HDHomeRun Prime + XBMC = Futureproof?
#1
Hey Guys,

I'm about to take the plunge and order an HDHomeRunPrime (HDHR3-CC).

I'm a Comcast customer outside Philadelphia, PA.

I just wanted to double check before ordering this, that the HDHomeRunPrime is recommended for XBMC.

Will this unit be compatible with the PVR functionality of Frodo?

I don't want to order one today, and then need to replace it when Frodo comes out

( :

Thanks,

Owen
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#2
I would not recommend trying to use any cable card tuner with the PVR in XBMC. More than likely (it's pretty much a guarantee) you are going to encounter copy-protected content and the only software that is currently certified to allow recording and playback of copy-protected content is WMC. If you want to use the PVR in XBMC the I'd suggest you stick with a OTA tuner.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
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#3
HDHomeRun Prime has some new features to make life easy for viewing and DVR apps.

For example, you can save a recording with a simple http-get:
wget http://<ip addr>:5004/auto/v2?duration=1800
(this will save a 30 minute recording of virtual channel 2, auto selecting a tuner)

And XBMC is part of our internal testing of DLNA support.

Nick - Silicondust
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#4
(2012-10-28, 19:17)sd-jafa Wrote: HDHomeRun Prime has some new features to make life easy for viewing and DVR apps.

For example, you can save a recording with a simple http-get:
wget http://<ip addr>:5004/auto/v2?duration=1800
(this will save a 30 minute recording of virtual channel 2, auto selecting a tuner)

And XBMC is part of our internal testing of DLNA support.

Nick - Silicondust

But this really misses the point of the original posters question about is there a future with using XBMC with your companies product, the HD HomeRun Prime CableCard tuner.

The cable industry in the USA has shown itself to be hostile to products like the HD HomeRun Prime and take almost every legal measure to block the value of devices like the HD HomeRun Prime. Time Warner Cable only marks OTA channels as copy freely and that is only because they are required to BY LAW.

I have an HD HomeRun Prime. My cable provider is Time Warner. The only useful software is Windows Media Center, and the future if WMC is not by any measure assured.

So Nick, do you know something about CableCard and the ability to use your product with cable providers who mark everything with DRM to make your product of no real value?

I hope so. To be able to tell Time Warner to frack off would make me happy.
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#5
I could be wrong but I don't think so.

If you read the main page and dig in elsewhere, you'll note XBMC acts only as a front-end to your PVR software. It is not, by any means, an actual program that controls or does anything OTHER than interact with your hardware's packaged software (or other 3rd party software packages). What I'm driving at here is..

If the software you use to control your product don't let you do option x, XBMC is not going to do it, either. It's not going to let you unlock or enable flagged content by a cablecard. It is beyond the scope of XBMC (currently) to make direct hardware contact with all the possible "standards" out there for PVR software, much less to take a specific set (your prime box in this case with CABLECard) and allow hacking/modifying of it.

If you want your cablecard enabled unit to do things your cable company doesn't want you to, your best best will be to find a modding scene of some type for your product, if one even exists. Furthermore, you should know and understand that cablecards are highly volatile and unreliable, even in TV's, much less PC's. They are a great idea that has been implemented so poorly it isn't even funny.

All XBMC (to recap) is doing is, in laymans's terms, accessing the software you normally use and sorta passing that data through to xbmc, it is not making direct contact or control of your pvr equipment.
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#6
Happy cablevision user w a hdhr prime. I do not subscribe to any premium content. Using the basic package. Please see. Nextpvr sub forum
first_time_user (wiki) | free content (wiki) | forum rules (wiki) | PVR (wiki) | Debug Log (wiki)

IMPORTANT:
The official Kodi version does not contain any content what so ever. This means that you should provide your own content from a local or remote storage location, DVD, Blu-Ray or any other media carrier that you own. Additionally Kodi allows you to install third-party plugins that may provide access to content that is freely available on the official content provider website. The watching or listening of illegal or pirated content which would otherwise need to be paid for is not endorsed or approved by Team Kodi.
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#7
I have two HDHomerun Prime's, Comcast Digital Preferred service, and use MythTV as the VDR software.

Comcast Corporate policy is to mark any non-premium channel as ' copy-freely '.

The only channels I can not watch or record are the payola channels - ie, HBO, Encore, which Comcast have been removing from the system and recommending use OnDemand to watch.

With Frodo & the MythTV cmyth PVR front end, and a MythTV backend, it's looking very good.


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#8
(2012-10-28, 23:07)smitopher Wrote: The cable industry in the USA has shown itself to be hostile to products like the HD HomeRun Prime and take almost every legal measure to block the value of devices like the HD HomeRun Prime. Time Warner Cable only marks OTA channels as copy freely and that is only because they are required to BY LAW.
We are not seeing any hostility from the cable industry.

Some channels require end-to-end protection, and the extent varies between MSOs.

Personally I get ~350 channels that are access controlled but do not require end-to-end protection - only HBO and Showtime require WMC.

TWC does tend to flag most content which is unfortunate.

Nick
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#9
(2012-10-28, 19:17)sd-jafa Wrote: HDHomeRun Prime has some new features to make life easy for viewing and DVR apps.

For example, you can save a recording with a simple http-get:
wget http://<ip addr>:5004/auto/v2?duration=1800
(this will save a 30 minute recording of virtual channel 2, auto selecting a tuner)

And XBMC is part of our internal testing of DLNA support.

Nick - Silicondust

That is awesome! Is it available on the OTA HDHR Dual? I've used my HDHR for about 3 months now and I love it, but I needed to record the Ironman triathlon this weekend and could not find a way to do it without installing something huge (MythTV, TVHeadend, etc.). I wish I had learned about this feature 2 days ago Sad
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#10
(2012-10-29, 07:12)tdavis Wrote: Comcast Corporate policy is to mark any non-premium channel as ' copy-freely '.
Hmm. I have never heard that before. Of course I suppose their policy can change at any time.

(2012-10-29, 19:17)sd-jafa Wrote: TWC does tend to flag most content which is unfortunate.
TWC is my cable provider and they flag everything that is not OTA content.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
Media server: unraid 4.7 | CPU | MB | RAM | Case | PSU | HDDs: Parity-2TB, Data-2x2TB
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#11
(2012-10-29, 22:27)wsume99 Wrote:
(2012-10-29, 19:17)sd-jafa Wrote: TWC does tend to flag most content which is unfortunate.
TWC is my cable provider and they flag everything that is not OTA content.

TWC are also jerks enough to broadcast only the SD versions of stations via QAM - making it next to worthless. You only get about 4 stations due to the DRM flag, and those are low bitrate SD versions. Thanks FCC for leaving enough loopholes that the cable companies can still leverage you away from any alternatives.
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#12
(2012-10-29, 07:12)tdavis Wrote: I have two HDHomerun Prime's, Comcast Digital Preferred service, and use MythTV as the VDR software.

Comcast Corporate policy is to mark any non-premium channel as ' copy-freely '.

The only channels I can not watch or record are the payola channels - ie, HBO, Encore, which Comcast have been removing from the system and recommending use OnDemand to watch.

With Frodo & the MythTV cmyth PVR front end, and a MythTV backend, it's looking very good.

Really? Hot damn, I might go buy me a HDHomerun...
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#13
The FCC also just passed a bill allowing cable companies to encode everything. Get ready to kiss clear QAM goodbye. A cablecard is going to be required soon and of course only Microsoft has a license to record the encrypted stuff.

Yeah, I own an HDHomerun too :-(
Openelec Gotham, MCE remote(s), Intel i3 NUC, DVDs fed from unRAID cataloged by DVD Profiler. HD-DVD encoded with Handbrake to x.264. Yamaha receiver(s)
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#14
wsume99 Wrote:TWC are also jerks enough to broadcast only the SD versions of stations via QAM - making it next to worthless. You only get about 4 stations due to the DRM flag, and those are low bitrate SD versions. Thanks FCC for leaving enough loopholes that the cable companies can still leverage you away from any alternatives.
exit151 Wrote:If you want your cablecard enabled unit to do things your cable company doesn't want you to, your best best will be to find a modding scene of some type for your product, if one even exists. Furthermore, you should know and understand that cablecards are highly volatile and unreliable, even in TV's, much less PC's. They are a great idea that has been implemented so poorly it isn't even funny.
I have a Tivo Premiere, a HD HomeRun Prime and a bitty box HTPC (AMD E-450, HD Radeon 6320) running Windows 8/Windows Media Center 8 over a wired gigabit network.

My Cable provider is Time Warner Cable. TWC is switched cable video so a channel adapter is also required.

TWC doen NOT allow "CableCard self install". You have to make an appointment and wait around during your 6 to 8 hour window for the tech to arrive. All 5 appointments I had, the techs arrived within 15 minutes of the END of the window. The Tivo required 3 appointments. The HD HomeRun Prime required 2 appointments. The techs spent many hours on the phone with their main office counterparts scratching their heads, wondering why the cards would not activate. None of them showed any knowledge beyond rote following of a how to guide. After may tries, the cards activate with neither the techs nor TWC main office knowing why the did not at first or why they finally did.

The Tivo has been mostly stable but the channel adapter and Tivo need occasional re-boots.

The Windows Media Center/HD HomeRun Prime combo is slow and NOT stable. Maybe it's because my HTPC is under powered but the feedback from folks over at the WMC community do not think so.

In my conversation with one of the TWC techs, he stated that CableCards were a "nightmare".

sd-jafa said:
sa-jafa Wrote:We are not seeing any hostility from the cable industry.
Then why is CableCard such a mess and Tru2way dead?

I want to cut my cord and LEGALY get my tv content via on-demand internet. But the Cable Companies, TV networks and Studios no not want to lose their current business model and Cable companies do not want to be "Common Carriers". I characterize this as "hostile" to your companies product.
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#15
Funny, in contrast, Comcast allows self install of cable cards (mandated by FCC, I've read), both times, I simply plug them in into the HDHomerun Prime, call the 800 comcast number, read off a few numbers.. and bingo, it's up and running.

No tech visit, no multiple phone calls to get things working; and has been almost flawless (I had one incident that was wierd, power cycling the Prime's fixed it..)


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