HDHomeRun PRIME vs usb/pci tuner?

D

D3DAiM

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 30, 2006
Messages
413
Which is better, and why?

HDHR PRIME : I like the idea of having a standalone, always-on box, separate from my PC, that does all the tuning and broadcasting over my netowrk without having to muck with driver support, software, PC power issues, etc. This is for my father (I wont be home all the time to help him with issues) and HDHR PRIME seems effortless to get going..definite plus.
Hauppage/Ceton tuner cards : I like the idea of having an all-in-one HTPC that I could just grab-n-go.
 
Another pro to put in the HDHR corner is it will soon work with the PS3 : http://www.missingremote.com/news/2...dhomerun-dlna-livetv-digital-media-server-dms

Me, I prefer internal for the 'everything in a single box' reason.

If this is for your father you might wanna look at the PS3 + HDHR solution. You wouldn't have to run support for it either. Support could fall solely on Sony + SiliconDust. If you build him a HTPC, you're the only support.
 
Last edited:
Good points. For some reason, he's not convinced on HDHR yet, he thinks a Ceton/Hauppage is the only way to go.
 
The HDHR records to a HD. That brings up a couple questions.

1) Can one move recordings off of the HDHR to a different HD (onto a computer)?

2) Can the HDHR HD be replaced with a new one - perhaps a different size?

---

With a USB tuner these issues are non-issues.
 
GeorgeHR said:
1) Can one move recordings off of the HDHR to a different HD (onto a computer)?
Click to expand...

If the cable provider has flagged them as copy freely or it is OTA/QAM then yes. If not, no CableCard tuner, USB or PCIe, will allow that.

GeorgeHR said:
2) Can the HDHR HD be replaced with a new one - perhaps a different size?
Click to expand...

A new what? HDD? If so, same answer as above.

GeorgeHR said:
With a USB tuner these issues are non-issues.
Click to expand...

The same answers above apply to all CableCard tuners, whether USB or PCIe. For non CableCard tuners, you can do whatever you want with any recording (again, whether USB or PCIe).
 
So the HDHR has a HDD in it? And I can record with computers connected to the network? Didn't know that.

I can choose which one I record to, right?
 
D3DAiM said:
So the HDHR has a HDD in it?
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't. I'm not sure what he's talking about; that's why I had to ask. I assume he means replacing the HDD in the HTPC with a larger one. I don't know what he means by HDHR in a different size unless he means one with more tuners. If so, replacing one wouldn't break any recordings; flagged or not.
 
OK, right, that's what I thought.
My plan is to use a 128gb SSD for my boot drive and tuner/recorder buffer
Then a 2TB mechanical HDD for long term storage.

Any reason you'd opt for a Ceton/Hauppage internal tuner other than all-in-one? How is driver/software support?

Thanks!
 
I've had the Ceton and the HDHomerun Prime. IMO the HDHomerun Prime is better.

HDHomerun Prime tunes channels faster and is more reliable. I had the Ceton for about 6 months and usually atleast once a week I had to reboot my HTPC because the tuner(s) would become unresponsive.

Also with the HDHomerun Prime since its a network tuner is alot easier for other devices to access it. Ceton's network tuner has to be setup on the PC that that card is in. Then setup on each client device. At the moment if you're using Windows 8 the network tuners for Ceton won't work.

The HDHomerun Prime can work on multiple devices simultaneously regardless of OS.

Just the responsiveness of the WMC is better with the HDHomerun Prime. Everytime I brought my HTPC from sleep or a fresh boot. I had to wait between 2-5 minutes it to be respond.

Also the Ceton card ran very hot so thats extra heat that is not in your HTPC.
 
The idea of being able to take a HDHR and setting up your modem, router and tuner together wherever in your house is a benefit IMO. For example, you could set them all up to where the coaxial first enters the house (garage crawl space in my case). This would then enable you to forgo splitters; increasing reception/PQ. For someone with shitty coaxial wiring/reception - this is a huge plus.

However, if that isn't a concern you can do a similar thing with network bridging on the Ceton tuners. It will be connected to a PC, but you can then give access to the 4 tuners to any computer on your network. This works only on Windows 7 FYI, not Windows 8.

Ceton support is stellar IMO. I don't know if you're familiar with The Green Button or AVS forums; but the Ceton staff post on those places all the time about updates/supports/question/general HTPC chatter. Sometimes we just shoot the shit with them :D They are very open and involved in the community.

There's also the Ceton Companion App which allows you to control/manage your HTPC and recordings; regardless of whatever brand tuner you have. It works on Android, iOS and Windows phone. Windows RT sometime in the future supposedly. I own the Android version.

I don't have CableCard and actually have 2x Hauppage 2250s in my PC for QAM/ATSC/NTSC/FM Radio. Along with an AVERMedia Card. No problems with either brand. I guess because of just product features alone I would have to give it to Hauppage over AVERMedia. However both companies pale in comparison to Ceton IMO; just because of how damn involved they are in the community.

If I were building this for myself I would go for a HTPC with an internal card. I need a dedicated PC at each TV for things like gaming, Silverlight content, Flash content, free Hulu (not Hulu Plus), and no subscription fee (aside Netflix). Whenever you go PS3, Roku, Apple TV, Xbox 360 or even Media Center extenders, you lose one or more of these. I also want everything in one box. If I were doing this for someone else, I would go with something I don't have to support; so a HTPC would be out of the question. That's why I recommended the HDHR+PS3 option for you.

qbanb8582 said:
Then setup on each client device.
Click to expand...

You would have to set up the tuners in WMC on each individual HTPC on your network whether you're using a Ceton or a HDHR. Also HDHR does support more operating systems, but for any copy protected content; WMC is the only option regardless of tuners. WMC is the only HTPC software that has CableLabs certified DRM for Copy Protected content.
 
Last edited:
I have had the Ceton PCIe tuner for about a year and a half. Really the only problem I had was a problem with Comcast equipment, that Ceton fixed quickly for me with Beta firmware and drivers. It has not lost tuners, and with the late firmware the channel changing speed is pretty close to the cable box. I think the picture quality is better than the cable box, probably because the HTPC has a better video system. Very occasionally you will get message saying a recording couldnt be made due to restrictions by the owner of the content. Almost always it still recorded just fine anyway. ;)
 
I'm not even on a CableCard setup and I've gotten the same restrictions warning for an analogue recording (which then recorded fine also). I think that's more of a Media Center bug that a Ceton or even cable provider issue. Or at least in my case it was (only possible explanation).
 
Another vote for Ceton InfiniTV4 - 2+ years of use and very happy. There were some FW issues early on but (for me) I have no issues now. Biggest annoyance was probably the tuning adapter once in a blue moon but I rarely even notice it these days. Channel changes definately much faster now than earlier FWs.
 
D3DAiM said:
This is for my father (I wont be home all the time to help him with issues) and HDHR PRIME seems effortless to get going
Click to expand...

all this htpc stuff is so NOT effortless to get going. so when someone says what you just said, I think you don't know what you're getting into.

this is a complicated topic that few dare wade into, and every step of the way you'll be inventing new solutions. my advice is plan and budget knowing there is a high chance of this not making it into regular use. buy cheap, versatile, and re-sell-able
 
bAMtan2 said:
all this htpc stuff is so NOT effortless to get going. so when someone says what you just said, I think you don't know what you're getting into.

this is a complicated topic that few dare wade into, and every step of the way you'll be inventing new solutions. my advice is plan and budget knowing there is a high chance of this not making it into regular use. buy cheap, versatile, and re-sell-able
Click to expand...
Thank you. Yeah, the HDHR pamphlet makes it look pretty dang easy..but we'll see. I plan on dedicating a lot of time to this project.

Will I need to run anything by my cable provider to get this working? Do I need "fast" internet? (more than 1.5mbps down, 768kbps up)

- d3d
 
lol, that pamphlet that comes with the HDHR is total bs. Had that in hand when the FIOS tech came out for my install. Quickly realized it leaves out like 20 steps.

It's not overly complicated if you know pc's, but do visit the silicondust forums for it and look at the guide to get it working. Tech had no idea how to do it. Said he had only ever installed 2 cablecards in something like 8 years, and neither were with the HDHR. Said he was thankful I was there to figure it out.
 
Good tip on the forum thread, I'll make sure I have a look. Likely there is a master setup thread stickied.

Yeah, I set up/troubleshoot business networks for a living..so this shouldn't be terribly burdensome.
 
D3DAiM said:
Good points. For some reason, he's not convinced on HDHR yet, he thinks a Ceton/Hauppage is the only way to go.
Click to expand...
With a HDHR you can leverage existing PC's/Laptops as well as extenders. With Ceton, you're stuck on main PC and have to buy extenders for anywhere else. Their 'one-trick but discrete' extender or an xbox.

Their soon to be added DLNA direct access of the tuner will give you even more options like leveraging your blu-ray player or tv if its DLNA capable. I'm hoping the DLNA thing makes it even easier to integrate into XBMC as a WMC replacement.
 
Dopeness. What exactly is DLNA? Like some special certified media Windows network or something right?
 
D3DAiM said:
Dopeness. What exactly is DLNA? Like some special certified media Windows network or something right?
Click to expand...

DLNA is stream protocol which is pretty open. TVs. Bluray players support, and console(s). So what it does is increase the amount of devices that can view content through the HDHomerun prime.
 
jpm100 said:
With a HDHR you can leverage existing PC's/Laptops as well as extenders. With Ceton, you're stuck on main PC and have to buy extenders for anywhere else. Their 'one-trick but discrete' extender or an xbox.
Click to expand...

This is not exactly accurate. The Ceton supports networked tuners as well - so they can be used on any other PCs, albeit the main PC will still need to be on (I think Win8 may be iffy, however).

Just keep in mind if you have copy protected content, you *have* to use extenders to view this content elsewhere - you cannot use other PCs to view copy protected content that was recorded on a different PC; it will be locked down to the PC it was recorded to (although the physical file can be stored elsewhere; just not playable).

If this is for your father, definately go the extender route and one main PC - this is why I went with Ceton, though HDHR Prime is a good product too. I built a setup for my folks and they use it everyday with very, very little issues.
 
qbanb8582 said:
DLNA is stream protocol which is pretty open. TVs. Bluray players support, and console(s). So what it does is increase the amount of devices that can view content through the HDHomerun prime.
Click to expand...
thanks for explaining that, that is cool :)

thegrinch said:
This is not exactly accurate. The Ceton supports networked tuners as well - so they can be used on any other PCs, albeit the main PC will still need to be on (I think Win8 may be iffy, however).

Just keep in mind if you have copy protected content, you *have* to use extenders to view this content elsewhere - you cannot use other PCs to view copy protected content that was recorded on a different PC; it will be locked down to the PC it was recorded to (although the physical file can be stored elsewhere; just not playable).

If this is for your father, definately go the extender route and one main PC - this is why I went with Ceton, though HDHR Prime is a good product too. I built a setup for my folks and they use it everyday with very, very little issues.
Click to expand...
Anyway to "virtualize" an extender in Linux or something?
Found this, cool
 
D3DAiM said:
Anyway to "virtualize" an extender in Linux or something?
Found this, cool
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, no. If your cable provider doesn't use the copy-once flag, then you can use any PC to view the content - though you'll still have to deal with multiple guides and recording schedules for each PC since they won't be sync'd up like they are with true extenders.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top