Thanks for the welcome -- yes I'm relatively new here. You very well might have seen my "MacBrain" user name in other forums.
So far I'm LOVING the Channels DVR experience, especially since it can record from the TVE channels I receive via AT&T TV Now. The auto commercial-skip is totally amazing too. Not perfect, but pretty darned good!
While having a EPG data would certainly be preferable, having the option to integrate the PlutoTV streaming channels even without guide data would still be nice to have as at least you could watch the Pluto channels from the Channels DVR interface without having to exit channels and then open PlutoTV app. Just like any other Channels DVR source, you don't have to add all of the PlutoTV channels but just adding the ones you find worth having would be a nice feature. If at some point EPG data could be scraped, great but if not something is better than nothing.
Just sign up for a free sling account not the paid and bame you get the free channels.
That it is not true. I watch most of the channel outside USA 
otherwise Channels would be the same limited service like Plex.
Yeah having Pluto TV would be awesome.
How do you get a Sling Free account to add to TVE? All I see is that you don't log in to use that service.
Sign up for trial, then cancel before the trial ends. The Free TVE channels will still be available. Those are channels 6750 +. My Sling credentials still work after a year for those channels. Old Philo account may work also, as long as they have you in the system still. These services don't delete accounts so they can determine if you have had an account with them, so you wouldn't qualify for free trial again.
Thank you. That worked. Roll Tide!!
Live TV provider or not... IT'S ALREDY BEEN DONE by the Live Channels app (Android).
Pluto is the default app in Live Channels (in addition to HD HomeRun). Pluto works similar to how Philo, Hulu, YouTube TV & others work in Channels DVR...
Sooo... this begs the question as to why if Live Channels can do it why not Channels DVR?
YEA YOU TELL EM!!! if a trillion dollar company with unlimited resources, multi million dollar business agreements, fleet of engineers and millions of dollars exchanging between them, why cant a 3 man team totally change their own business plan and do what google does!!
if they can do it, why cant everyone else!
Live Channels is using the app as the backend; Channels does not support using a different app to handle the streams.
This is an apples and oranges comparison.
You lost me on that one.
Backend?
Different app to handle the streams?
Can you explain or give some examples to help clarify those two statements for me?
Thanks.
The Android Live Channels app uses the Pluto App to make the channels available. Live Channels is simply a front-end. This is similar to how Live Channels presents HDHR.
It's time to move on.
Thanks, Mike... that helps me to understand a little more then I did.
So, if "This is similar to how Live Channels presents HDHR" that seems to indicate that Channels DVR already has the capability to present Pluto similar to how Live Channels is doing it.
Is that right, or did I miss something in the translation?
You're missing a step. Channels talks directly to the tuner. Pluto does not advertise itself as a tuner for other devices on your network. Instead, Pluto tells Android how the system can use it as a tuner for Live Channels. Live Channels is merely acting as a wrapper for Pluto's service; this type of functionality is only available to Android on a system level which is restricted to Live Channels. Channels does not have the ability to use an Android app as a tuner source for its DVR.
Ah so... Thanks Racameron for the nice explanation.
I'm beginning to understand the problem.
Well... I thought I was on the verge of understanding why it is so hard for Channels DVR to incorporate Pluto TV into TV everywhere; then a few days ago, I got an e-mail from the streaming service Reelgood stating they had just released a new version of Reelgood with Pluto TV added to it.
Sure enough, Pluto is there functioning just like all the other streaming services that are in Reelgood.
That now makes TWO different services (that I'm aware of) providing Pluto TV in their TV streams.
Soooo... once again, why not Channels DVR?