I have setup a second channels dvr server to compare Mac vs Windows backend for reliability as a test right now. And to see if it conflicts with other processes on my old sagetv server. But I have dug thru all the setup options in that A client and looked to see if there was something in the web client. Found nothing that looked like what I needed. Pointing the web browser at a different IP was easy. When I went to the android box I even checked to see if it would let me install a second channels DVR client... nope, just showed me the Open button. How do I point the client at the new server and go back again when I am finished testing it? -Bill
With my current system I can point at any number of back-end servers and you can make one of them primary and tell it to auto-connect after 0-30 seconds if you want.
In the app hit settings and then tap/select at the top where it says Channels DVR connected to:xxxxxxx. Choose at home and type in the ip address of the other server.
Also if you are running multiple dvr’s you need to disable remote access on all but one server.
Android can have 2 apps installed and connected to different servers. The regular app and the beta app. This doesn’t work for Apple clients though.
@Rice, thanks for that! I tried that and it worked. I doesn't appear to save that IP address to make it easier to switch back and forth. But at least its possible. Typing in the other IP address with an on screen keyboard leaves a lot to be desired.
Sounds like I might want to run the beta on that other server if I can install a second client and make that ip typing a non issue. How hard is it to revert the beta back to main stream or do I have to reinstall the server? -Bill
If you sideload the beta you can run both side-by-side.
Get the APK here: https://cdn.channelsdvr.net/android/ChannelsBeta.apk
If I sideload that apk, will it auto update or will I need to side load it every time a new beta build comes out. I have not looked at the betas at all, but I see a lot of updates per day on the forum. And does the Beta server side autoupdate? -Bill
If you’re running multiple servers you’ll want to turn off Network Discovery on both them as well or your clients will just pick one randomly.
The beta auto updates on the client. It doesn’t update anything on the server side of things, for example it won’t automatically trigger a pre release server update. You can run the beta app off of the stable dvr release.
Interesting, on iOS it remembers not sure about android. Perhaps it’s an app beta feature.
I know you have expressed concerns with updates in previous threads but I challenge you to let go of your fears on this when it comes to channels dvr. I have been running beta apps and prerelease servers for many years and not one time have I had to use the stable app version because of an update. Seriously not a single time has the beta app not worked with its thousands of updates.
I also always run a prerelease server, not necessarily the latest prerelease but typically one a few weeks old and I can only recall one time in the last 3 years the prerelease was broken. It was fixed within 30 minutes.
Not for me, sideloaded. I have to manually tell the client to update.
Also, I run different settings on each instance on my client. That's the reason I need to sideload. Each instance if sideloaded should save it's own settings.
Correct @tmm1 ??
Yes you’re right on my shield I do have to manually update it. On my iOS it automatically updates. Sorry!
LOL.. no fears of it. I just know what happens with all other coded stuff. So I will just keep my SageTV back-end as it is bulletproof and use Channels mainly for its clients till the back end can get more "feature rich" on the back end. It really amazes me how much Kardatzky was able to do in such a short time with such a small team. I always wondered what google paid for the software..
UPDATE: I have noticed recently the other CDVR server's IP address is saved in my Shields CDVR client now, so I can toggle between them. It wasn't doing that the first few days when I was going back and forth a lot. But recently it started saving it so I didn't need to type it in each time. Excellent!!! Typing IP addresses using the android screen kb is a very painful experience. All is good now. Not sure how it changed.. -Bill
It was added:
Yahoo! Wow! I was hoping it wouldn't just disappear one of these days if the cache was flushed or something similar. -Bill
PS. I have been reading all those beta posts and never noticed that one..
Aman,
If I were to purchase a second monthly subscription, assuming I could do so using the same email/username, can that second server instance be run on the same Windows PC as the first Channels DVR instance, both of them accessible remotely?
Yes, but the second needs to be bound to a different port. You will also need to contact support so that the redirection using their DDNS is going to the modified port number. (And of course, a separate port forward setup in your router.)
No, you need a separate account for each remotely accessible instance (because of the DDNS redirection).
You don't need a second subscription. They told me I can run it as many times as I want. Not sure about running it on the same machine though. I bet you could run the beta version as a second instance, at the very least on the same machine. YMMV -Bill
He means for remote access. You can run as many local servers as you want. But only a single server can be mapped to a single account for remote streaming.
Ah, thanks. I doubt I will ever use that feature. -Bill