So, this new Plex DVR feature looks pretty cool. I would like to give it a shot.
Was curious the Connect or Extend would be best for me.
I currently have a pretty powerful PC running the Plex server.
I currently use a Tivo for my OTA stuff and have been copying the recordings over to plex library using kmttg. I only have kmttg downloading the recordings and decoding them to regular ts format but no re-encoding.
All my devices except of course phones and such are wired ethernet.
I still plan to keep my Tivo setup but would like to get rid of the whole kmttg copying part. Only a few rooms in the house do not have a Tivo mini so they would be using the Plex DVR material. So the majority of Plex DVR usage would be from remote devices (phones, etc).
Just not sure what if anything the Extend would gain me?
Extend can transcode to 264 on the fly, internally.
Connect just passes along the ‘raw’ MPEG2 from OTA, forcing to you rely on the Plex server if you want to transcode.
The remux to MKV is done by Plex server in both scenarios.
I have the Extend, and can say it is pretty great!
I need someone to define “fast CPU”. I’m running an i7-3770 at 3.4Ghz. Is that “fast enough” to handle the transcoding with the Connect model? Not looking or a specific requirement, just a ballpark estimate of what constitutes “fast” in the eyes of Plex.
Or better yet, if I convert a video using ffmpeg to h.264, is a better comparison to ask something like, “how many frames per second” to compare against? Currently it’s around 30fps for 1080p content, if that matters. In other words, encoding a 1080p blu-ray quality video on my server always takes less time than if I were to watch the video. Am I ok?
I just placed an order on Amazon, so I need to know if I need to change it. TIA.
You’ll be plenty fine with that i7 (passmark of ~9300). OTA in my area tops out around 10-15mbps (and obviously less for the SD content). Per Plex’s CPU guidelines:
@jasonmicron said:
Thanks. I added my own question to the board in case others have the same query. Can you answer that one and I’ll mark it as the official answer?
I have an hdhomerun extend setup with my plex. I spent the extra money on the extend because I thought it would handle all transcoding. Turns out my plex server still transcodes anyway and it looks like the audio is being transcoded from AC3 to AAC, H264->H264. I was hoping to do zero transcoding on the actual plex server for live tv. My clients do support AC3 so I don’t understand, I have apple tvs and windows clients.
