Best low-fuss option for standalone Channels DVR setup

Hey, all! Sounds like Channels DVR is finally the fully-functional DVR solution for which I have been waiting. As such, I think I will pull the trigger on the subscription and get it set up. I would love some input on a good, stable hardware configuration.

I want to get something that will be a standalone box specifically to be used with Channels DVR only. I currently have two HDHR tuners, the Connect and an older version that I do not remember the model. My network is fully hardwired and connected using gigabit routers/bridges.

My family doesn’t watch that much live TV, and as such, we cut the cable cord a little over a year ago. Most of our TV watching is via streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu. However, there are a couple of network shows that we’d like to record (e.g. The Amazing Race and Dancing With The Stars). We’d like to record the new episodes and start watching them shortly after they start (i.e. time-shifted viewing).

I guess my point is that we don’t watch enough TV to justify spending a crap-ton of money on a humongous NAS setup with tons of storage. Heck, back when we had cable, we were using the “Whole-house DVR” solution provided by our cable company. I believe the DVR had a 500GB capacity. We never ran out of space.That should give you some idea of the amount of live TV we watch and/or record.

However, just because our DVR usage is not very demanding does not mean that I want to go bare-bones super cheap. I want a standalone solution that will only be used for Channels DVR. I want it to be powerful enough to allow time-shifted viewing (i.e. start watching a recorded HD show while it is still recording) without any hiccups or problems. It does not need a ton of capacity. A couple TBs would probably suffice. I will not need the ability to view remotely. We will only be watching recorded shows on our Apple TV 4. If possible, I would like the ability to set up recordings remotely, if necessary. Say, we’re on vacation, and my wife suddenly remembers that she forgot to record a certain show she’d like to watch when we get home.

I would prefer a configuration that requires the least amount of maintenance possible. Once I finish the initial setup of the system, I’d like to basically forget about all the back-end stuff and just use the DVR as easily and conveniently as when we used to have the cable whole-house DVR.

I’d be open to most any recommendations. Would my requirements best be met with a NAS solution or a PC? Thanks in advance for any help!

If your only requirements are to record shows, and play them back, I would think any of the supported NAS devices would be fine. The only two things I can think of where actual processing power matters are:

  • commercial detection is faster on faster devices; for reference, a Synology DS916+ runs detection on a 30-min show in around 5-6 minutes.
  • if you want to do transcoding, to watch over the DVR web site, you’ll need something that either a) can do hardware transcoding, so likely an Intel processor, or b) is fast enough to run software transcoding.

If it were me, and I wanted the cheapest thing that would be reasonable for both of the above, I’d probably look at the Synology DS216+II, which is about $299 on amazon (plus drives) and has a dual-core Intel processor, and I’m guessing it can run the hardware transcoder. The DS916+ is a nice quad-core 4-bay upgrade if you feel like you want more power to run other apps, or need more drive bays. I’m sure other brands have reasonable options as well - I’m just partial to Synology myself.

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I got a DS216+II specifically to use as a DVR. It takes about 2/3 the length of a show to do commercial detection. So a 30 minute show will take 20 minutes. I have been recording lots of shows, sometimes multiple simultaneously, and haven’t yet had an issue with the commercial detection time. IMO, as long as it runs for less than the length of the show, it is fast enough for someone who doesn’t watch immediately. It can also transcode just fine, even at 1080p. But it won’t transcode fast enough if it is also recording something else and detecting commercials on a previous show all at the same time. So the transcode needs to drop to around 480p in such circumstances. But the only time I really need the transcode is when I am traveling on public transportation or at a hotel or similar and am trying to view something on my phone. In which case, I probably won’t have consistent cellular speeds to run bitrates for 1080p anyway. So the transcode being able to run that fast makes no difference, because the internet bandwidth is not flawlessly available when on-the-go.

And so the DS216+II works perfectly for all cases that I use it. Recording multiple shows at the same time; streaming to 2 ATVs simultaneously, detecting commercials, and streaming to my mobile. I run a few other server softwares on it in addition to the DVR. Channels is an easy install.

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I can’t speak to the NAS approach but love my repurposed PC running Ubuntu. I run it headless and access it remotely when needed. Commercial detection takes less that 15 min on a 2hr movie with the intel i3 @ 3.10GHz. You should consider looking at some of the SFF PC’s for your needs.

my .02

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I was running on a WDMyCloudEx2, but commercial detection was taking forever and it didn’t have enough power transcode at all. So I repurposed at PC to run headless Ubuntu server (i5-3570k, 8GB RAM, 2 - 1 TB disks). It takes about 7 mins to commercial detect a 60min show. The machine is also running a Plex server. I chose Ubuntu Server so I could raid the disks together… that was difficult, wouldn’t recommend that. But Ubuntu is easy enough beside the initial raid disk setup.

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I went the pc route with ubuntu. I’m a windows guy but I installed it and ran the commands they gave and haven’t touched it since.

I think something like an intel NUC with a small drive and a little ram was the way to go. especially if you can reuse a drive and ram. I got a NUC and some ram and used my own hdd.

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Yeah, I wish I could sell my WDMyCloudEx2 that I bought for the SD DVR. That was a waste.

I guess it would depend on your level of skills. If you don’t have much computer knowledge, I would go with a NAS, either a Synology or a QNAP. If you can do basic installs of operating systems, install RAM, and a hard drive, go with a cheap Intel NUC and then an external USB 3 hard drive.

@tmm1 did some testing on a low end win10 mini pc with decent results:

Dell Inspiron i3050 Mini PC

I ended up bringing an old WHS server up from my basement and repurposing it as a Channels DVR server. It has an AMD Athlon 64 7850 dual-core processor @ 2.8GHz, 4GB memory, and (2) 2TB HDDs. I had to do a clean install of Windows 10 since WHS is no longer supported. I then striped the (2) 2TB HDDs into one big 4TB volume. So, I should have plenty of space for my family’s purposes. I got it up an running last night, installed the DVR software, enabled my DVR subscription, and recorded my first test show on the ATV4. So far, everything appears to be running smoothly and exactly as I would like.

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I absolutely love stories like this. Congrats on being able to use some old hardware in the basement!