After using Plex for my DVR for the last few months, I’ve finally reached the point where I have to change back to using my old NextPVR setup for a time. I wanted to write this post as a way to explain to why; this is primarily intended as feedback to Plex. I’d love to move back eventually, if a few things can be changed.
First off, the positive: I am not shutting off DVR entirely.
- The Live TV functionality is starting to work well, and I love the ability to use it while on the go. It needs some polish, but overall, I am happy enough with it that I am not complaining here.
- DVR generally records well. I have never had issues with the quality of the output, or any other major technical problems of that sort.
- It’s easy to set up. Tons easier than any other DVR software I’ve ever used.
So thanks to Plex for all their work there; they did a good job, in my eyes.
The problem I have is in my scheduled recordings.
I think Plex has a great idea in tying your library with recording new shows. I am 100% behind the strategy of not recording shows that are already present in your library. This was a huge thing to me, and was my favorite thing about the DVR in general. But it also was the worst thing about the DVR, when it got it wrong - which happened just too much, forcing me to make this change.
Now, I might be making some incorrect assumptions on what logic is going on inside of Plex to determine what to record - but I’m making my best guesses.
What went wrong? Three things:
- Shows that have a different episode label structure in places like TheTVDB.com than they do in the EPG do not record accurately. This happens a lot with children’s TV shows, which generally air two episodes in one 30 minute period, but are not labeled in the EPG with both episode numbers; so you’ll end up with a show airing that claims to be Season 2 episode 10, when TheTVDB.com has it down as Season 2 episodes 20 and 21. This causes these shows to either not record (Plex sees you have episode 10 in your library, when it’s a completely different episode, due to the numbering differences) or Plex records it with completely wrong metadata attached to it, and it goes into your library that way.
- You cannot override the “This is already in your library” check. I had movies fail to record because Plex believed I already had them in my library - incorrectly in some cases. I had cases where I recorded a movie, and found that the channel had been pushed off due to some earlier show running long, so that everything was 30 minutes late - meaning the movie was incomplete. I could not re-record this movie at a later date because Plex thought I already had it in my library. Sometimes deleting the incorrect version allowed Plex to re-record it later, but not every time.
- Plex would, with some rare shows, completely disregard what I had my library and simply record every episode, every single time. I assume this was another result of a mismatch between EPG data and my library, but I had no way to tell. It was extremely annoying, especially since I have MCEBuddy processing every recording after it finishes.
For me, all of this would be fixed by allowing a couple of options.
- Force recording; record this no matter what Plex thinks is in the library. If this option exists now, I did not see it anywhere.
- Choose to record a series based on episode name (only record each episode once), instead of based on what was in the library. This is how most DVRs work, from what I understand, and it would fix instances where the EPG data does not match up with TheTVDB.
So basically - I can’t see the brains that are deciding what to record and when. I want greater control, so that I can overcome incorrect assumptions that are being made because of conflicts in the EPG listings vs the metadata agents.
There are also a few small improvements I’d do to the Program Guide - like telling you if a movie you’re looking at is already in your library - but those are minor, and wouldn’t have been enough to stop me from using it going forward.
Having to separate out my recordings again is a pain, but in the short term, it’s the only option I can see to ensure recordings are working as I need them. I sincerely hope as the DVR continues to be developed, I can swap back eventually.
