Is there a way to merge the two services? I would love for the channels to be able to be saved in a h.264/265 format instead of mpeg2. It would be easier transcoding and streaming remotely, wouldn't it?
I'm not sure what you mean. You can use both PRIME and TVE. You have to use the PRIME for local channels, and not all cable channels are available via TVE. The DVR will combine them already just like it combines multiple HDHomeRuns.
Does it prioritize tve over prime streaming for dvr recording and remote viewing. Like if I go to watch a channel that is available through both services, would it stream from tve or the prime?
It depends on the priority you set. Same as if you have multiple hdhomeruns.
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Are there any fail safes, like if the streaming service is down, would it automatically switch to the prime to record from?
Yep. Just like if one hdhomerun fails the DVR will try to record from the second hdhomerun.
I updated and now the dvr won't start back up. Anyway to force it to start up?
Nevermind, just took a few minutes
Another question, if you are watching a show that isn't being recorded. Can that show be streamed directly to the app instead of going through the dvr? This would be for bandwidth and quality purposes if you have multiple streams going to remote locations.
The TVE feature is part of the DVR and all TVE streaming goes through the DVR. There is no way to stream directly to the apps.
Also, the dvr web ui is showing that I'm watching cnn using normal channel numbers. Should it be using the 6030 channel number like it is displayed on the channel list in the UI?
Ah now I see it. I have to scroll down more to the 6000 channels.
I use the Apple TV App and you can set the priority in the settings for which channels have higher priority. Mine is PS VUE, DTVN, HDHomeRun OTA. This is live tv priority if i understand correctly and the dvr priority is for recordings.
[Tv everywhere remote streaming with Prime]
What is meant when you use the term "Prime" ? Is this the old Prime that HomeRun canceled?
Yes, this is those of us who use the discontinued (but still easy to find) 3-tuner HDHomeRun Prime.
I like TV everywhere..... but I live in a rural area where my internet data cap is 150 gig. Is there a way to throttle down the streaming through the software so that my streams end up being in Standard definition?
I have Direct TV Now and I can only watch it through a Roku box that I am personally throttling down to 1.6 mbps with my Unifi router.
I can't do that with the Channels DVR server, because it messes up everything else I have going on with the Home Run boxes. I don't mind going full HD with them because they are not using internet bandwidth.
I recorded a couple of shows with TV anywhere and they are using somewhere around 5 mbps. depending on the channel. If I record very many shows then I will be over my data cap very quickly.
I know this is a strange request, and that most people want High Definition... But when it comes to my wallet.... Standard Definition is looking pretty good.
Thanks
Tim
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I too am interested in this.
A thought for you: if you are not doing any other major streaming to the device that hosts Channels, you can create a QoS queue in the UniFi Controller to limit bandwidth destined to the DVR server.
(If there are other services running on that machine, perhaps you could create aliases on the network interface, so that Channels is using the IP assigned to an alias and throttle on that, and use the parent address for your other services.)
There is no way to do this currently, but it's something we are looking into. We're envisioning a setting per TVE provider that lets you cap the bitrate used for streams. Right now the DVR will pick the highest quality/bitrate available always.
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Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the answer and thanks for all the work everyone is doing at Channels.
If you need an "alpha" software tester.... Just let me know.