HDHomerun, Plex Live TV.. it works... sort of

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Apotheosis

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#223211 19-Sep-2017 14:26

Hi Everyone,

Having read the many threads about using Plex Live TV they all seem to be a few months old, so I thought I'd do a thread sharing my experiences over the last week.

My situation:

I live in Rural Foxton so i'm not blessed with a decent internet connection, i've managed to acquire 5Mb/s via a rural wireless provider, it does quite well as it has low contention but it's not really enough to use streaming services in anger, plus it tends to load up at peak times as all the pesky kids get home from school and play Call of Duty.. I've been looking for a way to ditch my Sky subscription as I don't have a sports subscription and am basically using it to deliver HD freeview, so the cost seemed excessive. Streaming tvnz wasn't too bad but I can't find a wife friendly way of deploying it on my HTPC using a remote control.

The plan:

I have a plex media server at the back end and an HTPC for the front end so when Plex announced it could do live TV I took it as a sign to start investigating how to deliver OTA HD content via the Plex front end. So last week I acquired an HDHomerrun box, I already had an ariel installed by the previous owner so I hooked things up and after a bit of trouble shooting I was able to the HDHomerun app to show a decent quality feed. Configuration in Plex was reasonably simple and I was able to show live TV and record via the Web app. And here's where things slipped up a bit, Plex have yet to release a live TV add on for their Windows 10 Media Player software (I didn't read the small print so after doing the man thing and swearing at the computer for an hour I finally went back to the website and found that out). So my current work around is to have the HDHomerun software for viewing live TV and Plex for the recorded stuff (with an AHK script configured so i can flick between the two using the remote), i'm hoping Plex will release an updated Media Player that includes live tv so I can ditch the HDhomerun app.

Observations:

Setting things up is reasonably simple

The EPG setup for Plex is different, there appears to be no channel view which is a pain, the EPG only seems to be two days ahead also so you can't search for programs airing further in advance

I like the auto delete feature where it deletes the program after you have watched it (saves me having to delete 2000 episodes of Home and Away that the wife watches... honestly it's the wife that watches it)

I'm not a big fan of having to use a different app to view live tv, but the Plex web view doesn't seem to be remote friendly, it also means I have to teach the wife how to use the plex app on her phone so she can set programs to record (in reality she will just ask me to do it...). I looked at using the Plex Android phone app to deliver live tv, but it doesn't support streaming to chromecast yet so that was non starter.

Is it friendly enough for me to ditch the archiac and expensive (but user friendly) Sky box? Well it's early days so I will keep this thread updated on Wife UAT...

Thanks

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#1868669 19-Sep-2017 15:27

I think you & I should start a support group. I went through exactly the same joys & frustrations as you.

Plex looked good enough for me, so I bought the subscription.
- I get 7 days of EPG
- Ugh, no channel info when viewing EPG
- Nice to have the 'what's coming up' view for TV programmes, but too cluttered (& again no channel info)
- I made sure my HDHomeRun was configured correctly before hand. Plex had no problems detecting the device on the network and adding it to Plex.
- I've recorded several show so far. I've had two that got stuck about 3/4 of the way through and had to close the app
- It's nice that you can limit the recording of a TV show to a specific channel
- You can see recorded shows & play them directly from the 'recoding schedule' view (on the web)
- No live TV options on the Windows Store app yet.
- Recorded live TV does show up under the TV programmes section on the Windows app (which also means the wife can FFWD through the adds)
- Recorded live TV does show up under the TV programmes section and there is no distinction between recordings & downloaded content
- If you have any playback issues with live TV inside of Plex, first investigate your HDHR device.
- Plex is a pain to use with only a keyboard. Kodi with arrow keys & Enter definitely has a higher WAF (wife acceptance factor).
  - I have not managed to get the remote for my Veon TV to control any other device yet.
I run my Plex server on a QNAP NAS box.
- No issues recording two shows at the same time.
- Will have to see if the Celeron CPUs are good enough to host the Plex server, watch live TV through Plex and access the file share simultaneously.
HDHR works for the most part
- Initial steps on their website don't mention to scan for channels.
- Device seems sensitive to interference.
  - My TV showed crystal clear picture quality with the TV aerial cable mixed between the ethernet LAN cable & power strip.
  - For the HDHR I have to keep the aerial cable away from all other cable due to interference / stuttering / no sound
  - Silicondust forums are full of people complaining about Wi-Fi performance issues. I suffer from these as well.
  - I don't knwo yet if this is due to my Powerline devices or the Ubiquiti Wi-Fi APs. Very much doubt its the latter.
- No point in buying the DVR subscription because I'm doing the recording in Plex. If the Windows app doesn't have live TV by next year, I might consider swapping the subscription. Will see.
My wife is asking why am I changing the simple & instantaneous act of swapping channels with this solution?
- Swapping channels in Plex & HDHR is fast enough from the point of pressing OK/Enter. It's the extra clicks & button presses to bring up the interface that are now required that are annoying.
- Hopefully soon, it will be one interface with one remote.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

gbwelly

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#1868753 19-Sep-2017 16:49

IcI:

I think you & I should start a support group. I went through exactly the same joys & frustrations as you.

Where do I sign up?

IcI:

Hopefully soon, it will be one interface with one remote.

It's just getting worse, the heyday was probably when WMC had a working Netflix app + Plex Home Theatre.

Apparently I'm a dinosaur for wanting a one stop shop for my media with a remote to control it.

ANglEAUT

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#1868876 19-Sep-2017 21:54

IcI:

Recorded live TV does show up under the TV programmes section and there is no distinction between recordings & downloaded content

I realised now that this is because I chose to save it into the 'TV programmes' library. I'll create a new library for 'recorded NZ TV' and keep my alternatively sourced content seperately.
Trak.TV integration only seems to record the shows watched against the initial / main account. Maybe I need Trak.TV profiles. Will need to investigate.
Is it just me, or is there a lot of clicking / pressing OK to watch an item? I can't seem to play a TV episode straight from the season folder? I have to select the episode first to get the details of the episode displayed on only then can I press the play button for the episode. I also specifically have to click the 'Play' button, I can't just double click on the video picture to start playing. Will need to investigate if this is a Windows app issue or if this happens on the web / iOS / Android apps as well.

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Apotheosis

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#1868989 20-Sep-2017 08:35

I have a Harmony 1 remote and a Flirc USB IR receiver, with those two pieces of kit and AHK I can control pretty much any action via remote as long as the app has keyboard controls, i'm pretty sure with the Flirc you can use any remote? Interesting about the EPG. I did a search for Police Ten 7 which is airs on a Thursday and I get no results in Plex? Are you able to do the same and see if you get a hit?

Plex can be a pain to navigate if the tv programme you want is not "on deck". From that perspective Emby is a better setup, but I find Plex more reliable (and that's coming from a long time Emby fan that recently switched to Plex)

Let's use this thread to share our experiences, tips etc, and hopefully it can be used as a KB for anyone else trying to go down this route.

ANglEAUT

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#1869135 20-Sep-2017 11:33

Apotheosis: ... Interesting about the EPG. I did a search for Police Ten 7 which is airs on a Thursday and I get no results in Plex? Are you able to do the same and see if you get a hit? ...

According to the schedule, Police Ten 7 will we showing tomorrow, Thu, 21st Sep.

A search for "police ten 7" did not return any results.

Interestingly, when I change my filter to all shows limited to channel "TV2", I can see Shortland Street scheduled at 19:00, but I can't see Police Ten 7 or Surveilance Oz. ButThen again, I can see First Dates Australia and Love Island scheduled afterwards. Weird

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rb99

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#1869255 20-Sep-2017 12:11

I feel it would be remiss of me to pass up a trolling opportunity to point out that Police 10 7 shows up fine in Emby. However, in an attempt to be more constructive, and seeing as you have a HDHomeRun, am wondering if there's some kind of HDHR app that would show the guide, so you would at least know if Police 10 7 is being picked up by that ?

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rb99

Apotheosis

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#1869513 20-Sep-2017 15:40

IcI:

Apotheosis: ... Interesting about the EPG. I did a search for Police Ten 7 which is airs on a Thursday and I get no results in Plex? Are you able to do the same and see if you get a hit? ...

According to the schedule, Police Ten 7 will we showing tomorrow, Thu, 21st Sep.

A search for "police ten 7" did not return any results.

Interestingly, when I change my filter to all shows limited to channel "TV2", I can see Shortland Street scheduled at 19:00, but I can't see Police Ten 7 or Surveilance Oz. ButThen again, I can see First Dates Australia and Love Island scheduled afterwards. Weird

How bizarre.... I also did a search for Highway Cops which airs on Monday.. again no results in Plex. There appears to be a police programme conspiracy in Plex!!!

Oh and @RB99.... Damn you and your perfect Emby... :) Good suggestion on HDHR so will take a look.

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muttz

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#1870549 21-Sep-2017 22:55

Hey guys, im looking at getting one of these devices, whats your thought's? still worth getting even with the minor searching errors? I think this will be the easier option for me as im struggling to find a DVB-S dual tuner for my computer.

sonyxperiageek

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#1870552 21-Sep-2017 23:05

I had a play with pretty much the same setup as the OP with Plex TV server running on my Synology NAS. However it was a bit clunky back then when it first came out and I stopped using it for a bit. May start trailing it again and see if it's improved.

Sony

Apotheosis

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#1870655 22-Sep-2017 08:23

well I have admitted sort of defeat for now. In order to get the WAF level up I have bought a DVR subscription with HDhomerun, the EPG in homerun has a better look and feel (and most importantly I can record Police Ten 7..). So I'm using HDHomerun for OTA and Plex for my other stuff. I could push the HDHomerun recordings into Plex but TBH I don't see the point as I won't be keeping the OTA recordings.

Testing continues.. I will be pushing for WAF UAT (Wife Acceptance Factor User Acceptance Testing)late next week....

The costs are mounting $249 for the HD Homerun, $40 for the Plex Pass (which I already had anyway) and now $40 for the HDHomerun DVR subscription but if I pull this off and can kill Sky I'll make my money back in 4 months.

muttz

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#1870957 22-Sep-2017 14:03

looking forward to the update on your testing, im looking at a DVB-t PCIe card for roughly $200, havent used plex more of a kodi user, my aim is to avoid subs but still tick the boxes with recording and EPG's. looks like ill be installing a UHF antenna. i used a sat finder device to line up a dish but haven't tried UHF before. im hoping its point and shoot, im in palmy which pretty much has LOS to the tower.

Apotheosis

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#1871062 22-Sep-2017 15:25

will keep you posted, DVB-S is not HD otherwise I would have gone down that route myself :(. I'm in Foxton so happy to give you a rundown of my setup over a beer :). You could probably achieve the same result with Next PVR and normal Plex/Kodi, it depends if you have a technically challenged/uninterested wife :)

ANglEAUT

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#1872168 24-Sep-2017 20:10

Apotheosis: ... The costs are mounting ... but if I pull this off and can kill Sky I'll make my money back in 4 months.

That's great to hear. Good luck

I'm still struggling with HDHR via Wi-Fi. And that's after I connected the AP to the same switch as the HDHR & Plex server. Live TV from the HDHR via Plex over Wi-Fi does work though.

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Apotheosis

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#1872277 25-Sep-2017 08:49

IcI:

That's great to hear. Good luck

I'm still struggling with HDHR via Wi-Fi. And that's after I connected the AP to the same switch as the HDHR & Plex server. Live TV from the HDHR via Plex over Wi-Fi does work though.

I've never had much luck moving HD streams over Wifi tbh. I know it's possible but you need a decent connection, Are you getting quality issues or is it just not working?

ANglEAUT

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#1873311 26-Sep-2017 19:34

Apotheosis:

IcI:

That's great to hear. Good luck

I'm still struggling with HDHR via Wi-Fi. And that's after I connected the AP to the same switch as the HDHR & Plex server. Live TV from the HDHR via Plex over Wi-Fi does work though.

I've never had much luck moving HD streams over Wifi tbh. I know it's possible but you need a decent connection, Are you getting quality issues or is it just not working?

I've got it to the point where I get audio from the HDHR with a black screen. No wife at home tonight, so ideal for more testing.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

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