Annual Channels Plus subscription option

Channels DVR Server
#13

You get what you pay for. There is a reason that Tivo is floundering around trying to stay afloat. "LIfetime" license fees for very small developers are a short time revenue fix that comes with a very long liability that has to be serviced. Its effectively a "ponzi scheme" because you can't possibly provide the service to your customers unless you bring in new ones and take their money to cover the liabilities you have already sold. Lifetime licenses are a terrible idea for both the developer and the customer. The only way it ever worked is if you had a mature product that has no significant future development going on so support is almost zero. That is certainly not the case with Channels DVR.

The "whole lot of customers" that they are missing out on are the ones that want the premium product but don't want to pay for it, in my opinion. Personally, I'm paying way less per month now taking advantage of all that Channels DVR provides me than what I was paying before I ditched cable. With Channels, we have an active developer that is continuing to enhance the product, and incented to do so. That is the subscription model that much of the software world is going to by the way. Sounds like you are ware of other DVR options with Lifetime options so you have choices, and good luck with them.

2 Likes
#14

But you you chose Channels over these options. Why? Because Channels is a superior product.

I would LOVE to have the option of a lifetime pass and never have to pay again. But $80/year (22 cents a day) is still a pretty good deal...

7 Likes
#15

THis has been discussed many times, and in many threads....and the devs will just come in and say what already was stated in the 2nd post and lock it.

#16

@telecastle:

All of your arguments are very valid...as reasons to use Channels DVR.
You point to a number of disparate apps/services/companies and the multiple ways that they provide their services. None of them work with all of them. Channels DVR comes the closest.

If I were single (which I am not) and techie (which I am), I would definitely play the field...of DVR services. With Channels DVR, I can still play the field, with all of these streaming/cable options and still provide my wife and family the same user experience, via Channels DVR. This month, I might be on Spectrum cable and next month I might be on YouTubeTV, but my family just uses Channels DVR to get to what they are used to, and not have to learn a different app or boxtop every few months.

To me, it is worth what I pay. It may not be for you. And, that is okay. There may not be a single product that is right for everyone.

If the devs ever change their mind and offer a lifetime option, I would definitely consider it. It isn't a bad idea to me, but it may be to them.

3 Likes
#17

Maybe they can have a basic lifetime service that just gets you the guide data and basic features for OTA only.

#18

For many years, my wife and I supported ourselves by selling a specialized app. We charged thousands of dollars for the app and a monthly maintenance fee. We had customers using our app for over 15 years. Without the monthly fee, we could not have stayed in business, and all our customers would have been left high and dry.

For potential buyers, It comes down to a Cost/Benefit analysis. In other words what you pay vs what you get. With Channels, I get a lot. Comcast/Xfinity was getting $173/month from me, and it was not worth it, so I cut the cord. Sure, I would be happy to pay less, but not if the people at Channels couldn't earn a decent living.

A few years back, I bought a Sling Box with lifetime service. Now they tell me that in the not so far future, my box will stop working because they are shutting down their server. It appears that "Lifetime" isn't quite as long as it used to be.

When I started selling my app, I tried to please everyone. It took a while to realize that my goal was impossible.

You are totally in control. Only you get to decide how you spend your money. For some people $80/year is too much and for others, it is well worth it.

7 Likes
#19

They do, it's called their paid app for tvOS and Android systems. It is $25 and gives you access to guide data and streams from local HDHomeRun tuners. (For iOS/iPadOS, there is a single free Channels app that provides guide data and access to OTA tuners, as well as working with a DVR server.)

The subscription to Channels Plus is only required for:

  • DVR server
  • Expanded guide coverage
  • Novel sources (TV Everywhere, Custom Channels/M3U playlists, Locast)
  • Remote access/streaming
1 Like
#20

I meant with a DVR service. I know Tivo charges less for OTA only

1 Like
#21

I bought the paid app from them. In fact, I bought it twice. Once on AppleTV and once on iOS. And I did it years ago.

#22

I bought it on iOS, too. And I'm still happy to pay $8/mo for their service.

If cost is an issue, then you can roll your own DVR for less. You can use Tvheadend, MythTV, NextPVR or myriad DVR software that are open source and freely available. All of those DVRs offer PVR clients for use with Kodi, all of which is additionally free, both as in speech and beer. To access guide information, I recommend Schedules Direct, which is a measly $25/yr. (Schedules Direct sources their data from Gracenote, same as Channels.)

There are other options you are free to pursue if you feel $8/mo is too costly and not worth the product and service you receive from Channels. But if you do wish to continue to complain about the cost of their software/service, perhaps a different forum would be the more appropriate place for that.

1 Like
#23

I think they innovate too much to do that. They need a steady revenue stream.

The others offer lifetime because its really limited to life of the current hardware. It's really not lifetime. What I love about Channels is that they love to innovate and are hands-down very helpful and have excellent customer service.

Not trying to be a turd, go and enjoy a Plex lifetime pass while I'm watching TVE or messing with new features. Try out a Tablo subscription for a year and see how long it takes them for an update or feature request.

There aren't many bills I don't mind paying...Channels DVR is the exception. It's money well spent.

2 Likes
#24

Listen, all I’m saying is that I’m not going to be paying $80 in perpetuity. Period. I am a lost customer in that respect. If there were an option to pay a one-time lifetime subscription, I would look at the price and consider buying it. Obviously, it would be much more than $80. Many times more. But, I don’t pay recurring software subscription fees. I pay a one-time fee. I can live without a DVR for the OTA broadcasts. My SlingTV plan gives me 50 hours of DVR for no additional charge, and that’s plenty for me.

I pay Apple $10/month for 2TB of iCloud storage, but I’m using their cloud service, so I’m paying for the use of their servers, their bandwidth, electricity, data center workers, etc. However, when I back up my Macs to my own NAS using TimeMachine, Apple is not charging me monthly or annually to use their software to run backups onto my own hardware inside of my network. I paid for their OS development a one-time fee when I purchased their Mac, and I’m using the software embedded in macOS to back up onto my own hardware without a recurring monthly charge.

The analogy between TimeMachine and the Channels DVR is as close as one may get. I purchase the Channels app (twice), and I would consider it fair for this company to sell me the Channels DVR server license to pay extra for the efforts they expanded to develop the DVR server software, which happened after I purchased the Channels app. Every development effort deserves to be rewarded. I’m not against paying for extra features, but I’m not going to pay a recurring software subscription fee. My expectation is that once I pay the one-time lifetime fee, I should be able to record the content steamed from the box I own (Silicondust TV tuner) to another box I own (QNAP NAS) without a recurring monthly or annual fee.

I’m not telling the Channels app developers what they should do. All I’m saying is that I’m not the only one who refuses to pay perpetual recurring fees for the software.

1 Like
#25

OK bye. Enough already they should really close this thread.

This thread is as boring as the Super Bowl :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

#26

Part of the subscription price is to cover the expanded (2 weeks) guide data. By your description, this is more akin to a recurring service fee similar to your iCloud storage, not for the use of the software.

3 Likes
#27

Your "I don't pay recurring software subscription fees" dogmatic position is your business, but a lot of software is moving to that model, particularly when the software has significant ongoing support or development. Its all about cost/benefit. If its not worth the cost to you, then don't buy it.

You call yourself a "lost customer", but you are really a lost "liability" to the developers. The DVR space, Guide data, and support of changing service providers, is not a static environment. Plus they are actively developing new features. It would be foolish for them to sell "lifetime" licenses. I would certainly like to pay less, but I understand that the model would result in this great product eventually going the way TIvo is going.

They have said numerous times they aren't offering a lifetime price, so continuing to complain about it isn't going to accomplish anything. Time to look for something you are willing to pay for, which apparently is Sling TV's 50 hour DVR. Problem solved.

5 Likes
#28

But don't you pay $5 per month or something like that for a 50hr DVR on Sling? That's $60 per year into perpetuity, so only $20 more for a much more flexible, expandable DVR.

1 Like
#29

Would you really be happy to buy a copy of Channels, knowing that you would never get a software update, bug fix, or any support after the first year? If so, you are an unusual person, and not the market they are after.

Yes, you are a lost customer, in the same way as people who think that $3 a month would be too much. Every business has "lost customers", but every business needs to decide which ones are okay to loose.

1 Like
#30

No, I am not paying anything extra for 50 hours of DVR storage on SlingTV. They upped their DVR storage from 15 hours to 50 hours about 10 days ago. Apparently they also raised the price of their Orange and Blue packages from $30 to $35 but only for new users. Existing users were upgraded to 50 hours of DVR storage without their monthly price being raised.

1 Like
#31

There are enough places in our society where discussions are being shut down. This doesn't need to be another one. This has been an open and respectful discussion by people of differing (but valid) views. You are not required to keep reading discussions that no longer interest you.

1 Like
#32

Just the Gracenote guide data is worth the monthly price to me. All the functionality, features, innovations and customer support make the value we get out of the monthly fee easy to pay and justify.

Brings up a good question? I wonder how much they have to pay Gracenote each month for each user?