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HDHomeRun DVR software Kickstarter campaign

84K views 2K replies 120 participants last post by  Sammy2 
#1 ·
See here...https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1275320038/hdhomerun-dvr-the-dvr-re-imagined

Credit to head1st who first posted a few minutes ago in the HdHomeRun Prime Owners Thread...

Silicondust just launched a Kickstarter Campaign for their upcoming HDHomeRun DVR.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1275320038/hdhomerun-dvr-the-dvr-re-imagined
It's not explicitly stated on the Kickstarter site, so I asked via twitter if they're going for CableLabs certification in the US. I'll post any response here.
 
#2 ·
Wow very interesting. One of the risks they list is that copy protected content may not be available on all platforms. Hopefully they'll figure out a way to work that out, it's one of the last pieces to call this a true WMC replacement!


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#7 ·
From the material, its $30 a year and given what you'd save over a multi-DVR subscription through most cable companies, that's a drop in the bucket.

Frankly, this product will NEVER have mass appeal since most people just want to get the cable DVR plug it in and never have to bother with it (but still complain!), but that's ok. What this product CAN do is satisfy the niche HTPC crowd and maybe make it more accessible as well, thus growing it some.
 
#8 ·
I went on to donate and was extremely disappointed to see the word subscription. No thanks. I can subscribe to a DVR from Comcast, Verizon, Dish, or DirecTV. It's terribly disheartening to see them trying to sell a subscription.

That's NOT the way forward. I'm done with Plex for the same reason.
 
#10 ·
It's the principal of it. You buy into this equipment to escape recurring charges. Tv guide data is freely available. It already exists. Its the trend in software to move to a subscription model, and I'll fight that anywhere I can.

Even more frightening is what this must mean for WMC. Silicon Dust would have the inside info on the future.
 
#11 ·
If it works like the KS page describes, I don't have an issue with $30/yr to pay for guide data. Yeah, I'd prefer a one time fee, but since it includes an ongoing service (guide data) I don't blame them for going with a subscription model. And there is always a possibility they could offer an lifetime plan similar to TiVo.

And it may be a pointless distinction, but I have much less of an issue paying a recurring fee to keep my equipment running as opposed to paying to use someone else's.

Not saying that everyone should be thrilled at the subscription idea, just explaining why I find it less objectionable than others.
 
#15 ·
From what I've read so far I'm assuming that the software will be free. The $30 subscription is strictly for guide data. While I'm not a fan of paying any sort of subscription fees I will gladly pay $30 per year for guide data. I'm hoping that they add support to use the software on my unRAID server. If they do, I can replace my full-sized ATX kilowatt guzzling HTPC with a more economical Intel NUC. The energy savings alone will pay for the annual fee. It would be nice if my Ceton InfiniTV6 would be supported as well, but that's probably a stretch.

Since they announced that DRMed content will be recordable and playable I can only assume that the financial goal they are seeking is to cover the cost of getting CableLabs certification. I would have thought it would cost more than $100K so perhaps this is just to supplement what they need to get it certified.

I'm hoping that they finally release the mythical 6-tuner Prime by the time this software is released. Has anyone heard anything about it or is it just another one of those products assigned to limbo?
 
#16 ·
I'm a little less grouchy this morning (I had just watched the Penguins lose...again last night) so I'm certainly looking at this in a different light. The word "subscription" just irked me a bit. I'm sure all the sites have TOS disclaimers that ban scraping (the sports leagues have started cracking down on amateur stats sites) but tv channel listings are this known thing. It must just be harder to compile them that I can understand. Do cable streams carry the program info in a similar way to how ATSC streams do?

It would be great if this integrated with HTPC frontend software, but I see it as it's own app on an Android device, game console or smart tv, sitting alongside other media player software.

I don't think the client side software will be free - was that specifically mentioned somewhere? I just imagine there is a lot of proprietary technologies they would have to license and pay for per client. Most Android devices lack MPEG2 decoding. They're powerful enough now to do that in software, but what sort of licensing and/or fees does that require to be done legally?
 
#24 ·
I'm sure all the sites have TOS disclaimers that ban scraping (the sports leagues have started cracking down on amateur stats sites) but tv channel listings are this known thing. It must just be harder to compile them that I can understand.
It's known, but where is it available? Outside of getting the data directly from every network and local channel in the country, the only other option is to deal with someone like Gracenote to get their aggregated data.

Do cable streams carry the program info in a similar way to how ATSC streams do?
They don't that I've seen, and ATSC PSIP data is almost worthless for recording, you're lucky if you can get a couple hours of guide data from that. Gracenote's (Zap2it) data is much, much better than anything you get OTA via PSIP.

The problem is that you are confusing the software as a service model with something that actually IS a service. I am no fan of subscription software. I will never own Office 365 because I see no value in paying them annually for something like MS Word. Outside of security patches, once a product like that goes Gold, there's not a heck of a lot of work going forward on it. Subscription doesn't make sense (yes Office 365 is online, so its a bit different, but unless you have a specific need for online, its a waste).
Well that's an interesting though, and it depends a lot on the user and the software. I've been using Adobe Lightroom for a number of years, and it still cost me $79 per year or so despite not being a subscription software. I upgraded every year, so in practice there's no difference between them. Now if I switch to the Adobe CC version that's a subscription, yes if I ever decide to stop paying, I'll not be able to use it anymore, but, that's about the same result as if I stopped upgrading. Likely the only reason I'd do that is if I found something better, and then I wouldn't use it anymore either.

There are differences between purchase vs subscription, but for software that is frequently updated and that costs to upgrade, the difference is not as big as it might appear initially.
 
#25 ·
Most DVRs record the video stream as-is with no compression. If you want a look at what the UI will potentially look like (or at least the guide), take a look at the Kodi HDHomeRun add-on or the HDHomeRun View app. Chances are they will stay with a similar interface that they're currently using. The SiliconDust web page shows what the proposed UI will look like.

I'm curious as to how we'll be able to control the software using a remote. If they can mimic a WMC remote then that will simplify things considerably for existing WMC users. I'll also be curious to know if there will be some sort of commercial skipping capability or at least a 30-second skip function. Lack of commercial skipping would be a dealbreaker for me.

I'm also curious as to where we would actually install the software. I assume that it would be installed on any device that uses it similar to the HDHR software.

That being said, I'm in for $60. :D
 
#27 ·
Talk about fast replies! I got this e-mail response from Nick to a question I posted right after pledging my support:

Nick Kelsey, Silicondust USA Inc says:
Hi ****,
Fast-forward/jump-forward controls have not been finalized... this will be part of the evaluation and feedback process.
We hope to support WMC remotes on Windows.
Nick
 
#30 ·
Silicondust is required to comply with industry-required protection rules when recording and playing back protected content. It may not be possible to support protected content on all platforms. In the extreme case playing back of protected content may be have to be disabled or discontinued on a specific platform if found not to be secure.
I wonder which would be the most likely culprits there - Android? Kodi?

They list iOS as a potential platform, but no iOS stuff can decode MPEG2, can it?
 
#35 ·
I have an HDHomeRun Prime, but honestly, these days I would find it hard to justify any further investment in CableCard-based hardware. I just don't see it being worthwhile for more than a couple years at this point.

The software though, that definitely would be nice to keep an eye on in case WMC isn't in Windows 10.
 
#36 ·
Higher WAF is always good. I still think that Microsoft is going to integrate WMC into 10/Xbox One and possibly has been farming out the hardware side of it to companies like SD and Hauppage to get them into the fold early for integration purposes. Quite often I'm wrong though. If Microsoft announced Live TV/Recording into the Xbox One and offered antenna/cable support to 3rd party companies like SD, I'd go pick up an Xbox One today on my lunch break.
 
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