I am currently running both the Channels app and DVR on an Nvidia Pro Shield with external 1tb storage (not without occasional problems).
Is there a better device?
I'd prefer to run both on the same box since it simplifies everything.
I run everything hardwired: HDHomerun from antenna (local OTA Channels) and Sling streaming. All my devices are ethernet - no wifi.
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There is not a better device to run both than the shield tv.
You would have less issues with something like a intel cpu nuc running Linux Ubuntu server or Ubuntu desktop. People are also liking the m1 Mac mini. I use an intel desktop with Ubuntu and it’s rock solid
Yep +1 for that. I am running Ubuntu Server on an intel NUC with a 2tb ssd and two HDD's (5TB & 10TB). Never any issues. I see people having issues with Windows Update, Shield updates, general issues, etc. Not for me 
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Ubuntu Server on Intel here main DVR RAID5 (Distributed Parity) 14.55 TiB... also run a DVR instance on my Synology DS1019+.
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what are the occasional issues that you are having?
Weird problems related to upgrades apparently. For example the last several weeks anything recorded from NBC was unwatchable while every other channel was fine. Then there was the infamous Android 9.0 fiasco.
Thanks for your input and I respect what you're saying - go linux and a mini pc. My question is; "What do you guys do for control?" I use my Shield remote to control Channels. What does everyone with linux use?
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Whatever remote comes with my Client is what I use.... for the app ...
To work on and control my ubuntu server ... I use webmin.
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I also had issues when using the Shield as both the server and client.
I prefer to have the server side run as a docker VM on my UnRaid NAS and then use the Channels DVR app on the Shield. This spreads the processing needs across multiple devices.
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Thanks
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So I went with a QNAP 133 NAS (Cheap) with a single 1tb ssd (I don't record that much).
Besides being ridiculously slow to boot (I timed it at five minutes) it was needlessly difficult to set up. All I wantd was a simple volume and the 'wizard' did everything possible to prevent that. After starting over numerous times I finally got what I wanted - a single non raid drive. The hardware looks good though..
We'll see how stable it is over the next few weeks)
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Yeah I use my NAS to run Channels also, its flawless and has Access to its SSD Drives.
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I’ve ran my Channels DVR server on both a Synology DS1019+ and now a Beelink U59 running Ubuntu and docker. The Beelink definitely has more power but the Synology was easier to run everything on. I moved to the U59 mostly for security of the NAS…trying to have less external sources going to it.
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Mine’s running on an old (2012 edition) Mac Mini. Solid as a rock.
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Since the Shield update issues, I went with a Raspberry Pi install and have not looked back.
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I use my Nvidia Shields to play the videos, but run the server on my QNAP TS-473 NAS (14TB RAID5). It run native on the QNAP and never had an issue. Use the web admin portal for Channels admin. Channels is setup to uses an HDHomeRun 4K Quad and access to the movie folder to add virtual channels.
My QNAP also runs PLEX and a 2019 Windows Server in a VM. Now, my QNAP also has a lot of hardware/resources installed. It has 32gb ram, M.2 SSD, (3) 8tb NAS Drives, and Nvidia Video card to better handle multiple transcoding's for the PLEX server.
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