Cheap/no-hassle Channels client for TV

Channels DVR Server
#1

I'm spending a few months in Paris, while my wife is staying at home. We have an AppleTV at home, but figure there's probably something cheaper that's "good enough".

I want something that will get Channels on my TV here, something easy and set it and forget it (so I don't want to, e.g., have to hook up my laptop). I'm guessing the Amazon Fire options are on the cheap side, but would appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks!

(Oh, and worth noting that I'm going to be buying it in France. I assume it will run the same regardless, and further I doubt that many folks here would have experience with hardware purchased outside the US, but on the off chance anyone knows about problems I'd love to hear them.)

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#3

If it were me I would just buy another AppleTV. Sure it costs more but its definitely way less of a hassle than the other options.

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#4

Tivo stream 4k or google tv can be had for like 30 bucks.

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#5

I've used the Stream 4k...its better in the trash.

#6

I have both the Tivo Streak 4k (3) and Chromecast wGTV (2). My TS4K's are de-tivo'd. Both work fine. I prefer the Tivo if only for the remote which has # keys and a few other buttons that make it more convenient. The Tivo was an adventure when it first came out (the reason I have CCwGTV is I was ready to switch) but on later builds it's fine.

If it matters, I use both when I am at my house in Italy (has fiber) connecting to my server in the US for remote access. Both work well.

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#7

The Onn 4K streaming box (not the stick) is going to be the best bang for your buck. It’s $20 and it greatly outperforms the TiVo Stream 4K and Chromecast with Google TV. It’s easy to use with Channels (all of the Android TV devices are). The only potential downside is the remote. It does not have number buttons nor play/pause, rewind and forward buttons.

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#8

I haven't seen an Onn 4K box at Walmart or Walmart-online for many months, "Out of Stock".
I think it is discontinued.
I have 4 and they are perfect for Channels if you can find .

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#9

Thanks for the input, everyone!

When you say the Onn greatly outperforms the TiVo and Chromecast, what do you mean -- are the latter laggy/glitchy or something?

But I think the rote limitations on the Onn would be a deal killer for me. Now if it has skip fwd/back buttons then I wouldn't miss reverse/ff, but I don't think I can do without a pause button.

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#10

I have 3 of theses cheap Onn 4k streaming boxes and they worked great up until about 6 months ago, but since then I've been fighting random issues like the timeline popping up while watching OTA, and very intermittently switching movies while playing virtual channels. So I just dusted off an old Chromecast box and haven't seen any of these issues yet! Crossing fingers.

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#11

just pondering but i wonder if there would be any frame rate issues in France? you would be recording US ntsc/atsc broadcasting at 30/60 fps but most of Europe is 25/50 fps.

i used channels DVR while i was in France and Spain during the summer but that was streaming to my laptop.

also is your server and internet connection strong enough to keep up with the transcoding and upload? upload was my biggest bottleneck. plenty of download speed at home but pitiful upload speed.

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#12

Amazon FireTV 4K or 4K Max. As low as $25 or $35 (Max) when on sale. Work great.

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#13

You'll want to figure out how you'll be doing remote streaming and test it before you leave. Whether via Port forwarding or Tailscale. May be difficult to setup or troubleshoot if already remote.

#14

The TiVo and Chromecast are both laggy.

If you don’t mind spending a little more, you could pick up a Sofabaton U1 remote for about $40, which works really well with Channels.

#15

Just to close the loop on this, this comment about Android TV devices made me realize that I should check what I already had available.

My AirBnB in Paris has a little streamer through a cell phone company -- a [Freebox](So I realized that the Freebox streaming box that was already there at my AirBnB was an AndroidTV device. ) -- that is in fact an Android TV device.

Downloaded Channels and it's worked perfectly. There's a teeny bit of lag vs being at home, but it's worked perfectly. Makes me think I could go with a cheapo Android TV if I ever need to replace my AppleTV at home, but I have a feeling it will last forever.

#16

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