Folders for DVR

Channels DVR Server
#1

So I'm a newbie. Can you guys answer a few DVR Folder questions I can't seem to dig up here:
I set up a record folder on my external hard drive. On my setup I'm using HDHOMERUN, Pluto and Stirr and ATT UVERSE.

  1. Do I need to set up TV and Movie Folders for Channels DVR RECORDINGS or will they automatically be separated to separate TV and movie folders?

  2. I'm using PLEX and sometime KODI. Will PLEX and KODI recognize these DVR recorded files if I have them scan this folder? Ideally I'd like PLEX and KODI automatically scan so I don't have to mess with them once they're set to scan.

  3. When I record something on Pluto or Stirr is the file name like a movie or are all recordings considered TV shows? To be clearer does Channels know if it's a movie or a TV show when recorded?

  4. I'm assuming Channels is smart enough to know that OTA HDHOMERUN and UVERSE recordings differentiate from movies and TV shows?

  5. Are recordings put in separate folders? The reason I ask is I occasionally still use KODI for playbacks (don't @ me it's still the most solid media player for streaming local stuff) and I have KODI set to "Each movie is in a separate folder". Plex is not set up that way because you can't but it has no problem identifying all my thousands of movies in folders.

  6. I tried to have Channels scan my old media libraries for movies and TV show episodes but it didn't do very well. Is that something that's still being worked on. Ideally I'd like to just use Channels to play everything on my external (which when talking about movies is in the hundreds. Lots of classic films)

Sharing media with Plex
#2

TV and Movies folders will be created automatically, along with other directories specific to Channels DVR such as Database backups.

Then you can point other software at those directories

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#3

Channels will create the folders it needs.

Yes. If you point Plex/Kodi to the respective folders, they should scan in without issue. (Note: you'll want to have two separate "libraries" in Plex/Kodi, one for Movies and another for TV Shows, so they'll get scanned/imported correctly.)

If the guide data says it's a movie, Channels will record it as such, and store it in the Movies folder. Likewise, for other recordings (Series, Specials, etc.), they go in the TV folder.

Yes and no:

DVR_ROOT/
+ Movies/
| + Movie 1 (YYYY) YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.mpg
| + Movie 2 (YYYY) YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.mpg
+ TV/
  + Series 1/
  | + Series 1 S01E01 Title 1 YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.mpg
  | + Series 1 S02E01 Title 2 YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.mpg
  + Series 2/
    + Series 2 S01E01 Title 1 YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.mpg
    + Series 2 S01E02 Title 2 YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.mpg

Yes. Importing stored libraries is being worked on, and is still in its infancy.

#4

Thanks Guys! I guess I should just record a movie and show and see! Appreciate your help!

#5

I have found that unfortunately Movies recorded off Pluto are put into the TV show folder instead of the correct Movies folder causing me to have to move to the correct folder.

#6

This was fixed.

Pluto Movies - Channels Android TV - Channels Community (getchannels.com)

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#7

hmm. Then why does this happen to me? I had it happened yesterday.

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#8

Maybe it is a new bug.

#9

I'm using the most stable release. Is that the right one? 2020.12.12.0204

#10

What source are you using for the playlist and EPG? The XMLTV file needs to classify the programme as a movie. (I believe the programme element needs to have a category of "Movie" in order for Channels to recognize it as such.)

#11

I believe this was fixed in a prerelease.

#12

I've recorded a lot of movies on Pluto and not noticed any that didn't go into Movies in Channels. I'm running Pluto on Docker.

#13

https://techzyon.com/epg/plutotv_guide.xml

#14

You should be using the Docker.

#15

don't know what the docker is.

#16

That's your problem. That XMLTV file is not nearly as robust as others, and does not classify movies as such. As has been repeatedly stated, using that source for input sources in Channels will lead to issues, and won't be supported.

#17

Docker

And,

#18

oh yeah. Too much work and bandwidth for me to bother to do that. Glad it can be done but that just makes Channels a lot less interesting. I'm removing pluto and stirr for now. Thanks guys.

#19

That's fine if you don't want to do it, but in case others read this, using Docker is not a lot of work to setup.

It is 3 steps. 1. Install Docker (took about 5 minutes on a Mac Mini and I've never used it before), 2. Run the commands to download, install and start Pluto on Docker. (took less time to do than it did to read the couple of commands in the instructions.) 3. Add the source. (the hardest part was getting the urls right for the m3u and playlist, but that is well described here now. Took less than 10 minutes, and I've opened up a lot of additional content.

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#20

That actually is quite simple to install and set up. Works like a charm.

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