Kaleidescape Second Screen vs HDHomeRun
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kaleidescape Second Screen
Enhance your home entertainment system by browsing and controlling your movie and music library. Discover details about titles, cast, and scenes, and instantly play content on your TV.
- Browse movie and music libraries
- High-resolution cover art display
- Instant playback of scenes and songs
- Create favorite scenes
- View movie ratings and details
- Control Kaleidescape players
- Create and save mix albums
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Kaleidescape Second Screen is the perfect addition to your Kaleidescape system! NOTE: This app is for Kaleidescape system owners. Learn more about the Kaleidescape System at www.kaleidescape.com. Kaleidescape Second Screen provides an immersive experience for browsing and searching your collection of movies and music, and controlling any player in your Kaleidescape system. The app extends the Kaleidescape experience to the iPad, displaying your movie collection with vivid high-resolution cover art, synopses, and other details. It even puts the most memorable moments in movies right at your fingertips - just select a scene or song marked by Kaleidescape, and it plays instantly on your TV. Features: • Browse your movie library by title, cast, director, genres and ratings without interrupting playback on your TV • Browse through a beautiful display of your movies and albums with the signature Kaleidescape Covers View • Select a movie or album and watch the covers shuffle to reveal related titles, or press the Shuffle button or just shake the iPad to watch the covers shuffle • View covers of a particular collection, genre, actor, director or rating to help you find the perfect movie to watch • View your movie collections along with movie cover art, synopses, cast, and director listings • Select a movie, scene, song or episode and it plays instantly on your TV • Create your own favorite scenes in movies and musicals • View movie ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and Common Sense Media, and learn more about your favorite movie, actor and director with the “Web Search” button • Browse your music library by artist, title, recently imported and genres • Play individual songs, albums, collections and mix albums • Create and save mix albums • Use the search feature to quickly find a movie you want to watch or an album you want to listen to • Control any Kaleidescape movie or music player in your home • Adjust the volume in any Kaleidescape zone (requires supported control system and software module)
HDHomeRun
Stream live, over-the-air, and cable TV channels directly to your iOS device. Pause, rewind, and fast-forward live broadcasts. Access program guides with images and logos for an enhanced viewing experience.
- Live TV streaming (OTA & Cable)
- Pause, FF, RW live TV
- HD channel support
- Program guide with images
- Fast channel changes
- Intuitive UI controls
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Enjoy free over-the-air TV throughout your home on Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and Mac with HDHomeRun and a TV antenna. Simply connect your HDHomeRun to your TV antenna and home network to enjoy a modern TV experience throughout your home. Discover shows, explore a beautiful guide, see what's on now and next, and start watching with fast channel changes and an intuitive interface. Add a USB hard drive to your HDHomeRun for DVR across your home. Pause and rewind live TV, record your favorite shows, and watch your recordings on Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Watch NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0) where available with the HDHomeRun FLEX 4K. Features: • Watch free over-the-air TV from your TV antenna on Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and Mac • Discover shows with a beautiful guide • Pause and rewind live TV • Fast channel changes • Record your favorite shows with HDHomeRun DVR • Schedule series and movie recordings • Watch your HDHomeRun DVR recordings on Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and Mac • Watch NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0) with the HDHomeRun FLEX 4K where available Requirements: • HDHomeRun connected to your TV antenna and home network • Wi-Fi or wired home network • Internet connection for guide data
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kaleidescape Second Screen at 75% against HDHomeRun's 27%. Kaleidescape Second Screen also leads on rating (4.2 vs 2.6) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). HDHomeRun's advantage is ratings volume (476 vs 6) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Kaleidescape Second Screen holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HDHomeRun has 476 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Kaleidescape Second Screen's written reviews are positive against 27% of HDHomeRun's.
Kaleidescape Second Screen ships an update every 8 months, HDHomeRun every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Kaleidescape Second Screen | HDHomeRun |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (6 ratings) — better | 2.6 (476 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 26.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 476 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Kaleidescape, Inc. | SiliconDust USA, Inc. |
Customer experience
Kaleidescape Second Screen
HDHomeRun
Bugs and requests
Kaleidescape Second Screen
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
HDHomeRun
Reported bugs
6 issues- Fails to detect tuner device
- Channels not loading
- Playback issues after updates
- Crashes on channel change
- Compatibility problems with iOS 15+
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- Lip-sync issues
Requested features
5 requests- Picture-in-Picture mode
- Channel favorites and filtering
- Improved DVR functionality
- Manual IP address entry
- Native Apple TV app
In-app purchases
Kaleidescape Second Screen
No in-app purchases
HDHomeRun
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Kaleidescape Second Screen free?
Is HDHomeRun free?
Which has better reviews, Kaleidescape Second Screen or HDHomeRun?
Do Kaleidescape Second Screen or HDHomeRun have ads?
Which is updated more often, Kaleidescape Second Screen or HDHomeRun?
Other comparisons
