DVR/Live TV Instructions?

General Discussions Plex Features
1

I’ve currently got a setup running Windows Media Center as my DVR with MCEBuddy converting the recordings to smaller h264 files overnight and Plex streaming that library to my devices. The lack of Live TV functionality was the main thing holding me back (I use a set of XBox 360s to get PVR capability for same night watching) and now that it’s been added I’m interested in looking into switching over if possible. Using MCE is a kludgy way of getting it done (especially now that it’s an abandoned product) and I’d really love to have one package that could do it all. The issue is that I havn’t been able to find much detail on exactly how it works - I don’t want to mess with what I’ve got working until I’m certain it will do everything better, so I playing around with it isn’t simple (MCE and Plex trying to record the same thing at the same time probably wouldn’t work too well and MCE is delicate so I don’t want to risk disabling it).

The main concerns I have with the limited info I have right now are the following:

  • When Plex records the shows, does it just save them as MPEG2s and then transcode them each time it plays or does it do it during the recording and save the smaller file to disk? The biggest annoyance with MCE is the enormous size of the DVR-MS files it generates, but from the FAQ it seems Plex is doing the same thing. MCEBuddy’s batch conversion works for me now, but that’s annoying and is contingent on the recordings staying out of Plex’s library until they’re converted. I’m fine with overnight transcoding if there is a way to do it without confusing Plex (ie the file it indexed (MPEG2) disappeared and there is a new one in it’s place (h264)).
  • With the Live TV functionality, is it possible to jump into a show mid-stream? My main use for the MCE extenders is to catch up on a show I had to start late but is still airing. The FAQs seem to indicate pausing isn’t there yet, so I’m guessing the live part only means watching it as it broadcasts? Simple Live streaming isn’t too useful as I might as well just use the TV’s inbuilt tuner.

I’d really like to move away from the ancient media center platform, but as it stands I havn’t found anything modern that fully replaces it’s capabilities. This is as close as I’ve seen to that so I’m crossing my fingers I finally have an answer :slight_smile:

2

Files are recorded in the MKV container. If a client can’t play back the container or the codec, it will be transcoded, just like any other media playback. There are people that use the Plex DVR function and use scripts to do conversions before it’s added to the TV Show library - search around a bit and you should find a few of them.

You aren’t alone - most people that are serious about recording shows using a computer still use MCE. As the Plex DVR functions mature hopefully MCE will finally be allowed to go out to pasture.

3

There’s an option to transcode on the fly to H264.

Yes you can jump to a recording mid stream.