HdHomerun Premium TV....

[snipeman]

I've subscribed and testing it with Plex DVR right now. It is pretty compelling, I have an OTA antenna and 45 cable-like channels all integrated and record-able.


Plex removes the commercials in all recordings with compskip (some won't like it cuts, doesn't mark via EDL).



I can watch on phones, tablets, and at remote locations on Smart TVs etc. This is particularly useful for me as I have 2 locations I move between. I am able to cut TV subscription services on both.


While I've used SageTV since at least 2003, I'm not a power user. I've kept configs simple and clean with reliability in mind.


I'm struggling to come up with good reasons for me to keep running Sage. The remote streaming abilities of Plex with the streaming service and not having to watch commercials might be the tipping point to the sad day I have to say goodbye to Sage.


I've passed on all other streaming services due to their cloud-DVR nature, and when you drill down many "recordings" force you to watch commercials.


With the files on my own computer, I can do anything I want with them, and Plex makes most of that easy.


What features do you guys use on Sage that you would miss with Plex or Channels etc?

[jeffoffline]

How accurate has the commercial skipping been for you with plex? the cutting instead of just marking is my biggest hangup cause if anything goes wrong you might miss some of the show.
I also like being able to start watching something that is still being recorded and have the commercials marked and auto skipped as opposed to waiting till it's been fully recorded and then processed. I haven't tried Plex DVR but i'm assuming that's kinda how it works.

[snipeman]

So far it has been excellent on a variety of channels. I find nothing cut that I wanted to see. It is just comskip with the usual INI file, you can tweak it however you want. You could also overlay a donator's version of comskip into Plex just like Sage.



You can turn comskip off or on per favorite, but there is no "mark only" option. It is cut or nothing.


For a test I turned it on for absolutely everything and so far I've not had anything cut I wanted. It has not cut a few things that are understandable where logos persist over news channels that run commercials during traffic and weather.



You could use MCD Buddy to take Plex files and make a cut version, while keeping the originals just in case. You can program MCE buddy to delete it's version when the original is deleted automatically so you won't have a buildup of old files. But Plex will not read EDL files and skip over commercials in an original file.


Time will tell but I have until Sept 10th to cancel my satellite subscription. I'm leaning toward doing it now.


Also, the quality is mediocre at the moment, but if you read the HDHOMERUN Premium TV message boards, people from the company talk about working hard to improve it. Right now it is in a test run of up to 5000 subscriptions, when they hit 5000 I think they will stop taking new customers until the work the system better. They are refreshingly honest and open about the process.

[Taddeusz]

I’ve tried the commercial detection on Plex and I had several instances where it cut parts of programs. The main problem was parts that had no logo.

[will]

Originally Posted by BobbyDing

NEVERMIND....Just read that it streams in .ts.

Interesting.

I would have figured the device would determine the stream, for example, HDHomeRun Connect Quatro only supports mpg; the HDHomeRun Extend, which only has two tuners, supports h.264 (.ts). I guess the HDHomeRun device is just forwarding the stream and isn't touching it; I've attached the stream info for the Weather Channel from my HDHomeRun Connect Quatro.

[KryptoNyte]

What's the bitrate on that file, Will? What are your feelings on scenes with high motion (I find water waves are a good test of encoding quality), is there some blocking/artifacts? Maybe a VLC screenshot ... if you had a moment.

Sure hope they get the 5.1 channel AC3 audio working.

[will]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

What's the bitrate on that file, Will? What are your feelings on scenes with high motion (I find water waves are a good test of encoding quality), is there some blocking/artifacts? Maybe a VLC screenshot ... if you had a moment.

Sure hope they get the 5.1 channel AC3 audio working.

It looks like the bit rate is around 2400 kb/s at 720 (not sure it is progressive or interlaced but I've never heard of 720i so it is probably 720p).

The quality isn't bad, it is decent, probably a little lower than my 1080i cable box. There is room to grow but the fact that it seems to tune very quickly - quicker than a cable box and no buffering issues means they probably found the sweet spot for quality vs speed/reliability. I have tried out other services like DirectTV Now and Sling TV and they have general buffering issues. I am not blown away with the quality but I am impressed with how smooth the service seems to work, especially when compared to other sources.

I'll pm you a sample file so you can judge.

[KryptoNyte]

Will, that sample file was way better than I expected. It's basically comparable to my typical 720p TV recordings, albeit a lower bitrate and 29.970 fps. There was a little audio cutout near the end, but other than that and the current lack of 5.1 audio, I'd be subscribing.

Here's what Mediainfo says about the short clip (the clip duration/timing info is wrong);

General
ID                                       : 88 (0x58)
Complete name                            : xxxxxxx
Format                                   : MPEG-TS
File size                                : 31.5 MiB
Duration                                 : -12h 17mn
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 4 295 Mbps

Video
ID                                       : 272 (0x110)
Menu ID                                  : 7 (0x7)
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : Main@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 2 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=3, N=28
Codec ID                                 : 27
Duration                                 : 14h 13mn
Maximum bit rate                         : 1 950 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 29.970 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive

Audio
ID                                       : 273 (0x111)
Menu ID                                  : 7 (0x7)
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version                           : Version 4
Format profile                           : LC
Muxing mode                              : ADTS
Codec ID                                 : 15
Duration                                 : 14h 13mn
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 126 Kbps
Minimum bit rate                         : 39.8 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 249 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Delay relative to video                  : -530ms
Stream size                              : 766 MiB
Language                                 : English

[Deacon Crusher]

Has anyone gotten a tuner to tune this in Sage yet?

I'm trying to figure out how to do this and want it bad. .

[Deacon Crusher]

Actually, I got it working. See my post in opendtc support thread if interested.

Thanks

[Deacon Crusher]

I'm done with Comcast.

But the channel #s and order live on.

So, after remapping all the channels available through hd homerun premium (plus OTA channels) this is all that's missing that I'd care about.

Getting cspan is great, not a lot of cord cutting services carry that. Adding cspan2/3 would be nice, but not must have.

NBC Sports is a must add if possible (the regional sports network so I can watch Giants and Warriors)

Comedy Central (EDIT: this was a mistake comedy central is included, this is a near perfect lineup of channels)

that's it.

This is really a great lineup.

Moving all my HD Homeruns to go through OPENDTC so I can use these channels.

Will we be able to get Sage to tune directly without OpenDTC?

Thanks

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by Deacon Crusher

I'm done with Comcast.
.....
Will we be able to get Sage to tune directly without OpenDTC?
Thanks

I'd be interested in trying this IF won't need to do OpenDTC but rather it is part of core Sage.

It'd be awhile before I'd have the time (probably end of year if that) before I'd be able to read up about OpenDTC to have a good grasp of it.

Currently DirecTV only now, might even get the Wife to agree to ditching it.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by Deacon Crusher

I'm done with Comcast.

But the channel #s and order live on.

So, after remapping all the channels available through hd homerun premium (plus OTA channels) this is all that's missing that I'd care about.

Getting cspan is great, not a lot of cord cutting services carry that. Adding cspan2/3 would be nice, but not must have.

NBC Sports is a must add if possible (the regional sports network so I can watch Giants and Warriors)

Comedy Central

that's it.

This is really a great lineup.

Moving all my HD Homeruns to go through OPENDTC so I can use these channels.

Will we be able to get Sage to tune directly without OpenDTC?

Thanks

Far as I know of no of nobody has come up with direct plug-in that work in v9

[Deacon Crusher]

Originally Posted by graywolf

I'd be interested in trying this IF won't need to do OpenDTC but rather it is part of core Sage.

It'd be awhile before I'd have the time (probably end of year if that) before I'd be able to read up about OpenDTC to have a good grasp of it.

Currently DirecTV only now, might even get the Wife to agree to ditching it.

OpenDCT is at this point pretty plug and play. you could be up and running in 15-30 minutes. It's a great add to Sage.

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by Deacon Crusher

OpenDCT is at this point pretty plug and play. you could be up and running in 15-30 minutes. It's a great add to Sage.

OK, will need to check it out.
Can OpenDCT run on a machine running SageTV (service) or does it need to be on a separate machine?

[KryptoNyte]

OpenDCT is typically run on the same machine as the SageTV server.

[phantomii]

So my cablke bill came in and they have again raised my monthly cost for what is mainly basic cable. Seriously considering the move to the HD Homerun Premium TV. Have a Dual OTA tuner today and will be ordering the quad tuner if I make the move. Is there a pretty clear bullet list of the actions to take to get this working? If I could test with my current tuner that would be awesome.....

[Telecore]

There is a post under hardware/opendct on page 119 by "Deacon Crusher" regarding getting the hdhomerun premium demo channels to work with opendct - I tried this and it did not work for me - the guide is available though

[SHS]

Originally Posted by Telecore

There is a post under hardware/opendct on page 119 by "Deacon Crusher" regarding getting the hdhomerun premium demo channels to work with opendct - I tried this and it did not work for me - the guide is available though

Did you signup for the premium service on there web site

[KarylFStein]

I got this working on a new Quatro (previously tested with a Duo in Plex and briefly with the Duo in SageTV).

After registering and rebooting the Quatro I shut down SageTV then OpenDCT (docker versions), started up OpenDCT and a minute later SageTV. The new tuners showed up in SageTV (direct ones and the OpenDCT ones). I removed some channels from my Prime lineup to force it to use the Quatro.

For two of the tuners I used the OpenDCT device and picked the Schedules Direct lineup and just picked those channels I deleted on the Prime. For the other two tuners I used the direct device and used an OTA lineup. I didn't mess with any properties files or anything.

I flipped through the OTA and Premium TV streaming channels and they worked.

I'm going to let it run with some recordings going for a while and see what happens, but for me it was straightforward. This doesn't help those having issues, but looks possible.