Server Version#:Version 1.21.1.3830
Player Version#:Version 1.18.0.1392-cf94f6a1
I have had Plex Media Server working fine on my Windows machine for over a year. I bought a Synology DS220+ so I could make it my Plex DVR for over the air TV recordings without having to leave my Windows computer on all the time. (Plex will not wake the computer to record a program) I installed Plex from the Synology Package center, but it was out of date, so I downloaded the most recent one to my computer and did a manual install. I followed the excellent instructions of ChuckPa’s installation and setup of PMS on Synology topic. Plex on the NAS seems to be working just fine, with one exception. I can not get the DVR to see the xmltv file that lives in the C drive of my computer. I know that the file is working because I have been using it for the Plex Media Server version that is on my Windows machine. With the assistance of a Synology Technician we tried modifying the path in the DVR setup to try and find the file in my computer. When that failed, he suggested that I create a folder in the NAS that I called Plex DVR that contained the xmltv file. Creating a path to that using the IP address of the NAS did not work either. At that point he told me that he was not able to troubleshoot third party software and I should contact Plex. So… I have the NAS mapped as a network drive “Y”, the NAS was able to navigate to find the file in my computers download folder to update Plex to the latest version, but somehow I do not know how to tell it where to look for the xmltv file. No matter what I use for the path, I get an “invalid or missing file” error message. I confess that I do not have a clue about the proper usage of forward slash versus back slash or double slash versus single or placement of colons. I usually just use the “Browse”, which is absent in this application.
Thank you, Steve
I have zero experience on Synology but would think the map would use the normal:
\\WindowsPCName\sharename\xmltvfilename
But no clue if this is how it should be on the Synology.
But the bigger question I have is why do you want to do this? You stated you don’t want to leave the Windows PC on all the time but then want to point the Plex DVR setup to a file on the Windows PC? So what happens when the Windows PC is off and Plex on the Synology goes to update the guide data and can’t access the xmltv file? You would be much better off in my opinion figuring out how to get the file on the Synology so it is always accessible to Plex when it tries to refresh the guide.
Thank you for the replies. I initially tried to direct the DVR path to the file on the PC because I knew that it worked (in the Plex that lives on the PC). I have since copied that output file to the NAS and have been trying to set the path to it there. I followed Trumpy’s instructions and ended up with the appropriate folders in File Explorer like he said.
I then tried to create a file path but failed. I tried :
/Server/plexdvr/hdhr2mxf.xmltv
/Server/volume1/plexdvr/hdhr2mxf.xmltv
\Server\plexdvr\hdhr2mxf.xmltv
I enclosed a look at my File Explorer to see if you could come up with a path based on what you see there.
Referring back to the working DVR in my Windows machine, since there is no “Browse” function, I believe that I copied the path to the xmltv file directly from the “Properties” box for that file. That way I would get the path exactly right. That path is
C:\ProgramData\GaRyan2\epg123\output\hdhr2mxf.xmltv
Notice that path has back slashes instead of forward slashes like the example in the dialog box in the DVR set up has. I still do not know if that makes a difference.
Thanks for your help
I believe you have to put in the exact volume information where it is located on the Synology NAS. Not the path of where you got to it from the Windows PC. As @trumpy81 showed in his post:
Thanks, I tried your example “/volume1/plexdvr/hdhr2mxf.xmltv” but it did not work. I have not created more than one volume. A look inside my NAS may help. I have three items in there that say Volume 1
The reason that I brought up the method that I used to create the path in my Windows version was simply to illustrate a method that I had tried to replicate here. Taking the location directly from the properties box resulted in a successful path. Taking the path from the properties box for this application results in “\Server\plexdvr\hdhr2mxf.xmltv” which did not work.
It worked! Thank you Trumpy. I also have a little more insight into what is the difference between forward slashes and back slashes…Windows addressing. (I did not even know what to call it before now)
Now I need to figure out how to get the output of the xmlt file which is generated on the PC to send its output to the plexdvr folder in the NAS. I do not have any idea how to do it. Can you guys help on that issue also?
Thanks, I am using a small program called EPG123 that was developed years ago to provide guide data for Windows Media Center. I used it in conjunction with Schedules Direct when I had a Win 7 machine for Windows Media Center. Recently Gary, the developer, has created a component of EPG123 that will take the guide data from a persons HD Homerun DVR subscription and turn it into an xmltv file to be used in other third party applications (like Plex). As I have mentioned, this very accurate guide data also includes ratings for movies which is why I am going to so much effort to get it to work. I had previously contacted Gary to find out how to get the file to automatically update and received a longish response, but this is the part relevant to my current issue:
If you only want to use hdhr2mxf, then the best thing to do would be to install only hdhr2mxf. You will have to create your own task to update the xmltv file daily and the command will be “hdhr2mxf.exe -o :<path_to_output>\hdhr2mxf.mxf”. In the <path_to_output> folder will be the downloaded xmltv and the generated mxf files. There are only 2 files needed for hdhr2mxf and they are hdhr2mxf.exe and Newtonsoft.Json.dll. I hope this makes sense. I pretty much made hdhr2mxf to be a stand-alone, but it is packaged with epg123
So…I have mapped a network drive exactly as you outlined, drive letter P.
I double checked the permissions for plex in control panel.
I have uninstalled EPG123 and only reinstalled the components Gary suggested. That resulted in the xmltv file that we used that worked. Now I am to the point of " You will have to create your own task to update the xmltv file daily" I do not know how to do that. Also, I am not confident in my ability to not screw up the “path to output”.
Thank you for your guidance.
As you indicated, I created a mapped network drive that points to the folder on the NAS where you want to store the file.. I liked your suggestion of naming it “P”. So now I have a drive that goes only to the place on the NAS that I want the xmlt file to go.
I created a task in task scheduler but I am not sure what to make of the command. The command that Gary suggested is “hdhr2mxf.exe -o “drive”:<path_to_output>\hdhr2mxf.mxf”.
Is “drive” referring to the C drive where I have the program installed? Since my newly mapped P drive is actually the entire path to the location that I want the file to go, should my command be
hdhr2mxf.exe -o C:\P\hdhr2mxf.mxf ? I tried that but unless you can see a mistake in the protocol somewhere that I should correct now, I will not know if it works until 6:00 tomorrow. This is really weird! Wherever I have “drive>” surrounded with carrots, like in the example that Gary sent, it dissappears! I removed the carrots and replaced them with quotation marks in his command line so you could understand what I am referring to
Yes. And I think that is what I did by putting drive letter P (the path to the place that I want the file to go) directly after the colon, where "path to output> was. Correct?
OK, I took your word for it. I edited the task to reflect your command. Now I am stuck at trying to figure out the logic behind all of this so I will be able to do these things on my own.
I searched my computer for the file “hdhr2mxf.exe” and there was not one in my computer. All these years of installing downloaded programs by clicking on the .exe file made me think that there really was an actual file full of lots of commands and data. Am I to think that it is really just a command that starts a bunch of other files? Since I thought that it was a discrete file living somewhere in my C drive, I figured that the command needed to tell the PC where to start looking. Obviously I was way off.
You directed me to a very good guide on creating tasks. Do you have a similar guide to understanding /creating addresses or paths that you could direct me to?
