TV PCIe card / Linux recommendations please

Live TV & DVR
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Hi,

I have given up trying to get my Hauppauge HVR-2200 card working, even with the resources here :-

https://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hauppauge_WinTV-HVR-2200

Could I have some recommendations please on a reliable configuration of TV PCIe card / Linux / Plex. I am not tied to a specific Linux.

I would like to record TV channels - so multiple tuners I’ll need.

Thanks

Lee

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If you don’t have to have a PCIe type tuner, a Silicondust HDHomeRun tuner (2 or 4 tuner models) might be an option. It attaches to your computer network and a TV antenna. With a Plex Pass you use it with Plex.

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If you need a cable card tuner for cable tv, I use Ceton Infinitv since the HDHomerun cable card tuners are hard to come by. You will need to use CetonProxy to make it appear as a HDHomerun tuner to Plex.

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I second the recommendation for the SiliconDust devices. (These are the only devices which are officially supported in Plex, btw.).
No fussing about with drivers. You simply connect them to your local network and be done.

5

Hi all,

Blimey, this device is popular. I wanted to avoid another external box, but I’ll research some more about the HDHomerun.

Thanks
Lee

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I’ve been using a WINTV-QuadHD pci-e tuner card with plex for years.
https://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_quadhd.html

It’s been very reliable, and like you, I like having everything in one machine. I’m currently running Ubuntu Server 20.04.2 and didn’t need to do anything special with firmware or drivers like you do with the 2200.

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Hi pbenzschawel,

I will have a look at this card. This would be my prefence.

Thanks

Lee

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Just a note, make sure your plex account is a member of the video group or else it won’t be able to see the card. A few years back it was an issue where you had to manually add it, I’m sure it’s fixed now, but that is something that I ran into. Can check by typing “id plex” in a terminal

paul@ubuntu-server:~$ id plex
uid=997(plex) gid=997(plex) groups=997(plex),44(video),109(render)

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Ok, thanks for the tip.

Lee

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pbenzschawel,

Plex could not find my new! Hauppauge WinTV-QuadHD-PCIe card, so I tried the following:-

When I run this command, it says

lee@Plex-TV:~$ id plex
id: ‘plex’: no such user
lee@Plex-TV:~$

I have also followed the PPA instructions here, but Plex still cannot find this card?

https://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/support/linux_backup.html

Any ideas?

Thanks

Lee

Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS

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Doesn’t work with the snap install which is the default on Ubuntu 20. Need to remove it and download/install the version from Plex.

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ok great, I’ll try this tomorrow.

Thanks

Lee

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I had originally wanted to use a card and was against using a separate network appliance for my live TV deployment. I was putting a Plex server at my parent’s house, because they had an antenna already set up (I grew up without cable) and are 25 miles closer to the major market I wanted to pick up TV from (and there is a mountain between my house and the transmission sources too).

I ended up giving in and going with an HD HomeRun Quatro (4 channel tuner). I deployed the server at their house, and the only place I could put the server, UPS, network switch, and tuner was in the basement at the opposite side of the house from the antenna. Because they are at the edge of the transmission range for some of the stations, I was getting signal loss due to the length of the cable run to the setup.

With the HD HomeRun, I was able to move it to a new location, right where the cable from the antenna enters the house. I already had CAT6 running to that location, so no issues there.

I saw a marked improvement in signal strength, and I would not have had that flexibility had I gone with a tuner card.

I ended up moving to Channels DVR later, and the nice thing there was that there were no driver / compatibility issues since it is a network based device.

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Thanks @pl_5309, that was going to be my guess with his issue as well.

Also @leejenson you can run the following command to verify the cards are indeed detected and working in Linux

paul@ubuntu-server:~$ lspci | grep video
29:00.0 Multimedia video controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. CX23887/8 PCIe Broadcast Audio and Video Decoder with 3D Comb (rev 04)
2a:00.0 Multimedia video controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. CX23887/8 PCIe Broadcast Audio and Video Decoder with 3D Comb (rev 04)

And remember, you have to add the card twice during the plex live tv setup process in order to get all four tuners to show up.

Also, you shouldn’t need the PPA because I believe since 18.04 everything is built in. (could be wrong on the version but I know it was a few versions ago)

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@urbnsr @Alucard1 @OttoKerner
Thanks for your Silicondust HDHomerun recommendations, but I am in the middle of repurposing unused PCs, and I do not want additional boxes.

@pbenzschawel
I have set up a configuration like yours. This aligns with my needs. Thanks for the video group check. I think this helped diagnose the Snap Software Library problem. I also ran your video card command to check the basics - I’ve been looking for something like this. The two tuners are visible.

@pl_5309
Thanks, installing the software direct from Plex made the Hauppauge WinTV-QuadHD-PCIe card visible.

NateTheBrewer
Thanks for sharing your expeirence, but I would like to carry on with repurposing some unused hardware I have in my tiny flat! And reduce my external boxes.

I reinstsalled Ubuntu (I wanted to start again - troubleshooting is easier), Plex, and plugged the TV ariel (UK) in, but the card cannot find any channels. I have tested the cable, and it works fine.

I will close this thread and open a new one here for the next part of this journey…

Thanks for your support

Lee

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