Tvheadend

Chuck Bastion wrote:

I'd like to unplug my cable and use my Raspberry Pi 2B (with OSMC) to watch over-the-air live TV channels, and also record/PVR stuff like local sports.

I don't really understand what I need in the way of hardware/software. I have a Sony KDLW60850B TV (it has a built-in tuner, but no antenna), Raspberry Pi 2 (with OSMC and tvheadend already installed via the App Store), and that's it so far.

What else do I need? Do I need an antenna? I see folks saying they use HDHomeRun in this situation--what exactly does that do and why do you need it in this context?

For that matter, what exactly does tvheadend do in this context? Is it just providing PVR functionality?

Thanks in advance for any help!

You will need an aerial (sorry antenna, ugh horrible word) to receive anything with Tvheadend using ATSC tuners (I'm assuming you're American from the usage of antenna).

Because the RPi shares its USB with Ethernet and its ports it's going to struggle with recordings and playback from more than one tuner especially when streaming over Ethernet this pretty much also applies to the HDHR (when used with an RPi) as that sends the streams via Ethernet too (it's a Network tuner with a driver that fools Linux into seeing it as a local tuner).

This can vary depending on the source content and how well the tuners drivers are written. However you should get away with recording and watching (locally) from one tuner provided what you're watching and recording is on the same mux and the USB isn't overloaded by something else, hard drives used for recording etc.

The best advice I can give here is start small, try it with one tuner and see how you fare.

It really is YMMV here, hopefully someone else from your side of the pond will be able to assist you more.

It's a shame really RPi's are awesome machines (I have 6) let down by poor design choices (Ethernet via USB is kinda useless when it comes to streaming, especially to more than one device).

Thanks for the info! I am indeed in the US. Funny, I didn't realize antenna was a region specific term. Aerial sounds way more elegant, I'll grant that.

So I'd need an antenna, sounds like the first obvious step. I'm seeing folks using the MOFU Leaf in this context, is any other product an obvious better fit? http://store.gomohu.com/the-leaf-ultimate-hdtv-antenna.html

Do I actually need a separate tuner (like the HDHR), since my TV already has a built-in tuner? Not quite clear on what the purpose of that would be. Couldn't I just use my TV's built in tuner?

I did not realize the TV signals are transmitted via Ethernet in this context. I'd assumed it's just coming straight from the air/antenna and going to the RPI and then USB. Interesting...

Chuck Bastion wrote:

Thanks for the info! I am indeed in the US. Funny, I didn't realize antenna was a region specific term. Aerial sounds way more elegant, I'll grant that.

So I'd need an antenna, sounds like the first obvious step. I'm seeing folks using the MOFU Leaf in this context, is any other product an obvious better fit? http://store.gomohu.com/the-leaf-ultimate-hdtv-antenna.html

You can use whatever antenna you like to receive the signals as long as they're strong enough, you can use your TV to test this. If it's able to view all the services you want then you're good. But bear in mind that not all tuners are alike some work better with weaker signals than others.

> Do I actually need a separate tuner (like the HDHR), since my TV already has a built-in tuner? Not quite clear on what the purpose of that would be. Couldn't I just use my TV's built in tuner?

Unless your TV has some SAT->IP functionally (unlikely) you're going to need a separate tuner as Tvheadend has no way (except SAT->IP) to talk to the tuner in your TV.

I did not realize the TV signals are transmitted via Ethernet in this context. I'd assumed it's just coming straight from the air/antenna and going to the RPI and then USB. Interesting...

Sorry I should have been a bit clearer the HDHR receives the signal from the antenna and sends what it receives over Ethernet to the Pi. It is possible to receive TV via the Internet through IPTV etc.

HTH

All very helpful, thanks! Becoming clearer now.

Because the RPi shares its USB with Ethernet and its ports it's going to struggle with recordings and playback from more than one tuner

What reason would someone have to use more than one tuner? For example if I'm using the HDHR, that's just one tuner right? Not sure what the purpose would be of using multiple.

Simply put, more than one tuner == more than one program(me). It's a little more subtle than that, in that the signal can carry multiple channels at the same time if they're multiplexed into a common carrier frequency, but that's the general theory.

So, you have more than one tuner so you can watch something while recording something else - or perhaps have different signal types (e.g. I have both satellite and terrestrial tuners) - or perhaps to feed more than one client/computer.

Also just to add the HDHR generally has 2 or more tuners. Take a look at: https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/

Thanks all,
Very helpful.

Makes sense now. I need an aerial/antenna, plus a tuner.

Chuck Bastion wrote:

So I'd need an antenna, sounds like the first obvious step. I'm seeing folks using the MOFU Leaf in this context, is any other product an obvious better fit? http://store.gomohu.com/the-leaf-ultimate-hdtv-antenna.html

Antennas are a black art. But you can make your life MUCH easier by clicking on this and filling out the form:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

If everything you want is green and yellow, practically any antenna will do. If you have some red and purple, not so much. Post the URL of the report here and I'll look at it if you'd like.

Do I actually need a separate tuner (like the HDHR), since my TV already has a built-in tuner? Not quite clear on what the purpose of that would be. Couldn't I just use my TV's built in tuner?

As noted above, you need a tuner that TVH can get at. Two options are the HDHomeRun, and any number of USB sticks. I strongly suggest the later. I got the kWorld UB435, by far the best price/performance ratio. It's built-in software is terrible, but you won't be using it. You can get it practically anywhere - Amazon, Newegg, BestBuy etc.