Windows Media Server + MCEBuddy + Plex Media Server - Perfect alternative to streaming OTA shows

General Discussions
1
I haven't seen anyone else post anything similar, so I'm posting this up, hoping it helps others.
 
As many of you, our family likes Plex a lot.  We find it very useful every day.  Between Plex and other services, we've elimiated Dish Network at the beginning of the year, and never looked back.
 
Two months ago, I ordered the latest HDHomeRun H.264 dual tuner appliance and a high gain antenna to bring OTA signal into the home to add to the selection for the family.  As a natural course, I set out to find out how to get that to work with Plex, soon to realize Plex is not designed for streamining live feeds.
 
Determined to find a suitable solution, I put into place an automated system that seems to work pretty well.
 
Using Windows Media Center (WMC), we record everything my family enjoys watching.  The folder I have everything saving to is shared out, so other PCs on the network can view its contents.
 
On another PC, I have that folder mapped.  I also have MCEBuddy monitoring that folder.  Anything new that shows up in there, MCEBuddy pulls that show's file to process it; meaning remove all commericials and transcode the file from the .wtv container into a .mp4 container.  I have MCEBuddy automatically rename the new file to identify the Season and Episode details, so Plex recongnizes it.
 
On the Plex Media Server (PMS) PC, I have a shared folder for the processed TV show files.  When MCEBuddy is finished processing, it copies the new .mp4 over to the PMS folder.  PMS automatically recognizes the Season and Episode, and categorizes it nicely.
 
I have a three hour min delay set up with MCEBuddy before it starts it's processing of .wtv files.  This means, at minimum 4 hours, up to 6 hours, from the record time, the new show is available within Plex for our family to enjoy.
 
I figured if someone wanted to watch live TV, they can just do that on the TV themselves, and not mess with the feed coming across the LAN from the HDHomeRun, leaving that dedicated for WMC to use.  If they want to skip commercials, they can wait a few hours.
 
Currently, WMC and PMS are on the same machine, but will be soon split out to operate on independent PCs.  For automation to work cleanly, MCEBuddy needs to be on its own dedicated device, as when it is processing, it maximizes all available processors, running into the 80%-97% utlization range, but needs very little memory for the OS and app (1.5GB max steady over the past two months, with no spikes).  The quad core PC it is on works very well.
 
Hope this helps, or even inspire someone to take it a little further.  I'm sure there is room to improve this.
2

Hi,

I have a very similar setup.  One comment if you really do have the latest HD HomeRun h.264 device you are probably making MCEBuddy work harder than it has to.  1-3 hours with all 4 cores pegged at max sound very much like you are transcodign the file when all you really want to do is to change the container.  The latest version 14 should do this see here:  

http://mcebuddy2x.codeplex.com/discussions/431449

Also what is the purpose of the 3 hour delay?

ARe you using Comskip or Showanalyzer?  How's is ti doing?  I had to shut comskip off on fox programs as it was cutting too much of the show.

Scott.

3

Note that Plex can read and play .wtv files fine, just can't tag them correctly.  So you don't even need to change the container do you, just get MCEBuddy to smartly rename the files?

4

Note that Plex can read and play .wtv files fine, just can't tag them correctly.  So you don't even need to change the container do you, just get MCEBuddy to smartly rename the files?

Hi Warden,

Yup, however I have found MCEBuddy reduces the file size pretty well.  I have also seen an improvement with playback when using the Roku.

Hi,

I have a very similar setup.  One comment if you really do have the latest HD HomeRun h.264 device you are probably making MCEBuddy work harder than it has to.  1-3 hours with all 4 cores pegged at max sound very much like you are transcodign the file when all you really want to do is to change the container.  The latest version 14 should do this see here:  

http://mcebuddy2x.codeplex.com/discussions/431449

Also what is the purpose of the 3 hour delay?

ARe you using Comskip or Showanalyzer?  How's is ti doing?  I had to shut comskip off on fox programs as it was cutting too much of the show.

Scott.

Hi Scott,

I put in the delay to start processing a couple months ago, however since returned it back to immediately process after the recording completed last night ... no conflicts, so I'm happy. :)  The actual processing time for a 30 min program is about 45 mins.  On my larger machine which has 8 cores, 2x1.5GB GPUs and 16GB memory, the same 30 min program takes about 18-20 mins - but that's the PMS and WMC machine.

I'm still on v.13, however I am considering donating to try v.14, so I haven't tried that yet.  

Right now I am using Comskip (donated version).  I'll have to take a look the Fox recorded shows, and process a couple with ShowAnalyzer to see which is better.

5

Hmmm ... well, I attempted to download ShowAnalyzer v1.0 from the developer's website, however Chrome blocked it advising it was malicious.  Not looking for a trojan to be introduced, so won't be using that.  Also noticed the developer hasn't posted anything up since 2008, whereas ComSkip is actively being maintained.

6

ARe you using Comskip or Showanalyzer?  How's is ti doing?  I had to shut comskip off on fox programs as it was cutting too much of the show.

Scott.

Hey Scott,

I also have a similar set up but i'm still trying to work out some bugs.  How do you not skip commercials on Fox but skip on others?  Is this an automatic process or manual?  I record some kids shows where the comskip doesn't buy me anything so I'd like to skip it on those but nothing else.  I was going to write a batch file to do it for me but it would be better is there is a setting i'm missing.

Thanks

 David

7

Hi Warden,

Yup, however I have found MCEBuddy reduces the file size pretty well.  I have also seen an improvement with playback when using the Roku.

Hi Scott,

I put in the delay to start processing a couple months ago, however since returned it back to immediately process after the recording completed last night ... no conflicts, so I'm happy. :)  The actual processing time for a 30 min program is about 45 mins.  On my larger machine which has 8 cores, 2x1.5GB GPUs and 16GB memory, the same 30 min program takes about 18-20 mins - but that's the PMS and WMC machine.

I'm still on v.13, however I am considering donating to try v.14, so I haven't tried that yet.  

Right now I am using Comskip (donated version).  I'll have to take a look the Fox recorded shows, and process a couple with ShowAnalyzer to see which is better.

If you're still on 2.3.13, skip 2.3.14 you will love 2.3.15. It's super fast and supports hardware encoding also.

8

Hi,

I am trying to set up a similar system using Windows Media Center (Win7 x64), Plex (2.2.0), and MCEBuddy (2.3 release 15).  I have my movies and tv shows in two separate folders (not sure if this is required, but Plex didn't seem to work correctly if they were all in one folder, even if they had the right naming convention).

I'm recording movies and tv shows with Media Center.  Plex uses a different naming convention for these two types:

    TV show: TV Shows/Show_Name/Season XX/ShowName - sXXeYY - Optional_Info.ext

    Movie: Movie_Name (release year).ext

Using the default MCEBuddy naming scheme (ShowName\\ShowName-SXXEYY-EpisodeName-RecordDate), some of the files are getting recognized and others are not (movies don't show up in Plex and TV shows show up looking like they are individual movies). I am sure this is because I'm using the wrong naming convention and that Plex is pointing at my single MCEBuddy converted folder.  I think I need to have MCEBuddy rename my tv shows and movies using two different naming conventions, have it move those files to my separate TV and Movie folders that Plex points at, and add the folders to plex's watch folders for the two categories.  It is not clear how to do this however.

1) What naming convention should I use in MCEBuddy so it is recognized properly by Plex?

2) Do I need to run separate conversion tasks for tv shows and movies?

3) If so how do I get MCEBuddy to distinguish between the two types? 

4) To paraphrase some comments earlier in the thread someone said "Plex can read and play .wtv files fine, just can't tag them correctly.  You don't need to transcode them or even change the container, just get MCEBuddy to smartly rename the files." How do I get MCEBuddy to smartly rename the files without transcoding?

Thanks in advance for your help!

9

Hey guys,

It's a wonder Plex isn't a global sensation like it is for all of us! It is quite the remarkable piece of software. Now I'm dabbling in adding a recorded tv library to my server - can it get any better!?

Anyway, how are you guys getting MCE Buddy to name the files in a way that plex tags them correctly? I understand the naming conventions, but how do you tell MCE Buddy to do it?

Thanks.

10

REF: "Anyway, how are you guys getting MCE Buddy to name the files in a way that plex tags them correctly? I understand the naming conventions, but how do you tell MCE Buddy to do it?"

In the "Conversion Task" settings for 'Convert to MP4', in the advanced area, select "Rename and sort by video information" and "Download series info".  This is what did it for me and works great!

11

Hi,

I am trying to set up a similar system using Windows Media Center (Win7 x64), Plex (2.2.0), and MCEBuddy (2.3 release 15).  I have my movies and tv shows in two separate folders (not sure if this is required, but Plex didn't seem to work correctly if they were all in one folder, even if they had the right naming convention).

I'm recording movies and tv shows with Media Center.  Plex uses a different naming convention for these two types:

    TV show: TV Shows/Show_Name/Season XX/ShowName - sXXeYY - Optional_Info.ext

    Movie: Movie_Name (release year).ext

Using the default MCEBuddy naming scheme (ShowName\\ShowName-SXXEYY-EpisodeName-RecordDate), some of the files are getting recognized and others are not (movies don't show up in Plex and TV shows show up looking like they are individual movies). I am sure this is because I'm using the wrong naming convention and that Plex is pointing at my single MCEBuddy converted folder.  I think I need to have MCEBuddy rename my tv shows and movies using two different naming conventions, have it move those files to my separate TV and Movie folders that Plex points at, and add the folders to plex's watch folders for the two categories.  It is not clear how to do this however.

1) What naming convention should I use in MCEBuddy so it is recognized properly by Plex?

2) Do I need to run separate conversion tasks for tv shows and movies?

3) If so how do I get MCEBuddy to distinguish between the two types? 

4) To paraphrase some comments earlier in the thread someone said "Plex can read and play .wtv files fine, just can't tag them correctly.  You don't need to transcode them or even change the container, just get MCEBuddy to smartly rename the files." How do I get MCEBuddy to smartly rename the files without transcoding?

Thanks in advance for your help!

1. Under the conversion task advanced settings where it says renaming options, check the option for XBMC compatible naming, this should make it work with Plex.

2. Not unless you want them converted to different files, you if you just need them renamed, use the custom renaming option to create separate folders for TV shows and movies

3. Use the custom rename feature (%ifmovie% if I remember correctly) or setup 2 conversion tasks and use the Show type filter to distiguish between them

4. Under the conversion task advanced settings, use the Rename only option (this will skip conversion)

12

I know Plex cannot play WMC's protected content, but will file conversion work for protected content? Can WMC still play the converted files?

13

I don't know, however everything WMC has recorded for me, and MCEBuddy and converted, I am able to play in Plex.  If I had recorded anything 'protected', I was not aware of it, and if so, MCEBuddy must have stripped the protection.

Maybe someone else whom has experienced this more will provide their report.

14

I know Plex cannot play WMC's protected content, but will file conversion work for protected content? Can WMC still play the converted files?

I too have a very similar set up... I'm using Plex for remote viewing and MB3 for viewing my files within WMC. I use trakt to keep them in sync.

The answer to your question is no: MCEBuddy cannot work that magic. The dev gave it a try a few years back and could not get it to work. I'm considering a screen capture process (that activates when I turn my TV off) to try to break the protection... If I get it working I will share the process here.

15

I have a similar setup, but instead using Media Portal (as opposed to media center). Running Win8 Enterprise. Been using this setup for about a month. Finally got comfortable enough to give my Verizon FIOS DVR back and save $20/month. Currently only recording Clear QAM programming since my family records 90% of shows which are on the major networks (I live too far aware for OTA signal). 

The one issue I'm dealing with is getting MCE Buddy (2.3.15) to provide SXXEXX info so plex picks up the show properly. I'm using custom naming option in MCEBUDDY. I will check for the ""Download series info" option. That may be the key I've been missing.

Definitely going to follow this thread. Nice to see others who are pursuing this solution.

16

I'm also using MCE + MCEBuddy = Plex

Since I'm recording UK TV , Season and Episode information is very unreliable. TO make the process as reliable as possible, I've switched to date based naming convention in MCEBuddy.

My process is invisible to family and recordings are in Plex in matter of minutes after recording ends.

1, Record in MCE. 

2, MCEBuddy scans Recording's folder every minute.

3, I'm using wtv REmux to mp4 profile. No transcoding.

4 Using naming as follows  Title/Year/Title - yearMontDayHourMinutSecond.mp4

5, I use atomic parsley in MCEBuddy to tag the file with MCE metadata ( see advanced MCEBuddy help page for variables)

5a, I use MCEBuddy to gather metadata if possible ( such as poster, fan art etc )

6 Use ffmpeg to grab a frame in the middle of the video (50% length) and name it as poster.jpg. If there is a poster.jpg created by MCEBuddy, this one is renamed to poster-1.jpg

7, Move everything to Plex monitored directory.

In Plex I've set up TV Shows section with built-in local agent that read mp4 tags.

While I'm grateful for all Plex devs have done, I find it strange that we have to resort to these hacks to get Live TV Recordings show up properly in Plex.

It's not like Live TV is some sort of underground hipster thing to do. 

  ![post-1719-0-87858300-1413816803.png|690x456](upload://4p67m2yHzH1y6PZUAnu4UDRxWLl.png)

17

I am trying to get a similar setup going. The problem I am running into is that I have all of my TV Shows in the file structure that Plex recommends: TV Series/Seinfeld/Season 2/File name.ts but MCEBuddy will not move my renamed files to an existing TV Show folder. It either wants to make it's own folder or just put the file outside of all of my TV Show folders. 

Is there a way to get MCEBuddy to place a file into an existing folder correctly? 

Thanks.

-Jason

18

When converted and commercials cut out does WMC still play everything normally and keep the metadata in line with the guide?  This could prove to have huge hdd savings as I have a 3tb drive in there now but this could double or triple it depending on how much space/time it saves when converting.  Not sure if its worthwhile as I have 8 tuners going and it would be writing to the drive 24/7..

19

When converted and commercials cut out does WMC still play everything normally and keep the metadata in line with the guide?  This could prove to have huge hdd savings as I have a 3tb drive in there now but this could double or triple it depending on how much space/time it saves when converting.  Not sure if its worthwhile as I have 8 tuners going and it would be writing to the drive 24/7..

Once the .wtv files are converted to .mp4, I don't use WMC to watch the shows - I use Plex to watch them.  The only way I was able to get WMC to play the resulting .mp4s was to move them in to the Movies area, which didn't make sense to me.  With that said, I use the MCE Buddy app (I'm using 2.4 beta 1) to not only cut out the commercials, but also to retranscode the files to a more compact .mp4, which yields a 65-75% size reduction, which maximizes the real estate of my storage drive.  (I have 7 tuners as well - 1 Prime and 2 Pluses).  As far as the metadata is concerned, MCE Buddy pulls the metadata and embeds that in the .mp4 (right click on the file, choose 'Properties', go to the Details tab).

I am trying to get a similar setup going. The problem I am running into is that I have all of my TV Shows in the file structure that Plex recommends: TV Series/Seinfeld/Season 2/File name.ts but MCEBuddy will not move my renamed files to an existing TV Show folder. It either wants to make it's own folder or just put the file outside of all of my TV Show folders. 

Is there a way to get MCEBuddy to place a file into an existing folder correctly? 

Thanks.

-Jason

"Settings" -> in the Conversion Task box, select the task you want to modify and click "Change" -> in that task, set your "Destination" drive and folder, then click on "OK", then "OK" one more time.  This is what I did, and it files everything how I want it.  Be sure in the Conversion Task area (the same area where you updated your destination folder), click on the down arrow for the Advanced Settings, and make sure you have a check mark in the "Rename and sort by video information".  You can also put a check mark in the "Organize by seasons" area, and MCE Buddy will create Season sub-folders (I don't do this, as the renamed video file also contains the season and episode detail I need).

The other option is to create a new TV library in Plex, and point that new library to where MCE Buddy is storing the newly converted files.

I hope that helps.

20

I appreciate all these suggestions.  I have just been using comskip and pointing at the directory because I like how WMC will delete old files to make room for new recordings, but i just used "home movies" instead of TV Shows as the media type.  how do you all manage this after renaming and tagging the files?