Server Version#: 1.18.8.2468
Tuner Make/Model: HDHomeRun CONNECT Quatro
Guide/Lineup name: Broadcast TV - Canada Toronto-Hamilton OTA Broadcast
Using XMLTV?:
Channel number/Name: various
A few months ago, we had a good quality antenna professionally installed. They tested the signal strength, etc. When I connect directly to a TV we get a long list of available channels. However, when we connect to the HDHomeRun device, only a smaller subset of channels is found and some of those are unusable.
After some dialogue with the SiliconDust people, they gave an unexpected diagnosis. Apparently, our signal is too strong for the HDHomeRun unit.
Well, too strong on some channels.
The installers used an amp to get the nearby USA stations (Buffalo) with clarity. In that configuration, the local stations are blown out on the HDHomeRun.
If I install attenuators to knock down the signal, we can view local channels but not the ones a bit further out.
Keep in mind - all of these channels and more show up fine on the TV. Itâs just the HDHomeRun that canât handle the variance in signal strength.
Iâm quite open to buying another unit to replace the HDHomeRun, but I wonder if weâll have the same problem. Is this common?
Are there other units you can suggest that might better handle this setup?
They blocked me from their twitter feed for bringing up this issue. Good company to stay away from if you look at the strictly policed and pruned forum they run. They auto delete every post after a set number of months so any previous support you got there is gone forever.
As far as I know, they are it as far as standalone networked tv tuners. Iâd like to see an alternative myself, the other systems (such as Tablo) seem to be all-in-one setups where you have the tuner and hardware in one unit. If they have a PC interface I may look into it eventually.
Hauppauge âCordcutterâ is a two tuner standalone network tuner with hw transocding. Iâm almost positive that itâs worked with Plex for a long time now. Thatâs the only other option I know of.
Having said that - I think Iâd be creative with antenna aiming to see if I can pull it off of the strong ones a bit and aim it more toward the weak ones.
It may also be something you can tell âthe professional installerâ about. The âinstallerâ may have another antenna that is more directional (aim with a tighter footprint) and that could help. âProfessional Installersâ - if in fact, Professional - have all sorts of tricks in the bag. Call 'em up and tell them whatâs happening.
If you want to go take the antenna for a âspinâ,
The HDHR Phone App for Signal Strength would be invaluable in this regard.
Itâs free.
I just discovered something which perhaps you already knew. There is a Windows app called the HDHomeRun Config GUI for TECH available at the following URL:
which allows you to look at not only signal strength on HDHomeRun channels but also quality. If you havenât tried it yet, it might yield some additional insight.
Unfortunate - in that youâll probably need a âProfessionalâ to get the right Notch/Other filter - if one even exists (for under a million dollars).
Me?
Iâd build an antenna - a Yagi. due to them being quite narrow banded. Iâd cut it for frequencies AWAY from those strong ones - if possible - the goal being to build an antenna that sucks for the strong stations.
That test will be labor intensive and require more skill than that of the average bear. <âa Professional Installer would have thought of that. A retired one did. <âthere may even be an antenna built for the purpose. <â if I knew the channels/frequencies of the all the players.
I know this requires an additional expenditure, but for an off-the-wall solution, you could get a second HDHomeRun (I understand if you donât want to reward them), then split the coax signal. On one of the two splits, use the attenuator. Then remove the non-working channels from each HDHR, leaving yourself with a full list of channels spread across two HDHRâs.
Yes, this does sound crazy to me as I type it. But theoretically it would work. Assuming Plexâs guide can handle the two different markets at the same time in the guide, which is often problematic.
Donât know if your proposed solution would work. But I can say that I have two HDHomeRun tuner devices on my Plex server. Works fine, so long as I donât have the same channel on both. So I divided up which channels have the most shows likely to be recorded or watched and threw in the less likely to be used stations to fill it out.
jkramer
I donât think the HDHomeRun config gui was in my old install but canât be sure. I just upgraded it and itâs right where you said it was. Maybe it was there all along and I never knew. Either way, itâs a handy tool which Iâm glad to know about now.
If you are looking for the ârightâ answer, and are willing to spend a couple bucks, the short answer is that you need 2 antennas and a combiner.
Right now you are over-amplifying part of your signal in order to make the weaker portion useful. This is true for many people, but they way they solve that is with a small multi-directional antenna for the locals, a larger antenna for the distant (usually directional, or at least more so), and a combiner. Iâve been living this in a different scenario around UHF/VHF. I didnât realize some of my locals we in VHF Lo, and my UHF antenna simply doesnât receive the signal.
The solution is a standalone VHF antenna in combination with my UHF, and a signal combiner to get them to a single cable that my HDHomerun can utilize.
So yes, you could use a second HDHomerun, but I would use a pair of antenna to get the two signals separately, amplify one prior to the combiner if need be, and then use a combiner to get the signal to the single tuner. I canât think of anything more irritating that having to change source every time I wanted to watch a different channel.
Not sure how thatâs gonna help ya if both targets are in the exact same place on the compass, but Iâm dyinâ to hear all about âThe Right Answerâ.
The real âRight Answerâ is to use a tuner that doesnât explode when it encounters a strong signal - like any tuner that isnât an HDHR tuner - or any number of the other âRight Answersâ that may or may not work in a particular situation.
