Here’s what I’m using:
mount -t cifs -o username=redacted,password=redacted,uid=501,gid=501,iocharset=utf8 //192.168.1.2/sharename /media/sharename
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Screw it. Been looking for an excuse to get a proper USB3 hard drive for the pi anyway (using a repurposed old USB2 now, without too much fuss).
I'll go for it on Monday, most likely.
how long till out of beta? I'm interested in switching my whole setup to a Raspberry Pi
How does transcoding/comskip performance compare to the Rasbian DVR build? ARM64 presumably improves it somewhat, but my PI does many other things...
struggling with this question too.
For those with existing installs, it would also be helpful to install to the SD card. Any reason the image can't be applied there?
Why wait? The DVR server functions perfectly over Raspian on a Pi for use with the streaming client apps. I've had one running for months, first on a Pi Model B, now on a Pi4. Transcoding for remote access and web browser clients hasn't worked yet for me even on the Pi4 but maybe the devs can overcome that yet. Faster transcoding, if it ultimately works, would be the only advantage to someone unafraid of installing Raspian, then the existing server. You could always repurpose a Raspian-based Pi server with the new one at the inconvenience of losing any recorded programs on the repurposed hard drive.
No, but USB3 is faster and much more reliable than SD cards.
...but the "DVR" directory would still be sourced from USB3, in my setup. The only missing piece is the OS, which i would wonder if there would be much benefit, anyway. It would also negate the need to move stuff on/off the USB drive that's in use now.
We have decided not to support SD cards with this release because they all eventually die. Also USB3 is simply much faster and results in faster boots and a snappier system in general.
If you have a working Raspbian setup, just keep using that. Right now there's no advantage to switching. (But note that if you installed the dvr software to the SD card, it means that the guide databases are being downloaded to the SD card every morning and will wear it out eventually.)
Thanks. I thought I recalled that the armv8 architecture would provide access to more CPU optimizations? The Raspbian folks are in fact moving towards releasing a parallel 64bit version.
I put both the Channels data drive and the channels-dvr directory together on an external USB drive, so that the SD card is barely touched. I think this would also work fine without requiring USB boot.
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This is what we recommend, but have found most users are unable to make it work because they don't know how to reformat the drive to use a file system that supports symlinks.
The goal of our dedicated image is to make this all much easier for new users who are not as technical, and simply want an affordable dvr box they can setup with limited expertise and time.
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I have a RP-4 kit coming today.. which install do you recommend? I’m looking to move everything off my iMac and have a dedicated box for channels DVR
Currently you're using the armv7l builds of the DVR, but they specifically have NEON enabled. I don't know offhand if armv8l or aarch64 provide any additional benefits, but my guess is the 64bit binaries will provide a nice boost. I plan to do some benchmarks once things have stabilized a bit.
On the transcoding front, OMX/MMAL are only available on 32bit so this image is the first to use V4L2. I imagine that too will provide some small performance gains compared to OMX, but we have to work through the bugs first since it's not as stable as the raspbian h264_omx currently being used.
I would use the instructions above for all new/dedicated DVR Pis
Seems to me this gets you -> <- this close to having a low-cost turn-key DVR hardware product. I wonder if there's a business case to be made here?
Any possibility of being able to load the linux version of Kodi on here as well that with the Channels plug-in could provide a dedicated client to go along with the server piece?
No chance of that here. We are keeping this tightly scoped to a headless server you plug into your router next to the hdhomerun.
Technically speaking, decoding and playback over HDMI is an entirely different beast and adds a huge amount of complexity. If you really wanted an all-in-one, you might be better off loading Android TV OS onto the RPi4.
Our focus for playback remains on the Channels app for Apple TV and Android TV. These devices are readily available, often on sale, and give you access to the Channels app right next to Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock, etc.
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Any plans to support network storage like NFS? My Synology doesn't appear to support Hardware Transcoding and my RPI4 doesn't have All The Gigabitezzzz like the Synology. 
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Is the image in the above instructions link is the latest image?
Yes I have been keeping the link at the top up to date.
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