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Channels for iOS — Watch, pause, and rewind live TV
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@ourielohayon In the UK, you can use https://tvplayer.com/ for free as well. Unfortunately here in North America we're not as lucky.
@chrisshort The HDHomeRun is a networked TV tuner sold by SiliconDust. They have two models- one which connects to an aerial antenna to pick up free OTA signals, and another which you can plug in to your cable subscription using a CableCARD provided by your cable company.
@apr214 It looks like the Slingbox plugs into your existing cable box and makes that interface available to your other devices. That is pretty cool, but it means you're still stuck with the cable box UI which is often slow, kludgy and hard to use.
Channels aims to replace the traditional set-top box UI with a friendly responsive experience that takes full advantage of the tvOS and iOS platform's features.
@apr214 Are you thinking Sling.TV or SlingBox? Sling.TV is probably as better comparison. I subscribe to Sling.tv as well. Great service but is cable channels done over the top and can only be watched on one device at a time. Using a HomeRUN box and an antenna can get me 40 channels in the Chicago area (more if I was closer to the city). I also have a HomeRun box that uses a CableCard which would allow me to watch all of my cable channels using this app but CableCards are really temperamental and not reliable. Over the Air (OTA) quality is usually much better than cable (compressed even for HD).
@tmm1 I currently use EyeTV both on Mac Mini and iOS with my HDHomeRun. The iOS app also allows you to stream when away from home (provided you have the Mac app running at home). Can you explain the differences Channels provides?
@milla_killa EyeTV works well, but their software and UI is quite dated. (For instance, EyeTV does not support newer HDHomeRun models like the PRIME.)
Channels offers a modern, polished, responsive UI for watching TV: instant playback of channels in full HD, intuitive channel surfing interactions, and a 90 minute buffer for pausing/rewinding/fast-forwarding TV. We've focused on building the best possible live TV experience, so we don't offer many of EyeTV's advanced features yet.
That said, we've begun development on a new DVR product designed to work with our apps. Stay tuned!
@rotemthegolfer from what I can understand, you need the HDHomeRun device, it broadcasts your HDTV antenna received channels over your local network and the Channels app offers a nice way to consume it all directly on your iOS devices or Apple TV (latest gen.)
The more I think about it, the more I could see myself use this!
@rotemthegolfer The HDHomeRun is available in US/Canada and most of Europe. We have customers all over the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the UK, France, Germany, Greece and many more.
@3raxton While I was taken back by the price at first, I think we're going to start seeing serious developers that create quality products start to charge more for apps. They have to in order to cover costs. People have been lulled into a false reality where apps should be free or cost $1.
If you already have a HomeRun box at home, what app do you use today to watch content? The iPhone and Android have only had a couple of options (InstaTV) which were horrible. If you get $15/worth of value out of this over the next year, being able to watch TV on your iPhone, isn't it worth it?
All that being said, I do wish there was a "lite" version to try it out first. (maybe only allow the user to use 1 channel or something).
Just bought it. Was a little surprised by the price, but I am all for supporting great products at a reasonable price. I've tried InstaTV (horrible) and was a bit nervous to spend $25/ATV & $15/iPhone. I'm watching the Cubs beat the White Sox on my iPhone and the quality is awesome (OTA is so much better than Comcast). Great app(s). Bought for my ATV as well.
I can't see using this. Many apps stream, my cable provider streams and slingbox has always worked flawlessly for me and is a one time investment and I get as many channels as I get at home. While I love that users are pushing the bounds on getting users more access to tv, the arena is still owned by the big boys.
Hi PH 👋! We are Fancy Bits, and Channels for iOS is our second product on the App Store. After launching Channels for Apple TV earlier this year, we were flooded with requests from customers asking us to bring the same great interface to the palm of their hand. So we did!
A little background if you're not familiar with how the app works.. Channels uses an HDHomeRun network TV tuner to stream video from your antenna or cable subscription over wifi right to your devices. By investing in the HDHomeRun CONNECT, a good antenna and the Channels apps, you can watch free TV for the rest of time from major networks like NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS and PBS. You get all the local news, sports, award shows and primetime shows in crystal clear HD off-the-air. The CONNECT has two tuners, which means you can watch two different channels on two different devices at the same time.
And if you're not ready to cut the cord completely, the HDHomeRun PRIME gives you the same great viewing experience for your cable channels by renting a CableCARD from your cable company.
"Channels does *not* work outside of your home. It only works when connected to the same network as your HDHomeRun Device"
Working over 4G or any wi-fi can be a killer feature. Watching a game or special live event while you outside could be nice!
@atsarkov Some of our customers have found a way to do this by setting up a VPN server in their home. That way their iOS devices can connect back to their home network and stream from the HDHomeRun over the internet. Note that your mileage might vary, since the mpeg2 streams from the tuner are 15-20mbps and your internet connection needs to be able to support that amount of upstream bandwidth.
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