Performance Question - Using Channels from Other Countries

Channels DVR Server
#1

The Channels DVR will be located in my home in the US. I'd like to use the iPad app to access it from countries in Europe and South America that I frequently travel to. Obviously a good internet connection will be required on both ends. As long as I have that, does anyone see any issues? Has anyone else used Channels DVR to access their US channels when they are traveling in other countries? Experiences?

Thanks

#2

Yes, works great, perfectly developed for the task at hand. I’ve had zero issues.

#3

Good to hear. What is your up/down speed where you host the server? Are you using a PC or NAS?

#4

Mac mini server. Was previously an old iMac which worked fine too. Broadband speeds with Spectrum cable are about 500 down, 25 up.

#5

I'm currently in EU / and am just starting to learn about Channels DVR... my QNAP NAS is here with me in the EU - Questions:

Am I able to log in to my Xfinity account from here in the EU? or must the DVR Server reside in my home where the Xfinity service is located in the US?

(I realize this might be a silly question - but I currently access my Xfinity service through my personal VPN server at home in the US... I'm hoping there is a way to set up my NAS/DVR Server to reside in the EU... and record my Xfinity programs from here in the EU) Can anyone kindly offer some best practice setup options to accomplish this? Should I just relocate the NAS to the US, or can it be done from here?

This is a broader question - - as I have up to this point NOT been unable to scan/log into my Xfinity account from here, I only loaded my personal Movies and TV Show directories on the NAS... Channels finds these, scans them, but my IOS app on my LAN can not connect... I'm having a hard time trouble shooting what exactly the problem is.. can someone kindly direct me to where/how I can research this problem?

(Virtualization Station is not running - my IOS device easily finds the NAS - but the Channels App seems to be stuck on the "Scanning for sources... page)

Thanks for reading.

#6

ok, never mind Question 2...
For anyone else facing my same (silly) problem - I solved this particular problem by reinstalling the Server software - - AND.. installing the CORRECT client app - - there are 2 - The one for HDHomeRun doesn't seem to find my Movies or TV Show collection - - whereas the "Channels:Whole Home DVR" app does...

This might seem obvious for those in the know - - but it was not at all clear to me... Just my user feedback...

EDIT. - - IT STILL DOESN'T FIND MY TV SHOW COLLECTION - - I'm not sure what the problem is - I have set up both sources and scanned but the TV source doesn't show up in the client apps...

In anycase - I'd still love to hear Best Practices regarding accessing TV Sources from the EU - how/if I can use my Wireguard or Tailscale VPN servers in the US to accomplish this or not - or should I just relocate the NAS back to the US for this purpose.

Again - thank you for reading.
AJ

#7

OK - sorry again - - I realize the TV Show directory must be simply titled "TV"

Thank You!!

#8

Some of the answer to this would depend on Internet performance at the two locations.

But, assuming both have good upload and download speeds, I'd suggest trying the NAS in the EU to begin with, and setup Tailscale with an exit node in the US. This should be relatively easy to setup and test, and you can always move the NAS later to the US if you decide it would benefit from being there performance-wise.

I'm actually doing the latter now, as I'm based in Portugal for the Winter with my servers and Tailscale exit node in the US. This works very, very well as long as you have high confidence in 24x7 operation of a remote server. I have that, including an orchestrated multi-UPS system for orderly shutdowns and startups in the event of a power interruption or other issue.

Since an exit node is more bulletproof as a totally remote entity, I think you'd be best off keeping the NAS close at hand, in the interest of being able to deal with any issues that require hands-on. I've experimented some with different exit nodes, and I'd suggest a RaspberryPi4 or better at minimum. I'm currently using a dedicated Proxmox LXC container for mine, which is slightly faster in my case than an RPi4.

I would not recommend using a Windows PC, router, Android device or earlier RPi for an exit node as the performance would likely be disappointing.

EDIT: Probably worth adding here that the ultimate would be to have a Channels DVR server in both locations. That way you could share channels in both directions, using an M3U generated from one as a Custom Channels source in the other. Exit nodes on both ends, and you could have your "on ramp" to the Internet where it works best for you from anywhere in the world.

#9

thank you so much - you're exactly who I wanted to hear from.

You did lose me, however - why would I want a Server in EU? (Again, I'm new to this software - I just don't understand why I'd want to serve up from EU rather than from the US)... is it for a double fail kind of thing? Record on the NAS in the US AND on another NAS in the EU... ? (I could actually do that as I have an old NAS lying around...)

My thinking was simply to record on the US NAS, and then sync the recording folders between NAS's ... or are you saying to record on BOTH...?

Thanks again for your input!!

AJ

#10

You could really do it either way, and you're the only one who knows all the particulars of your personal situation.

Numerous questions need to be answered like:

  • Do you spend some of your time in the U.S.?

  • Is there a person on the U.S. side that can handle situations if physical access to the NAS is required?

  • Are you interested in recording anything that requires an IP address in the EU?

  • Do you travel for work or otherwise, where you'd like to be able to access U.S. or EU content as though you were local?

The options are:

  • Have a NAS in the U.S. using its local access to the Internet, doing all of your recording, but configured with Tailscale so your clients are all part a virtual LAN that would exist anywhere in the world you're connected via Tailscale. Recordings would happen in the U.S., but viewing would happen wherever.

  • Have a NAS in the EU using a Tailscale exit node in the U.S., where recording happens in the EU.

  • Have a NAS in U.S. and in the E.U. where each is configured to access its local content, but then generate an M3U from each that can be used as a Custom Channels source on the other. In other words, for a given U.S. source like over-the-air or tve, you'd configure and initiate the stream in the U.S, but then record it in the EU. You could record either in the U.S. or the EU, and watch wherever.

The very best experience is always when viewing locally recorded content locally, though with excellent Internet on both ends, differences are few. As I suggested in my edit above, having a NAS in each location recording local or remote content locally is probably the ultimate, but certainly isn't mandatory.

#11

yep. that's what I thought (and hoping you'd say)
Thanks so much for your input - I return to the US for Winter and Summer breaks and will test this out in a few weeks - but you've given me a great roadmap.
Thanks again.
Cheers

#13

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