What is Reddit's opinion of Live Channels?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Easiest would be using the Shield TV.

USB Tuner (I.e. WinTV Dual) with an external USB 3.0 drive and then record/watch with the included "Live Channels" app.

However I'm not sure who they get their data from as it is never accurate on my ABC and CBS channels. It always shows programming for a religious station instead of the correct programming.

With that said, the best option in my area would be to buy a network tuner and then use their app on your streaming device. The Tablo TV would be the easiest of the ones out there. (It does require a subscription if want full a programming guide otherwise you are limited to "VCR Style" recordings. (Channel, Time, Duration only)).

Have you tried Google's Live Channels app? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en&gl=US

Your hardware needs to support it, but it works for my Google TV box.

yea, he doesn't just mean live channels as in Channels with live TV, he means the specific AndroidTV built in app called "Live Channels" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_US

The shield has chromecast built in so you don't really need both plugged in. I don't know if HDHomeRun or Live Channels works in UK... but that was a big part of my decision. I can watch live sports on cable without having to switch inputs on my TV. I can chromecast without having to switch inputs on my TV. And it has CEC control to turn on and off the TV, and since i never have to switch inputs I only have to use the one tiny remote to run my setup. I like it.

To clarify for other readers, Live Channels is Google's new built-in app in official Android TV boxes (Mi Box, Nvidia Shield, and televisions with Android TV built-in), that can combine multiple video sources into a single guide/interface.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en

Each streaming video app developer decides for themselves whether to make their content accessible from Live Channels.

The video would be still hosted from YouTube. This merely makes the YouTube live channels IPTV client compliant.

I use it on an Android TV with Google's live channels app as digital TV channels with EPG support. Link to the app for screenshots - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&gl=US

Have you tried the Live TV on the shield using the Live Channels app that came included with the Shield TV? I use this app exclusively for watching Live TV (instead of Plex) because it changes channels much faster.

If you try it with that app at least you can narrow it down to a Shield TV vs. Plex App issue.

Great to hear that the main issue resolved itself!

For the other issues I'd suggest you check how it looks in regular Live Channels app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv) first. If you have similar issues there it's most likely something we can fix, otherwise it's probably a Philips issue. I don't recall some of the issues you are telling me about, but then I have others instead ;) My Philips has a few years on it's neck so you'd think they would have fixed it by now...

Double description is one issue that is not unlikely to come from PVR Live (in combination with Enigma2). But please check with Live Channels first and get back to me and we can have another round of issues/fixes.

With Plex Pass you can DVR so I recommend Lifetime Pass. It also lets you broadcast music to yourself on the go with Plex Amp.
As for digital service, you can really buy anywhere. VUDU is popular. MoviesAnywhere is a central hub service under one UI/account. Wait until there is a promo for a Free movie if you link an account. I got The Matrix free this way. It is definitely playing Dolby Atmos & Vision! I just checked again to make sure that is still the case. It is. I think Ima watch it again very soon.

You have many options available to you. Play quality is on the app-maker, in general. We have some sound issues with the bad update still, I think, but mostly apps are on the maker.

If you have a network antenna, Google's Live Channels makes channel surfing better/faster than a smart TV. Before the channel signal connects, a TV Show poster pops up so if you are not interested, you can move on. It is great! Without the antenna you can add A LOT of streaming channels from old cable stations, or channels of a particular show. There are TONS of them!

You can use the included "Live Channels" app that comes with the Shield. (It can also be used as a DVR, but I haven't tried that functionality). I use it for watching live because it has a couple advantages over Plex.

1. Channel changes are at least 4x faster
2. When you hit the highest channel and press "channel up" it will cycle back to the lowest channel. (where Plex forces you to scroll back up)
3. Pressing the "enter" key in the Live Channels app also allows you to quickly switch between recently watched channels (I.e. swapping channels when watching multiple football games, for example).

I use Plex for the DVR and it is rock solid and never had any issues with DD5.1 during playback of the recording.

The Plex Android app was improved recently. I am recently having a great time with Plex. Mine runs on a NVidia Shield Pro, which also had a big update, but the Shield update to Android 11 TV is not going well, to say the least. I remain hopeful. It has been a great device.

Check out Google's Live Channels app if you have a network antenna. It loads the show title pic before the channel loads, so you know to move on or not immediately. It has really made OTA channel surfing fun for me again. It can add a bunch of PlutoTV-like options, etc, too. Choose which ones to infinite-scroll into the loop.

>I definitely cannot recommend Plex, especially if you use Android TV (ie: Nvidia Shield, FireTV, etc). Their live TV/DVR features have been in a pitiful state for years and they'll leave showstopping bugs for several months (if not years) at a time without even acknowledging them.

I only have Android devices (2x Nvidia Shield TVs and 1x TiVo Stream 4K). No problems at all with the DVR and when I do watch live TV, I just use the Live Channels app that comes with most Android devices. I've never had a problem with Plex's Live TV but the Live Channels app changes channels about 2x faster than Plex and has a decent guide so it is worth it for just that reason.

The "Live Channels" app from AndroidTV/GoogleTV - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_US&gl=US ???

But that doesn't make sense - it is an alternative to the TiviMate app, not something that TiviMate needs present in order for the TiviMate app to work.

The only other option I could think of would be to use Android TV devices and the Live Channels App with an HDHomeRun. Although I do have Plex as my DVR, I use this app to watch live TV from the HDHomeRun because it channel changes are much faster. (I.e. I can change channels 2-3 times before the Tablo changes once).

I haven't tried without internet access because 99% of the time when I lose internet, I lose power. You can then attach a hard drive to the Android device and record TV with it too...again, since I have Plex, I haven't tried this.

I use the HDHomeRun + Live Channels combination on my TiVo Stream 4K and 2 different Nvidia Shield TV's and it works great. (I watch recorded TV through Plex)

^(FYI, my parents do have a Tablo Quad, so I understand how it works and have quite a bit of experience with it.)

>The HD app works too, but is pretty horrible and clunky to use IMO.

Agree 100% on the HDHomeRun app. It's usable is about the best I can say for it. I only use this on my FireTV Stick for casual watching. On my Android TV boxes, I use the Live Channels app. It is a much better experience and you can actually use the DVR function with an external hard drive with no additional charges (although I haven't tried it as I just use Plex to record everything).

Get you an Android TV device (I.e. Nvidia Shield TV, Mi Box S, etc.), connect an external hard drive, put an HDHomeRun on the network and then you can record for free with the included "Live Channels" app that comes pre-installed. Free 2 week guide. The only downside is you can only watch on that one device and not multiple devices.

Il post a link , so my app uses this android system app to expose the tv channels inside my app now I have implemented Google billing so people can subscribe before using the my app but turns out you can avoid clicking the subscribe button and the app will still be open for free inside the live channels appLive channels app

> No Live TV tab

Actually, Live Channels ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv ) includes Pluto TV, a trailer channel from Play Movies, and dreamPlayer TV (Enigma 2) which get combined on the one list. Alas, no button on the home screen - you have to use Assistant to "Open Live Channels".

I can direct play my TV with Plex on both of my Android TV boxes (Mi Box S and Nvidia Shield (2015)), but like others mention the channel changes are still slow. Because of that I use Plex to record and the free "Live Channels" that came with the Android TV devices to watch live / surf. Channel changes are still slower than my TV's tuner, but faster than relative's cable boxes. (It will actually record, too if you want -- with a free 2 week guide).

Hmmm..that does sound strange. I have the connect Quatro and haven't had any issues with:

• Roku Express+ (2018)
• 2015 Nvidia Shield TV
• Mi Box S
• 7th Gen iPad
• Samsung Galaxy S10e
• Plex Media Player (both Windows and Linux varieties and OS's.)

On your Shield if you use the Live Channels app do you get the same issue with the HDHomerun? If it works in that app then you have narrowed it down to a Plex issue. If not then there is some other issue.

>using the Channels app or HDhomeRun app

or the Live Channels app that comes with every Android TV device for free. It does channel changes about 2x faster than the Plex app. (Still slower than my TV's built in tuner, but a good compromise for devices that don't have tuners (aka most Projectors)).

>Honestly I might just get a tablo.

Not sure if you care about it or not, but Tablo transcodes the OTA signal to H.264 so while you may not notice a difference in quality (depending on your screen size, viewing distance, etc.) You will notice a 3-4 second lag when changing channels as the buffer builds. My parents have one of these and they are happy with it...but they have the antenna run to all the TV's for "surfing" and just use the Tablo to watch recorded shows.

For my setup, I'm using an HDHomeRun with a Mi Box S and Nvidia Shield TV and the pre-loaded Live Channels app. Channel changing is fast (it does a direct stream) and no issues so far.

I do have a full Plex setup that I use for the DVR and it performs fine with my HDHomeRun but channel changes aren't as fast (still faster than the Tablo when direct streaming).

I also had no issues about 2 years ago when I was using a Hauppague PCIe single tuner with Plex or Windows Media Center.

Edit: Might be noteworthy that all of my devices are wired with Ethernet

The HDHomeRun is a network Tuner. So it will look a little something like this:

Antenna --> HDHomeRun --> Ethernet Cable to WiFi Router.

Router send the signal wirelessly or wired to a streaming device. You then open an app that can see the tuner (different options based on your device) and watch TV.

If you have an Android TV device it already comes with an app called Live Channels which can see the tuner on the network and tune live TV. It is free and gives you the ability to record in the future if you want (again for no charge). I use the Live Channels app with my Nvidia Shield TV to watch sports on my projector (which has no tuner built in).

As u/MrDoh mentioned HDHomeRun has it's own app, but I didn't find it as polished as the Live Channels app.

>I don't mind the HDHomeRun App

I'm not talking about that app or cloud DVR, I'm talking about the Live Channels app that comes with Android TV and can be installed on most Android TV devices. The only thing I don't know though is if you can record to a network drive.

(I personally use Plex with my HDHomeRun, but use the Live Channels for watching Live TV on my Android devices because the guide is bigger and when you get to the last channel it wraps around to the first channel (unlike Plex))

about a year or more ago, it used to be built-in with Plex, but they had to change XMLTV providers, and Australia got the 'boot' along with a number of other countries.

IceTV have been around for over a decade so it's reliable, if expensive, but it's helpful since they tag shows/content quite well, and the setup is pretty easy to deal with. IceTV are also one of the few EPG providers that survived being sued and/or fed bad results.

"live channels" is generally awesome as a TV App on an Android TV box, it works faster than the HDHomerun app does on the Nvidia Shield and has slightly better quality due to the video processing kicking in differently to the HDHomerun app. YMMV

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_AU

"Live Channels" is the TVApp of Android TV OS, which FireOS is based on but FireOS. Here is the "Live Channels" app link on the the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv

I have an nvidia shield and I absolutely adore it. To be fair, I feel like not having internet will nerf just about any streaming box now-a-days, even something relatively archaic like a TiVo. If you're not concerned with budget, I can't recommend the nVidia highly enough. I know you can also buy a tuner for and use the free built-in Live Channels app, to limit switching inputs. I believe it should work without internet, but I don't have any OTA channels set up to help verify for you.

It's had it's own DVR for several months. Live Channels App has one. On top of that Plex Released theirs last month and the shield can be a plex server.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en

https://www.plex.tv/features/live-tv-dvr/

Live Channels is an Android TV app made by Google.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_GB

It can integrate streams from other apps if the developer allows it.

Yeah I agree. Hopefully they integrate plex and vue into Live Channels by Google. It already has support for homerunhd which is nice.

Two ways off the top of my head:

If you have a Android TV box (Shield TV, Nexus Player, Mi Box) you can run the Live TV app and setup up a number of sources from antenna to Pluto and Haystacks. You can then channel surf. I found it's one of the native apps that allows you to do that.

• Demo of Live Channels - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M7UDb1Ldq8
• Play Store Link - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv

But as I'm in the US I'm not sure if that would work for you.

The other way, which takes some work, is to use Kodi and PsuedoTV Live. You can set it up with a multitude of sources (Youtube, IPTV, OTA Antenna, your own media.) Once you have it setup you can channel surf.

• Demo of PsuedoTV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP3cQDxGwAQ
• Website - https://pseudotvlive.com/

Try SlingTV or HomeRun HD to watch TV streams on Android TV. Otherwise, there is no way to get information from the tuner in the TV to the Android TV Box, that I am aware of.

There's also This. Never tried it.

I use the live channels app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv

It's a default Android TV app if it's not there you can download from Play Store.

Unfortunately, there's no widely available OTT service (aside from locast, forgot about that) that provides locals only. The only way you can get those for free is using an antenna and tuner. Just to summarize what I've gathered.

You can hook up a single tuner to your TV depending on the other peripherals you have, or you can use the HDHomeRun (I recommend it over the Tablo and Fire Recast for price, picture quality and compatibility among devices). The advantage of the HDHomeRun (you can get a dual tuner for pretty cheap if you don't need the quatro) is you don't need to run unsightly coax to the back of your TV from your roof, and you can install an app on any internet connected device to stream your locals. You can compliment it with Philo for $20 a month if any of those lifestyle channels appeal to you or your family. It may be an initial investment for the HdHomeRun duo, coax cable and antenna (less than $200 USD altogether), but it's free locals forever, on the off season.

Obviously before you invest though, make sure you can pick up a decent amount of locals.

As for devices, while expensive, I recommend either the nVidia shield TV, Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra or FireTV 4K. Once you step outside of those major players, support for apps, hotfixes and UI updates become fairly scarce. If you like YTTV, I'd recommend nvidia shield, as it's the most powerful device, has built-in google assistant voice commands to change channels (Android TV platform), and is otherwise compatible with the Harmony Hub. Additionally, using the Live Channels app, you get a built-in TV guide for your OTA channels for free.

P.S. Just double checked with my Shield TV Pro and Google Assistant -- you can also launch Live Channels via voice commands, so you can throw on your OTA channels via voice :) .

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=fr install this bud, it's on what is based the TV App of philips. Anyway, they won't make a special app for you...

Do you mean Live Channels app?

> I use HD HomeRun networked TV tuners and the Live Channels app is awesome

You can install Live Channels on Chromecast with Google TV: Live Channels - Apps on Google Play

You also need a companion app which supports your HomeRun networked TV tuner such as PVR Live: PVR Live - Apps on Google Play

I have used tried this combination for my TVheadend networked tuners. It works OK on Chromecast with Google TV.

However after some experimenting with this and with other solutions I have gone back to Kodi with an appropriate PVR addon. Add-on:HDHomeRun - Official Kodi Wiki

I have found this to be the best solution because Kodi covers my TV tuners, local mp3 music files and local video library the best, and all three use cases are covered by the one app.

Yes, to put it simply, it's fantastic.

Install LiveChannels from the play store: Live Channels - Apps on Google Play

Then you'll have to install a shortcut on the launcher, here's one I made: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v7IEqMsT6H_-W_4N56_TCNo9KkhiXexw/view?usp=sharing

​

Then, if you have TVHeadend, install either PVR Live PVR Live - Apps on Google Play

​

Some small tweaks required for TVheadend, read up here: PVR Live - Tvheadend (google.com)

​

Enjoy!

This is the Google Live Channels app that reputedly detects tuner cards. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv

Hi is this available on the playstore ? On the chromcast ?can you check and comfirm plz thanks live channels

Does anyone know if this app is available to install on the new Chromecast? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_US

they are all legal streams, for example plutotv is owned by viacom
 
here is one for bbc, its just the urls used in iplayer  
https://gist.githubusercontent.com/random-robbie/e56919b5603ecc87af885391e7331657/raw/65661a4e6fa8c706cc8fe1cf7c553927e5cf62a7/BBC.m3u
 

If you want all the freeview channels you can:
 

• get a hdhomerun (but it does have its limitations, for example, bit of a pain to setup with tivimate, much easier with live channels app)
   

• setup a tvheadend server with a usb tuner
  (if you a little techy you can even use linux and and £5 xbox tv tuners to do this, if you don't have a machine to run a linux server on, thin cliants are awesome for this, decent amount of power and run but ultra low wattage, https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/596227026?iid=164387730411) other options are rpi or something that will run coreelec/libreelec like a old android box
   

• i use a old enigma2 device (linux satellite box) and a script to export all the freeview channels as m3u and xmltv
  https://github.com/deanochips/engima2_to_m3u_and_xmltv
  (my box is a old vusolo2, but i will work with any of them even zgemmas)
   

basically the best way really is to take your antenna/cable/satellite and turn it into iptv, that is totally future proof...
 

also tivimate can be got for £5 a year instead of £18 lifetime ( the dev is really busy on the project so lots of new stuff all the time, like recording etc)
 
PS: i don't know if you have any video content on harddrives but if you do you could setup a plex server on the shield and use dizquetv to create your own advert free channels on your home network

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_US

You could try installing this app. I'm pretty sure it would work with sling and the UI is pretty simple.

The interface is from Google Live Channel, which existed far longer than Tivimate. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_US

If you're using android tv try the channels app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv

You need to be on latest Shield Experience (Android 7.0) and latest Live Channels, updated Feb 17th.

I'm talking specficially about the AndroidTV live channels app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en

Thanks anyway though.

Try pushing the app to your Shield through the web store

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en