Channels looks really good - have several questions though

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:

  1. Is it better to use the 32GB or 64GB Apple TV
  2. 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.
  3. What format are the video files recorded by Channels DVR - mkv, ts, mp4 or ?
  4. Can the video files recorded on the Mac Mini be accessed by other streaming devices on my network
  5. If the files can be accessed, what devices work? Roku, Fire etc
  6. When and why are recordings transcoded?
  7. 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.

The 32GB model is fine for most people

The Mac mini hasn’t been updated in years… its hard to recommend buying one new.

For the DVR, either would be fine. More cpu can help with faster commercial detection, but even the smaller model is plenty fast.

TS inside a .mpg

Sure you’re free to do whatever you want with the files. They will play with VLC on any platform.

For remote (away from home) streaming only.

Yea any NAS with a modern Intel cpu will perform just as well as the Mac mini.

1 Like

@tmm1
Thanks for such a quick response. That’s one reason why I have been so impressed with Channels!
Please bear with me as I have other questions:

  1. Will a Roku Ultimate work just as well as an Apple TV for live tv and streaming the DVR recordings
  2. Is the file extension of the recordings .ts or .mpg
  3. Do you know if I use VLC on an Apple TV will it have to download a file to play it or will it just stream it from where it was recorded
    I am trying to use just one device for everything if I can so my wife won’t have to remember what device and app has to be used for live tv or recordings.

No, roku cannot play mpeg2. We don’t have an official app for roku, only a prototype which is not actively developed.

mpg

I believe it can play directly over the network. A lot of users around here like Infuse on the Apple TV over VLC.

@tmm1
No 8-5 or Saturdays off for you huh?
Infuse on Apple TV looks good! My main concerns are playing the DVR recordings and all of the mkv files I have. The Apple TV with Infuse looks like it would be just what I’m looking for in one device. Thanks

Channels and Infuse are the two primary methods of watching content in our household. IMO Infuse has a more polished interface and is friendlier to non-technical family members then VLC. Infuse will play almost any file so no more concerns about non-apple supported formats. Another plus is that both Channels and Infuse are available on Appletv and iOS, so you have similar interfaces across devices.

Great combination, especially in an Apple household.

2 Likes

@snow66
Thanks for the feedback. I have never heard of Infuse before. Do you use the free version or the Pro? From their website it appears that the Pro version allows you to play more video formats. Also, what do you use for your Channels DVR - a pc or NAS? If NAS, what kind/model?

Kahunapapa, thanks and some more feedback.

Infuse - I have used the Pro version of Infuse for a couple of years now so I don’t remember all of the feature differences between Pro and free. One of the Pro features I really appreciate is iCloud metadata sync. We have 5 AppleTvs and mutiple iOS devices and the sync keeps track of what has been watched and metadata edits across devices. If a file isn’t found in the metadata database, I don’t have to edit it to correct on each device. If I haven’t used Infuse on a device for some time it doesn’t take forever to scan my 2+TB of files and the device knows which episode of the television series I watched on a different device last night.

In addition, I pay for the pro version as I want to support the developers who, like the Channels team, make regular feature enhancements and are available for assistance and feedback. Our family uses Infuse daily so I want to reward their efforts and encourage ongoing development.

Channels DVR - I use a 2013/2014? Mac mini. Not the latest and greatest hardware but from a CPU perspective it has more capabilities then most of the current NAS devices. If you are going to go with a NAS device, try to get the best CPU you can. It will help with commercial detection and transcoding for certain remote viewing situations (like through a browser).

Hope that helps. Scott

@snow66
Thanks for the great info. I don’t mind paying for anything as long as it works so Infuse sure sounds like the way I’ll go.
Do you have the 32 or 64GB Mac mini? I would prefer to use an NAS because it would add the additional storage I need and just blend in with our existing setup. Are you aware of what NAS devices work well? I know you recommended the best CPU I could afford but NAS devices/prices vary greatly. Obviously, I would prefer not to spend $500-600 if I can accomplish the same result for $300-400. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Kahunapapa, you might be confusing the Mac Mini and Apple TV. The current 4th gen and 4K AppleTVs come in 32 or 64GB. I use a Mac Mini with a 1TB drive for DVR. The Mac Mini is Apple’s low end computer that comes without a keyboard or display. IMO the Mac Mini works great for the Channels DVR as it has a small footprint, decent CPU and reasonable amount of storage. However, it hasn’t been updated in 3 years so I wouldn’t recommend buying a new one at this point. I would consider used for DVR if you could find one at a nice price.

As for the NAS, I recommend you search this site as I’ve seen several threads discussing NAS DVR options, including several where the Channels Devs have chimed in. Based on what I’ve read, your $300-400 range should get you a NAS that would serve as a DVR without major compromises.

@snow66
Thanks - I did mean what mac mini you had not Apple TV.

I have been reading the threads regarding NAS options. But, it seems that suggestions are all over the board with no clear configurations. Various problems are still mentioned regarding transcoding and stuttering. I was just hoping for a suggestion on what has been proven to be a solid option.

Thanks for the quick feedback and I will continue researching and following the community posts.

The most popular NAS among Channels users are the Synology DS218+ and the QNAP TS-251+

If your question was about the 32 or 64GB AppleTV, I’d lean toward the 32GB. I have both 32 and 64GB versions and don’t notice any apps that take advantage of the increased storage. IMO the more relevant question is the 4th gen AppleTV @ $149.99 for 32GB vs the AppleTV 4K @ $179.99 for 32GB. Even if you aren’t in the 4K world I’d recommend the 4K version for the hardware upgrade. The 4th gen uses an A8 CPU where the 4K uses an A10x which is a significant upgrade in processing power. More processing power leaves more headroom for things like decoding high bitrate compressed video.

@tmm1 and @snow66

Thanks so much for the info. It helps to know what actual users have found success with.

I will probably go with the Synology DS218+ and the Apple TV 4K 32GB. Hopefully, this combo will be the ideal setup for us as we take steps to cut the cord. I’m trying to keep things as simple as possible for my wife.

Thanks for your patience with my continued questioning and quick responses.

2 Likes

That would be a great choice of hardware!

make sure your router/wifi is “newer” unless your running ethernet

@Imthechuck
Thanks for the feedback. That setup would be my ideal. All connections would be hardwired except for portable devices. I’m still exploring possible cheaper NAS units. Would be nice if Channels could run on WD My Cloud units that are easily available from Best Buy. Still doing my research.