Digital cable TV tuner that lets you watch live TV across your home network on DLNA-compatible devices, from your PC, tablet, game consoles, and smart TVs
Does not plug directly into your TV
Designed for use with digital cable providers such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cox, Cablevision, Bright House, and Verizon/Frontier FiOS. It is not compatible with satellite providers (DirecTV/Dish Network), IPTV providers (AT&T U-verse), or antennas.
A cableCARD is required from your cable provider
Compatible with Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows Media Center Extenders, PS3, Android, DVR applications, some Smart TVS, and iOS with the InstaTV 3rd party app.
3 Tuners built-in
Receives unencrypted digital cable
Receives subscription digital cable
Connects to your home network
Watch on your computer in HD
Watch on your tablet/phone in SD
Works over WiFi in SD
Condition - Refurbished Warranty - 90 day SiliconDust Ships Via - FedEx SmartPost
Meh! I'm trying to CUT the cord, forget become more dependent on it. Come on Meh, the more I spend on cable TV subscription the less I can spend here:)
@bigj8705 you could record three shows and then watch one of the ones that is being recorded. You also have to get your own guide. Windows media center still has one builtin for now.
This is an awesome device, which only gets better over time. I highly recommend InstaTV & InstaTV Server: http://instatv.org/home.html. If you're lucky enough to have a TV provider that doesn't flag everything Copy Once, you can watch tons of TV on non-Windows systems.
@Kidsandliz Then this isn't for you. This model only works with digital cable. There are a couple other models of the HDHomeRun that are meant for over-the-air TV. With those models (I'm assuming it works similarly with this model but I'm not sure), you plug it into your router, plug the antenna into it, and connect to it using an app on your computer or other compatible device.
This could be interesting from a research standpoint...I would imagine that while Americans who have "cut the cord" are in the minority, when you look at the meh.com customer demographic, the stats are far different. How many of us meh shoppers actually have cable or satellite? I'd imagine very, very few. I'll be watching how this plays out. Oh, and hoping for some sort of meh Roku deal, since I had one bite the dust a few weeks ago...
From the survey on meh's main page, though, apparently a lot of meh users do still have cable. I'm honestly quite shocked by this. Even my 71 year old parents ditched cable/satellite in favor of streaming.
@roqbthepirate those things from 1900's that are on those big poles that run down my streets which carries my cable interwebs?also thats where i believe my electricity comes from so i can view this mehdiocre website and blame @cengland0 and complain to @jont for retribution
How will this make my HTPC wet dreams come true? Someone please explain how this+PC=DVR nocturnal emissions? I use Dish and Netflix and nearly as I can tell, there's nothing here for me. Is that pretty much on the mark?
@ruouttaurmind That's pretty much it. Satellite providers use different "de-scrambling" technology from cable companies. Cable companies have to adhere to specific standards, one of which is that their devices have to use a CableCard to de-scramble the signal. They're also required to allow subscribers to rent the CableCard itself, which allows the subscriber to use it in devices like this.
@ruouttaurmind I'm not sure there's much of anything for you on satellite besides the company's own box. I've heard of people using capture cards on the video output of the satellite box and an IR blaster to change the channels, but you can only record one show at a time that way. Can't the Hopper record, like, 6 shows at once, though?
@jqubed My Hopper has three tuners. I can record up to three programs at a time, but if I'm recording three I can only watch one of the recording programs, or something previously recorded from DVR, or downloaded from Dish's "On Demand" service. They have a feature called Prime Time Anytime that records the broadcast networks as a single event using only one tuner, but who watches those networks anymore? ;-) By the way, it's easier to monopolize those three tuners than you might imagine. If I'm recording a movie on HBO and watching the news on a local channel, that only leaves one tuner for three kids to fight over.
@ruouttaurmind Oh I've filled up my four tuners by myself, so I understand that. As I understand it, with satellite you're limited to their devices. Do the newer Hoppers have more tuners? Otherwise you just need multiple Hoppers.
@jqubed Three tuners is it. I can add a second hopper for an additional 3 tuners but between equpment cost and receiver fee I'm more inclined to encourage the kids to spend more time on Netflix or the Dish On Demand programming.
Meh is getting greedy now. They used to price right but now they just match Amazon but still expensive than many other deals on website like tigersdirect,new eggs,edealsinfo or eBay.I bought over 15 items in last 20 days but felt shipping and customer service are horrible.Thye don't just delay,they simply don't ship unless you remind them. I am going to cancel my monthly subscription.
@akhauri Seriously? This is even cheaper than trying to buy a used one on eBay. It's at least $20 cheaper than buying a refurb on Amazon. If I had cable, I would buy this in a heartbeat.
@akhauri I've received all the items I've ordered in a timely manner. I'm kind of surprised to hear you've had problems. Are you expecting shipping notifications? AFAIK they don't do those, but your items will still arrive.
@Groovymarlin I am power user when it comes to online purchase and I know what I am sayin. Initially order used to come in time but now it takes forever to arrive.
@akhauri The few things I have ordered have taken forever to arrive… so maybe you just got lucky at first. Or maybe I have just always been unlucky and they need to hire more people to pack boxes, make mailing labels, etc.
I have 3 HTPC's with 2 tuner Hauppauge units. My provider charges $16/mo for their DVR but only $2/mo for a cable card and my DVR's have 2TB drives, so we never run out of space. I'm in for one to expand my viewing options. Might have to sell one of my 2 tuners on ebay.
@Khaztr I have 3 HTPC's with 3 cable cards and none of the cable company's boxes. The last cable card I went to pick up, the lady at the desk tried to tell me how much better their boxes were than mine. She said I won't have a guide. I told her that i do have a guide and it shows 10 channels per screen instead of their 3 and my guide shows 3 hours vs their 2. You can get this feature on Media Center if you get "my channel logos" at http://www.mychannellogos.com. Also, lots of good info can be found at http://www.hack7mc.com.
I have been using this for over a year now, and absolutely love it.
I can use my tablets, phones, computers, and game consoles all to tune any channel i want
I would seriously consider getting a second one to up my recording options, but it took 3 months worth of arguing with my cable company before i finally got their senior tech on the phone who was able to activate the cable card in roughly 30 seconds.
@bluejester heh I did actually - it didn't tell me I was logged out but it worked after I logged back in here to post. still dizzy from the spinning :)
@jqubed It finally stopped and got my click. Had a similar problem about a month ago, but forgot to try again later so now I'm not on a perfect streak anymore =(
@snapster I had the same problem. What I have learned 4 times now is if you just let it keep spinning and then finally get a meh face, because you are logged out somehow (I didn't do it) it then doesn't record the face (lost at least 4 or 5 that way). What happened once in October when the site logged me out was it prompted me to log back in. That was rather nice since apparently when you work on the site it dumps at least some of us out of staying logged in. This time that feature didn't seem to be working.
@bluejester MIght want to make sure you still have your click because I found at least 4 or 5 times when this happens the click doesn't stick. log out. shut down, reopen, log back in to see if you really have your face.
@bluejester Easiest way to check if you are logged in before clicking the Meh button is to see if the calendar is there- if it's not there, you're not logged in.
@dashcloud Something else must be going wrong then as my calendar has always been there… yet once the system prompted me to log in after clicking and the other times I figured out I had to manually do that because "something went terribly wrong". In 4 other cases there was no indication there was a problem other than the long spin, finally a face (yes with the calendar) and then later on no face. In each case my collection of meh faces was visible...
I'm very tempted to get this. I have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 in my HTPC but I still occasionally hit the tuner limit. I would have to get another CableCard, though, so that actually increases my costs and I really shouldn't spend the money on this. If anyone's been thinking about building your own DVR, or you're intrigued by its other features, this is a fantastic price on a device I've generally read good things about.
FYI. You can use this with Media Browser. (mediabrowser.tv). I can access this puppy from a web client or from my phone while I'm away. Nothing like watching Sunday Night Football from your phone while driving on the Freeway (someone else driving, not you). Feel free to ping me if you are curious and confused!
I don't hate or love this product. This product gives me no feelings whatsoever, I am dead inside because of products like this - I want this producers of this product to neither live nor die but I would feel nothing if every last one of these would be crushed in a blender and fed to whomever procured them for meh.com - how's that for meh?
Meh. It's an interesting device but I would prefer something that doesn't depend on cable. Trying to get rid of that subscription not depend on it more.
But hey you find a box of refurbished chromecasts you let me know.
Hey mehxperts. Do DVRs work with over-the-air TV? We got rid of cable a few years ago, and we have HD antennas that work pretty well. There are a couple of major-network shows that I do like to watch, but at my leisure, not when they're originally broadcast. Hulu is OK but sometimes they make you wait eight days to see stuff; also I am convinced they show MORE commercials than the original broadcast (also will not sub to Hulu + because of all the commercials). Can I use a Tivo-like device to record shows from the antenna?
I'm usually pretty quick with this kind of stuff but I'm confused. So a cable card that you need to rent from the cable company is required for the device itself? You can't just directly plug in your cable coming out of the modem? This then acts as a digital cable DTA connecting to your home network?
@readnj The card from the cable company authorizes the tuner for the channels you've subscribed to. The monthly fee for the card is usually less than the fee for a box and definitely less than their DVR.
Using one of these right now paired to my Nexus Player, works fantastic! Just side load the HDHomerun Viewer app and stream live TV to this little guy.
Specs
Condition - Refurbished
Warranty - 90 day SiliconDust
Ships Via - FedEx SmartPost
What’s in the Box?
1x HomeRun Prime
1x Power cable
1x Cat5e cable
1x RG6cable
Pictures
SiliconDustHomeRun
This is in the box!
Ports
You can watch baseball on it. Get it?
Cut your cords! Except not this one because it’s actually important…
Price Check
116.49 at Amazon (New)
$149.99 List (New)
Warranty
90 days
@mediocrebot does anyone know if this works with WOW! ultra TV service? I heard they weren't doing cable cards anymore...
Meh! I'm trying to CUT the cord, forget become more dependent on it. Come on Meh, the more I spend on cable TV subscription the less I can spend here:)
meh
meh
Holy cow, there are no more waits for the new mehs, I have one of these that is still collecting dust from a certain other former deal a day website.
The reviews on amazon look good for this.
Meh. If it could record live TV, i'd buy.
@j8048188 It can't, but your computer can.
@j8048188 You can set your computer up to record from it.
@shawn_mitch you have a guide or can this record three shows and then watch a live one?
@bigj8705 you could record three shows and then watch one of the ones that is being recorded. You also have to get your own guide. Windows media center still has one builtin for now.
@j8048188 works great with WMC.
@shawn_mitch I meant ota, non -cable tv. I've got a NAS that can do the recording.
Cool item, but I'm completely off of cable.
No poll today? What am I supposed to do after I click my meh face, then?
@PurplePawprints The poll is up now. It was just a few minutes late.
@hamjudo Thanks for the heads-up. I would have been seriously disappointed with myself had I not exercised my right to vote.
meh
Great device at a great price. If I didn't already have two I'd be all over this.
No cable and I already have a Series 2 TiVo so meh
This is an awesome device, which only gets better over time. I highly recommend InstaTV & InstaTV Server: http://instatv.org/home.html. If you're lucky enough to have a TV provider that doesn't flag everything Copy Once, you can watch tons of TV on non-Windows systems.
@dashcloud Meaning this works with a MAC? I am a bit confused about how all this works (I am still functioning with an antenna and converter box)
@Kidsandliz Then this isn't for you. This model only works with digital cable. There are a couple other models of the HDHomeRun that are meant for over-the-air TV. With those models (I'm assuming it works similarly with this model but I'm not sure), you plug it into your router, plug the antenna into it, and connect to it using an app on your computer or other compatible device.
@shawn_mitch Thank you for the explanation. If someone has AT&T u-verse then it would work with that? If yes I will tell them about this sale.
@Kidsandliz No, U-verse doesn't use cable tv technology and doesn't work with this device. It uses something known as IPTV.
@Kidsandliz Do you have an HDTV? If so, you probably don't need a converter box.
@jqubed Nope. My TV is a 1993 sony
@jqubed Thanks.
I've owned this for a year and it's awesome! Great way to farm out shows without having to worry about overlap (since you have 3 tuners).
I godda save my money for that 32" LCD fuku comin' up soon.. Just hope I get through this time.
@unkabob Na, it's just spider mugs, pocket knives, and headphone splitters. Haha.
@BootlegCraig ... Waaaa!!! (don't forget those speaker docks).
Meh. Love my TiVos. Just need y'all to find a Roamio Plus and I'll be all over that.
what.s this ? Let.s watch baseball use it
Meh. I pull free TV shows out of the air.
meh.. too bad I can do this already for free on any device in my house through my service provider....
I'm interested in that thingy mentioned in the item description that rewinds your VHS tapes for you!
@vintinn hey we have one at our house… Keeps the rewind function working on the VCR (yup still have that and tapes too - well and DVD"s)
@vintinn I don't know anything about any VHS tapes, but I have a device that can rewind DVDs for you.
This could be interesting from a research standpoint...I would imagine that while Americans who have "cut the cord" are in the minority, when you look at the meh.com customer demographic, the stats are far different. How many of us meh shoppers actually have cable or satellite? I'd imagine very, very few. I'll be watching how this plays out. Oh, and hoping for some sort of meh Roku deal, since I had one bite the dust a few weeks ago...
@Sparky_Susan I'd definitely buy a Roku 3 from meh.... (hint, hint)
@Groovymarlin I'd buy a streaming stick as well.
@Sparky_Susan Except this only works with cable?
@editorkid Right. And in my personal group of friends, out of maybe 25 people, ONE has cable.
From the survey on meh's main page, though, apparently a lot of meh users do still have cable. I'm honestly quite shocked by this. Even my 71 year old parents ditched cable/satellite in favor of streaming.
cable TV? whats that?
@roqbthepirate those things from 1900's that are on those big poles that run down my streets which carries my cable interwebs?also thats where i believe my electricity comes from so i can view this mehdiocre website and blame @cengland0 and complain to @jont for retribution
Wish it received ATSC signals, because I was really getting excited about having three tuners. Then I read it was only QAM or CableCard only.
See if you can get a good deal on the HDHomeRun Plus and I'll just stack a couple together.
@DataMeister Agreed. HDHomeRun Plus please...
@bakerzdosen I'll 3rd that. HD Home Run Plus please. Tired of clicking meh.
How will this make my HTPC wet dreams come true? Someone please explain how this+PC=DVR nocturnal emissions? I use Dish and Netflix and nearly as I can tell, there's nothing here for me. Is that pretty much on the mark?
@ruouttaurmind That's pretty much it. Satellite providers use different "de-scrambling" technology from cable companies. Cable companies have to adhere to specific standards, one of which is that their devices have to use a CableCard to de-scramble the signal. They're also required to allow subscribers to rent the CableCard itself, which allows the subscriber to use it in devices like this.
@ruouttaurmind I'm not sure there's much of anything for you on satellite besides the company's own box. I've heard of people using capture cards on the video output of the satellite box and an IR blaster to change the channels, but you can only record one show at a time that way. Can't the Hopper record, like, 6 shows at once, though?
@jqubed My Hopper has three tuners. I can record up to three programs at a time, but if I'm recording three I can only watch one of the recording programs, or something previously recorded from DVR, or downloaded from Dish's "On Demand" service. They have a feature called Prime Time Anytime that records the broadcast networks as a single event using only one tuner, but who watches those networks anymore? ;-) By the way, it's easier to monopolize those three tuners than you might imagine. If I'm recording a movie on HBO and watching the news on a local channel, that only leaves one tuner for three kids to fight over.
@ruouttaurmind Oh I've filled up my four tuners by myself, so I understand that. As I understand it, with satellite you're limited to their devices. Do the newer Hoppers have more tuners? Otherwise you just need multiple Hoppers.
@jqubed Three tuners is it. I can add a second hopper for an additional 3 tuners but between equpment cost and receiver fee I'm more inclined to encourage the kids to spend more time on Netflix or the Dish On Demand programming.
Meh is getting greedy now. They used to price right but now they just match Amazon but still expensive than many other deals on website like tigersdirect,new eggs,edealsinfo or eBay.I bought over 15 items in last 20 days but felt shipping and customer service are horrible.Thye don't just delay,they simply don't ship unless you remind them. I am going to cancel my monthly subscription.
@akhauri Are we talking about the same site here? I think you must have them confused with someone else.
@akhauri This is at least $30 lower than Amazon or Newegg. Even eBay.
@akhauri Seriously? This is even cheaper than trying to buy a used one on eBay. It's at least $20 cheaper than buying a refurb on Amazon. If I had cable, I would buy this in a heartbeat.
@akhauri Dammit so much for expecting our greed and service efficiency to pay off. Foiled again.
In all seriousness, that sucks to hear and I'll research your experiences to figure out improvements; thanks for the feedback.
@akhauri I've received all the items I've ordered in a timely manner. I'm kind of surprised to hear you've had problems. Are you expecting shipping notifications? AFAIK they don't do those, but your items will still arrive.
@akhauri I'm really excited, I think this is our first "you're not as cool as you used to be" post!
@Groovymarlin I am power user when it comes to online purchase and I know what I am sayin. Initially order used to come in time but now it takes forever to arrive.
@dave I need to take a screenshot and put this up my desk!
Snapster McDuck at 10:59 p.m. tonight:
@akhauri The few things I have ordered have taken forever to arrive… so maybe you just got lucky at first. Or maybe I have just always been unlucky and they need to hire more people to pack boxes, make mailing labels, etc.
I have 3 HTPC's with 2 tuner Hauppauge units. My provider charges $16/mo for their DVR but only $2/mo for a cable card and my DVR's have 2TB drives, so we never run out of space. I'm in for one to expand my viewing options. Might have to sell one of my 2 tuners on ebay.
@Kyser_Soze Yep, your only monthly charges would be the service + the cable card. Not sure why you'd even want to save one of your tuners.
@Khaztr I have 3 HTPC's with 3 cable cards and none of the cable company's boxes. The last cable card I went to pick up, the lady at the desk tried to tell me how much better their boxes were than mine. She said I won't have a guide. I told her that i do have a guide and it shows 10 channels per screen instead of their 3 and my guide shows 3 hours vs their 2. You can get this feature on Media Center if you get "my channel logos" at http://www.mychannellogos.com. Also, lots of good info can be found at http://www.hack7mc.com.
I have been using this for over a year now, and absolutely love it.
I can use my tablets, phones, computers, and game consoles all to tune any channel i want
I would seriously consider getting a second one to up my recording options, but it took 3 months worth of arguing with my cable company before i finally got their senior tech on the phone who was able to activate the cable card in roughly 30 seconds.
Now that it works it is absolutely awsome!
What is this "cable" that you speak of?
@Thumperchick cable car:
Anyone else having trouble getting their "Meh" button to respond?
@bluejester heh I did actually - it didn't tell me I was logged out but it worked after I logged back in here to post. still dizzy from the spinning :)
@bluejester @snapster I'm so glad it wasn't just me.
@jqubed It finally stopped and got my click. Had a similar problem about a month ago, but forgot to try again later so now I'm not on a perfect streak anymore =(
@snapster I had the same problem. What I have learned 4 times now is if you just let it keep spinning and then finally get a meh face, because you are logged out somehow (I didn't do it) it then doesn't record the face (lost at least 4 or 5 that way). What happened once in October when the site logged me out was it prompted me to log back in. That was rather nice since apparently when you work on the site it dumps at least some of us out of staying logged in. This time that feature didn't seem to be working.
@bluejester MIght want to make sure you still have your click because I found at least 4 or 5 times when this happens the click doesn't stick. log out. shut down, reopen, log back in to see if you really have your face.
@bluejester Easiest way to check if you are logged in before clicking the Meh button is to see if the calendar is there- if it's not there, you're not logged in.
@dashcloud Something else must be going wrong then as my calendar has always been there… yet once the system prompted me to log in after clicking and the other times I figured out I had to manually do that because "something went terribly wrong". In 4 other cases there was no indication there was a problem other than the long spin, finally a face (yes with the calendar) and then later on no face. In each case my collection of meh faces was visible...
@Kidsandliz The other way I know I'm not logged in anymore is if I go to the forums, and everything shows as unread (not grayed out)
Sounds cool, but I don't have nor need a cable box right now so a replacement for one isn't very useful for me.
Baby Arm
Don't have cable. Meh.
I'm very tempted to get this. I have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 in my HTPC but I still occasionally hit the tuner limit. I would have to get another CableCard, though, so that actually increases my costs and I really shouldn't spend the money on this. If anyone's been thinking about building your own DVR, or you're intrigued by its other features, this is a fantastic price on a device I've generally read good things about.
FYI. You can use this with Media Browser. (mediabrowser.tv). I can access this puppy from a web client or from my phone while I'm away. Nothing like watching Sunday Night Football from your phone while driving on the Freeway (someone else driving, not you). Feel free to ping me if you are curious and confused!
TL;DR: "meh"
I don't hate or love this product. This product gives me no feelings whatsoever, I am dead inside because of products like this - I want this producers of this product to neither live nor die but I would feel nothing if every last one of these would be crushed in a blender and fed to whomever procured them for meh.com - how's that for meh?
Meh. It's an interesting device but I would prefer something that doesn't depend on cable. Trying to get rid of that subscription not depend on it more.
But hey you find a box of refurbished chromecasts you let me know.
"...the one we're selling is the Prime. Like Optimus"
That write-up was worth reading for that alone.
Hey mehxperts. Do DVRs work with over-the-air TV? We got rid of cable a few years ago, and we have HD antennas that work pretty well. There are a couple of major-network shows that I do like to watch, but at my leisure, not when they're originally broadcast. Hulu is OK but sometimes they make you wait eight days to see stuff; also I am convinced they show MORE commercials than the original broadcast (also will not sub to Hulu + because of all the commercials). Can I use a Tivo-like device to record shows from the antenna?
@Groovymarlin You would want the Plus instead of the Prime.
@Groovymarlin You can- Channel Master is pretty much the only company that makes them (unless you count buying Tivo Series 3 w/ Lifetime subscriptions). Here's the link for the Channel Master DVR+: http://www.channelmasterstore.com/TV_Freedom_s/314.htm
@Groovymarlin So, I missed one other available choice: Simple.TV https://us.simple.tv/
@Groovymarlin You can also get ATSC tuner cards and turn a computer into a DVR.
Cable's bad, M'kay
Will this work with dais (in Orlando, FL)?
http://www.daistechnologies.com/
@osiris3mc I can't tell from their website. I'd suggest calling their sales or support and asking if they support using cable cards.
I'm usually pretty quick with this kind of stuff but I'm confused. So a cable card that you need to rent from the cable company is required for the device itself? You can't just directly plug in your cable coming out of the modem? This then acts as a digital cable DTA connecting to your home network?
@readnj The card from the cable company authorizes the tuner for the channels you've subscribed to. The monthly fee for the card is usually less than the fee for a box and definitely less than their DVR.
No Georgia Red. . . for that alone, meh.
I love purple.
Using one of these right now paired to my Nexus Player, works fantastic! Just side load the HDHomerun Viewer app and stream live TV to this little guy.
Meh.