Hi,
I’ve got the M1 as my Channels server, along with a few other tasks on my homelab. I’m curious to know if upgrading to the M4 non-pro model will likely enhance Channels performance, particularly in terms of commercial detection and other related features.
I believe the external disk speeds and multicore performance are the key specifications that influence these aspects.
I am very curious about this as well! I am considering this exact upgrade!
Transcoding is already accelerated and quite good with the M1. You might get a little bump in speed with Comskip, but I doubt it would be anything noticeable. (Remember, commercial detections are sequential, not done in parallel.)
In short, the M1 is perfectly fine for Channels. Unless you have other needs that would benefit from the M4, such as faster Thunderbolt/USB, I doubt you would see any difference. (The M1 mini has USB3/Thunderbolt3 ports, the M4 has USB4/Thunderbolt4, and the M4 Pro has USB4/Thunderbolt5.)
Thanks so what about eg. Transcoding a 4k Bluray file to a remote client. Im assuming this is where transcoding requirements are the greatest.
The setting where, you allocate the number of cores for this task, presumably more resources can be allocated here as a proportion. I am looking to quicken up the detection process post recordings.
I have not attempted this, but every media server–type software consistently indicates that the hardware acceleration of Apple silicon is superior to both Intel and Nvidia. (Is remotely streaming a 4K ripped BluRay at lower bitrates something you actually do with regularity?)
Those aren't "cores", they are threads. Usually your OS will evenly distribute the threads across available cores, but not always; sometimes multiple threads will have to share a single core, each taking turns. That being said, the performance cores of any generation of Apple silicon are quite competitive. And while you may get a little boost with an M4 versus the M1, I think you are talking maybe 2–5 minutes gained. In my opinion, that's neglible.
How long does an h264 1hr tve recording take with the M1? My guess is you only see about a minute faster comskip going from 2 threads to 3 threads on your M1. I think you will see diminishing returns after 2 threads. It will be faster but not by much. Here is what I have noted with my intel chip. If 2 threads on the M1 takes 8 minutes there is room for improvement but if it takes 3-4 minutes an M4 won’t help much.
I decided to pull the trigger if for no other reason to future proof myself. The base model (which is more than enough) with the EDU discount is $499 and they are giving me $230 for a trade-in of my old M1 Mac Mini. That means I am able to upgrade to the M4 for only $269! To me, that is a no brainer upgrade!
I believe I dont consider it because I know that it won't work. In Australia, we don’t have the bandwidth to stream remotely at the bitrate required to stream a Blu-ray without transcoding, so it doesn’t cross my mind.
Yeah understand that improvements won't be significant. Thanks for the info.
Yeah if I can swing the same turnover cost, I will consider it. For some reason my macmini isn't eligible for trade in.
At least my expectations are in check now if I decide to do it
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