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Hi,
I am currently using a TiVo DVR for OTA TV broadcasts, and I want to replace it with a DVR set-up on Plex. I have looked at the Mac compatible tuners from SiliconDust, but I am a bit confused about what the different products do. Unfortunately contacting the company seems to be problematic. I donāt really believe there are any human beings on the payroll there. I was hoping somebody could recommend a Plex configuration so that I can basically do what I did with my TiVo, but with Plex. Hoping that perhaps there is another former TiVo user that has abandoned TiVo for a Plex set-up.
If you are a heavy TV user, I cannot recommend Plex DVR to replace your TiVo box. The amount of issues i encountered were staggering for a paid software, and plex would push updates that would require total reconfiguration of you setup. NextPVR i have found to be incredibly reliable and feature rich, asking for an optional one off donation and a sub to schedules direct, while the HDhomerun DVR service offers a simple system to use, albeit i used to have some issues with there EPG
I stopped my plex pass sub because of how terrible they have treated both the support and updates/fixs of the DVR service. Thats how bad it was. Plex does not care, and that is the truth of it.
Shame really as there media server offerings are really nice and easy to use, and there remote access solution is second to none in my limited experience
If anyone at plex is reading this, either drop the DVR product, or put some money into it if you are using it to get people to pay for your sub.
What sort of information are you looking for? Your initial post only stated that you reached out to SD but didnāt receive responses (or ones that answered your questions). What, specifically, would you like to know?
SiliconDust HDHomeRun tuners work well with Plexās Live TV & DVR solution. Poor signal reception on the HDHR tuner can cause issues for Plex, as with any software-based DVR. If your primary goal is to record programs and watch them at a later time, then it works very well.
@djenso:
I also, got that impression of Plex. TiVo is really, really horrible, but I had a feeling that Plex might be similar. If the NextPVR is a viable alternative I would be willing to consider it. I just checked out their website, and my first question is, would I be able to access it on my Samsung TV, the way I access Plex on my TV, or would I have to do the programming and playing of content, etc. on my computer monitor? I doubt if the latter is the case, but I thought I would ask. I need to check it out more. I just today got a HDHomeRun from SiliconDust and I also a hard drive to connect to it. I was ready to get the Plex pass and do the Plex set up, but you have me properly concerned.
@pshanew:
Basically, I have been using the TiVo box to record things like the news, a couple of broadcast television series, and football games. Not much else. Since my TiVo box is an old Romio OTA, about seven years old, itās starting to give up the ghost. I considered purchasing a new OTA TiVo box, but theyāre like 450 bucks, and thatās just with two tuners! Plus, TiVo sucks! So, having had Plex for years, I just never considered doing an alternative to TiVo for over the air DVR recording. So I guess my goal is to be able to record those programs without using TiVo. Since I posted this, I actually broke down and did some of my own research. I guess I was just being lazy and hoping that some Plex user would come along and tell me everything I needed to know. So at this point, I know how to do the TiVo DVR set up, but djenso has me interested in looking into this NextPVR option. I had a Plex Pass for a short time, and I DID notice that their customer service seemed really lame.
Iām appreciative of, and open to, any further suggestions either of you haveā¦
Since you already have a Plex Pass, and youāll need a tuner regardless of which solution you decide to go with (Plex Live TV & DVR or NextPVR), Iād recommend the HDHomeRun Flex 4K. It is operating system agnostic, so there are no driver concerns to worry about.
I myself use both Plexās DVR and NextPVR. Both have their strengths. Plex has great client support and the guide data is already included with the Plex Pass. NextPVR is a bit more flexible with its scheduling for recordings, allowing it to be done by keyword, for example. However, NextPVR requires you to supply guide data via external means (Schedules Direct or XMLTV data).
A particular weak point for Plexās DVR is viewing in-progress recordings. Its time shifting functionality is unstable, to say the least. However, native intro and ad skipping are very convenient features and work quite well, in my experience.
Very True, however, NextPVR is compatible with a wide variety of solutions such as je**yfin and kodi . It has a very capable API that has allowed members to create windows clients such as nlite and androidTV solutions such and uidroid.
Seems great until EPG data randomly goes missing and your left begging on a forum for some staff member to have a look. In the few months i used there guide data they
Completely changed guide providers and because of the way they used there guide, this meant you has to reset PlexDVR. Any recording you has set limited to certain channels needed to be reset, so in mycase i had to reset a lot of the series recordings I had set
Had EPG data for major UK channels such as BBC 1 and ITV 1 go missing for days, breaking recordings again
Had missing or incorrect channel icons
This includes setting up a Schedules direct account, paying for a sub ($35/yr) then going to nextPVR and inputting your Schedules direct credentials. NextPVR automatically grabs the appropriate guide data for you.
Worth noting that these features are just using the comskip program in the backend. Guide are available to add this to any modern PVR solution.
Im just pointing these nitpicks out for @razathlab
In terms of āwould it work with samsung TVā - There used to be development, but im not sure this is still active. Most people have moved on to using some sort of android client. Most āidealā would be a miniPC with hardware acceleration and a remote - but thats also the most expenive
If you have a plexpass sub, theres no harm in giving Plex a chance.
