HDHR Prime showing some ScreenPix, Epix and Flix channels as DRM
I have XFINITY and only Premium Movie Channels are DRM'd.
I have been in the middle of moving from Tivo to Channels so I was just trying Xfinity TVE to get a good test drive. Channels is much better than Tivo and being supported actively. So do yourself a favor and buy the HDHomerun Prime for cable card. I just did and it is a much better experience than TVE. And surprisingly it was an easy call to Xfinity to get the cable card initialized (used the card I had in my Tivo).
At this point (at least for Xfinity) you canāt rely on TVE for 24x7. Right now I cannot authenticate and even when it was working about every 2 weeks some channels (e.g. Discovery) would have to be authenticated repeatedly.
TVE is still beta for Channels and I can see why. I think a better authentication process that is more automated will be needed to move out of beta (but some sources probably work much better than Xfinity).
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Basically the premium channels like HBO Max. I get ESPN and NFL on my Prime just fine. I know this is a lot of new information, like drinking from a firehose, but see my post upthread here.
I ordered a Prime on Amazon - it was $149 (after a $50 coupon). I only have one cableCARD and this is a bit of an experiment, so Iāll stick with the one.
Next would be the server itself. Looking for something thatās cost effective, quiet, cool, requires no DIY modes, and affordable. Any suggestions welcome.
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Depends on if you need to transcode for remote viewing.
Nice thing about Channels DVR is you can try it on something, then backup and restore on something else.
I'm partial to my Synology NAS's as I already had them running 7x24, they're cool, quiet and easy to update/upgrade.
I wouldn't recommend running it on a daily driver like a laptop or PC, but you could always test using one and move it later when you decide what to run it on.
Ok. Iāll look into Synology. Looks like thereās an entry level model for about $250 and there are 1TB drives in the $70-80 range.
Not to be glib, but arenāt TiVo Bolts actually less robust than a typical PC?
Probably, but mine has been trouble free for the 3.5 years I've owned it.
The DS218+ and its new model replacement DS220+ are recommended by the Channels DVR devs themselves. I'd recommend mirrored drives for backup. A 4TB pair in my DS718+ result in 3TB of storage space for Channels DVR. (I don't actually need that much space anymore, or the more powerful CPU, or the extra RAM I put in there, but it's nice-to-have.)
On average, yes. The Roamio series is far more reliable, and alongside Channels DVR for now I'm still running a six year-old Roamio Pro on its second drive, serving three v2 Minis. The card in my Prime came from a low-quality poorly-designed Bolt I scrapped rather than inflict it on others. If a Bolt runs without incident the first couple years and you keep it cool it will probably last but I won't try another, or the Edge for a number of reasons.
I think the minimum recommended is the DS220+.
You want one with an Intel CPU that supports hardware transcoding.
I would also go for the largest compatible HDD's you can afford.
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I just removed the cablecard cover off the bottom and set it on a wire mesh tray. All the talk about them running hot are from people not realizing the ODT is On Die Temperature (mine averages 58 degrees), unlike the older models like my Roamio MBT Motherboard Temperature which averages 38 degrees. Only issue with my Bolt is the fan does run noisy sometimes, but that is normal because of how they power it.
My Bolt had a noisy fan, a buzzing board component, a loose screw inside, and super-sensitivity to power fluctuations. That last one was easy enough to filter, but everything else was really annoying and the overall hardware design was ridiculous. I moved it to the server closet and set it on a laptop cooler with the bottom hatch removed, but it really felt that one was on borrowed time so was happy to decommission it.
We still like TiVo for recordings in progress and for live TV because of that great buffer and navigation, but the ol' Roamio doesn't get much use anymore now that we have Channels. I have it on TE3 so haven't used TiVo commercial skip, but am told lately TiVo has switched from human to automated indexing, which compares poorly and processes far fewer shows than Channels DVR.
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Are all DS220+ units the same? Or do they come with different processor/RAM options?
Even the low end NAS is going to cost you a lot. If you really are just trying it out, consider using a Raspberry Pi and an external drive to start. You can always move up to a more expensive NAS if you decide you are going to use it long-term. (I've had a 5 TB external SSD hooked up to mine for almost a year now and haven't come close to filling it.) I don't use it remotely, I can't because of my VPN set up, so I can't speak to that, but I think that it can handle 1 transcoding stream at a time. Also grab a good fan for it. It's probably fine without one, but mine is much cooler with it and since I leave it on all the time I figured it would be good. As long as you don't mind the lights, this one is great. It's practically silent. And if you buy the separate case, it limits the amount of light you get off the thing. https://www.amazon.com/GeeekPi-Raspberry-Low-Profile-Cooling-Heatsink/dp/B08B5X5PWZ
As for TV Everywhere with Xfinity, beyond the occasional issue with the DIY networks (I just had to log out and back in a couple of days ago) I have almost no problems with it, and I have the added complication of using a VPN to gain access from outside the U.S. Just make sure you create a secondary log in that does not have access to your payment and other account information (it's pretty easy to do) so that you can turn off secondary verification on that account. I would encourage you to try both. The Homerun Prime 3 has a limit of only 3 streams at once. Adding TV everywhere can allow you to record more than that at once if you so desire. Just make sure that you have the Homerun prioritized over the TV Everywhere to minimize your internet use.
For Xfinity TVE a number of us are having a problem with authentication. We had to remove TVE and re add Xfinity and there is a problem. I have done this many times before but it does not work now.
That's not been my personal experience, and I hope it continues not to be as I'd have to drop channels altogether if it stops working.
The DS220+ can be purchased with different amounts of RAM, but it only comes with one CPU type.
Specs here DS220+ | Synology Inc.
Ram is DDR4 non-ECC Unbuffered SODIMM
Don't remove and try to add back TVE. I have not been able to add it back in almost a week. I am not the only one with this issue. I have done this many times before very successfully.
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I just did it two days ago with absolutely no issue. It looks like from the quote you added that it is an issue on Xfinity's end for some customers. So far, it seems like I'm not one of them. Hopefully it will stay that way.