NEW: Channels DVR backend for Nvidia SHIELD

Beta Community DVR Beta
#261

Thanks for the tip!

There are a couple of nights this week that there are only 1 or 2 new episodes of my shows coming on so I could set up both DVRs without having to worry about conflicts just to test it out. I have 6 tuners between my Duo and Quatro models so I will be fine with that.

My only other concern (which may have been fixed with the 6.3 Shield update) is that in the past when I tested using the Plex Server I had some issues with the External USB drive disconnecting randomly. I will make that part of my testing.

Thanks again, letā€™s see how this goes!

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#262

I had similar experience as @timstephens24 trying to run DVR on Shield (but Non-Pro) version. Once Shield 6.3 was released, didnā€™t have any more of the ubiquitous external storage disconnects, however, I did have to reboot the Shield every 2-4 days to ensure recording compliance. The Pro may be more graceful.

Would really like to dedicate my 1 Shield to a server functionā€¦but I finally gave up (on testing Shield as a Channels Server), although those using HDHR DVR donā€™t appear to have these same problems. As I abandoned HDHR as my DVR service (over a year agoā€¦due to limited UI ) in favor of Channelsā€¦I have maintained my Qnap 251A for Channels DVRā€¦with zero problems. Prior to that change I was running Channels on a low spec 2010 mac mini (also no problems), just slow for transcoding when using web ui.

Looking forward to your testing experience, hopefully the Shield has improved to be able to utilize as a fully functioning serverā€¦better specs than my Qnap, although when testing the new Emby (Shield/Android) server, the Shield still seems to have to be rebooted (IMO this is a PITA).

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#263

Good to know what others have run into so I know what to potentially look out for. I just added one of my 8 TB drives as external storage late this afternoon and moved over the recordings I did today that went to the internal storage before. All those recordings did fine. I also copied over some of my recordings from the DVR on my Windows 10 machine. They are showing up just fine as well.

I have set up some future recordings as well.

Youā€™re correct about the Silicondust DVR. I was testing that last year for about a month on the Shield and I never had any issues with it - only the external drive disconnect issue. I couldnā€™t maintain using it alone because of the UI issues and need for out of the home viewing on occasion (tried Plex butā€¦ wellā€¦ uuuggghhh!).

Anyway, since I have my production DVR it wonā€™t be a disaster if there is an issue with the Shield DVR.

2 Likes
#264

Excellent. Glad to hear that you can maintain your production DVR in addition to testing on Shield.

IMO, Channels is the best solution for DVR and offers a premium experience, far more advanced than any otherā€¦but it is at a cost. To me it is more than worth the premium over other DVR offeringsā€¦especially since it is non tech household friendly. I love the fact that I donā€™t have ā€œmanageā€ this solution.

And now with the .edl file addition coupled with MrMC for total commfree playbackā€¦there is no equal. Very impressed that developers added the retroactive fix also. My previous library of ~600 movie files is now commfree. To echo your comments: Offers a pleasureable viewing experience.

Also notableā€¦check out the Advanced Pass capabilities available on the web ui. Lots of options. It takes a bit of experimentation (especially Time conditions) but invaluable to restrict future recordings and also set recordings to auto prune.

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#265

Well, this already seems to be a bust and not because of anything to do with the Channels App itself.

Overnight my external drive disconnected so I restarted the Shield this morning. Within an hour it disconnected again! Not stable enough for me to trust so I will just stick with the Windows 10 implementation for now.

However, I am considering moving my HTPC from W10 to Ubuntu since using this setup with Channels eradicates my need for MCEBuddy (literally the ONLY reason I went back to W10). I always liked running a linux server better anyway.

Oh well, hopefully Nvidia will get the external drive disconnection issue resolved somedayā€¦

#266

If you arenā€™t on Shield 6.3, then upgrade. Since upgrading, I havenā€™t had any disconnects on my 3 different mounted external storage disks.

#267

I am on 6.3. It is possible there was an issue with the drive itself but I donā€™t want to chance it right now anyway. I may check it out again when the next release comes out on the Shield. I am hoping it is somewhat soon. I am on the Beta program so I will get it early either way.

#268

Just an FYI for anyone trying to utilize Channels DVR on a Nvidia Shield.

I have tried multiple times to run Channels Server on the Nvidia Shield, without much success. Had to reboot the Shield everyday or so.

Today, I found that the 128gb SanDisk micro SD (rated class 10, from BestBuy) which I have been using on the Shield since initialization was causing problems for other apps.

Since deleting that SD card (today) and running apps on ā€œtrueā€ internal storage, Iā€™ve not experienced any problems. I havenā€™t retried Channels DVR app, however all other apps which had previously been exhibiting various problems seem to be running OK.

For the fun of it, I may in the near future try to run Channels DVR on the Shield to retestā€¦however, my installation on a low powered Qnap 251A has been flawless and adequate for my requirements.

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#269

Just an FYI and add to the post above - I just put the Channels DVR onto my Shield about 5 days ago since it updated to Oreo on my Pro version.

I have a 2TB WD Easystore External drive plugged in for the recordings.

So far I havenā€™t had any issues. If I do I will post again.

#270

A post was split to a new topic: API issue: wonā€™t play on first launch

#271

Any updates? Looking to try this setup.

#272

I see there is ONLY version 1.0 on the PlayStore. Last update was may of 2017. Is this DVR dead?

#273

The DVR updates itself without the Play Store.

#274

Necrobump

Where is the restore option? I'm an idiot and cleared the cache and data for the dvr server. The recordings and database backups are still there, just can't find the restore

Screenshot_20210522-164047_Chrome
Screenshot_20210522-164047_Chrome1080Ɨ2160 164 KB

#275

Ok I just manually put it in the address bar.

#276

http://X.X.X.X:8089/restore

Replace the X's with your Shield's IP.

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#277

The cache + data for the dvr server was almost 2.5gb, and I keep the server on the internal storage. after clearing cache + data, then restoring the most recent database it is just a few hundred MB now. Wonder why it got so big.