[mythtv-users] HDHomeRun Vs. PCIe tuner card?

[Alan Marchiori]

> Perhaps this question has been done to death, but I'm really torn about the
> question of whether to build a Myth box with a pair of tuner cards in the
> PCIe slots, or plug it into a HDHomeRun box.

yes, disclaimer: I own a HDHR and no PCIe capture card (but several PCI ones).

> I haven't picked the motherboard or processor yet, so I'm somewhat neutral
> there. I might use a second NIC and put the HDHomeRun on its own private
> network, if that would help. Pity it has only the 100mb interface; perhaps
> there would have been some small performance gain if it were gigabit. I will
> be using the same box as a back end and front end in one box.

using the second nic might be a nice idea, but I've had no problems on
a shared 100mbs network.  Some people have multiple HDHRs all
recording HD simultaneously.  I suppose in that case it might be
useful, but I doubt with only one it matters much.  If you do this
don't forget to run a DHCP server on the second nic, the HDHR does not
support static IPs, it must have a DHCP server assign it an address to
work.

> Does the HDHomeRun box limit me in some way? I would like to record one or
> two ATSC OTR programs at once, perhaps while playing back a prior recording.
> I have no cable or satellite. I'd be recording in SD for now, looking to
> moving to HD down the road.

It will do what you want.  It limits you to ATSC/QAM signals only.

> From what SiliconDust says on their website, their box does it all. Had that
> been the experience of those of you that have used it with MythTV?

Yes, the HDHR is great if you ask me.

> Does the HDHomeRun box take commands for setting a tuner to a specific
> channel, or does one have to fool around with an infrared solution?

Yes, it takes commands for tuning channels over the Ethernet port, no
messing with IR for tuning.  It has a built in IR receiver, I think.
I have never used it and don't know if it can be used by Myth.

> I kinda like the idea of being bus independent, seeing as I got an analog
> capture card some years ago (PCI) and now looking at a future where there
> aren't that many PCI bus slots in most new PCs. Maybe I should have got the
> box next to it on the shelf, the one that speaks USB. Who knows.
>
> Anything that a PCIe card (or two) really brings to the party that I won't
> get with the HDHr?

Well, I'll answer the inverse question.  With the HDHR you can stick
it out of the way and it doesn't take up space in/around your backend
machine.  Also doesn't generate extra heat in your PC's case.  Also, I
think it is highly unlikely the HDHR will cause your backend to crash.
 I've had several crashes due to bad drivers or bad configurations of
PCI capture cards... although the recommended cards are very reliable
now.  The HDHR doesn't have a kernel driver or much to configure.  It
just works.

> Thanks mucho in advance for any advice.
>