Multi user support isn’t currently in our timeline of features to work on.
I would also like to see a simple user profile implementation. For my purposes, simply implementing additional favorites ("Jay's favorites", "Nancy's favorites", etc) would be a great start. User-specific views of the recordings would be my next priority.
My use case is to enable my wife to find her TV channels and recordings without having to search though my mom's voluminous catalog of recorded shows. If we had young kids living with us, I'd also like to be able to make at least one kids view.
I'm currently implementing this by running two instances of Channels DVR on my media server. One of them is running in a Hyper-V instance, and it seems perfectly happy. This will result in duplication, but I have the disk space for it (for now).
1 Like
very disappointed to hear this. the logic that everyone in a household from 1yr old up to 100yrs old has the same preferences/interests in entertainment absolutely blows my mind. mulituser support of any type would majorly declutter the interface and make it far easier to browse for just the content i'm interested in
1 Like
We totally understand those problems and have bigger plans in solving them as well as others at the same time.
4 Likes
any updates to this roadmap? want my parents to be able to log in without my username and password. I take password sharing seriously and really like to avoid it.
In all fairness, they should have their own Channels Plus subscription and set up as Channels is designed for single families at home, not for infinitely sharing outside of your home.
3 Likes
Bumping this again to see if this feature has made it onto the roadmap. I have no intentions of sharing Channels outside my home, but my husband and I have drastically different TV preferences. Being able to customize our guide and compartmentalize our recordings would make our lives much easier!
2 Likes
I keep looking for a roadmap or some update on multi-user support. I cancelled my subscription for that reason. I needed jmulti-user and the solution to connect channels DVR to plex was janky.
There isn't one. Last i saw posts here, and in the many other threads going back years, they have no plans to add "profiles" or any sore of multi-user support.
A "workaround" solution already exists and many already implemented it. Have multiple servers setup, one for each user. I have 2 RPi4's running for years. Others i read use multiple Docker containers or something like that. It is tedious, and some work to setup initially, but after that, very little maintenance needed.
Agree 100% with speedingcheetah
I've been satisfied using Channels DVR for 4+ years.
I make my requests and if I don't forsee it happening I find workarounds if I want it bad enough.
And I'm still here using Channels DVR.
I run 4 Channels DVR Servers and can now access them all remotely using tailscale.
I still haven't found a solution that beats Channels DVR.
You don't need multiple servers to have multi-user anymore, so long as only one user is using a specific streaming device or you don't mind users on the same device scrolling past other people's content. This can all be accomplished with Collections, Smart Rules, and Server Side Settings!
Create a Channels Collection to determine what stations are available:
Use Server Side Settings to assign the Channels Collection per device:
Similarly, you can create a Library Collection for recorded/imported content:
And again, if you slap a Label on a Library Collection, you can use Server Side Settings to assign which ones are available or excluded from each device:
You can also use Smart Rules to automatically populate the Library Collections based upon whatever criteria is appropriate:
You can even assign custom art to Library Collections so it is obvious who it belongs to. Here's an example of mine:
As stated before...
... the same can be said about this solution. But it is what I have done and now has almost zero maintenance, so I am happy with this workaround solution. I have devices that are tailored to individual users, and I have ones for multiple users, and everything is easy peasy.
2 Likes
My multi-user use case is also for remote access. Not thrilled about sharing username/password and would like other remote user to authenicate separately.
Not going to happen:
I was referring to streaming channels away from home, not accessing shared content like Plex. Instead of running multiple instances of Channels DVR, I guess a workaround is to create a shared google login just for Channels DVR/tailscale or am I missing something?
If you use Tailscale you can share devices to other accounts.
1 Like
2 Likes
This feature request is still useful when you have multiple family members, and you don't want to delete an episode until everyone has watched it, even in the same household.
Wouldn't you still have to communicate with your family members to know when everyone watched it?
1 Like
I would hope the functionality would be after everyone has marked it watched, you can set it to be deleted.
I think the original requested feature is still useful. My parents record stuff on my Channels DVR that I don't care about, and vice versa. They should be able to set their passes and their stuff shows up for them and not for me (unless I switch to the "all users" mode that the system runs in now).
Basically, just the original feature request.
If they implemented assigning Labels in passes that would probably solve your issue.
Label in
Dad's Passes == DAD
Mom's Passes == MOM
My Passes == ME
Wife's Passes == WIFE
etc.
1 Like