Raspberry Pi 4 DVR Hardware Questions

Channels DVR Server TV Everywhere
#1

I've tried to do some research in the forums here but not sure I'm exactly finding the answers I'm looking for. I am looking to run a Channels DVR Server with TV Everywhere on a Raspberry Pi 4 (not purchased yet) but want to make sure it will meet my needs.

I am thinking I would stream anywhere from 1-4 devices at any given time, with the possibility that one or two streams may be remote if I am traveling. I am seeing that a 2GB Pi4 will work, but not sure if it will fully meet the needs I am looking for.

#2

I am running Channels on a full fledged server, and while cpu and gpu usage don't seem to be an issue for remote viewing I would think the RPI4 would be good for one transcode for a remote stream at a time.

I have often found that the real problem particularly in hotels is the scarcity of decent internet. While they often have a fast enough connection, because it is shared it often leads to buffering because of the spotty nature of the speeds.

#3

What about RAM? Should I lean towards a Pi with more RAM than 2gb? Thanks for the quick response!

#4

2GB should be fine. Channels isn't a RAM hog at all.

#5

For your stated scenarios, I think forget the RPi4 because based on what I've read elsewhere in this community, the RPi4 can only transcode one stream at a time for remote viewing.

#6

Does anybody know how many internal simultaneous streams can be transcoded at a time? Realistically, it would be pretty rare that I would watch more than one stream remote, but it is a possibility.

#7

IIRC, the current image allows for 1 stream only to be hardware-transcoded

#8

Streams inside your home network should really be in the original/native format (MPEG 2 for OTA and MPEG 4 for TVE). The RPi can handle many native streams at once with no problem because it’s just passing data to a client. Transcoding is primarily used for remote streams away from home, and the RPi is limited to one stream with hardware transcoding. Theoretically, if you have really fast internet at both ends (gotta have really good upload speeds at home, aka fiber), you could stream the native format remotely with more than one stream.