IPTVX, iProTV and Quadstream: Multiview via Channels

[chDVRuser]

I don't have a full listing of options, just these in my notes.

?abr=false        |NO ADAPTIVE BITRATE
?bitrate=2000     |BITRATE of 2Mbps
?codec=copy       |Source CODEC HLS urls
?format=ts        |MPEG2-TS urls
?filter=favorites |FAVORITE CHANNELS ONLY
?filter=hd        |HD CHANNELS ONLY

I'm sure you know, but for others seeing this post you can combine options.
?format=ts&filter=favorites
Will give you an MPEG2-TS m3u8 playlist with only your favorite channels

[sok]

I created my own m3u playlist and hosted on google drive.

Here’s what I used in the playlist and my main source are HDHR Prime/Quatro:

http://IP:8089/devices/ANY/channels/1205/hls/stream.m3u8?bitrate=10000 — I set the bitrate to 10mb because when I set codec=copy the audio stutter from time to time and it keeps changing my receiver from 2.1 to 5.1 and I don’t think IPTVX VLC player can handle surround sound within the stream.

I also can’t get this to work and IPTVX doesn’t even recognize the URL link:

http://IP:8089/devices/ANY/channels/1742/stream.mpg?codec=copy&format=ts — I don’t know if this Channels DVR issue or IPTVX? When playing locally I don’t want the player to remux and/or transcode the stream just want it to playback directly as is. This URL works with other player like iProTV app.

The IPTVX developer said preset & saving the multiview grid layout maybe coming later this year.

[hancox]

at $39/year, It had better be PERFECT. Yikes.

iProTV at $7 forever is pretty damned good.

[Iommi]

Trying IPTVX but it seems to have a problem with the decoding the guide and it sees everything in the guide as a movie?

I am using http://x.x.x.x:8089/devices/ANY/guide/xmltv?duration=604800

Anyone else see this problem?

[sok]

@hancox

iProTV at $7 forever is pretty damned good.

I agree.

IPTVX has a little better grid layout, epg, full screen channel tuning with multiview and the developers pretty active than iProTV and people willing to pay extra for multiview. I think FuboTV charges $10/month for unlimited screens that include 4 multiview.

I’m willing to pay extra for a native multiview feature in Channels DVR and it could be a game changer if you’re into online sports betting. If you integrate multiview with live data where you popup a side menu with player/team stats and scores like Amazon Prime x-ray.

[Fofer]

@sok

@hancox

iProTV at $7 forever is pretty damned good.

I agree.

Yeah, I agree too. It's nice to see another option appear, but still, none of these have interfaces I'd call easy, elegant or fun to use. I'm enjoying having the functionality, and playing around in the meantime, so thanks everyone for sharing these cool tools. Hoping one or the other will improve and compete better with the likes of Fubo's Multiview. Because that implementation really has all the functionality I'm looking for... even if it's limited to a max of 2x2. Unfortunately just not all of the channels are available there, so I keep looking.

@sok

I think FuboTV charges $10/month for unlimited screens that include 4 multiview.

Fubo's price rose in January, there's no separate upcharge for Multiview. Their plans includes 10 streams on your local network though, and the "unlimited" add-on allows three streams outside the home using mobile devices or web browsers. But all of their plans (Pro, Premier and Elite) allow you to add the "unlimited" tier for just $0.01. The only "basic" plan I see, that doesn't allow that, is "Latino." Their pricing structure is weird.

Fubo's multiview includes a buffer in all 4 screens though, which remains a big differentiator in this space.

I played around with YouTube TV's multiview too during some March Madness games. Once it graduates beyond pre-selected grids and allows for on-the-fly customization, I think it'll be great. Especially since it'll have all the channels I'm interested in (including Turner Networks and soon, my local favorite, KTLA.)

@sok

if you’re into online sports betting. If you integrate multiview with live data where you popup a side menu with player/team stats and scores like Amazon Prime x-ray.

Very cool idea, yes! This also was added to Fubo early last year:

Multiview Gets an Upgrade with Live Scores and Stats

When it comes to online betting I do often wonder how the move to streaming (like for NFL Sunday Ticket on YTTV this year) will impact gamblers who bet during the game on plays.There's often a minute-long delay between OTA and streaming. So of course spoilers from text messages and social media are a concern too. But that's a topic for a different thread!

@sok

I’m willing to pay extra for a native multiview feature in Channels DVR and it could be a game changer

I would be too! And it absolutely would be a gamechanger. A dream interface with the best of all worlds... at the very least for AppleTV users with a Channels DVR server beefy enough to handle the streams. ie: not a Pi or NAS.

Unfortunately, awhile back, maddox explained why multi-view is not on the roadmap:

Channels Podcast appearance/Channels DVR sports Requests

While multi-view isn’t on our roadmap, I’d like to once again remind everyone why. None of the devices we have can decode and play back more than one MPEG2 stream at a time. It’s all done on the CPU and they’re all mostly maxed out when doing this. Because of this, we can’t do multiview for these sources. I’d wager that most sports fans are using HDHomeRuns for sports to get that sweet sweet 60fps. Additionally, I doubt any of our servers can handle 4x transcodes to h.264 to power this. Other…

I'm unsure if anything's changed since then in this regard.

But I still believe in the audacity of hope.

[Brian_McSweeney]

Great guides, thanks guys.

[Brian_McSweeney]

Hello, got this set up and working fine on iprotv on Apple Tv but sadly my streams are stuttering a lot. Channels app streams are all fine and have not stutters. Any idea what could be happening?

[Iommi]

Try to increase the Network Caching Level in settings

[Brian_McSweeney]

Thanks. It’s currently set to normal, should I try it on Highest?

[Iommi]

Start there and bring it down from there? Only disadvantage I found is it take longer for the stream to start... but if it works!

[Brian_McSweeney]

Ok will try that change. Thanks again. What about hardware coding and de interlace settings? I'm not really sure what they do tbh.

[Iommi]

For me I left those alone. Hardware is supposed to be faster.

[Brian_McSweeney]

Thanks again.
On another note has anyone got this working with iptvx app?
Same m3u url but app shows no channels. Weird

[sok]

@Brian_McSweeney

Thanks again.
On another note has anyone got this working with iptvx app?
Same m3u url but app shows no channels. Weird

Create a new playlist using M3U playlist via URL

Playlist’s Name:
Channels DVR

Playlist’s URL:
http://cDVR-IP:8089/devices/ANY/channels.m3u?format=hls

EPG’s URL:
http://cDVR-IP:8089/devices/ANY/guide/xmltv?duration=604800

[Brian_McSweeney]

That’s really helpful of you. Much appreciated. Worked perfectly on iptvx. Thanks again

[Fofer]

I’m assuming that’s 7 days of guide data? (604,800 seconds.) Since I’d really only use this app for multiview live TV, once in a while, I adjusted this to 172800 for loading 2 days of guide data instead. Seems to be working fine and loads quickly.

[sok]

@Fofer

I’m assuming that’s 7 days of guide data? (604,800 seconds.)

Correct.

[sok]

IPTVX 9.0 for iOS & iPadOS have been released with multiview and support up to 16 streams. It looks beautiful on the iPhone.

[Fofer]

Nice, just tested and it's working on an M1 Mac too. It got a bit wonky with multiple audio streams at one point. And the interface remains a bit clunky. But it's still cool to see development moving along, so thanks again for bringing it our attention. The more options for Channels-compatible multiview on more devices and screens, the better!