N00bs guide to Plex TV (HdHomeRun)?

General Discussions
1

I’m really struggling to understand exactly how PlexTV currently works.

At the moment I run Plex Server on a Windows PC and predominantly use my Xbox to watch Plex from that.
My TV viewing is done via Freesat (Humax Foxsat), but I also have standard coaxial aerial cable in my house (currently unused)

I received this week’s Plex newsletter offering a discount on HDHomeRun and I’m trying to understand exactly what would happen if I connected this to plex. With Channel 4 HD leaving Freesat, I’m genuinely looking at other options as it’s one of the primary channels I watch…

SO… a (non-exhaustive list of my questions)

  1. HDHomeRun (https://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-duo/) - where does this plug in? Obviously to my aerial (or satellite?) but does it need to connect to my windows server? Or does it sit separately and just need ethernet connection?

  2. If I connect this to Plex, can I view the TV through the Plex Xbox App? Do I get a full freeview/freesat channel listing? Does it provide EPG? (side note - I have a plex pass)
    What does it do without connecting to Plex?

  3. Can I use Plex to record live TV on my Plex Server? Or do I need the HRHomeRun subscription to do that? Can I schedule recordings from an EPG view?

  4. What advantage (other than doing everything within Plex) does this offer over say, picking up a Freeview box?

Thanks in advance!

2

Sounds like you are across the pond?!?!

  1. Yes this connects to a aerial antenna or cable feed, in US you need a cable card from your cable company to be able to use the cable feed but Ariel over the air should work everywhere and yes it has an Ethernet plug which talks to Plex.

  2. These are the supported clients for LiveTV which looks like Xbox One is one of them, EPG is still not a thing but is in the works and you can use this plugin which provides some EPG. If you dont connect to plex you can use other programs to watch LiveTV from any PC.

  3. You can record liveTV or DVR stuff for free within Plex and not need to pat HdHomerun for anything besides the up front box cost. Again the EPG is not a thing yet so you can search for show X and schedule it to record show X whenever show X airs.

  4. Using it in Plex allows you to record and add it to your plex library so you can have all your downloaded and local content displayed in a single view. you can use mythtv or nextpvr as well to do recordings for you but they do not get added to your plex library.

3

Thanks @nokdim
You are indeed across the pond it would seem :wink:

Lack of EPG is a killer for me at the moment sadly, so i’ll keep my eyes peeled for when we can get that…