Server Version#: 1.14.0.5470
Player Version#: 2.23.0.920
I often watch tv shows that are currently recording. I will first explain how well PLEX worked when I used WinTV 8.5 (software that came with my TV card) to record and then what it would be like when I used plex to do the recording.
When I was using WinTV 8.5 to do my recordings, I would simply record into my Plex Library folder. After a library rescan, the file would appear and I could play it just fine. There were some expected caveats – the file was was still recording, so PLEX would get the video length at the time I started playing. When I got to that point in the recording, it would keep playing but the skip ahead button but would no longer work because the player thought it was at the end of the video. This was perfectly reasonable. I would just stop the video and restart and the player would have the new current length of the continuing recording and I was golden. Honestly, I was very impressed that PLEX handled this so well.
I got a PLEX Pass and started using the PLEX DVR to do my recording. You could play recordings in progress, although it wasn’t obvious how. You would navigate to the program in PMP for Windows, open the guide (in desktop mode, not TV mode), find the program on the correct channel in the Guide, click it and then press the play button. You would get the option to watch live or watch from the beginning. A bit cumbersome so far, but ok, fine. However, while playing, clicking the progress bar or skip ahead/back buttons would have completely random results. If you clicked further ahead on the progress bar to skip a commercial, it might work, it might start again from the beginning or it might go to a completely random location. It was very frustrating if you were watching the sort of program where you might want to back up a little bit and watch a segment again.
It was so bad that when I wanted to watch something in progress, I leave my living room, go to the computer, find the recording in PLEX’s hidden .grab folder and watch it using VLC media player.
Plex, I don’t know if you know about this, but this behaviour was extremely consistent in its randomness. It always happened. It should be repeatable.
Unfortunately, I am unable to provide logs as I have given up on PLEX and gone back to using WinTV for my TV needs. My lifetime plex pass was terminated this past weekend after I asked for a refund.
I still use the non-premium parts of PLEX which I am very happy with. I have paid to unlock mobile players and again been very happy. This is why I am trying to be helpful here. Maybe you will be able to improve your premium features enough so that new plex pass users will not have the experience that I have had for the past month.
