HDHomeRun Connect or Extend and DVR Transcoding

Channels DVR Server
#1

I’m trying to decide if I should get the HDHomeRun Connect or Extend. If I were to get the connect which does not do live transcoding would my DVR (iMac) have to transcode instead? If so would it do it all the time or only when streaming to a lower res device or when recording? If the live transcoding is being done by the DVR, how much possessing power is used?

Side note:
Is there any reason to not get a refurbished tuner? They are much cheaper.

Thanks!

#2

The DVR does the transcoding when accessed through the web-ui on another device, regardless of what hardware you are using. This is preferred since lower bitrates are required for many internet connections. The transcoding does not take much processing power, and works great using the hardware transcoding option, but you will need a processor with Intel QuickSync transcoding to do the higher bitrates at greater than 1x.

The only reason you would get an extend is to save space on your HDD. But the DVR comskip runs faster and channel surfing is slightly smoother without Extend transcoding (ie: same as a Connect). So, imo, if you have a lot of drive space, just get a connect.

Refurbished should work the same way as not refurbished. But it probably doesn’t have a warranty.

#3

In my experience I’ve found the Extend transcoding has a couple of worthwhile uses:

  1. Transcoding reduces OTA bandwidth for wireless clients. The US still uses MPEG2 for OTA transmissions, which can cause playback problems for live TV due to the large data sizes. This is especially a problem when using multiple wireless devices at the same time or pushing the range of your wireless network. With the extend I have had 3 wireless iOS devices using Channels to watch live TV at the same time without issue. Not sure if I’ve ever tried four (we have 2 extends).
  2. Transcoding reduces the size of OTA DVR recordings. There are a couple of transcode settings. I use the heavy setting which halves the space used for recordings without a noticeable impact on picture quality.

Note that the transcoding benefits for live television are there regardless of if you have the DVR or not.

I buy refurbished hardware regularly. Check out the warranty and replacement policy, but if they are significantly cheaper then certainly consider it.