Channels DVR is available in public beta

[jm9843]

The Announcement thread.

I must say, as an ardent SageTV user for as long as I can remember, what these two guys have accomplished in 9 months is impressive from appearances. I'm tempted to pickup an Apple TV and accelerate my unRAID plans to check it out.

Anyone planning to try it themselves?

As a side note: Silicondust could learn something about focus from this.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by jm9843

The Announcement thread.

I must say, as an ardent SageTV user for as long as I can remember, what these two guys have accomplished in 9 months is impressive from appearances. I'm tempted to pickup an Apple TV and accelerate my unRAID plans to check it out.

Anyone planning to try it themselves?

As a side note: Silicondust could learn something about focus from this.

Why bother with this if you're already aware that SageTV exists?

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Why bother with this if you're already aware that SageTV exists?

Call it a professional curiosity? Don't get me wrong: there's a near-zero % chance that I'd switch to it from SageTV. And usually I wouldn't bother, but a lot has changed in the world since SageTV's inception. So a new project built with a 2017 sensibility that prioritizes UX (SageTV's weakest area) and doesn't make excuses about episode guides, access, or commercial skipping is at the least interesting if not compelling.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by jm9843

The Announcement thread.

I must say, as an ardent SageTV user for as long as I can remember, what these two guys have accomplished in 9 months is impressive from appearances. I'm tempted to pickup an Apple TV and accelerate my unRAID plans to check it out.

Anyone planning to try it themselves?

As a side note: Silicondust could learn something about focus from this.

So, this is a DVR that plays back on an Apple TV??? Just making sure, as I have a friend that already has an apple TV, and wants a DVR.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by jm9843

So a new project built with a 2017 sensibility that prioritizes UX (SageTV's weakest area) and doesn't make excuses about episode guides, access, or commercial skipping is at the least interesting if not compelling.

I'll be honest, I laughed when I read this... I mean that's quite the statement... it doesn't make excuses... You've already stated that you haven't tried it... but you are confident, they "don't make excuses"

It sort of reminds me of TabloTV (which I've heard good things about, but never tried).

In all seriousness, it is likely quite easily to build a PVR from scratch, today... that supports just a single type of tuner, and a single front-end. The challenge with SageTV (yeah, I know, another excuse), is that it has "history" and there is lots of code there to support lots of different configurations, etc. What people can do, when they are not shackled to an architecture can be quite impressive.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

So, this is a DVR that plays back on an Apple TV??? Just making sure, as I have a friend that already has an apple TV, and wants a DVR.

It looks like it uses Apple TV as the playback device, but it still requires a separate always-on computer (Mac or Linux - Not Windows) or NAS to do the actual recording and storage.

Didn't see anything on the announcement page that would make me consider leaving Sage.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by stuckless

I'll be honest, I laughed when I read this... I mean that's quite the statement... it doesn't make excuses... You've already stated that you haven't tried it... but you are confident, they "don't make excuses"

I probably could have explained myself better. Purely from a high-level feature perspective, they've launched with stuff that the other new commercial products have shied away from.

Silicondust DVR (near RC status): no traditional episode guide, no remote access, no commercial skip, bad UX (which counts as a feature)

Plex DVR (beta): no traditional episode guide, no live/in-progress recording viewing, management only through web client, commercial skip support through clunky user-defined post-processing scripts

Caveat being that I haven't tried Channels DVR (which is why I said 'from appearances'), but I'm giving them credit for their approach. If the execution is there then I think it'll find an audience.

[panteragstk]

It looks nice enough, but it also seems like it is limited to HDHR devices. OTA or cable is it I guess.

I don't think anything other than a streaming service that had 1080p video, DD+ 5.1/7.1, unlimited cloud DVR that skipped commercials, 6 simultaneous streams, and had all the channels I want for cheap would get me to even consider thinking about leaving SageTV.

Even then, what would I do if my internet connection went down?

[SWKerr]

Don't really see where this is any better than Emby or Plex.
Plus they will run on just about anything.

The HD-PVR support is what is keeping me with SageTV. I hardly ever use the SageTV interface to watch TV anymore. Live TV is really not something I watch so even the current Plex DVR meets most of my needs.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by jm9843

I must say, as an ardent SageTV user for as long as I can remember, what these two guys have accomplished in 9 months is impressive from appearances. I'm tempted to pickup an Apple TV and accelerate my unRAID plans to check it out.

What really impresses me is the work done by the small handful of Sage developers who are doing amazing things in their spare time adding things like Android clients, new methods of tuning, improving the UI, simplifying system installation for unRAID, converting the Linux version to 64 bit Java, etc.

Well done guys!

[jm9843]

Tough crowd.

Nobody is denigrating SageTV or any of the awesome open-source work being done now. I use EnterNoEscape's OpenDCT with Sean's miniclient for Android along with multiple plugins from various authors and haven't been happier in the 10+ years that I've been using Sage. I evangelize it.

That said, recent conversations on the forum have centered around UX (in a roundabout way), attracting new users/developers, and how it fits in to the new media landscape with streaming over the top services, etc. The Channels DVR is an interesting new entrant in that discussion and could (it's possible!) inform some of the thinking on how SageTV evolves. But only if it's actually considered.

[wayner]

I wasn't implying that you were denigrating anybody, I just wanted to pointed out that there is some great work being done on SageTV these days and I don't know that we show our appreciation enough.

[valnar]

I didn't see anything about encrypted channels on a HDHR Prime, and more surprisingly, no comments asking about it. Maybe I'm in a weird spot, but all these DVR's popping up with only OTA or clear-QAM capabilities are next to useless (to me).

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by valnar

I didn't see anything about encrypted channels on a HDHR Prime, and more surprisingly, no comments asking about it. Maybe I'm in a weird spot, but all these DVR's popping up with only OTA or clear-QAM capabilities are next to useless (to me).

I think a bulk of desire for home-grown DVR's these days comes from cord cutters who are using OTA only, because there is no longer a provider-sourced DVR option. For those people, encrypted is not an issue.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by valnar

I didn't see anything about encrypted channels on a HDHR Prime, and more surprisingly, no comments asking about it. Maybe I'm in a weird spot, but all these DVR's popping up with only OTA or clear-QAM capabilities are next to useless (to me).

They addressed why it's unlikely to happen here. Spoiler alert: it's the economics.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by jm9843

They addressed why it's unlikely to happen here. Spoiler alert: it's the economics.

Interesting. Based on that, I doubt Silicondust's DRM is going to happen either. I signed up for their Kickstarter for that reason alone.

But at least I got a Prime out of it.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I think a bulk of desire for home-grown DVR's these days comes from cord cutters who are using OTA only, because there is no longer a provider-sourced DVR option. For those people, encrypted is not an issue.

Yep and the fact that these cord cutters don't want something complicated to set up and just does OTA DVR.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

Don't really see where this is any better than Emby or Plex.
Plus they will run on just about anything.

The HD-PVR support is what is keeping me with SageTV. I hardly ever use the SageTV interface to watch TV anymore. Live TV is really not something I watch so even the current Plex DVR meets most of my needs.

At lease with SageTV, Emby or Plex you get more of a true whole home media center that cover all most everthing in one apps

[SHS]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Yep and the fact that these cord cutters don't want something complicated to set up and just does OTA DVR.

Yup that true as I have found*that they are so half bake it an't funny.
One of big*issues is a true cord cutters will not have a internet*access other then there phone so they have no way of get the EPG*unless they still are broadcasting it*over the air way ?, which I'm petty sure was very limited as it is as I recall wasn't something like one or two days tops.



*

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by SHS

Yup that true as I have found*that they are so half bake it an't funny.
One of big*issues is a true cord cutters will not have a internet*access other then there phone so they have no way of get the EPG*unless they still are broadcasting it*over the air way ?, which I'm petty sure was very limited as it is as I recall wasn't something like one or two days tops.



*

All the people I know that call themselves cord cutters, still have internet, and that internet ends up being their primary source of media. Whether it's things like netflix or such, or illegal sources.