HDHomerunPlus Compatibility

[ex-tivoman]

I am holding onto my sage setup until it just plain stops.

I currently have 2 HDHomeRuns (total of 4 feeds), one is an original 2-Tuner, the other a "dual". Last night the old 2-tuner quit. It is not the power supply, i tested it. Anyway, does anybody know if the newer "plus" model is compatible with Sage. see: http://www.silicondust.com/wordpress..._2US_SS_F2.pdf

I see the output is h.264 and I am not sure if Sage 7 will receive that.

I would like to get the new "plus" model but if it does not work I will get the dual. Any thoughts?

[wayner]

Don't know exactly but I recently got the newer MPEG-2 version - the HDHR4-2US and it works fine. These newer ones have better tuners than the older versions.

[TechBill]

This is the model I ordered last month and it worked fine with SageTV
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bill

[nyplayer]

I think we are missing the point of the post which is if the Plus tuner that creates files already transcoded to small H264 files works with Sage not which other tuner to get.
The Transcode to H264 does not work with SageTV. So it is far too expensive to use in SageTV just for regular TS streams. Either get another HD Homerun Dual or move on to another PVR.

[ex-tivoman]

Are you saying the Plus model: HDTC-2US will not work at all, or merely that its cost/benefit is not there. I realize it may cost more, but the ability to watch a stream on android of ipad seems really cool. Additionally, I usually like to buy the most current model available.

As you noted, I already know the Dual model: HDHR4-2US works - I have one and it is great with SageTV.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by ex-tivoman

Are you saying the Plus model: HDTC-2US will not work at all, or merely that its cost/benefit is not there. I realize it may cost more, but the ability to watch a stream on android of ipad seems really cool. Additionally, I usually like to buy the most current model available.

As you noted, I already know the Dual model: HDHR4-2US works - I have one and it is great with SageTV.

I am saying that it will work but it will not transcode the stream to H264 in SageTV you will get the large untouched stream... the same as the regular dual tuners. Sagetv is not supporting new devices. It will work in WMC NEXTPVR and others for example android devices using another app.

That has already been addressed by Jason SiliconDust support.

Transcode does not work with SageTV.
http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/vi...p?f=68&t=17887

[skiingwiz]

Originally Posted by wayner

Don't know exactly but I recently got the newer MPEG-2 version - the HDHR4-2US and it works fine. These newer ones have better tuners than the older versions.

The HDHR4-2US are definitely better tuners. I was running the HDHR3 and last year I lost 2 of my 4 local channels. They just dropped off, with signal quality a little too far below the threshold to tune. I experimented with a new antenna, a new preamp, wiring changes, etc. All to no avail. On a whim (and prompted by your post) I got an HDHR4, just to see if it made a difference. I plugged it in and all of my channels are back.

I thought I'd share, in case anyone is in a similar situation.

[jillsy]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

I am saying that it will work but it will not transcode the stream to H264 in SageTV you will get the large untouched stream... the same as the regular dual tuners. Sagetv is not supporting new devices. It will work in WMC NEXTPVR and others for example android devices using another app.

That has already been addressed by Jason SiliconDust support.

Transcode does not work with SageTV.
http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/vi...p?f=68&t=17887

I am also thinking of purchasing a HDHomeRun EXTEND (HDTC-2US, formerly known as HDHomeRun PLUS). I could purchase the CONNECT (HDHR4-2US, formerly DUAL), but I plan to use the device for purposes other than Sage and would like the added features of the EXTEND.

The topic linked to by nyplayer no longer exists, but it sounds like SageTV recordings via the EXTEND (HDTC-2US) will result in much larger files. Is that the main issue?

Is there anyone with any experience using the EXTEND (HDTC-2US) with Sage? Thank you to those sharing their experience with the CONNECT (HDHR4-2US).

If I recall correctly, SageTV does generally support network tuners like those in the HDHomeRun line. And nothing extra should be required for these network/OTA tuners. Is that correct? (I realize SageDCT is needed for CableCard products like the HDHomeRun PRIME.)

[chiledog]

Originally Posted by jillsy

Is there anyone with any experience using the EXTEND (HDTC-2US) with Sage? Thank you to those sharing their experience with the CONNECT (HDHR4-2US).

If I recall correctly, SageTV does generally support network tuners like those in the HDHomeRun line. And nothing extra should be required for these network/OTA tuners. Is that correct? (I realize SageDCT is needed for CableCard products like the HDHomeRun PRIME.)

I bought one of these (HDTC-2US) hoping it would work with Sage (should have researched more first...

Sage does see the HDTC and you can configure it. However, with transcoding turned on, you can not record TV. (ie, it will not work). If you turn transcoding off, it will work.

So for the HDTC
* Transcoding on (H.264) - Does not work with Sage
* Transcoding off (MPEG2) - Does work with Sage

[jillsy]

Originally Posted by chiledog

I bought one of these (HDTC-2US) hoping it would work with Sage (should have researched more first...

Sage does see the HDTC and you can configure it. However, with transcoding turned on, you can not record TV. (ie, it will not work). If you turn transcoding off, it will work.

So for the HDTC
* Transcoding on (H.264) - Does not work with Sage
* Transcoding off (MPEG2) - Does work with Sage

Thanks so much for this info, chiledog. It is very helpful. So the main issues will be larger file size and possibly playback quality differences.

[chiledog]

Originally Posted by jillsy

Thanks so much for this info, chiledog. It is very helpful. So the main issues will be larger file size and possibly playback quality differences.

Yes, you will not be able to use the transcoding (H264) capabilities. It would be cheaper to buy a HDHR-4. From the SageTV perspective they are identical. Both record MPEG2 streams directly (larger file size but better quality).

However, if you have a HDTC you could also use it to watch live TV via a tablet/phone via the DLNA transcoding or HDHomeRun app. You would need to be careful not to use the tuners when SageTV wants them though.

[Vaskill]

I bought a HDHomeRun Plus knowing full well the SageTV limitation on capturing transcoded video, and love it, but still wish I could record directly to H264 in sage.

Does anyone know why it can't record the transcoded stream from the HDHomeRun Plus?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Vaskill

I bought a HDHomeRun Plus knowing full well the SageTV limitation on capturing transcoded video, and love it, but still wish I could record directly to H264 in sage.

Does anyone know why it can't record the transcoded stream from the HDHomeRun Plus?

Quite simply it is not fully supported by SageTV. Even though SageTV is soon to be open sourced I do not see this being fixed anytime soon.

[mechling-burgh]

Would the prime network encoder allow it to capture in mp4 format?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by mechling-burgh

Would the prime network encoder allow it to capture in mp4 format?

Interesting it just might. I know If I had one I would give it a try.

[Vaskill]

Yeah, looking into this today and will let you guys know the results... even using the transcode feature available in the PrimeNetEncoder might be the best option (the HDHR seems to encode at an awfully low bitrate that I haven't tested on anything more than an iPhone) and it may better allow me to customize the end file to also be compatible with iTunes and multiple audio streams AAC and original AC3.

Update: Nope, can't get it to create a stream but I think it is more that Prime and HDHR Plus use different stream init commands (channel changes fine).

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by Vaskill

Yeah, looking into this today and will let you guys know the results... even using the transcode feature available in the PrimeNetEncoder might be the best option (the HDHR seems to encode at an awfully low bitrate that I haven't tested on anything more than an iPhone) and it may better allow me to customize the end file to also be compatible with iTunes and multiple audio streams AAC and original AC3.

Update: Nope, can't get it to create a stream but I think it is more that Prime and HDHR Plus use different stream init commands (channel changes fine).

I think the way I have it coded is to expect the stream in mpegts. I wonder if I change it to h264 if ffmpeg could caputer it properly. I will look into adding the input stream type as a config option.

[Vaskill]

Originally Posted by jvl711

I think the way I have it coded is to expect the stream in mpegts. I wonder if I change it to h264 if ffmpeg could caputer it properly. I will look into adding the input stream type as a config option.

Just to clarify, I tried OTA MPEG2 and Transcoded H264 so something else is going on here (ie. I really don't think i have got a baseline set up properly yet).

Update: Can't get OTA MPEG2 to work (without transcoding enabled) on HDHomeRun Plus. Tuner sets up in sage fine, will tune channel and start stream from HDHomeRun, FFMPEG is invoked, creates a 0.00MB file but no data, thoughts anyone?

[FlyingShawn]

Has any progress been made on getting H.264 from the HDHR EXTEND (HDTC-2US) to work with SageTV? I had a chat with SiliconDust support earlier today to ask about it (before I found this thread) and they thought it should be compatible with Sage, but said they haven't tested it. I like my DUAL model, but it'd certainly be nice if the output files weren't so huge.