HDHomeRun Prime Questions

[tabbyplague]

I'm new to this scene and am trying to decide if I should buy the HDHomeRun Prime vs. a CETON Infnitv 6 ETH. I understand the Prime only has 3 tuners vs. 6 tuners in the Infinitv 6 but figure if I really need 6 tuners then I can buy two HDHomeRun Primes (still costs less than one Infinitv 6). Anyway, I would like to use the HDHomeRun Prime with Windows 7 Media Center and send live TV to other TVs in the house using an Xbox 360 extender. With this configuration in mind, I was hoping some folks could answer a couple questions:

1. If a live TV source channel is in Hi Def (1080i) will the HDHomeRun Prime stream the live TV source channel in 1080i to the WMC extenders on other TVs?

2. Assuming the answer above is "yes" - given a high wireless N signal strength at the Xbox 360 extender, will a wireless N connection have enough throughput to support live hi def (1080i) TV streaming via WMC to distant TV sets?

One of the advantages I see to the HDHomeRun Prime vs the Ceton box is that the HDHomeRun Prime supports DLNA. That being the case - does the HDHomeRun Prime stream via DLNA in 1080 high definition (give the source station is in Hi Def)?

I also have a question regarding WMC... When using WMC for streaming live TV, does WMC simply pass on the stream it receives from the tuner to the WMC extenders? In other words if the tuner is on a standard def channel, WMC just transmits a standard def signal to the WMC extenders; and if a tuner is on a hi def channel, WMC transmits a hi def signal to the WMC extenders.

Lastly - for those of you that have had experience with both the HDHomeRun Prime and the Infinitv 6 - which do you prefer (ignoring the difference in the number of tuners) and why?

Thanks!

[Scallica]

With either tuner, there is no direct "streaming" of live TV to the extender. The live TV signal is streamed to the HTPC, and the extender basically makes a remote desktop session to the HTPC so you can view the picture.

Wireless-N should be good, but look into using the existing coax in the wall via MoCA adapters.

The HDHR Prime streams full 1080 HD via DLNA. I can watch HDTV on my PS3 from my HDHR Prime and it's crystal clear.

In my opinion, the HDHR Prime is the best tuner you can buy. "It just works". Mine hasn't been rebooted since March, and I think that was a power failure.

[mdavej]

Consensus is the Prime is better. But 2 Primes means 2 cards and 2 tuning adapters. So I use Ceton at the moment.

I wouldn't advise wifi for video. If you can run a cable, look into powerline or MoCA as others have said.

DLNA on the Prime is a useless gimmick IMO. Works, but very clunky interface. Not worth the effort.

[sbaeder]

Second the opinion on Wifi vs wired. While the reciever may have enough bandwidth, what is the total "load" on the system if there are 2 (or more) extenders working at the same time (you didn't mention how many "other" TVs were in the system...

[spocks.boss]

In answer to your questions...

1) If the source channel is 1080i (or 720p, or 480i), that's what you will see on the extender. It doesn't matter which brand of tuner you use. Extenders are simply an extension of the Media Center environment, with some limitations that are not present on the host PC.

2) It is not recommended to use a wireless connection. If you must use wireless, it is better to make a WIRED connection to the PC (and all tuners) and a wireless connection to the extender. You need to understand that wireless connections are affected by many factors, and that when multiple wireless devices are trying to communicate simultaneously, it will degrade the performance of all devices. Media Center does not buffer the audio/video data, and therefore any interference will result in degraded/lost picture and/or audio.

3) The DLNA support in the HD HomeRun devices is clunky at best. I wouldn't recommend it.

4) Yes, whatever is received at the tuner is what you see at the extender. WYSIWYG.

5) I haven't tried the InfiniTV6, but I have tried the InfiniTV4. The HD HomeRun PRIME is superior in every way except the number of tuners.

[jjwatmyself]

My tests with WiFi have shown that you cannot use WiFi for an extenders. You'll see a constant 15-20 Mbps for an HD channel and Xbox antennas are substandard. A power line Ethernet adapter will solve if you cannot run a wire.

[slowbiscuit]

And even powerline is not guaranteed under all conditions. Much better to use MoCA or Ethernet for extenders.

[scottfmcc]

Watch out for the HD Homerun Prime if you use Switched Digital Video with your cable system. There is a CONFIRMED issue with Motorola MTR700 Tuning Adapters and HR Homerun Prime's made after May 2014. The Tuning Adapter will never initalize. There is a documented thread on the SiliconDust forum about this. Techs at SD are working to resolve, but have no idea when the certificate issue will be resolved! I am on Charter and am missing many of my channels. I understand the issue affects many other cable systems as the MTR700 is widespread.

[Rainey]

Watch out for the HD Homerun Prime if you use Switched Digital Video with your cable system. There is a CONFIRMED issue with Motorola MTR700 Tuning Adapters and HR Homerun Prime's made after May 2014. The Tuning Adapter will never initalize. There is a documented thread on the SiliconDust forum about this. Techs at SD are working to resolve, but have no idea when the certificate issue will be resolved! I am on Charter and am missing many of my channels. I understand the issue affects many other cable systems as the MTR700 is widespread.

The patch has already been released to fix this, i am running it now and it is working fine. You can get it from SD it is beta firmware for the HDHR.

[TeddyR]

Also note that the issue is not caused by the Prime, but by the MTR700 and thus can potentially affect any OCUR device on a cable system using that TA even though SD has released a workaround patch for the Prime.

SD Blog post on the issue:
http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/viewt ... 67&t=17751

Beta Prime FW for those affected:
http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/viewt ... 84#p106042