Elgato HDHomeRun: Dual-tuner live TV streaming to Macs, PCs, iOS devices

For those who have succeeded in cutting the cord on their cable television, solutions for sensible TV streaming are, to say the least, a challenge. The Elgato HDHomeRun, announced today, offers up a small box that connects to a router and TV antenna and streams HD TV content via Wi-Fi anywhere in one's house. More importantly, unlike other Elgato products, the HDHomeRun comes with dual TV tuners for watching simultaneous recordings/viewings of two different channels on two different computers.

The $179 HDHomeRun is a small box that offers a lot of the same features as the small USB-stick Elgato EyeTV Hybrid, which we recently reviewed. The Hybrid, however, required physically interfacing with a Mac or PC via USB. The HDHomeRun more conveniently handles the video transfer wirelessly, and still works with (and is packaged with) Elgato's EyeTV3 Mac software for DVRing and managing TV content and programming. As we mentioned when we reviewed the EyeTV Hybrid, that software alone could make a difference for users of over-the-air antennas or compatible basic digital cable, simply for its time-shifting, live pausing, and DVR functions. Windows 7 users can use Windows Media Center for similar HDHomeRun-compatible features.

The HDHomeRun is compatible with iOS devices--the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch--via the EyeTV app we also covered with the EyeTV Hybrid review. However, that also means you'll probably still need a Mac on in the background to stream TV content to your iOS device.

The Elgato HDHomeRun looks like a rebranding of the same-named device made by Silicon Dust. Check out the video below for the product pitch.

The HDHomeRun is currently available.