Has the time come for a SiliconDust replacement for Channels?

#1

Please understand this isn't just a "can you guys support more stuff" ask.

I'm as big of a SD user as they come - I've owned their CableCard products, still running an OG extend, and 2 4K Flex's. Their product has served me well for years.

That said, their development and support has gone massively downhill.

The DRM saga with the 4K Flex units shows no sign of ever being fixed. I know it's not technically their fault, but their support and communication on this matter has been atrocious.

Google recently changed the API they are using for CableCard DRM channels, and that's been broken for almost 2 months, with no ETA

Aside from 1 bugfix for their Roku client (which was a catchup release from other clients), there hasn't been a single release of any kind in almost 3 months, with a long gap prior to that too.

Given that SD appears to have given up on communicating with their userbase, it puts me in a pickle. I LOVE the Channels product. It serves so many different purposes for my family.

But that said, the coupling to SD's seemingly sinking ship has the potential to turn into an albatross. Unless SD gets their act together, the "DVR" portion of Channels loses some luster. Sure, one could go full monty into alternatives, but they have a much higher cost per tuner, and the results may not be nearly as good. That, and all of it could disappear overnight with a change to adk, HDCP, etc. It's too precarious to throw everything into that, at least at the cost/tuner number at present.

Tablo support seemed to point at this, but that sort of died on the vine, from my eyes.

Is there any hope at a longer-term alternative to SD?

#2

Do you have any alternate tuners better than the HDHR units if you do, please post the units. My HDHR units have been rock solid for over 10 years.

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#3

I totally agree. That's the frustrating part. SD's pretty excellent hardware is being sabotaged by their non-existent support, somewhat dead development, and 3rd parties.

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#4

I think it's wise to step back and ask what is the return on investment. The cable industry as a hole is shrinking and broadcast TV is struggling for relevance. Streaming providers are consolidating as diverse composition has created their own relevance issues.

The above affects small companies like Silicon Dust, TiVo and Fancy Bits (the channels developers). Many on these forums are concerned where content for Channels DVR will come from and it's the reason for the open source projects we seeing discussed here.

The beauty of Channels DVR is it's simplicity to set up and it's reliability. If new sources be it hardware or software is made this simple and reliable it will help Channels DVR stay relevant in our small community that pays Fancy Bits. To chose a new source to support they at the very least need to find one that is likely to be around long enough to pay the cost of development and possibly licencing agreement. A simple to install software source might be easier. Another factor is that the software source can not infringe on a ULA, copyright or patent. Any legal challenge would be a disaster for any of these tiny companies.

For me I want something that I can setup and mostly forget. I'm happy to sit back and wait for any improvements that provide this simplicity and reliability. Fancy Bits is smart enough to recognise all of this and the fact that they experimented with Tablo hints at a possible future.

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#5

Channels and ATSC1.0 using SD Flex 4k tuners works great for me. In my area, ATSC3.0 doesn't currently provide anything that I would need. It could be another 3 to 5 years before I could start losing ATSC1.0 channels, so I can wait until that time to give up on SD. Even if SD resolves the DRM situation, I will still likely not be able to use Channels DVR with it. So, I will just enjoy Channels DVR and my SD tuners for now.

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#6

I got time on my hands yeah. A half of decade is a long time and things can change for the better ATSC 3-wise then. If not, then it'll most likely be back to cable or streaming via Fubo or DTV (w/ locals). I got my LinkPis on hand so as long as adb and deeplinks are still a thing, then I'll be fine...

#7

Totally understandable. For a good portion, the channel lineups are reasonably equivalent, and the "benefits" of ATSC3 minimal.

I'm admittedly, literally, an edge case. Removing DRM from ATSC3 would eliminate VHF reception issues on multiple channels, and allow me to receive what should be my DMA's channels (I'm the last town in CT on the NY DMA).

#8

This company's products would be a great alternative, if they would allow it.

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#9

Read there release notes. This is a work in progress and appears to be closed to prevent video escaping the closed loop.

#10

Perhaps some genius at the A3SA figured out that DRM without HDCP on the output end is basically useless.

#11

Like I said: if they would allow it. Letting DRMed recordings out of that closed loop is probably against the rules though. Sigh.

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#12

Hmmm - this looks more like that ZapperBox knew about their upcoming TLS issue (at the time) than originally thought. Nothing to do with HDCP.

#13

This all fits in with my crackpot theory several years ago where I predicted OTA would disappear completely* in the next decade, replaced by IPTV. The cost of running the antennas and infrastructure for the old-fashioned "local stations" OTA system we've had forever is enormous, not to mention the FCC red-tape they have to deal with.

I fear for our liberty of watching whatever we want for free or at a reasonable price**. I also miss the charm of the local TV stations we had back in the 70s and 80s. That's basically gone, and even big markets look like they have interns and high school kids doing the 6 o'clock news.

*leaving only necessary things like emergency info and public interest type stuff.

**NFL and NCAAF fan here, already seeing these sports, among others, experimenting with games that are streamable only. Pay for it and get ads, what a bargain.