Client device recommendations?

Playground Hardware
#102

Whilst I'm a big Apple Fan-Boi generally, I just never managed to like the new Apple TV - it's pretty much only used for Apple conference streams these days - primarily because of the remote, I fail to see why I should pay for a 3rd party remote, or program another IR remote (with an extender, for the device hidden in the cupboard).

I have 3 x Fire TV Cubes and 1 x Fire TV 4K, they easily allow me to integrate with Home Assistant (automation based on what is playing, launching Apps, settings light scenes,e tc) to perform much more than is possible with the Apple TV

1 Like
#103

Agreed, Android TV appears like a hobby product for them. :man_shrugging:t2:

#104

Do the android TV devices airplay from an iphone or macbook (this is my wife's primary use of TV)? Can you extend your mac desktop to use any of your TV screens? Do they have a way to integrate with Apple Music, Video, and other services? Can I play Apple cloud content using google assistant the same way as Siri?
I think for Apple users, android devices are limiting... in some cases requiring the installation of multiple server software programs to bring over a half-baked version of the built-in functions the come with an Apple TV.

I think Apple TV is the best fit for Apple ecosystem. And the remote is great. With CEC on the ATV, this remote controls TV, SoundSystem, and content all in one without line-of-sight. Everything powers on and powers off together perfectly. All of my Apple TVs are mounted behind my TVs, completely invisible, and totally professional looking. The bluetooth remote works flawlessly, pointed in any direction. It has a responsive touchpad, and isn't littered with a mess of buttons that don't do anything.

I like the Apple TV. And am glad that it is the flagship software product of the Channels dev team.

1 Like
#105

Very well said.

#106

Thank you. Channels is originally a product for Apple ecosystem. Created for use on iDevices. All other client apps are later additions, ported from the original designs.

#107

Android devices are the best fit for Android ecosystem. :laughing:

#108

:wink:

#109

We switched from a Fire TV Gen. 2 to an Apple TV 4k a month ago or so. We may switch back to the Fire TV.

We much preferred the UI on the Fire TV. We hate the layout and operation on the Apple TV. Our universal IR remotes worked great with the Fire TV, work acceptably with other streaming apps on the Apple TV, but absolutely suck with Channels with the Apple TV. The Channels app on Apple TV "Up Next" worked nearly flawlessly on Fire TV, but is wonky as all get out on Apple TV--to the point we've about stopped using it.

The "commercial skip" thing that shows up on the Apple TV version of Channels is an utter PITA--particularly when it shows up at the end of a program.

The only reason we haven't switched back to the Fire TV already is the video and, curiously, the audio quality from the Apple TV are both much better than they were on the Fire TV with Netflix and Amazon Prime, and we now spend more time on them than OTA TV.

I'll wait for the new version of Channels on Apple TV to hit stable release. Unless it's light years better than it is currently, we'll be switching back to Fire TV.

1 Like
#110

Are you using the AppleTV beta?

Are you using a Harmony remote?

#111

Nothing beats the new FireTV Cube.,,, I too prefer the FireTV UI...

#112

No and no. Using whatever's the latest stable release of Channels and Home Theater Master MX-500 Universal IR remotes.

The problem with the remotes isn't all the Channels app's fault. At least I don't think so. The Apple TV learns remotes by pressing and holding remotes' buttons until it learns repeated commands. Problem is: You press one of the directional buttons just a hair too long and the Apple TV receives, and apparently passes on the the app, multiple presses.

This means, for example, if you press the right button to FF, Channels can interpret it as double-pressing (or more), and does its chapter skip thing. Annoying when you're trying to manually skip though a commercial because Channels DVR has mis-marked the commercial break. (Which it does a lot.)

The stupid on-screen "comm skip" thing at the end of a program segment is an acknowledged bug that remains unfixed. I suppose because they're too busy working on the new version to dedicate time to fixing it.

The point is that none of these annoyances existed with the Fire TV, using the same remotes and a Flirc USB IR receiver. In fact: The only regular annoyance with suffered with the Fire TVs was they'd occasionally go to sleep and refuse to wake up. Oh, and we could almost count on the Netflix app to lose contact with Netflix' servers at least once each evening. But those were occasional annoyances. Channels on the Apple TV is nearly constantly annoying.

#113

Gotchya, the Harmony Hub doesn't have same issues.

The new Beta is much nicer and maybe it would offer an improvement for you, I don't know.

I agree that the Apple TV does have its quirks.

#114

Just for the record, we've had good results with a Fire TV Stick 4K on our big Sony TV, plus two Insignia "Fire TV Edition" TV sets. No issues with Channels, no disconnects from streaming services, and no failures to wake from sleep. For the smallest Insignia TV, a 24" 720p set, I had to reduce the Channels streaming quality to 720p 4 Mbps, but otherwise it's been plug-and-play.

#115

Apple TV 4K has been rock solid for me. The Channels App for the Apple TV can’t be beat at the moment.

#116

Firetv 4K 49.99 Great Price
Better Remote
Better Netflix and Prime integration
More Portable.
Channels Android App works great.

Apple TV 4K 179.99 Over Priced in my opinion.
Best Channel Integration
mmmm can't think of anything else.

#117

The Android ecosystem is Childish at best when compared to Apple. It’s like comparing Apples to Lemons. :laughing:

#118

Does this remote not have actual FF and skip forward buttons?

#119

I believe the developers here are skilled enough to make the Channels DVR system experience equivalent across platforms, regardless of user bias.

2 Likes
#120

It does, but Channels apparently does not pay attention to the FF and REW commands, skip forward/backward (end/beginning of "chapters") is not reliable because commercial detection is unreliable and frequently gets it wrong.

Scenario: Hit a commercial break.,I knows it's not as long as Channels says it is--that there's a program segment on the middle of the indicated break. So first I have to dismiss the on-screen "skip" button. Then I hit "right," but it double hits and skips right over the commercial-program segment-commercial, anyway. I try to move back to the beginning of the skipped-over program segment. It skips all the way back to where I'd been. Wash, rinse, repeat, until I want to throw the remote through the TV.

It just occurred to me: Maybe I'll just turn commercial detection off entirely. It has become more trouble than it's worth

And done. Problem solved!

#121

It sounds like you need to tune your universal remote to only send one IR command per button press. As other have said, my Harmony remote doesn’t exhibit this behavior at all.