Can the Devs comment on this please?
I'd also like to see the buffer for live TV to be on the server for Tuning Sharing clients.
Part of the appeal of Tuner Sharing is having a single point of distribution to the clients: all clients must talk to the server to get their streams. Since the streams are all coming from the server, it would make sense for the server to maintain the live TV buffer, too. This would allow the server to set the size of the buffer, which might mean that the server can hold a larger buffer than the client.
For remote clients, this isn't as much as a problem as the file sizes are smaller. But for local clients, this means that my live TV buffer is only around 30 minutes, rather than the 90-120 minutes I would prefer.
@RockandRoller70 As has been notated in earlier comments, live stream is buffered to the local disk. Although, it is possible to store what you are watching on your DVR drive if you swipe down and hit the record button.
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That is the reason why I seldom use Channels DVR for LiveTV local buffer is just too small. HdHomerun uses the Server for livetv it only uses local buffer if you do not subscribe to the DVR.
SiliconDust's DVR also uses the client's buffer for DRM content from the Prime, since the DVR cannot record DRM content.
This is the reason I am requesting that the server store the buffer when Tuning Sharing is enabled, since it is already storing its own buffer to have available to send to clients. It doesn't make sense for the client to maintain a buffer when the server is also maintaining a buffer of the same stream.
As I always say, to each their own! I personally can't stand the silicondust software.... Way too laggy for me. I figure if my 30 minute or so buffer isn't good enough, how into the show can I be? I can always hit record and buffer that way.
The tuner sharing buffer is held in RAM, and only contains about 15 seconds of video data. I can add that 15s to the recording, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you're looking for.
I use SageTV for live TV If I have to step away or want to keep a show I just hit record and it records it from the point I started watching to the end of the show. If the Show is 3 hours the buffer is 3 hours... Comes in handy when watching something and want to save it to show a family member.
What happens if you started watching before the current show started? Does it only keep the stuff from the current show?
It keeps the previous show for a few minutes ... so you have a chance to mark it as keep if you want to. It splits the buffer by Show with the correct name and metadata.
MythTV and DirecTV only include the current show, even if the buffer has older video.
Ah. Perhaps allowing an extra setting to allow a buffer to be created based upon size or duration would be nice.
Of course, architectural changes like this have larger ramifications, too. (Such as using a server-based buffer to back a smaller resolution stream for PIP, or a small-resolution window to play the current channel while browsing a full-screen guide, etc.j
Dual Live Buffers? I'm looking for a way to duplicate a feature called Doubleplay on DirectTV. I start watching football game 1 on a tuner, when there's a commercial I activate Doubleplay and switch to football game 2. I can switch back and forth never watching a commercial or missing a play in either game. Is there a way to do this in Channels with my Homerun Quatro and TVE.
I also want to move from room to room and be able to tune to the active buffer of the channel I'm watching. Is there a way to do that?
No, but IIRC both features have been requested. Part of the reason for self-hosting DVR services is to facilitate these types of features.
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My Verizon FIOS DVR had this feature. It not only kept the buffer of the channel you were watching, it kept the buffer of the last channel. So if you were toggling between two channels, you could rewind the content or even pause one while watching the other. This was default behavior.
Nice feature.
How about the ability to have the Nvidia Shield client utilize USB storage as the buffer?
Then a 90 minute buffer could be achieved on the Shield which right now is impossible.
EDIT: It seems like this is already doable via the Nvidia Shield itself:
"3. When you format an external drive as internal storage, it effectively replaces your current internal storage. You will no longer be able to use storage space on your existing internal storage for installing large game files. As a result, make sure the new storage space is larger than your current internal storage. SHIELD TV Pro (500 GB) users will most likely want to use external drives as removable storage."
The only question would be does the Channels app respect this. As if you read further, it seems it's possible for apps to require the default internal storage:
"Note for advanced users: New apps and games will prefer the new storage device for installation unless the app requires the .apk file to install to internal storage. Large .obb files will always install to the new device storage."
That is EXACTLY what would let me cut the cord and use Channels full time.
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I installed a 32gb Sandisk USB thumb drive onto my Shield and formatted it as internal storage.
As part of the process it forced a data copy before it would be usable, but I couldn't be sure that the Channels app was using the new drive. Turns out, even though it moved some things automatically to the thumb drive, when I looked at the Channels app in the settings area, it still said it was using the internal storage.
So I uninstalled Channels, reinstalled it and checked again. This time it said it was using the Sandisk drive.
So this appears to work. I used the 32gb because that's the biggest usb drive I had at the moment, but it increased my space from 4.1gb to over 29gb of usable storage.
I'll report back if I notice any issues.
This definitely works, after adding the 32gb Sandisk USB thumb drive to my Nvidia Shield, I tested it and right now I've got a 67 minute buffer. Perfect!
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