HDHomeRun Connect + DVBLink + DS216Play NAS = Studder & Loss of Sound

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › HDHomeRun Connect + DVBLink + DS216Play NAS = Studder & Loss of Sound

alisam

834 posts

Ultimate Geek

#211680 6-Apr-2017 18:08

I thought I had found exactly what I was looking for to replace a couple of TiVo boxes.

I bought a HDHomeRun Connect and the DVBLink S/W (after the 20 day free trial) to run on a Synology DS216Play NAS.

To me, running the S/W on the NAS was a must.

I also subscribed to the HDHomeRun PVR S/W since you have to buy before you try. I didn't like it and Plex PVR did not seem to get glowing reviews so I didn't bother.

Issue: Every now and again a recorded program will stutter, freeze, lose sound (and combination of all 3).

I cannot tell which is the weakest link.

So, my thoughts are, put together an HTPC box. More money, but WAF will be satisfied and I have only until October to get it sorted..

My requirements are to display everything on a TV ( 2 x Samsung H6400 and 1 x Panasonic non-smart G10) using one HTPC and an appropriate App.

I have 2 x FireTV's and 1 x Roku 3.

I have Netflix (NZ), LightBox and can get ITV, BBC Iplayer. We rarely watch (say) TVNZ on Demand, but do record the FreeView channels.

I have found mymediaexperience.com (it seems to be down today) and that seems a good site to gain knowledge. Any other good sites?

The Intel NUC range seems daunting, plus I need to purchase all the other bits and pieces.

I hear talk of Frontends e.g, Kodi and Backends, but until suitable hardware is sorted out, there is little point looking at these.

So, any recommendations or sites you have come across.

PC: Dell Inspiron 16 5640 (Windows 11 Home), Dell Inspiron 7591 2n1 (Windows 11 Pro), HP ProBook 470G1 (Windows 10 Pro), Intel NUC7I5BNH (Zorin)
Net: Grandstream 1 x GWN7062 Router, 1 x GWN7665 Access Point
Storage: Synology DS216play NAS, 2 x 6TB
Media: 3 x Amazon FireTV. Echo, Dot, Spot
TV: 2 x Samsung H6400 55" LED TV, Panasonic TH-P50G10Z 50" Plasma TV
Mobile: Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
Wearable: Gear S3 Frontier

michaelmurfy

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#1757733 6-Apr-2017 18:16

The DS216play is quite underpowered for this task. I would suggest grabbing an Odroid C2 (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php) along with a case and create a shared mount on the Odroid to write recorded content to the NAS (if you get me) so like this:

Odroid (running Dvblink) --> NAS (CIFS/SMB Mount)

This way the heavy lifting is done by the Odroid and you're leaving the NAS to do other, more important things. It is a cheap way to do it however some Linux-Fu will be required to make it work. Plenty of tutorials on the Raspberry Pi that can be replicated on the Odroid.

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alisam

834 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1758109 7-Apr-2017 12:59

michaelmurfy:

The DS216play is quite underpowered for this task. I would suggest grabbing an Odroid C2 (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php) along with a case and create a shared mount on the Odroid to write recorded content to the NAS (if you get me) so like this:

Odroid (running Dvblink) --> NAS (CIFS/SMB Mount)

This way the heavy lifting is done by the Odroid and you're leaving the NAS to do other, more important things. It is a cheap way to do it however some Linux-Fu will be required to make it work. Plenty of tutorials on the Raspberry Pi that can be replicated on the Odroid.

Thank you for the link. I have started to google reviews etc.

Amosnz

567 posts

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#1758145 7-Apr-2017 14:08

I've run DVBLink on a QNAP TS419PII (Arm 2.0ghz) and Netgear ReadyNAS Pro (currently with 2.8ghz Pentium something). I didn't have stuttering issues like you say unless it was transmission related (my signal is not the greatest), so I agree its probably the CPU holding it back. The QNAP wasnt powerful enough to do Transcoding but the Netgear is, depending on other roles for the NAS perhaps you can swing an upgrade.

Speedtest

sonyxperiageek

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#1759286 7-Apr-2017 23:04

I've just set up Plex DVR with the ancient (but works a charm) HD HomeRun HR3, and it's currently loading the EPG. At the moment there's no way to watch Live TV through Plex yet, only recording programs, and even that has to be done through the WEB app only. The Plex Server is on my new Synology DS216play too!

Sony

alisam

834 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759325 8-Apr-2017 08:04

I have ordered the Odroid C2.

For me it is the challenge of get it up and running.

I am thinking of installing LibreElec (not that I have installed it before) and still have time to look around.

As regards EPG's, I do like the DVBLink EPG because I can see each channels timeline, very much like Sky (when I had it several years ago).

michaelmurfy

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#1759838 9-Apr-2017 16:25

alisam:

I have ordered the Odroid C2.

For me it is the challenge of get it up and running.

I am thinking of installing LibreElec (not that I have installed it before) and still have time to look around.

As regards EPG's, I do like the DVBLink EPG because I can see each channels timeline, very much like Sky (when I had it several years ago).

One of the easiest distributions for the Odroid C2 is DietPi especially for beginners. You shouldn't need to run anything but DVBLink and the Samba Client.

There are several out of the box scripts for DietPi to make it easier for you - you'll still need to install DVBLink manually but it should be a simple task.

alisam

834 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759920 9-Apr-2017 20:34

michaelmurfy:

One of the easiest distributions for the Odroid C2 is DietPi especially for beginners. You shouldn't need to run anything but DVBLink and the Samba Client.

There are several out of the box scripts for DietPi to make it easier for you - you'll still need to install DVBLink manually but it should be a simple task.

Thank you for your suggestion. I will look into it.

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alisam

834 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1770061 25-Apr-2017 07:41

Things haven't gone as smoothly as hoped.

I installed DietPi on the C2, but could not figure out to to get DVBLink installed. It will run on a Raspberry Pi according to the DVBLogic web site. But that may or not mean that it will run on a Odroid C2 with Dietpi. I just don't know.

I installed the recommended Ubuntu Mate from the SiliconDust web site. Tried to install DVBLink and it does not run on ARM chips, only x86_64. So snookered there.

I installed Android 6.0.1. DVBLink doesn't run on Android, but the HDHomeRun engine does, which I purchased before DVBLink. However, I am having issues running HDHomeRun on a FireTV. Also, the recommend USB is 3.0, and the C2 only has 4 x USB 2.0.

So all in all I am a little lost.

I think I may re-try DietPi. About a week ago, I googled and googled, but found very little. I forget the results of the search now, but obviously not something I could use with my capabilities.