SiliconDust HDHomeRun Networked Digital Dual HDTV Tuner (HDHR3-US) $65 + Free shipping (expired)

Quote from cuetoon : Never heard of this device -- thanks for posting, OP. Getting two video channels to any PC on a home network (through the router) is a great thing. But that begs the obvious question, why not make it with an HDMI port (for AVR input), and maybe throw in a remote a la the WD streaming player? All it would need then is a little flash memory and, viola! It's a two-channel DVR! With no HDMI output, the HTPC would have to always remain on just to receive streams from other PCs on the home LAN and send to the AVR. So, not exactly the right gizmo for me, but getting closer to the holy grail of home A/V, a cheap, fully functional, subscription free, two-channel DVR.

You need to do more research on this.

It is meant to turn you PC into a DVR and then some. Google: Windows Media Center.

Edit: Was $50 from Woot last week for a refurb.

Thanks! I missed out on the Woot.com deal last week. In for one

Quote from ronnieb00 : This post makes absolutely no sense... I feel like I should help you understand what this is, but I don't even know where to start. On a more important note, I think it was down to $60 in August, I'm hoping Black Friday will bring some good prices on TV tuners. Definitely a decent price though.

Quote from petsheep : I agree with your statement about the previous post, but I'll explain more . The whole point of this device is to lack the features that poster mentions. It supposed to be a "dumb" device that converts a OTA signal in to data packets. Software/hardware can read these packets and do what they want with 'em. This is NOT a media player! This device is been around since at least 2005 with some updates over time.

Quote from cuetoon : Sorry you're having difficulty understanding. It speaks to product design. As consumers, we can only buy what is offered. This one fills a niche, as one321 mentioned, but with the few added features I noted, it could become a must-have. Rather than the "what is," it's the "what could be." Or maybe, the 'what I'm looking for'.

Quote from blueiedgod : You need to do more research on this. It is meant to turn you PC into a DVR and then some. Google: Windows Media Center. Edit: Was $50 from Woot last week for a refurb.

I kind of get what he's saying though about the HDMI port. It would be a cool feature, basically make this a stand alone DVR which can IP stream video as well. Unless there is a DVR like this I can buy now??

Quote from thebigcountry : why indoor and not outdoor?

The channel signals I want are all coming from 10 miles or less away, so I was able to put the antenna in the attic knowing the reduction of signal strength through the roof wouldn't be an issue. I overcompensated on the size of the antenna anyway, since they are all fairly affordable and I have room to waste in the attic. On why I didn't just put it outdoors, I liked the idea of hiding the antenna and not having to worry about damage out in the elements. So now it runs down to my basement and distributes out to four TVs (with the help of a drop amp) and soon to this HomeRunHD (before the signals goes through the drop amp I'm thinking will be best). The picture quality is amazing too.

Quote from blahbooboo2 : I kind of get what he's saying though about the HDMI port. It would be a cool feature, basically make this a stand alone DVR which can IP stream video as well. Unless there is a DVR like this I can buy now??

Yes, you want a different product than this.The HomeRunHD will do what it does best and folks can look elsewhere, like the TiVo Stream or other products. I don't know much about the alternatives other than most cost more than $65 upfront and they require monthly subscriptions.

Quote from one321 : Yes, you want a different product than this.The HomeRunHD will do what it does best and folks can look elsewhere, like the TiVo Stream or other products. I don't know much about the alternatives other than most cost more than $65 upfront and they require monthly subscriptions.

Tivo looks interesting but $15/month Tivo service fee is way too much.

Quote from one321 : distributes out to four TVs (with the help of a drop amp) and soon to this HomeRunHD (before the signals goes through the drop amp I'm thinking will be best).

If put the HomeRunHD before you amp, you will be cutting your signal to everything else by half. It's usually best to go after your amp since the signal will be bosted and get your amp as close to the antenna as possible.

clear qam is going away. I wouldn't purchase this if you have cable.

Quote from NoNamesLeft : clear qam is going away. I wouldn't purchase this if you have cable.

100% agreed but only clear QAM for non-locals is going away. 90% of local channels/shows are found legally online (hulu, cbs.com, wb.com, etc) killing the reason for a DVR.

Quote from blahbooboo2 : I kind of get what he's saying though about the HDMI port. It would be a cool feature, basically make this a stand alone DVR which can IP stream video as well. Unless there is a DVR like this I can buy now??

Well, there is something like that.

1) This tunen or a few of them on the network.
2) HTPC either with TV, or headless running Windows Media Center on the network
3) Windows Media Center extenders (up to 5 at the same time) with HDMI out, on the network.

This gives you the HDMI output and a remote to control the channels, and any TV can have DVR functionality.

Quote from sd444 : 100% agreed but only clear QAM for non-locals is going away. 90% of local channels/shows are found legally online (hulu, cbs.com, wb.com, etc) killing the reason for a DVR.

http://www.fiercecable.com/story/...2012-10-15

Locals are going to be encrypted over cable.

Quote from cuetoon : Never heard of this device -- thanks for posting, OP. Getting two video channels to any PC on a home network (through the router) is a great thing. But that begs the obvious question, why not make it with an HDMI port (for AVR input), and maybe throw in a remote a la the WD streaming player? All it would need then is a little flash memory and, viola! It's a two-channel DVR!

a 1 hour HD show is 6-8GB. you would need a bit more than "a little flash memory"

Quote from sd444 : 100% agreed but only clear QAM for non-locals is going away. 90% of local channels/shows are found legally online (hulu, cbs.com, wb.com, etc) killing the reason for a DVR.

Hence the growing trend of bandwidth limits. My local (and only) ISP is the cable company. They have a 100Gb monthly limit with $1.50 per 1Gb over that. Pretty easy to run that up watching Hulu and Netflix a lot.

Quote from sd444 : 100% agreed but only clear QAM for non-locals is going away. 90% of local channels/shows are found legally online (hulu, cbs.com, wb.com, etc) killing the reason for a DVR.

can you watch these in HD on your TV?

Quote from cuetoon : Rather than the "what is," it's the "what could be." Or maybe, the 'what I'm looking for'.

Probably the latter. My HDHR has spent some time in my attic attached to my yagi. An HDMI port would be lost on it. my HTPC's SSD just died; I simply pulled the computer out of the AV closet, dropped in my $100 lenovo desktop, plugged in the HDMI and I am up and running again with no hardware swapping. Granted- very "niche"-y.