--- title: I added live TV to Jellyfin with a cheap network tuner,... description: 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... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-added-live-tv-to-jellyfin-with-a-cheap-network-tuner-and-dropped-my-streaming-tv-subscription-2jckkomqg twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I added live TV to Jellyfin with a cheap network tuner, and dropped my streaming TV subscription | daily.dev og:description: 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... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-added-live-tv-to-jellyfin-with-a-cheap-network-tuner-and-dropped-my-streaming-tv-subscription-2jckkomqg og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/2JckkOmQG.png og:image:alt: I added live TV to Jellyfin with a cheap network tuner, and dropped my streaming TV subscription og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I added live TV to Jellyfin with a cheap network tuner, and dropped my streaming TV subscription **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary 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. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## 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._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I replaced my cable box with Jellyfin, and now I'm paying nothing for live TV](https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-my-cable-box-with-jellyfin-and-now-i-m-paying-nothing-for-live-tv-nstl5zhxa) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I connected my HD antenna to a cheap tuner, and now I can watch free TV anywhere in my house](https://daily.dev/posts/i-connected-my-hd-antenna-to-a-cheap-tuner-and-now-i-can-watch-free-tv-anywhere-in-my-house-fytob1unq) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [My Jellyfin server now streams live TV without a tuner, and I finally stopped channel surfing](https://daily.dev/posts/my-jellyfin-server-now-streams-live-tv-without-a-tuner-and-i-finally-stopped-channel-surfing-64o2qlpar) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [4 Jellyfin features that made me realize it's more than a movie streamer](https://daily.dev/posts/4-jellyfin-features-that-made-me-realize-it-s-more-than-a-movie-streamer-jk3eo07dc) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [This Plex add-on turned my self-hosted library into my own personal live TV service](https://daily.dev/posts/this-plex-add-on-turned-my-self-hosted-library-into-my-own-personal-live-tv-service-blhhexhyc) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#jellyfin](https://daily.dev/tags/jellyfin) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-added-live-tv-to-jellyfin-with-a-cheap-network-tuner-and-dropped-my-streaming-tv-subscription-2jckkomqg) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I added live TV to Jellyfin with a cheap network tuner, and dropped my streaming TV subscription","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-added-live-tv-to-jellyfin-with-a-cheap-network-tuner-and-dropped-my-streaming-tv-subscription-2jckkomqg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-added-live-tv-to-jellyfin-with-a-cheap-network-tuner-and-dropped-my-streaming-tv-subscription-2jckkomqg"},"datePublished":"2026-10-24T19:00:27.338Z","dateModified":"2026-10-24T19:01:01.045Z","description":"Adding a cheap network tuner to Jellyfin let one user replace a streaming TV subscription with free over-the-air channels. 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