New to channels, 2 questions about DVR

Channels DVR Server
#1

Hi all.. New to Channels, and so far, I've been fairly pleased. I'm using channels on 2 tv's (With Apple TV) HD Homerun Prime, Verizon Fios, and Rasberry Pi DVR server.

First question is that I"ve noticed on occasion the system seems to "Forget" that the DVR is connected. When I launch the Channels app, there are no DVR controls in the menu. This has happened 2-3 times now. Pi has power, no flashing lights. It's come back each time I've power cycled the Rpi but I'm hoping not to have to continue doing that.. Thoughts?

Second question.. My wife is frustrated with the FF/RW controls while a show is actively recording. For instance, if she records something and starts after it's 20 minutes in then tries to FF through the commercials.. It seems like the DVR is really choking on handling this.. I'm using a 4TB WD essentials USB3.0 hard drive.. Hoping to get both of these issues resolved so that I can return all of my cable boxes and be done with it!

Thanks very much in adavance!

John

#2

Are you still able to access the DVR web UI when this is the case?

Are the Apple TVs on WiFi or wired? Are they the HD or 4K models?

You can run a speed test to the apple TV as described in the faq: https://getchannels.com/docs/getting-started/faqs/channels-apps/#how-can-i-test-the-network-speed-at-my-tv

#3

Tmm1,

Thank you for the quick reply.. The last time the DVR "disappeared" I did go to the web UI page to see if I could see anything. On at least that occasion, I got an error/blank page when I tried to bring it up. I was able to reach the UI page shortly after rebooting the RPI however.

The two Apple TV's are both the newer generation AppleTV 4K. The one that is in the media room in the basement is hard wired to the network, and is in the same location as where the RPI and HD Home run are also tied into the network. The television/Apple TV that my wife primarily uses is connected via WIFI and I was able to follow the directions for speed test. Download speed 193; Latency 13.73, Jitter 20.15.

My home network system is Eerros Pro wifi 6 with 3 units/Gigabit from Fios. Thank you again for your thoughts!

John

#4

I used to have slowness moving around in a recorded or time shifted show when I was running the server on a VM. Switched to an actual computer and the problem went away. My advice, ditch the pi and literally use anything else and you will probably see an improvement.

#5

I run 2 Pi's as Channels dvrs and they perform flawlessly.
Don't have any issues with lag or ff/rr seeking, even when the thing is recording.
The hardware is plenty fast enough to handle such tasks, it is only remote transcoding that it is weak for.

I do use a Samsung T7 usb.3.1 SSD on my DVR and a Samsung 2.5in 850Evo ssd in a 3.0 enclosure on my other DVR, which is ALOT faster and more responsive than using any standard patter drive based DVR. Also, pretty sure the raw hardware in the Pi4 is stronger than most of your typical cable company cable boxes or even most tivo boxes.

In my experience, i use to run Channels on a Intel NUC i7 with 4 cores at 3Ghz+, pcie mvme ssd, and 10Gig network interface, I actually saw a increase in normal performance moving my Channels DVR server to the Pi. It just felt overall zippier to load and pull up menus. Of course, much slower to process commercials, but since i don't each recordings until many hours, if not days later, and also do not remote stream, does not bother me.

My guess for the OP, is that the usb hard drive they use is slowing things down, also, they may have network issues that may contribute "Latency 13.73, Jitter 20.15." feels a bit on the high side to me. I have never seen my stats anywhere near that high and i am direct wired.

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#6

That I assume is from your wifi client device?

(Cause if that is what you get on your wired client, then something is very wrong.)

About things "disappearing" is your Channels DVR server (the pi) set to use a static IP address or DHCP reservation in your router so that its IP address does not change?
It also is good idea to set your client devices with that as well, so things do not change network side.

My guess for your performance issues, it almost always comes down to network issues and/or the performance of the storage device you are using.
I use a very fast SSD usb on my Pi DVR and have not had any issues with seeking performance. (Samsung T7)

#7

Slampman and Speedingcheetah,

Thank you both for the suggestions. We are not TV "Powerusers" so I"m resistant to hooking the server up to a PC.. One of the big benefits of doing this was to not have a PC hooked up to the system, and having to maintain it as well.

Made a few network changes this morning and put the DVR server on static lease, as well as both apple TV boxes. Hopefully that makes a difference regarding the DVR dropping off. Time will tell with that.

I also moved one of my Eerros units and hard wired it to the troublesome TV/AppleTv. I was able to get much more speed (5-600mbs with almost no jitter/lag) than having the Apple TV running on WiFi. The FF/RW is still not very good however on that TV. So probably a combination of internet bandwith, and hard drive speed. For some reason the AppleTv that's hard wired along with the DVR server is much better in regards to the FF/RW.. It's getting essentially the same speeds 5-6/700 mbs..

I was wondering when I bought the hard drive if a SSD would be the better option, but followed the Channels page "Shopping List" and assumed that was an optimal setup. Looks like I need to pick up an additional Eerros wifi router, as well as a SSD for the DVR server..

Thanks all very much, all ears if you have any more suggestions!

Cheers!

#8

Keep in mind that throughput isn’t everything. Latency also comes into play, especially for things that are going “back and forth” with the server like fast forwarding and skipping around the timeline. Even if there is decent throughout wifi pretty much always has higher latency and jitter than a hardwired connection.

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