Another year is coming to a close. As we approach 2023, we'd love to know, what would you like to see in 2023?
Playlist that can be played on a loop.
Missing: PIP that’s not reliant on the OS. Make a your own that’s better. Play to functionality on the tv clients. If I have multiple clients open on TVs, I should be able to use play to from one tv to another. And make it easier to change starting channel numbers for sources.
Media consumption would be better if it’s presented differently. Scrolling to the infinite right on shows with numerous episodes and seasons. Get rid of gracenote for imported tv shows.
Thanks.
User profiles would be the biggest win for me, especially if you could assign profiles to devices. My example is that I have a TV in the spare bedroom that would be really nice to lock down for visitors to just access the basics. The new feature where you can allow/block content helps a lot and I'm excited to try that out in there when it comes to Fire TV but I feel like that's a little intense for the average user anyway. Having the user profiles would help with getting me and my wife to our favorite channels and our shows separated on the main TV.
Email notifications when something goes wrong:
I REALLY need remote download on Android.
On the Firestick, the time displays in the upper right hand corner of the "Guide" screen. It would be really nice if it also appeared on the "Recordings" and "Library" screens.
Closed caption problems on Pluto sometimes keeps me from using Channels.
I would like Channels to record on a secondary disk if the primary disk was getting full.
If would be nice if ComSkip would mark the "Be Right Back" type screens used on Fox Business and Pluto as things to be skipped.
I would like to call up a list of programs/episodes that have been recorded in the past and selectively mark some as not recorded.
This.
Or, alternatively a little notification badge that pops up on the client (although email would be better).
My NAS covers one of the potential failure modes (emailing me when it's full), but there are plenty other ways for stuff to go wrong and would be nice if Channels would give a heads up.
Probably not ever gonna happen, but the ability to access Netflix/Hulu any maybe even YouTube directly within Channels would be amazing. I have no desire to mess with PlayOn. Budget is limited.
I know there is other softare that can do this, but integration would be so cool.
In the web interface, include Virtual Channels in the Favorites filter of the Live TV Guide.
The ability to Favorite specific Virtual Channels.
I also like @billyjoe's idea of user profiles. This would allow you to have user specific favorite channels on a shared TV.
This has been there for ages. Check the Sources drop down.
Okay, here is my crazy dream:
I want all streaming services to play through Channels' media player. In other words, I create a stream link to Hulu, but instead of opening up the Hulu app it would play in Channels directly and use all of the Player's functionality like skip ahead/back. It would almost be like integrated PlayOn on the fly!
I've pondered a lot about how this might technically work. My thoughts are that it would open a headless Chrome session in the background that would play the content, and then Channels would capture that and it put it into the Player. This seems to be pretty similar to what is happening with TVE stations right now.
I have read through the TOS on things like Netflix and to say the frown on something like this is an understatement. Although I do not believe they are legally enforceable, I sadly would understand any hesitations to attempting something like this.
Yes thats pretty much the scenario I would want as well. But I understand the difficulties. #DRM lol
And while I am at at, here is what I'm looking for in metadata management (aside from what is stated above)
Merge same content into single listing, pop up to select which source to play from (or choose default order, like recordings > Hulu > Kanopy).
Similar to this, be able to merge content from Custom Sources with their TVE/OTA equivalents.
Build and mange stream links (and .strm files) directly in Channels interface, no more files.
Access to Gracenote database to see episodes names/order without having to create content first. Or if this is combined with #3 above, subscribe to content and then add links so it is available already in expected order.
Ability to search for content not in the upcoming guide and set a recording for it (aware I can do this with advanced passes, would like something much simpler).
I've been looking for this forever... thank you. It's actually in the Favorites drop down, not the Sources.
I'll play.
I am an Apple TV household with 7 ATVs. With Channels I am able to create a simple, consistent interface to entertainment that is intuitive and easy for the whole family and guests to get just about any available content. Today, we are down to only four apps, and I would love that to be reduced to one. The apps and usage: 1. Channels, by far the most used in the house for linear TV, recorded content, Movie/TV Library, and now even home video; 2. Apple TV app is used for integrated discovery across (almost) all streaming apps as well as personalized favorite shows, watch history/up next. It is far from perfect, but the ability to consolidate content across Disney, HBO, ESPN, Hulu, Amazon, and a half a dozen others is a BIG need in todays world. I also LOVE, that anytime any of my teams are playing, it pops up for easy access (and live scores); 3. Netflix because they don't play well with others. I would watch a lot more of their content if it was integrated with the TV app. (on a side note, if you are looking for the worst experience designers in the world, they work at the big streaming services and you can probably have them for cheap!); and finally 4. YouTube (OG), I enjoy killing time by watching silly stuff on YouTube. Guilty pleasure? Maybe, but still can't help myself.
Anyway, whatever you guys decide to do with 2023, I am sure it will be amazing.
For me, it's the ability of the DVR to act on corrupted recordings and possibly replace them with better versions.
I know this is a lot to ask but you did ask the question so here it is in this thread:
I know there are a lot of technical difficulties involved but maybe something can be done. 
Backup to an optional location so a separate device can be used. Backing up to the same device dose not address hardware failure.
Reviews linked to shows and movies.