More Devices than Expected (HDHomerun Flex 4K)

[geobrick]

I just added a Silicon Dust HDHomerun Flex 4K to my system which already has a Silicon Dust HDHomerun Prime.

Under "Devices" in the NEXTPVR settings, the prime shows 3 devices (representing the 3 available tuners of the Prime) 0, 1 and 2.
They all have "HDHR" in the left column of the device list.

The new Flex shows 12 devices. 4 with HDHR in the left column but then there are 8 more devices listed 4 each for ATSC and QAM.
Which ones should I be using/configuring for OTA channels?

[sub]

The new Flex shows 12 devices. 4 with HDHR in the left column but then there are 8 more devices listed 4 each for ATSC and QAM.
Which ones should I be using/configuring for OTA channels?

It has four tuners, which can be accessed 3 different ways. Just stick to the 'HDHR' ones for simplicity.

[mvallevand]

Since you have so many tuners sub is absolutely right, however if you had only a couple and used ATSC for OTA the it would be possible to record multiple minor channels on one tuner. eg recording 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3 would be one tuner.

Martin

[geobrick]

The new Flex shows 12 devices. 4 with HDHR in the left column but then there are 8 more devices listed 4 each for ATSC and QAM.
Which ones should I be using/configuring for OTA channels?

It has four tuners, which can be accessed 3 different ways. Just stick to the 'HDHR' ones for simplicity.

OK. Are there any differences in quality? 

Also, why are there fewer channels when I scan using QAM vs ATSC (in my case 10 vs 96).

Can NextPVR record the same from either stream? (I'm assuming they are different stream formats).

[geobrick]

Since you have so many tuners sub is absolutely right, however if you had only a couple and used ATSC for OTA the it would be possible to record multiple minor channels on one tuner.  eg recording 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3 would be one tuner.

Martin

Are all the sub-channels recorded at the same time regardless of which one you select to record?
It's not often there'd be something worth watching at the same time on the minor channels.

[mvallevand]

Your Silicondust device is either clear QAM or ATSC.  Totally different tech.  ATSC is OTA, QAM is from your cable box.  You need to pick the channel list you like.

The HDHR settings come from how you have configured the tuner using the Silicondust software.

In miltirec mode only the minor channels you want are recorded

Martin

[sub]

No, there is no difference in quality. They digital channels are same regardless which method they were delivered by. (the QAM/ATSC options can end up putting more traffic on your network, since the filtering out of unwanted streams is happening on the client side instead of server side, but otherwise you're going to end up with the same content).

'QAM' is for digit cable.

'ATSC' is for via antenna.

'HDHR' can be either, depending on how you scanned the channels at the HDHomeRun end.

[mvallevand]

I will disagree with sub about quality as only the tech is the same.  Clear QAM might turn out to be SD only now in many markets.  Cable companies also often reduce the bitrate to fit many channels on one frequency.  At the same time there may be less chance of signal dropping out and pixelation from cable.

Viewing is probably the best test.

Martin

[sub]

I will disagree with sub about quality as only the tech is the same. 

I'm talking for the exact same channel - it'll be same regardless of system used.

If you're talking SD vs HD versions of a channel, or a channel received via digital cable vs antenna, then you're talking about different channels. (that just happen to be carrying the same content, but might have been resized, or encoded at a different bitrate)

[sub]

ie, I don't want him thinking that receiving an ATSC channel 'KTLA-HD' via "HDHR" mode or "ATSC" mode will be any different in quality. It'll be exactly the same in NextPVR