SiliconDustHDHomeRun Flex 4K ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV: 2/4 Tuners HDFX-4K

This was a quick setup that was actually so easy it threw me for a loop. I had no choice but to get a replacement for my Amazon Fire TV Recast. Support was dropped for that and mine finally just failed.After reading reviews, I settled on the 4 tuner (4 x ATSC 1.0, with 2 x ATSC 3.0 capable). There are a couple of things to be aware of on this model and I'm going to go with them under the pros and cons, but suffice it to say, so far, I'm satisfied with it. I wasn't satisfied with my Recast unit from almost day 1, but read on.Pros1. Handles through ATSC 3.0 so it'll do NextGen channels if you have them in your area and your gear is capable of getting them.2. Has four tuners so you can record or watch programming on four different tuners, though only two can handle ATSC 3.0.3. The apps to facilitate getting programming from the HD Homerun appear to work well so far on both the Fire TV, Windows 11, and Android. Scratch that - they work. The Windows 11 app almost locked my system up solid while doing this review.4. The picture is not only good, on HD broadcasts, it's OUTSTANDING on both the Fire TV and via the Windows app, and it looks fine on the phone, but why bother with a phone when you've got a larger screen?Cons1. This doesn't come with a guide - if you want the guide and DVR capability you have to do the following:a. Shell out $35.00 for a year of DVR / Guide capabilityb. Shell out for an external hard drive - yeah, you heard that right - this comes with no hard drivec. While I have nothing good to say about my previous Recast unit, at least that came with a guide, DVR capability and a TB of storage for $179. This was $199 with no no disk or guide.3. That you even have to use an app to view it on the Fire TVs, but it's not an Amazon product4. While you may see that I did a scan and found 99 channels (I have 2 x HD OTA antennas) probably 10 to 12 of those cannot be viewed because they're DRM protectedSo, with those cons, why did I buy this one?First, read the reviews on the other units outside of Amazon. From what I could find online, the top models appeared to be the Silicon Dust HD Homerun models, the Tablos, and the ZapperBox. They each had their pros and cons and the ZapperBox also has a similar setup to the HD Homerun for recording and a guide. The Tablo would have been the more economical model in initial cost, that it came with storage, and has no charge for it's guide. Unfortunately, it's only equipped for ATSC 1.0 (I'd like to be ready for 3.0) and if you look at some of the reviews, no thanks, they're not very good. There was a greater than 20% return rate on the models I looked at on Amazon. I already had enough of that with my Recast unit.So that's why I went with the HD Homerun 4-tuner model.My photos include out of the box (the first 2), via the Fire TV app, and on my Windows 11 Desktop which uses an HDMI input into the same Fire TV as it's monitor. These photographs do not do the HD broadcast pictures any justice. You have to see them in person.Yes, I'd recommend this just out of taking everything into account including technology, customer service (I read ZapperBox now has customers IM or email them?), cost, and the aggravation I was hoping to avoid. It's my hope that in the future, some company will come out with something that's a bit more reasonably priced overall, like the Recast was, if only it had worked right out of the gate.

tl;dr Great OTA tuner and DVRThe only reason I need a tuner/dvr at all is so I can record NFL games—I don't want to miss one while I'm watching another that's being broadcast at the same time, and I want to be able to skip commercials (and sometimes the announcers' chatter). I've tried several OTA receivers/DVRs but finally settled on the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Flex 4K.The SiliconDust HDHomeRun Flex 4K is dead simple to set up: plug in coax cable from the antenna, plug included ethernet cable into the HDHomeRun and your router, plug included power supply in. The HDHomeRun isn't connected to your television, only to your router (and antenna and power)—it streams your OTA channels to your TVs and other devices via app.Viewing OTA (antenna) TV: My two main TVs are Roku Tvs (and a rarely-used 3rd TV uses a Roku device), so I just added the HDHomeRun app. I didn't need to do anything else to view all my OTA channels, not even run a channel scan. I spent a total of about 2 minutes from opening the box to watching TV (and probably 60 seconds of that was bc my arthritic hands had trouble tightening the coax cable). I wasn't missing any of the 77 channels my TV found when the antenna cable was connected directly to the TV. (Incidentally, HDHomerun was not my first choice: I bought a Tablo Dual Lite first, but it could not find as many channels, and not the local networks that broadcast NFL games at all, so I returned it asap.) The picture through the HDHomeRun is clearer than watching when watching from my Dish, which surprised me.Note: Some Samsung TVs cannot get audio when using the HDHomeRun. The site's FAQ says "To hear audio, you need a TV, AV receiver, or soundbar that can decode Dolby Digital or AC3 audio over HDMI. Most modern TVs can do this, though we’ve noticed a few Samsung TVs cannot."DVR: If you want DVR functionality, you'll pay $35/year, and plug in an external hard drive to your HDHomeRun via usb. I tested the DVR functions via the HDHomeRun app on my laptop and on my phone. I started recording a program already in progress. I scheduled recording for a program that would start about a half hour in the future. I used the search bar to schedule recordings of all NFL games, on any channel, at any time. Super easy. The quality of the recording is great.Here's where things get a little less than ideal. I could not for the life of me figure out how to use the DVR functions from the Roku app. I submitted a support ticket to Silicone Dust, and they told me how to find my recordings (just hit the "back" arrow button on the Roku remote), but I can't schedule recordings from the Roku app... yet. I'll paste Silicone Dust's email below:The Roku version of the HDHomeRun app is getting some long overdue updates to help bring it in-line with the HDHomeRun app for other platforms. We'll be adding the ability to schedule recordings, search guide data, and more, in the coming months.When you open the Roku app, it will start playing the last played channel right away.Pressing left/right arrows will bring up the live channel switcher. Icons and guide data might take a moment to load, and we are working to improve those loading times.Pressing "Back" from live TV will bring you to a new "Live/Recorded/Discover/Tasks" screen.Selecting "Live" will bring you back to the live view on whatever channel was being watched beforeSelecting "Recorded" will show recordings if you are using the HDHomeRun DVR serviceSelecting "Discover" will give you our guide discover view.Selecting a TV program from "Discover" will show a summery for that program, and will show the current and future episodes (if the program is a TV show and not a movie). If a program is available on more than one channel, you will also see those options listed here. In the future you will be able to use this view to also schedule recordings if you are subscribed to the HDHomeRun DVR service.

I would have given this a 5 but the app they have is garbage. I have an outdoor antenna and get 100% signal on 90% of my local 100 plus channels. The hardware works great as intended. It's too bad our local broadcasters encrypt most of their ATSC 3.0 channels making them unwatchable unless you invest in some DRM solution. I have been using 2 of the Flex 4 tuners for almost a year now. If you are going to invest in this, do not neglect to look at the third-party apps that support it. Channels, Plex, and or Emby all work way better than their native app. I spent weeks working with their support on the freezing and recording issues I was having only to finally give up since they could not solve them. I currently use Plex and Channels. Plex is a fantastic DVR and the Channels app's interface, and scheduling guide is great. They both are far more reliable than the HD Homerun app and less frustrating. Those other apps also provide an app for Samsung tv's where SiliconDust does not which makes the others compatible with pretty much every streaming device around. All in all, get it for the great hardware but be aware that you are going to spend a few bucks more for the third-party apps to save on some headaches and frustration.