(Look for a review roundup of these options in the near future.In the most layman of layman’s terms, transcoding refers to when Plex has to convert a video to play on a new streaming device.
If you don’t need rich guide data or powerful scheduling features, you can also buy a no-frills tuner box like the MediaSonic Homeworx ($35, available at Amazon) and record channels to an external USB drive. If you want to go even simpler, TiVo’s Roamio OTA (with a 1TB hard drive, $369.99 at Amazon at the time of publication) and Channel Master’s DVR+ ($349 with a 1TB internal hard drive $249 if you want to provide your own external hard drive) can record broadcast channels with no subscription fees, but only for a single television. A guide subscription costs $5 per month, $50 per year, or $150 for life, and you must supply your own antenna and hard drive. HDHomeRun owners can also use Plex Media Server on a PC, recording shows to an internal hard drive, external USB drive, or a NAS box.Īlternatively, the Tablo DVR ($220 for the two-tuner model, available at Amazon for $198.30 at time of publication) has a simpler setup process, supports whole-home viewing, and offers a single app on many platforms for live and recorded TV. The combination of Shield, HDHomeRun, and Plex isn’t your only option for over-the-air recordings. The official HDHomeRun app is available on Android TV, Xbox, and Windows, while unofficial apps are available for other platforms, including Channels for Apple TV and iOS, and InstaTV for Amazon Fire TV. The only downside is that you need a separate app to watch live TV. Plex Pass ( $5 per month, $40 per year, or $150 lifetime): This gives you access to Plex’s DVR service and a bunch of other features. Over-the-air antenna: It can be indoor or outdoor, as long you can wire the coaxial cable to the HDHomeRun. The HDHomeRun tuner connects to an antenna via coaxial cable, and to your home network router over ethernet. (Note: If your router isn’t in a location where your over-the-air antenna can get good reception, this solution won’t work for you.) Jared Newman / IDG The HDHomeRun Extend ( $179 at Amazon) uses transcoding to reduce the size of streams and recordings. The HDHomeRun Connect ( $105 at Amazon) requires more bandwidth for streaming, and more storage for recordings. HDHomeRun tuner ($100 to $180): This tuner connects to your router over ethernet, and streams broadcast channels to the Shield. Ideally, the drive should have at least 500GB of storage and a USB 3.0 interface. USB hard drive: You’ll plug this into the Shield to store recordings, unless you have a Shield Pro.
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