I’m wondering if anyone here can comment on the quality when using iOS devices like an older iPad mini with Channels and a Connect? Does such a thing even work, or do you need the Extend on these? And what about on the ATV?
Original iPad Mini = Never worked well. (I have an extend and it still wasn’t a good experience) iPad Mini 2+ worked well.
And what about the ATV? Have you tried the Connect on that?
Hello, my experience up to this point.
My equipment:
2 Extends. 1 new fanless unit and 1 older unit that I had Silicondust convert to fanless
4 Appletvs. All hardwired to main gigabit switch
Various iOS devices: iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and 6+, iPad Air2
Attic mounted antenna. I get 44 channels, 16 HD
Asus RT-AC68P wireless router
I’ll start with HDHomeRun Connect vs. Extend. From a performance perspective they are basically identical unless you are using the transcoding option only available with the Extend. United States OTA signals are MPEG2 and HD channels use a huge amount of data (up to 6-8Meg/sec). With the extend you can transcode the MPEG2 to H264(MPEG4) which significantly reduces the amount of data that is being sent on your wired or wireless network. Older versions of the Extend used a fan which produced a certain amount of noise and was a failure point. SiliconDust released a new version recently which is fanless. The new fanless Extend is significantly more expensive then the Connect ($179 vs $89) but IMO is a nice upgrade.
Channels on AppleTVs - I get excellent results without transcoding. We can have all 4 AppleTVs using Channels to display HD shows at the same time with a beautiful smooth display. That said you do have to have good wired network performance. Any network slowdowns can cause periodic skips. I had to move one of my AppleTVs to it’s own network run to my main switch as network contention would occasionally cause skips. I have tried transcoding with the AppleTVs but prefer the picture without it.
Channels on iOS devices - For wireless devices I use the Extend transcoding with the Channels transcoding setting of mobile. Transcoding reduces the amount of data you are sending Wifi to the device. While I can get good performance without transcoding with a single device close to my router and not fighting with other wireless devices for bandwidth, that is not always the case. Transcoding gives me consistent good results even with multiple wireless devices using Channels to display HD content at the same time. On the smaller screens of Iphones or Ipads I do not notice any negative impact of transcoding on the picture with decoder quality on high. I do not use wireless AppleTVs but would definitely try transcoding if I had this configuration.
Transcoding may also play into battery usage of iOS devices but that is another topic in itself and this reply is long enough already.
Summary - If you are using only wired AppleTVs I recommend you save some money and stay with the Connect model. If you are using wireless devices I would consider the Extend, especially if you intend to use Channels to display HD content on multiple devices at the same time.
4 Likes
Wow, great reply snow! Thanks for all the info, this is just what I was looking for.
From my experience both are identical in quality. However my Connects tuner appears to be slightly more sensitive, 71 channels. My Extend will only see 68 channels on the same antenna.
Your results may vary.
Wow that’s a TON of OTA. Where are you located?
I live in New Braunfels TX. about 35 north of San Antonio. 40 miles south of Austin. That’s the reason for two tuners.
1 Like
In total 139 channels But to be fair most are shopping or religious or Spanish.
BB, do you have both tuners on one antenna? Do you just use a normal splitter?
I need two antennas in my location so I’m trying to find good solutions.
Maury, I have the same problem. From my home OTA stations are primarily from two different directions S and NW. I went with the DB8e antenna from www.antennasdirect.com. It has two banks of antenna that can be positioned in different directions. Worked very well for me. It is pricey but they have less expensive options especially if you don’t also need the long range.
I used www.tvfool.com for an idea of what I needed antenna strength wise.
Good Luck
I have two antennas and two tuners (Connect and Extend). I initially tried combining the antennas with a combiner, that did not work well.
I use Signal GH to see Signal Strenght and Quality. I’m very happy with this app. There is an Apple TV and iPhone app.
The problem for me is that one of those two sources is far enough (~55 miles) that I need a whole 8-bay just for that. The other is so close I could use a 2-bay, but I’m going to use a 4-bay for that two.
My other febrile idea is to put the tuners under the eves so the cable runs are only ~2 meters.
Thanks for the extensive reply, Snow. I have a CONNECT and an older DUAL, but also considering adding an EXTEND as all my devices are wireless and would benefit by being transcoded. Wireless router is an 802.11ac Apple 3TB TimeCapsule.
My hometown!
One of the nice features of Channels App and DVR is that you can setup and prioritize your tuners by device to tailor your install. TD0, you could use the Extend as the primary or exclusive tuner for your wireless devices and the Connect and Dual for wired devices or DVR. Your choice.
I have two ATVs and an Extend. One of the ATVs is wired ethernet, the other connects wifi at 866mbps. I can stream to both simultaneously with no transcoding. It works flawlessly. I do use the extend transcoding for my DVR, however, but only for the purpose of saving drive space.
DVR transcoding is what finally pushed me to go with the Extend. If you plan to use the DVR, you will probably watch more recorded TV wirelessly than live and the DVR handles the transcoding at that point.
I went with the Extend because I felt that $65 premium was worth while investment to effectively double my DVR capacity. It also gives me more flexibility in the future.
I will also +1 the Signal GH. It has really helped me with my antenna.
Hi Snow66,
Sorry to ask ask a question that you replied back in Oct. Just curious how do you do “Extend transcoding with the Channels transcoding”? Do you go to HDHomerun web page to change the transcoding on the Extend? Or you can change the Extend’s transcoding in the Channels App?
One can set transcoding in the Channels app. If one has Channels DVR, one can set transcoding in the DVR settings page.
The Extend web page allows a default transcoding, but I don’t Channels uses that setting (other than to perhaps default the Channels setting.
If one has the DVR and is watching live TV in the Channels ATV app, I’m not sure if the DVR or the ATV setting is honored.
2 Likes