Kodi Community Forum

Hi There!

I cancelled our TV subscription in the fall and installed an antenna in our attic over the holidays. We currently get around 30 OTA HD channels, almost 20 with excellent reception (4 or 5 bars out of 5). At some point I'm going to revisit this setup to see if I can do any better. Depending on how this works, I may later try to add an FTA Satellite feed.

In the meantime, I would like to setup a system to provide:

• a channel guide so that it's easier for my wife to pick something to watch or record
  
• the ability to pause & rewind live TV
  
• the ability to watch feeds from the internet, primarily NetFlix & webcasts
  
• a whole home PVR (the ability to record the OTA HD stations and replay anywhere in the house on any device)
  
• easy to navigate, control using a smart phone or tablet application (we find the Apple TV NetFlix interface sadly lacking to search for content)
  
• the ability to watch and record multiple (at least 2 preferably 3 or 4) channels simultaneously
  
• the ability to easily use either the native TV or external speakers
  
• the ability to stream live sports (primarily only interested in NFL & NHL) - I understand Kodi has plug-in for this
  

We currently have an Apple TV hooked up so that we can watch NetFlix and stream content off of the internet. We rarely (almost never) use it to for iTunes content. I've been disappointed with the streaming of browser based feeds from my MacBook; but, this is a definite 'must have' capability. Not that we can stream from a laptop or tablet but that we can stream webcasts via the HTPC to the TV.

We also have a Sony Home Theatre system. We will sometimes use it to watch a DVD, listen to the radio or listen to music. I'm basically the only one to use it as my wife doesn't like the 'surround sound' audio. I'm of the opinion that music isn't loud enough until you feel it in your chest while she prefers the sound to be at the lowest discernible level.

We have iOS, android, OS X, & Windose devices in the home. Once this is up & running, we would like to put a wifi enabled TV in the master bedroom and be able to watch content without having to install / configure another device.

I have a DIY Ubuntu tower that I'm planning on repurposing for this system. I envision replacing the Apple TV & Sony device with one home built system. This workstation (micro ATX MB, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, can't remember what CPU I used) that I will reconfigure for this project supports HDMI output, GB Ethernet, Optical S/PDIF audio output, and 8 channel audio I/O.

So, based on my reading to this point (multiple threads on this site, Ned Scott's Newbie PVR Guide, Advocate99's Complete Setup Guide, lifehacker's How to Watch and Record Live TV, ...), I think this is doable; but, have a few questions.

If I understand it correctly, at a high level, I will need to:

• build the HTPC, with at least one TV tuner card with dual coax antenna inputs
  
• install & configure Ubuntu Server
  
• install & configure TVHeadEnd
  
• install & configure Kodi
  
• setup, install & configure HDHomeRun
  

My questions are:

• Am I out to lunch on anything I'm attempting to accomplish?
  
• Can I serve content to any device in the house without having to instal/configure a device for each TV?
  
• Is HDHomeRun the only way to share the content throughout the house? Or is there a SW solution alternative that will allow me to use my wifi and forgo purchasing another device?
  

Thanks for any input or advice you may be able to share!

Quote:Am I out to lunch on anything I'm attempting to accomplish?

Nope, it all sounds doable. You may have to use multiple protocols and applications, but everything will talk to everything else somehow from what I see in your shopping list.

Quote:Can I serve content to any device in the house without having to instal/configure a device for each TV?

Everything that receives a signal - be it Live TV or recorded content - needs to be able to talk to your central library/server/database. Some things, you can stream using a TV's built-in functionality - most modern televisions support UPnP to central media servers, for example. However, very few televisions (if any) would be able to see your central tuners, nor would they see the database of recordings; at best, they'll see the files and be able to play them if they're in the right format. In my experience, TV manufacturers are worse than Apple for deciding what file and encoding formats are acceptable and what are not.

So, chances are that every client (i.e. everything you sit in front of to watch or listen) will need to be some kind of proper computer. Now, whether that's an HTPC, or an Android stick, or a tablet that you can move around and then plug in with HDMI or use screen mirroring... that's different. But the TV ends up just as a monitor.

Quote:Is HDHomeRun the only way to share the content throughout the house? Or is there a SW solution alternative that will allow me to use my wifi and forgo purchasing another device?

I don't really know what the HDHR does in this context. If you have tuners in your central server then these till pick up the OTA signals and make them available to clients, e.g. to VLC or to Kodi, wherever they are on your house LAN. Recordings go from those tuners onto that server, so they're also available to everywhere; DVD rips, MP3s and the like follow the same route. So, there's nothing magical about the HDHR from what I see - it's just another tuner - unless you're planning on having something network-enabled that can then be seen by multiple clients. Bear in mind the client:tuner ratio and the likelihood of contention - while you can theoretically watch and/or record multiple channels on the same mux, in practise you really end up with one tuner per active client, so you need to size it all for your peak load, whether that's broadcasting over your LAN or just connecting to a central server/NAS (my preferred model).

It feels to me that you're heading towards a central server/NAS with multiple tuners (HDHR, PCI, USB, whatever). All TV signals are routed through that device, so that's your whole-house PVR and the place on which to store all your other media. Each viewing point then needs a client (which is where Kodi comes in, of course), and you're probably looking at a combination of your existing tablets/phones and some new devices so you always have something easily to hand on each screen - most folks would connect something permanently to each TV.

Thanks for the feedback Prof Yaffle!!

So I've been doing some more research and I'm disappointed in that it's looking more & more like I will need more than one device to accomplish my goals.

It's looking like I will need a 'server' that I use to retrieve and store all the content we want to watch (ex. downloads or recorded content from our OTA Antenna). I think this will also be the device that downloads an EPG and provides the capability to have an on-screen program guide.

Then, as Prof Yaffle stated, looks like I'll have to put a device on each tv on which I want to display content from my HTPC. At this point, I'm thinking of building my own RaspberryPi device for each TV on with I want to watch live TV, NetFlix, ...

Since I want something that provides lossless performance, it was looking like I would need to hard wire things with Cat 6; but, the AC wireless is looking promising. I think I'm going to try that instead.

I'll update this post as I build this out.

Oddly,
My home scenario is exactly like yours, I believe I am trying to accomplish the same exact setup.
Did you find a solution for the clients?
After doing some reading, I am thinking i am going to setup a main kodi server-htpc build, where all my media is stored and where my OTA capture card lives., Then stream it throughout the house using Amazon Fire sticks.
I believe I can use NextPVR in the background and link it into kodi. It looks like I will be able to stream live OTA to the fire sticks, as well as access all media stored. Can anyone concur before I buy the fire sticks?
Thanks in advance

@tdw13 You stated Linux, so I will suggest mythtv as your PVR backend.

Pi3's running kodi will make more than adequate clients. Chromeboxes are great and cheap too.

@Jseiler08 Personally I would avoid firesticks. Android has no active kodi developers, the firestick is underpowered. Pis or Chromeboxes.

In both cases, run ethernet wires, seriously better than wifi!

Yes. Or if running Ethernet is not possible invest in power line adapters.

Sent from my XT1254

Thanks for the responses. I looked at the cost of Pi 3's and it looks pretty doable. Thanks again.