Virtual Channels - How is everyone using this feature?

Playground Virtual Channels
#92

That’s what I do now and it works fine. If virtual channels worked the way I thought it did, it would be less clicks and I’d be able to easily see the next episodes in the guide.

Sometimes I’ve actually watched some of the unwatched episodes or may want to skip an episode or two for other reasons. And yes, I know I can see that in the episode guide but when it’s show with a lot of seasons / episodes, that’s a lot of scrolling.

In any case, I’m not trying to make virtual channels into something they’re not and am glad to have an answer that explains the behavior I’m seeing.

#93

I've been working on this for days and can't seem to get the media to download to the correct location on MyCloud. What could be the issue?

docker run -d --name tubesync -e PUID=1000 -e PGID=1000 -e TZ=America/Chicago -v /RICKS-MYCLOUD/Channels_Local_Media/YouTube/tubesync-config:/config -v /RICKS-MYCLOUD/Channels_Local_Media/YouTube/tubesync-downloads:/downloads -p4848:4848 Package tubesync · GitHub

1 Like
#94

I'm afraid I'm not much help with this issue. I'm no docker expert. I mostly stumble my way through setting things up on docker.

My best guess would be some permissions issue. Maybe tubesync doesn't have write premissions to your Channels_Local_Media directory?

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#95

Thanks for the thought. It's really strange. It says it is downloaded but I sure can't find the media that was supposedly downloaded :frowning:

1 Like
#96

I finally found a perfect use case for Virtual Channels (for me). I like watching / listening to the music videos on the Vevo & MTV channels on Pluto sometimes. If I’m just sitting on the couch it’s easy enough to channel surf between the different channels to avoid the commercials but if I’m busy doing something the commercials get old quick.

So I recorded a bunch from different channels then set my rule to include anything from those channels so now I can watch / listen commercial free.

6 Likes
#97

Anyway to do the same thing but with 1 episode in a random order?

#98

@PWBNetworks There is a "random" sort option. Which just plays all content selected in a mixed order. Im not sure I understand what you want to do because a mini-marathon plays items in order 3 episodes at a time. Are you asking for shows in order 1 at a time rotating?

#99

Right. 1 episode per series in order so all 7 shows will play an episode at random before rotating back to the series again and repeating but showing a new random episode ie

Family guy s3ep5
Rick and morty s1 ep 7
Etc until coming back to family guy for a different episode

#100

Random would be the closest way to do this but you will end up with some instances of back to back episodes of the same show but they would not be in sequence which is sort of what you want.

#101

I am using this feature with my TV shows and Movies. I have wanted this feature from Plex for years and I'm so happy Channel's has added this option. This has exceeded my expectations and I now have about 30 stations and growing and it feels like they are really playing 24/7 because the guide is constantly updating. It's fantastic how I click on a channel and it starts playing like it's already been on. The smart playlist feature makes everything so much easier to setup just like in the Plex Playlists. The Channel's DVR has been rock solid for years and always works that's why I used it because Plex randomly has issues with their live guide.

4 Likes
#102

I now have 109 virtual channels! they are by far and away the most watched channels I have, and it's allowing us to watch content we would have otherwise forgotten about. Big fan!

One thing I noticed, is that sometimes I'll have the same thing playing on 2 VC's - commonly this happens with movies. I have enough movies in my library to avoid this, is it possible to make a change to the way the channels schedule to reduce overlaps?

#103

I’m unable to find the comment to quote but I believe @maddox stated VC’s are not supposed to schedule the same content simultaneously on the guide. I also could have imagined this. I think it also depends on the VC setting, as one channel and another could end up on the same content by chance base on their scheduling rules.

#104

yeah I thought I had seen maddox reference that previously too. I do think maybe I've overcooked the number of channels and the multiple scheduling processes might be part of the reason why.

#105

If you duplicate a virtual channel set to Random, then it will ensure each copy uses a different randomization.

Are you talking about duplicated channels (i.e. same exact rules and random sort), or something else?

#106

something else - for example, 2 movie channels, one 'action' one 'drama' might occasionally have the same movie playing if that movie is tagged both as action and drama genres. I've only noticed it on movies where i split channels by genre.

#107

That's expected. Each channel schedules itself it doesn't look to see what's on other channels.

3 Likes
#108

What I’m trying to get: a channel that plays one episode of each show added to the channel sequentially and then loop back to the beginning of that show when I run of out episodes. For example:

Clone High - S01E13
Archer - S03E05
The Venture Bros - S04E09
Clone High - S01E01
Archer - S03E06
The Venture Bros - S04E10
Clone High - S01E02
(Etc)

Mini Marathon is close, but that’s three episodes, not one. Season/Episode plays through all seasons of all shows before starting everything back up at S01E01, which means that the channel ends up being a Venture Bros marathon for a bunch of hours because there were seven seasons of it.

Is there any chance that there could be an option added to the mini marathon to choose how long the “mini marathon” of each show is? Or is there already a way to build a channel like I want that I’m missing?

2 Likes
#109

Virtual Channels is genius. So far, I have five. Sci-Fi Movies; Sci-Fi TV; War Movies; War TV, and Marvel.

1 Like
#110

2 posts were split to a new topic: Smart Rule for Studio?

#111

Virtual channels is such an awesome feature. For me, viewing habits fall in two categories...

  1. MOVIE TIME.... this is like going to the movies, but at home. You and your spouse, your family, etc., have decided to watch a movie at a particular time. You have your popcorn and drinks ready. You then go into Netflix, HBO Max, your own Plex collection, or even rentals to choose a movie.

  2. Any other time other than Movie Time. LOL! There is nothing you need to particularly watch, you're just channel surfing to see if something interest you. When channel surfing, a lot of times a program can interest you because it's right in the middle and the plot is rolling. Or, you simply want something as background noise while you work around the house, or on your PC. This is where Virtual Channels shine! I tend to go to a channel I made called LAZY SUNDAY FLIX. It's full of movies I remember watching on a lazy Sunday in my childhood, or even a modern movie that feels fitting for a lazy Sunday. I don't think I'd ever bother going into my Plex library, find the letter D, and search for Duel, then click play. However, if I'm channel surfacing and Duel is playing on my Lazy Sunday channel, I'll watch it, or let it play in the background while I do work. I've created over 30 channels now, and without this feature, honestly, 90% of my files would go untouched. LOL! Because we only tend to watch NEW stuff. Old stuff is great for channel surfing. I have a channel called THE KARATE FUTURE. It plays only two franchises... can you guess? LOL! Back to the Future and Karate Kid 24/7. There was a time when these movies were starting to be remastered in blu-ray, then 4k, etc., and we actually bought these movies to sit down and watch, but that time is over now. The novelty has worn off. I'll never bother to search for, sit down, and watch the Karate Kid again. However, if I'm channel surfacing and I happen to land on THE KARATE FUTURE channel, and Daniel-San has a choice of broken ice, or broken neck, I'll watch it. LOL!

Please keep Virtual Channels going, keep developing it. It is the sole reason I subscribe. And please, lets fix the PIP "lost connection" issue. LOL!

1 Like