SiliconDust HDHomeRun Flex Quatro 4 x ATSC Tuners - HDFX-4US

From fall to spring, 90% of the TV I watch is OTA TV on the primary networks that I record and watch later so I need a tuner that can pull in stations and works with Plex which is what I use to record them and play them back later when I have time to watch. Plex requires a tuner that it is compatible with and I initially went with a Happauge 4 tuner card that I installed in the Plex server. Where I had a problem is that there are some shows that the wife and I like to watch that are on PBS and that station is in a different direction than the rest of the stations we watch. The PBS station is west of us and the rest of them are south. If I set the antenna pointing directly south, all the stations but PBS would come in fine but if I set the antenna west, PBS and some of the other stations would come in but not all and even then, only under ideal weather conditions. Pointing the antenna somewhere between the two directions would sorta work but was not consistent or reliable. I finally came up with a dual antenna solution with one antenna pointing south and the other pointing west and while that worked well for the TV's tuner, Plex was still having an issue recording anything on PBS. It was obvious that the issue with the Plex server was the tuner it was using since the TV worked fine on the same cable.Doing some research on tuners compatible with Plex, it was clear that the HomeRun tuner was preferred and worked well so I figured I would give it a shot and ordered this one since I need 4 tuners at times. I was surprised on just how small this unit is when I got it. Hookup couldn't be any easier. Connect the antenna coax to it, plug it into your network switch, and plug in its power adapter and you are done. It does not have WIFI so it does need an Ethernet cable connection and need to be placed where it has access to your router or switch connected to your network.Since I am using this for Plex, I did not download any of its software so I will not be commenting on that but I will talk a little bit about how it works with Plex. One problem with the Happauge card is that even though it is a 4 tuner card, it is actually set up as 2 dual tuner devices so everything you need to do to set it up for the Plex DVR, you have to do twice, once for each tuner device. The HomeRun tuner is recognized as a singe 4 tuner device so you only need to do the setup once for all 4 tuners. The HomeRun tuner will most likely need to have its firmware updated but even then, there is no need to download or install any other software to do that. All you need is the IP address given to the device and enter it into your web browser. In Plex, when it discovers the tuner it will give you the IP address assigned to the the tuner but you can also get that directly from the router if you know how to log into the router and look at its table of connected devices.Once you enter the HomeRun's IP address into your browser, it will log you into the HomeRun tuners home page and if it needs a firmware update, there will be a button on it to perform that function. Just click on that button and confirm that you want to update and you are done. It will download the updated firmware, install it on itself and reboot itself with the new firmware installed and you are ready to go. Testing so far has been great. Plex now easily records every station I want it to including PBS so the tuners are better than the ones on the Happauge card and seem to be a match for the TV's built in tuner so we seem good to go. The final test will be to have Plex record 4 high def shows at the same time while playing back 2 other shows. The Happauge card was an internal card so the servers network interface is only used for output. The HDHomeRun tuner is an external device so the Plex server will use its network interface for both recording and playback and this test will just make sure that there are no issues or bottlenecks during what would be our maximum usage of the server. I don't see it being any real issue as the server has a gigabyte network interface but if there is one, I'll post it for any Plex users to watch out for. Otherwise, I am happy with the tuner and am looking forward to this falls TV season.

The **HD Homerun** stands out as the premier over-the-air (OTA) tuner I’ve had the pleasure of testing, surpassing competitors in both performance and user experience. Its effortless plug-and-play setup eliminates the headaches often associated with home entertainment systems, making it accessible even for those less tech-savvy. The companion app is a standout—intuitive, responsive, and refreshingly stable, especially compared to the Tablo app, which I found prone to frustrating crashes and lag during my testing. Channel changes are lightning-fast, mirroring the seamless experience of traditional cable, minus the exorbitant costs.When it comes to DVR functionality, the HD Homerun offers flexibility: Opt for the straightforward yearly subscription or integrate it with a **Plex Server** (requiring a Plex Pass) for a richer, more customizable recording experience. The latter option transforms your setup into a media powerhouse, complete with advanced features like skip-the-ads and multi-device streaming.On the topic of broadcast standards, **ATSC 1.0** remains a reliable workhorse, and this device ensures you’ll enjoy crisp, stable signals for years to come. In contrast, **ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV)**, despite its 4K potential, is hamstrung by restrictive DRM (Digital Rights Management) policies and fragmented adoption, rendering it impractical for most users. The HD Homerun wisely sidesteps this gimmick, focusing instead on delivering what truly matters: consistent, high-quality TV without the hassle.At **$50 off** its usual price, this version of the HD Homerun is an absolute steal. Whether you’re cutting the cord or enhancing your existing setup, it’s a future-proof investment that excels where others falter. After weeks of use, I’m thoroughly impressed—this little box has redefined my expectations for OTA viewing. **Highly recommended!**