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The HDHomeRun has some other claims to fame too, the most obvious being the fact that it is a network attached device, meaning you plug the device onto your network, rather than into your PC. Once attached to your network, you are able to access the tuners in the device from your PC. By using this approach you save slots in your PC, and for those that aren't familiar with the inside of their PC and don't want to be, you save the hassles of even opening the box (PC).
The HDHomeRun offers up two ATSC (over-the-air) digital tuners which also double as QAM decoding tuners. You can use the device in any combination of QAM decoders/tuners or ATSC tuners, meaning you could connect one of the internal tuners to over-the-air antenna while connecting the other to cable, or connect both to either cable or over-the-air.
That flexibility is part of the reason the device ships with virtually no instructions and no documentation from the manufacturer. Depending on which vendor you buy it from (the manufacturer sells the device through just a handful of retailers), you may get some documentation, but in my case the box that the device arrived in included only the receipt and nothing else.
The front of the device features an LED that very obviously signifies that the device is getting power, along with a set of LEDs that seem to indicate that a tuner is receiving a signal, or that the ethernet port is connected, or, well, your guess is as good as mine as there's absolutely no documentation telling anyone what the lights actually mean.
You can find some information out from the manufacturer's website: SiliconDust.com, most especially in their forums. In fact, thats about the only place to really find information on the device. For the most part, there's a serious dearth of information for the product at the site. A link to download software with virtually no instructions on how to actually use the software. A set of instructions that are so minimalistic as to be almost useless, and the link to the forums. That's about it.
The device itself is benefiting from grassroots efforts, with the software that supports it coming via open source type efforts. Support for use in Vista or Windows Media Center modules is there, but, well, not really. You can find support for same in the forums at SiliconDust's site, or via TheGreenButton.com but most of the support that you do find will leave you confused on how someone else apparently got the device to work while you can't seem to make progress yourself.
Are you starting to sense a bit of a pattern to my words here? Sensing that I'm a bit disappointed in the device? Well, yes, yes I am.
The lack of documentation is insulting to purchasers. At a minimum the device needs more labels to distinguish which tuner is which, and what the LEDs mean. The device should ship with at least a piece of paper that says to get started go to the website and start downloading the software since absolutely *no* software is included in the box. There should be at least a piece of paper that says Start here with the address of the website, or more specifically with the address of the forums that provide support for the device.
Beyond those issues, well, there is the issue of the device just not being as simple to use as it should. On the one hand it's very easy to use as you simply plug it into your network, connect it to an antenna or your cable system, and supply power, but then what?! Oh, yeah, download software, configure the device (which isn't that tough), but then the next then what? occurs. At that point you should be able to use the device with your favorite HTPC application -- be it Vista MCE, Windows MCE, Beyond TV, Sage TV, Myth TV, etc. -- except that you probably will be left with a major chore of remapping channels so that your HTPC application will understand the channels that it is now going to receive. And then, um, yeah, you'll finally get to the point of being able to configure the system to receive a guide that tells you what is on those channels. Assuming that the guide providers continue providing that information to the public.*
(*See articles such as this one: Zap2it Labs will discontinue free TV listings in September for more on that issue.)
My point, as I wrap up my thoughts here, being that for as simple as this device should be to use the lack of simple integration with software such as Vista cripples the device and keeps it from achieving maximum usability and value. Use of the device should be as simple as connect the antenna/cable to one of the available connections, connect the device to your home network (wired only, sorry), power it up, log onto your system and add a driver if necessary and then simply go into your HTPC application and add the device and have it scan for available channels.
The user shouldn't have to remap channels at all, as all of the channels that are found should be added into your channel list and/or should be easy enough to add from the summary of channels found. Anything manual that is needed must be automated so the user never needs to be hassled with those tasks at all.
At a cost of $169 (plus shipping and handling), the HDHomeRun device is an expensive gadget. In my mind, probably not worth it unless you are more technically inclined and have the time to tinker with the device to get things to your satisfaction. The amount of time required to make things work as they should (it should be as easy as just watching TV, or selecting channels in your HTPC's guide) is currently just too much to consider this device a bargain of any kind.
Perhaps in the future tuner card/devices for receiving satellite TV and/or for using cable cards in your HTPC will be easy to use devices. We just aren't there currently.
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