Tracearr for Channels DVR and Dispatcharr

Playground Hacks
#1

Hi,

I've been working on adding Channels DVR support to Tracearr, a self-hosted monitoring dashboard (think Tautulli, but for Plex, Jellyfin and Emby together). Tracearr doesn't support Channels DVR, so I built it into my own fork and wanted to share it in case it's useful to anyone else here.

GitHub: GitHub - write-erase/Tracearr: Tracearr fork with Dispatcharr and Channels DVR support · GitHub

It builds on Tracearr by connorgallopo and on d4rk-4lchemy's fork, which added Dispatcharr support. This is an unofficial fork, not affiliated with either project or with Fancy Bits.

What it does with Channels DVR

  • Now Playing: live TV, recordings and imported movies and shows, including the Channels web player, with artwork, channel logos and the device's brand logo (Apple TV, Fire TV, Android, Google TV, Mac).
  • Accurate playback: real position and pause state (asked from the Channels app on devices on your network), plus live TV progress through the current programme.
  • History and stats: every session is recorded, so you can see who watched what, when, and for how long.
  • Stop a stream on a device on your local network from the dashboard.
  • Library browsing: shows, movies and videos, with links to open them in the Channels DVR web UI. If you also run Plex, Jellyfin or Emby, the same show or episode appears as one item.
  • DVR card on the dashboard:
    • Recording Now, with exact times and a Stop button (the partial recording is kept)
    • Coming Up: everything scheduled in the next 24 hours, with a cancel button with Skip for series-pass episodes and Cancel for one-time recordings (see update below)
    • tuners in use and free disk space at a glance

Setup is just your server's address, e.g. http://192.168.1.100:8089. No login or API key needed.

Things to know

  • Channels has no user accounts, so viewers are identified by device name. Give each device its own name in Channels, or two devices called "iPad" count as one viewer.
  • Streams can only be stopped on devices on your local network, not remote ones or the web player.
  • Past watch history can't be imported; Tracearr records from the moment you add the server.
  • It relies on Channels DVR's undocumented endpoints (/dvr, /api/v1/jobs, /devices /dvr, /dvr/jobs, /api/v1/jobs, /devices, /status), so a future Channels update could break something. I'll try to keep up.

Install

Docker images (AMD64 and ARM64):

  • ghcr.io/write-erase/tracearr:supervised-latest: all-in-one, easiest to start with
  • ghcr.io/write-erase/tracearr:latest: standalone (bring your own TimescaleDB and Redis)

There's an example docker-compose.yml in the README. The README links to Docker Compose examples; use one of the images above in place of the official image. If you're already running Tracearr, you can swap the image in place, but back up first.

It's a hobby project, so use it at your own risk. I'd love feedback: bugs, Channels clients that don't show up right (I've mostly tested Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web player), or ideas for what else would be useful.

Thanks!

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tracearr-resources-all-servers-shareable
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3 Likes
#2

Update: v3.1.7-r3

New for Channels DVR:

  • Recording alerts: get notified when a recording fails, resumes after failing, or loses its stream for a moment. Uses any Tracearr destination (Discord, email, push, Pushover and more).
  • Disk space alert: warns when the DVR disk drops below a percentage you choose, and again when it recovers. The dashboard's disk pill turns amber at the same percentage.
  • Skip a series-pass episode straight from Coming Up, and unskip it if you change your mind. The pass keeps recording everything else. One-time recordings still have Cancel.
  • Update notices: Tracearr checks hourly for new Channels DVR versions and shows an "Update available" pill on the dashboard. Each server can follow stable releases or pre-releases (it works this out from what you're running).

Fixed:

  • Channels DVR servers now show their version in Settings → Servers.
  • After Stop, Cancel or Skip, the DVR card updates right away instead of up to 15 seconds later.

All the alerts are off until you set them up under Automations, where ready-made templates are waiting.

To update, pull ghcr.io/write-erase/tracearr:latest (or supervised-latest) and restart. Feedback and bug reports welcome as always!

2 Likes
#3

Awesome, thanks for doing this. I created my own personal dashboard that spans CDVR, Emby, JF (didn't pull in Dispatcharr since it feeds my platforms). However, my dashboard only shows current state, this provides history along with other informative data points. Will use this definetly.

1 Like
#4

Thanks! You're welcome to make feature request if you find something that can benefit others.

#5

Can't think of anything, like I said yours extends well beyond what mine does.

https://community.getchannels.com/t/personal-dashboard/47431

I just wanted to have something I could quickly assess current state (single page summary) and if I need to do any trouble shooting, I can quicky identify the source and go straight there through my drop down links above the "dashlets" or "cards".