What about the WD EX2 Ultra?
https://www.amazon.com/Diskless-Cloud-Network-Attached-Storage/dp/B01AWH05KK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484377305&sr=8-1&keywords=wd+ex2
Would you recommend the same NAS for running 2x connects? I’m waiting to see if you guys do a UK release of the DVR, but it would be nice just to price things up, incase you did.
It’s either that or a secondhand Mac mini in order to keep costs down.
The MycloudEX2Ultra does not have enough CPU to do transcoding for playpack on the web interface, and commercial skip takes a while… It is ok for recording or use as an iSCSI target. It also cannot do plex transcoding either.
Do you have any old computers (even laptops) that are just sitting in a closet?
Do you have any internal hard drives or external USB hard drives already?
Would you use storage for things other than the DVR, such as photos or other general storage?
Do you have interest in setting up a Plex server or anything that could make use of the additional capabilities?
The reason I ask these questions is that you can certainly get a NAS for the HDHR + Channels DVR setup. But, with a little advanced thought, a similar spend could get you many additional capabilities
In general, if you are going for a low-end pre-built NAS, with the big names being Synology, QNap, and Western Digital, you will have a great storage device, but not great processing power. Unless you are stepping up to $500-$1,000 units, you likely will be better off with a small computer and adding hard drives.
And remember, the HDHR + Channels software is going to set you back somewhere around $150 to begin with. That being said, if you are able to save $30-$50/mo on your cable expense, it will be very much worth it very quickly.
If you only have a NAS you will still need a computer to set it up and install the software on the NAS as well as updates to the software. None of that can just be done through the Channels app on AppleTV.
I have a computer I can use for set up. I just don’t own one that will always be at my house
Just snatched this from Craigslist for $150. Will this work well?
https://www.amazon.com/EX4100-Diskless-Network-Attached-Storage/dp/B00TB8XMR0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484420937&sr=8-1&keywords=MyCloud+ex4
I posted this for you on your macrumors thread and I am making a copy here just in case someone else wants to correct me to add more:
I am not that familiar with the WD My Cloud EX2 (2 bays) or EX4 (4 bays). But I think it uses a ARM CPU instead of the recommended INTEL CPU (for hardware assist).
You can find comments about them on the Channels Forums. I found a couple.
Example:
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I must say I’m really impressed, I’ve had the software for quite some time and retired my old Media centre. Yesterday I installed the public Alpha with my WDmycloud EX2 Ultra. The install went flawless with the NAS, and also a prompt email for the TVOS app. I played around and set some recording schedules, it all works so effortlessly. Congratulations to the developers, again for producing such a beautiful unified app for us Media Centre Crazys.
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WD MyCloud EX2 Ultra - Everything works just fine. Comskip definitely takes time (75 minutes for a 60 minute HD Show). Otherwise everything was fine. Recordings made from my HDHR Extends played back on the Alpha ATV clients w/o issue. I haven’t stressed it with a bunch of concurrent recordings yet.
“Mike’s note about HDHR Extends - They are used for OTA and not cable cards like Prime. Also, you have the Extend to the Transcoding from MPEG2 to MPEG4 so you have smaller file size and maybe other things will run faster. But I do not have one since I use PRIME’s which is only MPEG2”.
So it appears your NAS should work for normal recoding and playback. But not that great for the COMSKIP and the Transcoding Feature.
I read someone else (but could not find it) that the Web UI would not work for streaming because it requires Transcoding and the CPU does not have enough power. This would be the same for remote access. The INTEL CPU Helps with the Transcoding is my understanding.
COMSKIP should take about 5-10 minutes per 1 hour video. This was the point we were making. For light use it should work but some of the advanced features will not work that well or at all. Some of the features require more CPU power and an INTEL CPU for transcoding helps.
So the ex 2 ultra which is more affordable should work for recordings the right? If I watch a show the next day, that should give the NAS plenty of time to run through the commercial skip right?
Also I don’t care about the web UI. Just TVOS
I have not used it but based on the other report that seems to be correct. However, I might disable COMSKIP on that NAS. If it takes longer to do the COMSKIP then it does to record the show then my guess is the NAS will be using a lot of CPU power for the COMSKIP Process. So, depending on how many shows you are recording at the same time (PRIME supports 3) or back to back and also if you are trying to play back a recording it might struggle. But since I have not tried it I could be wrong. But it sounds like normal recording and playback should be fine.
Also, I do not use the WEB UI. Only tvOS and iOS. At this time transcoding is not that important to me. But I could think of some features that I would use that would require transcoding but the developers have not indicated that is near term so I do not expect to use it. But I like the idea that I could use transcoding if I wanted to.
Please let us know your experience.
I am sure this will work, I am not sure if it will work well. So definitely let us know.
$150 seems like a pretty good deal. Did you get any hard drives with it? With 4-bays, it will give you flexibility to grow.
Ultimately, you could add a computer to your network to do the heavy lifting, and keep the NAS just for file storage. That works well for a lot of people.
It will work, but as TeddyR stated, Commercial Detection takes a while. I ran with one for a month and was happy with it as a DVR. I was not using it for transcoding with Plex, but I did use it as my plex server as well. Additionally I paired it with HDHomeRun Extends so all my content was transcoded at time of recording…
I did end up moving to a PR4100 more because I could consolidate a lot of storage under it, and remove the need to have both a NAS and MacMini in the picture. (And I do now love the ability to watch remotely (which uses the transcoding ability of the NAS))
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This all sounds kinda more complicated than I was hoping. I just want a turn key DVR solution if at all possible, on my Apple TV. I’m not crazy about the prospects of buying, setting up and managing a server. I already have an Apple TV, an HDHomeRun Connect and an HDTV outdoor antenna. That’s about as complicated as I want to get with hardware.
Ideally, I’d be willing to pay for a turn key solution that I can just subscribe to with cloud storage. If Cloud storage is not an option, then the ability to simply buy a 1-3 Terabyte USB drive to store recordings as a plug and play solution would be my second best option.
For scheduling recordings, I would expect that the Channels app interface on my Apple TV would be best for that.
Short of options 1 and 2 above, can someone give a summary of options in simple language from least to greatest in terms of cost?
I have an older iMac all in one 21" downstairs that the kids use occasionally. Would that work? It has a 3.06 GHz Core i3 processor with 4GB Ram and 225GB free space.
What you want is a NAS then. You can pick up a 2 bay NAS that would support everything in Channels for around $300. Drop 2 hard drives in it, and install Channels DVR and you’re done.
This is exactly how it works.
Your iMac might work, but you need more storage as HD recordings are around 8gb per hour. You could certainly install Channels DVR on it and try it out. If it’s something you’d like to keep using, just pick up a larger USB hard drive and use that.our iMac might work, but you need more storage as HD recordings are around 8gb per hour. You could certainly install Channels DVR on it and try it out. If it’s something you’d like to keep using, just pick up a larger USB hard drive and use that.
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I agree with maddox, a NAS is the closest to a plug-and-play solution and closest to your desired setup that you will find.
The problem with a NAS, in general, is processing power (on a budget NAS). They are essentially hard drives with relatively weak computers built into them, unless you spend a great deal more.
The next simplest solution is to get a small computer, such as a NUC, and run it “headless”. Then, plug in 1 or more external hard drives for storage. Such a setup can be small, energy efficient, and quiet, but significantly more powerful than a NAS.
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How much storage/hr with 720p?
“What you want is a NAS then. You can pick up a 2 bay NAS that would support everything in Channels for around $300. Drop 2 hard drives in it, and install Channels DVR and you’re done.”
If I use a NAS, I need to install a Channels DVR package on the NAS. Do I need a Mac, at least for a few minutes, to complete that step? Or can the NAS install be done via a LINUX or even Windows machine?
Also is there any reason to not choose an HD Homerun Extend over Connect? In other words does the compression done for Extend also provide some benefit to a non-wifi user? Thank you.