I currently have a TiVo Romaio OTA and am running a Plex server on an 8 core Ryzen windows PC. Just use the Plex server for archives of tv shows I pull from the TiVo and movies I've ripped from disc and sometimes music playin of mp3.
So I m looking for something that can handle an ATSC 3.0 tuner like HDhomerun flex4k. Plex seems to not work with that from what I am seeing.
What can channels do with that?
Will it be able to replace my Plex server for movies and Shows i have already in a similar way. Will it play h.265 and h.264 videos
I have an Android smart tv and some fire stick 4k max sticks to use as the streaming device.
So I could run channels and Plex on the same PC?
I was looking at perhaps that could be possible or as an alternative using the siliconedust DVR software though I hear it's not as good and doesn't look like a try before buy option is offered by them.
Seems also like Channels DVR does not have issues with audio in nextgen broadcasting like it seems Plex isn't ready for yet.
Nextgen is launching in my area so I would like to take advantage of the new technology. Just want to make sure I know how it will all work before buying the flex4k
Yes, should be no problem.
You would create a directory that Channels DVR "owns" on a drive and uses to record to.
Lots of Channel users are using an HDHR4k tuner.
Of course, Channels DVR cannot use any storage in or attached to an HDHR tuner. It can only acccess the tuners.
Very nice. Thanks. I was thinking a separate drive in the PC or just a separate folder on my 4TB storage drive to record to would do it. The OS and everything else is on an SSD.
This looks like it's something I and do mostly with what I have already.
One thing I really like about Channels DVR is it's portable.
You can run it using any server supported, then backup and restore settings to another server.
You can also setup multiple secondary storage locations where you can move recordings to them to make room on your primary storage location where it records to.
It's seems pretty good, just don't like paying again for something after paying for a lifetime Plex pass years ago with media I have built since I used windows media center with a tuner.
But it's not a lot really and does what I want then it's worth a try.
And they offer a one month free trial, then $8/mo or $80/yr.
I also bought a lifetime Plex pass, but no longer use it.
I also purchased 5 TiVo's through the years with lifetime/all-in and they're mostly collecting dust.
An S3-HD, a couple Premiers, a Roamio and a Bolt.
So when I get my flex4k I want to try the whole home DVR app on my smart TV and the fire stick 4k max in the stupid tv and install the server program on windows and give it its own directory to place recording. And it should live beside Plex ok. Nice. That's the plan.
I just checked the play store on my OnePlus 7pro.
I found the channels whole home DVR and channels for HDhomerun.
Looks like from my phone I can install the whole home app on the phone and the TV.
Now can I watch live tv and recordings out side of home like I can do with recording on Plex.
Be aware that some stations roll out nextgen better than others. Some work out the kinks in a week and some have issues still after months. Just realize that if you utilize nextgen this early. Think of it as joining a beta. Not trying to scare you off, mine has been pretty solid except commercial detection is almost non existent on atsc 3,0. If you have any problems. You won’t find better dev support than channels devs
I also have a Plex lifetime pass. And for the most part, my movie watching still comes out of Plex. But keep this in mind, which you might not already be aware of: Plex and Channels can both be pointed at the same directories. So your Plex content can also be accessed by Channels. And anything you record using Channels DVR can also be accessed by Plex. You get the best of both worlds.
Yeah, it's nice to have paid for Plex once and then you're done. Unfortunately, Channels does not have a lifetime pass. But I happily pay the $80/year for Channels because it is such a great product with great support.
Actually they just launched today. Looking at AVS forum it is on a low power station that has a sharing agreement with WHTM our abc station. So far only the the main ABC feed is live at this point. Seems like is still in testing as of now. Someone near me has a flex 4k that has been posing his outcomes. It's good that the support here is good. No one is honestly this responsive on the Plex forums.
Well that's great. Being able to use them together makes it seem like a much better deal. As it's seems both have some strengths.
I think I am going to watch what is going on with the discussion on AVs about the launch here of 3.0 for a week or so before I jump in. This is looking like the future. And man if it works out well I can sell or give my TiVo Romaio and mini to someone else. I don't have much to loose.
One thing to keep in mind is that Channels has a very particular directory and naming structure. When I converted from almost the exact same setup as @Michael_Parks, I had to make a lot of changes to make it Channels friendly. Check this out for details:
That said, I have a Lifetime Plex Pass and do have the setup @_Mike described, but only use Plex now for 2 things:
(1) Personal content, especially fitness video (other people concerts and home movies). You can get Channels to look at these and play them, but it will try to make them match them to real movie/TV content and you cannot control the Metadata like Plex. This is on the roadmap, but not something I would count on over the next year.
(2) Offline downloads. This is in Beta on Apple iPhone/iPad right now. Whenever this goes live with Apple (let's say 3-6 months), it will be another amount of that time before it comes to Android. New features always go to Apple first, but they are working hard to close the gap on the time it takes to port things over to Android.
Honestly, though, just make the jump; you will have zero regrets. Channels is a much better solution overall than the TiVO/Plex combo pack in almost every way. The areas it lacks they either are working on or are so minor as to not matter. Fancy Bits is a 3-person shop that are active here every day (I wanted to yell at them when I started getting Beta notes on Thanksgiving to please just take some time off!).
Here's my standard reception for former TiVO users:
Here's my standard response to questions on hardware:
And has others have noted, there is is a free month preview. You have nothing to lose!
I too am a former TiVo Roamio/Plex user. I'm now a Channels/Plex user.
The monthly fee is definitely worth it. This development team is super responsive and will fix a bug within hours of it being reported. They are constantly working hard on bringing new features.
I run both Plex and Channels on my Synology 1019+. They never miss a beat.
all this is pretty cool. So I was looking at the stream link feature. I have Netflix, Amazon prime, I use a few channels off StiRR like Circle and Comet mostly and a few things from Pluto tv also.
I am very interested in seeing how I could incorporate those in to the channels app and the guide grid. It seems even recording them is possible.
There are also a channels from Philadelphia I can only tune at night like WCAU and I like the CoZi channel. It would be awesome to have it as a streaming channel. If all that is possible it sounds great and totally worth it. I like that I can stream out of the house too. I can currently only do that with shows I've imported to Plex.
So really $8 a month means really packing lunch a few more days in a month vs going out. Not much overall of a sacrifice.
I'm becoming more convinced that the support it's there, that's worth something.
And how you all kept adding helpful comments is amazing. Most fourms I don't get this warm of a response.
I definitely decided to take the first step. I ordered the HDHOMERUN flex4k. Today. I'll have it before the holiday break when I will have some time off work. That means time to experiment with it.
