Setting up DVR storage on a Linux-based device

Before you continue, make sure you have the following:

• HDHomeRun DVR subscription
• One or more compatible HDHomeRun device: see List of DVR compatible HDHomeRun devices
• A recent and supported release of Debian or Ubuntu.
• Wired network connection. The DVR will handle a great deal of video traffic, so wireless connections should be avoided.

The following instructions are for manual install and configuration of the HDHomeRun RECORD engine on a Linux machine. These instructions are intended for experienced users who want to experiment.

1. Create a folder for recordings. For example from the command line you could do,

   mkdir HDHomeRun

   which will create a folder called “HDHomeRun” in your default user directory.

2. Enter the new folder:

   cd HDHomeRun

3. Download the latest HDHomeRun RECORD for Linux release using the wget command or a desktop GUI/browser
   • Debian/Ubuntu:
     • Stable: https://download.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_record_linux
     • Beta: https://download.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_record_linux_beta
   • BSD-based (FreeBSD, FreeNAS)
     • Stable: https://download.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_record_freebsd
     • Beta: https://download.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_record_freebsd_beta
   • For example, the command might look like this

     wget https://download.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_record_linux

4. Copy to the recordings folder and rename “hdhomerun_record”.

   • mv hdhomerun_record_linux hdhomerun_record

5. Create a configuration file hdhomerun.conf in the recordings folder. Add the line:

   RecordPath=<full Linux path to recordings folder>

   1. To do this from the command line, use the command

      nano hdhomerun.conf

   2. for this example we will write in RecordPath=/home/<USERNAME GOESE HERE>/HDHomeRun/ for a Debian-based system
   3. press control key+x to exit, then press Y then enter to save.
6. Make the file executable:

   chmod +x hdhomerun_record

7. Start the HDHomeRun RECORD engine:

   ./hdhomerun_record start
   
   ./hdhomerun_record status

8. To start from a different directory:

   /<path to recording folder>/hdhomerun_record start --conf /<path to recording folder>/hdhomerun.conf
   
   /<path to recording folder>/hdhomerun_record status

9. Check the log file. The progress release builds of the record engine generate detailed log files by default. The log files are placed in the HDHomeRun directory and are named YYYYMMDD.log (UTC time). Note that all timestamps in the log files are in UTC time, not local time.

   No log file - this usually means the record engine was not able to find the config file, was not able to find RecordPath in the config file, or the path specified doesn't exist.

Once you finish setting up a DVR storage device, see our guide link below for instructions on using the DVR features in the HDHomeRun app.
Instructions on using the DVR features in the HDHomeRun app