I didn't find much info on this site about using the HDHomerun Prime, so I thought I'd put together a little something for those that are tired of renting boxes from Comcast (using Windows Media Center in Win7).
First, open WMC and click on "extras". Install the Digital Cable Advisor to make sure your computer can handle digital cable. Running it should only take a few minutes.
Setting up the box is pretty darn easy. Simply insert the cablecard, connect a coaxial cable, plug the Prime into your router, and connect the power. Then go to www.comcast.com/activate to get the ball rolling.
Download and install the HDHomerun software from http://www.silicondust.com/support/instructions/primewmc7/ . This has basically all the information to set things up in WMC. **note: your channels may or may not all come up while running the HDHomerun Setup. The ONLY channels I was missing were the HBOs. They were the only reason I had to call Comcast at all. If you are missing channels and need to call, wait until you get to these steps in WMC:
If you are shown a message about activating your CableCARD, click Next
If your are shown a Call Your Cable Company screen, click Next
I called 888-270-6445 rather than the regular installation number. The people here knew what the heck I was talking about.
This screen has the device ID and card ID they will need. After giving them the info, you will need to rescan your channels in the HDHomerun Setup program. This will take 5 minutes or more depending on how many channels you receive. Use this time to chat with the CSR, have a beer, etc. You can use any of the tuners to scan for channels (I used tuner 0). Once the scan is done, you should get all your channels, including premium (HBO, Starz, etc).
Go back to WMC and finish the guide setup. It should find all your channels, just with odd names. It will take a while to rename them (if you want) and remove the hundreds of channels that show up in the guide even though you don't subscribe to them. Once the guide is all set up, you should be able to watch any of your channels with ease and DVR them without issue. Just make sure you have enough storage on your DVR drive.
***BONUS! If you get a cheap-ish package with only SD channels, the HD versions will (most likely) still scan in. The package I pay for is internet, "40+" channels, and HBO with HBO GO. I get locals, some cable channels, local subchannels, all MusicChoice channels, and ALL the HBO's, all in SD or HD (if HD is available).
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple tuning devices (ie: HDHomerun Prime and a Hauppauge ATSC tuner) you want to set them both up at once. This way they'll both be in your guide, with the channels combined in one big list by channel number. You can change the channel numbers in the guide if you'd like.
Excluding duplicates, music, and channels I've disabled (shopping, religious) I get 61 channels, almost all HD, with no DVR fee or HD fee. That, plus 105Mbps down for just under $70 after taxes and fees.
First, open WMC and click on "extras". Install the Digital Cable Advisor to make sure your computer can handle digital cable. Running it should only take a few minutes.
Setting up the box is pretty darn easy. Simply insert the cablecard, connect a coaxial cable, plug the Prime into your router, and connect the power. Then go to www.comcast.com/activate to get the ball rolling.
Download and install the HDHomerun software from http://www.silicondust.com/support/instructions/primewmc7/ . This has basically all the information to set things up in WMC. **note: your channels may or may not all come up while running the HDHomerun Setup. The ONLY channels I was missing were the HBOs. They were the only reason I had to call Comcast at all. If you are missing channels and need to call, wait until you get to these steps in WMC:
If you are shown a message about activating your CableCARD, click Next
If your are shown a Call Your Cable Company screen, click Next
I called 888-270-6445 rather than the regular installation number. The people here knew what the heck I was talking about.
This screen has the device ID and card ID they will need. After giving them the info, you will need to rescan your channels in the HDHomerun Setup program. This will take 5 minutes or more depending on how many channels you receive. Use this time to chat with the CSR, have a beer, etc. You can use any of the tuners to scan for channels (I used tuner 0). Once the scan is done, you should get all your channels, including premium (HBO, Starz, etc).
Go back to WMC and finish the guide setup. It should find all your channels, just with odd names. It will take a while to rename them (if you want) and remove the hundreds of channels that show up in the guide even though you don't subscribe to them. Once the guide is all set up, you should be able to watch any of your channels with ease and DVR them without issue. Just make sure you have enough storage on your DVR drive.
***BONUS! If you get a cheap-ish package with only SD channels, the HD versions will (most likely) still scan in. The package I pay for is internet, "40+" channels, and HBO with HBO GO. I get locals, some cable channels, local subchannels, all MusicChoice channels, and ALL the HBO's, all in SD or HD (if HD is available).
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple tuning devices (ie: HDHomerun Prime and a Hauppauge ATSC tuner) you want to set them both up at once. This way they'll both be in your guide, with the channels combined in one big list by channel number. You can change the channel numbers in the guide if you'd like.
Excluding duplicates, music, and channels I've disabled (shopping, religious) I get 61 channels, almost all HD, with no DVR fee or HD fee. That, plus 105Mbps down for just under $70 after taxes and fees.
