The only client I’ve found that actually/accurately plays back the recorded files from PlexDVR is the Nvidia Shield.
On all other clients (Win10, Mac, iOS, tvOS) after trying to quickly skip fwd (3-4min of a commercial segment), the playback stalls…spinner only.
The two PMS servers, I’ve tried are the Nvidia Shield (which also has other problems with reading files on a USB3 attached to a NAS server) and a i-7 quad core (12gb ram). Neither is powerful enough to run as a Plex Server to above listed Plex clients (for non post processed PlexDVR mpegts files).
Until Plex restuctures clients to utilize their own processing power (like Nvidia Shield client) this will continue to be a major fail. Latest Surface Pros, iPads, iPhones and ATV4 are just as capable as the Nvidia Shield to receive the mpegts file and decode.
Have you updated to 1.8.1. If so, try re-analyizing the files to see if they work now. We’ve seen some files that didn’t work on 1.8.0 that were fixed after re-analyzing in 1.8.1.
@kinoCharlino …Just updated to 1.8.1 on mac i-7 quad core (mid 2011) per your recommendation.
This is a great improvement, however: skip forward through commercials (7 taps on 30sec fwd) on iPad Pro 2017 client still results in waiting 20-22 seconds for playback to resume. Using MrMC iOS app for same file, resume playback is almost instantaneous. Same with Channels DVR & HDHR DVR iOS apps on mpegts files.
All three DVR solutions (Plex, Channels & HDHR) result in the same ts file, however playback is significantly better on Channels & HDHR. Additionally, Channels web player is also much better than that of Plex for these files.
I look forward to additional improvements in Plex playback as it is superb file aggregator (significant feature not available in either of the other solutions). BUT, excellent playback is my foremost goal.
Upon additional testing, I found that almost always when trying to skip forward 3-4min that Plex just hangs with the spinner. Guess the first test when playback resumed in 20sec was a fluke.
Guess my i-7 iMac is too old for Plex HW transcoding (?) and my lowly NAS CPU passmark is barely above 1500, however other DVR solutions and standalone file players work great on both at full recorded resolution.
In order to use Plex to playback DVR files, major improvements need to be made for skipping commercials and quick resume of playback. Plex playback is OK, however at a lower bitrate, …until one needs to ffd through commercials.
Many of us using tuners to record TV just want to watch recordings (ffd comms) and then delete. Post processing is a waste of time and resources in that circumstance.
Are these mpeg2 or h264 streams? Either way currently processing happens, its either on the server or during playback. We are working on making the experience better, but since Plex has a focused far beyond just DVR/Live TV playback, our needs are quite different than other apps. We’re working on fixing the transcode issue with h264, but mpeg2 will still require processing since it’s not an officially supported codec by Apple.
Let us know what codecs these streams are and what resolution and we can try to replicate your issue ourselves.
@kinoCharlino said:
Are these mpeg2 or h264 streams? Either way currently processing happens, its either on the server or during playback. We are working on making the experience better, but since Plex has a focused far beyond just DVR/Live TV playback, our needs are quite different than other apps. We’re working on fixing the transcode issue with h264, but mpeg2 will still require processing since it’s not an officially supported codec by Apple.
Let us know what codecs these streams are and what resolution and we can try to replicate your issue ourselves.
Streams are all mpeg2, various 720p-1080i. Produced from either OTA or cable transmissions to HDHomeRun tuners.
I understand that your focus is beyond DVR/Live TV playback, however Plex has chosen to incorporate a DVR solution. I would hope that Plex is open to feedback on same…as all OTA is recorded at mpeg2.
My point is that Plex needs to make improvements in playback in order to support their adopted DVR feature.
I have a fairly wide range of products (server & clients) which are fully capable of handling mpeg2 streams. I only noted other solutions as working to provide basis that my equipment is more than adequate.
As stated originally Plex on Apple and Windows 10 devices do not offer the acceptable playback experience of the Shield (and many other Android devices which I have now tested in the last few days).
In conclusion, in order to support DVR on Plex, technical improvements (fast comm skipping/resume) need to be made by Plex for playback (server and/or client).
At this point, IMO, Plex DVR playback is not acceptable for OTA recordings (mpeg2) on Apple/Windows …only Android.
FYI, I converted one of the mpeg2 files to H264 and played via iOS app. It was perfect (at original or better resolution) and also allowed fast comm skip and resume. Plex reported transcode from H264 to H264 and AC3 to AAC. Based on these results I expect Windows to have similar playback results (if not, will report after testing further).
Some cable co are now transmitting at H264 to HDHR (&other) tuners, hence Plex DVR playback should be excellent for those users with this configuration.
However, until all cable co and OTA transmissions are switched from mpeg2 to H264, (anticipate a long wait for this functionality) Plex DVR replay will remain somewhat useless, unless Plex adds a mpeg2 decoder at either server or client level.
As stated, other smaller developers have added this functionality…usually less than 1 month development process for a 1-2 man team. If Plex really expects to provide a full recording/playback DVR solution for client platforms other than Android during their second year of development…this is an absolute must.
@debbiefl, thanks for the additional information – I shared your remarks with the PM for DVR. Thanks for providing an update on testing with version 1.8.1. You can also try out transcoding into h264 as a post processing step. This can be turned on in the Live TV & DVR settings (orange gear to the right of the HDHR device name). This feature can improve compatibility with devices as it will transcode the mpeg2 stream while it is recording.
Thank you for your additional suggestion. However, since >90% of my recordings are being done solely for time shifting (watch & delete), writing a mac OSX post processing script to transcode to H264, for me is a waste. Also, it is my understanding that post processing will only occur AFTER recording ends.
For the times I do want to retain recordings: Currently, I dual boot my mac into Windows, where I can utilize paid versions of MCEBuddy and Comskip.
I’m sure that there are many users of Plex DVR who are in a similar position. Along with a lot of newer users who just want Plex to work (no script writing required). Thus, until Plex solves the mpegts playback for tablets/mobile clients (iOS & Win10)…I’ll be using another DVR solution.
My 1 year plex pass runs out mid Sept and at this point I won’t be renewing. However, I’ll still be able to test playback of mpegts files in the future as I had previously purchased several client apps.
Thanks again for your help and passing on info…looking forward to a possible solution, as overall Plex is a fantastic product.
@debbiefl, totally understand how writing a script may not be worth it for you. But you don’t actually have to use a script to do post-processing to h264. It’s an included feature, it’s just turned off by default. Check out this article that covers all the settings for DVR: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/225877347. Scroll down to the red heading Convert Video While Recording. I’d be curious to see if turning this setting on helps you.
Off - Remux the recording into a standard MKV container, but don’t otherwise alter it. The content will remain in the original encoding (usually MPEG2).
Transcode - Transcode the video stream to H.264 and place it in a standard MKV container. This helps save space and make the content more compatible with player devices, but it requires a fast CPU. (Audio is always retained as-is.)
I have been experimenting with your above suggestion with some mixed results on a Prime. I do need a bit more time to analyze, as I have seen (using 'Trancode" as above), both a .ts file with H264 codec and an .mkv with H264 codec…only difference seems to be the destination directory I used…weird behaviour to be investigated.
Although, I was also surprised that the H264 is still approximately the same size as a mpegts .ts file…as I was expecting a substantially smaller file on H264.
Playback results are mixed, although Web Server is definitely sub par to iOS client playback. Once, I can define a pattern I will post feedback/results. On the positive side, I did have success with ffd intermittantly on various clients.
Also, I am somewhat surprised about client playback on mpegts files. I found that If Plex DVR is used to create original (mpegts) file then playback on client is more successful versus playback of other DVR solutions’ mpegts files. As I have over 500 mpegts files created by other solutions, I would really appreciate being able to “dropbox” one of these files to you for analysis by your Plex playback team, in order to possibly solve the “spinner” or “ffd” problems on Plex playback for these type files.
Thanks again for your followup to solve these playback problems for me and probably many other Plex users. For the first time, I truly feel very positive we are all moving in the right direction.
Despite the various updates Plex has made, playback on various clients continues to be a problem for mpegts files.
Hopefully Plex will realize this as a serious flaw and respond accordingly. Being able to playback native created DVR files is basic to a DVR solution, yet Plex has not yet instituted this capability yet. It’s now been a year since Plex DVR was released without adding a basic playback function.
As stated above, I have now cancelled my auto subscription. Of course, I will keep monitoring progress, as Plex is otherwise an outstanding solution.
I did rejoin Plex the other day hoping that this deficiency had been addressed. After testing today, I found that no improvements have been made.
This is totally unacceptable. There are multiple threads in this forum regarding lack of capability to to utilize iOS and tvOS as playback devices. Infuse & MrMC are VERY capable of full resolution playback without buffering on any of these mpegts files. Plex on Shield directly works. Why not so on Plex on any other platform?
Channels is also very capable of playing back (recordings within Channels) mpegts files on all platforms.
Can you please help us understand when/if/how Plex will be able to playback recordings from Plex DVR on capable (iPad Pro/ATV 4K) Apple devices? It’s great to record via Plex, but not being able to playback is a bummer! Having to utilize a 3rd party player defeats utilization of the Plex DVR.
@debbiefl said:
Can you please help us understand when/if/how Plex will be able to playback recordings from Plex DVR on capable (iPad Pro/ATV 4K) Apple devices? It’s great to record via Plex, but not being able to playback is a bummer! Having to utilize a 3rd party player defeats utilization of the Plex DVR.
This functionality works for many of our users already. PMS does have to transcode certain files for playback on iOS and tvOS. This might be where you get stuck, if your server is not powerful enough to handle it. Once something has been recorded via the DVR, it’s in your library and is treated like any other media. If it is MPEG2 (which much of broadcast is), then we have to transcode that video stream to play it back on iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs. If you enable the “Convert video while recording” feature in the DVR settings, then your server will convert the files while the show is being recorded. Upon playback on iOS and tvOS, the file will not need to be transcoded. The exception here is if you have enabled the Automatic Quality" feature, telling PMS to adjust the quality of the stream based on network conditions (which requires transcoding).
Thanks for the quick response. I will definitely try “Convert video…” with record engine on the Shield for MPEG2 (Broadcast/Cable - HDHR Prime) recordings.
Are there any plans to be able to utilize mpeg2 transcoder on the server to play these same type recordings on previously recorded files?
Currently, I have over 500 MPEG2 files and trying to preconvert would take days/weeks.
Thank you, I will set this on my Prime device and try again.
Tonight, I did record a one hour show (obviously, without the above setting).
Upon trying to playback the Plex recording (on iOS app), I immediately received an error that the server had failed, even though the server had been freshly rebooted after upgrading to Shield Experience 6. Then I rebooted the Shield.
After the reboot, I tried again…selecting show on iOS app…only received a spinner for 1.5 min. The show never started.
Hopefully, the above setting will be sufficient for future Plex DVR recording playback. However, I am skeptical that trying to play any of my 500 previous mpegts (MPEG2) recordings via Plex Server on Shield (or my i7 mac) can achieve a decent playback resolution (>.7 mbps on previous tests) and also using ffd/rew with no stalls.
Exactly what does Plex recommend as a “capable” server? And again, does Plex have any plans to improve server playback for MPEG2 files or at least utilizing the excellent, decoding capable processors on current iOS iPad Pro or tvOS? Otherwise, I cannot in good conscience recommend Plex…versus Channels DVR, SDDVR, Infuse or MrMC (all of which have proven playback capabilities at full resolution).
