Local Media-Channels app vs Infuse Pro app - Apple TV

Channels Apple TV
#1

Looking for comments / experience of users who run Apple TV, and you use Channels DVR app for local media playback, and/or Infuse Pro (or Plex or Emby i suppose) to play back local media files.

By "local media files", i mean, any single .mp4/.mkv etc media file that is not a CDVR recording. This maybe a movie or tv show rips, music video, videos ripped from YouTube or whatever. Basically, anything one would use a home media server like Plex/Emby etc for.

More specific context to my use case.
I surf my YouTube subscriptions every day, and download what i want to watch to a .mkv file.
I put that file on network shared folder on my media server.
I then use Infuse Pro on my Apple TV to navigate that folder and play the videos.
I also have TV shows/movies Libraries on a Plex server and browse and watch them via Infuse.

I recently started messing around with using Channels app to play the random videos i watch, just to see how it compares to Infuse Pro (one of the best players for Apple TV).
I am mainly concerned with video quality and player functionality.

Infuse Pro can play anything pretty much, directly, no transcoding needed.
It has very good "media server" connection type way to interact with the app.
You can connect it to Plex, Emby, etc, or even a direct SMB network share, no media server needed.
It has a clean and neat UI with easy to set Favorite icons to once click open your content Libraries or media folders.
Infuse also has many up front settings during playback, including adjust picture zoom or aspect ratio, and chapter controls(jump to certain chapter or time code).
The seek bar is also very slim and inobtrusive.
Picture and audio quality is superb and I have been told on their forms, they use their own custom built backend player.

Channels DVR app, in my brief testing with the same media files. Performs well.
However, it lacks in a few areas.
Channels, i have noticed is missing the more advanced settings visibility as Infuse has with its drop down menu during playback. (Picture zoom, aspect ratio, and Chapter controls)

There are some other "issues" i have noticed in comparison.
Audio is much much lower volume in Channels than in Infuse.
I notice micro stutters ever maybe 10,15 secs(not certain) in 4K 24p content.
I have the issue of excessive screen backlight flicker/flashing with my Samsung TV, if Channels deinterlacer setting is set to Hardware. No such flickering issues when changed to Linear(60fps).
(made a thread on the flickering while back and mentioned Infuse app as well)

The good things i noticed with Channels app that is better than Infuse Pro.
Much faster starting of playback and seeking/scrubbing of even large 4K files.
Picture quality, when deinterlacer is set to Hardware, is crisper and a tad sharper. (but has the flickering i mentioned before)
Channels does feel, overall, more responsive and zippy.

I do not know, (perhaps the devs will care to comment on this point), if there are any raw differences in the backend player Channels uses vs Infuse Pro. If one is technically superior or more refined/optimized than the other.

Channels DVR UI is very different than Infuse, a bit more clunky, imo, (and also very Purple) than Infuse. (for this specific context of local media library)
But, I know that Channels DVR is first and foremost a Home DVR solution, and a "local home media library" is a much more recent add-in feature that is secondary to the main purpose and design of the app.

I would be nice if Channels had a way to "connect" to a Plex/Emby/etc media server, and populate its "Library" from that source, alike to how Infuse can. That would make Channels alot easier to be used as a frontend UI interface and player for ones existing home media library. Again, like Infuse can be used.
Though, i can see why the devs would want to keep things more focused on their own app and server ecosystem. Having to add in and manage connections to other "competitor" products, is alot to manage. (Infuse also has had alot of issues and bugs with this aspect)

If anyone else has any insight or comments into playing local media files in Channels vs Infuse, feel free to share your experience.

1 Like
#2

I do. I started using Infuse years before I started using Channels. I have been using Apple TVs since 2007 and used to use the original Firecore product SeeSonPass to hack my Apple TV (stopped at 2nd Gen). I continue to use Infuse because it works every time. I can throw a 60-gig 4k movie at it, and it works without hesitation. I can watch the 60 gig movie while my wife watches a similar movie, and there are zero problems. I also have not seen the benefit of consolidating everything into Channels. I do not mind having two apps. Channels works great for watching/recording tv. Really great. So does Infuse. I use a Synology 218+ as my server.

4 Likes
#3

I am glad you made this post. I have been back and forth between going back to using Emby, back to Channels only, Infuse with Emby. There are things about each that I like but I would ultimately like to have everything both recorded and my own media in one app.

I absolutely love Channels for watching my recordings. We don't watch Live TV at all because we can't stand commercials. IMO Channels nails it on commercial cutting 95% of the time on anything I record via Antenna. Where it doesn't do it perfectly, the GUI editor is so easy to use I am very happy with that.

Regarding playback - I agree that Infuse is a top notch playback app. However, Channels is also great at playback. I have had a few issues here and there with a video file in Emby that Channels and Infuse play perfectly.

There are only a few things Channels doesn't give me that I find convenient in Emby - Intro Skip, watched indicators on movies in the Apple TV app (they are there in the web UI), actors information right on the page for the movie/tv show (I don't want to go out to another app to view this data in Callsheet) and one of my biggest ones is the connection to Trakt. I would also prefer to have either posters or landscape thumbs for tv shows. I like the way Infuse and Emby presents my media.

The above are mostly more convenient things vs absolute must haves.

Both Channels and Infuse excel on audio playback. They both give me spatial playback through my AirPods when I am watching something late at night and my wife is sleeping. I can't believe Emby or Plex can deliver this in 2024. The audio sounds crisper through my surround sound setup from Channels and Infuse. Emby is, well, Meh...

The UI I feel could use some more enhancements in Channels but it is very easy for shows we're mid watching with Next up putting my content right there in front of me.

Anyway, those are things I think of right off the bat, I am sure there are some other things I could nitpick but overall, Channels does some great things that excel. One big one for me is the fact that the Devs are always on top of issues, talk to the users a lot and are mostly upfront when they have no intention of implementing something. It really irks me on the Emby forums when the Dev Luke gives the worst answers to some questions. ("It's a great idea for the future..." - Meanwhile, 6 years later...). Anyway, enough of that rant.

5 Likes
#4

Yes. The Intro and Credits Skip ability that is integrated into Infuse is awesome. Very useful for me when i binge watching a tv series i have on my Plex server. Saves alot of time.

The info given on screen and over UI and navigation is alot more modern and informative and intuitive with Infuse. (SOOO much better than the Plex app, lol. I have not used Emby in years, last i had, their Apple support was very lacking)
Infuse UI is much more to my tastes...for a straightforward "media player app".

100%, Channels DVR is the best for Live TV and playback of its DVR recordings. Commercial skip is so nice! I too rarely ever watch live tv, but record things and watch later.
Though, i do tend to find its UI a bit, dated looking?
It is not bad, it just, is not as sleek and modern as I wish it would be.
And it is also, still, very Purple :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

I personally find Infuse much easier and nicer looking, for my local media needs and Library browsing.
I have no issue using 2 separate apps, each for its own purpose, they both excel in what they are designed for.
Though, i would like to see Channels evolve their app to be a bit more appealing for this use case.

Audio, that is a difference i mentioned.
I have no idea way the audio output is so much lower with Channels.
It is this way in the whole app, live tv and recordings, and Local media.
Infuse, and all other apps are much louder.
Doesn't matter the source, 2.0 Stereo track, AC3 or AAC or FLAC, or 5.1 Multi-channel etc.
(Changing Surround Sound setting makes no difference)

2 Likes
#5

For what it's worth, we stopped thinking of Channels as just a DVR years ago. Everything is about the Library now.

Whether your content gets into your Library from a recorded source, or you imported from your hard drive, everything is treated the same and all development of features are about how to make it easier for you to watch TV the way you want to.

While we agree that the richness of metadata could be exposed better, and we do have plans to expand on this (believe it or not!), we also think that at the end of the day it's easier to have a single app to watch all of your content, than multiple apps, even with some of the deficiencies compared to other products out there.

The deinterlacer should have no bearing on playback from your imported videos, as they are most likely all progressive video encodes.

Be sure that you are on the latest version of the tvOS app. This was a huge fix that was released with version 5.9.0. For quite some time there was background processing happening during playback that were effecting the video decoding. This is now resolved and playback is very smooth.

As for our player, and I can't comment on anyone else's, we have put significant investments into it to fine tune it for MPEG2 playback, live video playback, remote streaming, and large support for video and audio codecs. We think it's one of the best out there, especially when it comes to seeking around a video. With a reliable wired connection to your Channels DVR Server, it's practically instant.

If you're curious about your local content living in Channels, just add it and import it all in. There's nothing to lose. If you don't like it, you're free to just remove the sources and it will all be removed from your library.

3 Likes
#6

I am so happy you responded to this thread! Again, it's one of the things I love about you guys.

This is good to hear! When you guys do implement something, you always do a very good job and it runs really well.

This is a huge plus for your player. I have found skipping forward, even when it's many minutes of skipping, it is super fast and the image changes with it so it's easy to tell where you are in the video. With Plex I have always found it is necessary to use their function where the server creates images every few seconds to see easily where I am in a video when skipping forward but that uses a lot of resources to do it in the first place and a lot of space on the HDD to store the images. I mean many, many GBs worth.

Again, I overall love the Channels setup and just you're commenting here like this is now making me want to uninstall everything else and just force myself to use your system exclusively.

3 Likes
#7

:man_shrugging:
Well, it does. As proved by my existing thread showing recorded examples.
Channels is not useable in Hardware mode with my Samsung tv, due to the flicker/flashing.
It affects all playback,including live tv, recordings, and local media.
It is most seen with shadows, or shading, or backgrounds.

I run the testflight beta. And it is currently version 5.23.423

4K 60fps AV1 and VP9 fail to play smoothly or at all.
Infuse is the same result, so i suspect that may be a issue with the the Apple TV 4K (2022) not being powerful enough?

1 Like
#8

Neither of those have hardware decoding support available for third party developers on tvOS.

Reach out to Apple to ask for that.

1 Like
#9

Once thing i just thought of, Infuse has right in its home screen, a "currently watching" section, that shows what media files are in progress, and makes it easy to view and resume, right from the home screen of the app.
I do not see such a thing in Channels... I have Videos enabled under Navigation.
Is there a setting i am missing, to show such a page of "Currently Watching" for local Library?

Another thing, Tone Mapping for HDR to SDR. For those who do not have a HDR tv/display.
Does Channel app do "proper" tone mapping to correctly play a HDR video in SDR?

And for HDR, HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision.
I have played HDR10+ and DV files fine with Channels and they trigger my Samsung TV's appropriate HDR mode. I can't really see any difference with how it looks compared to Infuse.
I mention this, as it was recently that Infuse added support for the latest DV profile 8.

#10

The Home section has this.

Up Next shows the next episodes it suggests you to watch based on your watch history. Continue Watching shows movies that have currently (there's a setting you can adjust for how long they should appear there) been played and not completed.

And again, this is not a function of any imported video, this is just part of Channels and have been there for years.

Channels has tone mapping and supports HDR10 video. It does not support Dolby Vision. But it does support encodes with both DV and HDR10 and will gracefully fall back to HDR10.

I would implore you to take some time and read our website, especially the Library section. Dig into each feature and read their pages as they describe what Channels can do in great detail.

2 Likes
#11

OK, I understand the confusion now. At this time, Videos do not participate in Up Next like regular TV show episodes do.

#12

Ah ok. Was just gonna say, I enabled Home and Up Next pages. (had all that disabled via server side settings). And none of the in-progress videos i have in the folder i added as a source of "Videos" are showing anywhere as in progress. Other than in the Videos page(in that specific folder the video is in). Home page does show a "Video" box icon, which just shows the screen with my 2 folders in the "Videos" source.

So, you say that TV Shows and Movies, are the only type that will show as in-progress?
Meaning, they have to have metadata match to xyz show/movie?
I have a large part of my local media collection that is not a tv show or movie, and thus is not meta data match capable. I just want to browse by file name.

1 Like
#13

When Videos were introduced, the thought was that they’d be for content that you wouldn’t be watching over time.

Like concerts, home videos, etc. it didn’t make sense to muddy up Up Next because you just watched one of the videos.

We can easily enable it, and maybe in the future we’ll set video groups to automatically opt out of Up Next, with the ability for you to turn it on.

1 Like
#14

That would be cool for me because I commonly use the videos section for downloaded Youtube videos and sometimes it is a channel with a number of vids I watch in date release order

#15

This is kinda why i see the usefulness of Infuse ability to "connect media servers" like Plex.
It uses Plex already existing database/categories and metadata, and just populates its app with that, allowing their app to be a frontend interface to that existing database/libraries.

My content is already organized and matched in Plex for the TV series (some i had to "fix match" and manually match), and a few things that are set as "Other videos" to which that category does not try to match the content to metadata.

Some series are a huge pain, as its(both Plex or Infuse) metadata scanners, there are a few you can use in Plex, do not align up with my file structure exactly.
Some series are different than what TVDB or MovieDB etc have, if you have DVD rips, vs Streaming rips, vs, whatever. (Most recent for me, is Walker Texas Ranger and Mythbusters do not match up (Seasons and episodes in each season), to anything the meta scanners match.)
In that case, i just do not use any such meta data, and just use raw folder view, go by file names, watch a episode, then delete the episode after it is watched.

And as i mentioned, my most common thing is downloading random YT vids, or whatever, stick them in a folder, watch, then delete. Which, at this point, Channels is ok for, since the "Videos" source selection does not try to match up metadata.

Though, one thing, i do not like that local media still follows the "Trash" style of deletion.
I very much want, for local media, a file to be instantly deleted in this case.
Cause if it still there (i see it on my PC SMB share folder), i think i still have not watched it.
If i watched it, i want it deleted, removed from the file system.
And not have to take the extra steps to "empty trash", or "prune removed media".

I also would need more frequent scans for added media. 5min is too long.
Infuse shows new media in under 1 minute, when using Plex connection, and instantly if using Direct SMB connection.

I really should start creating a list of things/ suggestions... will do that. After i continue to mess around with using Channels for Local media a bit more for the next few days.

#16

Sadly, this is where things fall apart.
I see in the documentations, that you have a fairly strict directory structure requirement.
I do not follow this style.
I do not do a single folder for "TV Shows" and one for "Movies", with ALL tv shows in their own sub-folders in TV Shows folder, movies in movies, etc.

I have one MEDIA folder, and in that, i put a separate folder for each TV show/series.
And, have folders for music videos, extras, random, etc. that are related to that show in that shows folder.
Also, in the root MEDIA folder, i have various folders of content that are not a tv show or movie, but may be music, or specific YouTube channels saved videos etc. It a giant folder full of various media.

In Plex, i create a new Library for each individual show (or specific thing), and point it to a specific folder in the MEDIA folder. This way, i can control the metadata for that show alone, not a crap ton of other shows.
Each show is its own library.
a Library = single show
(not a Library = All TV shows)

For example, in my root Media folder, i have a folder called TLK.
This TLK folder contains subfolders of videos that relate to The Lion King franchise.
Movies / Animated - Live action
Series / The Lion Guard - Timon & Pumba
Music videos - (bunch of single video files)
Special Features Extras - (Bunch of single video files)
Fan Animations - (Bunch of single video files)

On PC Win Explorer view, this makes the most sense to me, and is how my "media collection" has always been. It has been this way since the days of Windows media Center and then Emby.

Adding in the core TLK folder, results in a mess of meta data mis-matches, no matches.
The movies don't get matched cause it is set as a TV Show source etc.
And everything all show up under the same folder icon in Channels, which makes it very cluttered.

If i add one of the sub-folders as a TV Show Source, say The Lion Guard folder (which in it has just sub-folders named as Season 1, Season 2, etc), Channels finds nothing/ shows no content.
(Plex/Infuse handles this no issue and populates/matches the series fine.)

There seems to be no way to full remove/ un-match a tv series/folder?
It can only be-re-matched if it has been auto matched?
The Fan Animations folder matched to some random tv series " Dad's Army The Animations" I guess cause the folder had the word "Animations" in it.
I can't find a way to clear it so that it just says the folder name and is not matched to anything.

TLDR: Unless i fully re-structure my local media organization, I can't import my local content to Channels. Plex and Infuse have no issues with how i keep my files organized and are far more flexible in this regard.

Edit: I see "Collections" is a way to consolidate and organize the mess that happens when i import my "non-standard" organized content. But, that is pretty much just creating another "Library" but in its own section. I guess in Plex and Infuse, they way i do it, each "Library" is already a "Collection".
The issue with Channels "Collections" feature i have with my specific situation, is that it takes existing matched library content (which is what i have issues with), and adds them to your named Collection. You can not edit that contents metadata match to be something else, or ignore it, just for that Collection. (not sure i am explaining that right....so sorry of that don't make much sense to you.)

#17

For further context to my suggestions/observations, I have only ever used Channels for its Live TV/DVR side of things, and all other aspects and features, i have set to hidden via Server side settings. Only showing in the app: On Now, Guide, Recordings, Schedule.

These are the things that I think Channels app needs to add or improve on, in regards to Local media library content use, while being compared to my personal usage of Infuse and Plex.

Some of these things could also be considered more general of a improvement not specific to use for local media content.

Some maybe already addressed or a setting/feature i missed or am not aware of, feel free to point that out.

These are in no particular order....

  1. More controls during playback on the Top Quick bar.

    Video:
    Zoom Mode (used to make letter boxed content zoomed into full screen)
    Chapters (allow to just to a certain chapter if file has markers, or will just show time codes at set
    intervals)

    Audio:
    Speaker (select audio output in app)
    Volume Boost (for very quite videos)
    Delay (useful when playing a video that has audio out of sync)

  2. Timeline bar/seek bar:

Show real time Min:Secs not just Min.
Move timeline box to be fully bottom screen justified, it is too high up.

2.5 Minimal slim timeline bar, just a line, alike to Infuse, that does not cover up any of the movie. It resides in the black bar fully.

  1. Have a setting to instant delete a local media file, not go to trash.

  2. Have a way to remove metadata match, and have no metadata (be un-matched)

  3. Up Next / Home does not show multiple episodes in progress of same TV Show series. It only shows the most recent played episode in the series.

  4. "Up Next" to me, as the name states, should show the next episode, the next un-watched episode or file. It should be a separate thing.
    A separate "Watching" page(category) perhaps, that shows what is in progress/un-finished.
    Or just a section "Watching" section in Up Next, that is just for currently in progress files.

  5. There does not seem to be a "Watching" ("Up Next") section, when in the Collections page.
    If i wanted to focus on what is in my Collections, and just go into that page, i have no idea what i been watching. I have to go back to other pages, Up Next or Home.

  6. Option to hide/show & change position of, the "Recently" sections in TV Shows / Movies pages.
    Updated/Added/Aired Episodes & Watched Shows / Episodes
    (This is when Enhanced Library is enabled)

  7. For imported media (TV Shows) it should default to Not Detect Commercials.
    ( A large collection of files would max out cpu suddenly for a long time if it ran comskip on hundreds of files. )

  8. Have more time options for imported media scanning.
    5min is too long for my use case of dumping a video in a folder and wanting to watch it right away.

10.5 Add an option in app to manually rescan for changed media.

(Spacing/indent got weird there, not sure why, does not look like that in the post edit window.)

@maddox and other devs.
Channels is still a great app and works very very well for what i have been using it for, Live TV and DVR.
But, since yall have expanded it to also support local media libraries, I wanted to share my experience and suggestions i have with this aspect of Channels.

At this time, Infuse/Plex better suits my specific style and uses for a "Home Content" / "Local Media Library".
I am not saying to radically alter you product to match others, I just share these comparison thoughts in hopes that you be aware of my usage style and viewpoint, in hopes that some of my suggestions may lead to further improvements to Channels.

Sub-note:
I realize that Local Content been a thing in Channels for a while now. The reason why i just now wanted to try it out, was due to a specific thing.
I was messing around with my "old" Nvidia Shield TV Pro (that my mother uses for her tv watching), and wanted to play some videos I had on my Plex, but the stupid Plex app refused to play them unless i forced transcode. Plex app on the thing also crashes alot.
I tried VLC, MX, a a couple other random apps, none would connect to my SMB share.
Almost gave up, and then it hit me, o yea, Channels DVR supports Local media import.
Sooo, i gave that a try on the server i have setup for my mother and other household members.
Worked perfectly on the Shield.
That lead me to want to see how it would compare to my setup and experience using Plex/Infuse.

#18

Well.... I have found a use for Channels app for Local media. A thing that Plex and Infuse metadata scanner failed at.

Mythbusters series i downloaded from Discovery+.
(its order not match what any of the Plex scanners could turn up, nor Infuse built in Metadata scanner.)

But, just imported it into Channels (Season 7 onward is where i am at) and it matched each episode perfectly, full descriptions and all!.

Sweet!

So, for my long term "binge watching" of what ever series i chose, will be trying out Channels first.
(The last few years, i been slowly watching older series, like, All In the Family, The Jeffersons. Other series before that like CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds. Some anime SAO, AOT...

EDIT: I notice now there is a "Recently Watched" section on the very bottom of the TV Shows page of the app. This I really need at the top of the page. And most of the other Recently sections that i find useless to me/clutter, Added shows, Aired episodes, etc.

EDIT 2: Just noticed, what i mention above, is when Enhanced Library is enabled. All those "Recently" sections are gone when u disable Enhanced Library mode.
Still, a valid suggestion to me though, please allow show/hide/ move of those sections in Enhanced Library mode. If that was implemented, would be much more useable mode, imo. Give the user options to tweak their view.

EDIT 3: Noticed possible bug. I changed the Show art on the server admin interface. It updated in the TV Shows pages of the app, but not in Up Next and Home. * not a bug, read reply below. lol
Using beta app 6.1.1917

1 Like
#19

On this one, did you check the little box at the top of the window that allows you to change the Show art? I forget what the little check box says exactly but it is something like use art for all sections or something like that.

Edit: just looked at it says "apply to all recordings of this show"

#20

Yes, the art you changed was for the show, not the individual episode(s). Up Next shows episodes, not shows, and used their individual art.