New Channels DVR user - lots of question

Channels DVR Server
#1

I've installed Channels DVR on a QNAP TS-253A and have been running TVE as my only source. I just received a new SiliconDust Prime Tuner and will be setting it up. The QNAP is hosting Channels DVR and also is a Roon Server.

In addition to using it at my home and potentially retiring a TIVO Roamio, my use case is to access it from a second home using an Amazon Firestick and also when I am on the road via my Surface Pro.

My questions:

  1. Bandwidth for remote access - how much do you need for remote access?
  2. Transcoding - what are recommended settings for transcoding?
    Hardware vs. software?
    Blend/Linear/Hardware?
    Adaptive Streaming? Y or N
  3. Best remote streaming client? Firestick or Apple?
    I dropped my Roku stick as it doesn't support Channels DVR. I picked up a Firestick as it is cheaper (and I have an Amazon Prime member) and easy to play with?
    Is there a compelling reason to look at Apple over Firestick?
    Anything else I should look at?

Thanks for any help.

#2

I am very interested in the answers to your questions as well. I hope you do not mind, but I am going to pose a few as well...

  1. Is there a way to denote (Red R or color the entire block red or something like that) when a show on a particular channel is set to record.

  2. Is there a way to group shows together in the Recordings menu... instead of showing me 30 recordings for a particular show in a long list mixed with other shows, give me a list of condensed show titles (Bluey, FBI, FBI Most wanted, etc), then I click on the title (Bluey) to see the 30 episodes of Bluey.

  3. Is there a way to set a recoding so it records all non-duplicated instances of a show across all channels (I can set one recoding for Bluey across all channels (Disney Jr east, Disney Jr west, Disney Channel) instead of having to set a recoding on each channel)?

  4. If I set a recoding and tell it to record all episodes and the same exact episode airs twice, will it record both or will it recognize it has already been recorded? What if the two exact airings are on different channels (Disney Jr east and Disney Jr west)?

#3

Depends on the quality you want. Anywhere from 1mbps-8Mbps per stream.

You should use the defaults which would be Hardware / Hardware / Adaptive

#4

It will turn yellow when scheduled and red when recording. This happens automatically in Channels app on Android/Apple/Amazon.

This is available on the Library tab

Sure, by creating a Series Pass via search or the guide.

The same episode will never be recorded more than once.

1 Like
#5

Thanks for the reply.

another question:

if you are importing something into the library (say ripped DVD or personal video streams) can you:

  • edit the description - for example, I have ripped "The Winds of War" which is a mini-series on 6 DVDs. They have a match but all the DVD's are named "The Winds of War" - can you edit the labels so they are "The Winds of War (1)" etc?
  • similarly, for personal videos - they import if they are in the directory - any way to label them?
#6

I don’t believe so, at this point. I’m case you are not aware, the import feature is still in the alpha stage, and is still under active development.