Best HDhomeRun Viewer for the Mac?

[gpspad]

I realize this is the ATV forum, but figured most people with HDHomeRun Tuners get them for ATV and may also have also have Mac's. I have a HDHomeRun Prime with a cable card. I'd like to view and record shows on my mac.

What are the best viewer and DVR software for the latest mac OS?

I am guessing I am out of luck as far as the DRM channels, but HDHomeRun's Mac Viewer isn't great and I can't seem to figure out how too get Plex to use the tuner.

 

[d21mike]

Channels App for Apple TV and Channels DVR for the MAC is what I use.

 

[jdag]

Channels App for Apple TV and Channels DVR for the MAC is what I use.

I use Channels for ATV...I can't imagine it being much better than it already is. I don't use the Channels DVR, mainly because I rarely record anything. So instead I use the Plex DVR for the rare recordings since I have Plex Pass and the DVR function is free for Plex Pass subscribers.

That being said, I tested the Channels DVR mainly out of curiosity, and if you do make use of a DVR, Channels is better than Plex's option for a number of reasons. Most notably that it integrates all of your "live TV" viewing within the ATV's Channels app.

 

[gpspad]

Thanks for all the replies; while I would like to record a show from time to time, I am trying to get away from monthly fees. I don't think I can justify $8/month for a program just to view my HDHOMERUN on my Mac. I installed the DVR Beta, but it doesn't work as a viewer w/o activating the DVR service.

I guess I am stuck with the free HDHomeRun Mac App, but I find it very basic. No settings, and can't turn off tuners, or open multiple windows showing different channels. But I guess it does it'd job.

I have tried to get VLC to see the HDHR prime, but it doesn't seem to see my HDHR Prime.

 

[Cave Man]

I have been using EyeTV 3 for many years, first with the Elgoto Hybrid (which failed about a year and a half ago). But my HDHomerun Extend has been really challenging to use. There is a lot of stuttering with it and, as you said, the Silicon Dust playback software is a bit spartan. So, I just have to deal with EyeTV for my DVR.

 

[gpspad]

I have been using EyeTV 3 for many years, first with the Elgoto Hybrid (which failed about a year and a half ago). But my HDHomerun Extend has been really challenging to use. There is a lot of stuttering with it and, as you said, the Silicon Dust playback software is a bit spartan. So, I just have to deal with EyeTV for my DVR.

I have eyety 3 from my elgato hybrid, I couldn't get it to recognize my hdhomerun prime. Which hardware do you select for it in the settings?

 

[Cave Man]

I have it set for HDHomeRun under the Devices tab. I'm using version 3.6.8 of EyeTV.

 

[Taladin]

Have you had a look ar Kodi for Mac with the official add on from silicon dust?
It allows recording and viewing for your prime (drm free only). So basically what you are looking for.

http://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:HDHomeRun_Live_TV

There is another unofficial one (HD Homerun PVR). I'm playing with both at the moment as I'm trying to figure out best setup around a couple of devices. Therefore can't give a recommendation which of the two is better.
overall in kodi it feels better than the basic HDhomerun Mac version.

(Un)wanted channels I manage through the web on the tuner directly ( I'm using a connect though, so don't know if prime offers same)

 

[theluggage]

Have you had a look ar Kodi for Mac with the official add on from silicon dust?
It allows recording and viewing for your prime (drm free only). So basically what you are looking for.

...but if you want to record don't you need to pay a subscription for the SiliconDust DVR service too?

For playback, though, Kodi with the third-party extension is probably a bit better than the HDHomeRun app, plus you can use Kodi as a general purpose media player if you really want the full-screen experience

EyeTV worked for me (but I've got a HDHomeRun connect / DVB-T2 setup).

For VLC, going to "Open Network" and entering http://ip.address.of.hdhr:5004/auto/v5 opens up channel #5 etc. I got the URL from the HDHR web interface channel list page - copy the URL from the blue channel number. After that, it's in VLC's playlist...

I am trying to get away from monthly fees.

If you want a nearly-free solution and don't mind putting in a bit of shoe leather: my "daily driver" - which took a bit of setting up - is tvheadend (https://tvheadend.org/projects/tvheadend/wiki) as a server + MrMC (https://mrmc.tv/) running on a FireTV (also available for the AppleTV I believe) + Kodi (on Mac OS).

TVHeadEnd is a totally free PVR "server" that is configured and tuned via a web interface, and uses Kodi (or various other options) as a "front end". I'm running it on my home file server (which is running Ubuntu Linux). Apparently it does run on Mac - but you'd need to build it from source (https://github.com/tvheadend/tvheadend). The other thing you could do is run the Linux version in a Linux VM under (free) VirtualBox (or Parallels/VMWare Fusion if you already have it).

MrMC is a "sanitised" app-store-friendly fork of Kodi which lacks support for all those ...problematic Kodi add-ons but does include most of the PVR add-ons (including TVHeadEnd and HDHomeRun). You pay a few bucks for the convenience of avoiding sideloading/jailbreaking your set top box to run Kodi.

...If I didn't also want legitimate access to Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. then a Raspberry Pi running Kodi also works nicely as the set-top-box component.

 

[ColdCase]

I have been using MythTV for years. Free, full featured, fully compatible with HDHomerun (multiple tuners). You do need to subscribe to a channel guide service, schedulesdirect for about $25 a year. Otherwise its the old VCR time and duration manual recording.

Not what I would consider plug and play, but once installed it runs without issue. If you can install plex, you should have no issue with MythTV.

You can watch with the MythTV frontend but I save the videos to my shared iTunes library so I can watch the show from any of the Macs or iOS devices in the house.

I use FCP to edit the recorded programs (take out commercials for example) and I use HandBrake to make AppleTV versions of the show. I use Stubler to add meta data.