Which Mini PC / What Spec?

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#1

I’m completely new to Channels DVR but know that it can do far more than I need.

At the moment I have a HDHomeRun Flex 4K and I've set-up my Channels DVR server on my Mac Studio and have it set to use a USB 3 Hard Drive. This all seems to be working fine, but I don't like the fact that I have to have my Mac on all the time. I'm therefore thinking of buying a Mini PC but I don't understand the spec I need.

My needs are really basic. The HDHomeRun DVR functionality is all I really need but I don't like their TV Guide and I like the Skip Commercials functionality and a few other bits in Channels DVR. I'm really just interested in being able to record live TV and then being able to watch that back on any TV in my home. Whilst I have Netflix, Prime and Apple TV, I don't have an extensive media library and really don't need to access anything from outside my home.

I don't really understand all the technical stuff of setting up Media Servers etc, I hear a lot of people talking about transcoding but, I think, as I'm only looking to view my media on my TV in my house, it's not something I need to be too bothered about. It might be nice on the rare occasion to be able to watch something on my iPad in another room but it's not something I'd spend hundreds on to be able to do.

Looking on Amazon I see models ranging from around £150 to nearly £600. I definitely can't justify £600 but is a £150 even up to the job?

For example:
Beelink MINI-S12 Mini PC, 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake-N95 Processor (up to 3.40GHz) Mini Computer, 8GB RAM 256GB SSD £129

Beelink MINI-S12 Pro Mini PC, 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake-N100 Processor (up to 3.4GHz) Mini Computer, 16G RAM 500GB SSD £159

Beelink EQ14 Mini PC, Intel 12th Processor N150 (4C/4T, up to 3.6Ghz), 16G DDR4 500G SSD £179

Are models like this suitable or a waste of time? Should I be looking for a specific CPU type and speed and how much RAM is required?

Also, can I just plug a USB drive into the back of the Mini PC and use that for my library, like I'm doing currently on my Mac?

#2

I run mine on a mini pc with an N97 processor and 16 GB ram with no problems. I use a USB3 ssd for my channels storage and it also works great. Literally plug and play. The only bit of advice I can offer about the mini PCs on Amazon or other retailers is to look for reviews on the one you plan on buying. Most people recommend to do a fresh install of Windows 11 downloaded from Microsoft. I did that on mine and all the drivers were installed without issue. I bought another one from a different manufacturer and when I did a fresh Windows install, there was not a proper driver for the Bluetooth/Wifi. The company did not offer a download for it either and it wasn't available on the internet or software update.That kind of made me think it could be a type of no name device with suspect components. Look for one that has a website that has actual support and official downloads or one that works with the drivers already on Windows 11.

Also, USB C port is something to look for if possible.

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#3

Thank you for this, that is really useful. I will definitely do more research. Especially as whilst I’ve built dozens and dozens of PC’s in the past, for the past 15 years I’ve been a Mac user and I’m really no longer up to speed with the latest CPU’s and chipsets etc.

Really appreciate your help.

#4

Either of the three systems you list are capable of your requirements. Beelink makes solid systems and their systems come with Windows 11 Pro installed and licenced making them popular here.

Transcoding is used to convert video to different formats. This can be useful if you want to watch a show away from home and the link between your home and the hotel is too slow for 1080p. You can tell Channels DVR to send it to you at a lower resolution that will work.

The EQ14 has the newest Intel processor and it's internal GPU can transcode the fastest which can help. The faster processor will also commercial skip a bit faster yet it's not a huge improvement. 4-GB of RAM is more than enough for Channels. You may discover that you want to install some of the plug-ins that people here have developed. As you also stream, you will probably like Stream Link Manager as it will allow you to keep track of your streaming shows and movies just as if they were recordings. It doesn't use much RAM yet plugins can add up. if you are tight for funds, get the S12. If you have the funds and want to future proof, get the EQ14.

Enjoy!

Morris

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#5

I would recommend 16GB ram. Memory is cheap and WIN-11 will barely work with 4GB ram.

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#6

That depends on the apps that are used. In any case the smallest system he is looking at has 8-GB. That's 4GB that will show up as free in Task Manager :-}

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#7

Do you want to have very fast comskip (commercial skipping scanning)? OTA processing (mpeg2) is much faster to process, vs tve (h264). Are you gonna have many remote users and need transcoding power?

If yes to all or most of that, the answer to your question is, buy the most powerful hardware you can afford and stand to run 24/7.

If it just low usage and not much to worry about speed of comskip, any mini pc will do fine.

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#8

This one^.
This will be more than enough and allow for future community projects if you choose to try them. 500gb will hold a lot of shows so you might not even need to use your external hard drive.

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#9

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#10

Thank you all for your replies, this has really been very helpful. I am really liking the commercial skipping facility and that and the much improved TV Guide are the main reasons for me to use Commercial DVR over the HDHomeRun app. Looking forward to exploring a bit more what Channels has to offer.

Thanks again.