I haven’t been looking into Plex much recently so forgive me for being out of the loop a bit.
Does Plex still offer Cloud DVR for live TV (by way of over the air HD antenna with digital tuner)?
If so, does that require PMS on an actual device?
Thank you!
Plex Live TV and DVR require Plex Pass.
Unsure what you mean by “Cloud”.
- Plex currently doesn’t offer Plex Cloud,
- Plex DVR must be recorded to the local PMS server the tuner is connected to. Though, technically, you might be able to point the DVR recording path to a different machine than PMS, Plex would likely choke on performance.
As for on actual device, yes, Live TV has always required actual device.
Reference -
Plex Cloud FAQ - https://support.plex.tv/articles/226825168-faq-plex-cloud/
Plex TV/DVR Overview - https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/plex-media-server/dvr-live-tv/
Thanks @JamminR . So I need a Plex Media Server in the building before getting into the Plex Cloud. The Plex Cloud is a tool utilized by the PMS for distribution, correct?
As far as machines for installing PMS, I’ve seen the compatibility list and they’re all pretty expensive.
Is there a $150 solution for Plex Media Server? Other than a used/old computer?
I’d start by removing “Plex Cloud” from your questions. I’m getting the idea you may be assuming Plex Cloud is a service comparable to Hulu/NetFlix and or DirectTV/SlingTV.
To be clear - Plex is not a service like Sling/DirectTV - where as those services give you access to media networks/content, Plex is 99% self reliant content - Think of it as a personal netflix, with your own music/videos/photos, on top of it’s TV streaming capability.
Plex server simply turns any non-DRM compatible TV tuner equipment you own or buy into a streaming or DVR, and any digital media (music/videos/pictures) you already have or obtain into your own personal ‘streaming service’ .
Though Plex does have some web content plugins, the plugins only offer what is already freely available on some networks websites (abc.com, cbs.com, etc). Plex does not have any access to any of those networks streaming services like you might get with SlingTV or CBS direct.
@Zamboknee said:
So I need a Plex Media Server in the building.
You need to set up a PMS somewhere. Though most are likely people running it on a machine in the building they reside in, technically, you could place the ‘server’ machine running the software anywhere a reasonably high speed internet (I’d recommend 5mbps minimum per person using it remotely), so long as you had some direct remote access capability for if/when you needed to troubleshoot any issues or restart /update the server software. (ie, some use data center/virtual machines). The “Live TV” device/portion would need to be there physically with the server, with an antenna capable of receiving OTA signals for the tuner device.
The Plex Cloud is a tool utilized by the PMS for distribution, correct?
In the referenced link, it is/was a Plex Pass feature that allowed us to run a Plex server on a remote location in a data center, rather than relying on our own home equipment and internet. It did not allow for the TV features though.
As far as machines for installing PMS, I’ve seen the compatibility list and they’re all pretty expensive.
Is there a $150 solution for Plex Media Server? Other than a used/old computer?
Officially, not really. Though I’ve seen Rasberry Pi and other ‘light’ systems, Plex, at it’s heart, was designed to do the conversion of the tens if not hundreds of media formats container, video and audio stream types available on the server end, rather than relying on the client app knowing how to playback the media being sent to it.
Those light/lower cost devices may not be powerful enough to transcode if your media doesn’t match the direct playback capability of whatever device you’re trying to watch on.
Many use the Nvidia Shield Pro, a (US) $300 device. However, it’s got it’s own pro’s/cons, root storage space sometimes being one of them. I also don’t think it supports plug-ins, a feature some use to extend the content Plex can be used to view.
