Just subscribed to Channels DVR last week.
I have to say that it is FANTASTIC !
If I were to create my own app this would be it.
And the ability to export m3u to tivimate is icing on the cake (for multi-view of Sports).
I use FireSticks and HDHR Quatro with rabbit ears in the attic.
Just perfect (nearly).
The Guide could use a few navigation enhancements.
Thank you.
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Another thank you to the developers - you are all AWESOME!!!
AND having this forum with quick responses from the developers is an 'unfair advantage' that Channels has over everything else!!!
And this is coming from a prior Motorola DVR lead developer whose former teammates went on to the Fire TV development team and one now heads up Apple TV.
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Ok ok ok. Ill join the ass kissing ceramony too.
Despite all the flack i give devs. I do love and promote ChannelsDVR.
Things i like
*Active mods
*Unified linear tv guide
*Supports m3u playlist/custom channels
*Mostly legalish focus on media
*Good epg source (gracenotes not perfect, but still kick ass)
*Unlimated dvr storage. It's only Limited by my allowance from my wife. Lol.
Virtual channels is the coolest thing in the world.
Things I dislike. All seem to deal with live tv. But...ummmm.... i don't watch live tv. I watch dvr.
*lack of smart channels collections (android)
*Tv guide doesnt have mini window to watch show while in guide
*Recording a live tv show doesn't include what's activly in your buffer
Why devs should be proud. 3 people make a software that is (in some aspects) challenging big apps with lots of funding like plex. Seriously plex raised $50 million in 2021. Thats from funding not subscription fees. Yet your software does things better then plex. Sure Plex has live tv. No tve support, and live tv interface feels like theres a delay. Channels is just snappy.
Now that I've done some ass kissing. When are smart channel collections coming to android. Ill beat you with @psperry severed arm if you dont get to it. Bwahaha.
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I wonder if the live tv buffer were on the server with the DVR recordings if "recording could include the live tv buffer" could be done easier.
I think we can force the live tv buffer to the server recording folder as follows, I have not tried, how could I tell if it were doing this???
How can I get a Live TV buffer on the DVR instead of the client?
If you change the DVR Streaming Quality setting for "Home Streaming" in the app from "Original" to "1080p 8Mbps" it will use the DVR as a cache for Live TV.
How did you find out about my arm? Not nice to mock my pain.
I'd actually would just like to have the option to record the buffer to the server all the time, without changing "Original" etc.
My FIreStick seems to lose available memory for no reason and I would rather not use that little bit of memory to record the live tv buffer.
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I am using the FireTV Stick 4K Max and most of the time it would only buffer for 10 minutes or less. I added an inexpensive OTG cable along with a 32GB USB 3 Flash Drive. Added the memory for additional internal and moved the Channels app to this memory. Now I can buffer for more than 3 hours. It was very easy to do on the FireTV Max, not sure how easy it is on older versions.
Ditto with the thanks. Not enough people showing love sometimes.. It's always issues issues issues. Developers, please know that we here in this thread cherish your product and you other developers for the addons like episode guides for custom channels too! And to the community too! For even things like antenna recommendations and whatever cool stuff you all do with Channels.
I just lurk and poke around and find new stuff to do with this. Splendid!
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Hmmm.
GOOD INFO.
So when you put the Channels client app on the USB it then automatically uses that for live tv buffer?
How can you tell other than a longer buffer time?
Is that the only app you moved to USB?
I think the USB is formatted Fat32 so that is probably the time limit.
I will look into giving that a try, thanks.
Yes. If you move the app to the external drive, then all of its files move over.
To move apps over to the USB, it needs to be adopted. That reformats and encrypts the drive; it is no longer FAT32. 3 hours of OTA content can easily be 20GB or so.
I just looked over Troypoints How to Expand Storage on firesticks.
I had looked into that before but never did it, I have the 4K, the process is different from Max.
At least I now have this option, thanks
I'd like to add my thanks to the developers as well. I just had my 1st anniversary with Channels as my DVR. It is a great experience and I look forward to many years to come.
I had a TiVO as my OTA DVR for my first 5 years of cord-cutting. Their DVR became worse over time as they tended to abandon DVR functions for streaming. There was also a lot of TiVO hardware to get a whole-home DVR experience. Their channel scan sucked and their guide was usually wrong. Commercial-skip only worked on the a few of the channels, if it worked at all.
Channels provides a great OTA DVR experience, far better than TiVO and at a better price for the annual subscription. I can also use my existing hardware: NAS for the DVR and Fire Cubes or Fire TV for the clients. Extra kudos for being able to record TVE channels, Pluto and STIRR channels and integrating them all into a single package!
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As a very new Channels user, let me add my thanks and appreciation to the Channels DVR crew for what you've built. I was happy to pay for a subscription. The UI is smooth. Scrolling through the guide reminds me of my early impression of Windows MCE back in the day--just so much faster and smoother than anything else available.
One of my first thoughts was "oh, I hope there is an app for Roku" and having read why there isn't, I have to agree--if the implementation can't be butter smooth and rock-solid reliable, then it isn't worth doing. This is a consumer application afterall.
Thanks and keep up the good work!
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Here is my version of thanks! I used to be a very active member on here because of issues that I had. The response from the devs is just hands down awesome. All of my issues have been sorted out and Channels just works. I have a few minor bugs here and there but it just works.
Thank you for a solid platform.
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New to the whole OTA DVR scene here and really appreciate the simplicity of the sever and clients, ease of use, and the ability to repurpose my old 2013 MacBook Air as a server. I was visiting the forums today to learn how to extend my Live TV buffer and found lots of helpful info. Here's my added pat-on-the-back for the developers!