Proxy setup

Has anyone setup a proxy on their server?

What are you trying to proxy?

I want to proxy my channels because even with a usa ip it's saying im out of the country.

The geolocation is based on your browser's location, not the Channels server (IIRC).

Reviving this because I have the same question. I have a hosted server that's not in the US (but in North America). Channels DVR is accessible on the server over the Internet, but many of the TVA streams from my cable provider will not start, resulting in a 500 error. The Channels log states that the stream cannot be played because they do not have streaming rights outside of the USA. The request comes from the Channels software on the server even though the client I'm using to view the material is in the USA on a US network (broadband or cellular). I'm looking into how I could create a virtual network interface on the Channels server (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS) that uses a proxy server (based in the USA) for a VPN service I subscribe to in order to "trick" the TVA streaming server to into believing the Channels server is in the USA. I'm a casual Linux user, and this goes beyond my normal usage, so I'm struggling a bit.

TVE doesn't work from hosted servers. Channels is designed to run at home.

If my server runs at home, the initial Channels client request will route through my firewall, router, home network (assuming everything is configured properly). Once the request is made, is the stream from the provider coming from the Internet host or the Channels server? It appears that the server receives the M3U and forwards that along to the client, which is then pulling the stream directly from the provider, yes?

The server handles the streaming, and then forwards the stream to the client; the client does not directly download the stream from the internet.

The only instance in which the client bypasses the server and gets the stream directly is with a local HDHR tuner. Otherwise, everything goes through the DVR server first, and the server then sends the streams to the clients.

Thanks. My use case for the hosted instance is due to provider data caps. I can't host at home to access externally (on vacation/out of the house/etc) or it eats my data. I understand @tmm1's explanation; I just want to try to make it work while hosted.

It won't work while hosted, because most network sites blacklist VPS IP addresses. And if you host the server on a VPS host, but use a VPN to your local computer to get around the geo-restrictions and blacklisted IP address, you're going to blow through your data cap twice as quickly: firstly from the networks to your local computer, and secondly from your local computer to your VPS.

1 Like

The stream request on the server comes from Chromium (a required package on a Linux install of channels-dvr), correct? If so, I may try testing if a VPN browser extension in Chromium would make the request appear to come from within the USA (where the VPN endpoint is located).
Barring that, possibly utilizing something like tinyproxy for a virtual interface that channels would use for traffic. The server is physically hosted, not a VPS.