Help designing HDHR network

[mschlott]

I have been using Media Center since the XP days and am now on Windows 8. I have 2 Avermedia USB tuners connected to Comcast cable with no Cable Card. I'm considering switching my internet to Verizon Fios. I have 5 TVs so if I switch to FIOS I would like to avoid paying for 5 set top boxes. I am considering using 1 or 2 HD Homerun Primes to reduce the cost of the STBs.

Before pulling the trigger I am testing out all the infrastructure.

Today I only have one Xbox 360 Slim configured as an extender and I could not get a decent wifi signal to it. If I forced my router to Wireless G, it would connect at 54MB/s and would marginally play HD recorded TV. If I left the router in mixed mode, it would only connect at 5MB/s and barely did anything, much less stream video. After researching I found that many people had this issue with the Xbox 360 Slim on some routers. Since I need a router upgrade anyway, I tried the Tenda W1800R. This router had the same problems. I flashed Tomato firmware on it and tweaked it a bit, and got a marginal improvement. I next tried the Linksys E4500 and got a great network connection on the Xbox. I can now stream recorded HD TV no problem.

The challenge is that I only have one extender to test with. I do have another Xbox but it is wired. To generate more network streaming traffic, I turned on Streaming in windows media player on my MCE box. I then tried to stream recorded HD to an Android phone. This worked but it was choppy. This seems to be resolved by switching my phone to the 5Ghz channel on my router.

At this point I realized I don't even know what format the video from the HD Homerun Prime records or streams in.

Question 1 - When recording Digital channels in Windows Media Center, what format are the files saved in? Are they H264 encoded or is it just the same MPEG2 stream that comes over the air.

Question 2 - What format is the video in that comes from DLNA streaming direct from the HD Homerun Prime?

Question 3 - I'd like to have STBs that could both stream from the HDHR and view recorded TV from MCE. Does the Xbox doe this? Are there other good alternatives?

Question 4 - Is there anywhere I can see screenshots or videos of the HDHR in use from a DLNA client? I'm interested in what the menu and browsing might look like.

Question 5 - Am I wasting my time? My goal is to have something that is near maintenance free. If I have to work on it every month, it won't be worth it.

[sbaeder]

first off...Try to use some sort of wired configuration...Even Powerline (others advocate Moca) will be better than WiFI...But here goes...

Question 1 - When recording Digital channels in Windows Media Center, what format are the files saved in? Are they H264 encoded or is it just the same MPEG2 stream that comes over the air.

they are saved in the format they are broadcast - so most likely, it will be MPEG2 - not sure on Fios, but that is mostly the common format at this time.

Question 2 - What format is the video in that comes from DLNA streaming direct from the HD Homerun Prime?

Same, since all it is doing is converting the cable/fios signal to one that is sent out over the networking.

Question 3 - I'd like to have STBs that could both stream from the HDHR and view recorded TV from MCE. Does the Xbox doe this? Are there other good alternatives?

Not sure why you want that, but I don't know about Xbox. Since it can be a full fledged media extender, it can already watch live or recorded TV...

Question 4 - Is there anywhere I can see screenshots or videos of the HDHR in use from a DLNA client? I'm interested in what the menu and browsing might look like.

All depends on the DLNA client, and not the HDHR (AFAIK)... Poke around the Google Play store to see what some oth the Android clients look like.

Question 5 - Am I wasting my time? My goal is to have something that is near maintenance free. If I have to work on it every month, it won't be worth it.

Maybe...it isn't really a "set it and forget it" type of arrangement. Doesn't Fios have any sort of "whole home" set-up...Yes, I understand renting STBs instead of Buying MCEs, but as you said - who bears the responsibility of keeping it all in working order...

[mschlott]

Thanks for the reply.

The only reason I would look at other STB vs Xbox is the noise and power. Some thing like a roku would be perfect.

Is it likely a transcoding HDHR with cable card will ever exist? It looks like the technology may be in a shift so that may be the hold up on the new models.

Fios does offer a whole house setup that is really cool, but it can cost an extra $150 a month depending on the number of STBs.

[mike_ekim]

Is it likely a transcoding HDHR with cable card will ever exist?

We hope so, but no official word. I wouldn't hold out for it.

A lot of us are waiting to see how Android TV shapes up.
http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/viewf ... 639efbae18