Networked TV for home and business

Basic Questions
Do I have to pay a subscription ?
No. You receive free Digtal TV through your aerial.
Will it work with my TV aerial ?
Yes, if you can get Digital Freeview on your TV or set-top box now, it will work fine with HDHomeRun.
How many programmes can I view or record at once ?
One neat HDHomeRun box = 2 tuners - so you get 2 simultaneous TV channels. Just add more HDHomeRuns for more tuners.

Where do the recorded programmes get stored ?
On your computer(s). Even a small (80GB) hard disk has space for about 40 hours of TV.

How do I control what I'm watching ? Not with a mouse, surely ?

You use a remote control, which we can supply if you didn't get one with your PC. You can then change channels, rewind or pause live TV, choose from your TV recording library, play stored Music, DVDs, view your Photos, and Movies, and control the volume on your TV speakers from one remote.

Can I use this with my TV set ?

Yes: you can use your TV as a big screen, fed from your computer.

Will it work with my satellite dish ?

No, you can take that off the wall! This is just for Freeview Digital TV through an aerial.

Will it work with my computers ?
HDHomeRun works with Windows Vista (Home Premium and Ultimate editions), and with Windows XP Media Center 2005.
If you don't have one of these, you can also use BeyondTV, SageTV, GBPVR, MediaPortal and TotalMedia software to do much the same job.

Will it work with my Apple Mac ?

Yes; there's some software included called VLC VideoLan for viewing live TV. A version of EyeTV (the popular TV recording software for Macs) is, we are told, in development for UK Freeview.

What can I do that's better than a DVD Recorder / Video Recorder ?
Let's say you have one computer in the living room, and another in the bedroom. HDHomeRun lets you watch different live TV programmes on each computer at the same time. What's more, you can tell either computer to record specific programmes automatically from a built-in TV guide; and you can later watch a programme you recorded on the living-room computer, on the bedroom computer.

Will it work with my network ? Even the wireless parts of my network ?
Yes. You do need one cabled network outlet for HDHomeRun: there will be one of these on your main computer or Internet Router. If you have a reasonably modern wireless network, your computers can get TV over your home's wireless network as well. If you have difficult conditions for wireless - very thick walls, or many floors - we can advise and supply HomePlug-P, an alternative wire-free technology which uses your Power Mains instead of radio waves, and works excellently even in the oldest buildings.

Is this really a do-it yourself job ?
If you can plug a TV into a wall outlet, you can do this. There's nothing which needs a screwdriver or any special knowledge, if you can already browse the Internet on your computer. If you're a Geek it might help, but it's not necessary.

Can you supply all the bits ?
Yes, we can supply everything from the aerial to the outsize screen. We list the most popular products in pcTVok Studio, our online shop. We can tell you exactly what you need if you can tell us what you'd like to achieve.

How good is the picture quality ?
It's just like watching a really good digital TV - there is no drop in picture quality as the signals are sent to your computers. Naturally, you need a decent TV aerial (as for any digital receiver) and a reasonably modern computer. A correctly installed network can handle at least 6 TV broadcasts at the same time.

Do I need a fast Internet connection for this ?
No; this isn't TV over the Internet, although of course you can use that alongside HDHomeRun, if you want to watch Bolivian football matches or whatever. You will need a basic Internet connection for the computer to download the automatic TV program guide.