cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/8864206

I bought a Silicondust HD Homerun back before they put their website on Cloudflare. I love the design of having a tuner with a cat5 port, so the tuner can work with laptops and is not dependent on being installed into a PC.

But now that Silicondust is part of Cloudflare, I will no longer buy their products. I do not patronize Cloudflare patrons.

I would love to have a satellite tuner in a separate external box that:

  • tunes into free-to-air content
  • has a cat5 connection
  • is MythTV compatible

Any hardware suggestions other than #Silicondust?

  • coffeeClean@infosec.pubOPEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    I never heard of Plex but from my quick gander it seems like a different beast for a different purpose. Correct me if I’m wrong but Plex looks like a Netflix alternative service that needs a media player comparable to Roku, AppleTV, Amazon’s Fire<stick? or something> and an unlimited high-speed internet connection.

    MythTV is open source PVR software enabling offline people to anonymously browse a database of broadcast TV schedules and record shows/programs using a tuner. AFAIK, MythTV is the only open source game in town for scheduling recordings. It’s somewhat indispensable to people on capped/limited/shitty internet connections. The recording can indeed be stored on LAN-attached NAS storage and some media boxes can then then play the content.

    I could really use a MythRadio of sorts as well because streaming radio is also a non-starter for measured rate internet customers. But it seems nothing exists. There was a DAB radio with a record feature but for whatever reason that thing was discontinued early on.

    • gregorum@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      Plex is a home media server management software. there are also client-side apps for streaming media playback on a number of devices. it also has streaming music and TV/DVR functionality.

      • coffeeClean@infosec.pubOPEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        It sounds useful. Though it doesn’t replace or compete with mythTV AFAICT… it sounds like something that would work with mythTV. Plex could probably sling content that mythTV collects from the air.

        • gregorum@lemm.eeEnglish
          2·
          8 months ago

          Plex can work with an OTA antenna or a cable device to provide DVR functionality complete with a programming menu. It can then create an entire library (or supplement one) from what it records, including cutting out ads.

          • coffeeClean@infosec.pubOPEnglish
            1·
            8 months ago

            Ah, that’s interesting… that’s what I was missing. So indeed if it directly controls the tuner and maintains a schedule, that sounds like a direct replacement of mythTV.

            I just checked the official Debian repositories and there is no pkg for “Plex”. This means it’s either non-free, or it hasn’t become mainstream or mature enough for Debian to take notice. I’ll have to look into more and see why it’s not in Debian. I may be forced because it appears mythTV is dropped in recent Debian versions.