I’m looking into all options for cutting the cord. Channels appears to be an incredible option for OTA and the support appears to be very responsive to problems and enhancements. But before I start buying hardware that may not work together smoothly I have several questions.
Channels Live TV & DVR appears to be the most stable in an Apple environment. I don’t know if this is overkill but I’m looking at a possible setup that includes:
Apple TV 4K and Mac Mini in the family room
Apple TV 4K in the bedroom
HDHomerun Quatro & OTA antenna
Everything hardwired to my home network
Besides the Channels app the only other apps that will be installed on the Apple TV will be PlayStation Vue and VLC Media Player
The questions I have are:
- Is it better to use the 32GB or 64GB Apple TV
- Aside from storing recorded programs which Mac Mini would be better: the smaller 1.4GHz - 4GB Memory - 500GB HD or the bigger 2.6GHz - 8GB Memory - 1TB HD.
- What format are the video files recorded by Channels DVR - mkv, ts, mp4 or ?
- Can the video files recorded on the Mac Mini be accessed by other streaming devices on my network
- If the files can be accessed, what devices work? Roku, Fire etc
- When and why are recordings transcoded?
- Will a Synology DS218+ (or other recommended NAS) be just as good as the Mac Mini
Any answers will be extremely appreciated. I want to make the cord cutting as smooth for my wife as possible or she will not want to leave the ease of use she has with cable now.