Newb Questions

Channels DVR Server
#1

Ok, I'm a bit of a n00b to setting this stuff up, but I'm a long time IT guy/Network Engineer, etc. I know my way around linux, mac, windows, whatever. Anyway, here is what I'm trying to accomplish and I'm hoping some of you can clear up a few things and maybe point me in the right direction.

I have a HDHomeRun Quatro, a brand new UnRaid server that I put together and a Channels subscription (along with Hulu Live). On my Unraid server I have experimented with Plex, Jellyfin and some other stuff. When I saw what Channels had to offer with TVE and the ability to output m3u8 and xmltv, I decided to get into it.

Can Jellyfin or other media server platforms actually control Channels-DVR (the actual DVR side) so that when I click record in the jellyfin web app or Kodi client, etc., it actually tells Channels to do the recording and do the comskip and stuff? I assumed that if I pointed the "/dvr" docker folder for Jellyfin to the same folder that Channels uses to handle recordings and that it would somehow magically work. I think at one time, it appeared that way to me, but I was just confused about it and Jellyfin was actually just making it's own recordings and putting them in the same folder the Channels happens to use. I tried pointing at the "/channels-dvr" docker folder mapping since that is where the configuration for Channels resides and now, well, I have ^%%& stored in all kinds of places and my library is a mess. :smiley:

If this simply isn't possible, is that something that could be possible in the future? I love some of your features, but I'm looking to design a more holistic platform and something that can be replicated and/or shared with my parents. I want to take this further than most would because I see an opportunity here to put together a "product", if you will.

A single, beautiful interface to handle Live OTA TV, ripped DVD's (both movies and TV), music library, streaming services, IPTV, etc. with a nice TV guide and a familiar set top box look/feel. Something my Grandma (God rest her soul) would have been able to use after I put it all together and package it. Oh, multiple user / profile support with settings differences for each user is also a must. Kodi seems to be a great front-end for it all.

So, can I take advantage of the Channels actual DVR functionality without using its' interface? Or am I stuck using the DVR functionality of Jellyfin, Plex, or similar? I'd really like Channels to handle as much of this as possible so I can present a single "tuner" to Jellyfin that has the proper channel listings for everything OTA, IPTV and TVE (Your m3u8/XMLTV interface is GREAT! I love that you can edit it right in the web app). The ultimate goal would be to have an OTA tuner such as HDHomeRun -> Channels ->Jellyfin -> Kodi. I'm just wanting to get the best features of each combined, where possible. Then I can share my stuff with my parents over the Internet and they can cancel their Google Fiber TV service finally and we can share a single DVR system that just happens to also have everything combined into a nice looking interface that won't confuse them. I should mention that I also have Google Fiber, we are only like 10 miles apart, so it'll almost be like we're literally on the same LAN with 1Gbps.

Any help to know what folders to map where would be greatly appreciated, as would any other advice, threads to read that I might have missed or didn't quite grasp when I read through them before, or anything else you may have for me.

Thanks and sorry for the long-winded post!

#2

It sounds like you want to abandon the Channels interface and use it like a network DVR and actually the view the content and schedule recordings from another system. I am not aware of a API will do that.

You can easily pull the shows and movies into Plex or Jellyfin and that should work well. I know it does in Plex but have not tried it with Jellyfin. But you will still have to schedule recordings in Channels.

I encourage you to give Channels a solid try. The interface is not as flashy as platforms like Plex but it is improving quickly and it is more responsive than any other platform I have tried by far -- especially with live TV. I have been using Plex for 7 years and have been reasonably happy. I found Channels about a year ago after being really frustrated with the DVR in Plex. Channels already had a better DVR when I started but development over the past year has been extremely rapid -- especially when you consider that channels is developed by a three person team. Long story short, I now have a short list of things I am looking for, then I will dump Plex all together and have a single simple interface to consume media.

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#3

I think you'll find that Channels is more "grandma" friendly than the other stuff you mentioned like Plex. Repeatedly you will see people report that Channels is very high on the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor), and my wife is about as hard to get to accept something as anyone. I have most of the Disney movies we watch with the kids recorded now in Channels, and even though we have a Disney+ subscription, she will end up watching it in Channels most of the time even though she has to hit the commercial skip button. Its just more convenient for her.

That said, the libraries that Channels creates are standard stuff so you can just point your media apps at it, but I don't think the commercial skips from Channels will work with them because its just inserted markers and not a destructive commercial removal.

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#4

Thanks very much for the speedy reply!

I've used Channels DVR off and on for a couple years. In fact, I had my parents trying to use it for a bit to see if they could live with it over their more traditional setup offered by Google. They've now abandoned it, like Google has a habit of doing. My parents are grandfathered in, but we have no idea how long that will last. I'm sure they will start pushing users off that don't leave on their own in short order.

Channels alone just isn't going to cut it for them. They're in their 60's and 70's and somewhat tech-limited. My father used to be a programmer for the Government, but he gets confused with the newer stuff due to age and losing some mental capacity. Switching back and forth between the streaming services and regular TV via the Google box is already a challenge. And I tried both an Apple TV 4th gen and also an Amazon Fire TV. It took me forever to get them to understand the difference between Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Video and the Fire TV device. So, yeah, they need something SIMPLE.

Since Hulu is available via TVE through Channels, and since I happen to have their Live TV service already, I can provide them with the TV/"Cable" channels they are used to by combining some services (Hulu Live TV, Philo, possibly Sling, Pluto, etc.). Since I'm building it for the "family", we can share the cost for our two households and I daresay have more channels and a better experience with just that aspect, when I get this all figured out and working. Toss in the fact that I'm ripping all the DVD's and stuff, and with something like Kodi integration, they'll be able to have pretty much everything inside one single box and screen interface. I can make it look and operate like something that is natural for them. The only thing they'll have to do is switch to watch Netflix or Amazon shows.

100% agreed with you on the development! I didn't realize it was only 3 people, and that's awesome. Maybe I can talk them into making it be a 4 person team. :slight_smile: My ultimate goal would be to find some work (I'm disabled due to Type 1, diagnosed 2 years ago @ 44 years old!) that lets me work when I'm up to it and from home.

#5

The best you're going to get is scheduling recordings through Channels and letting another media center app import its recordings. Channels doesn't offer a way to let other software integrate with the DVR functions like scheduling. There is no plan to do this either. Not because we want to be a closed system, but this just isn't our vision of the software and it's not how we're designing it. It's pretty open on other fronts though like exporting lineups and EPG.

Our efforts are, and will remain, on making the best whole experience utilizing our backend server and front end clients.

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#6

Hey Maddox, I thought I had it setup right to do that, but when I did finally get a recording to appear, it gave me an error when I tried to play it. The error was "This client isn't compatible with the media and the server isn't sending a compatible media format." Any ideas how to fix? I should also mention that I see all the other folders in the "/shares" folder over in Jellyfin too (datbase, images, etc.)

Also, are you THE Maddox, ala "The Best Page In The Universe"?

#7

Christ, no. I am just a normal person that is not an asshole on the internet :smile:

The only thing you need to do to get the videos from Channels into another app is to add the right directories just like you would anything else. Just point at the TV and Movies directories appropriately, there's not much to it.

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#8

LOL, he is indeed an asshole!

I figured it out. I had tried HW Transcoding and it wasn't working. I have some stuff left to do to take advantage of that, I got stuck with the library stuff and forgot I had made that other change. I set it back and now we're good.

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