What if I already have my cable-box connected to an HDTV unit? (will this product be of any value if I already have a dvr and an hdtv unit?)

If I can watch something on my tv, and this allows me to watch something ELSE on my laptop, then i'm sold.

can someone please let me know...

cheers! (sorry if this was asked, i'm at work and cant afford to brows through all the comments without being caught )

it's Friday, thank goodness, and........
WHERE'S MATTHEW?

herbisb wrote:If I can watch something on my tv, and this allows me to watch something ELSE on my laptop, then i'm sold.

Yes, this will let you watch something else on your laptop, but you will be limited to what your cable company transmits in clear qam (an unencrypted digital cable signal) (ETA: ...or what you can receive over the air if you connect an antenna instead). With Comcast this used to give you cable channels 63 and below, but they're changing it so that you now can only use this to get local channels. (I suspect that might be why they're selling these cheap - they used to go for twice this price).

herbisb wrote:What if I already have my cable-box connected to an HDTV unit? (will this product be of any value if I already have a dvr and an hdtv unit?)

If I can watch something on my tv, and this allows me to watch something ELSE on my laptop, then i'm sold.

can someone please let me know...

cheers! (sorry if this was asked, i'm at work and cant afford to brows through all the comments without being caught )

That's why Woot has quality posts, so you can just skim through those handful of comments and get your questions answered.

SuperTully wrote:That's why Woot has quality posts, so you can just skim through those handful of comments and get your questions answered.

Oh is that why? I thought it was so that people with no intention of buying the item could post obvious questions in the hopes of increasing the "Quality Posts" number next to their user name.

My mother is just looking for a simple way to watch her cable tv service on her Mac computer screen... I was thinking at first that this could be the solution. But I am having doubts. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks.

wootcompare wrote:
As for the NEXT version of HomeRun w/ cablecard capability and your local cable company: [do remember that for EACH tuner, and not each HomeRun box, you will need a separate cable card. So if it's a 3-tuner HomeRun, you'll need 3 cablecards]

Sorry, but you are mistaken. There are 2 types of CableCards available: Multi or Single Stream.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD#Physical_CableCARDs

The new CableCard tuners from Ceton and SiliconDust use a Multi-stream card or M-Card to allow one cablecard to service 3 (SiliconDust) or 4 (Ceton) tuners.

Here's Ceton's site covering their card (supposedly due out any minute now)
http://www.cetoncorp.com/

Here's Silicon Dust's site covering their HDHomeRun Prime
http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun/prime/
http://www.silicondust.com/company/news/

If you need multiple HDHomeRunPrime Primes, you will need multiple M-Cards, but for a single physical unit, only one M-Card is required.

Just a caution... I have had very inconsistent results using this device with a cable splitter. At times, HD signal will become very choppy (although the audio comes through fine). As soon as I removed any splitter, it works perfectly. I have tried 3 different splitters, and they all have the same problem.

This can be an issue if you want to split the cable at your computer into the HomeRun and a cable modem (for example). I had to move my cable modem across the house and get a wireless card for my desktop in order to reserve the one jack in my room for the HomeRun. This could just be a defective device, but maybe others can mention if they've been able to use a splitter effectively. Just keep it in mind...

micahnathaniel wrote:My mother is just looking for a simple way to watch her cable tv service on her Mac computer screen... I was thinking at first that this could be the solution. But I am having doubts. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks.

I have heard good things about the EveTV USB card:
http://www.amazon.com/EyeTV-Hybrid-tuner-stick-Mac/dp/B0039UOTW8

It works on both Mac and PC and can tune both analog and digital channels (unencrypted only). If you can tune the channel with your TV without a cable box, you can get the channel using this product. There are other tuners out there, but this is one I have heard good things about.

My only gripe with the HDHomeRun- it doesn't include an analog tuner. So it pretty much limits you to Over The Air (OTA) and unencrypted HD broadcasts over cable. Both of which are becoming scarce.

For me, this is still a good deal as most of the things I watch / DVR are on local HD stations.

AVspec wrote:Thanks for the infor and website.. I will check it out.

Anyone know if a iPad app is being developed by the company or a 3rd party?

Im not certain, but on a Mac with EYETv, there is now a way to stream to iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads...

jmkurdzo wrote:Just a caution... I have had very inconsistent results using this device with a cable splitter. ...

I had problems at first with my HDHomeRun - it was strange, tuning one channel seemed to affect reception on the other. I thought the device was defective, but reading the forums on their site I decided to try a "unity gain amplifier", a device which splits the signal without losing signal strength, and that fixed the problem.

What I bought was one of these, but unfortunately it's as expensive as the HDHomeRun itself. (This model also has "passive return", which I guess you need if you have it in the path to your cable modem).

Does anyone know if I can connect this wired to my d-ink router but then watch tv on my computer wireless?

bitethat wrote:Looks quite interesting. Does it allow you to see the basic cable stations as well, or are you limited to only those whom broadcast specifically for it?

My provider (Mediacom Iowa) still sends their expanded basic tier via NTSC, and most channels simulcast ClearQAM too. The locals OTA channels are ClearQAM, and are the only HD channels I've found. I think the premium HD channels (Discovery HD, etc, not HBO/Showtime) are encrypted, or I just haven't found them yet.

On my provider, I'll be able to record pretty much anything I could get on an analog TV, but in crystal clear digital quality, plus the OTA HD channels they're rebroadcasting.

jbuccola wrote:Nice woot.

It also works with other laptops in the home simultaneously. There are drivers for Windows, Mac and Linux.

It IS a nice deal, but I think your last statement may be off. You can have it on your network and be able to access it from different computers, but not at the same time. Yes it has two tuners, but you can't have the stream going to separate IPs at one time.

Silicon Dust DOES make a HD HomeRun Tech that will let you do as you're suggesting... OR you could buy two or more of these regular dual tuner HDHomeRuns and access them seperately for less money.

micahnathaniel wrote:My mother is just looking for a simple way to watch her cable tv service on her Mac computer screen... I was thinking at first that this could be the solution. But I am having doubts. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks.

If she's using basic analog cable, you could use something like this
Otherwise, if it is digital cable this is not easy to do. The signal is encrypted, and you need the cable company's equipment to unencrypt it. If you want high definition, it's harder still.

I'm in for one and picked up sn antenna on thingfling for 19.99(45.99 on Amazon)

kh99 wrote:Yes, this will let you watch something else on your laptop, but you will be limited to what your cable company transmits in clear qam (an unencrypted digital cable signal) (ETA: ...or what you can receive over the air if you connect an antenna instead). With Comcast this used to give you cable channels 63 and below, but they're changing it so that you now can only use this to get local channels. (I suspect that might be why they're selling these cheap - they used to go for twice this price).

If your TV is just your TV and you have a splitter in place before it goes to the HDHomeRun tuner, then yes, you can watch more than one at a time.

On the other hand if you're trying to watch on more than one laptop or home theater PC at a time, the answer is a definite NO. You have to either buy a HDHomeRun Tech or get a second (or third) HDHomeRun in order to multicast.

jmkurdzo wrote:Just a caution... I have had very inconsistent results using this device with a cable splitter. At times, HD signal will become very choppy (although the audio comes through fine). As soon as I removed any splitter, it works perfectly. I have tried 3 different splitters, and they all have the same problem.

I have used splitter between cable modem and HD Homerun without any issue after using a line amplifier. You may run into issue using splitters without amplification.

csimmon1 wrote:will this work with a mac or do you have to get a jacket for it to work

I use one of these with my mac and eyetv. Works perfectly. I have it hooked to a pair of rabbit ears. I used to have it hooked to comcast cable, but that only provided 720p.

SOOOO

If I only use an antenna for TV, but have broadband, this allows me to view any unencrypted cable stations? In my area?

For those of us without Cable but with broadband this accomplishes.....?

waffle wrote:SOOOO

If I only use an antenna for TV, but have broadband, this allows me to view any unencrypted cable stations? In my area?

For those of us without Cable but with broadband this accomplishes.....?

Do you mean broadband via cable?

I understand that this thing can not cope with either sat or encrypted-cable signals... but can it be used as an HD capture card to accept output from the sat or cable box (that is normally sent to the TV) to get HD programming on your PC's hard drive?

waffle wrote:SOOOO

If I only use an antenna for TV, but have broadband, this allows me to view any unencrypted cable stations? In my area?

For those of us without Cable but with broadband this accomplishes.....?

This will not suddenly give you Cable TV for free if you do not already have it. No one is making that statement or being coy about anything.

If you already have Cable TV it will let you view the unencrypted channels, just as your regular HDTV will without a cablecard. It can also let you view your OTA "Antenna" channels.

The advantage of this tuner is that it will let you connect over a network such as the home one you have or the one you might have at work, if you're their IT guy and let you view HDTV channels on your PC.

I have this model Woot is selling as well as their single tuner model so I can have multiple HTPCs accessing multiple HDTV streams at a time.

Word of warning. The AC Adapter they include can be faulty. Not faulty as in it'll burn your house down. Faulty as in it may eventually die.

SiliconDust was originally replacing these adapters for no cost, as they replaced mine better than a year ago, but I do not currently see anything like that on their website now... and one of mine is dead again.

Just be sure to keep your invoice here from woot to help you send a support ticket in case it ever comes to that.

Otherwise, it's actually a pretty good, sensitive tuner. Much better than any of the other ones I've used, but I will say that it does struggle some with signal interference. Less than perfect there, but overall, it's pretty solid.

They do have a strong support forum/community, and they update their drivers and firmware frequently, so aside from the AC adapter, buy with confidence.

nickwoot9 wrote:what is the best software to use with this?

I have had a lot of luck with Sage TV.

This sounds like it would have been really useful during the World Cup... poor timing FAIL!

Absolutely everyone with a decent computer and NuLink cable TV service in Newnan, GA 30263 should get this. There are about 24 unencrypted HD channels...not just locals.

I've had a great media center experience using Windows 7 and 2x Hauppauge dual QAM tuners (HVR-2250), except for a channel-changing glitch.

Buy three of these and use tuner pooling so 6 tuners accessible to HTPCs all through the home!

russdog wrote:I understand that this thing can not cope with either sat or encrypted-cable signals... but can it be used as an HD capture card to accept output from the sat or cable box (that is normally sent to the TV) to get HD programming on your PC's hard drive?

I'd say probably not, since this only has inputs for a digital cable or digital TV signal, and usually the RF out of a sat or cable box is an NTSC (old style analog TV) signal. I suppose it's possible that a sat or cable box could have a digital signal out in one of those formats, but I've never heard of it.

How is this different than a Slingbox?

kh99 wrote:I'd say probably not, since this only has inputs for a digital cable or digital TV signal, and usually the RF out of a sat or cable box is an NTSC (old style analog TV) signal. I suppose it's possible that a sat or cable box could have a digital signal out in one of those formats, but I've never heard of it.

Has to be hooked directly to coax, there is no other input available, and the cable box doesn't strip the scrambling. (and that's an analog signal coming out of the back of that...)

kh99 wrote:Yes, this will let you watch something else on your laptop, but you will be limited to what your cable company transmits in clear qam (an unencrypted digital cable signal) (ETA: ...or what you can receive over the air if you connect an antenna instead). With Comcast this used to give you cable channels 63 and below, but they're changing it so that you now can only use this to get local channels. (I suspect that might be why they're selling these cheap - they used to go for twice this price).

My cable company never gave out anything unencrypted besides locals and public access. I was a beta tester so I've had my HDHomerun for 2.5 years, still working. (I have 2 of them)

russdog wrote:I understand that this thing can not cope with either sat or encrypted-cable signals... but can it be used as an HD capture card to accept output from the sat or cable box (that is normally sent to the TV) to get HD programming on your PC's hard drive?

If you'd take 30 seconds to look at the inputs this thing has (and maybe another 30 seconds to look at the HD outputs your Sat/Cable box has) then you'd know the answer!

has anyone else noticed the influx of zappos.com adds since amazon bought woot out? maybe we will soon see a shoe.woot.com! that would be awesome

I bought this a couple of months ago, and it works great for me. I have it recording to my Win7/Media Center machine, and can watch shows on either my computer or TV via my xbox (the xbox has some annoying input lag, just like Comcast's crappy DVR).

Recording over a Wireless-N connection was spotty for me, with dropped frames or garbled recording, especially when using both tuners at once. When I switched to gigabit ethernet, it was as smooth as butter.

I have internet through Comcast, but I'm not paying for any channels beyond the ClearQAM ones, for which this tuner works fine. However, if you pay for a cable TV subscription, wait for the $250 CableCARD version of this, coming later this year.
http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun/prime/

You might also want to check out the $400 Ceton CableCARD quad tuner. However, that Tuner is internal to your computer and can't be used to broadcast TV to multiple computers on your LAN.
http://www.cetoncorp.com/products.php

assuming that it is dependent on hi speed internet and that it won't work without broadband access Right??

RWoodward wrote:Quick question for any AV geeks who might be out there. I want to install a wall mounted TV in my bar, but there is no space nearby for the cable box. The wife abhors any kind of visible wires, and I'm wondering if there is a relatively painless way to beam a wireless signal from the cable box across the room to the TV on the wall. I've purchased nothing for this install yet, so all options are open.

Well, now that analog over-the-air TV is shut down, you could connect a modulator (or old VCR) to rabbit ear antenna to wirelessly transmit the TV signal on analog Channel 3 or 4 across the room.... but you might violate FCC regulations and jam some newer cellphones.

bigdroo wrote:You can have it on your network and be able to access it from different computers, but not at the same time. Yes it has two tuners, but you can't have the stream going to separate IPs at one time.

I'm confused. So, the HomeRun does /not/ support one computer feeding off of Tuner 1 and another computer feeding off of Tuner 2 simultaneously?

dbarnett22 wrote:How is this different than a Slingbox?

http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4061514

I did some digging around online and found that this will work with and iPad (or iphone) but you will need to have EyeTV running on your mac:

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/home.en.html

And you will need to purchase the App from the App store.

So I am in for one and will give it a try.

Here is a Youtube vid of it in action on the iPad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ktAfXTZ7vs&NR=1

NightGhost wrote:In my experience, channel availability can vary greatly within a zip code. That's why I recommended antennaweb - you can actually check by address (you can also play around by entering 2 addresses that are a block or two apart and seeing if there's a difference).

One caveat: antennaweb doesn't know if there are any tall buildings adjacent to your location, which can affect reception. There is a place to enter yes or no on tall buildings when you check what antenna you need.

Thank you for the tip... I really appreciate the link you provided.