I'm running an old dell pc with an i5 sandy bridge processor. 8 GB of ram 128ssd and 10TB nas drive. Windows 10
I also put a Nvidia P2000 in the pc to be able to hardware transcode more than 1 stream at a time.
This setup is simple and very easy to set up and maintain.
I have mine running on the Synology DS418play and never had any problems. I set my mom up with a 2012 MacMini as her server which also works great.
I have mine running on a Synology DS1019+ and it has 0 issues working for our family of 5.
The Raspberry Pi setup is (for me) the absolute best. A dedicated little $100 setup that works flawlessly. I was running my whole setup off my Synology NAS but wanted to lighten the load. I couldn't believe the Pi could handle it but figured for the cost, I'd try. Seriously one of the best investments I've made. The Pi is housed in a Flirc case and is feeding a 2TB WD USB3 drive. It has not had one issue and is as fast (or faster) than my NAS. Amazing.
It would be interesting to compare how the Pi compares with an old (2012 in my case) Mac Mini that a lot of people seem to use for Channels. I'm up to 3 external 10TB drives now and have a lot of recordings going.
Off subject but I would like to know what the heck you are recording!
I think he's a Moving Image (Video) Archivist. He's got a ways to go to catchup with The Internet Archive's 45+ Petabytes.
Figured I should add this so it doesn't seem off-topic. I run Channels DVR Server on two Synology NAS's.
I'm treating it similar to YTTV as "unlimited" DVR. All the series we watch I just set to All-All passes so I always have commercial skip available. I'm also building a library of movies. And for some older series that aren't aired anymore I'm building them up. I've pruned a few that I realize we aren't going to watch. My thinking is that if we eventually get rid of some of the paid services for a while, that we'll have a good library of content to watch. Its pretty inexpensive and just requires a little manual copying of content from one drive to the other.
I thought I could run the Channels DVR app on my NAS (MyCloud) but the performance was terrible. I ended up using the NAS for just that - a NAS. I run the Channels app on a dedicated mini-PC running Win10Pro. I set that up months ago and it runs just great.
The learning curve on all this was significant but once setup, I am off cable, and off TiVo. I have an HDHomeRun as one of my sources. My guess is that I spent less that $600 for all the hoopla to get this setup, but I am saving on cable and TiVo monthly charges so these initial costs will paid back quickly.
BTW, none of this is particularly difficult, but discovering and learning the details can be trying.
Keep in mind that the 2012 Mac mini can only run MacOS up to 10.15 (Catalina), so at some point in the not too distant future, updates and security fixes are going to be deprecated for that machine. Those looking to go the Mac mini route should probably only consider 2014 or newer machines. I just picked up a 2014 mini with 8GB and a 1TB HDD for about $300.
This. Not only is my Synology running great with four users, but it's running Plex flawlessly as well. Synology is very well supported and a great choice for an always-on media server.
True, but the 2012 Mac Mini is still getting updates on the 2 versions prior to Catalina, so it will be some time before its dropped entirely. I just upgraded to Mojave last week so I could run Docker. My reason for mentioning 2012 is that if it will run on the cheapest 2012 model, then anything newer should be fine. I already had this one and wasn't using it. If I was going to buy one, I think your advise is good. Unfortunately these old Macs carry high resale value compared to old PCs.
I have a 2012 MAC Mini also, with High Sierra, and all im running is PLEX and the Channels DVR software. Ive never sat down to load the system down, but i can stream PLEX to 2 or 3 tv's and record from Channels DVR with no issues. The MAC Mini is a real workhorse, even as it ages. Seldom ever gives me issues.
Server/DVR = Lenovo ThinkCentre M92p "Tiny" PC Core i5 120GB SSD 8GB RAM WIN 10 PRO Wi-Fi. Refurb On Ebay $139.
Storage = WD My Passport 2TB Black (Thin) Manufacturer Refurbished Portable Hard Drive. on Ebay $49.
Over the Air Silicondust HDHomeRun CONNECT DUO Refurb - Free Over the Air TV - Free Shipping on Ebay $85.
I pull in my Cable channels from my Florida Condo (Where they are part of my association dues) using TV everywhere. Pull it all together with Amazon Fire stick.
Set it up over 6 months ago and it has been flawless.
I second the use of a mac mini. Quiet, does the job without a fuss, can easily keep adding storage. Maybe not the cheapest solution, but it is essentially free if you have one just sitting around.
Mine is 2014 and sure, at some point it will stop getting OS updates, then two or three years later stop getting security updates. So what? I'll probably still get another five years or so of use out of it before various problems of being too old and unsupported make it not worth retaining. Better deal overall than buying a new super cheap box every two years, hating it, and hoping the next super cheap box is somehow better.
One thing to add. If you are using an other the air antenna and don't want to go to crazy lengths like mounting it on the roof, the antenna you probably want is a Mohu Leaf.
These come in various sizes (IMHO get the largest). They look like just a sheet of plastic maybe 2 ft by 1ft but work a lot better than traditional style TV antennas. Top of the line costs around $80.