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Robust Installation of an HDHomeRun Networked TV Tuner. 64 OTA channels!

I added an HDHomerun (HDHR) over-the-air (OTA) streaming box to my home network, bringing over-the-air broadcast TV to my computers, phones and tablets. 

The HDHR is a big upgrade from my previous setup: using a simple "window mount" antenna directly connected to my TV. A TV-attached antenna is good for watching some TV for free, but the HDHR offers so much more flexibility.

Figure 0: HDHomeRun on my basement wall

 

My original OTA TV setup was haphazard at best. It was finicky, ugly, and hard for other people at home to use. I would actually tape my antenna to a window whenever I wanted to watch OTA TV. Plus, it only worked on my TV and not with my other devices. I wanted a cleaner and more modern OTA setup.

After looking at possibilities, I developed two goals: (1) bring my OTA TV into the modern Internet-connected era, and (2) set it up in a reliable and pretty way so that other family members wouldn't have to fool around with the antenna or anything else. 

With that, I decided to try an HDHomeRun streaming TV box. The HDHomeRun is a simple electronic box with two HDTV tuners inside. It has a connection for a TV Antenna and a connection for an Ethernet network. By using its web interface or its apps, it is possible for devices on the network to watch OTA TV channels. Since there are two tuners, it is possible to watch two different channels simultaneously. In a household with more TV needs, a four-tuner model is available. Using other services, I could add capabilities like a DVR.

I could pursue my reliability and ease-of-use goal without an HDHR. So if you want decent and reliable OTA TV, HDHR-type equipment is not required.

Experimental Configuration

I wanted to make sure that my HDHR would be working at a level that I would find acceptable before installing things "permanently". Therefore, I first planned to experiment with different configurations in hopes of finding a near-optimal setup for me. The short summary is that it was cheaper, easier, and better than I expected.

My dream was to have the HDHR in my basement, next to all my home network gear, and to have an attic antenna to draw in all of my important local broadcast channels. Since I had an idle cable TV cable running from the basement to my attic, I thought I could reuse the cable as my antenna feed.

First, I brought my HDHR into the basement and plugged it into my network gear. I did a scan for TV channels on the HDHR. Given that no antenna was hooked up, I expected to get nothing, because TV reception generally requires a TV signal. I was right. It received no channels, because I had no antenna and I was in the basement. No surprise.

Next I attached the cable running from my attic to my HDHR's antenna jack. The cable from the attic had nothing attached to it at the other end, so I didn't expect much either. After another channel scan, the HDHR did register one channel, but it was unviewable. Again, this was not a surprise - an antenna cable without an antenna attached isn't going to give good results. But it did let me know that the HDHR was picking up something.

I scurried up to the attic and attached a "flimsy" $15 plastic sheet antenna like this one from Amazon that I had laying around the house. It isn't the best antenna, but I knew it could draw in some channels because I used it at my old house. Since this was still an "experimental" configuration, I haphazardly propped the antenna and did a channel rescan on the HDHR. Success! I got 60 channels even with the flimsy antenna!

The video produced by this sloppy set-up was of excellent quality. But there's more. In my TV market I have a very important station that transmits on "Low VHF". Any OTA TV expert will tell you that receiving VHF signals can be a huge challenge. VHF reception normally requires a less common VHF antenna, and low-VHF reception requires a large and uncommon "low VHF" antenna. But for me? No problem! I guess I'm close enough to draw in a good low VHF signal despite the fact that my cheap antenna is designed for UHF only. WIN! BIG WIN!

Since my cheap antenna was picking up all the important channels in my market (and more), this experimental configuration helped me determine that a better antenna would be a complete waste of my money. I'm sticking with my $15 Amazon special.

Since I already had a signal distribution amplifier in my basement, I decided it to give it a try to see if it could improve the already excellent signal quality. Nothing improved, so I just kept it simple: Cheap Antenna to Coax Cable to HDHomerun to Network, with nothing else in the mix. 

Now, with my experiments complete, I could work to install everything in a permanent way.


An Attic Antenna connects to the HDHR in the basement via an RG-6 cable.
Fig 1: My final HDHR configuration: Simple!

Installation

My installation goals are usually very simple: set up my gear in a neat, reliable, and understandable way, and then fasten things in place so things stay neat forever.

I have a backboard in my basement where all my network gear lives, so my goal was to mount the HDHR on the same board as my modem, router, switch, and other equipment.

The HDHR doesn't have mounting points of any kind, but there is still a great way to mount equipment without mounting tabs. I screwed down three well-placed nylon tie clips, and then I used a long zip tie and a zip tie "head" to fasten the HDHR on the board. The third clip is used to keep the HDHR from sliding down. This turned out to be a robust and reliable mounting solution. The only shortcoming with this approach is that I will need to remove a screw or cut the zip tie if I want to remove the HDHR. That's not a big deal.

I mounted the HDHR "sideways" to minimize the chance of the HDHR's power cable falling out of place.

 

Figure 2: HDHR is easily mounted to with a zip tie.

 

I used a short, 1 foot long patch cable to connect the HDHR to my nearby network switch. I also gently looped in my antenna feed into the HDHR.

The Antenna

In the attic, I routed the cheap antenna's cable neatly, keeping the cable off the attic floor. Then I mounted the antenna as high as I could, I did a channel scan, and now it pulls in channels that I had no idea even existed, 64 channels in all. Doing some research, I concluded that it could be possible to draw in a dozen or more other more distant channels, but since I don't care about those channels I'm not going to spend any more money to get them.

Positioning the antenna is not the most fun job for me. It's hard to move around and spend time in my tight attic. One day when I feel like spending time up there I will try to find the best position for my antenna.

Summary of Equipment Used For My Configuration

  • HDHomeRun, two-tuner model, about $65 to $100 depending on "new" or "used".
  • Cheap Amazon Indoor TV Antenna, already owned, about $7 to $20.
  • Zip Ties, already owned, about $12 for a large pack.
  • Zip Tie clips, already owned, about $3 for a large pack.
  • Ethernet Patch Cable, already owned, about $3.
  • Coax Cable (RG-6) for Attic antenna feed, already owned, cost depends on length
  • Network gear, already owned, cost depends on your needs
  • Miscellaneous Screws and Fasteners

Since I already had a lot of the stuff I needed laying around my house, the total out-of-pocket expense for my configuration was only $70, for a used HDHR.

HDHR Energy Use

My Kill-A-Watt power meter suggests that my HDHR uses about 2.0 watts or power when in active use, and about 1.36 Watts when idle. While both tuners are in use it is possible to get the HDHR to consume about 2.6 watts of power. This new power use is fully offset by my disconnection of my home's cable distribution amplifier, which consumed roughly 7 Watts of power 24x365.

Other scenarios I considered

I thought about placing my HDHR in the attic and powering it using PoE. In this scenario, I'd put the HDHR in the attic next to my antenna, and since I don't have any power outlets in the attic I'd use PoE to power the HDHR. The HDHR doesn't natively support PoE, but there is a great solution: I'd simply use an inexpensive 5v PoE splitter to supply 5v power to the HDHR, with an associated PoE injector or switch in the basement.

One other thing to consider: attic temperatures. See my posting about the limitations of installing electronic equipment in an attic.

HDHR Limitations that Did Not Impact Me

The HDHR does not have WiFi capabilities. That's fine for my set-up, because I prefer the performance and reliability of Ethernet. Since an antenna feed and networking gear are often adjacent to one another, Ethernet is usually the best networking solution. If I were in a different position where wired networking was unreasonable, then I would end up using an Ethernet to WiFi bridge (using something like my favorite GL.iNet Mango). Alternatively, I'd buy a WiFi capable OTA tuner like the Tablo instead of the HDHR.

I'm not totally into TV, so I didn't want to spend more money for crazy DVR capabilities. For people that are really into TV, they might want some local USB-attached storage for a bounty of DVR recordings. The HDHR doesn't have a USB port, but the Tablo does. Then it becomes easy to add an external USB hard drive, maybe like my favorite 4TB WD Elements drive.

Conclusion

Before buying the HDHR, I had grand ideas of a complicated setup, buying a big attic antenna and placing the HDHR in the attic and powering it with a PoE adapter. Instead it turned out that my initial "simple solution", using my existing equipment and cabling and even antenna, accomplished all my goals. The result is an inexpensive but modern OTA TV environment.

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