Feature request - Live stream timeout after inactivity

Would it be possible to have the app close a live stream after a period of inactivity? Say after 3+ hours and live channels has not received any input for the user, a message will popup saying are you still watching and if there is no response after a certain period the stream will end. This will allow the ATV to sleep and also leave the tuner free for the DVR app.

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We understand the need for something like this, or even more importantly, turning off the TV and having the streaming stop when that happens.

There are no plans for any solutions right now, but we do understand it’s a concern.

Thanks!

Wait what? This works for me now. While in the Channels viewing live TV, I regularly put the ATV to sleep and the tuner is released. Turning the TV back on and the live stream starts. Works perfectly. What am I missing?

Thanks for the reply, i’m glad you guys recognize the need for this feature.

Yeah the steam ends if the ATV is put to sleep manually but if you forget the stream will keep going indefinitely. Even if your TV is set to power off after a period of inactivity the stream continues.

Ah…got it. Never tried that Thx

Is this still a problem? Do you have any workarounds?

Some more details in CEC Issue

The best workaround is to turn off the TV using the Apple TV remote, by holding down the Home button and selecting Sleep

Maybe for channels in the settings menu a inactivity option could be set were if enabled you could pick from a timer of hours and if no user input is detected if would simply exit to the guide in order to free up a tuner.

I have a newer samsung tv and the CEC command to turn it off does not work well. However my suggestion comes after I saw this on a dish receiver box at a friends house. When watching TV for several hours and not interacting with the box the receiver pop up a message asking if you were still around and if not it would shut down.

This is a feature I am really looking for. We use Channels and a Apple TV V4 in the bedroom at night. If you use the sleep timer on the TV the TV turns off as requested but the Apple TV/Channels stays awake and going. I have to turn it off manually in the morning. It would seem that this can be made to work as it does work correctly with the Hulu app.

I posted my current workaround to this in this thread: Timed Stop - Sleep

Not perfect, and the day this gets added to Channels will be a celebration, but does the job for now.

Hey everyone. We just released Channels API.

This should make customizing the Channels app a little easier to do things like stopping playback. I know it’s not the same as having the Channels app do it itself, but it should at least enable some things.

Unfortunately, tvOS provides no events when the TV is turned off, so third party software can’t do anything when the TV is turned off.

With Channels API you could create an automation to just attempt to stop Channels every night at a specific time of night. Set it and forget it!

If you use Home Assistant, a Home Assistant media player is already in the core of Home Assistant and will be available with it’s next release. Using Home Assistant, you can do ALL KINDS of cool stuff with Channels really easily, including stopping playback when your TV turns off.

If you haven’t played with Home Assistant, check it out. It’s a really fun and easy way to start automating things around the house. It has tons of ready to go integrations for all the smart stuff in your house, including almost every TV with smarts already in it.

You can learn more here about Channels API:

Channels API: https://getchannels.com/api
Community Announcement: Channels HTTP API

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Sorry to revive this after 2 years.

While I appreciate the API, is there any plan to add an option to stop stream after a set amount time of inactivity? With data caps and tv everywhere streaming, it would be nice for it to auto shutdown if the kids leave the room and completely forget to turn off the TV.

As a sidenote, Emby seems to have this feature, at least on Android TV, I haven't confirmed Apple TV that looks for input and can pause and stop stream if nothing happens after set interval.

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