missing PVR support, confluence skin doesnt support libraries well?

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So far works great as a standard client, but Im starting to think it has no advantage for me. Ive actually only jumped on board about an hour ago, having JUST now recieved my first pi. While I dont have a lot of technically detailed feedback, here is where Im at with it:

 

I've got pms, torrents, etc on Ubuntu 13.10, and have been using them with chromecast/android very well for the last few months. Im now setting up a system for my father, who needs a setup to handle:

-downloaded movies

-downloaded tv

-live TV (via HDHomerun) (inc. pause / rewind)

-scheduling recording

 

I figure PVR recorded shows could pipe through my renaming system the same as I do with torrents, and be played via plex, so the only thing Im really looking to do here is setup PVR controls / streaming without losing the existing capabilities. I got the pi so I could use PHT instead of android, as Ive read about PHT having live TV capability via plugin (although its rather confusing to first jump in this area as there is an actual product called "Live TV", which confuses pretty much everything.)

 

I have lots of research points still which dont bare directly on rasplex (such as which PVR server to use etc), however a few initial issues Ive found (started with rasplex 3.1, but quickly with to 9.9.19):

-first, I love the "plex" skin in 9.9.19, but I have to drop it and go with confluence to get to the PVR addons, which is unfortunate.

-Confluence has a home screen "VIDEOS" link, which seems to sometimes link to the "TV Shows" library, sometimes to "Channels". I havent found anything online to suggest how to set that or how to produce multiple home page links, which I could then name after the library they each link to. So, for now the setup looks like android casting for libraries, remote control for live TV / scheduling.

-I've spend most of my time in Confluence, due to the live TV requirement, but its looking like it will be some serious custom work to get shared libraries in as well, which is discouraging.

 

All in all, as much as I appreciate all the work that has gone into rasplex etc, the only benifit of it for me is that it would (possibly, havent worked it all out yet) allow me to control a PVR server, watch live TV, etc from one consolidated input. So far, though, its starting to look like it actually wont yet. Again, much respect for all the work done here, but in my case, if it will only produce a subset of the android app capabilities then I'm barking up the wrong tree. I wish there was something I was able to do to pitch in. I would for sure be happy to throw in on a bounty, but every thread Ive seen bring up the idea gets immediately shot down.

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The confluence skin is just a remnant from the port of XBMC, for which it was the default skin.

It's not intended for ANY use with PHT, which RasPlex is a port of.

To my knowledge there's no PVR implementation that's compatible with PHT. (Or any other Plex client.)

If that's what you need, then you might be better off with a pure XBMC setup (like OpenElec with XBMC instead of PHT).

With such a setup you can still access Plex through the PlexBMC addon, and with the XBMC version of the 'Amber' skin it works very much like a 'real' Plex client.

But I don't know if you can really use XBMC PVR methods on an RPi, whether for Plex content or other XBMC video addons.

If you just want a change from the default RasPlex skin then I strongly recommend installing the skins "Night v1.4.3" or "Amber v1.6.4".

I have both installed on my RasPlex 9.9.19 system and they work fine with it.

Btw:

While the basic functionality of RasPlex is pretty much the same as that of the Android client, the big difference is that RasPlex is based on the official PHT release, which is the 'flagship' of Plex clients that the Plex team invests the most work on. And it's the only client still supported for which there are alternate skins.

Best regards: dlanor

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Thanks for the reply. A few thoughts:

-if confluence is a non-functioning, non-supported remnant, it would be worth removing I think. There is also all sorts of addons, repositories, etc in there pertaining to PVRs which you should then consider removing. the new "Plex" skin is wonderful. I think you misunderstood, I actually want very much to NOT use confluence, and only do so because the needed settings menus are missing from the other skins.
 

-Setting up cmyth / live TV on 0.3.1 seems to work so far, the difference being that the "Live TV" panel of the settings only exists in confluence, and Settings->addons is non-responsive in any 9.9.x build (again, while using confluence, but shouldnt addons be enabled regardless of the skin?). There is quite a lot of posts regarding how to do this with 3.1 throughout the web, and within the Plex forums live TV / PVR looks to be the most discussed issue. PHT is known to support it, which is the rabbit hole I followed to end up at RasPlex. I believe that is why so many people are trying to get a similar result.

-I understand PVR support is not officially supported, but then again thats why we need addons enabled. With respect, I believe this is a capability which could be included with a relatively little amount of investment into the 9.9.X / 0.4 builds. I am admittedly ignorant of quite a few details here, but what would you need to have other than the "Live TV" settings menu enabled, and enable addons? I think these features add quite a bit of unique value, as without TV/PVR support, the rasPlex solution, while being great if you already are setup this way or just really like raspberry pis, has a subset of the functions you can get from a chromecast / android solution, which is equally priced as a pi and turnkey. 

- A few friends and I have been searching on and off for a couple years now, looking for a consolidated server/client home media solution which can accomidate both PVR/live TV functions and pre-recorded media. Honestly, the only other one any of us have found is PHT itself, which means its either a Pi or a significantly expensive computer at each TV. This, to me, makes RasPlex a hugely important and unique project, which is why Im trying to work out a suitable solution.

- Basically, as it stands, my experience is that 0.3.1 will allow you to turn on live tv and use the pvr addons via confluence, but confluence is incapable of reasonable interface with the plex libraries. Even if it were usable as both, it is rather laggy, which has been well addressed in the newer versions. 9.9.x are a huge step up, and the new "Plex" skin is a delight, however they have all had the 'Live TV' and addons capability dissabled. So, options are laggy PVR client or very nice PMS client.

Im hoping Xbian will consolidate a bit more, they do advertise PVR support, although I think its going to be looking at a network folder rather than getting nice libraries, transcoding, etc from Plex, which I really liked. I'll try that plexBMC addon you suggest. Thanks for your efforts and suggestions.

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So far Im finding a consistent issue in that various releases / skins (ive tried a few Amber versions, Quartz, Quartz for plexbmc, etc on xbian, raspbmc, as well as rasplex) all seem to see the need for EITHER live tv and PVR support (via addons) OR for plex integration, but nobody seems to consider that BOTH might be of any value. Im not sure why that is, but so far RasPlex (9.9.19 at least) seems to be the nicest running system, and the closest to the goal since its got very good plex integration, and the plugins for PVR support are already installed (just not available via the skin).

Im not trying to be intentionally critical here, Im just trying to get a blunt and objective assessment of the available tech, and I'm not sure why, given the existence of both capabilities on the same foundation, nobody supports having both available at the same time. Would it require a huge development investment to allow for live TV to be enabled, and a pvr plugin (such as cmyth) to be enabled / accessable from the home screen? I honestly believe this would create what a lot of people would consider the holy grail of a well integrated home theater, and my understanding is that this is available on the actual PHT.

Im really hoping the answer is not to go out and get a few small laptops and running actual PHT at each TV. Suggestions?

5

I too am looking for just this feature, a Plex client with PVR. I am about to try openelec with plexbmc and see if that will do what I need.

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If you just want a change from the default RasPlex skin then I strongly recommend installing the skins "Night v1.4.3" or "Amber v1.6.4".

I have both installed on my RasPlex 9.9.19 system and they work fine with it.

Hi, where can i get those 2 skins you mention? Thanks in advance

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Hi, where can i get those 2 skins you mention? Thanks in advance

Why not try looking in the Plex Skins Forums!

Bear in mind that Rasplex has moved on since dlanor mentioned the skins in February, there may be issues but the Skinners may be able to confirm.

Regards
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The skins “Amber” and “Night” both have separate subforums in the “Skins” section of the Plex forums.
The current versions are Amber v2.0.0 and Night v1.7, both available for download in their respective subforums.

Best regards: dlanor

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