[j-m-s]

Are there DVB-C tuners that you can connect to an android box via USB?
And are there kodi-plugins for using them?

[wrxtasy]

https://www.hdhomerun.net/product.aspx

http://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:HDHomeRun

http://kodi.tv/addon-spotlight-hdhomerun-live-tv/

[RockerC]

Are there DVB-C tuners that you can connect to an android box via USB?

Generally no, as to direct attach a USB TV-tuner to an Android box its firmware image have to support DVBAPI (DVB API) in the (Linux based) kernel plus have drivers for the specific USB TV-tuner that you use, having this support will enable you to install Tvheadend or VDR http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR_backend for Linux on your Android box and take advantage of Kodi's http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR API.

While DVBAPI (DVB API) is commonly compiled into Linux distrobutions it is unfortunally not so common compiled into Android firmware , and as far as I know, no official Android box firmware supports DVBAPI (DVB API) out-of-the-box, but there are however at least one third-party Android firmware developers that have have added it, but only for WeTek Play: http://wetekforums.com/vb5/forum/wetek-p...di-live-tv

Popular workaroud is to attach the USB TV-tuner to a other computer (like a Raspberry Pi with Linux OS) on your local network and install the needed PVR backend (TV tuner and recoding server) software on that and then stream the signal to Kodi on Android box. For more information aboout how that works read wiki: http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR and http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR_backend

https://www.hdhomerun.net/product.aspx

http://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:HDHomeRun

http://kodi.tv/addon-spotlight-hdhomerun-live-tv/

That is not a USB tuner which is asked for here, and the addon you refer to is just a Python Script which does not use Kodi's PVR API, as that PVR AP currently only supports C++ binary addons, see wiki: http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR and http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR_backend

Support for USB tv-tuners directly attached to an Android box requires support for the (Linux) DVBAPI (DVB API) in the kernel plus drivers that support those USB DVB and ATSC TV-tuners to recieve over-the-air broadcast-television signals. And this is something that almost none Android box manufacturers (if any at all) have added to their offical firmware images.

DVBAPI (DVB API) support in the kernel is needed having that also be capable of running native Linux apps like Tvheadend or VDR TV-tuning software for Kodi PVR. This support could in theory be achieved by other Android firmware developers by basically adding same DVB API kernel and driver functionally as this CyanogenMOD firmware adds to WeTek Play: http://wetekforums.com/vb5/forum/wetek-p...di-live-tv

Again read http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR and http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR_backend

[noggin]

Yep - the HD Homerun is an Ethernet connected device - so connects over the network, in a similar, albeit lower level, manner to a PVR back-end running on a separate Linux or Windows device with a USB tuner or tuners attached. In Europe we also have similar SAT>IP devices (for DVB-S/S2 - though that standard supports C and T/T2 I don't think commercial products are available)

As others have stated - the Kodi Plugin detailed for HD Homeruns isn't a PVR plugin and is instead something more akin to an IPTV live-streaming plugin so probably doesn't offer the full gamut of PVR functionality that a local or remote backend and PVR plugin would.

The other big issue for DVB-C is likely to be encryption - though the mix of FTA and Encrypted services varies from country to country and platform to platform. Some countries will allow a CAM+Viewing card to be used for encrypted services (though you'd need a DVB-C tuner with a CI slot to connect the CAM, unless you go down a less authorised route which may or may not be legal in your country - though still requires a subscription so isn't piracy) - other countries require a provider-supplied box - and they are unlikely to be usable in an authorised manner with a PC unless you use an external capture card + IR blaster solution...

[j-m-s]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.
There are 2 android tuners from aver, but they are DVB-S and I assume kodi does not support them.

http://avertv.avermedia.com/Product/Prod...spx?Id=600
http://www.avermedia.com/consumer/produc...mobile_310

[RockerC]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.
There are 2 android tuners from aver, but they are DVB-S and I assume kodi does not support them.

http://avertv.avermedia.com/Product/Prod...spx?Id=600
http://www.avermedia.com/consumer/produc...mobile_310

Again you really need to read wiki http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR to understand how PVR works in Kodi, and and then re-read my previous post to understand the dependecies here.

Now after reading those you might understand that the issue is not Kodi not supporting them, as Kodi does not support any TV-tuners directly itself! Kodi PVR is a frontend client only and as such it always needs to go through a third-party PVR backend software which acts as a TV tuner server.

And for a a PVR backend software to support a TV-tuner directly connected to an Android box the firmware have to support DVB API and have the PVR backend software installed.

[j-m-s]

I ordered now this very interesting device:
http://en.sdmctech.com/product/dv7810-c-...eware.html

The support people from this product http://avm.de/service/fritzwlan/fritzwla...ebersicht/
told me it does not support AC3.

[noggin]

I ordered now this very interesting device:
http://en.sdmctech.com/product/dv7810-c-...eware.html

Yep - though you may well find that it does DVB-C outside of Kodi via a separate DVB app in Android and the quality may not be stellar. (I had an AMLogic based DVB-S2 box which was far from brilliant back in the day, which I hacked to get OpenElec running on, but didn't have time to work on the DVB-S2 drivers for the inbuilt tuner and retired it hurt)

[IITravel]

I ordered now this very interesting device:
http://en.sdmctech.com/product/dv7810-c-...eware.html

The support people from this product http://avm.de/service/fritzwlan/fritzwla...ebersicht/
told me it does not support AC3.

Price?

[j-m-s]

Yep - though you may well find that it does DVB-C outside of Kodi via a separate DVB app in Android and the quality may not be stellar.

What stellar quality box would you recommend?

[noggin]

Yep - though you may well find that it does DVB-C outside of Kodi via a separate DVB app in Android and the quality may not be stellar.

What stellar quality box would you recommend?

I split my backend - which I run a mix of either DVBLogic TV Source under Windows or TV Headend on Linux - with a USB tuner or two. I use DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 mainly - as DVB-C is not really an option in the UK. However friends in Scandinavia use DVB-C mainly using USB tuners. Backends run on low-end Intel boxes with GigE.

For front-ends I use a mix of Raspberry Pi 2s and Chromeboxes - though would recommend the Chromebox more for Live TV.

[wrxtasy]

Yes agreed with what Noggin said.
The cheapest option for a backend would be a C1+
Run TVHeadend and attach a usb Tuner and HDD to it. I would normally recommend a RPi2 but the C1+ had Giga Ethernet as opposed to 100Meg on the RPi2. Plus it runs a bit faster.

Quality Kodi / Android boxes with good Firmware and support, (which is very important with Android) come from MINIX, NVIDIA and WeTek. Buying a unknown brand, especially Android ones will cause you problems.

For Android, the WeTek Core I have just reviewed is really nice and plays TV superbly indeed in Android Lollipop / Kodi when you feed if TV streams from TvHeadend running on the C1+

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=238923

[negge]

You might wanna check out Wetek, they make Android devices with built-in tuners and out-of-the-box support in both Android and Openelec.

[j-m-s]

I split my backend - which I run a mix of either DVBLogic TV Source under Windows or TV Headend on Linux - with a USB tuner or two. I use DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 mainly - as DVB-C is not really an option in the UK. However friends in Scandinavia use DVB-C mainly using USB tuners. Backends run on low-end Intel boxes with GigE.

For front-ends I use a mix of Raspberry Pi 2s and Chromeboxes - though would recommend the Chromebox more for Live TV.

This sounds like caring for the machines instead of watching TV....

[wrxtasy]

These are set and forget setups.
Once a server like TvHeadend is configured you can stream / record and control the server from any Kodi / TvHeadend client connected to the local Network in the house.

Its all relatively easy to setup, especially if you run OpenELEC and download the TvHeadend server and can follow a few setup instructions. Noggin even has a nice simple TvHeadend tutorial floating around somewhere.

To get excellent quality deinterlacing of TV streams out of an Android box you should get one with an AMLogic SoC.