Tips and tricks

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121

Soooo I broke down and bought the hdhomerun connect to test out the dvr functionality so i can finally cut the cord. I’m viewing and recording through a 10/100 network on an older macmini. I’m in downtown chicago so reception shouldn’t be an issue but when i view directly on the mini there’s still pixelation and the motion isn’t fluid.

Does anyone know a cheap unit I could buy that would be an acceptable server for recording shows from the connect and writing the show to either a NAS or USB hd? Are the new raspberry pi 3’s fast enough to do this? btw I have a gigabit switch so preferably the NIC would also be 10/100/1000. tks!!

122

I am probably missing this, but looking in this thread and the other READ FIRST thread; how do i manually delete an episode after watching?

I realize there are season options to auto-delete, but i prefer to just decide on my own after watching an ep to delete that one only by choice.

With beta3 and now beta4, I do not see any option using the webplayer latest chrome version or from latest android app. I logon with the plex pass/admin account. Server is Ubuntu 16.04. plex user/group is owner.

thanks!

123

@geoffrothman said:
Soooo I broke down and bought the hdhomerun connect to test out the dvr functionality so i can finally cut the cord. I’m viewing and recording through a 10/100 network on an older macmini. I’m in downtown chicago so reception shouldn’t be an issue but when i view directly on the mini there’s still pixelation and the motion isn’t fluid.

Does anyone know a cheap unit I could buy that would be an acceptable server for recording shows from the connect and writing the show to either a NAS or USB hd? Are the new raspberry pi 3’s fast enough to do this? btw I have a gigabit switch so preferably the NIC would also be 10/100/1000. tks!!

Disclaimer: I’m a Plex noob, and I’m not a transcoding expert.

Note the pixelation and motion problems you describe sound more like poor antenna reception to me. Best way to test your reception is to connect your antenna directly to a TV and see if you get a nice, clear picture.

Transcoding is expensive. You need a lot of CPU power to transcode. The estimate is you need about a CPU PassMark of 2000 for a single 1080p transcode. If you have need for 2 transcodes at a time, which is common, you need about a PassMark of 4,000. Here is a huge list of CPU’s and their PassMark score:

My Linux PMS has a CPU with a PassMark of just over 9,000. Since the HDHomeRun Connect does not have built-in transcoding, and it puts out an encoded stream you can’t play directly on most devices, almost certainly when you play the show, your server is having to live transcode…and as you suspect, your CPU might not be keeping up. You have some options.

  1. First, easy thing to try is to open up the web app, find your show, open the info page, then find the “optimize” option. It is under the “…” icon for me–the “more items”. This tells your PMS to “off-line” transcode the file so the next time you want to stream the show, it’s already transcoded, and does not need to keep up live.

  2. Buy an HDHomeRun Extend instead. It has built-in H.264 transcoding. Note some folks have reported poor quality results while others are happy with the result.

  3. Buy a computer with a beefier CPU. See the PassMark benchmark list.

Another option that DID NOT WORK for me is in the DVR settings. Go to Device Settings and find an “EXPERIMENTAL” option to live transcode the stream as it’s being recorded. This resulted in a failed recording for me.

I’m pretty happy with my server but already wish I had an even stronger CPU. I picked up a refurb (off-lease) Dell Optiplex 7010 from my local Microcenter for $369. It’s a nice, high-quality, quiet, small-form factor computer. It came with Windows 7, which you could upgrade to 10 if desired and run great I’m sure. I wiped it and installed Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server. You gotta be a real geek to manage a Linux server, though.

~O)

124

@geoffrothman said:
…but when i view directly on the mini there’s still pixelation and the motion isn’t fluid.

What happens when you view the show on another device? Have you tried copying the .ts file to another computer and viewing it? Just trying to determine if the recording is the issue or just the playback.

125

@rodgerzeisler said:

@geoffrothman said:
…but when i view directly on the mini there’s still pixelation and the motion isn’t fluid.

What happens when you view the show on another device? Have you tried copying the .ts file to another computer and viewing it? Just trying to determine if the recording is the issue or just the playback.

Agree with @rodgerzeisler . I think the troubleshooting should go in this order:

STEP #1: Connect the antenna directly to a TV to test that you are getting good reception in your location. For a good test you need to have the antenna in as close to the same position as you’ll have when connected to the HDHomeRun Connect.

IF the OTA signal does not look good on your TV directly, your problem is reception.

STEP #2: Play the .ts file directly. The DVR records the MPEG-2 video from the Connect into a file with extension of “.ts”. You can play these files directly with many video players, but a very popular, simple player known to work with most formats is VLC.

IF when playing the video file directly (not through Plex), you see the same problems, the issue is either that the Connect does not have as good reception with the antenna as your TV does OR an issue with Plex recording the stream. Continue to #3 to figure out which:

STEP #3: Install the HDHomeRun software and view the live TV stream.

IF the live video stream has the same problems, then your problem is with the Connect. It is either a bad unit or simply it is unable to receive the signal as strongly as your TV.

STEP #4: Find the show in your Plex Web App and choose to “optimize” it. Wait for the optimization job to complete. Then watch the show in the Web App.

IF the video looks fine, then I think you can surmise the problem is with live transcoding while streaming, which can be not enough CPU. You can resolve this issue using one of the options I posted earlier.

GOOD LUCK! ~O)

126

@TroyWolf @rodgerzeisler thanks so much for your help!!! I’m like 90% sure its the antenna reception now. I have a mohu leaf and am only like 2-3 miles from allt he major affiliate stations/towers so you wouldn’t thing there’d be any issues. The signal strength is amazing but the signal quality is what is slightly effed up. I tried moving the placement of the antenna and have it taped to an outward facing window now and that seemed to have improved the signal quality/code. Just kicked off some recordings on the DVR so fingers crossed!!

127

Does anyone know if there is a way to see which tuner recorded a program? I have occasional items which won’t olay on my phone. I am trying to troubleshoot the issue and it would be helpful to know if it is always happening with recordings from a single tuner or if the issue is spread over multiple tuners. I have six tuners (big family) and troubleshooting my disabling tuners one at a time will be time consuming. Thank you.

128

Hi guys,

Is there any way to have everything that is recorded automatically transcoded offline (ie. after it is recorded, rather than live transcoding?) I have a QNAP TS-453 (Intel Celeron quad-core) with 8GB RAM, and it will not play a .ts file back either locally or over the network… which makes the entire DVR functionality sort of useless. I can optimize files and wait for them to transcode offline, but I don’t want to have to go into Plex server and select “optimize” each time it records a new episode or program.

(BTW, I am using an HDHomerun connect, since it is the only one I could find for sale in Canada and because I was expecting Plex to be able transcode the recordings as easily as it transcodes other 1080p content.)

I just bought the lifetime plexpass membership (well, had my wife buy it for me for Christmas) for the sole reason of cutting the cord and recording OTA content, and am feeling a little bit like I was taken in by false advertising (yes, I can record live TV on my QNAP… no I can never play it back) … so I’m hoping there is a simple solution like automatic offline transcoding that can make this solution workable!

Thanks,
Jonathan

129

Is there a way to modify a recording schedule (or a plan to add the feature later)? I would like to schedule a full series to record, but, if necessary for any reason, be able to select a single episode to not be recorded?

130

@lionelrichie said:
I am probably missing this, but looking in this thread and the other READ FIRST thread; how do i manually delete an episode after watching?

I realize there are season options to auto-delete, but i prefer to just decide on my own after watching an ep to delete that one only by choice.

With beta3 and now beta4, I do not see any option using the webplayer latest chrome version or from latest android app. I logon with the plex pass/admin account. Server is Ubuntu 16.04. plex user/group is owner.

thanks!

Ya, I don’t see a way to delete manually either. While testing the setup I really wanted to just delete short recordings I was making. Hoping a simple manual delete will show up soon.

131

To enable manual media deletion, go to Settings, Server, Library. Make sure advanced options are shown. Look for the setting to allow media deletion and turn it on. HTH.

132

@Beltzner
There is an option for automatically optimizing shows. From the optimize choices you can set how many episodes to have optimized. This does create a second copy of the show. With your setup I am not sure if there is any way to automatically transcode. I use MCEBuddy on my Windows setup to automatically process shows after they finish recording.

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133

@spdxdmn @sundawg337

You can allow deleting shows. From the Library settings you must check the Allow Media Deletion under the Show Advanced options. Go to Settings/Library then Click Show Advanced.

Screenshots from Chrome on my Cellphone both with and without Allow Media Deletion selected.


134

@johnm_ColaSC Thanks. That is one step forward and helps me…but doesn’t help my wife who is not the admin :slight_smile:

135

@johnm_ColaSC Yes that does help. hopefully this get updated later to allow more granular control based off libraries and users. As @sundawg337 said; need the wife to be happy. plus, i fear that enabling this globally one of these days the remote will act up/batt low and i accidentally hit delete instead of info or another option next to it.

136

@elan said:
Also, don’t forget the device settings page, which can be super useful to play with.

I cannot find this anywhere in my Plex Beta?
What am I missing?
Thanks

137

@skpManiac said:

@elan said:
Also, don’t forget the device settings page, which can be super useful to play with.

I cannot find this anywhere in my Plex Beta?
What am I missing?
Thanks

depends on what device you have, as to what options you will get.

138

@skpManiac said:

@elan said:
Also, don’t forget the device settings page, which can be super useful to play with.

I cannot find this anywhere in my Plex Beta?
What am I missing?
Thanks

You need the extend tuner to do transcoding on the tuner.

139

New cordcutter here and Plex subscription for about a week now. So far so good! Plex app and interface is top notch!
Question would plex allow me to start recording a show (hdhomerun extend) and then stop a recording somewhere along the way to create one file. Then start recording it again essentially creating a second file for that show. Then I can watch the first half while the second half is recording? Does that work? Can you stop a recording and then start it up again?
Or can the HDGrandSlam plugin work along side the DVR feature? Can I use the plugin to watch live TV but still have scheduled recordings as long as they don’t conflict?
Thanks

Edit: I apologize for posting this same question in two different threads. I intended on deleting one after getting a response but I don’t see a way to do that. Sounds like two recordings of a show (first half and second half) may not work very well but I can use the HDGrandSlam plugin to watch live TV and DVR recording as long as I have an available tuner so I’ll take that anyway.

140

Hello, I’m looking for some device recommendations. I’m trying to identify the best way to connect my cable box to HDHomeRun.
I have a Motorola RNG150N cable box with an M-Card. Can I connect the output from the cable box to a HDHome Run Connect box?
I’m using Plex as my DVR. Will I be able to see all the channels based on my Xfinity subscription?
Do I need the HDHome Run Prime box? Will the M-Card cable card work with the Prime box? If yes, do I just take the M-Card out of the cable box and install in the Prime box?
If I go with the OTA antenna any recommendations? I’m about 15 miles away from the major broadcast towers?
It would be great to be able to view live as well as record.

Thank you