Help with Live TV and DVR

General Discussions
1

Hello,

I am trying to figure out what is needed in order to set up live TV with Plex. From what I can see all I need is a DVR, antenna and plex premium pass. I live in Europe and I read the guide on supported antennas and DVRs, however I still have a few questions:

  1. What is the practical difference between the DVRs? For example “SiliconDust HDHomeRun” vs “Hauppauge WinTV-dual HD”? Will both deliver live TV with the difference of the user interface?
  2. How can I choose an antenna? The mohu and hd frequency are out of stock in Europe… Is there any way I can check ahead of time what antenna I need, before I purchase?
  3. How accurate is the channel lookup feature on the plex main page? I see there are many channels in my area, even some paid ones… Is there any way to check ahead of time which ones will be available, before I purchase the dvr and antenna?

Thank you in advance and please excuse my ignorance, I’m not really a tech guy…

2

I am doing the same thing in the US. YouTube has lots of video on easy build antennas in less than a day. Both Europe and the US broadcast on UHF and some VHF frequencies. The type of antenna you want depends on how far you live away from the stations you want. I live in the city so a simple bow tie antenna will work for me, if you live 60k or more you may need a larger one with a reflector. Also mountains cause issues. As far as the DVR, I am going to repurpose a five year old PC with Ubuntu 17.3 Linux, load Plex server and use a Hauppauge tuner to connect to my antenna. The gunners are different in Europe but Hauppauge is a European company and makes what you want.

3

I have tried out the dvr and been quite disappointed.

Much of this I think is living about 40 miles from the tv transmitters, I think, so maybe I expected too much. Only one station can be tuned or recorded reliably usually, 22.

Thing is the same rooftop antenna seems to work on many more stations for the tv hooked to it rather than plex tuner. I have a Hauppauge usb dual tuner. Would a different tuner maybe the Silicon dust standalone tuner pick more channels?

I’m reluctant to put more money into this with no idea if will make any improvement.