Need help getting DVR working (again)

We've been using 'Channels DVR' for almost 4 months now & (as I mentioned in a previous post) 'on balance we're quite impressed'.

But we have a problem; when I originally setup our (Ch's) DVR_Server, I did so on a (Nvidia)Shield {2015-16gb} w/ a 4TB WD ext.HDD. That being said everyone, (including myself) went a lil' overboard w/ the amount of recordings we scheduled. Also (in hindsight), I mistakenly adjusted the (DVR) settings to error on the side of protection over deletion. We ended up nearly filling up our (4TB) HDD. So I told our (entire) household to go through & erase their recordings that they didn't want to keep. Unfortunately that only bought us a few weeks, before we were nearly (98%) full again! Then I decided to try & rectify the situation by replacing the 4TB drive w/ a 8TB (HDD I had bought on sale a while back).

[Just to provide some background] I'm alright when it comes to A/V 'stuff', but in regards to computer related 'things', I feel like a neophyte compared to most of the members of this forum. :tipping_hand_woman:

So, I disabled the (Ch's) DVR_Server running on the Shield, & then powered-down everything. (Now here's were my naivety comes into play) I figured all I would need to do is swap ext. HDD's & power back on, then enable the DVR_Server (on the Shield) & go to the Settings in the Web U.I. to make sure it recognized the new HDD. (But needless to say) that didn't work. It showed the existing DVR data, but I didn't know what steps to take to finish setting up the new (Seagate) ext.HDD. As a result, I ended up hooking the WD HDD back up again & trying to connect to the (DVR) Server, but alas that didn't work (& I was afraid to try anything, that I thought could potentially put our recordings at risk).

Consequently, here I am (asking for help). {sigh}
(Ideally) What I'd like to do is:

  1. Setup the new Seagate-8TB (ext.) HDD on the Shield {2015-16gb} as our 'DVR_Server', while preserving (future) access to the existing recordings on the WD-4TB (ext.)HDD.

  2. Then (if I understand correctly) based on what I've read on this forum, I'd like to [when time & $ permits] setup a 2nd (Ch's) DVR_Server (with our existing "ChannelsPlus" account) & move the WD-4TB (ext.) HDD to the 2nd DVR_Server; allowing members of my household to be able to watch (& hopefully :pray: Erase) their recordings, while I could still use our 1st DVR (w/ the Seagate-8TB).

Are either of these possible?
Or is there something else I'm not aware of?

Would appreciate any advice, (& hopefully) tips &/or steps I need to take in order to get us back up & running.

(Sorry I'm so long-winded) Thanks for reading my post. :slightly_smiling_face:
MsFit

What exactly is not working with the new and old drives?

I'm not (quite) sure.
I don't think they're being 'recognized'?

On the web interface I get "This site can’t be reached
dvr-shield.local ’s server IP address could not be found."

On our AppleTV(4k) we get "Your Channels DVR server could not be discovered."

Even though I "Enabled DVR" in the (Ch's) Server (app) on the Shield.

Check the shield settings to find the IP of your DVR and then use that to access it. Like http://x.x.x.x:8089

Does it load in a web browser?

Thanks Aman, it seems so obvious in hindsight!

Yes, it took me to the (Channels DVR) Settings page.
(But) what do I do now?

Should I "Enable Bonjour Discovery" &/or "Enable DVR" ?
Or is there a different step I should do 1st?

Click Support at the top right then Submit Diagnostics

In the settings there's a DVR checkbox with a directory below. What is that set to?

OK, I submitted diagnostics.
Do you also need me to email "[email protected]" ?

Below the checkbox it says {/storage/16D5-168D/NVIDIA_SHIELD/DVR}

Hope that answers you. :thinking:

Okay great.

So under /storage is where attached drives show up, with random codes like 16D5-168D. That one is probably your original drive. Do all your recordings show up on the dvr web UI? Can you play a recording?

The diagnostics show the checkbox is unchecked. If the original drive is attached then check the box and it should start working

You're correct, the original ext. HDD is connected & both checkboxes are unchecked.

Should I check/"Enable" both boxes {i.e: "DVR" & "Bonjour Discovery"} or just one?

Yes both should be enabled and then all the clients in the house will work automatically

Aman your awesome!
It looks like we have All our recordings. I tested a few w/ the Web Player & our AppleTV(4K).
Everything seems fine. :+1:

Regarding my original question(s):

Can we setup a 2nd DVR (Server) using our existing "ChannelsPlus" account?

If so, can we do that on the same network/LAN ?

Would we be able to move our original (WD-4TB) ext. HDD to the 2nd DVR, & continue to playback our existing recordings?

Great, glad you're back up and running.

If you want to do what you were originally trying to do, you would need to connect both drives to a computer, move all the files over from the 4TB to the 8TB, then attach the 8TB to the SHIELD.

In the DVR, you would uncheck the DVR checkbox. Underneath click "..." and then select the new drive, which will look like /storage/XXXX-XXXX. There are more instructions here: https://getchannels.com/docs/articles/move-recordings/

If you really want to setup another DVR, you can do that as well but you'd need another hardware device. Then on each TV you would have to click Connect to DVR > At Home and enter the IP of the second DVR. You probably also want to leave "Bonjour" checkbox off on the second one so it doesn't conflict.

Darn, I was hoping it would be easier. :slightly_frowning_face:

Is that the only way we'd be able to do what I was trying to do?
{In particular: watch (& keep) most of our recordings on the original HDD?}
FWIW We don't have to have multiple devices have access to those recordings.

I thought we would be able to start from scratch with the new (Seagate-8TB) ext. HDD setup as 'removable storage' on the Shield; & in the near future hook-up our current (WD-4TB) ext.HDD to a new 'device' {i.e: a Raspberry Pi4 or a different (Nvidia) Shield}.
Ideally having 2 separate DVRs.

Are there any other options/work-arounds?
Perhaps setting up an additional "ChannelsPlus" account?

Sorry, I'm not trying to be a pain. :disappointed:

It's not possible to run more than one instance of the DVR on the SHIELD. But if you have some other computer, pi, nas, etc you can install and run another dvr using the same account/subscription.

Oh, there is one thing that would help here.. There's a feature that lets you add a second drive and use that for new recordings. It's a bit of a PITA to setup at the moment however. Do you have access to a PC or Mac to run some commands?