Some questions about YouTube TV

Channels DVR Server TV Everywhere
#1

I'm considering moving from Xfinity to YouTube TV and had some questions.
On YouTube TV's TVE availability page (Channels Support - TV Everywhere Availability) it shows that the Hallmark channels as not available through TVE in Channels but according to YouTube TV, those channels are available. Is it true that you can't get the Hallmark channels via TVE using YouTube TV or is that support page not updated?

In addition to that, how does the 3 simultaneous streams restriction on the base package work? If I am user1 (of the 6 available accounts), can I record 5 shows airing at the same time on different channels or am I limited to only 3 streams recording and subsequently, no other user could stream anything?

This may not be a Channels related question, but how does the multiple users work? Does each user have their own username and password or do they share 1 username and password and once logged in, they go to their profile?

Also, how reliable is Channels TVE using YouTube TV as a source?

Sorry for the questions but you can only figure out so much on YouTube TV's website.
Thanks,
Chuck

#2

I just checked my setup and the following Hallmark channels do appear in the Youtube TVE list: HALLHD, HMMHD, and HALLDR. The TVE access does not count toward the 3 simultaneous stream limit from everything I have read and experienced. Each user has their own Youtube TV login/password and their own unique cloud DVR content, favorites, etc. The Channels DVR experience with YoutubeTV TVE has been rock solid for me. I have tried DirectTV Stream, Spectrum, Sling, and YoutubeTV, and Youtube TV has been as stable as any of them and more than some. You will want to ensure that you are using the latest headless browser. And, take a look at this: TVE Troubleshooting tips for additional tips.

#3

Accessing a channel on TVE using your YTTV credentials has no bearing on your 3-screen limit with YTTV. With TVE, you are getting the stream from the network, not from YTTV. To my knowledge, there is no limit as to how many streams one can have from a TVE source as long as your subscriber credentials are valid.

#4

@crarbo1a — I also suggest looking over the “Provider YouTube TV link” (I think the following is the correct link — not sure if I copied the link correctly: Provider - YouTube TV - #807 by dannyboy24)

Many people including myself have had trouble accessing the TVE. So be aware you could run into that. I have nothing against YTTV and had been happy with it when it did work for me but the problems I encountered led me to switch to Hulu. Again, not trying to dissuade you from YTTV, just providing a caution :wink:

#5

Thanks for that information @marcuscthomas. It does help me know know that they are available.

#6

Thanks @Suds. That makes sense now. I forgot that Channels got the stream directly from the channel's TVE page and not the service provider.

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#7

Thanks for the link to that thread @dayknito. I was aware of it but it didn't have all of my questions in it, so I started this thread. It seems that TVE reliability with YouTube TV varies. So, not sure what to do.

#8

I could never ger YTTV to work with channels. Followed the instructions, but to no avail.
Didn't get any useful help here or from support at the time either, other than to blame YouTube.

If i recall, i could get no further than trying to make a family account or whatever Channels requires (no 2FA) the page linked to to create said account did not work, or gave some error.
That was a few years back though now, when i first tried and setup Channels, shortly after i discovered Philo and have use that ever since with 99% reliability and 0 effort to get it working, it just worked. YTTV was too expensive even few years back before they upped the price.

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#9

Philo is an excellent source for TVE if one doesn’t want news and sports. In fact, I supplement YTTV with Philo using my twin sister’s Philo credentials. I have no moral qualms doing that either — we were in the same household before anyone knew we existed.

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#10

I supplement the philo with my grandparents Xfinity account sublogin since they live in an area that can only get cable and have really crappy Internet And even so they’re old-school and barely can figure out how to even use a computer let alone a smart TV streaming set up

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#11

okay this might be a dumb question but do you mean the browser on the computer or whatever my synology NAS uses to manage the TVE authorizations in the background? I can't seem to get it to work and i'm only switched to YTTV cause it has ESPNU and ESPNEWS which i need to see F1

#12

One possibility: Do a YTTV free trial if eligible: Explore a YouTube TV free trial - YouTube TV Help If TVE works for you, then you're set, and hopefully TVE will continue to work smoothly. (Not sure whether the problems people have had with YTTV TVE are only when setting up a new subscription -- or resuming, as in my case -- or even while their subscription had continued unchanged).

Another possibility: Try a different provider that works more stably with TVE, and supplement with Frndly TV which I think includes Hallmark channels for about $10/month and apparently can be integrated into Channels with some work (Frndly TV for Channels). I haven't tried the Frndly TV setup procedure but did consider it when I realized that Hulu didn't have Hallmark channels. (But then I concluded that for me, the Hallmark Channels weren't necessary, because for me, the Hulu+ Disney+ ESPN+ bundle gives more content than I can imagine watching, and is feeling like good value so far. And Hulu does have Dove, which seems to have some overlap with the Hallmark content).

Not sure if that's at all helpful... you've probably thought about all of these possibilities already!

#13

My experience is that YTTV has poblems w/ Channels DRV TVE whenever you use 2-factor authentication and whenever you use an out-of-date headless browser. This means that the Channels DVR server needs to be up to date and, if you are using a docker version, the docker container needs to be up to date. I no longer use docker at all for Channels (for this reason) and have disabled 2-factor authentication.

#14

Unfortunately that great resource hasn't been kept updated.
I asked if they could update it for Xfinity, but the only response was the sound of crickets.

#15

The page has been fixed.

#16

Didn't Google start requiring 2FA on all Google related accounts at some point recently?

#17

Thanks @dayknito for your help!

#18

Thanks @tmm1 for updating it!

#19

I’ve been able to avoid the 2FA on my old google account.

But when I resumed YTTV recently after a break I couldn’t get the TVE auth with that account.

And when I tried creating a new account it was going to force mobile 2FA and as I didn’t want to give google my mobile no I didnt creat the account and instead canceled YTTV.

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#20

Trying to move my DVR to a Synology NAS. Also switched to Youtubetv before checking here. I cannot get it added to TV anywhere. It brings up a screen where the process wanted to send me a text. I've tried holding the button pressed, but the process starts automatically anyway. running v 2023.04.20.1430
Edit: I've read the mega thread on the instructions and have tried them all except trying to get a browser on the NAS in a docker. Is this the only way? And is YTTV stable enough to even bother, I'm only on the trial but it has most of the channels I want.
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