Wanted to get the communities response on this - what do you do for live tv / dvr? What is the best setup to integrate with Plex at the moment? I’ve used Windows Media Center for years but with MS cancelling it in Windows 10, I want to find a better long term solution. I’ve looked at a ton (MythTV, Argus, NextPVR, MediaPortal) but haven’t been happy really with any. I would love to not have to dump out of plex to open another app for live tv / dvr. I just wanted to give someone the chance to brag (and help us all) on the best solution out there to integrate into plex. I’m looking to be able to record over the air TV with as little to no fees as possible. I understand some require paying a small amount for schedules which I can stomach. I also would love to store over my network to my NAS (Drobo 5N).
Help me out here, please!
Live TV/DVR is not anything like what Plex is designed to be or do, so I don’t expect a solution. Plex is designed to organize and distribute content you already have, not be a means to obtain content.
Understood but it’s obviously another main use of an HTPC and it doesn’t seem like it would interfere much with the platform to add an optional channel to connect the two. Kodi has this sort of integration with several other PVRs so I’m not sure why this would be any different. I’m just looking for what others have used and what has proven to be the most useful.
I use TVHeadend, and there is a decent “plex channel” for it, but the one thing you won’t get in plex, period, until it’s a feature and not a channel is an EPG UI.
You didn’t mention what type of tuner you’re using to get your OTA channels so I am not sure if what I have is even what you’re looking for.
My current setup is two HDHomerun boxes (one is the “Prime” unit I use to get my cable channels and the other is the “Extend” model used to get OTA channels). I am using the DVR service HDHomerun just came out with (it’s still in Beta) to record my TV Shows. I have Plex pointed at that folder and I watch everything via Plex.
You can also watch your recorded content via the HDHomerun View player directly, but you mentioned you are trying to integrate everything into Plex, so that may not be something you’re looking for, just thought I’d mention it.
There is a plugin for pulling your live tv content into Plex via a plugin maintained by a 3rd party called HDHomerun Viewer as well. You can find it if you search the forums. That plugin will pull your live tv feed into Plex as a channel. You can’t set up any recordings via it though, just watch the live part of it.
At the moment that is what I know about. I don’t use the plugin myself. I’ve tried it in the past and it works pretty good. I just don’t really watch live tv anymore. Most of everything I watch is previously recorded.
I believe the HDHomerun team will eventually be working on a plugin for Plex but it may be limited to just being able to set up your recordings.
Thanks, jasonmcroy. Sorry I didn’t mention it but I currently have HDHomeRuns as well. I had two of the older versions and just bought a new connect to be able to use their DVR program. I wish they had a better UI for it as I’m constantly struggling to figure out how to use it. They desperately need an instruction manual. I’ve yet to figure out how to bring up the “recordings” menu for example.
Yes, an instruction manual would be great. I think at the moment they are struggling enough to keep up with bug fixes that come up daily and getting DRM content to be available.
Regarding the “recordings” menu, do you mean seeing your shows after they have finished recording? It should be one of the options at the top of the page when you enter the menu area. What client are you using? The Windows 10 client and the Android TV client are pretty much the same as far as the user interface. Are you able to get to the section of the client where you set up recordings and such? If you can and you’re not seeing your recordings there then you may be running into one of the bugs. I can try and help you with it but it depends on which client.
I know if you’re using the Windows 10 client you won’t see your recordings if you don’t use a little program called “Loopback manager”. If that is the case I can provide you with the link to and tell you what to do with it.
