IT guys needs suggestions

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

Although I’m in IT, I’m new to this cable cutting thing (6 days now). I have a HDHomeRun Connect 4K Quatro, a Synology DS418 which was advertised as being able to hardware transcode MPEG2-TS (it can’t) running Plex. After weeks of Synology tech support I bought a Nvidia Shield TV Pro to do the Transcoding and it actually does. It also handles the TV Everywhere where my Synology can’t. I am using the Shield as my Channels server and Client for the main TV and the Synology as storage. While trying to figure out something cheaper than another Shield for the other two TV Clients and getting so confused I broke down and ordered a second Shield. (still looking for something for the last TV)
My Questions:

  1. When I go to watch a recorded show in Channels it can take a minute or two for it to begin streaming. Is this normal? Would moving storage off the Synology to a local external HD improve performance?
  2. Is it better to leave the main TV as just a Channels Client and move the Channels Server/Client to the second Shield Pro on a lesser used TV or leave it on the main TV?
  3. When the Shield Pro gets unplugged I have to reenter the IP Address of the Channels Server even though it has not changed. Is this normal?
  4. I know this is a loaded question as I have spent hours on the forum what is a good Certified Android TV box that has an ethernet port?
#2
  1. if you attach a drive local to the Shield acting as the DVR suggest you go with a USB3 attached SATA SSD to get up to 500MB/s read / write versus about 120MB/s on spinning disk, I can't record ATSC 3.0, but if you are - you may want the fastest disk possible
  2. I don't know of any reason to move it - I think I have seen where @tmm1 suggested the Shield Pro is probably the best combo client / DVR platform that is available - so that's good for your setup
  3. suggest you a) hardwire everything gigabit ethernet and go into your router and reserve / assign IP addresses for all devices on the local network except wifi phones and tablets. Do speed tests to make sure things are performing as expecting.
  4. not sure - if me and if Shield Pro worked elsewhere - I might just get yet another rather than deal with some other brand X solution, plus having more than one in the house gives you a fallback if the primary Shield fails for some unlikely reason
#3

Attach a local HDD via USB3. I have the precise setup, works like a champ.

Server/client on the same server should be no issue with a pro.

Hmmm Haven't seen this behavior. Possible that your home router is assigning a new LAN IP when the ShieldPro powers back up? If you go from being 192.168.1.5 to 192.168.1.12 that might, indeed make problems. Can you have your router assign a static LAN IP?

Done a lot of research on this and, overall, my answer "meh". FireTV - cheap AF and works pretty well, bloated with amazon ads as they ram their content down your throat. If you just want a client in another room in the house, it's probably a good choice (thought you'd need to go full FireTV cube to get Ethernet I beileve).

MiBox - I don't know, sketchy off brand box. Everyone says decent things but I am suspect.

I know the shield is stupid expensive, but it really is the best thing going.

#4

Thank you so much for the help.

I Moved the DVR DATA to an USB3 External and you were right, the recordings start in a split second. I can understand a few seconds but 1 to 2 minutes verses 1 to 2 seconds is a head scratcher.

I had to move the Shield Server to a different location in order to reach cables and once again, even though the IP has not changed, I had to rekey it in. The IP is not changing so I'm guessing setting up the Static IP will make no difference but I can try.

I came up with the same results on the budget box that is how I ended up with a second Shield. I wish the Roku's worked. I love those things. I'll keep looking.

I really appreciate your help. There is a million ways to do things and I have no clue which is the best and my wife is already looking at me like I killed her favorite puppy when I shut down DirecTV. I must keep her happy! :slight_smile:

#5

New chromecast works wonderfully as a client over wireless, server running on a hard connected shield pro. Don't think it has pip though, or I haven't figured it out.

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#6

It does not.

#7

The dramatic difference in start times between local and NAS storage implies you may have network throughout issues. Are the Shields wired or wifi? If wifi, are they on 5 ghz or 2.4ghz?

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#8

I believe I got most issues resolved now except one Guide issue I just noticed.
My network speeds are fantastic but that is not the issue as when I moved to an External Drive, the main TV is still going over the ethernet to get the file and deliver to the client just as it did with the NAS. My best guess is authentication or something like that. UHD movies stream off the NAS with no issue. My entire home is 1GB Ethernet. I run nothing over WiFi6 except handheld devices. Good point about keeping it consistent. I'm just going to save for another Shield.

Guide Issue: Any ideas why the 30 minute shows on the guide that are just starting are 'Duplicated'? Hard to describe but a 30 minute show is shown twice when it is only on once. I noticed it last night with several shows. Like Wheel of Fortune was listed as on twice. One at 6:30 and another on at 7:00

Thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate it!

#9

On the guide duplication of displayed shows ... this is just guessing - but wonder if you have those coming from more than one source, or maybe one is Standard Definition (SD) and one is High Definition (HD) or maybe one is ATSC 1.0 and the other ATSC 3.0? Can you use Channels "Favorite" to select which to view in the guide and hide others or maybe that can be selected via setup on the HDHomeRun ?

#10

This is a known issue with Locast and HDHR OTA sources combined. You can turn off "Use OTA Numbering" on your locast source via the DVR web UI.

#11

Thank you! It was so strange as it duplicates on both the Shields but not on the iOS iPads. I will make your changes when I get home.

#12

Just as a heads up for those reading this later removing the check box on "Use OTA Numbering" seem to remove those channels from portions of my guide. What I did instead was to remove the duplicate channels from the channel editor via the DVR web UI . This removed the duplicates from the guide and allowed us to see all the Locast channels as well. Not sure what repercussions there will be but I will let you know if I discover any. - Thanks again!

#13

After changing the numbering scheme, it's probably best to do a "Delete and Recreate Database", to ensure that the proper numbers for those channels are propagated through the entire database.

#14

Could it not just be that the Synology has spun the hard drives down? If he has line of sight then I guess he’s probably already discounted that though.

#15

I thought this, too. Depending on how the drives are mounted, it could definitely be that the NAS had powered down the drives, and the lag was due to having to spin the drives up.

#16

Sheldon,
I am in a very similar situation and like you I am also a networking guy. But, am new to this world of OTA/DVR. I have a Synology 1515+ which is a bit older and does not have enough CPU processing power to run as the DVR. Like you, I bought a Shield. Works great! But.....
1- Yes, it takes 1+ min to load a recording.
2- Yes, I had to reload the IP address (I reinstalled it twice in the learning process)

Reading the other replies, I will also buy and external SSD drive (more $'s).

Questions to ALL,
1- If I attach an external drive directly to the Shield and use it for recording and general playback - Can I move recorded files to a NAS (Synology) for achieving and later playback?
2- At times (often) the "Skip Commercial" feature does not work or is inconsistent. Is that normal? This may be due to the slight delay to the NAS. Not sure.
3- Sometimes while watching a playback right in the middle the video will start skipping and the audio is out of sync. If I stop the playback, back up and replay it will work fine. Maybe delay from NAS?

That's enough for this time.
Thanks for any help,
Tim

#17

I can't answer your nas specific questions but I would like to add that my setup is just a shield pro with a 500gb ssd for the dvr and my shields adopted storage in a USB3 enclosure, the basic one, with a Chromecast and a Firestick wireless and no matter where I am or what I want it's right there in an instant. And if I did need more storage, I would be adding it right there to the shield in the form of a hub most likely and more stuff. The shield storage can be mapped as network storage, so technically it can be accessed just as your nas would be, is there nothing in the nas interface to add that location in somehow? Idk, just thinking aloud.

#18

ldk, Thanks

Yes, I do have the NAS mapped as network storage and it works.
Yes, I believe I will need to buy an external USB connected SSD drive.
My question is more that of the Channels architecture - If I record a show to the USB/SSD can I move the files over to the NAS for later playback?

Tim

#19

You wouldn't necessarily need to, having both locations as dvr locations in the web ui. You can have both there. But idk what channels does to decide where to save the files to. Manual management would be easy, but possibly not necessary.

#20

That was my first thought that Synology had spun the drives down but sadly it was not the case. Still wish I knew what it was doing but I have not found any logging for the action yet. If I do, I will post it.