CCTV Viewer with Channels DVR

Playground Hacks
#1

I’ve been requesting for a true native multi-view player from Channels DVR with integrated EPG for a while now and still hoping someday that this feature will be integrated or as a separate player. Now that you're able to add custom M3U playlists you should be able to Live stream those IP cameras, IPTV, and TVE feeds in a multi-view mode.

Here’s a couple of options while we’re still waiting; CCTV Viewer (tvOS/iPadOS) & Surveil Stream (tvOS only)

I’ve been playing around with CCTV Viewer for a while now. This app was designed for viewing CCTV cameras but it works great with Channels DVR.

With CCTV Viewer you can create multiple groups and have up to 16 channels per group. I’ve created Entertainment group with 16 channels (4x4), Sports group with 9 channels (3x3), and News group with 4 channels (2x2). I think the 9 Channels multi-view (3x3) is the sweet spot. Once the groups are setup you can toggle between them on the fly.

CCTV Viewer has a builtin web management server for setting up the URL streams, export/import, MDM support, and it works on tvOS and iPadOS.

Both of these apps do need improvements and bug fixes but I can live with it for now.

Example one of the TVE channel (ESPN1) setting: http://YOURDVRIP:8089/devices/ANY/channels/6140/hls/master.m3u8?codec=copy

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QuadStream + Channels DVR
Feature request - Secondary instance of channels for true PIP on Apple TV
Multi-screen player?
#2

I can’t figure out how to start adding streams to CCTV Viewer. Anyone else get this working?

#3

Long press on your Apple TV remote to get into settings and type in Channels m3u URL in the text box via the Apple TV remote or web browser by going to the IP address of your Apple TV box.

Here's example one of the TVE channel (ESPN1) setting:
http://YOURDVRIP:8089/devices/ANY/channels/6140/hls/master.m3u8?codec=copy

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#4

Thanks for sharing this, @sok! I've been using QuadStream with Channels for awhile now:


I added all of my favorite channels, and generally watch in a 2x2 grid. The overall interface needs a bit of refinement, but I've been overjoyed that it works as well as it does.

And so today I am happy to learn about CCTV and Surveil Stream. I just downloaded and configured both. They are working beautifully, each with their own set of UI quirks that I can live with, but these two options certainly open up some new possibilities that I'm very excited about.

It's this sort of extensibility (and community) that remind me how grateful I am for Channels DVR. Thanks again!

#5

CCTV Viewer developer looking for feedback and their latest beta work a little better and now supports up to 25 streams with lower bitrate. The 16 streams looks pretty sweet on my 135" projector screen.

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#6

Thank you! I was trying it on my iPad and couldn't figure out where to put the stream URL. I'll download it on the Apple TV and try again.

#7

You would do the same thing on the iPad long touch to get into setting.

1 Like
#8

I set up the CCTV Viewer app on my M1 MacBook Pro. I have my favorite channels streaming in a 3x3 grid. Looks great! Is there any way to play audio, of a selected channel, when in grid view? With the ability to switching which channel has audio focus?

The only way I seem to be able to hear audio is by going full screen with one of the channels.

Thanks for the recommendation!

#9

The audio mute/unmute on the grid view only work in the tvOS app at the moment.

#10

Ok, thanks. Hopefully that feature is added in a future update.

1 Like
#11

I’m preferring the overall interface of Surveil Stream. 3x3 feels like the sweet spot for me. Not sure if the developer is taking feature requests but with a few tweaks this app would be perfect for me. As is, it’s a definite upgrade from QuadStream.

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If Channels DVR were ever to include multiview functionality like this into their core app, I’d be over the moon with excitement. It’s kind of a gamechanger.

1 Like
#12

I wish both of these app has a predefined favorites drop down list like QuadStream where you can change the grid view stream on the fly without going into settings.

This is why I like to use CCTV Viewer with multiple groups where I can toggle between my favorites grid view from Sports to News.

With Surveil Stream you can create endless channels and scroll through them (but it preloads the streams a head of time and it causes issue) and you change the channels sorting from the web interface.

2 Likes
#13

Does Surveil Stream or CCTV Viewer transcode the streams? I bought Quadstream awhile back but haven't used it in a long time so things are a little hazy. I recall the streams taking a bit to load and it being taxing on the server(?)

#14

I wish both of these app has a predefined favorites drop down list like QuadStream where you can change the grid view stream on the fly without going into settings.
This is why I like to use CCTV Viewer with multiple groups where I can toggle between my favorites grid view from Sports to News.
With Surveil Stream you can create endless channels and scroll through them (but it preloads the streams a head of time and it causes issue) and you change the channels sorting from the web interface.

I see what you mean. These apps are all far from perfect, but still, pretty damn cool in this specific context. I understand the advantage of CCTV Viewer now that I've put it through the paces. I'm assembling groups now and kicking the tires. CCTV Viewer also loads all of the screens much faster on initial launch. In the end I'll probably keep bouncing around between all three of these multiview apps, since that's just how my brain works. lol

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#15

Does Surveil Stream or CCTV Viewer transcode the streams? I bought Quadstream awhile back but haven't used it in a long time so things are a little hazy. I recall the streams taking a bit to load and it being taxing on the server(?)

I believe all of these apps work the same in that regard, and it would be Channels DVR server doing the transcoding, when necessary. (I say "when necessary" because all of my streams are from TVE and custom channels so I don't think any transcoding is needed in my setup. I could be wrong about that.)

I also know the "?codec=copy" bit at the end of the URL specifically disables transcoding.

http://YOURDVRIP:8089/devices/ANY/channels/6140/hls/master.m3u8?codec=copy

I haven't used that bit at the end of my URLs but now I'm tempted to try it out and see how it compares, to see if it improves or worsens the experience.

#16

The newer gen Apple TV can handle up to 16 live streams at the same time but found that 9 streams is the sweet spot.

The DVR uses < 10% of CPU with 16 TVE/AVC streams just set the URL to ?codec=copy at the end to disable transcoding.

#17

Thank you both, will try it out

#18

I know this is an old thread but is it possible to pull the streams direct from the HDHomeRuns without using channels. It works great for my TVE streams, but I have 2 tuners and one only has 2 tuners built in and it tries to pull a channel for that one that it can't get, so I need to set the ip of the tuner with the antenna facing that tower direction.

#19

Yes you can. Im doing it.

Try this.
If you know the IP address of your hdhomerun, use this example in the CCTV setup menu

http://x.x.x.x:5004/auto/v4.1

The 4.1 (after the v) is the broadcast channel #.
x.x.x.x is the ip dress of the HDHOMErun

If that doesn't work, you can go into the admin page on your hdhomerun and look at the channel lineup. Each station that was scanned is listed. Click on a station an then copy the full address from your browser and put into CCTV

goo luck

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#20

Check out Tivimate.
To get the MultiView you need to get Premium, $25 for lifetime.
You feed Tivimate the m3u and the EPG.
http://YOURDVRIP:8089/devices/ANY/channels.m3u?format=ts
http://YOURDVRIP:8089/devices/ANY/guide/xmltv
It works great, looks a lot like the Channels DVR guide
Press the Down button, previous channels icons show along bottom (a nice feature BTW).
Press the Down button again and a Quick Menu shows including Multi-view, click that and add screens.

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