Based on list of supported devices here, it looks like ‘SiliconDust HDHomeRun’ is a future proof deal since it supports many platforms.
However, I am confused between there Connect, Extend and Prime versions. The description provided here doesn’t help much to understand which one to get.
Has anyone got one? Any idea on which one I should get? Thanks
The Prime is for those with Cable TV service and uses a CableCard to decrypt channels that cable company encrypts. This is different than copy protection, Plex does not handle any channels which have copy protection added to them, different cable companies use copy protection based on what they want to do rather than what the actual broadcaster requires. One cable company might copy protect AMC while another does not a matter of the broadcaster requiring copy protection in some situations.
Connect is used for OTA broadcasts where you are using an antenna to receive broadcasts of your local channels.
Extend is used for OTA broadcasts the same as the Connect. The Extend has the ability to transcode the broadcast signal to h264 before sending the broadcast out acrosss the network.
Ok so it looks like I won’t need the Prime. However, I am still confused between Connect vs. Extend.
The Extend has the ability to transcode the broadcast signal to h264 before sending the broadcast out acrosss the network.
Can you please help me understand what does this mean?
The Connect just passes whatever the video is broadcast in to Plex. Plex must then handle transcoding if necessary. In the US most OTA broadcasts are in mpeg2 from what I understand, not sure about other countries. Including a screenshot of a VLC Network Stream from one of my Connect devices. If I want to transcode the recording from mpeg2 to h264 I must do the transcode after the recording as part of post processing.
The Extend is capable of converting or transcoding this incoming stream from mpeg2 to h264. So it can convert the video before sending to Plex so it is already in a h264 format when recorded. Here is a link to another Plex users @ultramookie blog post discussing his use of the Extend device. https://ultramookie.com/2016/2016-12-20-making-hdhr-work-my-way.html
Ok, so it ultimately comes to understanding weather or not I need mpeg2 to h264 transcoding!
Which I am still not about 
@G0neR0gue so there are two things to consider for transcoding.
First is your network capacity. For the Connect, it is recommended you have a wired or AC wireless network, while the Extend can also be used if you have an N wireless network, which is slower. Though, if you have strong and fast WiFi, even N should be able to handle the stream from the Connect (the HD HomeRun only has a 100Mbit wired connection, and N WiFI is theoretically faster). If your WiFi is congested however, from many devices or other nearby networks, then the Extend may be better for you.
Second is file sizes for storing recorded shows on your server. The raw MPEG2 streams from the Connect will be larger than the transcoded H.264 streams from the Extend. If you have plenty of space and/or consider your DVR shows to be transient, this may not be a big deal.
I live in Tokyo and would like to try this but the DVR hardware recommended by PLEX LIVE TV & DVR are all US-centric. The Prime version would seem like my best option because we get TV via cable over JCOM BUT the M-card the Prime uses is not available here and likely would not decode Japanese cable encoding even it it was. So that leaves the choice of Connect or Extend but will these handle Japanese OTA digital TV broadcasts? I have no idea and cannot find much on the PLEX site to say whether this will work outside the US.
So this is a plea to the PLEX people to think more internationally and at least consider/recommend some DVR hardware that is available and used in Asia (where most equipment is actually manufactured!).
Would the IOData HVTR-BCTX3 work (It is a Japanese DVR) with PMS Live TV & DVR?
