Huh, well would you look at that? @kegbeach and I actually do agree on something…
Some of the members here should seriously send this company a bill for their time and effort.
Since I haven’t done it in a while, I’m going through each of the clients that I have and see what the experience is. So far I’m having the same behaviours as those described in this post
So far, in a windows browser, as I said yesterday and confirmed again today, live tv sessions end after 3 or 4 minutes if you use PlexWeb 4.69.1 which is bundled in the server (problem since October). Fixed for me in PlexWeb 4.72.1 released a few days ago but some people still reporting the problem – difference might be due to that I use a PCIe tuner and others use HDHomeRun.
For Plex For Windows 1.39.1.2763, live tv is incredibly jerky if you play at original quality. This might have something do with the fact the client and server negotiated at 10 Gbps bitrate. Of course, that’s insane. Playback returns to normal if you select a sane 1080p quality. How long is Plex going to leave it like this?
I tried the 8,28.30077 app on a FireTV 4K stick. While recording a program, I picked “Play From Start” for that program in the guide. It played but went live, a problem that has existed for going on a year now. No words for how awful this is for watching sports. You try to play from the start and it goes live showing the score on the screen. How does Plex leave a spoiler creator in the app for a year? Extremely standard hardware and Plex’s server – As a 30-year programmer, I’m completed baffled why this can’t be fixed.
But I return to the main point of this thread. How long are customers supposed to wait for Plex to deliver Live TV/DVR that is fit for the purpose intended? Apparently 18 months is not long enough. If things don’t change, eventually lawyers are going to see this as an opportunity and we’ll start hearing the phrase “not fit for the purpose intended” a whole lot more.
I hate to say this but the Android client plays for me for the most part minus some things I’ve mentioned in other threads that may be fixed in the current beta reading the changelog but haven’t tried yet (it’s on my phone but haven’t used it and will wait for it to be posted to Amazon because side loading is annoying and not worth the trouble at this moment and I’m in the process of installing the Plex app in a Windows 10 VM.
I don’t personally care very much about Android Mobile. Just not a client I use.
I did try Live TV on my Android HK1Max TV Box – mainly for kicks since it will be replaced by a FireTV Stick 4K when I can finally exchange xmas presents with family. Transcoding is required because of the device’s capabilities. And it constantly had short buffer pauses at original quality. I suspect this maybe be due in part to Plex’s tendency to double the data rate when transcoding for original quality. Dashboard usually shows rates like 36 mbps when the source is only 18 mbps. Box might not be able to handle the rate. This has been an oddity in Plex for years now. Live TV was flawless when played through the NextPVR plugin in Jellyfin.
Again, don’t really care either way because I hardly ever use this box and it is about to be replaced. But Android TV clients are important to a lot of Plex users.
I really care about the FireTV client though and this going live instead of playing from the start is a “Give Up on Plex” level of problem for me, especially with the Olympics coming. For the things important to me, the NextPVR/Jellyfin combo is superior to Plex on every platform that I use. - there just aren’t any basic playback problems. It just works. Every Plex client that I use has at least one significant Live TV/DVR issue.
… not fit for the purpose intended …
.
Actually, after wasting my time on looking at all the clients I use again today, I think I’m pretty much ready to give up on Plex. I’m just going to have to get used to having the feeling of being defrauded by Plex - having received no value for my Lifetime Pass. So for me, there is not much point in continuing the thread. Close it if you want.
You mean the HK1Max requires transcoding?
Yes because of the interlacing, container and downmixing audio from 5.1 AC3 to 2.0 AAC. Box is connected directly to an old stereo television. Selecting a 720p bitrate is the only way to not have constant buffering – like so many have said before me. Doesn’t happen with Jellyfin. It still transcodes but I get perfect 1080 without buffering. But like I said, I’m done with this. So could you please harass someone else.
Loving the folk coming in and trying to white knight plex over this.
I’ve given up trying to get it to work because
A) I’ve posted and posted and posted over my multiple issues, and get crickets.
B) found another solution that works better.
I pop up in here now and then to see if what I paid money for has been fixed, and of course not, and of course its been marked “Solved” by plex admins. If you ignore people’s problems enough, they will get fed up and leave…you already have my money, so I guess that’s “Solved”
Have to agree that LiveTV/DVR is one of the most frustrating features of Plex. I also experience the “live TV session ended” problem from the web client, and the “start from beginning” problem. I’ve perused the many threads about this issue with no relief. I had a server version running a few months back that didn’t seem to have the live session problem, but it has regressed since then.
I don’t know that I’d go so far as to call Plex Pass a scam, but Plex could definitely do more to connect with their core userbase.
Please note that I am the one that marked the thread as “solved”, not Plex – even though that probably does not impact your level of disgust (or mine). I just didn’t see point of continuing and wanted to make it clear that I would not be participating anymore (at least not regularly).
Basically, the “solution” is Acceptance – accepting the fact that Plex is the company that it is and that I’ve lost my money.
If done correctly, I think this would be a great move. While I complain about things not working with the best of them, I do realize that ones doing the coding are likely not directly in control of what gets worked on. While this is pure supposition, I can imagine scenarios where a coder wants to fix a bug, but is not allowed to because of other pet features that take priority.
While I understand where you’re coming from with the “just buy a Roku” solution, I personally dislike the Roku. To me, its just easier turning live TV/DVR off in Plex and using Jellyfin for that purpose.
I guess this why I have not run into these issues? I am using an NVMe drive for my sports and news recordings(Movie and TV shows are still using platter drives though). I started using Plex DVR at the end of last year with OTA from a Flex 4K. And I liked it so much I got a Prime to use for cable. I’ve now turned off most of my TiVos and have been using Plex DVR as my primary way of viewing OTA and cable content.
I already had a lifetime Plex license so when I decided to get an HD HomeRun Flex 4K I didn’t consider using anything else. Since it would have involved an extra cost. And I do not watch as much broadcast and cable content as I did five or six years ago. So the Plex DVR is working great for me. If I still watched as much content as five or six years ago then I would have needed to stick with my TiVos.
But I am still recording a bunch of content each day. I’m recording around fifty hours of content each day with my Plex DVR. Between OTA and cable programs. And I am mainly using my SHield TVs with any content I watch from the Plex DVR.
As far as live TV, I stopped watching live TV back in the 80’s. Back when i first started time shifting my TV watching. So I have no desire to ever watch live TV with the Plex DVR. But I have tried live TV with the HDHomeRun app. But that was only to see and hear the ASTC 3.0 channels that are broadcast in the DC area. Hopefully Plex will eventually work with the AC-4 audio from the ATSC 3.0 channels. Since it won’t currently work with the audio. But, right now, in the DC area, the ATSC 3.0 channels look basically the same as the ATSC 1.0 channels. So I am able to record from the ATSC 1.0 channels with the Plex DVr.
I also have NVMe drives, 10Gbe, yada yada. Issues and buffering still persists. Having the best of the best doesn’t matter. Even my Apple TV 4K clients buffer.
I don’t know. I tried it again last night and had live TV running in the background for around fifty minutes. I did not run into any issues from the cable program from my HDHomeRun Prime. It played back just like any recording does. With no glitches.
But I basically never actually live TV. I basically stopped watching live TV in the mid 80’s. When I started time shifting my TV watching. There is nothing that I want to watch so bad that I will watch commercials too. So if the issue is there, and I have just not run across it yet, I won’t need to worry about it in my normal use of the Plex DVR.
My opinion. Another server update and still no fixes for any of the TV issues. I think that Plex doesn’t have the ability to support and maintain it, has no plans to do so, and once the alternative sources of revenue are secure, Plex will dump it and Plex Pass with it. Plex is changing into a content aggregation service and I’m looking for an alternative. Emby looks good, or will once their RPi client is working properly. JellyFin looks OK, but I would have to buy all new clients.
I’ve been with Plex for a good few years, and Live TV has never worked properly, I don’t think it ever will.
Plex is already a content aggregation service. I aggregate all the time between rips to Live TV to music to whatever. Dunno what the issue is for your Live TV but it works on my end MINUS Android.
Care to share your issues?
1 Like
This thread has it all. The 3 minute TV Shows, the Lack of being able to start at the start, etc. It’s all here.
What are 3-minute TV shows? I’m recording forty to fifty shows every day. Every show I’ve been recording has been recorded at the proper length it aired.
Although I have only been using Plex DVR since the beginning of the year. But, so far, I have not run into any 3 minute TV shows.
Plex DVR works great for me too but a lot of people don’t understand how to set things up.
But what he means is the web client errors out after 3 minutes but forgets there are other devices he could be using instead of worrying about the worst way to play media.
It doesn’t error out after 3 minutes for me (BTW).
Thanks. I also have not run across this issue with the web client in Chrome. So far, it has played back recorded or live content until I decide to stop the playback.
