In The News

The death of Windows Media Center and the five stages of HTPC grief

 

Denial
Running Windows 8.1 so I can use Windows Media Center is totally fine, even if it’s 2018. Windows Media Center is the best way to watch TV on my terms. All I have to do is pay for cable, and I can record all the shows I want with my HDHomeRun Prime. I don’t have to mess around with any of that streaming nonsense or multiple subscriptions to network-specific content. If I wanted to, I could even run the hack that lets me use Windows Media Center in Windows 10. Besides, all my saved recordings are already in .wtv format. Everything is just fine.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Prime adds android DRM support for live TV


The best over-the-air TV streaming box for cord-cutters

Cord-cutting is about saving money. That’s it. It’s not about making things easier. It’s about watching what you want to watch, and not getting gouged for it.

And that’s why over-the-air antennas are seeing newfound life. After decades of cable TV domination — and continuously rising prices — a simple OTA antenna pointed the right direction can fill the gaps streaming TV can leave behind.

And with our pick of the best over-the-air streaming box, you can take that free TV signal and pipe it to pretty much any device in your home.

Read more…


Easy Setup For Plex DVR and Live TV with HDHomerun on SHIELD

So why haven’t you set up Plex DVR and Live TV with HDHomerun on SHIELD TV? Relatives in town? Understandable. Trapped under something heavy? Unlikely, but sure. It’s too complicated? Nope, that’s no longer an excuse. Why? Because we’ve got this handy quick guide to help you set everything up!

If you already use Plex DVR and Live TV, Plex’s latest update allows you to store metadata on external storage, freeing up space for apps and content on your SHIELD. Check out our simple instructions below. For you new users, let’s get started!

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 ATSC 3.0: The future of free antenna TV is coming, eventually

Everything a cord cutter needs to know about free over-the-air 4K HDR broadcasts.

It’s been two years since we last wrote about ATSC 3.0, also known as “Next Gen TV,” and a lot has changed. But with the breakneck speed of change in other areas of TV — namely streaming video — the new version of free antenna TV is moving at a snail’s pace.

Read more…


Cordcutters: The best of the best …CordCutters Choice Awards

 

Let’s be perfectly honest — we see a ton of tech around here. From TVs to set-top boxes and dongles and phones and speakers and … You get the idea. A lot of really good stuff comes our way.

But some stands out more than others. And that cuts to the heart of what it is we do here. Our mission is to help you find the best of the best. The things you should actually spend your hard-earned money on.

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Cordcutters: You want this …HDHomerun review (2018)

 

Antennas are still kind of clunky, however, and they still involve running a cable into a tuner. But the tuners themselves are smarter — and they can share that free over-the-air TV with just about any connected devices.

A big player in this is SiliconDust, with its HDHomerun line of products. Here’s what you need to know

Read more…


Cord cutting: 18 months later, I don’t miss cable TV

 

It’s more than a little strange to try to explain cable TV to my kids. To them, images on a screen are just the result of whatever app you picked. Those of us of a certain age, however, can remember a time when televisions weren’t flat, when pictures weren’t color, and when antennas and tinfoil were constantly adjusted. To them, there’s no difference between network and cable channels, premium or otherwise. It’s all #content, and it’s all available, all the time.

It’s also easier than ever — easier, but not painless — to mix and match and, ultimately, save some cash in the process.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Connect Quatro: Ideal for a multiple TV household

The newest models of HDHomeRun Connect are remarkably useful for delivering free live TV all over your home.

It doesn’t matter if you want to watch live or recorded TV on your smartphone, large screen television, PC or tablet.

After testing the HDHomeRun Connect Quatro for more than a month, it’s easily the best TV tuner that SiliconDust has made to date. The new Quatro Connect is smaller in size, records live TV in MPEG4 format and runs at a barely lukewarm temperature without a fan. It’s a significant upgrade from the HDHomeRun Extend that I’ve been using for more than a year. The HDHomeRun Connect Quatro and Connect Duo came out late last year. SiliconDust provided me with a Connect Quatro to test out for this review.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Prime is getting twice as good in mid-2018

The current model of the HDHomeRun Prime accepts CableCARD and then broadcasts that signal over your local network. It’s the same as the regular HDHomeRun devices do for OTA TV, but it’s naturally not free television.

You get three tuners on the current model which means three different streams can be played or recorded at once on different devices on your network. You can stack them but it means paying for another Prime and another CableCARD. But later this year, the Prime is getting a redesign and six tuners. So it’s twice as good!

Read more…


HDHomeRun Connect Duo+ is an OTA DVR

Dave Zatz —  January 14, 2018

Beyond doubling down on cable television capabilities at CES, Silicon Dust also announced an upcoming cord cutter DVR. While the company has produced network tuners, basically forever, and been iterating on DVR software recently, the upcoming HDHomeRun Connect DUO+ is the first to merge both solutions within a single box, along with a hard drive. As such, the two-tuner Duo+ includes 250GB of storage, good for 60hrs of HD antenna recording. As opposed to TiVo or Channel Master, the Duo+ is more Tablo-like in that it’s a headless device that streams content through various platform apps, like Roku and Fire TV. Beyond claims of a mid-year release and reference to a DVR subscription fee (currently $35/yr), timing and pricing remain elusive.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Connect DUO+ adds a hard drive for an all-in-one cord-cutting solution

Jan 9, 2018 by

Today at CES, SiliconDust announced or perhaps re-announced, their six-tuner CableCARD device. It’s called the HDHomeRun Prime 6. It requires only one CableCARD, and it can be used to watch or record any combination of six channels at the same time. This device is specifically for cable TV customers. If you’re looking for an over-the-air solution you’ll want to get their Duo, Quattro, or Extend products.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Connect DUO+ adds a hard drive for an all-in-one cord-cutting solution

The HDHomeRun Connect is a great product for folks wanting some freedom from cable subscriptions while keeping their entire household entertained with TV. At CES 2018 the latest product in the lineup has been announced, the Connect DUO+. And the big story here is that it comes with a built-in DVR.

Read more…


SiliconDust/HDHomeRun CES 2018 interview – DRM, new products and more…


HDHomeRun is a slick and simple way to record TV on Windows

 

The makers of the HDHomeRun TV tuner are working on a DVR to go with it. And it’s pretty great.

In a recent post on the best DVRs for Windows users, a number of comments brought up the HDHomeRun option. As a happy HDHomeRun customer, somehow this product had completely escaped my attention.

Thanks to the Windows Central community and the good people at SiliconDust, we’re now taking a proper look at it. It’s simply known as the HDHomeRun DVR, and it’s probably the easiest DVR to use if you already have a HDHomeRun tuner.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Connect vs Prime vs Extend: Which digital tuner is best for you?

 

So you’re thinking of getting an HDHomeRun for your home. Which one should you buy?

There are three great products from SiliconDust that can help you make more of your home TV experience. Not just when it comes to ditching cable, but even embracing it and making it suit your own home setup rather than being limited to the box the cable company provides.

Depending on your situation, there might be a very straightforward answer to the question. Let’s look at each and explain why you might want to buy them.

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HDHomeRun is a must-have for cord-cutters!!!


Live TV with Plex.


HDHomeRun Extend, the best low cost OTA DVR with major flexibility

HDHomeRun: an OTA DVR that works with Plex

If you want to watch high definition OTA channels on your tablet, computer and TV, the HDHomeRun Extend is the way to go.

It’s one of the lowest cost options to transmit OTA channels across your home network. HDHomeRun also has more ways to stream broadcasts than ever before with Plex Media Server. That will likely be expanding in 2017.

Read more…


SiliconDust HDHomeRun CONNECT review

Reference HT Reviews

I recently reviewed the Vizio P65-C1 and liked it to the point that I kept it. There was one drawback for us: no integrated TV tuner. As a household that ditched cable years ago, we rely on an OTA tuner to watch live sports, presidential debates, and other programming. We had an old TiVo HD with a tuner laying around, but since we no longer paid for service it worked as a dumb box with no channel guide at all. Instead of buying another standard tuner to use with the Vizio, I decided to try out an HDHomeRun.

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SiliconDust HDHomeRun CONNECT review

Easily share TV across your network with this set-top box. Find out more in our SiliconDust HDHomeRun CONNECT review.

Streaming TV online is one way to watch television these days, if restricted to catch-up services of programmes posted for a short time after first airing. But live over-the-air broadcasting continues as the most popular and easiest way to watch TV in the UK. For traditional UHF broadcasting for reception by your roof aerial, that now means Freeview for terrestrial TV services, and its high-definition adjunct of Freeview HD.

Read more…


How to watch free OTA channels on your Android TV and phone

 

The key to the perfect cordcutting set-up

For a long time, I’ve been hunting for the perfect cordcutting set-up. The dream has been a set-top box that has streaming apps, like YouTube and Netflix, but also can access the free OTA broadcast channels. It’s not hard to get these things separately. All you need is a set-top box, like the  NVIDIA Shield TV, and an antenna. The (first world) problem is you have to switch inputs on your TV to switch between them.

Read more…


Update: Live Channels update is… well, live

HDHomeRun and Google team up to bring live channel DVR to Android TV [APK Download]

If you’ve been itching to DVR the live TV that you get via your OTA broadcast or cable card receiver on an Android TV box, then I’ve got some great news for you. Google has partnered with SiliconDust, creators of HDHomeRun, to bring you just that. If you have an Nvidia SHIELD or Nexus Player and a current-generation model of an HDHR, then you can get to recording and saving live TV.

Read more…


HDHomeRun Extend, the best low cost OTA DVR with major flexibility

HDHomeRun: an OTA DVR that works with Plex

If you want to watch high definition OTA channels on your tablet, computer and TV, the HDHomeRun Extend is the way to go.

It’s one of the lowest cost options to transmit OTA channels across your home network. HDHomeRun also has more ways to stream broadcasts than ever before with Plex Media Server. That will likely be expanding in 2017.

Read more…


CES 2017 – HDHomeRun DVR update!


Exciting new partnership with HomeBase. The media server hub.

Announced at CES 2017, HDHomeRun have partnered with a new startup called HomeBase who have unwrapped a new media storage server named the HomeBase Hub. It combines an Intel NUC with the popular Plex Media Server platform alongside support for OTA HD TV and integrated DVR from HDHomeRun and when combined with our very own HDHomeRun hardware tuner products, provides a great live TV viewing and recording experience.

Read more…


Plex Just Added a New DVR Feature

Plex

Today Plex announced that they have teamed up with HDHomeRun to bring a DVR option to Plex.

“We’ve put a lot of time into this release, and the result is a really elegant DVR, which takes advantage of all the power and intelligence of Plex,” said Scott Olechowski, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Plex. “Plex rounds out the cord cutting experience with a beautifully organized, easy-to-navigate interface that makes all your content available wherever you go. Now you can view TV in a living room or on your phone, using a streaming stick in a hotel, or even on a plane when you’re offline. The addition of DVR allows our customers to make Plex the heart of their media experience. No other solution comes close.”

This new update will allow you to turn any streaming media player that supports Plex like the Nvidia ShieldRokuFire TV, and more into a DVR. To make it work you will need a new HDHomeRun and a Plex server running.

So what can you expect?

Read more …


xboxonedvr3

Ever since its release, the HDHomeRun DVR app has been known as a great way to get the ultimate DVR experience, and to record and watch TV on your media devices from around your home.  Earlier this month, a Windows 10 Mobile version of the app was released, but now it appears that the app will soon head to the to the Xbox One.

The news on Xbox Support was first spread on a Kickstarter page for the app. The developers left the following message for users and fans of the app and noted how hard they have been working with Xbox and Microsoft:

Read more …


HDHomeRun rekindles the Xbox One’s DVR dream

xboxonedvr

Still want some kind of DVR functionality on the Xbox One? Silicon Dust’s DIY solution can help.

Silicon Dust, the maker of HDHomeRun digital TV tuners, now offers a solution for Xbox One fans still hoping for some kind of DVR functionality on their console.

The company announced on Tuesday, via its Kickstarter page, that the HDHomeRun DVR playback app is coming to the Xbox One with support for the console’s controller and the Xbox One Media Remote. In fact, by the time you read this it should already be available.

Microsoft announced in June that it had put on hold its plans to add an over-the-air DVR feature for the Xbox One. That left it up to third parties to come up with an equivalent—or better—DIY solution.

Read more …


HDHomeRun’s DVR app is ready for the Xbox One

xboxonedvr2

Microsoft gave up on its Xbox DVR feature but this may be an alternative.

Earlier this year Microsoft confirmed that development of a DVR feature for the Xbox One is “on hold,” so what’s next for fans of its OneBox dream? SiliconDust’s answer is an app that lets you watch TV streamed directly to the game system from a DVR (which could be a PC, Android TV box or NAS — but not the Xbox itself) running its software and connected to a TV tuner device. Doing that means you can completely control it via the gamepad or Xbox remote — and ditch the system’s HDMI passthrough/IR blaster combo that can’t do simple things like set up a new recording without switching remote.

Read more …


HDHomeRun is ready to make your Android TV a DVR

Nvidia_shield

With the latest update, the NVIDIA Shield can directly record and play back live TV from an attached tuner.

When SiliconDust announced its DIY DVR project a year ago, recording your shows meant building a PC dedicated to the task, or hooking up network storage. Now it’s testing out HDHomeRun Record for Android TV, which lets you create an entire DVR with just one of its TV tuner devices and an Android box. Unfortunately, suggested requirements of Android 6.0, Ethernet, and a USB 3.0 connection for external storage mean Amazon’s Fire TV and Google’s Nexus Player won’t work, but NVIDIA Shield Pro owners should be able to try it out immediately, thanks to their 500GB of built-in storage. You can watch the recorded shows directly on the device, or on any platform that runs its HDHomeRun View app.

Read more …


Nvidia Shield TV as a HDHomeRun DVR! Raspberry Pi as a Kodi Playback device!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


SiliconDust to Update products and expand Apps

dmzlogobanner

Today we met with SiliconDust, maker of the much-loved HDHomeRun TV tuners. They weren’t actually showing off new products, but they did discuss their product roadmap with us. While they were hesitant to give dates on anything, there was a lot of good news.

SiliconDust has spent the last year expanding its reach into Europe markets. They’ll continue that into 2015 as they will be launching a 2-tuner DVB-T2 device for over-the-air customers. For free satellite customers you’ll soon be able to purchase an 8-tuner DVB-S tuner. And on the cable front, users of DVB-C can expect an 8-tuner device later in the year.

Read more …


“Goodbye” to Windows Media Center

“Goodbye” to Windows Media Center

On July 29, 2015, Microsoft said hello to Windows 10, but ‘goodbye’ to Windows Media Center. They are sending their loyal WMC customers on a search for a replacement DVR solution for their Windows PCs. Silicondust, and our HDHomeRun brand is here to help.

We are sad to hear Microsoft’s choice to end the era of Windows Media Center;

Gabe Aul, of Microsoft’s Windows Insiders program, has confirmed on Twitter that Windows 10 will drop support for Windows Media Center due to a decline in usage.

Microsoft stopped actively developing WMC in 2009 but the company still shipped an unmodified version in an upgrade pack for Windows 8. The software giant is planning to kill off Media Center in Windows 10, meaning any PCs upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 will lose the feature.

Silicondust has a solution, the DVR Re-imagined;

Read more …


Ted Head talks to Brad Morton from Corsair about the HDHomeRun CONNECT

Ted from SiliconDust talks to Brad Morton, Sales Director from Corsair Solutions Australia, about the HDHomeRun CONNECT product and the upcoming HDHomeRun DVR solution.

Corsair

 


CES 2015 interview with SiliconDust CEO Theodore Head on the future of HDHomeRun


HDHomeRun, the DVR Kickstarter and more…

This week Ted, CEO from Silicon Dust pay Nate and Ned from KordKutters a visit, and we talk about the HD Homerun, the DVR Kickstarter and more. We also briefly mention Kodi 15, though we’ll get more in depth on that next week.


With the launch of our UK free-to-air HDHomeRun Connect Dual DVB-T/T2 HD Network Tuner read what missing remote has to say about it:

missingremote

missingremote2

We’ve been waiting for the SiliconDust HDHR4-2DT network attached DVB-T2 tuner for a couple years now. In the meantime, anyone leveraging the UK’s digital terrestrial television networks have had to make an unwelcome choice between pretending HD content doesn’t exist, or living without the inherent flexibility of an Ethernet enabled TV tuner. With the £100 device finally hitting shelves, it is time to see if the HDHR4-2DT can deliver the same stability and capability SiliconDust’s US customers have enjoyed for several years…..

To read the full review click here.


FYI Television and Silicondust USA Sign Exclusive Long-Term TV Metadata and Image Content Agreement

GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS (June 27, 2014) FYI Television, Inc. (FYI), the premier television listings metadata and rich media content provider, and Silicondust USA, a San Francisco Bay Area-based technology company and innovator of the HDHomeRun network attached TV tuners which streams live TV throughout homes on connected devices, have entered into an exclusive long-term agreement.

The long-term agreement between the companies will fuel Silicondust’s many connected devices and applications across existing and future tuner devices in the U.S. and North America, with opportunity for expansion worldwide.

“We are thrilled to provide Silicondust with first class television content. Together, we will connect consumers with the most relevant, well-rounded television information and rich media, allowing them to make more informed viewing choices,” said Chris Stark, Sr., President and CEO of FYI.

Consumers can now expect to experience more in-depth show information and will be able to make image-based viewing decisions from a comprehensive library of showcards, network logos and celebrity photos.

Among the Silicondust applications and connected devices to receive the new entertainment data and image content is HDHomeRun VIEW for Android; additionally, FYI data will appear on future tablet and phone apps working in conjunction with the latest HDHomeRun brand devices, including currently available products HDHR3-CC (Prime), HDHR4-2US (Dual) and HDTC2-2US (PLUS).

“We anticipate highly positive reviews in terms of user experience as we introduce the new data throughout our many applications and connected devices. Now we have the enriched metadata and rich media consumers have been asking for from a provider with a proven track record of accuracy.” said Ted Head, President and CEO of Silicondust USA.

In particular, consumers can expect to interact with the new content soon, first through HDHomeRun VIEW, an Android application developed by Silicondust that allows consumers to stream live TV from their smartphones and tablets. An update of HDHomeRun VIEW complete with the integration of FYI content is expected to be released in the Google Play store on or before July 1st.

QuickTV, Silicondust’s live TV viewing application for PCs, will also be receiving improvements such as showcards and guide data. QuickTV will be available for Windows, Linux and Mac later this summer.

For more information about this newly formed, long-term agreement please contact Silicondust USA or FYI Television.

About FYI Television:

FYI Television, Inc. (FYI), the TV metadata and entertainment image content expert, accumulates and distributes TV entertainment content and linear scheduling data from more than 12,000 TV networks daily, aggregating the information into customized formats for various television, mobile, Internet and print clients. Through the vast array of applications our data is filtered into, hundreds of millions of consumers engage with FYI’s content.

Clients in both domestic and international markets including AT&T, Microsoft, Ericsson, NBC Universal, Disney, SONY, Discovery, Gannett Newspapers, McClatchy, Triveni Digital, Star Media, Ygnition, BIM, Frontier Communications, Boxfish, GMR, Syncbak, Cannella, comScore, Rentrak, Digital First, Ole, National Geographic and ARRIS turn to FYI for its top-notch tailored TV metadata, data management, image content, media measurement and analytics.


Zenverge Powers SiliconDust Next Gen Gateways

Advanced HDHomeRun® Plus Boxes Incorporate ZN200 SoC, Allowing HDTV Viewing on All Connected Screens

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 20, 2014 — /PRNewswire/ — Zenverge, a leading developer of advanced content networking ICs, announced today that SiliconDust, innovators of next generation TV tuners, has incorporated Zenverge’s ZN200 system-on-a-chip (SoC) into their latest HDHomeRun TV tuner products, the HDTC and STV2 series. Available in ATSC/DVB-T DVB-T2, ISDB-T, QAM/DVB-C and CableCard versions, these advanced HDHomeRun products enable viewers worldwide to watch and record digital and HD television from any IP device within the home network, including computers, smart phones, tablets, game consoles, smart TVs and more. Features will also include remote stream access from mobile devices outside the home network.

The ZN200 is the world’s most advanced quad stream content networking SoC that enables features such as streaming live HD video to four smart devices over WiFi and downloading DVR content to these devices at up to four times faster than real-time.

SiliconDust’s innovative HDHomeRun network design connects TV tuners to the home router allowing access anywhere in the home.

“We are pleased to add the latest SiliconDust products to our ever-growing list of media gateways around the world, enabling our vision of advanced content networking and convergence in the home,” said Zenverge’s EVP of Worldwide Sales and Business Development, Raghu Rao.

SiliconDust CEO Theodore Head commented, “Our New Transcode line of HDHomeRun tuner products implements the DLNA DMS Tuner Profile with industry-leading content networking technology from Zenverge, so that now anyone worldwide can have live TV access on any screen in the home.”

The HDTC-2US devices are shipping now in the US and include two new models for North America, including the HDHomeRun brands. New devices including DVB-T, DVB-T2, and DVB-C Unencrypted Support are planned for Europe, UK, South East Asia, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia under the HDHomeRun brand name. Additionally we will see ISDB-T devices introduced in the South American markets in the future.

About Zenverge (www.zenverge.com) Zenverge is a fabless semiconductor company devoted to accelerating consumer access to next generation digital content and services. The company is a leading developer of Content Networking ICs built around the patented TransAll™ technology, a core requirement for next generation video services gateways. The company is based in Santa Clara, California.


HDHomeRun PRIME is the first CableCARD tuner to deliver live TV to DLNA Devices

Read more on Engadget’s web-site and the main PR here.

Our favorite shows, anywhere, that’s all we really want. Of course that is asking too much but we’ll be closer to the dream now that Silicondust has announced its three tuner HDHomeRun Prime CableCARD is a certified DLNA Digital Media Server (DMS). While the options this opens are seemingly limitless, one specific use case is watching premium cable on a PS3. CableCARD tuners aren’t exactly known for their ease of setup, but once you do get this working with your cable company and on your network, it’ll show up like any other DLNA source to your PS3. From there you can browse the list of channels and watch any you happen to subscribe to.

The PS3 isn’t the only DLNA Digital Media Player (DMP) or Digital Media Renderer (DMR) that works with a DLNA DMS, and plays MPEG2 video. However, at this point it’s the only one we know of that also supports DTCP-IP, which is the DRM required to play premium content. A representative of Silicondust told us he’s confident more compatible devices are on the way, while even more devices will support the unprotected content. Keep an eye out for an official list of compatible hardware on its site some time after this update starts rolling out later this month. Finally, yes, you will be able to use your DLNA Digital Media Controller (DMC) to record content to your other Digital Media Servers — is that enough acronyms for you? If this interests you, then stay tuned for CES where Silicondust plans to announce phase 2, which is where we think things could really get interesting.


Elgato releases HDHomeRun for the MAC

Read more on Elgato’s web-site here.

Other reviews:

MacWorld

CNET

TUAW

A low-cost DVR for news

SilconDust’s HDHomeRun combined with Elgato’s EyeTV results in an HD news recorder and logger.

With HD here, finding a way to record programming from broadcast (both cable and antenna) has posed a problem.

Some cable companies and satellite providers either charge a significant amount or refuse to rent their HD PVR systems. Even when these PVRs are rented to broadcasters, often they are proprietary or just simply not the easiest to make compatible with our editing systems and servers.

The following is a solution I have found that worked incredibly well and provided extremely high-quality video. It uses consumer gear to stream HD across an IT network and records to commonly found Mac machines in the broadcast environment. With Final Cut Pro becoming so common place in the news environment and easily exported to servers, I found recording to a Mac G5 the easiest way to go.

The system consists of a SiliconDust HDHomeRun placed in a terminal room rack and fed an antenna input and a cable input. Elgato’s EyeTV software is loaded on a Mac. The Elgato software reaches across the network to the HDHomeRun and scans channels (both ATSC from antenna and Clear QAM from cable). Using TVGuide’s On-Line programming schedule, it recognized all possible recordable channels and loads their guide on the Elgato guide for recording. This allows a simple “click the box” to record onetime or on every showing. A manual record function is also possible.

When the recording activates, the Mac actually receives the streaming video over the network and records it.

Confidence monitoring is displayed if desired, and the software is intuitive enough that all programs to be recorded or already recorded are easy to see in the software GUI. Once recorded, the Elgato EyeTV software allows for semi-accurate (to the second, not frame) editing. This allows the file to remain native to the Elgato software and fast to render for Final Cut. The video can then be quickly “flipped” to your native editing format, cleaned up to the frame, and posted into your server quickly.

The typical one-hour Elgato-native file is about 5Mb per hour of HD video, and the quality of the video is nothing short of incredible. I found both the HDHomeRun hardware and EyeTV software to be rock-solid with no missed recordings during testing or actual use. The software allows for auto-purging (based on a pre-determinded number of days or shows recorded), and auto-compress to a tight archive format (like MP4, Quciktime or DivX) is possible from within the Elgato EyeTV software.

On a Mac G5 (setup as Final Cut Editor), there were ample resources to allow perfect recording of two channels simultaneously. Because the HDHomeRun has two tuners, you can record one off-air and one off-cable channel at the same time without killing machine resources. The result is great video with no lip-sync errors.

Link to the story.

Daniel Slentz is VP of technology & broadcast operations for KERA-TV/FM.