HDHomeRun (HDHR) Prime + Older PC

[DynamoBen]

I'm thinking about moving to a digital tier with my cable provider. And to avoid box rental fees I was going to try the HDHomeRun (HDHR) Prime with a cablecard. I'm using an older P4 system (3GHz) running XP, an HD100, and a mediaMVP.

I see the system requirements for the HDHomeRun (HDHR) Prime demand a dual core or bigger, is that really the case or can I get away with my P4 which runs like a top?

[reggie14]

You're probably OK on CPU usage for just recording. It shouldn't noticeably more demanding than a regular HDHR. Are you using your server as a client too, or just a server? It might be a little slow for HD video, particularly since I doubt it has a good video card for that.

I kind of got scared away from trying to get an HDHR Prime working on XP, though. I couldn't find terribly clear directions (though in hindsight I probably wouldn't have had to do anything special), and it seemed like people had better luck with Win7.

Though, you'd probably run into problems with your MediaMVP. That's not going to play back the HD channels, and your CPU is probably too slow to transcode them realtime. What are you using now to record?

You actually might be able to record digital SD versions of your channels using an HDHR Prime. That is, if your cable provider sends out digital SD versions.

[DynamoBen]

Originally Posted by reggie14

You're probably OK on CPU usage for just recording. It shouldn't noticeably more demanding than a regular HDHR. Are you using your server as a client too, or just a server? It might be a little slow for HD video, particularly since I doubt it has a good video card for that.

Just using it as a server, not as a client.

Though, you'd probably run into problems with your MediaMVP. That's not going to play back the HD channels, and your CPU is probably too slow to transcode them realtime. What are you using now to record?

I have two HVR-1600s in there now recording in SD.

You actually might be able to record digital SD versions of your channels using an HDHR Prime. That is, if your cable provider sends out digital SD versions.

So they would need to provide SD versions of the channel? No down-converting by the HDHR?

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by DynamoBen

So they would need to provide SD versions of the channel? No down-converting by the HDHR?

The HDHR (both the Prime version and regular version) just records the "raw" digital audio/video stream- whatever it is. It's not going to down-convert. Your Sage server can down-convert HD files on-the-fly for a MediaMVP, but your server probably is too slow for that. Plus its not really that great of a user experience.

If your cable company is still sending out analog SD channels then they might not be pushing them out in digital form too. So if you decide you want to do this, you probably should try to pick up an HD100 or HD200 on eBay or the forums here. The prices for those aren't nearly as crazy as the HD300 prices.

[DynamoBen]

Fair enough, while I love my mediaMVP I suppose I could retire it for the greater good.

I'm also looking at an IPTV solution, similar to comcast not sure if cablecard is an option for that, I may end up with boxes stacked in the closet for SageTV.

[DynamoBen]

Originally Posted by DynamoBen

I'm also looking at an IPTV solution, similar to comcast not sure if cablecard is an option for that, I may end up with boxes stacked in the closet for SageTV.

So the IP solution came with a catch which was a maximum of two SD and HD IP streams at a time (4 total).

So now I'm back to cable (or satellite). Am I better off with HDHomeRun Prime or going the set-top box route with my existing 2 tuners?

If I go with Prime I can save on STB rental fees ($5/mo), I would buy a single cablecard for it. With that said I've heard that some are seeing issues with SageDCT and my current tuners have been rock solid.

[reggie14]

What cable provider do you have? (And, out of curiosity, what IPTV provider were you looking at?)

An HDHR Prime is only an option if your cable provider doesn't mark things copy-once. Verizon and Comcast tend to mark expanded basic channels copy-freely, and just HBO/Showtime/etc channels copy-once. Time Warner seems to mark everything except locals copy-once.

I've been using an HDHR Prime (with Verizon FiOS) on a Win7 x64 box with great luck. I had some problems with green macroblocking, but that seemed to just be a signal problem with a certain channel. It went away on its own (I think).

The STB route is, in many ways, "safer," but its also more expensive and more complicated to set up. If you want to record in HD then you need to get some HD-PVRs. If you have multiple boxes then you either need to get one or two USB-UIRTs, or get firewire channel changing working. The HDHR Prime route is riskier, but when if it works then its great.

[DynamoBen]

Originally Posted by reggie14

What cable provider do you have?

Charter

(And, out of curiosity, what IPTV provider were you looking at?)

TDStv

An HDHR Prime is only an option if your cable provider doesn't mark things copy-once. Verizon and Comcast tend to mark expanded basic channels copy-freely, and just HBO/Showtime/etc channels copy-once. Time Warner seems to mark everything except locals copy-once.

I didn't know that.

If you have multiple boxes then you either need to get one or two USB-UIRTs, or get firewire channel changing working. The HDHR Prime route is riskier, but when if it works then its great.

I own one USB-UIRT but you make a good point, how would I divide up channel changing between identical boxes.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by DynamoBen

I own one USB-UIRT but you make a good point, how would I divide up channel changing between identical boxes.

A USB-UIRT can be set up to handle up to 3 zones. So you can handle up to 3 STB with 1 USB-UIRT and extra emitters.

Gerry

[DynamoBen]

Originally Posted by gplasky

A USB-UIRT can be set up to handle up to 3 zones. So you can handle up to 3 STB with 1 USB-UIRT and extra emitters.

Good to know, I've only every used it as an input device.

A bit off topic: How does one split the emitters?

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by DynamoBen

I own one USB-UIRT but you make a good point, how would I divide up channel changing between identical boxes.

You have a few choices.

The first option would simply be to use a USB-UIRT for one box, and the HD-PVR blaster for the other (you can use one Hauppauge IR blaster on one computer). You would need to shield the boxes so the USB-UIRT doesn't change the channel on the wrong box.

The second option, as was just mentioned, is to use the multi-zone support in the USB-UIRT. Unfortunately, the old posts explaining how to do this are largely gone. I'm not sure why the author of one of the posts deleted it years later. This is the closest thing I can find for instructions. People on these forums can probably help you out, though.

The third option, which might be easiest, would be to get a second USB-UIRT. I'd recommend getting IR emitters for each, if you don't already have some. Something like this should work.

[gplasky]

Multi-Zone USB

More info

Gerry

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Multi-Zone USB

More info

Umm, did you look at the first link? That's the post I was talking about. sleonard used to have detailed directions, if I remember correctly, but last year he decided to delete that post.

The second post has good directions. Andy should update the FAQ.