I spent about $150.00 on two hdmi encoders plus $20.00 for the ONN devices.
The system works great with YTTV. i've got some locals that i watch. I rarely have to go in and mess with settings.
do not use HULU live. it works but too much baby sitting.
Thanks
I got my encoders on eBay for $50 each. Just two, but they’re working fine and have been unattended for many months now. ADBtuner is a very cool bit of code! I enjoyed the project of setting it up that first time, and learned a lot along the way.
Why would you need more than one capture device? FWIW, I have 4 or 5 fire tv 4k sticks just sitting around from when I migrated to Apple TV.
If you only want to record one channel and not view another ? then one is enough.
TVE Alternatives
Unfortunately, as stations keep leaving CDVR, it is leaving us in a difficult situation. Like many others, I signed up for CDVR for TVE integration with OTA.
If TVE were to completely disappear today, I would still keep CDVR. It has become my preferred media server for my local content. Everything I need CDVR to do, I can do with my lifetime Plex pass. However, CDVR simply does it better. I am comfortable paying $8 per month for their software even if TVE were to cease to exist.
I wish more projects could be official instead of community projects. The concern is that the maintainers may lose interest in CDVR.
You forgot to mention ah4c, which can handle deeplinks like ADBTuner, but more specifically can also control apps using remote control emulation. It can even handle hybrid scenarios like we have with DTVStream presently, where a combination of both is required.
And to your point about maintainers, using open source projects is the key there, as someone else can always pick up the torch and run with it. Personally, I think it's pretty fabulous that the CDVR devs have embraced (and started the development on in some cases) community projects, as I think there's always a place in an ecosystem like this for new ideas and new ways of approaching things.
I am 100% happy that CDVR has embraced community so much. It is a HUGE reason for success. I am pro open source. Just the issue is IF someone will pick it up.
But at the moment I feel good about CDVR still being around as my primary media app in another year. The community and devs both are very active. I like the direction the devs have been going.
Side note. @bnhf You are AWESOME and ty for all the communitu work you have contributed.
Channels is the best for those that want a smooth experience.
I've used Emby. The software is visually nice but the support doesn't seem as finely detailed as we have on channels.
The community here seems resourceful.
If one is willing to put in the time and effort, you can have a media solution that exceeds the functionality of even YTTV.
Pick what works best for the situation and enjoy the results.
Well...I just set up my HDMI encoder with ah4c so I'm set. I might get a cheap HDMI usb encoder to connect it with my linkpi to get another tuner in so I'll be set without TVE. The FAST, Eplus and HDHR channels still works so yeah
Which encoders did you grab for $50? I'd love to test it out, but Im scared of the investment.
FMUser is the brand, model FBE200. They were used, but in perfect working order. This is the post that got me started…
Here is a cheap one on eaby. Note that the cheap ones are not the 4k versions and so they tend to max out at 29fps video . The 4k versions do 60fps which is much better for sports and such. I actually use HDMI for Channels for all my lineup coming in from youtubeTV. I avoid TVE because except for some of the sports channels they tend to spit out 29fps max and inferior picture quality -- at least to my eyes. Long and short. I would suggest you get the multi port 4k uRay or the Link Pi equivalent.
If you just want to experiment I saw this. It is over the $50 but you can wait around for a sale if you prefer:
I have been seeing these versions but I am not sure if they work. The principle however looks to be generally the same:
I hope that Channels Leans hard into virtual channels as replacements.
That way you can create your own replacement with local content.
That would work well for everything short of live sports.
As M1 Mac Mini refurbs drop in price, at some point that will be a good choice, using Chrome Capture for Channels. Depending on how many concurrent channels you might need going at a time, that could end up being a cheaper option. I see the base level M1 Mac Mini going for about $400 now. My M1 Mac Mini can handle three streams/channels with zero hiccups, and even more than that if I don’t mind a momentary glitch in the current streams when adding additional ones. And that Mac mini is also doing duty as a Homebridge server, and running my Channels DVR server. I have that set as my higher priority source now, capped at 3 streams, with 3 encoders running ADBTuner as my next source.
What are you using as a source. I have a new M3 Mac mini Pro and could not get CC4Channels to work with YouTubeTV. It kept giving me a logon error. I was told that was an issue. Would much rather use CC4C as I don't need more than 2 streams.
I am using YouTube TV. I set up a separate user to login without two factor authentication.
Do you know if the bottleneck is the CPU, GPU, or something else? It would be interesting to figure out what kind of setup would give you the most bang for your buck.
I don’t know, unfortunately, and I only tested it with that many concurrent streams once. Three was fine, and there was a slight hitch in the already-playing stream, for just a second, when I added more.
I had no idea you could do that. I thought 2FA was required. I will try this out. Thanks.
I hate to even ask, but would you share your custom channel script for YTTV with me? I cannot find one anywhere to copy and I am not sure how to get the station IDs. Thanks.