HDHomeRun vs Pixelcade
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Pixelcade
This companion app allows users to manage their Pixelcade LED and LCD marquees. Browse, update, and change settings for your marquee artwork and access widgets. Connect wirelessly over Wi-Fi for a seamless experience.
- Browse Pixelcade artwork
- Update marquee artwork
- Change marquee settings
- Access Pixelcade widgets (LED only)
- Wi-Fi connectivity
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The Pixelcade Companion App enhances your experience with Pixelcade LED and LCD marquees by allowing you to browse Pixelcade artwork, update artwork, change settings, and access Pixelcade widgets (LED only). Connect seamlessly to your Pixelcade marquee over Wi-Fi, ensuring both devices are on the same network. Please note, Pixelcade LED software version 5.8 or higher is required for Pixelcade LED marquees. Learn more about Pixelcade arcade marquees at http://pixelcade.org.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pixelcade at 4.0 against HDHomeRun's 2.5. Pixelcade also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). HDHomeRun's advantage is ratings volume (465 vs 1) and device support (5 vs 2). 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.
Pixelcade holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HDHomeRun has 465 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
HDHomeRun ships an update every 2 months, Pixelcade every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HDHomeRun | Pixelcade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (465 ratings) | 4.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 465 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SiliconDust USA, Inc. | OPEN GADGETS LLC |
Customer experience
HDHomeRun
Pixelcade
Bugs and 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
Pixelcade
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HDHomeRun
No in-app purchases
Pixelcade
No in-app purchases
