What about a Raspi purpose built client?

#1

I am using the bespoke image for Raspi 4 for my Channels DVR server which works great.

Looking at the various options for the client side, they all seem to have some drawback or other often caused by the demarcation between the hosting OS and the Channels app. I've struggled with IP control of the app on my Nvidia Shield as some commands have to go to the OS and some to the app. I believe the Apple TV OS doesn't allow for numeric entry at all and IP control is very difficult.

So that got me thinking, what about a bespoke image for a Raspi 4 client? Channels would then have total control over the whole system. IR input using a Flirc, IP control via the API over the whole system and HDMI out to TV, AVR whatever.

Maybe there are a million technical reasons why it wouldn't work, but if it is possible, I'd certainly much prefer that option than an app running on someone else's hardware and OS. No worries about the hosting OS updates causing issues, it would all be under Channels control.

#2

We have zero plans to build new clients, much less on something as underpowered as a Raspberry Pi.

They cost just as much as a streaming device, if not more. Raspberry Pis were great targets in the days before streaming devices were around, but those days are over. They're suitable for maybe an open source project, but not something like Channels.

Streaming devices are purposely built for this, with systems that support our software. On a pi, we'd have to build a user interface driven applciation from the ground up and that's never going to happen.

#3

OK that puts that to bed then!

Seems a bit odd though, to be so dismissive of the "underpowered/expensive" Raspi but then offer a custom image for it to run as the Channels server. As the brains of the system, doing the recording, indexing, comskip processing etc and simultaneously streaming to multiple clients, doesn't the server need much more power than a single client would?

Anyway, it was just a thought, borne out of how easy it was to set up the Raspi server, and how well it seems to work.

#4

The RasPi server image just packages up an existing RasPi linux distro with the already existing Channels linux server software. It's similar to the Channels docker image. Developing and supporting a client for a different platform is orders of magnitude more difficult.