Which devices besides the shield support live TV channels using CableCARD Tuners? (HDHomeRun Prime)

by BadBrent

I've used Shields for the last 3-4 years to watch live TV with my dual HDHomeRun Prime setup so that we have six tuners total available to watch on anything from a smartphone/tablet all the way to a Shield or a desktop PC. While I am fond of my Shields and their ease of setting up live TV function, I am interested in seeing if any of the newer Android products work with the HDHomeRun Prime tuners. Recently I purchased one of the new Chromecast dongles because they were cheap (I used a beta tester coupon code to purchase mine for half price) and when I installed the HDHomeRun software on the dongle for some reason Android 10 just would not run properly with the dongle nor find my tuners so watching live TV on it was useless unless I Chromecasted it to the TV which takes the point out of the whole equation.

Which devices besides Shields support live channels at least at 1080p besides the cheap Mi Boxes that were sold at WalMart for $50 or so? I know they rely on DRM so I can't use no-name boxes like what you could buy from China, but am interested if there are any Android 10 devices out there that support Live TV Channels plus HDHomeRun/CableCARD functionality. Just using the Prime tuners has saved my family $60 per month in equipment rental fees from Comcast and I want to continue to use CableCARDs for as long as I possibly can.

finebf20

I have one HDHomerun prime device with Comcast cable card. I am able to use it with the Google Chromecast TV using the Live channels app, it can only open by using the voice control and saying “Live Channels”. I have the HDHomerun app installed but I personally don’t like it. I like the Live Channels app a lot more. I also have a Tivo Stream 4K (btw onsale for $39.99 as of writing this). It shows the Live Channels app in Apps launcher or can be added to Favorites row. To setup Live channels you can go to it’s settings, then add source and select network tuner. You can edit or hide channels as well. I also have NextPVR setup on my PC and use Kodi + the NextPVR plugin. It allows for live tv and recording. I use zaptoxml to get free guide listings from tvguide.com to use with NextPVR. Also you can use the Xfinity Stream app on supported Amazon Fire TV devices now, in addition to the existing apps on supported Roku TVs or streaming players, LG or Samsung Smart Tvs. It gives you access to all live tv channels in your package plus ondemand, and cloud dvr if its in your package. Since your using cable cards the Xfinity Stream app gives your more channels that are IP only such as MTV2 HD, Nick Jr HD, and many more that are not broadcast RF over the coax channel lineup.

mediumwhite

Any device running Google’s AndroidTV or Fire OS should work, but none will have the same speed/performance as the Shield.

cwichura

Have you considered Plex? A lifetime sub can usually be found for around $100 with a coupon. I run a Plex server on my Synology NAS, and it connects to my HDHomeRun Prime to act as my DVR. I can then play (or watch live) on any other device at home. I don't do any remote Plex (don't even have it configured to avoid exposing it to the public Internet), so the NAS is more than powerful enough for Plex since its all directplay with no transcoding, even for the 4k Bluerays I've ripped.

CuvisTheConqueror

I have the Chromecast With Google TV and a HDHomeRun Prime, and I have the HDHomeRun app on there and working fine. What issues did you have with it?

IIRC, there was a setting I had to go in and change (disable "Use AC3 pass through when possible") that was causing some channels to fail to play, but I didn't have any issues otherwise.

elister

I've owned a prime for years and have tested a few media players.

Ones that worked

Raspberry Pi 2, 3 and 4 with LibreElect (Kodi). The original Pi required overclocking, best sinks and fan. However Pi 234 require no adjustments.

FirevTV 4k. Had to install an app to sideload Kodi, overall works like a charm. Probably the cheapest device to use. Just no live channels option.

Xiaomi Mi Box. Kodi works fine. Live channels used to work, then kinda stopped working for a lot of users.

Ones that failed.

WDTV Live. Could detect, but not decode channels.

Apple TV (2nd Gen). Using Kodi, you could only view 480i channels.

Fire TV (1st Gen). With Kodi sideloaded. Interlacing video issues made viewing impossible.

For tablets and phones, VLC is the best client to use. Naturally you'll need a fast wireless AC router.

Gweeper64

my Prime and Chromecast with GTV work fine together with the HDHomerun app and Live Channels. I can't find a way to use it as a "Network Tuner" like the Shield however.