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HDHomerun Prime or Ceton InfiniTV

post #1 of 62
4/8/12 at 4:08pm
Thread Starter 
I convinced my wife that we could save some $$ by getting rid of our 2 setup top boxes by going with a tuner card connected to the HTPC. The one requirement was I needed to get WMC 7 working properly before we sent the boxes back!!

I am kinda torn between the HDHR prime and the Ceton inifiniTV card and could use some advice/opinions.

We have FIOS service with a QIP7232 2 (500gb?) HDDVR downstairs and a standard HD setup box upstairs. I do not have a xbox 360 yet, but have 2 PCs with Windows7 home. We have 2 TVs that are used and will probably add a third in the basement and I could see adding a 4th in the spare bedroom but that is not a requirement right now. We do not have ethernet run upstairs but I think that I can use one of these MoCA adapters to get ethernet to the upstairs PC. We don't have a need to use a tuner for a moveable laptop or ipad.

Given that, what are your suggestions?

Also, I have a question about DVR capacity and drive connection. My FIOS DVD stays about 2/3's full and I believe it's a 500gb model, I guess that I should stick with a 500GB HDD for DVR in my HTPC? Should this DVR HDD be dedicated for ONLY DVR? I do have a 2TB drive that has plenty of space, I am just wondering if the DVR drive should be a separate physical drive.

Thanks
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post #2 of 62
4/8/12 at 4:32pm
Obviously I'm a bit biased, but my vote is Ceton InfiniTV. I would say that I don't see 3 tuners being enough for 4 TVs
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post #3 of 62
4/8/12 at 4:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by erickotz View Post

Obviously I'm a bit biased, but my vote is Ceton InfiniTV. I would say that I don't see 3 tuners being enough for 4 TVs

Erik, are you guys doing dynamic tuner allocation yet? If so, then it's a no brainer!
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post #4 of 62
4/9/12 at 4:06am
Thread Starter 
BTW - I just read that I do not need these ~$75/ea MoCA adapters. I can use a 2nd Actiontech MI424WR router which can be picked up on eaby for $30/40! Using this will also allow you to extend your wireless

Instructions
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post #5 of 62
4/30/12 at 10:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubberneck92105 View Post

I convinced my wife that we could save some $$ by getting rid of our 2 setup top boxes by going with a tuner card connected to the HTPC. The one requirement was I needed to get WMC 7 working properly before we sent the boxes back!!

I am kinda torn between the HDHR prime and the Ceton inifiniTV card and could use some advice/opinions.

We have FIOS service with a QIP7232 2 (500gb?) HDDVR downstairs and a standard HD setup box upstairs. I do not have a xbox 360 yet, but have 2 PCs with Windows7 home. We have 2 TVs that are used and will probably add a third in the basement and I could see adding a 4th in the spare bedroom but that is not a requirement right now. We do not have ethernet run upstairs but I think that I can use one of these MoCA adapters to get ethernet to the upstairs PC. We don't have a need to use a tuner for a moveable laptop or ipad.

Given that, what are your suggestions?

Also, I have a question about DVR capacity and drive connection. My FIOS DVD stays about 2/3's full and I believe it's a 500gb model, I guess that I should stick with a 500GB HDD for DVR in my HTPC? Should this DVR HDD be dedicated for ONLY DVR? I do have a 2TB drive that has plenty of space, I am just wondering if the DVR drive should be a separate physical drive.

Thanks

I have convinced my wife of the same thing. We basically have two HDTV's, one in the family room and another upstairs in the loft.

The Uverse box for this one is disconnected and sent back to save $7/mo already. Right now that TV is connected to a Patriot Box Office. That will stay that way or I could use a laptop for it if I upgrade to Win7Pro as it is on a version of Vista w/o MCE right now. That would need to be VGA and analog audio because that is all there is available on the laptop. This is for occational visitors (like my son when he visits from college so I'm not going to spend too much on it).

In the family room is the Uverse PVR. This is my main point of concern to replace it but as Uverse, in their infinite wisdom, doesn't support cable card tuners like FiOS does (dam I wish I was in their area!). So a switch would be made to Charter Cable with a Cable Card Tuner. Basically this will be for "expanded basic" with HD to get things like CNN, History Channel, etc. as I have also finally convinced her that paying an exter $50/mo for movies is rediculous.

So my question is, which to use for a Cable Card Tuner? I should add that I don't have an open PCIx in my HTPC right now and would like to continue with the antenna solution for OTA using my Hauppauge 2250 if it is infinity it would need to be in the PC in my office, creating a need for an extender solution to the HTPC in the family room unless I ditch the Hauppauge.

It would be great to hear from people that have used both and can compare and contrast rather than use brand 'x' because that is what I have. To be fair though, I've done the same thing in posts before. But if you're happy with it tell it! Features, drawbacks and issues would be nice to know for each too.

THANKS!!!
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post #6 of 62
5/1/12 at 10:48am
Nobody cares?

BTW, I am thinking also of the Hauppauge! 2650 that is only $110 right now.
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post #7 of 62
5/1/12 at 10:58am
I love my HDHomeRun Dual for OTA TV although I haven't used the Prime with CableCARD. Being able to share the tuners amongst your PCs would be an advantage I should think. It would be soooo much easier if MS would allow you to use a Win7 machine as a WMC extender though for a server/client setup.
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post #8 of 62
5/1/12 at 11:05am
There's only the two of us but there's 3 PC's and a laptop in addition to the HTPC on the network. Hmm it'd be nice to add some sort of wireless solution to the kitchen for this. The Prime looks good but infinTV is doing some neat stuff with extenders and mobile apps to control/stream content coming forward too.
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post #9 of 62
5/1/12 at 12:34pm
Well I just set up an installation for mid-june. Now I need to determine which tuner card to get. Seams there's pros and cons. Is there a side-by-side comparison?

Also, and probably more important, what about reliability?
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post #10 of 62
5/1/12 at 1:23pm
Sammy2 - are you planning on using those PCs with the networked tuner features of the Prime or InfiniTV? If so, does Charter flag their content? If they do, you will only be able to watch protected content on the machine it recorded so consider this in the equation or plan to use real WMC extenders.
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post #11 of 62
5/1/12 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrinch View Post

Sammy2 - are you planning on using those PCs with the networked tuner features of the Prime or InfiniTV? If so, does Charter flag their content? If they do, you will only be able to watch protected content on the machine it recorded so consider this in the equation or plan to use real WMC extenders.

They only flag the premium channels which are being replaced by the cool VOD capability of an HTPC. Plus right now, with only the two of us, there's only the HDTV in the family room to worry about but I was thinking of using a laptop in the kitchen. We really only watch TV in the Family Room. The Prime is networked and the InfinTV does it through software but the Hauppauge only connects to on computer (the HTPC) via USB as I understand it.

I'm just wondering if these are ready for prime time for good WAF.
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post #12 of 62
5/1/12 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Well I just set up an installation for mid-june. Now I need to determine which tuner card to get. Seams there's pros and cons. Is there a side-by-side comparison?

Also, and probably more important, what about reliability?

The reason I set this up for that time frame is it gives me time to figure out which tuner to get and fuss with it for a month or so before a uverse promo that I wrangled out of them expires.
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post #13 of 62
5/1/12 at 2:31pm
Interesting, so it sounds like you have your bases covered there. That only leaves the guide/recording schedule to consider. Since everything (outside VOD access you have) will be copy freely, I assume your recorded content will be on a share and recorded TV accessible at the various locations.

Will she be OK/remember which items she already has scheduled on 1 machine vs. the other since they'll be independent of each other?

IMHO - it's the small caveats that can kill the WAF considerably. What's the plan if Charter starts flagging their content copy-once? I'd say use extenders at all viewing locations and enjoy the unified guide/recording schedule; if copy-once rears its ugly head, you're covered.

Your plan can and will work however.

To your tuner question - since it currently sounds like you'll use network tuners, are you OK having the machine hosting the InfiniTV on all the time so other machines can access? If you are, then I'd say go with the Ceton - having 4 tuners is awesome. I couldn't go down to 3.

I can't speak for the HDHRP, but the InfiniTV is reliable. Not sure if one is more reliable vs. the other however. And as you mentioned, there is a lot more coming down the pipeline from Ceton that you'll be able to leverage (companion apps). Maybe SD is planning something similar, but I haven't followed HDHRP closely.
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post #14 of 62
5/1/12 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrinch View Post

Interesting, so it sounds like you have your bases covered there. That only leaves the guide/recording schedule to consider. Since everything (outside VOD access you have) will be copy freely, I assume your recorded content will be on a share and recorded TV accessible at the various locations.

Will she be OK/remember which items she already has scheduled on 1 machine vs. the other since they'll be independent of each other?


All I can say here is, "Wow, do you know my wife?" You are thinking of stuff I didn't consider for the WAF but definitelly will come up. I'll do the scheduling on the HTPC tuner to get it to have the same things as currently. When the switch is made, if it is made, it won't be an issue because she'll be only dealing with one thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrinch View Post

IMHO - it's the small caveats that can kill the WAF considerably. What's the plan if Charter starts flagging their content copy-once? I'd say use extenders at all viewing locations and enjoy the unified guide/recording schedule; if copy-once rears its ugly head, you're covered.


Not too worried because we only use/have one PVR now so playback on other TV's isn't done

Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrinch View Post

Your plan can and will work however.

To your tuner question - since it currently sounds like you'll use network tuners, are you OK having the machine hosting the InfiniTV on all the time so other machines can access? If you are, then I'd say go with the Ceton - having 4 tuners is awesome. I couldn't go down to 3.


Both my PC and the HTPC are on 24/7 so that's not an issue. I never even put them to sleep.. Just not worth it for a few watts draw. It maybe costs $50/year or something and I HATE waiting!

Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrinch View Post

I can't speak for the HDHRP, but the InfiniTV is reliable. Not sure if one is more reliable vs. the other however. And as you mentioned, there is a lot more coming down the pipeline from Ceton that you'll be able to leverage (companion apps). Maybe SD is planning something similar, but I haven't followed HDHRP closely.
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post #15 of 62
5/1/12 at 3:17pm
I've just made the switch taking back my Cable Vision DVR's and saving myself $50 a month in the process. I'm using the Prime and have to say I really love it so far but I've had a few issues that I am still working through.

1) I can't seem to watch the same program I am recording at the same time (on a Xbox 360). Haven't tested the HTPC yet.

2) It seems that the Prime needs a great signal meaning that some channels that should show up aren't. If the signal quality is at 100% I can see it but some channels I'm only getting 93-94% and they aren't working. I currently have the Prime connected to a 10 cable splitter so that may be causing a problem and to be far it has caused problems with the old cable boxes as well. Just not as many channels aren't working on the cable boxes as on the Prime.

On the Plus side I'm getting a MUCH better HD picture from the Prime than from every cable box I've ever had. I had chosen the Prime over the others because I liked have it as a stand alone device and not reliant on having a PC on all the time. Oh and I am using the Prime with a CableCard.

-RobNY
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post #16 of 62
5/1/12 at 3:38pm
If I went with the HDHR, I'd put a splitter at the location where the cable comes into the house dircect off the pole so it would only be sharing with the cable modem. The location in the Family probably has 3 or 4 splitters before it gets there.

This brings up the point of if this is an issue with the InfinTV 4 product because if I use that it is going in the HTPC in the family room.
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post #17 of 62
5/1/12 at 6:48pm
Ceton Issues

Crashing still happening Check your logs it's happening

Random Pixelation / Macroblocking http://experts.windows.com/frms/wind...px?PageIndex=1

No forum on site to discuss these issues

Coax connector can break off if you look at it wrong

Gets damn hot. 20 watts and no heat sink come on

Not crazy about the it will light your room blue light in a HTPC product.

Home run prime None of the above issues
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post #18 of 62
5/1/12 at 8:42pm
I have a HDHomerun Prime with a cable card in it and I love it. I can't speak for ceton but the Prime delivers. Not to mention, it allows my kids to watch TV on their PCs without having to put a TV in the room.

No complaints.
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post #19 of 62
5/1/12 at 9:00pm
I definitely miss the networked feature of the HDHR. It was nice to sometimes watch tv on my second monitor at my desk. But I don't want to dedicate a tuner to that machine because its only once in a while.
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post #20 of 62
5/2/12 at 8:07am
I'm still torn over which what to go here. Seems there's a give and take with each of them.. and then there's the Hauppauge! 2650 to consider too.
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post #21 of 62
5/2/12 at 8:21am
I have not followed the Hauppauge at all so take this FWIW. Ceton (from experience) has excellent support. SD does as well from what I read. I would probably choose between those two.

If it's starting to feel like a coin toss, I'd choose more tuners everytime (IMO). 3 and 4 sounds like a lot (I used to think that too), but once you have the abilitiy to record things, you tend to record more than you did before.

Since Ceton's 1.1.7.2 FW, I haven't experienced any reboots so that's an old memory.
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post #22 of 62
5/2/12 at 8:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrinch View Post

I have not followed the Hauppauge at all so take this FWIW. Ceton (from experience) has excellent support. SD does as well from what I read. I would probably choose between those two.

If it's starting to feel like a coin toss, I'd choose more tuners everytime (IMO). 3 and 4 sounds like a lot (I used to think that too), but once you have the abilitiy to record things, you tend to record more than you did before.

Since Ceton's 1.1.7.2 FW, I haven't experienced any reboots so that's an old memory.

We have 4 tuners in the motorola VIP 1625 that Uverse provides. I don't think we are ever recording more than two shows at once and watching yet a third, but we haven't run into tuner conflicts with 4 tuners. IDK if we would with only 3. I suppose I should start monitoring that a bit more in the next few weeks.

Is that the latest Ceton F/W? Also I've read of heat issues with the InfinTV 4. Is this correct?
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post #23 of 62
5/2/12 at 9:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I'm still torn over which what to go here. Seems there's a give and take with each of them.. and then there's the Hauppauge! 2650 to consider too.

The 2650 is a good tuner if you don't need a TA. The driver is a little wonky for it so sometimes it works but most times It doesn't alot of the times you can get it working by stopping the service and restarting it. Personally I would go with a ceton or a prime I have all three and I haven't had any major problem's with the ceton or prime like I have with the 2650.
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post #24 of 62
5/2/12 at 9:38am
This post in the Ceton thread is intriging!

Quote:
Originally Posted by hlkc View Post

Received below...

Ceton Companion App & Beta!

As a Windows Media Center user, have you ever wanted to be able to use your mobile phone or tablet to browse your TV program guide, change channels, set a recording or even control which TV set you want a show to be played on? If so, then you’re going to enjoy our new Ceton Companion App. And we have a free Ceton Companion App beta coming up that we think you'll really like as well!

The Ceton Companion App offers some very cool new features that bring your Ceton experience to the most popular mobile and tablet platforms:
Works with all Windows 7 Media Center PCs - no new hardware required!
For U.S. cable TV programming: works with any Ceton InfiniTV device, which you probably already own!
Browse the Program Guide, change channels and set recordings on your mobile phone or tablet
Control playback of video/music/photo content, including recordings, on multiple devices
Browse all your Media Center libraries from afar: Videos, DVR, Recordings, Music, Photos, Movies
Access tons of info for movies and TV show: program description and synopsis, series information, actors and cover art, movie ratings, year produced, director, and much more
Automatically receive new series and movie premier information and never again miss that first episode of a new TV series
Play new movie trailers on your phone or tablet
Universal Search for movies and TV shows: search TV listings and movies all with one function
Integrates TV listings with movies to let you know where and when the content is available, whether it’s already recorded on your DVR or playing on HBO next Thursday
Manage and schedule recordings from anywhere: browse, delete, set up new recordings and series recordings
Supports multiple mobile platforms: iPhone (iOS 4.1+, iPad in early Q3), Android (v2.2+), Win 7 Phone (Mango)
Juicy Details on the Beta

By now you might have heard about our soon-to-be released Ceton Companion App Beta Program for Windows 7 Media Center PCs. If not, check out the articles at the links above. There are a few things we want to point out right up front:
First of all, if you’re selected, participation in the beta is FREE … nada, zip, zero, nothing, gratis. We have great customers and we know your input can help us make the best mobile application for TV EVER!
Second, we really want your feedback. What do you love? What do you love less? What do you think is missing? What’s there but not needed? This is a great opportunity for you to help influence the final feature set for Ceton Companion App!
Third, the mobile platforms supported in the beta are: Android (including Kindle Fire), iOS for iPhone (iPad in early Q3 release) and Windows Phone 7.
Fourth, on our beta signup page you’ll also have the opportunity to apply to be included in the beta for the Ceton extender for Windows Media Center that’s planned for a bit later. Stay tuned for more on that!
We’ll be sending out surveys each week to get your feedback on how we can make this the best TV Companion App EVER!!!

So hurry to the Ceton website and signup for a chance to be included in the Ceton Companion App Beta Program today!
If selected, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to download the Ceton mobile App for all platforms on May 25th.
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post #25 of 62
5/2/12 at 3:19pm
I have two (2) 3-tuner SiliconDust HDHomerRun Primes and would recommend them to anyone looking to build a HTPC with CableCARD Live TV and DVR. The early adoption had me doubting the decision to take the HDHR Prime over the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB. The latest driver and firmware updates starting in March 2012 have been amazingly stable. This is one benefit over Ceton is the public betas and frequent updates. The forum is also very active. The other benefits, as others have stated: network tuners - easy sharing, less heat, faster channel changes, faster availability from sleep / power on, useful status lights (5 on each tuner).

However, I do want the Ceton Echo extender and hope I'm selected for the beta. The weakest link in my setup is the Xbox 360 extenders. It would be nice if SiliconDust released a tiny device that could stream one tuner without the need for Windows 7 Media Center.
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post #26 of 62
5/2/12 at 3:45pm
I was just looking at those Echo extenders.. And contemplating the apps I posted above.. And 4 tuners vs 3 tuners.

Will Ceton actually deliver on those first two? I can always add another tuner and Tuner Salad to get 6 Tuners going. I don't know if I really need to be accessing the guide on my phone but if I forget to set a recording this offers that but it isn't available yet.

The HDHR Prime product does not require another device but an actual computer. The extender sounds good to me.. I have an old laptop w/o MC7 and no xBox360. The other computers in the house are in the office which is right next to the family room which makes zero sense as when we're in the office it is to do some work or something and not to watch TV. The location where extenders are really needed are in the kitchen and in the upstairs loft.

Ugh! This is a tough decision. One thing that could be the kicker is channel changing speed. Is the Prime faster than the InfiniTV?
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post #27 of 62
5/2/12 at 9:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I was just looking at those Echo extenders.. And contemplating the apps I posted above.. And 4 tuners vs 3 tuners.

Will Ceton actually deliver on those first two? I can always add another tuner and Tuner Salad to get 6 Tuners going. I don't know if I really need to be accessing the guide on my phone but if I forget to set a recording this offers that but it isn't available yet.

The HDHR Prime product does not require another device but an actual computer. The extender sounds good to me.. I have an old laptop w/o MC7 and no xBox360. The other computers in the house are in the office which is right next to the family room which makes zero sense as when we're in the office it is to do some work or something and not to watch TV. The location where extenders are really needed are in the kitchen and in the upstairs loft.

Ugh! This is a tough decision. One thing that could be the kicker is channel changing speed. Is the Prime faster than the InfiniTV?

Missing Remote confirmed the SD HDHR Prime changes channels faster, which was the original reason I chose the HDHR Prime over the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB.

My final plan is to move my HTPC (2011 Mac mini 2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel i7, 8GB 1866MHz Kingston HyperX, 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 w/ Windows 7 Professional x64, 1TB WD Scorpio Blue), Netgear Pro Safe Switch, and SD HDHomeRun Primes to a closet or garage and wall mounting everything. The SD HDHR Primes are well suited for a network closet or mounting. Then use extenders for all the TVs. Thus I'm banking on Ceton to release the Echo.
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post #28 of 62
5/3/12 at 2:58pm
Maybe I'll jest get both and RMA the one I like least?
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post #29 of 62
5/3/12 at 10:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shortcut3d View Post

Missing Remote confirmed the SD HDHR Prime changes channels faster, which was the original reason I chose the HDHR Prime over the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB.

My final plan is to move my HTPC (2011 Mac mini 2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel i7, 8GB 1866MHz Kingston HyperX, 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 w/ Windows 7 Professional x64, 1TB WD Scorpio Blue), Netgear Pro Safe Switch, and SD HDHomeRun Primes to a closet or garage and wall mounting everything. The SD HDHR Primes are well suited for a network closet or mounting. Then use extenders for all the TVs. Thus I'm banking on Ceton to release the Echo.

I know it's subjective and hard to measure, but exactly how fast is fast or how slow is slow are they at changing channels?
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post #30 of 62
5/4/12 at 6:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comp625 View Post


I know it's subjective and hard to measure, but exactly how fast is fast or how slow is slow are they at changing channels?

I'm thinking if it is on the order of seconds you can do this with a stop watch. A link to the above review would be nice. Of course I can google it too!
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