Hi all Channels community. After a couple of months of paying for the channels service and setting up a raspberry pi 4 with the image provided by Channels, I have decided that it is not for me. The service and support are great, but it just is not a seamless enough solution for me. Maybe one day there will be an easier plug and play box that I can buy from channels that just connects to my internet and is as easy as that, but as it is, I was experiencing some buffering and audio sync issues. And while I can probably get this stuff fixed through support, I don't have the time or desire to do so. I want to thank all of you that helped my on my journey to get here and all the support you gave me. So to be clear it is no fault on the part of Channels that led to my decision, more my unwillingness to continue to troubleshoot and test.
For the record, which client device and OS were you running Channels app on?
Fair enough. Although Channels is super easy to install and administer, it is still in the the hobbyist category just like any server. It's not something I would recommend for the non-technical or even the casually technical. There are a lot of moving parts. Mileage varies from user to user but every time I've had buffering problems, it was actually a problem with my network. If this is the case with your environment, that only expands the scope of what is required to make things work. If you're not already doing this stuff for fun, I can see it could be a huge hassle for you.
The basic DVR is ok for non technical people ... but the rest like .... Virtual Channels and Collections is time consuming. Heck these features make my head spin and I am technical.
Don't have the time or desire to make something work right, that they wanted to actually use.
Don't have the time or desire to read the manual or even bother to ask for help.
But, has plenty of time and desire to make an account on a forum board, and post a long winded dramatic dissertation as to why they are unhappy and are giving up.
Why even bother? I don't get people sometimes...
The Pi image is the easiest thing ever to do, flash it, plug it, boot it, set a few simple settings in a UI web page, done.
If someone complains that is just too much, and not plug an play enough for them, then...I wish them their best in finding things or products of any sort that just magically and instantly work and are setup for them, requiring no work or effort whatsoever. Hope they share them when they find them, i have my lazy moments too and just want things to work. lol.
Amazon Firestick 4K is my client device. Also the Iphone app.
Me too. Goofing around with tech is what I do when I'm feeling lazy and should be doing something else. Different strokes.
THIS is exactly why I like Channels, its main function, and UI is easy, for user and the admin/techy person that has to set it up in the first place.
It makes the perfect "Cable box" replacement, far far simpler and straightforward and purpose built to be as such, exactly what i wanted and needed.
I may be able to navigate and take on useing much more complex setup, say with Plex/Emby, back it the day, Windows Media Center and tuner adapters etc...but these days, and my other family members that are not at all techy folks, could never manage or use that.
They use Channels DVR fine.
All the added features that have come since i first starting using Channels DVR, like for local media management, etc....meh, they are trying to address the complaints of people that want a more AIO home media setup, which, typically are more what the more techy people desires.
I find them curious attempts at expanding their software, but for me, impractical, out of place, and clumsy, as compared to what already exists for a local Home Media Server options, such as Plex or Emby. Those mature software's do that job extremely well, as that is what they are built and designed to do. Live TV/DVR to them, is secondary feature set.
Virtual channels, feels to me overcomplex and possibly overly restricted. Sure it seems I can add in .m3u channels, but it just does not work nearly as well as with Emby...that just does import the .m3u file as a tuner device, and it just works. tried it with Channels, errors, no guide info....too much work...why bother when it works with little to no effort elsewhere and I actually prefer it be separate thing from Channels anyway.
Not to say the new add on features are not welcome and useful for some users, just saying, not for me. I just want Channels to stay my "cable box" replacement for Live TV/DVR usage only.
What i will say though, is that i find it very puzzling that even someone with low techy skills, finds the setup of a Channels DVR and its core functions to be difficult.
It sure easier than figuring out how the bloody heck to set the clock on the modern appliances that I recently got installed in my place, thanks to a kitchen remodle....so many buttons and functions.
Why do I have to read a 35 page manual, just to know what buttons to press to cook my my frozen TV Dinner 
(first world problems)
@speedingcheetah honestly, these sorts of posts can be helpful for us as the app creators to know how people are experiencing our product. The poster was not rude but just laid out their experience.
@speedingcheetah Would you be willing to talk more about what issues you ran into here and in what way it was more smooth with Emby? We're always looking to see how we can make the process smoother.
All they said was basically that it did not work and that they were not wiling to take the time and effort to troubleshoot it.
How is that truly helpful?
Never said they were being rude...just that it seems baffling and contradictive to take the time and effort instead to generally complain about things, and to only succeed in degrading their own value of their comments. If they clearly do not care enough to even try, then why should we take any value in their experience and comments?
Emby and Plex do automatic collections when I add a movie ... For example when I import/Create the library I tell it minimum is 2 movies and When I scan my Libraries it adds them neatly to a collection... It uses MOVIEDB.
Already mentioned the process Emby uses for .m3u. Just simple and easy.
Channels, you have to make up your own xml guide data source??
Emby has their own Guide Data provider and just auto takes care of that, or a nice GUi to search line ups and match the channel built in.
(they also have a full featured identical web browser client software same as to any client app for those who want to use PC to watch content)
I have not bothered to try and submit for support for my .m3u issues, since your other devs have made it clear that you will not support people trying to use IPTV sources since there are so many that are not "legit/legal".
i was fine paying for Locast, as that was the accepted and praised as legal and was integrated with Channels very well....but turns out the powers that be deemed it not legal afterall....so....have no other alternative but use some random IPTV at times.
Channels Collections, making custom category genre groups of channels, just over all last i tried it was just to complex and overwhelming a process to build those lists. Having to ad one at a time from a scrolling drop down list style.
I never cared for the pre set genre categories that has always been in Channels, HD, Kids, All, etc.
I just set on the sever the channels i want to see on the Channel Line Up edit pages as Fav, X the ones i not want to see, and sync them to the client device.
So much more easy and straight forward a method.
See the full list of channels the source provides and manage visibility of them right in the same table page.
Perhaps, you could add a option to the Line Up manage pages of the Sources, along side fav or disable, to add a channel to a Channel Collection, and it shows available Collections, alike to the "add to list" option one has when shopping on Amazon etc.
I do not use any of those features either ... Adding collections for large libraries is really a pain. Also I prefer my imported media separate from recordings.
Yea, same. Also, since Channels DVR is best and most stable and reliable especially for TVE things (for me) is to have it setup on a Pi4b using the Channels Image...it is not the proper device to use for other local media use. Does not have the power or throughput.
I have Plex/Emby and other things hosted on a proper desktop PC that multiple fast ssds for storage, a cpu that can handle multiple transcode and other processing things needed, 32GB ram, and a 10Gig network card. That pushes 4K and even 8K content with no performance issues....can not do that with a Pi.
Transferring files, creating libraries of large tv show or movies etc, not something the Pi can really handle either. Even so, or if one hosted Channels DVR on same PC as Plex/Emby, such things to me, clutters up Channels and can only lead to more possible points of failure or random issues.
Though i do not mind, from time to time, testing out the new features in some small capacity.
Also, all the features of Collections etc, thought at first maybe some form of way to separate one users stuff from the other...but does not seem to be the case.
What i really want is multi user profiles. So that there is just one sever, that each client log into their own profile, with their own settings, channels lists, and DVR storage. Which is how home media servers like Plex/Emby work. (and streaming apps)
I have multiple severs setup, one for each user, and it is very tedious to have to setup/manage each one independently. But, it works.
The biggest issue I had was all my devices defaulting to original quality. This caused choppy playback, stuttering, audio sync issues. Ever since I set a bit rate for all clients everything works fine.
I have never found anything easier to set up that Channels. I really can not relate to these comments.
I use a 2011 Mac mini Server with 2 internal SSD drives as my server and it runs fine.
For me channels is just great. Actually I have migrated my TV service away from Plex over to Channels. This is primarily due to its superior commercial marking process and it’s non-destructive method for skipping commercials. Yes it has some more complex elements that you don’t have in PlexBut it works. I haven’t had any playback issues but then again my home media server is a commercial grade server Dell 720 DX
I use Channels on a Raspberry Pi and use Verizon FiOS TVE and Pluto as my sources. My interface is a FireTV stick. I don't use Channels for my own media, but may try it someday. I think the developers might want to consider making a ready-to-go pre-installed (Pi) box that a casual user could just plug in, select their sources, and it would just work. A Keep-It-Simple-Stupid box. But, also keep the other configurations for us geeks. Just a thought on how to get scale.