It sounds like transcoding via remote viewing or the web viewer is where it would be interesting to see the performance of the Pi. Have you done that yet?
Ok did some tests. I only have a 2 channel HDHR with normal MPG streams. Recording 2 HD channels, and playing back two other recordings, all simultaneously, works with out a hitch. This pushes only one CPU to about 65%, leaving plenty of overhead for other things. I do wonder whether the DVR process could fork threads for recording even more streams, but clearly not a problem at 2 streams in + 2 out.
Ok gave the web browser a try. The PI 4 can transcode!
Or at least my overclocked PI4 can. But it’s right on the edge. Live 720p streams transcode with ffmpeg running at about 330% cpu (quad core), without problems. And some 1080i streams transcode without a hitch at about 380% cpu (with channels taking 10-12% or so, so maxed out). For these the transcode rate reported is right at 1.0x or 1.01x. But for other live streams (PBS in particular) transcoding is at about 0.9x, which means it pauses every 10s or so. For transcoding prerecorded streams it’s better, but still for 1080i Nova on PBS it was only able to get to 0.95x or so.
This is tantalizingingly close. I/O isn’t a limitation, and even some modest hardware acceleration would make this entirely possible. I note that the folks over at Emby have enabled OMX hardware transcoding acceleration on the PI in their most recent version. I’ll open a new discussion about that.
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Still very interested just want to acquire (or use). Just want to make sure that I order a “known” compatible fan case.
Thanks for any further info...already have generic USB-C cable.
I think they are all basically the same, but here’s the one I got. If you don’t want to muck with programming your fan, you can just follow the instructions to plug it into the 3.3V pin, which will make it run quiet and provide plenty of cooling, or 5v if it’s not next to your head (it’s very quiet either way).
Btw, there is no need for anything above the 1GB version. I couldn’t get memory usage much over 30%, and that was during transcoding. Not bad $10 or $20 insurance to upgrade memory if you plan on running other things on it.
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Our developers now have their hands on an RPi4 and are doing some testing with hardware acceleration. There is hope for stably transcoding a single stream, so follow that thread if that feature is important to you.
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I just purchased a raspberry pi 4 and it is in the mail. I am a Linux newbie and curious if there is a step-by-step guide for setting up a server on a raspberry pi?
- Install rasbian https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/installation/installing-images/
- Set a static IP (easiest way for you may be using the gui)
- Install Channels DVR https://getchannels.com/dvr-server/#linux
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Thank you so much! I got it up an running with my hdhomerun however TVE DVR is not working. It appears that ARM processors are not supported. I wish I had seen that before buying the rpi4. Any workarounds to get TVE on here or should I return my pi 4 and get a cheap mini PC for a server?
I wouldn't be using that as an everyday driver being that it is still new and not yet on the approved hardware list.
From the description of TVE, the required hardware includes:
c. Linux PC or NAS using a 64-bit Intel CPU
I'd guess this is to support hardware decode/encode, which is something being actively pursued with the Pi4. So stay tuned. You could allocate another PC to this task for a couple months and revisit. For standard MPEG2 stream DVR functions, as well as limited live transcoding, it's already working great for me.
The Pi should work for TVE if you run:
sudo apt-get install chromium
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I tried that and successfully installed chromium however when I try and add my TVE login for DirecTV and Philo but still get Context Cancelled... The hdhomerun portion works great though!
2019/08/19 10:41:43 [TVE] Auth starting for DTV as [email protected]
2019/08/19 10:41:43 [TVE] action=auth mvpd=DTV requestor=nbcentertainment
2019/08/19 10:41:46 [TVE] action=navigate url=https://sp.auth.adobe.com/adobe-services/authenticate/saml?noflash=true&mso_id=DTV&requestor_id=nbcentertainment&no_iframe=true&domain_name=adobe.com&redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsp.auth.adobe.com%2Fadobe-services%2FcompletePassiveAuthentication
2019/08/19 10:41:46 [TVE] action=request type=Document method=GET url=https://sp.auth.adobe.com/adobe-services/authenticate/saml
2019/08/19 10:41:46 [TVE] Auth failed for DTV: context canceled
2019/08/19 10:42:38 [TVE] Auth starting for Philo as [email protected]
2019/08/19 10:42:38 [TVE] action=auth mvpd=Philo requestor=AMC
2019/08/19 10:42:39 [TVE] action=navigate url=https://sp.auth.adobe.com/adobe-services/authenticate/saml?noflash=true&mso_id=Philo&requestor_id=AMC&no_iframe=true&domain_name=adobe.com&redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsp.auth.adobe.com%2Fadobe-services%2FcompletePassiveAuthentication
2019/08/19 10:42:39 [TVE] action=request type=Document method=GET url=https://sp.auth.adobe.com/adobe-services/authenticate/saml
2019/08/19 10:42:39 [TVE] action=request type=Document method=GET url=https://idp.philo.com/idp/sso
2019/08/19 10:42:39 [TVE] action=auth_domain domain=idp.philo.com
2019/08/19 10:42:40 [TVE] Auth failed for Philo: context canceled
Should I return my rpi4 and look for an intel nuc instead? I was trying to keep the server as budget as possible but I'm sure I can find an older NUC on ebay.
If you don't need remote streaming/transcoding, then the Pi4 will be fine. Aman mentioned that as long as you have a chromium package installed, then TVE ought to work.
Update on PI 4 progress: our developers have managed to implement both scaling and h264 encoding in hardware on the PI4, and it's working very well, and is quite stable. I only have 5mpbs uplink speed, but can now stream using a 720p4mpbs setting outside my LAN, both in the app and in the web interface. I doubt I'll use it much, but it's great to have. Most impressive is the CPU load during all this stays below ~150%, sometimes below 100%. That means you don't need to overclock, and maybe don't even need a fan, and can use the Pi for plenty of other things at the same time. A heatsink and vertical mounting may be enough cooling. Anyway, there is more testing to do, but if you have a Pi4 on hand already, I strongly recommend giving it a try. The $35 1GB model should suffice.
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FYI, I have TVE running nicely on my Pi4 with recent betas. Just had to sudo apt-get install chromium.
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When I run that command, it gives me the following error:
"Package chromium is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
However the following packages replace it:
chromium-bsu"
I just ran the same command and replaced chromium with chromium-bsu, and it seemed to work. Do you know what this means?
EDIT: Apparently I just installed a video game 
EDIT2: It finally worked, but only after I updated my Raspbian OS with the following commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
Sorry for the messy post with multiple edits, but hopefully this will help others.
I just installed Channels DVR Server on Raspian on the Pi4 and I have everything working with OTA and Philo. I am trying to add YouTube TV next and when I attempt to add it as as a TVE provider, it attempts to login and says "context canceled". I have verified that Chromium is installed, the OS is up to date and patched, but still no joy... I have also logged into YouTube TV through Chrome on the Pi and NBC Live (authorized live playback) and both work through the browser. However, it made no difference when trying add YTTV as a TVE provider - all the same result, "context canceled". Any ideas what to try next???
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Update to the latest build of the DVR which has a fix. Click and hold on the "Check For Update" button.