I decided to finally ditch cable last week after getting a higher Comcast bill for cable, which also included a flyer stating that rates would be increasing even more after this bill, and realizing that no one in my family has really watched anything off the cable tv in 2 years. It took a few days of research on how to cut the cord, but I ended up trying this out specifically for the 4-tuner capability. It would let us record several shows at once if needed and still watch live TV, in theory.
In short, it has worked great so far! I can get all 4 tuners on different channels working simultaneously. I purchased a Plex Pass subscription to manage recordings, and although it's not as comprehensive as the Tivo's interface (at least not yet - Plex TV seems like it's pretty new and they're working on improving the Plex apps on various platforms), it's enough to suit our needs. I can watch recorded shows anywhere and can currently schedule them via a web browser from any device or directly from within the iOS Plex app. I can watch live TV from my antenna from any device via Plex (Roku, PC, iPhone, iPod, iPad), which is awesome. Wwell, except from the Samsung Smart TV Plex app, but I hear they're working on upgrading it to support it. I never played with the recording software that came with it, went straight to Plex Pass since we already had Plex running on our home network. It looks ok in the absence of anything else, I guess, but I'm betting you'll be better off with Plex or some other media center software that knows how to use this tuner.
The only thing I don't really care for is that Plex and this tuner are running off my main computer in the office rather than a dedicated server that's running all the time, but that's not this product's fault. It works great for the channels I receive via my antenna, which is an indoor Mohu Ultimate that I grabbed from Walmart. I live about 15-20 miles from the main towers in a large city. This flat antenna is mounted on a wall in my office above my computer pointed in the direction of the towers, and I get most of the channels, crystal clear, through this tuner.
I'm not picking up two channels, NBC and CBS, very well, but I've figured out that's because these two broadcasts are being done in VHF-Hi bands rather than UHF bands, so again, not this tuner's fault. I just need to figure out what mods to make to my antenna setup in order to receive those stations specifically.
Bottom line - you want a digital TV tuner with multiple tuners? This one works great! And after cancelling my cable TV services as well as my annual Tivo service subscription, I'm now saving almost $850 per year which I can put towards something that I'll actually use.
| Brand | Hauppauge |
|---|---|
| Series | WinTV-quadHD PCIe 4 Tuner |
| Item model number | 1698 |
| Operating System | Windows 8 |
| Item Weight | 9.7 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 5.6 x 2.2 x 0.75 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.6 x 2.2 x 0.75 inches |
| Color | Black Tuner with Black IR |
| Manufacturer | Hauppauge |
| ASIN | B0CPJTSQZZ |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Date First Available | December 5, 2023 |
