Media Portal Replacement ?

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1101

3086 posts

Uber Geek

#236164 21-May-2018 11:46

Hi . I have 2 XP machines , both running MediaPortal v1

Its time to think about replacement media software for when these old PC's die

The only thing I really need is the built in database that MP 1 has: that shows whats been watched & what hasnt & will resume
playing from where I got up to in vid files last I was watching that file
eg for long documentry vid , if I stop partt way in, next time MP will remember where Im up to.

Any suggestions ?
Perhaps MP v2 ? Anyone here using v2 ?

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812 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2019704 21-May-2018 11:51

Plex installed on anything runs it. Was slow to join the Plex club but now in love. No matter where I am there is my media. Only issue would be if you have usually named things. Have a look at a trial using your pc as a sever and see what you think. Then buy any nas runs it eg Qnap and Synology or install on new pc.

MightyApe

You will find anything you want at MightyApe (affiliate link).

Sounddude

I fix stuff!
1903 posts

Uber Geek

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2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#2019707 21-May-2018 11:58

<3 Plex!

dt

1152 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2019722 21-May-2018 12:25

+1 for plex

nzkc

1274 posts

Uber Geek

#2019731 21-May-2018 12:41

I too made the move from MediaPortal to Plex (a long time ago now!). Today I would also consider Emby.

timbosan

2028 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2019737 21-May-2018 12:45

I tried Emby a while back and was very unimpressed. I eventually moved from my Windows 10 HTPC to a Raspberry Pi running OSMC (Kodi). I stream live TV on it, watch all my downloads, and it never misses a beat.

I have never seen the advantages of Plex as it transcodes everything. Kodi just plays it natively.

xcon

146 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#2019744 21-May-2018 12:54

timbosan:

I tried Emby a while back and was very unimpressed. I eventually moved from my Windows 10 HTPC to a Raspberry Pi running OSMC (Kodi). I stream live TV on it, watch all my downloads, and it never misses a beat.

I have never seen the advantages of Plex as it transcodes everything. Kodi just plays it natively.

+1 for the Raspberry Pi running OSMC (Kodi). I stream live TV on it, watch all my downloads (great synopsis info on content and artwork, etc)

Have a couple Raspberry Pi's running OSMC (Kodi) running in the house each paired with the old windows media centre remotes and IR receivers

gbwelly

1206 posts

Uber Geek

#2019839 21-May-2018 14:48

timbosan:

I have never seen the advantages of Plex as it transcodes everything.

This is not true, Plex will transcode in the following situations:

1. The network speed is too low for the original to be direct played

2. The client device reports to Plex that is is unable to decode a particular video or audio stream.

3. You are adding subtitles, Plex encodes them into the video.

Fair cop on number 3, I'd like to see this changed, but the other two reasons seem pretty legit.

askelon

797 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2019863 21-May-2018 15:04

Last time I checked out v2 (beginning of the year) it was still pretty sparse and had issue after issue with my config. Ended up going back to MP1.x. Use trakt if you want to sync your existing MP with something else - I have MP on my computer in the lounge and Kodi variants on everything else. If people werent using live TV (as in DVB-T, not streaming) in the lounge Id ditch MP from there now. But I havent found anything thats as good on the live TV front - Kodi / Nextpvr was promising but just too unstable together for my liking.

gcorgnet

1056 posts

Uber Geek

#2019900 21-May-2018 15:34

I am an Emby fan myself. They have apps for most platforms, offer a great UI and dropping a file in a folder gets it available pretty much instantly.

Great WAF!

Runs well on my Synology NAS. No drama, really.

PANiCnz

936 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2021552 24-May-2018 07:57

Kodi and tvheadend if you need live tv. Been running this combo on an entry level NUC for years and it’s bulletproof.

dklong

164 posts

Master Geek

#2021590 24-May-2018 09:10

I go through this loop every few years and, much like askelon's comments above, I keep coming back to MP1.x. If I didn't still record/watch some Freeview TV and it was just about watching downloads / streams then there would probably be more options but MP TV Server just works so well compared to anything else I have tried.

I also tried MP2 for a while earlier this year but found it still a bit glitchy and I actually preferred the simplicity of MP1 in some areas. I also tend to just Alt-Tab across to a browser to use Netflix etc so the lack of integration there isn't a major, although I can see that this is becoming more important for WAF as time goes on. I will be interested to see what you end up with. Media Portal has done such a good job for so long but I suspect it's strength in TV recording is becoming less and less relevant for many people.

Cheers

rb99

3024 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2021598 24-May-2018 09:27

If you want / need to switch I'd go for Emby on a PC (or NAS). Can also send to various devices in the house (and outside).

Can do live tv if you like. In that respect its better with dvb-t I think as you can use a HDHomerun. I have dvb-s and it generally works but tv channel startup and switching is slow. Actually have been using it with NextPVR providing the tv signal but am trying out MediaPortal TVServer as its the quickest as far as I can see for dvb-s (for free anyway).

Emby will talk to Kodi fine if so desired (Kodi syncs with the Emby database).

Think Emby likes more organised media than Plex i.e. each movie or whatever in its own folder instead of all flung in one.

If you try Emby its probably best to try it with a $5 monthly subscription as you get all the bells and whistles and if you don't like it its only $5 lost.

I dare say Emby isn't perfect but I would assume Pex (or indeed anything else) isn't either.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

PANiCnz

936 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2021622 24-May-2018 09:47

Is there an all in one OS for Emby like LibreELEC for Kodi?

rb99

3024 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2021659 24-May-2018 10:17

PANiCnz: Is there an all in one OS for Emby like LibreELEC for Kodi?

Thats a bit of an advanced question for me, but I don't think there's an all in one OS/Emby product. Like I say you can get Kodi to sync to the Emby server database if you want (am trying that on a Fire TV at the mo and it works), and I've seen threads about people putting the server on a Raspberry Pi which seems to work, though I guess it wouldn't be much good with transcoding.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

Gilco2

1556 posts

Uber Geek

#2021677 24-May-2018 10:47

I looked at various options including linux but settled on Windows 10 with NPVR and Kodi. Tried Plex and love it but the TV side isnt there yet. Even searching their guide there are programs missing so I cant watch or record them. With NPVR and Kodi, I can add the npvr plug in and do everything from there. It remembers where I left off on watching long movies or documentaries etc. All my media is now on a nas and stream from there. Works perfect. There is a kodi launcher which I havent bothered with, that you can set so when you turn computer on it boots straight to Kodi and also from wake up.

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