My network is hooked up to an Ethernet router and a switch. When I try to watch tv on an ethernet connected Mac, I’m only able to see it using the external link. I can not watch using the local link. This computer is not running the dvr service.
Is this normal?
Is their any disadvantage to always using the external link?
Can you explain what you mean by "external link". If you're connected via ethernet, you are connected to the internal network.
The remote streaming link for use when away from home. I have to login to watch.
Is it better to plug in the hdhomerun into the router or switch?
Maybe I'm overthinking your statements, but I'm still quite confused. There is no computer app, so is the Mac using a remote vs. local connection. And if there's no DVR installed, how can you use a remote connection?
Can you please explain how your network is actually setup? Please include each component/device that is involved, and how they are connected to one another.
The cable modem is hooked up to a router and the wifi is turned off. An Ethernet switch is connected to the router. The hdhomerun and two Macs are connected to the switch by Ethernet. One Mac has the dvr installed. The second Mac doesn’t see the dvr recordings with the local network link on the web browser. I am only able to watch tv on the second Mac using the away from home link on the browser.
I hope that helps clarify what I was trying to say.
When you say "local network link" and "away from home link" what exactly do you mean?
Also, is there any other software involved? Perhaps firewalls or VPNs? Anything that would be intercepting/restricting your network traffic?
The external link is my.channelsdvr.net and requires a login.
The internal link is the localhost.
I am asking if there is an advantage to using the localhost over the my.channelsdvr.net?
Also, is there better performance if I hook the hdhomerun directly to the router instead of the switch?
I do have the Mac firewall turned on for the Mac with the DVR software installed. It is set to allow the hdhomerun_record connections.
This is your problem. localhost means the computer that you are on. If you want to access your DVR server from inside your network, you need use its IP address. (Or, if you've enabled Bonjour, using its name.)
On your DVR's web UI, on the Basic Setup section, you'll find the Bonjour option, which is enabled by default. Under that will be text, such as: Advertising dvr-channels.local. via 1 network: [10.0.0.81]. The name it is advertising is the host you can connect to—dvr-channels.local in my case—or you can use the IP address specified in brackets—10.0.0.81 in my example.
So, using my values, to access your DVR from inside your home, you would use:
http://dvr-channels.local:8089, orhttp://10.0.081:8089Hopefully this clears a few things up. (The hostname localhost, and the IP address 127.0.0.1, are what is referred to as the loopback interface. Regardless of the computer or the operating system, these will always refer to the computer you are using; they will never refer to other computers on your network.)
Ok great. Thanks for the help!
Your 2nd example worked using the IP address. Although the first example did not work as the browser never fully loads the page.
Is there any performance boost from hooking the hdhomerun directly into the router instead of the switch?
No, it's better to have all the devices on the same switch and dedicated switch usually will outperform the router.