I have to say… It’s difficult to take you seriously with statements like ‘the DVR functions work perfectly if you’ve got the right hardware’.
I have used all kinds of high-end hardware for both the server and the client and I can tell you with 100% certainty - under absolutely no circumstances do the DVR functions work perfectly. They do work best with an SSD based server and Windows computers for clients but still far from perfect. Who wants to spend top dollar on SSD storage or have to deal with Windows computers for clients just to be able to get Plex to ‘sort of work’?
Other media players can FFD and RWD without getting confused even with old, slow Rokus and FireSticks. Plex falls on its face.
Lets face the facts - Plex has much work to do to get LiveTV and DVR functions to just ‘work’. I want to be able to just use it and not wonder if it is worth trying to skip a commercial at the risk of the app crashing and having start over again. I’ve been using some form of DVR with live TV for 25 years or so and have never had to wonder when I hit FFD if the app is going to crash.
Certainly first-world problems - we are only talking about TV here - but still, Plex should spend some money on some coders and get it working. If that means I have to pay a ‘reasonable’ subscription fee then so be it.
@Mike_Mike Nothing in this universe works perfectly, but compared to other solutions I’ve worked with over the years, Plex does give a much better experience.
Mini-PC’s can use Linux you know, not just Windows. Plus if it’s setup correctly the client does not even notice what OS the device is using as either way it boots straight into the Plex UI.
As you’ve been using DVR for 25 years or so, you must have come across Humax’s attempt at DVR software, once you’ve seen how bad that was you would not complain about Plex lol.
As I’ve already pointed out if your app is crashing due to you hitting FFD then something other than Plex is a miss and maybe you should be attempting to fix that rather than bashing a service on a forum and bashing others if they disagree with you.
I’m happy to put together any mini-pc using any software if you’d like to give me a list of hardware and software to use - including a remote.
I’ve seen plenty of bad software over the years along with plenty of improvements. I had hoped that Plex would be improving their LiveTV and DVR functions but it appears to me that they are going the wrong direction. When they first added LiveTV and DVR it had some issues and they worked on those issues. As the versions have progressed over the last 9 months or so the troubles seem to getting worse - not better.
If you have a suggestion for a client that will just ‘work’ I’m willing to try anything you suggest.
The most annoying troubles I have:
The app crashing. It is not that it crashes every time but if I am watching a currently recording program and I hit FFD I’d guess that about a quarter of the time the app will crash. If I FFD and RWD back and forth multiple times (as a test) the app will crash within 20 or 30 seconds.
I also get plenty of ‘spinning’ buffering wheels randomly. No constantly, but I only see these when playing back MPEG2 (like from LiveTV).
Sometimes when I FFD through a commercial it will jump ahead 20 or 30 minutes and won’t let me rewind to get back where I was. Even if I use the scroll bar to go way back, it will immediately jump back to the 20 or 30 minutes ahead. I have to stop the playback and start it again, and then FFD to where I want to be. This happens both when the recording is ongoing and for recordings that are finished.
Occasionally I also get things like ‘empty’ libraries and just have to move to another option and back to get it show the media in a particular category.
I really didn’t intend my post to be a ‘bashing’ of you or even Plex. I’d just like it to work and am willing to pay to make that happen.
Seriously, if you let me know which mini-pc to purchase including how much RAM, storage type and capacity along with what OS to use, I’ll take that dive and see if I can make it work. I do need it to work as simply as picking up a remote and turning it on. My better half isn’t going to go for using a mouse and keyboard to logon etc - neither am I for that matter…
@Mike_Mike When you did the setup for your DVR, did you select transcode while recording? If not, then turn it on a see if that makes a difference and vice versa.
As for hardware I usually go for the Intel gen8 mini-pcs as they are really cheap these days since they brought out the gen11 and gen12 mini-pcs. For the remote, even cheap Bluetooth remotes can be had from Amazon, then it’s your choice between Linux or windows and then set it to boot straight into Plex HTPC without going into a desktop environment.
So you’re talking about the i5 based Beelink mini right? Not the Celeron based ones? An 8th gen (4 year old) i5-8279U based Beelink with 16GB Ram and 500G NVMe storate is $349. An 11th gen (2 year old) Celeron N5095 based Beelink with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is $169.
There are plenty of BT remotes but I suspect most of them aren’t targeted at Plex users. Do you have a BT remote that you use with Plex?
@Mike_Mike i5-8279U indeed, would not go for the Celeron based ones and pay £75, which is around $90 (Because I do it as a business I get them a lot cheaper).
As long as the remotes has navigation buttons then you should be okay, not come across one that doesn’t work with Plex yet and some even emulate a mouse, which is good if you’re not using the HTPC client.
Lol, I feel this thread.
Live TV never worked well for me since I got my hands on Plex.
Your best bet is eigher Plex concurrent or the standalone HDHR app.
It seems that each update breaks this stuff more.
Now I can’t even get any device to play my LIVE TV from my HD Homerun.
Heck now it won’t even find or load the TV Guide to try it.
WTH man?
BTW. Using QNAP NAS device. Intell version. Both Android and Windows apps.
The weird thing is the guide in the apps won’t even load the channels now.
@TrueMetalGeek From my experience it’s best not to use either a Synology or QNAP NAS for DVR. If you do want to have a NAS because it gives you the storage space then build your own one.
For me with the clients I have:
Sony Android TV - pretty much flawless with LiveTV DVR FF/REW in progress or recorded No issues.
NV Shield (I have 2), pretty much flawless except for the “NBC MPEG2 bug” that is an Nvidia bug
CCGTV absolutely terrible - unusable
Samsung Tizen - recently got better. Recorded is good. In progress is not
Roku TV works but I dont like the 10 sec "blind: FF Vs the 30 sec skip of Android TV
i use my nas for normal PMS function and then my shield for live tv only and it saves shows to my nas. so two PMS running but the shield is just running a PMS for live tv function. i seem to have less issues than other folks in this thread but i still have regular issues. just stopped complaining about them because that got boring after awhile!
I setup the Plex HTPC on an i5-13600 based machine with 32gig of RAM and 2TB NVMe SSD to test with. It does work much better but still has some issues watching a currently recording program and it has locked up once… I’ve only used it a few hours.
The worst part is the G20S Pro remote that I bought. The OK button doesn’t do anything unless I am using it as a mouse. Makes it pretty much useless with Plex. Because of this trouble I haven’t been able to really put it through the paces like I can with Apple TV, Shield, Roku or FireStick 4k.
I’ll keep trying but without a working remote it is pretty frustrating to use.
I’m not sure if the improvement with LiveTV I see is from the last update, changing to Ubuntu from Windows, or the hardware upgrade on the client. Honestly it looks like the improvement I see is most likely because of the switch to Ubuntu with Plex HTPC. I have already tried to use Plex on a high-end i9 based system it was a mess with LiveTV and LiveTV still stinks using the FireStick 4k. Hmm…
Anyone have any suggestions for a remote that I don’t have to use as a mouse with Plex HTPC? Using the G20S Pro as a mouse sort of works but not well enough to use long term. It works to use the arrow keys to navigate but because the OK button doesn’t work I can’t ‘select’ the option I want without going back to ‘mouse’ mode and clicking it.
@Mike_Mike That’s why I use the 8th gen as they have better onboard graphics than the 13600. Also you have to make sure you are using the correct drivers.
As for the remote, that’s why I use the windows client instead of the HTPC as for some reason Plex designed the HTPC to be used with keyboards, my work around for that though is to get the flip around remotes, which have a small keyboard on the underside.
Hmm - so the latest version of Ubuntu, i5 CPU and drivers are NOT the ones to use? Sounds like I am back to asking Plex to hire someone to make this work.
I’m not sure why an 8th gen CPU would be BETTER than a 13th gen?
And they thought requiring a keyboard would be a good idea?
Sometimes I think I’m living in some sore of insane alternate dimension!
I’m sure I have a few 5+ year old PCs in the junk pile I can try but if I have to use a keyboard I won’t bother. Especially if I have to also come up with the specific drivers to use - its just not worth having to test god knows how many different versions of drivers because Plex doesn’t know how to write applications.
@Mike_Mike The GPU is better on the 8th gen to to the 13600 as the 13600 only has the old UHD on board graphics, though if you’re going to get either a 12th or 13th gen make sure it’s Intel Iris Xe on board graphics.
This is why I use Windows instead of Linux as the drivers are much better and the remotes all work with the Windows client.
I’m sure if you ask in many off the Linux forums in regards to drivers (or LTT over on youtube) their experience with Linux drivers, then I’m sure you will find quickly that Linux drivers and apps are a nightmare and it’s not Plex’s fault and this is why Linux has never been a real threat to Windows.
I’ve been using Live TV and DVR for almost three years now. It replaced all my cable boxes and DVR in my house. It’s great when it works. I can’t rewind or fast forward a recording as it’s in progress, and if I have back-to-back recordings, seeking in the current one will get me a random spot in the previous recording. When I am able to fast forward or rewind in a current recording, it’s just endless buffering and then nothing happens. This hasn’t changed in three years. If anything, it’s gotten worse. Now with the latest PMS update, in the middle of watching recorded content, my iPad Plex app will completely crash without warning. I’m starting to regret the lifetime plex pass and maybe I should just pay more for three cable boxes and a DVR from my cable company. At least they work when they need to…
It ‘appears’ using Ubuntu does improve the stability but it is a big pain - especially because the Channels DVR running on a $29 FireStick runs circles around Plex running on anything I’ve tried.
I think I’ll likely give up on the LiveTV and the DVR functions of Plex. It is just not worth having to deal with old computers based on 8th gen CPUs because somehow those are better and then remote and driver problems on top of that.
It is pretty sad when running Channels DVR on an old FireTV stick works a gazillion times better than anything I’ve run Plex on and that FireTV Stick costs about the same as a remote that doesn’t even work correctly with Plex on a HTPC because for some reason I need to use a keyboard with Plex HTPC.
For Plex, the smoothest LiveTV and DVR seems to be my Shield Pro with the Apple Tv close behind then Plex HTPC (Ubuntu) then FireStick and then Roku. They all have problems when trying to watch something that is still recording.
It’s hard to believe that in 2023 it can this hard to make a basic DVR function like a Tivo did 25+ years ago.
