Channels dvr integration

[Carlo 4330]

For use with CDVR no you do not need a tuner.  But to get some of the channels you get with Spectrum you would use your spectrum login credentials.  Most cable companies give you 5 to 10 accounts (email, remote tv viewing) so any of those logins should work.

Doesn't cost you anything to try it.

[BillOatman 500]

37 minutes ago, cayars said:

For use with CDVR no you do not need a tuner.  But to get some of the channels you get with Spectrum you would use your spectrum login credentials.  Most cable companies give you 5 to 10 accounts (email, remote tv viewing) so any of those logins should work.

Doesn't cost you anything to try it.

Interesting.  The cable companies like Spectrum must have some kind of api to get channels, listings, and streams that Channels DVR uses. Maybe they are registered as a "app" like the spectrum app for roku etc.

Edited April 27, 2021 by BillOatman

[Sammy 735]

35 minutes ago, BillOatman said:

Interesting.  The cable companies like Spectrum must have some kind of api to get channels, listings, and streams that Channels DVR uses. Maybe they are registered as a "app" like the spectrum app for roku etc.

ChannelsDVR merely authenticates as a TVEverywhere user to stream content from the various apps.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Sammy

[Carlo 4330]

If you want to test you current provider login credentials go here and try them:

https://www.wtve.net/index.php?s=blank&stop=1

[Sammy 735]

Interesting..

Charter /  Spectrum is not listed by I know for a fact it works with ChannelsDVR.

[Carlo 4330]

Yes, just noticed Comcast/Xfinity and Verizon isn't on the list either.  Likely big players use their own web interface.

Oh well, so much for a quick place to check. LOL

[all4dom 73]

The spectrum app is not even available for the roku player anymore. Only available for apple tv, maybe the shield & web. Moat spectrum channels are available on channels DVR, except metv,  ion, antenna tv & bounce.

Channels DVR is only available for fire tv, apple tv & android. Channels works with emby, which allows me not have to worry about what device I have. Really looking forward to the next emby update including live tv .

If I'm correct, is the reason many developers here are not fans of roku because you cant use a custom player? Not sure if insaid that right. IMHO the best emby interface is on fire TV & i notice certain features are.not on the roku as they are on fire tv, but the roku seems to.be the best bang for your buck & a simple.clean U.I.

[Sammy 735]

There's no Spectrum App on AndroidTV.

I think Shield is better than FireTV and even other AndroidTV devices are better because they don't put Prime front and center on everything.

[all4dom 73]

@SammyI thought I read recently that google is starting to put ads on the shield. Also i dont know how well the shield works with alexa voice control. Roku.is decent, basic stuff but it works. Fire tv is.good.... but enough with all sponsorships & videos shows down out throat. That's one of the main reasons I like roku.

[Sammy 735]

I saw a headline in my Google feed on that for the ShieldTV but didn't read the details. It would be a shame.

I'm old school and still prefer navigating content with a remote with buttons rather than talking into it..

[Carlo 4330]

But at least for now talking to it is add free.  With that said it probably won't be long before this happens.

"Hey Google, play Top Gun on M.B."

Response. Sure I can play that but would you first like to hear about local sales at Walmart or Discounted Auto Quotes.

[Jimmy1964 2]

I want to thank Carlo, he was able to remote into my computer and setup the EPG and Tuner, everything is working great thanks again Carlo

[lbgoodman 0]

On 4/26/2021 at 11:32 PM, Jimmy1964 said:

Hello Carlo, Thank you for pointing me to this thread, I was able to add the channels-DVR for a tuner but I have no data in the guide , all the channels are showing , OTA, Pluto and Stirr. just like in the Channels-DVR server but I have no data on the EPG other than station logos 

Emby is on the same computer as CDVR so i used the link http://127.0.0.1:8089/devices/ANY/guide/xmltv?duration=1209600 I pasted that in the browser and saw a lot of information so the link works but when I went to add guide source,  i selected XMLTV pasted the link but it did not populate the guide, I don't know what I am doing wrong , can you please help Thank You!

I have the same issue; sent a PM

[Carlo 4330]

It's the Stirr guide messing you guys up. Either remove Stirr so it's not used or stop using ANY in the device string and setup specific  m3u and xml guide using the CDVR device name.

Then use an alternate STIRR guide vs using what Channels provided (or leave it blank).

[Luke 37050]

On 3/3/2021 at 3:53 PM, CrossCech said:

Special needs would be Closed Captioning. After my 1st attempt at configuring the guide & before consulting with you, I went into Emby to test and saw that yes my HDHR channels were doubled up. However, I also discovered that while closed captioning from the ATSC HDHR channels are accessible, captions for cable tv web streams were lost in Emby. In CDVR they 're there for all the channels. CDVR uses .mpg for video which maintains the CC stream. Have to assume that Emby is changing something in the cable tv web channels (HDHR channels still provided CC) that's causing the ETA-608 closed caption stream to be lost/not picked up by Emby. This is a whole other issue and I don't want this thread to spin out of control going down that rabbit hole. 

@CrossCech

Universal closed caption support is coming: 

 

[lmsemby 5]

I've integrated Channels DVR into Emby and it works great. However on the home screen the show images are zoomed in and you can't tell what the show is. Is there a channels xmltv link argument to correct this?

I'm on Emby beta version.

Edited May 12, 2022 by lmsemby

[Luke 37050]

18 minutes ago, lmsemby said:

I've integrated Channels DVR into Emby and it works great. However on the home screen the show images are zoomed in and you can't tell what the show is. Is there a channels xmltv link argument to correct this?

I'm on Emby beta version.

HI there, can you please show a screenshot example? Thanks.

[lmsemby 5]

2 minutes ago, Luke said:

HI there, can you please show a screenshot example? Thanks.

 

[Luke 37050]

54 minutes ago, lmsemby said:

 

Is it not sending back poster 2:3 aspect ratios? That is what our user interfaces are expecting.

[lmsemby 5]

3 minutes ago, Luke said:

Is it not sending back poster 2:3 aspect ratios? That is what our user interfaces are expecting.

I figured. Not sure how to force Channels DVR to do that? Anyone have an idea?

[lmsemby 5]

I'm noticing that movie posters are at 2:3 but the tv shows are blown up.

[Carlo 4330]

Take a look at how they use the graphics themselves.  They are bigger.

You can really see the difference in these two views.

[lmsemby 5]

2 hours ago, cayars said:

Take a look at how they use the graphics themselves.  They are bigger.

You can really see the difference in these two views.

I dove into the channels forums. Turns out that TV art is served at 4:3 which is disappointing. I was offered this https://getchannels.com/docs/channels-dvr-server/how-to/custom-channels/#guide-item-art I've not dug into it yet but I'll see if it offers the solution I'm looking for.

[lmsemby 5]

From a CDVR dev:

maddox
Channels Developer
13m
Decisions like art aspect are made based on the app experience we’ve spent years designing and making decisions for. Our app is the priority.

Features like m3u exporting are an affordance we make because it’s too easy to not to, and it’s fun and extensible.

Changing our art aspect decision based on a feature that less than a percent of our fans use isn’t something we’d ever do.

[Carlo 4330]

I would ask him why the aspect ratio couldn't be passed in with the channel request.
That way different graphics could be generated and the 1% could grow.

Keep in mind you don't need to use CDVRs guide data but can use Emby's instead.

Edited January 11, 2023 by cayars