Exclusively remote lifestyle: is it sustainable?

Channels DVR Server
#21

I’ve been doing that for years, sometimes living on the other side of the world for long periods of time. Channels is definitely the way to go. I’ve used a small i5 NUC and now a M1 Macmini. Both are solid. You only have to make sure your computer Bios is set to restart after a power outage. Installing a WiFi controlled outlet is also a good idea in case of a major crash. All this is easier if someone lives in the house.

Through the years, the only issue is the occasional need to log in again in the Channels app every now and then. It looks like you can be logged out if your remote IP changes, or maybe the authorization expires after some time. But all in all, everything works great. Channels is an amazing piece of technology.

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#22

My 2c. I have been using tve with Direct TV in Australia with a smartdns and have never had an issue re the source or content requiring source management or even restarts.

(Watch me jinx it)

#24

I'm at my house in Italy right now and have been streaming from my home outside Philly. No problems with remote access to server (I have QNAP TS-253A connected to a HDHomeRun prime) I've got FTTC in Italy ~150mpbs down. My limitation is my PA connection where I only have 7-8 up via Comcast. Right now I am wifi connected with my client in Italy (Tivo Stream 4K) and do get an occasional pause (when ff or rw). I am going to Ethernet connect with a RJ45 to USB connection today when Amazon delivers to see if that helps.

That said, this is a pretty solid remote TV setup in my book.

#25

@JMN yeah xfinity upload speeds are awful, hurting me too. i think il try leaving this at my parents, who have like 9 up but are further away, and i would need to rely on TVE for the locals, which i expect will be more finnicky. alterative is my brothers, whos close enough to use an indoor antenna and i could get the locals with an HDHR, but has like 6 up and actually plays video games, so i would want to just soak his whole connection

#26

The TS4K's USB port maxes out at ~235Mbps, so don't expect anything faster; in fact your WiFi may be faster. However, one advantage to an Ethernet connection is reduced latency, but I'm not sure how significant that will be when streaming remotely.

#27

Late reply here but I have done this exclusively for a year.now - my folks live in the Philly market and get a good signal, but I am on the other side of a mountain and don't pick it up. Luckily they have 100 Mbps upload.

I used an old desktop with a 3930k in it because it had a Windows license tied to it, and so put some remote access software on it and Channels. The 3930k is great for core count and clockspeed for commercial skip processing, and I have it throttle down to 10% when not in use. I ended up adding a Quadro M2000 for transcoding. Then I have a storage spaces array for offsite storage of my Plex media library, the main server being at my house.

I will say these are things I added later that you should have for a 100% remote server:

  • UPS, preferably power conditioning, with a USB or other monitoring connection to the server for graceful shutdown during extended power outages
  • Wake on LAN turned on in the BIOS, and port forwarding to get the WOL magic packet through the firewall
  • Labels on all the buttons and wires for over the phone troubleshooting if necessary (the person is letting your server live there rent free, if you enlist their help troubleshooting make it easy for them)
  • Small 5 port dedicated network switch for any tuners and your server - this way if they are troubleshooting an issue with their internet, and they power cycle their router, it doesn't affect the connection between the tuners and server
  • If possible, having another machine there helps. I parked an Unraid server there and it is nice because I have a way to remote into both if needed, and can send WOL packets back and forth (and troubleshooting things like pinging) between them

I have only used Channels locally on their network once, just to show them how it worked. They were happy with just using their TV's built in tuner, so it only gets remote use. Also, we have no issue having multiple desktops, laptops, tablets, and FireTV's at our house all tied to the remote server.

To add: I have noticed with only remote streaming that, while Channels does build a 'buffer' into the stream by slightly delaying playback when you tune to a channel, it is often not enough. Some shows will skip every 20-30 seconds while the buffer builds, to a lot of the time when tuning to a channel I just pause it for 5 seconds or so and then press play. I wish you could manually set a conservative buffer and have a countdown circle when tuning to a channel to let the user know what is going on, but the workaround works fine. I've noticed while on the phone with someone watching the same sporting event on cable that their stream is delayed behind mine, so I think the cable companies are just using a nice long delay for buffering.

#28

Nice explanation. I also think a 2nd server is a good safeguard for troubleshooting, or just a as a possible backup Channels server if the main machine somehow becomes unavailable. My advice for anybody going the remote way (ultra remote in my case): get a NUC with Intel vPro. That gives you remote KVM access (think LogMeIn) at Bios level, even before the OS starts loading. As long as the unit is plugged to the router, you'll be able to see what's going on even if it's stuck at the Bios post screen.

Also in my experience, MacMinis should be avoided as remote servers: FileVault makes the system unreachable in case of a small, short power outage. And turning off FileVault and setting up Auto Login is not a good idea. This Raspberry Pi DIY project can solve that (remote KVM on the cheap), but then again, it's the same thing Intel vPro gives you out of the box.

Would love to hear more stories & advise about this.

#29

I had no idea Intel NUC's had out of band management, I use it for servers all the time but its not something you usually see for a desktop (or SFF mini PC for that matter)... Good to know for future uses. I looked it up and it looks like there are versions for digital signage and stuff.

Although that would mean exposing the out of band management interface through the firewall, unless your firewall is running a VPN server or you have another machine on the same network providing remote access through the firewall.

#30

You're better off using SSH forwarding, such as:
ssh -L $LOCAL_PORT:$REMOTE_IP:$REMOTE_PORT user@host
where the remote IP/port are for your DVR and its management interface, and the host is your router or jump box with SSH access enabled, preferably with public key access only.

#31

I actually ended up putting this together with synology ds220+, which has been great for remote use, can update the synology and the channels server really easily remotely. Didn’t do anything else exotic with the setup, which is good because a) I don’t really have that experience and b) using basically out of the box setup seems like it’s really solid. Would love for the buffer to be larger when viewing remotely and skipping commercials.

#32

The buffer is local, and always has been. There was a recent comment about latency when seeking locally, and if you want more details you can look for that. But in general, latency with seeking will always be network–constrained.

#33

What client are you using?

#34

The app will buffer up to an hour when streaming remotely over WiFi (dependent on how much free space is available). If you are on a very fast connection and have a fast machine for transcoding, it could buffer the entire show by the time you’re half way done.

#35

You are right, I do not expose the Remote Management ports through the firewall. I'm behind a UniFi router at both locations and I just VPN router to router when I need to take a look. I also have Chrome Remote Desktop installed for easy access when all is right, though ever since TeamViewer was hacked (I was one of them - victims, not hackers) I tend to be very cautious about Remote Desktop, RDP, VNC, etc... I see a lot of traffic alerts in my UniFi logs from hackers hitting Microsoft's RDP port. Btw, they also hit Channels' 8089, to no avail...

Could you elaborate on why this would be useful? Thanks

#36

Fire TV is what we use the most, and that is where I can confirm I see it. Very tiny little stutters, only like a half second of 'stop' and it eventually catches up over the course of the first minute or 2 of watching. It seems like it's more of the client is 'falling behind' the live feed to build in the buffer. Never notice it with recorded content, or if I pause for a few seconds immediately after tuning to the channel.

#37

Most people don't have a site–to–site VPN, nor is it always easy to setup. However, having a hosted jump box or simply having a single computer at your site only allowing public key–based SSH logins is a simple and secure way for most people to get the access they need; port forwarding through SSH allows for myriad connections to other hosts within your LAN without exposing those ports externally.

Since you have your own means to gain access, you can disregard my suggestion.

#38

You might try appletv. I used to have 4 firesticks and now I have 3 appletv's and 1 firestick. The only reason I don't rip out the last one is its on an old TV that rarely gets used. Every time I do watch it though it reminds me how much better appletv is.

#39

I'm stuck with them unfortunately - I'd actually love to go to something more powerful like the Shield. My wife bought a bunch of stuff on the Prime Video ecosystem, and at this point the kids now know how to use them and have their own profiles. Plus I do really like the simplicity of the remote.

I've never had issues with them unless too many apps are installed and they don't have a lot of free memory. The buffering issue I am talking about doesn't happen when streaming recorded or paused content, so that to me would point to the fact that when watching up to date live content, it is just that the buffer isn't that far ahead. When I tune to a channel it starts in 5 seconds. That is not much of a lead time for there to be any hiccups between the remote server and my network here, or during the transcode process. This also happens with the web client, just checked.

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#40

@NateTheBrewer Ah, yes, you're right. I think we have tried too hard to be as realtime as possible and that can cause more issues on a remote connection.

We'll be working on ways we can improve that behavior in the future.

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#41

I get it, adding delay in can make someone think 'man this is clunky and slow' if they aren't understanding the magic that is happening getting those airwaves to their device as video.

But when adding delay if you add some sort of visual cue it lets the end user know that something is happening - I think Netflix or Hulu does a percentage thing on the screen, but even a circle with maybe 10 sections for a 10 second delay, and each second of buffer filled lit a section like a clock hand progressing. Then when the circle was filled playback starts. Also gives intuitive feedback when something is wrong... "Hey that circle isn't filling up nearly as quick as usual" or "Hey the circle keeps getting stuck".

In that Netflix / Hulu example, one night a week or 2 ago I remember there was an issue where the percentage stopped, and my wife said 'oh that happens sometimes, just go out and back in'... Upon replaying the content it worked fine, but she knew by that 'loading status' that a known issue was occurring, and to attempt to remediate immediately versus sit there and wait.

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