Feature Request: Limit Continuous Streaming Time or Data

Channels Apple TV Feature Requests
#1

A useful feature would be to implement either a server side or client side timer.. such that a time or data limit on an "untouched" program would trigger a "stop" on the client.

In my house, I have channels clients accessing a remote channels DVR server in another town. Certain members of my household start watching a remote live TV channel via a HDHOMERUN, and then leave it running all day and maybe leave the house. This rapidly eats up both the local and remote internet data caps. The channels client API does not report a "run time since last pause or stop" or a "data usage since last pause or stop" -- if this value was available in a status query this feature could be implemented using a server polling the client APIs and sending a "stop" api command to a client that has been streaming without a stop or pause after a time such as 3 hours. Otherwise a DVR server or Channels client based implementation would be great.

#2

In the player there's a Sleep Timer option which does this.

1 Like
#3

" Set the Sleep Timer

While watching live TV or a recording on Apple TV, swipe down to get the Info Bar and choose the Options tab. Select the Sleep Timer option to set how long it is.

In iOS, while watching live TV or a recording, use the More button in the navigation bar to get to the Sleep Timer option.

How it works

Once the timer has ended, the playback will stop, allowing your device to sleep. The sleep timer will persist between channel changes when Channel Surfing or changing via the Quick Guide. When you leave the player to go back to the main menu, the Sleep Timer will reset.

The sleep timer feature requires a channels user to explicitly set it. This is not really a feasible option. If I cannot get my household to exit out of channels when they are walking away from the TV there is zero chance they will "just set" a sleep timer every time they start watching a program.

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#4

I just tested the sleep timer feature. If set, once you exit out of channels player and restart it, the sleep timer feature is turned off. If you had a "persistent sleep timer" feature that survives an app restart, that would work.

#5

Sounds like you need a "Are you still watching feature"

I remember on Dish. If you went "X" ammount of time watching live TV without pressing any buttons. A prompt would come up and say "Are you still watching". If you did not click yes it shut off the TV.

+1 Request.

A TV left on in background forgotten about can chew up bandwidth. The server admin cannot realistically expect users to remember to use sleep timer.

4 Likes
#6

I like the idea of a "persistent sleep timer" also. I don't see this option in client settings which I use since I am in a household setting, which may be a way to get that functionality.

#7

Any furtherance on this request? A family member with dementia leaves a remote streaming program on and falls asleep yielding 5-6 hrs of continuous streaming and wasted bandwidth. Manually setting a sleep timer is not an option. A configurable client popup that pauses the streaming (and client cache) and says "are you still watching?" after a no inputs to the UI would be great!

2 Likes
#8

Or implement a "persistent" sleep timer that survives an app restart.

#9

Do you have a bandwidth cap that you are worried about? How big is it?

#10

Just resurrecting this as it's something that would be valuable for me too, for different reasons.

We have an HDHR with two tuners and frequently TVs will be turned off while the Android TV box continues to stream. This holds the tuner on their channel and there's no way to 'boot' the stream off except by restarting Channels and kicking everyone off. So we'll frequently have two unused TVs tuned to channels that aren't being actively watched and prevent tuning to a new channel on another active TV.

It would be great if there were a sleep timer that could be managed as a global setting, or at least the ability to kill individual streams from the server interface. Or ideally if the platform supports it, a setting that halted playback when the display is inactive.

#11

I second that.

#12

This is a problem where throwing hardware at the problem is a good idea.

If someone wants to skimp on tuners, unlocking a tuner being used might be ok:

$ ./hdhomerun_config HDHR_IP set /tuner0/lockkey force

This unlocks the tuner and makes it available for future use while keeping the current stream going.

#13

If you have the HDHR software installed on your computer, you can tell the HDHR to forcibly release Channels' lock on the tuner. I believe you can also use Channels' API to tell it to kill a stream. Either can be done without restarting the DVR server.

#14

Very similar situation. Supporting a remote family member with dementia.

A "Are you still there?" prompt or a watched for x number of hours and then disconnect option would be ideal.

Thank you for helping us support our loved ones

#15

Agreed. I run into this with my dad quite a bit; they use an iPad on their kitchen table as their main TV with Channels (it's easier to manage for my dad between his vision and hearing impairments than the big one on the wall) but they often leave it playing for hours after leaving the room, or leave it paused (even worse for screen longevity).

I had made a prior request for the iOS app to go to sleep after a certain amount of time with no interaction, but it was explained this was intentional to keep streaming/paused indefinitely for live TV. However even if they start playback from an in-progress recording (typical of the news programs they tend to watch most) Channels seems to never time out. Are you asking for this with live TV, [initially] in-progress recordings, completed recordings or something else?

#16

Not an automatic timeout but I use channels-remote-app-plus to remotely stop a client streaming too long... when grandpa forgets to exit :frowning: If this is at a remote home you would need to use tailscale or some other method to reach it's web interface. You can find the install in @bnhf great Olivetin setup;