HDHomeRun

There are really two parts to getting a HDHomeRun setup to work with MythTV.

• HDHomeRun Installation
• Generic HDTV Tuner Configuration

Getting the HDHomeRun detected by MythTV was very simple for me. It's some simple you may wonder if you're missing something. Getting the channels all mapped correctly was much more difficult, but that would be the case with any HDTV tuner...the problems were not specific to the HDHomeRun.

The most interesting aspects of the HDHomeRun is that it works over Ethernet, so you don’t need to open your MythTV server case, have an available PCI slot, or even directly attach it.

Since the HDHomeRun plugs into an Ethernet network, you can place the devices anywhere you have a network connection. It does not need to be in close proximity to your MythTV backend. This opens up interesting possibilities, such as an attic installation with two antennas pointed in different directions.

There are only four ports on the back of the unit, which don’t need much explanation.

The HDHomeRun Windows Client is a simple tool to tune a channel on the HDHomeRun, then launch VLC to view the MPEG2 stream.  It does it's job, but don't expect any frills.  There is a very simple tuning interface, signal strength indicator, and a button to launch VLC.  There's also a section to update the HDHomeRun Firmware.

I knew to have low expectations, but was still surprised by how unpolished it was.  Is it functional?  Yes.  Is it optimal?  Certainly not.

The HDHomeRun is a HDTV tuner unlike any other I have seen before.  It's an external dual HDTV tuner about the size of a VHS tape. 

What makes the HDHomeRun special is how it works. Instead of connecting by USB, the HDHomeRun streams two high definition (HDTV) MPEG2 streams over ethernet. Essentially it's a network attached HDTV tuner.  The HDHomeRun is certainly an interesting little device.