I know this isn’t terribly substantive but the Channels DVR can’t get here soon enough. My copy of EyeTV is starting to exhibit a lot of strange behavior (mostly it just occasionally doesnt’ record things, with no error message or explanation whatsoever. It’s scheduled, but it just didn’t record. Or it’ll only record a few seconds, and even when it does record it only exports to iTunes properly about half the time.) I’ve started playing around with the Plex DVR, with mixed results, but of course I have some issues with the AppleTV plex client (ff and rw don’t work properly when using my Harmony remote, a few other much more minor issues), which… may or may not get fixed any time soon. I’d really like something that’s modern and will work consistently and easily. I know you’re taking your time to get a quality product out the door, but… well I’ve never been so in need of a new DVR software solution as I am now, and the polish and ease of use of the Channels AppleTV app tells me you’re probably the people to do it. So… Help me Channels DVR! You’re my only hope!
I second this. The only thing missing from the Apple TV television/movie experience is the DVR. I’m anxiously awaiting the first public beta. Is it still on track for “Fall?”
Same sentiment here! Switching from WMC (which I’ve been running from a HTPC since 2008). I now have migrated my entire media library to external hard drives connected to my Mac Mini. Running Plex Server in the background and using the Apple TV4 Plex app for movies, music and home videos and Channels app for live TV. One remote, one device (Apple TV) for all media. The missing link is recorded TV via Channels DVR. Any updates from the developers are greatly appreciated!
Meanwhile Plex have a DVR beta that works with HD Homerun and others. We are using this while we wait for UK launch. Have to record via Plex browser but watch anywhere. Simple to use, excellent guide quality, and great show search.
just google Plex DVR beta
Unfortunately I’ve run into some issues with the Plex DVR beta, so that’s not a good option for my primary DVR just now (maybe in future versions it will be though!). Really ideally I’d like to have as many options as possible so I can choose the one that works best for me. So even if Plex does get things together and working to my satisfaction, I’d still want the Channels DVR as an option too!
What kind of issues are you having with Plex DVR?
When I have it convert files on the fly to mkv I end up with garbage files (ie video and audio are all messed up). I’m not super happy with the way it handles “season passes” vs individual episode recordings (it’s a bit too complicated to figure out how to do one vs the other, and I still can’t figure out how to cancel individual episodes that are upcoming from a series without canceling the whole thing). I’m also just not super impressed with the whole UI for recordings and managing them in Plex. It’s just a bit more confusing than it needs to be. And I’m still having some issues with using Fast Forward and Rewind on the AppleTV plex app with my Harmony remote (some of those issues seem to have been fixed by the latest PlexPass server update, but that update isn’t on the DVR beta branch so… I can have mostly working FF/RW or a DVR right now, but not both). Finally, I’d really prefer my ultimate solution allow me to schedule and manage recordings from my TV (I don’t have that now with EyeTV either, so it’s only a small strike against the Plex DVR, but it’s still not ideal). That might come to Plex at some point, but its not here yet.
I haven’t given up on the Plex DVR as a concept, but I’m not using it in it’s current state for the above reasons. Whenever they put out the next version I’ll give it a try and see how it works for me. Still I’d like to have the Channels DVR as another option/competitor. So… I hope we hear something about the plans for it soon! I’d love another State of the Union post to see where we are and maybe get more of a clue about when to expect the beta to start.
[Edit to clarify:] I did in fact figure out how to do individual vs. series recordings, but it takes a bit more work than I’d prefer, and wasn’t as intuitive as I’d like. It should be intuitive enough that I don’t even need to spend 5 minutes figuring it out. The biggest issue though is that FF/RW issue. If I and my family can’t FF/RW with our harmony remote Plex is a no-go for our main viewing.
I purchased a Nvidia Shield the day I heard about the Plex DVR. Long story short I returned the Shield and canceled my Plex pass because I was unhappy with the functionality. For now i’m using the InstaTV pro iOS app for managing my recordings. I airplay the shows from my phone to my Apple TV. It’s definitely not ideal but it better than nothing.
I use the free version of Plex. Still too cheap to purchase $150 lifetime Plex Pass. I have tried MythTV for Mac (too complicated and couldn’t get it running) and DVBLogic software (recordings not consistent, and for some reason it seems generate a transcoder error on my Plex server, oh and the EPG data doesn’t grab all the programming data from even the major channels… plus it asks you to pay $40 after 20 days). Therefore until Channels DVR comes out, I am still recording to my Win 7 WMC HTPC, converting .wtv to .m4v files, renaming them and throwing them to my networked Mac Mini which houses the Plex Server. Not fun at all, but its all I got right now.
I’m using WMC on windows 7 through the parallels app on my old Mac mini. Then I run the files automatically through MCE Buddy which strips the commercials out while at the same time changes the title to the neat season/episode format. And it dumps the files into my external hard drive which is shared with the infuse app on Apple TV. Sounds complicated but once it is set up it runs on it’s own. The only other program I use is the free Remote Potato which allows me to set up and cancel recordings via the web instead of having to go on the computer. I’ll switch the channels dvr if I can still use mce buddy with it and it’s affordable though!
In the interests of helping Channels DVR to eventually prompt me to switch away from Plex DVR 
here are my experiences with Plex DVR in its current beta:
The good:
- available now in the UK! Reasonable monthly charge which bundles a load of other goodies with it too
- provides much better option for setting and editing recordings while out of the house than Eye TV did (via remote access to Plex server)
- Lots of options for where to host the server
- Slick web UI and ‘polished’ if not quite so slick Apple TV UI
- Good quality data from Gracenote for 2 weeks ahead with images etc. Seems to be better data with more images than Gracenote through Eye TV. No idea why.
- playback of recordings via web, iOS etc.
- multi platform support
- ease of setup with ATV vs. Eye TV
The bad:
- call me old fashioned but I still want to browse and set recordings via a good old timeline view (like the one in Channels!). I quite like the ‘discovery by show’ view as well but would like it as an alternative
- can’t set or edit scheduled recordings via the ATV app or iOS app (yet)
- transcode on the fly doesn’t work for me (Mac mini too underpowered), remux on the fly just doesn’t work, HDHR Extend with transcoding in hardware not available in the UK and for some reason playback through Plex app on ATV of plex recordings often stutters and image freezes for the rest of the programme after a certain point. only work-around I’ve found is to have Plex automatically optimise for TV every show after it’s recorded. Those play back just fine on ATV Plex app. But then I have to wait typically 15-20 mins after a 1 hour HD show has recorded before it’s been optimised and is ready to go. And the playback UI is a bit klunky because once you have an optimised version it always asks which version to play rather than just playing the right one
- subtitles just don’t seem to work for me
- irritatingly both of the above seem to be Plex ATV app issues since Infuse plays back the unoptimised Plex recordings just fine and can work subtitles, but then I have a whole bunch of other issues with Infuse that I won’t bother with here that stop me using it (mainly it not picking up metadata properly)
Huzzah!