - fjc8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The HDHomeRun works better in Linux with MyhTV than in Windows, at least for MediaPortal, Windows Media Center, and GB-PVR, mainly because MythTV talks to the HDHomeRun directly. In Windows, the HDHomeRun is a generic BDA device with an actual driver, which only supports ATSC natively. Therefore, you need to generate a "mapping" file that tells the device what cable channels to map to ATSC channels (if you are using it to receive clear QAM channels).
MythTV supports the HDHomeRun natively, meaning no extra driver is needed. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Wireless high definition?
Yeah, keep that dream alive. Maybe over N-spec wireless hardware, but B or G, it's nearly impossible. Wireless isn't reliable enough for high bandwidth streams to begin with, at least in the consumer space. - OnAnyMouse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3How do things like this work with cable reception? Do they take the cable hookup from the wall? What about encryption? Is there a beak down of which systems will /won't work and will/won't string you up by your toenails with the claim that you are using an unauthorized device or HACKING (OH NO) their broadcast? Assuming we have a legal, purchased subscription, most of the premium channels are still encrypted, aren't they? Will Myth TV decrypt them reliability and without incurring the wrath of MPAA / RIAA /local cable / satellite company / WOIAYDAA*
*We Own It And You Don't Association of America - aakins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I use the HDHomeRun on Media Portal. It isn't perfect, still needs some tweaking, but for $169 for the DUAL OTA tuners, and existing home computer, it is a great deal.
- kkuphal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The HDHomeRun works great with Linux, especially with MythTV as a dual HD tuner. It does not work with normal cable stations but will pick up the HD being broadcast by your cable company just like the HD tuner in a TV would.
- Ub3rg33k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Um, no. There are a boat load of channels being broadcast OTA. When you start counting the subcarrier channels in most areas, its not unusual to get 30-40 channels OTA alone.
Also, it clearly states that its a QAM tuner, hence cable TV. Most cable systems don't bother to encrypt anything other than the premium HD content channels (like HBO HD), so you're good to go there. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3They're not even doing cablecard for PCs like they promised. Microsoft was working with DirecTV last year (starting last March) to come up with Vista MCE and cablecard boxen, but they got stalled somehow.
I don't know what it's going to take to get legal decryption cards. We're ready to pay, they're just not ready to sell. - mre5765, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/10/30/engadget-hd-review-hdhomerun/ has a much clearer description of what this thing does.
- paiguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Digital cable/OTA sends the stream in MPEG2 format. So, all your PVR box is really doing is saving that stream to a file. That's the great thing about this box, is that you don't need a beefy computer to function as a PVR. I have an old PC 866Mhz, 256Mb, that is serving as my MythTV backend, and has no problem recording multiple HD streams from the HDHomerun. You should get all the basic cable channels unencrypted. However, anything past that should be (or will be when they get to it) encrypted. I have a PVR-150 analog tuner card to record all the South Parks and Colbert Reports, since comedy central is encrypted.
You can lowball on the recording side, but you'll need more juice for playback. I currently use XBMC on two Xboxes serving as Media Center extenders. There's a good script you can use in XBMC to serve as a frontend for MythTV. However, the original Xbox isn't powerful enough to handle HD playback (1080i). You can get around that by setting up transcode jobs to lower the quality to manageable bitrates. Sounds like the 360 is working well as a frontend for some people, but I believe you'll have to record/transcode WMV for that to work.
Eventually, I plan to build a HTPC when the new micro-ATX motherboards with the GeForce 7050's come out, which has MPEG2 decoding, and 1080p playback features. - yammosk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Is there a way to use this with output from a cablebox? Say for recording channels that are encrypted?
- DonCarcharo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3As far as OTA HDTV goes the signal is not encrypted (as far as I know) but you will need an ATSC tuner in order to receive the HD signal. Now I think all post 2006 TVs that include tuners must have ATSC by law so if you've got a new TV it might already have the proper tuner. If not eBay is probably your best bet search ATSC or OTA HD. Now a few important points:
1. You need a good antenna. The pitch is usually towards high quality indoor "HD" antennas. However I'm using a fairly old, standard outdoor UHF antenna. It works about 100x better than my $40 indoor HDTV antenna and I don't have to reposition it in order to pick up channels.
2. Reception is based on distance. If you're too far away from the broadcast you just won't get it. UHF degrades gracefully (gets fuzzy) ATSC cuts in and out kind of like satellite during a bad storm.
Check here for an interactive tower map of your area: http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/programming/broadcast.php
Of course I've only been doing this since Saturday so I'm no expert but that should help a little. - air0day, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I've been thinking about upgrading my built-dvr (which uses regular analog tuners) to a new hd system. I don't know much about HD, maybe some fellow diggers could help me out.
When it says "over the air" does that actually mean like an antenna? Or is there a way to get cable-delivered HDTV without the encryption? I assume "over the air" doesn't literally mean antenna, so what kind of questions should I ask comcast to make sure that I can set up my own pvr with HD content for the network stations (abc, nbc, etc)? I've heard some stuff about signals reverting to analog without the obnoxious cable boxes.
Last time I talked to comcast, I was asking them about putting an HD tuner card in my PC. They told me that I needed the cable box for decrypting the signal, for ALL channels, but that an HD tuner card would work with Vista only. I assume this is some kind of DRM crapola - will this device get around that?
Is there a decent resource out there for a complete newbie on this stuff? - aaaaaakash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i am getting ready to cut my cable off as well, and am really hoping i can work something out like you are trying to do (especially on a low budget). I would love to hear how this works out for you.
- tool_army, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Do HD tuners such as this one and the WinTV tuners allow you to turn on/off auto recording or whatever you call it where it's auto-recording what you watch so that you can rewind? I'm not a fan of that, and it's a lot of work for the disk and uses up space and such. I want an HD tuner for my PC that has a hardware encoder that is capable of viewing the HD shows without recording or recording the content when scheduled. Do these boxes do this?
- javipas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I guess this does not work in Europe. I haven't been able to see the page, it's down at the moment, so no specs seen.
- linuxps2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2so great a deal i actually just ordered one :) ... cant wait to get it working with my MythTV box (my cheap little $25 tuner card isn't cutting it)
- kkuphal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It doesn't transcode anything. It is a networked dual HD tuner. It gives you the HD stream as it is sent from your provider. Think of it exactly like dual HD PCI tuners except in an external box.
- cfaslave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'll second the recommendation on the guide g808 wrote on how to set up the HDHR with BeyondTV
http://projecthtpc.wordpress.com/2007/03/26/how-to-record-unencypted-hd-cable-with-beyond-tv-hdhomerun/
It's very complete with pictures and great explainations. - subliminalurge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"I assume "over the air" doesn't literally mean antenna,"
You assume incorrectly. That's exactly what it means. - embeem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yes, provided that there are unencrypted digital channels on the cable system.
- Ub3rg33k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Since the website seems to be slammed right now, can anyone tell me if it just rebroadcasts the original TS or does it do a transcode before sending it out over the network? This looks like a good start though for making a networked HTPC system. Anyone that has one care to comment on performance when multiple clients are connected?
- ldog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Any chance you could give more info on how you're using XBMC for the front-end?
I've got a mtyhtv backend with two PVR-150s but no idea how to watch content other than through samba for either of my two modded xboxes.
Is it just a windows MCE thing? - embeem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It can operate in a few different modes; it can stream the entire transport stream of the channel, it can filter by PID, or it can send back a specific program. If you set the program number, it will automatically figure out the PIDs to filter, such that you only get back the program you requested. You can also manually set the PID filters.
There is no re-encoding/transcoding of the original video, however if you set it by program number it will do a cleanup pass on the PAT, removing references to programs which have been filtered out. - Peteostro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Some one is working on support built into XBMC
Check out the progress here:
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25099 - bobpaul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2No you can't. It doesn't output to a TV, it streams over the network. The two coax are both inputs.
- mre5765, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@embeem
Thanks.
And curse those who dugg you down. Sheesh. - cfaslave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yes, the HDHR works with the following PVR apps:
MythTV
BeyondTV
MCE (Vista and XP)
SageTV
GBPVR
Media Portal - paiguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, totally. The HD streams take up to about 20Mbps. That should work easily for 100Mbps, and I can record two HD shows at the same time with no issue. You want to be sure that you're running at full duplex, and use switches instead of hubs to ensure throughput.
I can even stream the standard definition shows via 802.11b/g, but it won't do for the HD content. - CColtManM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm still looking for a cheap device to play HD XviD videos on my HDTV.
- EnderTheThird, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1IIRC, if you use a non-DVR solution to watch the HDTV stream (such as Xine or Kaffeine), it will just give you the live stream and it won't record data to disk. This of course gets rid of your ability to rewind and use other time-shifting functions, but if you're low on disk space it might be just what you need. On the other hand, MythTV doesn't keep recordings from live TV for very long before deleting them anyway.
- Heilige, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1ROFL, it's not software it's hardware, geez you didn't even read it
- subliminalurge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@aaaaaakash
You probably have to have some sort of service from them, but not necessarily a cable TV package. The only service I purchase from my cable co. is Internet, but that gets the line to my house. With no TV subscription I can plug the line into my TV and do a channel scan and find several dozen unencrypted digital stations, including all of the "on demand" stuff that people in town are currently watching.
However, with my cable co. at least, if you have no services whatsoever from them they will physically disconnect the cable at the pole in front of your house. -
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