Yes. From the moment of PMS install, both the DVR setting default and all scheduled recordings have had [Allow partial airings] enabled. Multiple times since PMS install, I have reviewed individually the settings for every scheduled recording.
While, I’ve only had a couple cases where a show episode was deleted by user Plex UI initiation and then later a user wanted to record a repeated airing, I was not able to convince PMS to record the repeated airing.
I have never manually deleted any PMS file.
Respectfully, failing to re-record a show is a very poor not-UI-alterable “expected behavior” in general, especially so for Live TV OTA cord-cutting use. Many factors can disrupt the content in recordings: EPG errors (which are common), broadcast signal weather disruption, host CPU or disk issues, network contention, etc.
What is worse, the UI appears to accept user [Record] initiation, only later to discover that PMS did not actually perform as directed.
Fundamentally, thinking algorithms are smarter than users is almost, IMO, always problematic at best (offering grace to well-intended decisions).
For PMS in particular, software design decisions appear to presume that the EPG is highly accurate, both generally and in real-time, neither of which are true. No slight to EPG providers, nor to Plex—change occurs stochastically, and humans make channel decisions that are imperfect. Even updating the EPG at 9am every day has not proven sufficient.
PMS’ “expected behavior” also makes it difficult to envision software design presumptions other than that OTA signals are always excellent—they simply are not. (While I have no Plex experience with streaming, nor knowledge if PMS even records streaming, past (considerable technical) experience demonstrates that streaming integrity varies greatly by provider.)
A specific example recently occurred with the CBS OTA broadcast of “The Late Show with Stephen Cobert.” (It might have been S7 E134.) A previous recording EPG listing had an episode number, but not the guests listing, that was the same as a later airing PMS did not automatically schedule for recording and also then refused to act upon my manual record initiation. Unfortunately, that previous recording had an EPG listing that apparently had the wrong episode number or the wrong guests list. (Since I can’t find a Plex user guide, I can’t know precisely under what circumstances PMS is supposed to presume duplication.)
The bottom line is that users almost always can make better informed decisions for themselves than can algorithms.
The obvious cord-cutting DVR behavior should be for Plex to alert users of possible duplication, asking users to decide; and, since the EPG can be very wrong for extended periods (eg, weeks), when Plex resources permit, add UI so users can schedule an OTA recording by specifying channel, date and time.
Thank you for taking your personal time and, especially, for caring.
