I am going to take another run at using channels. I attempted this in the past using a Tablo Gen 3 and wasn’t really happy with the results. I see now that Support for Tablo has ended…
My situation / network is such that I am going to use my attic antenna and my Synology as my server.
I would like to have four tuners…
*I see that Channels recommends the HD Homerun. **The link to Amazon shows devices that are not available.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
There was never official support for Tablo.
The HDHomeRun tuners are the only supported tuner. They're not merely recommended, they are your only option if you want official support.
Or the atsc 3.0 model for $50 more. If you live in an area that has ATSC 3.0 and no DRM on the channels.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092GCN9NL?ref=emc_s_m_5_i_atc
Do you think that this is the best way to go (in hopes that ATSC3.0 may be an option in the future)?
Would going with this tuner limit me in anyway if it doesn’t?
No it doesn't limit you in anyway. All 4 tuners on it can do atsc 1.0. So there is really no downside outside of price. Plus the hopes the government doesn't allow DRM to be the norm on the ATSC 3.0 channels.
Thanks for the info guys! Channels looks like a good option. I already have the Tablo Gen 3 quad and the Gen 4 quad. We are still using the Gen 3 as we don’t really care for the 4th Gen at all…
The Gen 3 is finally acting a little flaky, and I’m hedging my bets with Channels…
What is your opinion on using the Synology NAS for storage? I would be watching on Apple TVs.
I have used the synology nas ds920+ for my primary server in the past. But have since moved onto a mini pc with a usb nvme 4tb drive attached to it. You will always get better performance with a hard drive attached directly than over the net. The direct install of channels on Synology has limitations with the kernel and support for chrome if you decided to try out TVE. There are options to install Channels in a Container and that allows you to still update Chrome to latest version that Channels has. I guess it depends on the model of synology nas you have?
I guess I have more research to do… Currently, I have the DS 723+
I was also thinking about possibly a Mac mini?
I’m just looking for the best possible gear to do this right.
It’s all a little hard to get my head wrapped around (at 70) 
If your looking at a Mac mini... I will have to let the other guys speak for that. Never owned one.
I used a spare mini pc that has 12900k chip on it. Way overkill for channels. But I also run all the other bells and whistles like containers to pull in pluto, tubi, and frndly into channels. It runs Debian Linux 13.1 and its all command line. No desktop. I was able to find enough documentation on youtube and the internet to get it done and to mount the usb nvme drive. Can't say it was the easiest setup. But I like it and performs very well.
Thanks for the info! I know Channels has a native installer for Mac and Apple TV. I guess I could install an external drive on an old Mac with Channels and let that be my server to experiment with… long-term, Mac mini’s are so small, inexpensive and with the M1 chip, super capable for encoding and what not… you’ve given me a lot to think about! Thanks again!
A Mac Mini with an M1 would be a great DVR. It's what I use.
Do you use a ext drive connected to the mini?
I have a 2022 Mac Mini with M1 chip serving Channels. Everything goes onto an 8TB external USB drive. Has been working great for years. Before that I ran the server on an Intel NUC running Ubuntu. That also worked great.
Thanks guys! All great options…
I think I might pull the trigger on the cheapest current Mac mini I can find and add an external drive
there are 2 things to watch out for on a mac mini one is smb file sharing can be buggy, the other is you can't run mcebuddy to remove commercials or transcode media.
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