Best budget setup for mom

Channels DVR Server
#1

I have and love Channels DVR. I have running on Synology DS418 Play. It’s perfect with my HDHomeRun Extend and DirecTV TVE. I’ve ditched my satellite dish!

Well my mom now wants to dump cable and save some money. I have no issues setting her up and her using my TVE credentials but need a cheap server for her. She has an AppleTV and FireStick 4K for her playback devices.

I thought about getting a Raspberry Pi 4 and an external HDD but that’s roughly $120+ all said and done. I found some older Synology units on eBay for around $120 Example: Synology DS215j with 2 500gb WD blues.

Am I better getting the Synology for her or the Pi 4? She doesn’t need a lot of storage and it’s just her. I’d have the antenna, HDHomeRun Connect, and Pi 4 or Synology all by her wireless AC1200 router serving over WiFi. No viewing outside her apartment.

#2

DS215j CPU specs:

  • CPU: Marvell Armada 375 Dual Core 800 MHz.

Older ARM chips like this really struggle. You'd be better off with the RPI4 which runs a modern 64-bit ARM and is very speedy.

#3

Thank you very much. Will the 2gb version of the 4 be enough?

Or even a older 2009 MacMini?

#4

Yea 2GB is plenty. There's a full guide here in case you haven't seen it already:

#5

Lots of people using mac minis here. I'm still using a mini for my own DVR.

#6

If you were in my shoes setting this up for your 67 year old mother would you do a 2009 MacMini or RP4? I want to keep it as simple as possible for her. I like that with the Mini I could remote in to troubleshoot.

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#7

I think the mini would be more reliable, plus easy remote access. The RPI sd card can fail etc.

#8

Awesome thanks for the help. I know a buddy who has a mini I can have so just saved $120!

Keep up the great work. Absolutely love the app. You’ve got 2 customers for life here. :slightly_smiling_face:

#9

What is the link speed of the latest Raspberry pi?

#10

It’s gigabit

#11

I use a 2012 Mac Mini for Channels and it is cheap, simple, performs really well. (And I have two QNAP boxes.)

#12

Same. I'm also using a 2012 MacMini with MacOS Mojave. I upgraded with some additional memory which is very cheap. The thing works like a champ.

#13

Quick follow up on the prior conversation. I recently added a 2TB SSD to the 2012 MacMini. SSD prices have really declined recently, as have the cost of a used 2012 MacMini. It’s turned out to be the perfect whole house DVR at a relatively cheap price.

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