HDMI for Channels

Playground Hardware
#1225

Why doesn't this work?

#1226

Whats a good beginner set to just getthings rolling on one? What do I need to purchase?

#1227

I know im very late to the game. Trying to find a fairly cost effective hdmi encoder for experimentation.

Has anyone run into this encoder that I stumbled upon this morning?

Any thoughts and/or feedback appreciated.

1 Like
#1228

I'd suggest this URayCoder 4K 4-Port H.264/H.265 unit. It's not cheap, but neither are the 1-port units, and I think most of us have found a single port to be quite limiting -- very quickly. It's cheaper in the long run to buy the right unit from the start.

As far as streaming sticks, the FireStick 4K Max and the Chromecast with Google TV 4K are probably the best choices. I use, and prefer, the FireSticks -- and if you're planning to use DTVStream or Premium Amazon Prime channels as your source, you'll likely want to go that route. I've written the scripts for both, and that's what I do my testing on. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#1229

I second this suggestion. This unit has worked out well for me. I bought a single channel device first but quickly regretted not getting more channels so I bought this unit.

#1230

Does the osprey/roku4k work for 4k?

#1231

To my knowledge, the primary issue with capturing 4K with an encoder right now is HDCP related. I have yet to identify an encoder that supports HDCP 2.x -- they all seem to be 1.x. There are HDCP 1.x to 2.x "converters", and I've purchased one to try -- but haven't had a chance to take it for a test drive yet.

For example, with DTVStream, if your FireStick detects a connected device doesn't have HDCP 2.x it doesn't even show the 4K channels (104-108) in the guide.

I posted a message, a week or more ago, in the ADBTuner thread asking if anyone had successfully watched any 4K content (via their encoder) -- with zero responses, so I'm guessing no one has yet.

#1232

I know that osprey/roku4k work for 4k , but not sure how to bypass the hdcp. My friend had a hdcp bypass for nvidia shield is it 2.x?

#1233

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011414&p_id=15242

#1234

Does this work for nvidia shield to unlock channels as well?

1 Like
#1235

The ah4c fork has been quite the nifty little local iptv server. So far I can confirm that in addition to channels dvr, I can feed its m3u directly into nextpvr and sagetv.

1 Like
#1236

@Anvil_DVR

I discovered the Live TV guide IDs are unique to each FireStick device. Slowed me down a bit, but I now have a shell script to extract those IDs and create an M3U that's tied to a given stick. There will still be just one master M3U, with the device-specific versions created automagically as required.

A bit more testing, and whatnot, before I push a new ah4c container to Docker Hub. I'll keep you posted.

#1237

I have question about 4k. Bear with me because I don't have a 4k tv. Does the feed that comes over the air have the same hdcp 2.0 as the one that would come from streaming devices?

#1238

I'm glad you're the one figure this out. Will this work with multiple FireTV's

2 Likes
#1239

It will.

1 Like
#1240

Wouldnt it be a lot easier to have a python script just use windows pc server to pull up websites/logins and record from there? No extra device necessary.

#1241

Hardware encoding scales better (think multiple virtual tuners), but there is an all software extension that might be right for you. Head on over to the Chrome Capture thread, and see if that meets your needs:

#1242

@Anvil_DVR

I started a new thread regarding capturing Prime Video (or other channels that show in the FireTV LiveTV guide) using ah4c, an HDMI encoder and FireTV devices. It's ready to try:

#1243

Is there an atsc3 tuner that doesn't have drm that you can use with this method?

#1244

No.