Current AirTV/Sling user thinking about switching to Emby for OTA

[roaku 797]

I'm in the US and have used an antenna -> AirTV with attached portable HD for DVR storage with Sling apps for playback for a couple of years now. It works great but I'm tired of the way it locks down the recordings and requires me to use an extra app.

So, I'm thinking of picking up an HDHomerun to use with Emby for recording/watching OTA, but I'm a bit ignorant of how Emby works in this area.

The way I'd like things to work  is that I get one of the models with built in DVR+storage, then use Emby for guide data, recording scheduling, recording playback (do the recordings get added as a library?), and live tv. Essentially, the HDHomerun device would be configured and added to the network, then I would use Emby to control everything it does.

I'm just not sure that that's how things work.

I'd appreciate any insight from anyone willing to offer it.

 

 

[Scott D 62]

HDHomerun works great as OTA option.  I don't know about the DVR+storage option as I do not have that option.  I am currently using HDHomerun Quatro.  I have it attached to the network, and the recoding path points to a library in Emby called "Live TV\Recordings".  It is set as 'mixed content".  I allow family members to schedule recordings and delete content.

If you have the guide data configured properly, it will populate the folder with the correct information.  It will get artwork and set-up Seasons and Episode structure.  If you turn on the option for Video Preview Thumbnails it makes skipping commercials a breeze.

Suggest pre/post recording for a few minutes to avoid missing early starts and long runs.

[roaku 797]

Thanks for the insights.

The reason I'd like to offload the DVR functionality is that I have an underpowered Synology for my server with video transcoding disabled.

My gut tells me that the Synology wouldn't be able to handle everything Live TV/Recording would require.

It might be time to get a NUC or something for my Emby server and just use the Synology for storage.

[Scott D 62]

Mine is not a powerhouse of a server, and I have not had much trouble.

Mine is an i3-4130.  I have transcode throttling turned on as well as Hardware transcoding.  I have in the past has 3 recordings and 2 streams going all at the same time.  It does rev the processor to almost 100%, but it pulls it off.  

Also, mine is writing to an External USB drive.  Not the optimum of set-ups, but trying to keep the costs down by using leftover equipment.

[roaku 797]

I finally bought a HDHomerun Flex and got everything set up in Emby, which was easier than expected.

And so far, the Synology hasn't been too stressed since all the OTA formats in my area have been direct streamable at worst.

Looks like I can retire my AirTV and remove Sling. Thanks Emby.