New Synology DS218+, how move existing recordings

I tested Channels DVR on my Mac for a month and acquired recordings.

I just bought a Synology DS218+ and was able to install Channels DVR and access the DVR from all of my devices.

Now I want to move the recordings from my Mac to the Synology. I've found topics saying all I need to do is replace the dvr directory in Synology with the contents of the dvr directory on my Mac.

I've found the dvr directory on my Mac, but have no idea where it is on the Synology. I'm guessing the directory is "hidden" on the Synology. From DSM there seems to be no way to access hidden directories/files. I was hoping to see the Synology dvr directory in the Finder on my Mac so I could simply copy the dvr directory across the network.

So how exactly do I move the files?

On DSM you would create a new volume called DVR and copy over the folders from the Mac, including TV, Movies, Database etc

Then open http://x:8089/restore and navigate to the Database folder you copied over

I created a shared folder (I called it "dvr mac" since it complained about "dvr" probably because I already had a directory called "dvr" from when I did the Channels DVR install) and moved the directory from my Mac to the Synology.

I next did the restore but discovered you had to turn off the DVR first. I did that and after selecting my shared directory, the restore seemed to work.

Now when I check the Enable DVR checkbox to restart, it just spins. I've tried refreshing the page but it seems stuck.

Now what?

What does the Log tab show?

The last entry about the time I did the restore is

2019/12/04 19:40:40 [DVR] Recording engine stopped.

No errors.

Hmmm. When you refresh the page is the starting dvr still spinning?

Try restarting the software via the Synology app center

Refreshing doesn't do anything.

I restarted Synology and that seemed to work. The DVR is now pointing to my "dvr mac" shared directory. My original intent was to overwrite the initial dvr directory created when I installed Channels DVR. Now that directory still exists...and as I stated before...somewhere where DSM can't access.

Anyway, I need to reconfigure things and make sure the DVR is actually working.

Thanks

You should be able to create a volume of the same name and make it show up on DSM. Or else you need to SFTP to access it and move the files over or delete them.

I tried with DSM. I googled it and couldn't find any info that would let me convert the existing dvr directory to a Shared folder. There might be a way but it seems the default Synology configuration out the box limits file access beyond what you see when opening File Station the first time.

Next time, I would not do the Channels DVR install until I moved over the existing dvr directory from the Mac. Of course that means your dvr directory would be shared but that's probably a good thing. At least you see the files from DSM.

The way that's worked for me before is to create a new share and use the name of the old folder. That seems to convert it into a share.

This topic begs for a step by step Wiki/Sticky.
I know how to use Windows and Synology DSM, but not Mac.

Here's what I would do (and I just tried to verify the steps).

Source Server (Mac or other)

  1. Bring up the Channels DVR web UI on your source server you're moving from (Mac in this case)
  2. Go to Settings > DVR Database and click Save Database Backup
  3. Find the Channels DVR recording directory in Settings > Basic Setup under DVR. My case is /pathto/ChannelsDVR
  4. Stop the Channels DVR service

Destination Server (Synology NAS)

  1. Login to your Synology DSM using the username you normally use and create a Shared Folder in a volume on your Synology to hold the Channels DVR recording directory. Make sure you assign your username rights to this shared folder (I make the username the owner). In my case this shared folder is /volume1/arkives
  2. Copy or move the whole Channels DVR recording directory folder structure from your source to destination server. In my case I would move /pathto/ChannelsDVR on my source server to /volume1/arkives on my destination server. I now have /volume1/arkives/ChannelsDVR as a Channels DVR recording directory on my destination server containing everything it did on my source server
  3. Install and run the Channels DVR Synology package on your Synology NAS
  4. Go to the Channels DVR web UI and select the Restore Wizard link
  5. Select the Database directory. In my case /volume1/arkives/ChannelsDVR/Database
  6. Select the most recent backup to restore from
  7. When the web UI loads, Check Enable DVR in Settings > Basic Setup
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Thanks, the step-by-step instructions are very useful.

One thing I'd add to the list is suggesting you use a USB drive to move the directory. I copied all the files across the network using the Finder and that took forever. FTP would be faster but you'd have to set that up on the Synology and know the commands.

In addition to using a USB drive to copy the data folder over, SMB or NFS file sharing can be used by Mac, Windows and Synology.

Added link to this from Migrating Channels DVR from one device to another

@tmm1 Im having an issue following this. I made a directory in synology (dvr_dir) and moved my old dvr folder into it. Launch Channels on Synology, hit restore wizard. there is a "ChannelsDVR" folder as well as my "DVR_Dir" when i try to navigate to "DVR_Dir" to get the backup, it shows that its empty in the restore wizard, but its not (i can see in a file explorer. Is there a permission ting messed up? should i just move the old directory into the "Channels DVR" folder that it seems channels created on install?

@tmm1 nevermind got it, fixed some permissions and let the channels user see that directory

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