Despite having no issues, now I want to replace it. Lol. I benchmarked the drive in the past and got maybe 60% of the drives listed performance.
Picking out a usb enclosure used to be easy, now there's all this 3.1 gen 1, gen 2, 3.2 garbage. Have one to recommend?
In scope of Pi4, anything higher than 3.0 is pointless.
The Pi only supports usb 3.0 5gbps.
So, using a super fast drive, like a pcie nvme that and do 10gbps etc, and/or enclosure that can do those speeds, is pointless.
And i did test the drive and enclosure, and got the same 480mbps or whatever it was, that the usb 3.0 5gbps spec gives, and same speeds using my other just sata to usb cable adatpers....so for me, the enclosure is working fine and not slowing anything down. (i only used this and the 2.5in drive for my pi server, cause it is just what i had lying in a shelf not being used at the time, the pi itself was also left over from a previous project and not being used)
I do not know what spec usb port the Shield Pro has, but i suspect is is same 3.0 5gbps (all i can find is just "2x USB 3.0")
On a different question/thought, I wonder if there is any real advantage to running this dedicated Channels DVR image on the Pi4 as your main server, since the OS is made by Channels, and is optimized very well for the pi, over using a normal pc with whatever Linux distro one prefers, with far "better" hardware.
I only know of the downsides of the pi, only having enough power for 1 transcode stream and slower commercial detection. (which is not a big deal for only 1 singe user)
For the short time I have had setup a 2nd server, for my mother to solely use, the Pi4 has been doing just fine.
But to answer your question....for external ssds, my only recommendation is a Samsung T7 or of that series of portable drives. I have a T3 model that is years old, and has seen extreme use over the years and still performs as well as day one with minimal wear reported. Hard drive enclosures, i have found over the many years of using them, are far less reliable and well built and have shyed away from using them entirely for the most part. But overall, I trust Vantec brand enclosures the most, their mid range or high end models.
I've been using it on the pi for a week now. I haven't noticed anything major except for commercial discovery taking longer. I also don't have the need for more than one remote stream so there's that.
I'm having a similar experience to McLambFam. Similar mkdir /media/DVR/Streaming and read-only errors when trying to view channels. Many of my previous recordings disappeared. Can't view live TV or recordings, although I can view recordings directly from the drive. I've updated to the latest pre-release server version. DVR is a Pi-powered 4TB Easystore that was working great for two months until about a week ago. (First time Channels DVR user; I'd previously been using HomeRunHD for several years.) Logs have been submitted: 0524a53c-a8f6-4531-a0c6-5592777d1614.
I don't see a way to recover the recordings I've lost -- do I just re-image the drive?
Unfortunately this means the drive has corrupted itself, and if the files are missing they will be very hard to recover 
You can copy off the Database directory to save your passes and other settings, then re-image and do a restore. After the fresh image, click the Check for Update button under Operating System to update to the new exfat driver which should prevent corruption again in the future.
If you want to restore after the reimage, you'll need to make copies of the files off the drive first then after imaging:
Thanks for the guidance. Just so Iām clear, is that re-imaging the Pi and drive, or just the drive?
Just the drive with the Channels image.
Still curious about this.
Could someone answer this?
If both Raspberry Pi4 have been updated to boot from USB then yes all you have to do unplug the USB drive from the former Pi4 and plug the same drive "as is" into a new Pi4 and it will boot right up.
I have done this myself. I originally bought a 4GB Pi4 and set it up with the Raspberry Pi 4 USB Boot Image, then I decided to use the 4GB Pi4 as a learning platform for myself and replaced it with a 2GB Pi4 (after first updating the new Pi4 to support USB boot). (If trying to power any USB drive from the Pi4 I would suggest using a 3.5 Amp power supply -- not the standard 3 Amp power supply - or use an external powered USB hub and hang the drive off the external hub. )
Both worked the same.
The problem for me was "the same" didn't work in my household because both Pi4 experienced freezes and I got tired of listening to family complaints and got tired of submitting debug logs to support. Looking back now perhaps the instability was self-inflicted -- perhaps I was long pressing the DVR update button and running a beta DVR rather than a production DVR version.
But regardless, I decided to move on and at first was going to use a surplus Mac Mini which I have but I don't really use MacOS much so instead I moved the DVR to a Windows Pro 10 mini-PC and stability has been much better and because it is Windows Pro not Windows Home I can choose when Windows OS upgrades are applied and avoid updates during prime time viewing hours.
I have not had any performance issues with my now 2 PiDVRs.
The first is a Pi4 8GB, and the 2nd a 4GB.
The first is using a Samsung 850 Evo 500gb ssd in a usb 3.0 enclosure and some generic 3.1amp power cord with a switch on it that came with this case., but the board is installed in the CannaKit clear case with fan.
the 2nd Pi, has a Samsung T7 500gb usb 3.2 ssd connected and is using the CannaKit power cord. in case linked to above, with fan.
BOTH pi's i have OC set.
over_voltage=6
arm_freq=2000
arm_freq_min=900
I have 2 other Pi's a 2gb, that runs PiVPN, and a 4gb that runs my DNS server, Ad Guard home. each in the same case linked to above
Up above someone asked about NFS and it was answered that it could potentially be added to the image. I am trying to set up an rsync to a USB drive attached to my Synology. I have been unable to make that work (it wants to create a new directory on the Synology instead of finding my USB drive), but mounting the drive to Pi over NFS seems like a solution that will work. However, I get the message that the protocol is not supported. Any chance NFS could be added to tinker with this possibility?
Thanks as always.
Thinking about getting a Pi to set this up for a family member who's not too tech savvy. Are there routine/regular updates to the OS that should be installed? Or is it barebones enough of a set-up that this isn't really a concern? Thanks.
OS-level updates have been as-needed, which is not often at all.
DVR-level updates are monthly-ish, and update automatically.
Can the OS-level updates be triggered through the browser? Or does it require connecting to the pi?
Yes, you can trigger OS updates through the browser, similar to the DVR updates.
Hello, I have been running a Pi Channels DVR since Dec. So far the OS and Channels run well. The OS and DVR software updates all happen in a browser. There is a reboot and shutdown option as well. The only reason I've gone to the command line is to check CPU temp as I was testing different cases and fans. I have not had any issues with stability. Last time I rebooted was to apply an OS update that I was notified in the browser. The DVR software updates seem to happen once a month on their own. Do note the web interface does not have login profiles; so if you plan to give access to them, they could change settings. If you are using TVE for watching some sports channels(mainly NBCS and sometimes Fox Sports), you may need to go into the web interface to update the DVR software to the pre-release.
My take, as long as your non tech savvy person can follow simple web UI instructions, you should not have issues. The OS and DVR software is good and been stable; unfortunately the Homerun for OTA and the need to manage TVE are the buggy issues. The HomerunHD has locked up twice and needed a reboot by unplugging and missed some recording times.
Hi,
Appreciate the in-depth response. It sounds like this might be the way to go for this particular use-case. Thanks!
And thanks for the info as well, @hancox
Sounds more like a firmware issue on the HDHR side.
What model HDHR do you have?
I have been running a Connect Quarto for couple years and its never "locked up" and needed a reboot.
If it is acting up, could be a bad or failing power adapter...that is most often what you are told on their forms to check 2nd, after updating the tuners firmware.
Same issue on my HDHR4-4K. Raise it to them in forums. They're sending me a replacement right now.
I am testing right now with the new PI image. Is there a way to configure the wifi settings until I move it over to wired ethernet?
NVM - found it in the post 
. Is was looking up the nmcli command. The article originally listed is now gone. For others searching, here is a more recent post:https://kifarunix.com/connect-to-wifi-in-linux-using-nmcli-command/
