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SiliconDust HDHomeRun

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Review Fancy a TV tuner for your Mac or PC? Chances are you’ll be looking at a USB device, but there are limitations – the most obvious being it can only be used on one computer at a time. Offering an Ethernet alternative, SiliconDust’s HDHomeRun twin-tuner Freeview box can serve two computers with independent digital telly channels, and supports Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Interested? We were.

Silicon Dust’s HDHomeRun: pitched at those needing TV streamed over networks

Here at Vulture Central, if we use those godawful titchy portable aerials supplied with USB TV tuners, Freeview reception leaves a lot to be desired. We do have a wired TV aerial socket providing a clear signal, but that limits us to watching programmes on a television or computer located in that room.

We’ve looked at a number of options to get around this – signal amplifiers, multi-room TV systems and some very long extension cables – but a TV tuner that could stream live TV across our network to a computer in any room appears the most elegant solution.

Sling Media has been the only game in town, with its Slingbox Pro delivering Freeview over a local network. Now it’s not alone. Hauppage tell us that its new PCTV Telescope will be able to stream live TV across a network, but we’re still waiting for that to arrive in the UK. So that leaves the HDHomeRun.

Sold here in the UK by Nectar Electronics for £159, the HDHomeRun is a nondescript – the less charitable will prefer the word ‘fugly’ – plastic box. Its two digital TV tuners are tucked around the back, each with its own antenna feed. There’s also a 10/100Mb/s Ethernet interface to connect the unit to your network.

Twin tuners simultaneously stream two different TV channels

If the digital reception in your area is really good, you could simply plug two separate aerials into the twin tuners in the HDHomeRun. For us, the guys at Nectar recommended using a signal amplifier to split the signal from our aerial socket in two and then feed the signals into the HDHomeRun.

Almost all the Freeview DVRs available today have their two tuners fed by a single antenna socket, so this two tuners, two aerials approach seemed a step backwards. But at least it means one tuner can be used for Freeview and the other, potentially, for other services.

Having two tuners in the HDHomeRun allows TV to be streamed to two computers on the network, with each computer being able to watch or record a different channel. Try viewing on a third computer and you’ll simply lose the signal on one of the other machines. However, additional HDHomeRun units can be connected to the network if you want to stream TV to more than two machines at a time.

That’s in contrast to the Slingbox Pro, which will stream to only one device at a time.

The installer enables DVR application choices for each tuner

Networking was pleasantly straightforward, as there’s no need to adjust network settings or IP addresses, and streaming the TV signal to both wired and wireless computers was handled with equal ease. However, playback of the live TV signal was a bit jerky on our old MacBook using an 802.11g wireless card, so we’d recommend using 802.11n, if possible.

The only real disappointment on the hardware side of things is that there aren’t currently any HD channels available on Freeview, so the ‘HD’ part of HDHomeRun doesn’t really apply to the UK. Nectar says that SiliconDust is working on support for Freesat and Virgin’s cable TV system in the UK, but couldn’t confirm when those options are likely to be available.

But while the HDHomeRun’s hardware worked perfectly well, the software and documentation are a mess. The bundled CD-Rom includes a basic set-up utility that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux PCs, but this does little more than connect your computer to the HDHomeRun and scan for TV channels. It doesn’t include even basic DVR features, such as the ability to pause live TV, schedule recordings, or view an electronic programme guide.

And, unlike Sling, there’s no way to stream to a PDA or a phone – you’re limited to computers.

There’s no proper manual – just a few pages of A4 notes written up for UK users by Nectar. These instructions were far from comprehensive and give the impression that users are supposed to either use Windows Media Centre as their DVR software or purchase one of the third-party DVR programs recommended by SiliconDust. Hardly helpful if you’ve got a version of Windows XP or Vista that doesn’t include Media Centre – or if you’re using a Mac or a Linux box.

Windows Media Centre is the assumed DVR choice, but won’t suit everyone

Only after rooting through the Help files on the website did we discover that it’s actually possible to download a copy of ArcSoft’s TotalMedia DVR software for free and use that to control the HDHomeRun properly. During installation, as the HDHomeRun software scans for channels, a pull-down menu allows you to specify the DVR software to watch and record those TV stations. If you select TotalMedia, the program downloads the application from the SiliconDust website for you to install onto your PC.

TotalMedia works well, and has some handy features such as a little preview display of the TV image included within the electronic programme guide. The only problem is that TotalMedia only runs on Windows.

VLC is suggested for Mac and Linux but lacks DVR functions

There was a passing mention of the open-source VLC media player for the Mac in the instructions. Using VLC on the MacBook did enable live TV viewing, but nothing more than these basic playback features. Another visit to the SiliconDust website revealed a mention of Elgato’s EyeTV DVR software supplied with the German company’s range of Mac TV tuners.

We’ve reviewed a couple of Elgato tuners recently, so we had this software to hand – it normally costs £60 – and were able to install it onto our MacBook. But while EyeTV was able to detect the presence of the HDHomeRun on our network, it immediately presented us with a message saying that: “HDHomeRun is not supported in the UK.” Lucky we didn’t fork our £60 to find that out and, presumably, nobody at Nectar has done so either.

The Help files on the SiliconDust website do mention another open-source DVR app for the Mac and Linux called MythTV, but if you’ve paid over £150 for a TV tuner, you really shouldn’t have to waste your time trying to find some open-source software that may or may not work with it.

Freesat and Virgin cable support mooted, but no date yet

Verdict

So the hardware’s ugly and the software’s a bit of a dog’s breakfast, especially on the Mac and Linux side. But once you’ve got the HDHomeRun up and running, it doesn’t do a bad job. It’s no way as polished as the Slingbox Pro, but it scores over its better-known rival on two points: it’s cheaper and has two tuners on board, to be used either to feed DVR software on your computer or to pump programmes to two computers.

Suggested Price: £159

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