Adding a cheap network tuner to Jellyfin let one user replace a streaming TV subscription with free over-the-air channels. The tuner, an HDHomeRun, connects to the home network and was placed near a Wi-Fi extender for better antenna reception. After scanning for channels, recordings save directly to the user's own server and can be kept indefinitely or moved to another device. The setup also uses Tunarr to build custom commercial-free channels from a personal media library, covering movies, music videos, documentaries, and ripped FLAC files, running alongside live OTA channels around the clock.
Questions this post answers
How can I add live TV channels to Jellyfin?
Connect a network tuner such as an HDHomeRun to your home network, then scan for channels within Jellyfin after updating the tuner's firmware. The tuner should be placed where antenna reception is best, even if that means connecting it through a Wi-Fi extender with an open Ethernet port rather than directly to the router. Anyone replacing a streaming TV plan with Jellyfin can compare setups like this one on daily.dev.
What tool lets me create my own custom TV channels from my personal media library?
Tunarr creates custom commercial-free channels from a personal media library that run alongside live tuner channels in Jellyfin. It can build channels for specific genres like movies, music videos, or documentaries, playing content 24 hours a day on a set schedule or automatically, similar to traditional cable music channels. Self-hosters building a home media setup can track tools like Tunarr on daily.dev.
What are the downsides of recording live TV with an over-the-air tuner instead of using a streaming TV service?
Over-the-air recordings take up significant storage space and you get fewer top channels compared to a streaming TV service. The tradeoff is ownership: recordings save to your own server and can be kept indefinitely or moved to another device, unlike recordings tied to a streaming subscription. Weighing storage costs against subscription fees is easier when tracking self-hosting tradeoffs on daily.dev.
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