4 ms·

Ha, neat. I just got Plex DVR running a couple days ago. I have both an OTA tuner and a CableCARD tuner. I don't really watch TV, but Comcast did the thing whe

Ha, neat. I just got Plex DVR running a couple days ago. I have both an OTA tuner and a CableCARD tuner. I don't really watch TV, but Comcast did the thing where it's cheaper to buy TV than to not, and I figured I'd rather have a CableCARD in a HDHomeRun box somewhere on my network instead of a set-top box in my living room. Plex found my 120-odd cable channels, found all my broadcast channels, and it assembled a cohesive program guide with everything that I could conceivably watch with cover art and program descriptions and everything. I didn't have to register with any other services, or screw around with anything outside Plex itself. It just works™; took maybe 15 minutes to go from "Plex" to "Plex is recording stuff". My favorite feature is something I hooked up yesterday -- automated commercial removal via a postprocessing script that invokes https://github.com/erikkaashoek/Comskip https://github.com/erikkaashoek/Comskip. Net is that anyone in my household can say "I want to watch this show", Plex will record it, strip ads, and make it available on any device, and it wasn't even a pain to set up. I'm quite happy.

ascagnel_ 9y ago
I have a similar setup, with the exception that I haven't been able to get Comskip to run in a headless way. It's been great.
xxej 9y ago
while I don't have a cable subscription, I do like your set-up. got any more info on what you are using and how you set it up? thanks in advance for any info!
- devin_lane 9y ago
  Indeed, a blog post on your setup would be much appreciated!
- dusing 9y ago
  I have the same setup. It's as easy to get going as others have said. For the comskip portion if you are on Windows most use MCEBuddy, this video explains it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t03CnX3H7AA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t03CnX3H7AA My plex server is Mac, so I used this guide: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1273228#Comment_1273228 https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1273228#Comment_12...
bonzini 9y ago
How does Plex compare with Kodi?
- xmichelo 9y ago
  Kodi is a media player/ media library manager . Plex is a set of applications (including a server application and player software for a vast number of platforms), that lets you build your 'own Netflix'. https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200288286-What-is-Plex- https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200288286-What-is-...
- willglynn 9y ago
  My best advice: try it and see. Speaking for myself: I switched from Kodi to Plex after finding that Plex requires considerably less effort to achieve greater functionality, and the differences are things that I actually like. Your mileage may vary. As an example, let's say I want to start watching something on a tablet and finish watching it on a TV. This is something that Kodi and Plex can both do, but let's consider the details. Kodi needs a file server and a MySQL server, while Plex needs a Plex Media Server. Thus, Kodi talks SMB/NFS + MySQL, while Plex talks HTTPS. If you want to access your stuff remotely, Kodi needs a VPN and suffers from latency, while Plex works fine with port forwarding. Kodi needs you to configure sharing and database access on each install, usually by editing config files. Plex needs you to log in with your Plex account and point it to the Plex server(s) you want. Kodi needs you to jailbreak, sideload, compile it yourself, or otherwise jump through hoops if you want to watch on iOS. Plex is a download from the Apple app store. Kodi streams files to the device and plays them there. Plex does this by default, but Plex Media Server can _also_ transcode media in realtime as needed. This means Plex can stream a 20 mbps source file over the Internet to a 1 mbps cellular connection. Plex can also transparently paper over device limitations, using the server to transcode weird video codecs into something that your device can actually play instead of just failing. Plex Pass (the for-pay thing) can also take all this a few steps further with Mobile Sync. The server transcodes e.g. a season of a TV show into a mobile-friendly format/resolution/bitrate and copies it to a mobile device. Now you can watch that stuff entirely offline, in addition to streaming whatever you want over the Internet and streaming over your LAN, while still never losing your spot in a series. Kodi… doesn't. (My current experience with Plex DVR vs my past experience with MythTV suggests I could write something similar for the DVR functions too.)

ascagnel_ 9y ago

I have a similar setup, with the exception that I haven't been able to get Comskip to run in a headless way. It's been great.

xxej 9y ago

while I don't have a cable subscription, I do like your set-up. got any more info on what you are using and how you set it up? thanks in advance for any info!

devin_lane 9y ago
Indeed, a blog post on your setup would be much appreciated!
dusing 9y ago
I have the same setup. It's as easy to get going as others have said. For the comskip portion if you are on Windows most use MCEBuddy, this video explains it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t03CnX3H7AA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t03CnX3H7AA My plex server is Mac, so I used this guide: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1273228#Comment_1273228 https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1273228#Comment_12...

bonzini 9y ago

How does Plex compare with Kodi?

xmichelo 9y ago
Kodi is a media player/ media library manager . Plex is a set of applications (including a server application and player software for a vast number of platforms), that lets you build your 'own Netflix'. https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200288286-What-is-Plex- https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200288286-What-is-...
willglynn 9y ago
My best advice: try it and see. Speaking for myself: I switched from Kodi to Plex after finding that Plex requires considerably less effort to achieve greater functionality, and the differences are things that I actually like. Your mileage may vary. As an example, let's say I want to start watching something on a tablet and finish watching it on a TV. This is something that Kodi and Plex can both do, but let's consider the details. Kodi needs a file server and a MySQL server, while Plex needs a Plex Media Server. Thus, Kodi talks SMB/NFS + MySQL, while Plex talks HTTPS. If you want to access your stuff remotely, Kodi needs a VPN and suffers from latency, while Plex works fine with port forwarding. Kodi needs you to configure sharing and database access on each install, usually by editing config files. Plex needs you to log in with your Plex account and point it to the Plex server(s) you want. Kodi needs you to jailbreak, sideload, compile it yourself, or otherwise jump through hoops if you want to watch on iOS. Plex is a download from the Apple app store. Kodi streams files to the device and plays them there. Plex does this by default, but Plex Media Server can _also_ transcode media in realtime as needed. This means Plex can stream a 20 mbps source file over the Internet to a 1 mbps cellular connection. Plex can also transparently paper over device limitations, using the server to transcode weird video codecs into something that your device can actually play instead of just failing. Plex Pass (the for-pay thing) can also take all this a few steps further with Mobile Sync. The server transcodes e.g. a season of a TV show into a mobile-friendly format/resolution/bitrate and copies it to a mobile device. Now you can watch that stuff entirely offline, in addition to streaming whatever you want over the Internet and streaming over your LAN, while still never losing your spot in a series. Kodi… doesn't. (My current experience with Plex DVR vs my past experience with MythTV suggests I could write something similar for the DVR functions too.)