Beginner Tuner Question

[thaison316]

Hi all, I am just getting started so I do not know much. I read through 2-3 of the tuner questions on the hardware thread and I cannot relate so I hope you guys don't mind me asking my own. My ubuntu 16.04 is installed on a laptop. I can get a desktop since all the tuners I saw that support multi are PCI (e.g., ceton infinityTV 4, 6). I cannot seem to find a USB solution that provide multiple tuners. are there any alternative that will allow me to record 4-6 channel simultaneously with my laptop?

My cable provider is Frontier (which is verision) they will provide a cable card. Any help to get me in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Thaison

[pvr4me]

You might consider the SiliconDust HDHomerun Prime:

http://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-prime/

Not USB but connects by (wired) ethernet to your network. Includes 3 tuners and supports CableCard. Buy two of them if you want 6 simultaneous recordings.

Craig

[thaison316]

thanks Craig, just ordered one on Amazon and it has free same day delivery. Do you have and recommendation for setup tutorial on this?

thanks,

[pvr4me]

thanks Craig, just ordered one on Amazon and it has free same day delivery. Do you have and recommendation for setup tutorial on this?

The wiki is a bit out of date but little has actually changed:

https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Silicondust_HDHomeRun_Prime

Craig

[thaison316]

I got the HDhomerun 3 setup on my wife and it's working. But I think mythTV is a bit too advance for me, is there an alternative that is more suitable for beginners like me to schedule recordings?

thanks

[luc5588]

Since you mentioned you have a laptop, maybe that still has Windows installed? In which case, I believe the free Windows MediaPortal program supports HDHomeRun fairly easily and SchedulesDirect for the tv guide/EPG. It might be worth a try. I don't use it so can not say if it definitely supports all the features you want but might be worth a search.

My understanding is that it is more difficult to integrate in to kodi, so those cheap android boxes might not work so easily for watching tv in another room. MediaPortal comes with its own GUI so would work fine if it's just for your main tv.