# HdHomeRun Flex tuner connection **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Tags:** hardware\ **Created:** [March 2, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031 "2024-03-02T16:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lar507](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@lar507](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lar507)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/1 "2024-03-02T16:12:00Z")
I just bought an HD homerun 4k tuner and signed up for Plex Pass. Can I watch live. TV from the tuner directly or do I need a Plex media server and a dedicated server hardware? Thanks Larry ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_S](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/brad_s/32/3999_2.png) [@Brad\_S](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Brad_S)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/2 "2024-03-02T17:48:34Z")
After you have completed the setup on the HD Homerun box. 1. On your smart TV, you can go to Source and select the HD Homerun and watch from there. 2. You can configure DVR services on Plex Media server and run from the server. 3. If you have a compatible smart TV, you can load the HD Homerun app on the TV and channel surf from there. I hope this helps! –Brad ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/3 "2024-03-02T17:50:40Z")
You can also download a software from the Silicondust website to watch TV. > [@lar507](#): > > signed up for Plex Pass Why did you think this was necessary? ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_S](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/brad_s/32/3999_2.png) [@Brad\_S](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Brad_S)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/4 "2024-03-02T18:10:41Z")
If you want to configure this in Plex to watch and record, you need to Plex Pass. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/5 "2024-03-02T18:11:29Z")
OP hasn’t made that clear. ---
**Author:** ![lar507](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@lar507](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lar507)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/6 "2024-03-02T18:41:02Z")
I thought that was needed for DVR support, ultimately to record from the HDHomeRun tuner. ---
**Author:** ![lar507](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@lar507](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lar507)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/7 "2024-03-02T18:42:35Z")
So I need an external server to watch and record the HDHomeRun tuner I guess? ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/8 "2024-03-02T18:45:30Z")
> [@lar507](#): > > I thought that was needed for DVR support That is correct, but you didn’t mention recording in your first post. > [@lar507](#): > > So I need an external server to watch If you have a machine which is powerful enough, it can run the server and the player at the same time on it. ---
**Author:** ![lar507](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@lar507](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lar507)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/9 "2024-03-02T19:45:03Z")
Thanks. Yes, DVR is needed. I assumed that paying for PlexPass DVR service included the storage for the DVR, even for the external tuner, but I guess not. My player is Roku, so that’s gonna work for a server. I shouldn’t have thrown out my Windows Media Center PC! You think a RasPi 3 with Ubuntu would work for a server just to record? Larry ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/10 "2024-03-02T21:03:31Z")
> [@lar507](#): > > You think a RasPi 3 with Ubuntu would work for a server just to record? Probably not, because the data format of live TV often requires transcoding, when played on a range of playback device types. Particularly when we’re talking about higher than SD resolution. ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_S](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/brad_s/32/3999_2.png) [@Brad\_S](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Brad_S)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/11 "2024-03-02T21:11:27Z")
> [@lar507](#): > > I assumed that paying for PlexPass DVR service included the storage for the DVR, even for the external tuner, but I guess not. Your Plex Media Server should have direct attached storage (internal HDD) or network attached storage (something like Synology or TrueNAS). The server should have a good processor to effectively transcode the TV program to an MP4 or MKV file. If not, you will end up with very large files. The nice part is, skip intros and skip credits. ---
**Author:** ![Divideby0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/74df32/32.png) [@Divideby0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Divideby0)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/12 "2024-03-02T21:50:12Z")
On reading this topic, what strikes me as odd is that the OP apparently does not have a Plex server at all. Somehow though, they assumed that Plex and the HDHomeRun tuner are linked, company-wise. While Plex does recommend the HDHR tuner, it’s mostly because they support it the best, and can see the video stream from it. Aside from that, the two companies really don’t have anything to do with each-other. If you wish to use the HDHR tuner standalone, there are apps for TVs and other devices (as mentioned earlier). FYI, Plex Pass is used to unlock additional functionality for Plex servers. Without a server, it’s pretty much pointless to have a Plex Pass or even a Plex account _(with some exceptions not too important to point out right now)_. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hdhomerun-flex-tuner-connection/871031/13 "2026-04-22T13:56:24Z")
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.