HDHomeRun without Aerial - Use Virgin Media Cable Connection? (UK)

[Gravel1882 0]

Hi,

I am in the UK. I do not have a TV aerial, but want to be rid of my Sky TV finally.  I have a Sky dish, and a Virgin Media cable connection coming into the house.

I believe HDHomeRun supports DVB-C, so wondering if it possible to use my VM connection to gain a signal?

 

If not, some way to make it work with a Pi and tuner?

 

Thanks

[Spaceboy 2493]

i've never heard of anyone successfully using dvbc and virgin

personally i'd recommend freesat with a dvb-s card. if you've got 2 or more feeds from your satellite dish you can use dual, quadro or octo cards to use them all. you'll need to use something like mediaportal as the tv tuner software but its pretty straight forward.

 

[Gravel1882 0]

Thanks - I am looking at HDHomeRun as it gives the ability to use cast to Chromecast, which I have on all TV's.

 

Your suggestion - Can you please share more specific hardware/setup?

I am not looking to use another laptop/PC, so could I make it work with a Pi and USB tuner? I also have a Synology NAS, and Plex (with Plus subscription), which I don't mind using as part of the solution.  I liked HDHR as it would be low maintenance and easy to use for whole family.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Gravel1882

[Spaceboy 2493]

12 hours ago, Gravel1882 said:

Thanks - I am looking at HDHomeRun as it gives the ability to use cast to Chromecast, which I have on all TV's.

 

Your suggestion - Can you please share more specific hardware/setup?

I am not looking to use another laptop/PC, so could I make it work with a Pi and USB tuner? I also have a Synology NAS, and Plex (with Plus subscription), which I don't mind using as part of the solution.  I liked HDHR as it would be low maintenance and easy to use for whole family.

if you had a tv aerial then hdhr with dvbt would probably be your easiest option. as you say its a standalone device that doesnt need much maintenance

but as that is ruled out then you are you are left with satellite or cable. given the timing, i'm guessing this post is also you https://www.hotukdeals.com/discussions/hdhomerun-with-virgin-media-connection-as-aerial-4158534 and the consensus there also seems to agree that virgin will not work with a hdhomerun.

so that leaves you with dvb-s. you can certainly get dvbs usb tuners. i think i have one unused somewhere, i think its only single feed. i've never used it as i perceive the pcie tuner cards to be more reliable but i have no evidence to back that up. i have an octo lnb with eight feeds and two tv tuner cards in a windows pc, a quad and an octo which gives me 12 streams in emby.

you don't say but i'm assuming you are running emby on either the pi or the synology? if there's no windows pc available then tvheadend is your only option i believe and i can see it both in the synology store and a guide to installing it on the pi https://thepihut.com/blogs/raspberry-pi-tutorials/how-to-stream-digital-tv-with-the-raspberry-pi-tv-hat

this seems like your best option for a tuner https://www.amazon.co.uk/WinTV-Nova-S2-Model-supply-FreeSat/dp/B07MN1VMQF/ref=sr_1_3?crid=28VJZKSK1NM2P&keywords=dvb-s2+usb&qid=1688206327&sprefix=dvb-s2+usb%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-3 it gets positive comments with regards to use with a pi and tvheadend and buying two of them (assuming you have 2 feeds from your satellite dish) is in the same price point as a hdhomerun.

i would go this way and you could always return the tuner if you have problems