Hello everyone! First post here… My wife and I are tired of paying the outrageous prices of cable and are exploring different options. I was told about the Channels App and am quite interested. We were planning on using an Apple TV to play all of our other services as well, but the one thing that we loved so much with our current (soon to be prior) service was the DVR. So, can someone please explain to me how all of this works together if we do the Channels DVR? From what I’ve read up to this point, I need the HD antenna, connected to the HDHomeRun. My assumption is that the AppleTV would pick up the signal play through that? Do you use the Apple TV and the Channels DVR? Thanks for any help you guys can provide!
You plug the HD Homerun, the Apple TVs into the same network as the computer/NAS that will run the DVR. Install the channels app and then subscribe to and install the DVR on a supported device that will remain powered up. After you configure the DVR through the web admin page, the channels app will discover it.
You can then program recordings through the web or channels app.
Easy peasy.
The best performance is when everything is on a wired network ( I use Moca 2.0 and run the network over the old cable tv drops)but using an 802.11ac should work fine.
The channels that the antenna can pick up depends on where you live too. But I can get all of the Baltimore channels with a small indoor window antenna (living in Baltimore). I can get some of the DC channels if I re-orient the antenna… but most of those are just DC syndications of the channels that I already get in my home city, so I just found a place to put the antenna where I get the best signals of all the Baltimore channels and the antenna doesn’t need to be moved anymore. It is very sensitive, so I make sure not to touch it. It does take some time to get setup right the first time, though.
Same experience here. For others who are just setting up, there are apps (Signal GH on iOS, and I think there are some on Android) that can help you out with live signal strength meters.
my biggest issue is which NAS to get. I scan the posts and it seems like even the ones that are recommended have issues that pop up that get into technical areas that I am not comfortable with.
I think I am going to sit on the sidelines for now until the beta is more mature and there is more information on how the NAS’s perform.
a side question, does the current Channels DVR allow for setting up manual recordings in the event of a guide availability issue? I’m coming up on two days left on my WMC/Rovi guide so for me it is a real life situation.
First check out what channels you’d get with an antenna. I use: https://www.antennaweb.org and it showed me that I’m 16 miles away from the Baltimore towers. I got an indoor antenna (Mohu Leaf for Christmas) and plugged that into my HDHomeRun Connect. I also use a HDHomeRun Prime with a CableCard from Comcrap. This gives me 2 tuners for antenna and 3 from the Prime, and since most of the shows I record are local channels this is plenty for now (I’ll probably get another Prime soon).
This setup let me return the four boxes to Comcrap, saving me $33.50 a month (-$30 for the four boxes and -$10 for the DVR then +$7.50 for the CableCard for the Prime ). I get all the channels still, but the only channel I have issues watching is Starz since Comcrap doesn’t let me use the app.
Channels then costs $8 a month, so I’m at a savings of $25.50 a month. I’ve been using Channels a long time now so it’s saved me a lot.
You don’t need a NAS. Since my NAS isn’t powerful enough to stream out of my house while I’m gone I actually have mine running on my iMac now with a USB3 drive. I use the NAS for backup, though.
Yes, you can manually set a recording.
My NAS wasn’t powerful enough to run Channels, so I am using a mac mini for the DVR, however all of my recordings are saved to that NAS, WDMyCloud (single disk).
Windows is also a supported platform for the DVR, as is Linux. Just remember that the DVR needs to be available 24/7.
A USB 3.0 drive attached to either mac or pc is an excellent storage solution for your recordings.
The devs are very helpful in assisting in setup of Channels on your preferred platform, however, it is fairly easy and you may not even need help.
Once setup, the beta DVR is already very stable. And better than any other solution, imo. Many of the reported problems are stemming from trying to use a browser for off-line viewing. If this isn’t one of your immediate major goals, then I suggest that you try Channels on your current equipment (on a month by month basis…cancel at any time).
Lots to gain, not much to lose.
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@timstephens24 & @DebbieFL thanks for the information
at the risk of being ostracized and banned from the forum, I don’t own an Apple computer or plan to buy one to use as a DVR. so for me a NAS is the only option.
I got one of the early Seagate NAS’s and I got a WD My Cloud NAS from the Silicondust Kickstarter which turned out to be one of the earlier versions that don’t support app’s. before I get another one I want to be sure that it will handle Channels DVR well.
There’s a Windows and Linux build for the DVR up too, you definitely won’t get banned or ostracized. A lot of people have different uses for their PC and the devs have been great getting the DVR to work across multiple platforms
I’ve repurposed an older PC for the Channels DVR and works excellent so you do have options. If I was setting up new, I’d be looking at some of the SFF PC’s (NUC, etc) and adding an external drive.
BTW - The Channels DVR Beta is very stable for me and saving me a bunch over the 3 Cox boxes I used to have. Plus, a much more unified experience with the Apple TV. I now have everything I need on a single device.
Thank you everyone for your input so far! So at this point it looks like I have decided on the HDHomeRun Extend, Synology DS216+ii and then the Apple TV. A little bit of an upfront cost but will be saving me big time over the long run. Anyone have an opinion about the Apple TV and whether to get the 32 or 64gb version? We’re not into gaming so it seems like the 32gb version would be good for me?
Well, I bought my ATVs when RadioShack had the 64s for the price of the 32s, But after a year I’m still only using 200MB, and the only app that I want is VUDU.
I think Channels team is trying to ensure better resilience for temporary outages, but I don’t think with an outage that lasted past the existing data or subscription , would a manual recording continue to work.
thanks.
my DIY computer skills don’t extend much beyond installing a program or app and flipping a few switches so I don’t think I am going to go the Linux route.
You already stated you were using WMC. Why not use that computer to run channels? Or update it to Windows 10. No need to buy more equipment. I don’t see why the server won’t work in Windows 7 or 8.
my tv’s are hooked up to Xbox 360 and I don’t usually use the computer for watching tv. once WMC finally dies or I find a suitable replacement and the computer gets too old, I will probably abandon MS and get a Chrome desktop or laptop.
I already have one ATV that I am using to try out Channels and I’m just waiting to see how the server issues shake out.
I will probably get used to the Apple remote, but I will always miss having a full function remote.
I use the same system. I have 3 Xbox360’s with one WMC running on Windows 7. I’m trying the DVR on a Windows 10 computer right now, with two ATV4’s, but I’m thinking of trying to put it on my Windows 7 machine. The channels set up appears to have the best WAF right now. Similar and easy to use like WMC. I also like how it’s more of a “direct” feed than using the extenders. Picture quality appears better and it appears if the computer system shuts down or locks up we will still have tv just no DVR. The server side of Channels for the DVR also seems to use less resources than WMC. I’ve been able to use the computer and record without picture quality issues like I had with my WMC setup.
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are you running DVR under Windows 10 or under Linux?
Windows 10 computer right now. So far no problems. It’s on a system I leave on all the time.