# Vizio TV connection to HDHomeRun device



## RedDawgEsq (Jan 4, 2014)

Hoping this is the best place to post this.

I recently purchased a gadget called a HD HomeRun Prime from a company called Silicon Dust, Model HDHR3-CC (www.hdhomerun.com). They are located in Plesanton, CA. It is supposed to stream live TV at 1080i to any screen on your home network , i.e., Smart TVs, computers, media players, game consoles, laptops, Blu-Ray players, Android devices, etc. It has three digital tuners and connects to my Verizon FiOS cable with an Ethernet cable going back to the Wi-Fi router. There is a slot for a Motorola M-Card (CableCARD) which I have obtained, installed and activated. Verizon charges $4.99/mo. to rent this card. This is supposed to give you the ability to stream the live TV to three devices (wirelessly) without having to rent additional set-top boxes from Verizon at $11.99/mo. The product literature stated that it was dlna certified but did NOT mention that devices intended to be used with it also HAD to be dlna certified or compliant. The only requirement it places on TVs is that they be Smart. (See http://www.hdhomerun.com/company/about/ for a more detailed technical explanation.)

Soooooooooooo, I went out and bought two Vizio E241i-A1W TVs. They are Smart 1080p technology. The software supplied with the device is installed on an ACER NetBook running Windows 7. This is able to connect to the device, wirelessly through the Wi-Fi router and displays all of the channels (including premium) I am able to see on the TV attached to the set-top box.

Now, the issue: I can find no way to connect the Vizio(s) to the device. The TV is set up and connected (wirelessly) to the Wi-Fi router, i.e., it sees the SSID of the router, is assigned an internal IP address from the router (192.168.1.xx), and the TV is "visible" on the router's browser home screen. This is as far as I can get. I can find no configuration option in the TVs menu that gets me anywhere. I was thinking there would be a screen that showed me the device and/or its three tuners and let me pair the TV with one of them. No dice. Or, I thought there would be an option in the device set-up that would allow me to enter the local IP address of the TV and pair it with one of the tuners. Nope. There doesnt seem to be any kind of downloadable app from the TVs Yahoo store that will allow this connection.

Soooooooooooo, I presented all of this information to the Support sections of both Vizio and Silicon Dust. Vizio, for its part was completely clueless about this device (HD HomeRun Prime), what it is for and how to connect to it. Since there is no way to install the device software on the TV (as I did on the NetBook), the only thing Vizio could tell me was that in order for the TV to obtain programming content from the router, it (the TV) would have to have a CableCARD slot of its own (which it does not have) for the card to be plugged into. This, of course, is in conflict with the concept of the HD HomeRun device. Silicon Dust replied that Vizio TVs do not support DLNA and thus will not work with HDHomeRun PRIME. (Would have been nice to know this from their literature before I purchased the TVs.) From what I have read on other forums, this may not be strictly true, only that the dlna implementation is not ideal. Then, in a later email from Silicon Dust they said. Connecting devices don't need to be DLNA certified, but they do need to actually implement DLNA properly. Vizio TVs have something that sort of vaguely resembles DLNA, but isn't remotely close to a proper implementation and doesn't work correctly. Sony and Panasonic probably have the best implementations. Samsung sometimes works and sometimes doesn't - they have a lot of issues with device discovery.

Do some Vizio models incorporate dlna and some (including mine) do not? Is there any way around this issue? Am I screwed? Do I need to buy different (brand) TVs that are more dlna friendly? Anybody want to but these Vizios?
Is there a more appropriate forum in which to discuss this issue?


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

The two methods would be via app/software or DLNA.

DLNA support is a feature, and isn't supported on all models/brands. If it's supported, it should be listed in the specs. I didn't see it mentioned in the User Manual for your TV.

If Silicon Dust states it won't work, then it sounds like you are out of luck. If there was a work around, or even a solution that works on some models, they would be the ones to know.

I was looking for a supported TV list on their site, but couldn't find one.


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