App Detail » Channels for HDHomeRun

What's New

• NEW: Recorded movies now have movie trailers
• NEW: Movies in your library will now be badged as such when viewed in On Later, search results, or from the Guide.
• NEW: Native speed test for tvOS and iOS for testing speeds from your client to your Channels DVR Server
• NEW: Upgraded Default audio driver supports AirPlay, AirPods, Spatial Audio, Atmos and HomePods
• IMPROVED: Consistently sort movies and collections in various views.
• IMPROVED: Performance with a large library
• IMPROVED: HLG HDR format now supported and will switch TV to HDR
• IMPROVED: Provide better error message when device runs out of disk space while watching Live TV
• IMPROVED: UI responsiveness when watching OTA Live TV in Europe
• IMPROVED: Video playback codec support
• IMPROVED: Handling of timeouts while streaming remotely
• FIXED: Virtual channels would not play the correct recording when the recordings were unmatched
• FIXED: Start Up sections were not presenting if the app exited while navigated deep into other sections.
• FIXED: Some corner badges were showing blank for shows
• FIXED: Library Collections under TV Shows were not being sorted Alphabetically
• FIXED: Some sort properties were wrong on Library Collections
• FIXED: Recorded movies were being sorted incorrectly when sorted by Date Released
• FIXED: Library Collection image URLs could be malformed after managing the collection on the client
• FIXED: Rare crasher when deleting recordings from the TV show view
• FIXED: Rare crasher when trashing all items of a TV show

App Description

Watch live TV, right next to your apps. Channels lets you play, pause, and rewind local or cable TV directly on your Apple TV with your HDHomeRun TV tuner.

If you are a Channels Plus subscriber with DVR Service, search for the free app: Channels: Whole Home DVR.

Channels requires an HDHomeRun networked TV tuner to watch live TV on your Apple TV. Learn more about how this works below.

• Pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV
• Guide Data
• Full grid guide
• Full HD streaming (bandwidth permitting)
• 5.1 Surround Sound
• Closed captioning
• Full support for VoiceOver
• Channel favoriting
• Jump back to last channel
• Auto Discovery
• Browse what's on other channels while watching TV
• Manage your HDHomeRun devices from Channels



"Apple TV just became the best box for streaming live broadcast TV" — Macworld

"Apple TV already has at least one 'killer app'. The new third-party Apple TV app, Channels." — MacDailyNews

"I can tell you it’s buttery smooth" — Zatz Not Funny!


-- Why Use Channels? --

Channels is the missing piece of your puzzle. If you already watch everything through streaming apps, Channels lets you finally watch sports, award shows, local news, and other live events.

• Watch live primetime tv, local news, and sports on your Apple TV.
• Netflix, Hulu, Movies, Games, AirPlay, and now live TV without switching inputs – the holy grail!
• Using antenna for live TV? Channels lets you use one antenna for all the TVs in the house.
• Want sports on your porch? News in the kitchen? Channels adds live TV to any TV in your house.
• Save money by ditching cable boxes and watch your cable subscription with Channels on your Apple TV instead.

-- How Does It Work? --

An HDHomeRun is a simple TV tuner that can broadcast television over your home network to any room in your house. Channels uses it to let you watch live TV on your Apple TV.

1. Plug an HD antenna or your cable into your HDHomeRun.
2. Plug your HDHomeRun into your router.
3. Watch live TV via the Channels Apple TV app.

-- How Do You Use It? --

Here's some protips on how to get the most out of Channels.

• Pick your favorite channels by clicking on them in the Settings tab.
• Switch to the Favorites tab and browse what’s on.
• Click on a channel to start playing it.
• Live TV buffer works for ~90 mins or less depending on how much storage is available on your device.
• Skip ahead 30s by clicking the right side of the Touch surface. Skip back 7s by doing the inverse.
• Double-click the Play/Pause button to switch back to the previous channel.
• Tap to reveal the timeline, then scrub through the buffer with the Touch surface.
• Swipe down to bring the Quick Guide to see what else is on your favorite channels.
• Change tabs while in the Quick Guide to toggle closed captioning or adjust audio languages.


-- Device Support --

All HDHomeRun devices are supported by Channels.

• HDHomeRun PRIME
• HDHomeRun EXTEND
• HDHomeRun EXPAND
• HDHomeRun CONNECT
• HDHomeRun CONNECT DUO
• HDHomeRun CONNECT QUATRO
• HDHomeRun DUAL
• HDHomeRun ORIGINAL (blue and white tuners)

Learn more about HDHomeRun tuners on silicondust.com. Simply plug a compatible tuner into your home network router and start watching Live TV with Channels today!

• DRM protected streams are *not* currently supported.
• Channels does *not* work outside of your home. It only works when connected to the same network as your HDHomeRun Device

For questions, concerns, bug reports, and feature requests, contact us on twitter @getchannels or via email [email protected]. You can talk about everything Channels on our community site at: https://community.getchannels.com.

App Changes

• June 22, 2016 New version 1.5.3
• June 22, 2016 Price increase: $14.99 -> $24.99
• August 06, 2016 New version 1.5.4
• August 13, 2016 New version 1.5.5
• November 05, 2016 New version 2.1.1
• November 10, 2016 New version 2.1.2
• November 11, 2016 New version 2.1.3
• June 13, 2019 New version 3.2.22
• June 21, 2019 New version 3.2.23
• August 16, 2019 New version 3.2.25
• August 18, 2019 New version 3.2.26
• September 26, 2019 New version 3.2.27
• October 09, 2019 New version 3.2.28
• November 04, 2019 New version 3.2.31
• December 02, 2019 New version 3.2.32
• December 09, 2019 New version 3.2.34
• January 21, 2020 New version 3.2.35
• July 14, 2020 New version 3.2.45
• October 22, 2020 New version 4.2.0
• November 11, 2020 New version 4.3.0
• December 09, 2020 New version 4.3.2
• August 05, 2021 New version 4.5.8
• October 08, 2021 New version 4.5.12
• September 16, 2023 New version 5.7.1
• November 15, 2023 New version 5.7.5
• April 25, 2024 New version 5.8.2