# Soon Plex will have it all.



## dadrepus (Jan 4, 2012)

With Plex you can record live tv
Add your own video and music
Watch on many devices
and now they will be adding streaming services
Plex Is Making Itself Impossible to Ignore as a Go-To Streaming Service


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## TishTash (Jan 24, 2008)

No one will ever "have it all."


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## ufo4sale (Apr 21, 2001)

TishTash said:


> No one will ever "have it all."


VTTT?


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

I don't smell money/profit in where they are going, they are entering a crowded pool with some very big very hungry fish. The big get bigger the small become lunch.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

"deep-linking to content offered through other services". Part of the reason the replacement for CableCARD fell through is because many content providers didn't want to offer this. They want you to have to navigate their UI so they can upsell you or show you ads. TiVo tried to do this on their own with the OnePass and failed miserably. Some apps just play the show, some take you to a page where you can play a particular episode and other apps just took you to a page for the show itself and you had to find the season/episode yourself. Not to mention the data for what's available from these other services isn't always available, or up to date, and none of them that I know of have a way of reporting back via an API what you've actually watched. So something like this could never mark which episodes of a show you've already watched on Netflix. Then there's profiles. How do you sync profiles from multiple services and link them to a profile in your system? Without profiles a system like this is pretty useless as there could be a discrepancy between what individual family members want to watch.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Plex is pure garbage. Sorry, worst software Ive ever used.
Emby is not too far behind.


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## ufo4sale (Apr 21, 2001)

Dan203 said:


> "deep-linking to content offered through other services". Part of the reason the replacement for CableCARD fell through is because many content providers didn't want to offer this. They want you to have to navigate their UI so they can upsell you or show you ads. TiVo tried to do this on their own with the OnePass and failed miserably. Some apps just play the show, some take you to a page where you can play a particular episode and other apps just took you to a page for the show itself and you had to find the season/episode yourself. Not to mention the data for what's available from these other services isn't always available, or up to date, and none of them that I know of have a way of reporting back via an API what you've actually watched. So something like this could never mark which episodes of a show you've already watched on Netflix. Then there's profiles. How do you sync profiles from multiple services and link them to a profile in your system? Without profiles a system like this is pretty useless as there could be a discrepancy between what individual family members want to watch.


In an ideal world will this "cohesiveness" every truly exist?


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

ufo4sale said:


> In an ideal world will this "cohesiveness" every truly exist?


Does Plex pay people to post the same Plex propaganda all over the internets? It seems like some kind of cult or pyramid scheme


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## TishTash (Jan 24, 2008)

ufo4sale said:


> VTTT?


I'm not sure what that means.


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## ufo4sale (Apr 21, 2001)

TishTash said:


> I'm not sure what that means.


My company Visionary Tomorrow's Technology Today.


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex is pure garbage. Sorry, worst software Ive ever used.
> Emby is not too far behind.


Is there a better way to get your magical shows from your computer to your television?


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Kodi.

-KP


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Yep Kodi, no little fat slow spyware app running in the background to do it either, just directory shares and will do iso's too. I can throw just about any file at kodi and it will play it from a nas or windows share much like the old defunct WDTV's I used a long time ago, before that I used Boxee to do the same.

Wow, Windows 7 Media Center, 2 OTA tuners,a Qam tuner, 10' Hulu interface and Boxee.

Those were the days! Now days all you need is a firestick.


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## TishTash (Jan 24, 2008)

ufo4sale said:


> My company Visionary Tomorrow's Technology Today.


You kids "have it all"?


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## RightHere (Dec 17, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Does Plex pay people to post the same Plex propaganda all over the internets? It seems like some kind of cult or pyramid scheme


Many people have the same opinion of Tivo fans.


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

kpeters59 said:


> Kodi.
> 
> -KP


So if I put Kodi on my computer, how do I get it to stream to my Roku TV?


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## TishTash (Jan 24, 2008)

RightHere said:


> Many people have the same opinion of Tivo fans.


Yeah, but in the case of TiVo, its fans' love is justified.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

RightHere said:


> Many people have the same opinion of Tivo fans.


Nah, we dont go around like trying to convert the masses and never say anything bad about it.
You can read right here TiVo fans very critical of the state of things.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Narkul said:


> So if I put Kodi on my computer, how do I get it to stream to my Roku TV?


You dont, Kodi is a client and wont work on a Roku, thats one of the reasons Roku sucks, like Plex. Get a firestick and put Kodi on it, then set up a directory share (folder containing all your video files) on your windows pc. 
This is all you need and some knowledge.
You dont need a app running in the background on your pc to stream the videos.


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Narkul said:


> So if I put Kodi on my computer, how do I get it to stream to my Roku TV?


I'm watching a show right now on a Kodi Box I built from a $29 Raspberry PI.

It plugs in to your TV like any other streamer.

-KP


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

foghorn2 said:


> You dont, Kodi is a client and wont work on a Roku, thats one of the reasons Roku sucks, like Plex. Get a firestick and put Kodi on it, then set up a directory share (folder containing all your video files) on your windows pc.
> This is all you need and some knowledge.
> You dont need a app running in the background on your pc to stream the videos.


I see. Not for me though. I have no inputs open on my tv and I don't use the firestick I have because I'm not a fan of the remote, UI, or Amazon ads all over it. Plex is reliable, plays well with my vpn, plays everything I throw at it, and uses less than 20mb of ram on a computer that's too old to be useful for anything else. Maybe sometime down the road, but it doesn't fit into my setup atm.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

Kodi sucks when trying to keep track of 50TB plus of files and you want to view something from that collection at a 2nd home. Emby and Plex work great for that.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex is pure garbage.


No, it's not.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

osu1991 said:


> Kodi sucks when trying to keep track of 50TB plus of files and you want to view something from that collection at a 2nd home. Emby and Plex work great for that.


Yeah, but thats a niche market now, not relevant to TiVO anymore, or the general public.

Not to say you are, but I fathom lots of these files shared with Plex are pirated off usenet or torrent. Thats why Plex is now in bed with the industry and you have less privacy rights. I own all my stuff and if i had a second home, I'd have a mirror over there- 2 NAS's ( NASSES  ) @ each place self mirroring. No need to stream that stuff across the nation.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

Dan203 said:


> "Not to mention the data for what's available from these other services isn't always available, or up to date, and none of them that I know of have a way of reporting back via an API what you've actually watched. So something like this could never mark which episodes of a show you've already watched on Netflix.


Apple's API for their TV app on the Apple TV device does this. Sadly, Netflix is the one major service that chooses not to use that API but if you've opted in to linking Hulu, HBO Now, Disney+, Prime Video, etc. to the TV app and watch (or partially watch) something in any of those apps, it will be reflected in the TV app.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

NashGuy said:


> Apple's API for their TV app on the Apple TV device does this. Sadly, Netflix is the one major service that chooses not to use that API but if you've opted in to linking Hulu, HBO Now, Disney+, Prime Video, etc. to the TV app and watch (or partially watch) something in any of those apps, it will be reflected in the TV app.


Well Apple is the biggest company in the world, and TiVo is not, so not sure they have the same pull on these streaming services.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Yeah, TiVo was trying to become the Apple of the Tv world and failed miserably. They have no clout in anything. Plex is grasping for relevancy too now that most content is legally available online.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

Dan203 said:


> Well Apple is the biggest company in the world, and TiVo is not, so not sure they have the same pull on these streaming services.


Ha, true. I'm potentially interested in the TiVo Stream 4K but I wonder if it will rely on the same ol' metadata system as OnePass for tracking and deep-linking to content in the various streaming apps or if it will somehow work better (perhaps relying in part on Android TV/Google). My hunch is that it will just be OnePass.

It looks like they have Netflix, Prime Video, and Vudu on board. Not sure about Hulu or HBO Now/Go (or the forthcoming HBO Max). To really shine, it'll need those, plus Disney+, Apple TV+ (which doesn't even offer an Android TV app yet), Peacock, Showtime, CBS AA, Starz, and Epix.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Yeah I don't envy TiVos position. Technologically everything they wanted OnePass to be should be possible. The problem is getting the cooperation of dozens of companies all with their own interest to cooperate. Even Apple hasn't achieved that 100% and they've got a LOT more clout.

Maybe being an Android TV device means they'll be able to leverage some Google API that these companies will feel pressure to support, but Android TV isn't really a big player right now. Android on the smartphone is, but they're not quite the same thing and I'm not sure if Google will be able to spin the popularity of the phone OS into a successful TV streaming platform. We'll have to see. Amazon has taken the Android core and turned it into its own ecosystem with FireTV, but it's not Android TV so it's just yet another platform these services have to support and may not support this same theoretical API.


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## Charles R (Nov 9, 2000)

I have always preferred Kodi (over Plex) for a variety of reasons. However I do use Plex Media Server for one thing... serve local music to Amazon's Dots.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

foghorn2 said:


> Yeah, but thats a niche market now, not relevant to TiVO anymore, or the general public.
> 
> Not to say you are, but I fathom lots of these files shared with Plex are pirated off usenet or torrent. Thats why Plex is now in bed with the industry and you have less privacy rights. I own all my stuff and if i had a second home, I'd have a mirror over there- 2 NAS's ( NASSES  ) @ each place self mirroring. No need to stream that stuff across the nation.


Not everyone pirates, although I've never hid that I do get some Australian and UK programming via those means since none of the US companies seem to want to provide access to many of the niche shows from those countries. However, I'm sure I'm not alone in that I have several hundred CD's, dvd's and Blu-ray's that I'm not buying duplicates for a second home, nor do I want to leave extra drives and equipment at that home for that purpose, when I can easily stream it through Plex or Emby, when that need arises.

If I'm at the lake or in Las Vegas, I'm likely not spending a lot time watching my collection, so it's just more wasted money having special equipment there for that purpose. Hence internet, OTA and Fire stick with Prime work well and if Plex can integrate it all into a single app, then even better.

I don't have much faith in that happening and I do prefer Emby, but I'll give it a try if Plex does offer it. Unfortunately for Tivo, it could mean a further move away from their ecosystem.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> Yeah, TiVo was trying to become the Apple of the Tv world and failed miserably. They have no clout in anything. Plex is grasping for relevancy too now that most content is legally available online.


Yeah that's how I feel about Plex. No reason to store gobs of shows locally any more. UNless you are Captain Jack Sparrow.


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## dadrepus (Jan 4, 2012)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex is pure garbage. Sorry, worst software Ive ever used.
> Emby is not too far behind.


Didn't your mom teach you if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.


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## dgoner (Aug 24, 2003)

I have had a Plex Pass subscription for a couple of years now. I seldom use my Plex server even though I have it connected to an HDHomerun and it's a DVR. Plex promises a ton of features but a lot of them are half baked and implemented. My Tivo blows my Plex server away in reliability for the feature I value most... Recording my TV programs...


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## dadrepus (Jan 4, 2012)

I also still use Tivo to record some shows and it does do a great job. But i like to keep some shows and don't like to fill up Tivo HD so I use kmttg to transfer to my NAS after cutting commercials and putting it in the correct format for Plex to read. My wife and I rarely watch the recorded shows on Tivo especially since we have moved back to TE3 and no longer have auto skip ( which wasn't available on every show, anyway).
You know, to each his own. I really like the guide in TE3 but Plex has become an established player in my familiy's entertainment system. There might be other things out there that does much of the same thing and i am willing to listen to people expand on their virtues. But all these Negative Jerks should just stop. You really do show the community your true colors.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

dadrepus said:


> I also still use Tivo to record some shows and it does do a great job. But i like to keep some shows and don't like to fill up Tivo HD so I use kmttg to transfer to my NAS after cutting commercials and putting it in the correct format for Plex to read. My wife and I rarely watch the recorded shows on Tivo especially since we have moved back to TE3 and no longer have auto skip ( which wasn't available on every show, anyway).
> You know, to each his own. I really like the guide in TE3 but Plex has become an established player in my familiy's entertainment system. There might be other things out there that does much of the same thing and i am willing to listen to people expand on their virtues. But all these Negative Jerks should just stop. You really do show the community your true colors.


Seriously Plex is pure garbage. Im a positive guy. Im positive Plex sucks.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

dadrepus said:


> Didn't your mom teach you if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.





dadrepus said:


> ..But all these Negative Jerks should just stop. You really do show the community your true colors.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Seriously Plex is pure garbage. Im a positive guy. Im positive Plex sucks.


I'm positive you're 100% wrong.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Just started using PLEX with Roku about a month ago.
Running it on a raspberry pi4 (it can also run on a pi3).
Working great. I would have considered Kodi, but not having a Roku app is a dealbreaker for me. I don't want to Cast Kodi to Roku. (why don't they build a Roku app?)


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Tony_T said:


> I would have considered Kodi, but not having a Roku app is a dealbreaker for me. I don't want to Cast Kodi to Roku. (why don't they build a Roku app?)


Possibly for the same reason the Channels DVR app for Roku was dropped: only the newest models can do local decoding and deinterlacing. The developers may consider the new models to be still underpowered, or perhaps it's now primarily a business case. They have their hands full with their current apps, and I think they'd get a lot of bad reviews when people try to load their app onto older devices. Plex can transcode and deinterlace on the server, but the Channels devs don't want all that going on inside home networks.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

The Rokus are not under powered, and the KODI developers could limit the app to only new Roku models if that were a concern. If they ever come out with a roku app, I’ll take a look at KODI.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Tony_T said:


> Just started using PLEX with Roku about a month ago.
> Running it on a raspberry pi4 (it can also run on a pi3).
> Working great. I would have considered Kodi, but not having a Roku app is a dealbreaker for me. I don't want to Cast Kodi to Roku. (why don't they build a Roku app?)


Because Roku sucks too, a closed system you cant do anything with. Firestick blows it away.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

A closed system like iOS? 
I’m OK with that.


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## kcarl75 (Oct 23, 2002)

Are there any good cloud based media players that lets you save your video files to the cloud and play them via Chromecast\Roku etc?


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## OrangeCrush (Feb 18, 2016)

trip1eX said:


> Yeah that's how I feel about Plex. No reason to store gobs of shows locally any more. UNless you are Captain Jack Sparrow.


I bought a Plex pass ages ago and it's still useful enough to keep going. It's just a big, modern DVD changer for me at this point. I wish they'd stop adding new crap to it, but I haven't been inconvenienced enough to look for alternatives.



Tony_T said:


> Just started using PLEX with Roku about a month ago.
> Running it on a raspberry pi4 (it can also run on a pi3).
> Working great. I would have considered Kodi, but not having a Roku app is a dealbreaker for me. . . (why don't they build a Roku app?)





Tony_T said:


> The Rokus are not under powered, and the KODI developers could limit the app to only new Roku models if that were a concern.


Roku has strict limitations on what apps are allowed to do and large chunks of Kodi would have to be stripped out. Even then, it would probably still be a challenge to get their app approved for political reasons. Roku's been very squeamish about anything that could open up their devices to easier piracy, and Kodi has a bit of a reputation.

There are also tons of Roku apps that can play media from a local network drive. It's hard to see what Kodi could or would be allowed to add to what's already out there.


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## kflinch (May 19, 2004)

Does Comcast allow authentication of the PLEX HBO GO and Xfinity apps? Does Comcast allow authentication of those apps on the Fire Stick?


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## 241705 (Mar 9, 2010)

I run Plex on a small NAS (ReadyNAS 102) and use it on my Roamio and Bolt. It's slow, but does OK serving up music and seems to work with photos. However, I can't play videos and I think that it's a limitation of the NAS (I haven't tried it yet using a PC as the host). Is anyone using Plex to feed video to their TiVos using a NAS? If so, what NAS are you using and how's the performance? Thanks in advance.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

The video and audio has to be in a format that is compatible with the device it is being played on. If it isn't, then the server has to transcode and that is a processor intensive endeavor.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

blackngold75 said:


> I run Plex on a small NAS (ReadyNAS 102) and use it on my Roamio and Bolt. It's slow, but does OK serving up music and seems to work with photos. However, I can't play videos and I think that it's a limitation of the NAS (I haven't tried it yet using a PC as the host). Is anyone using Plex to feed video to their TiVos using a NAS? If so, what NAS are you using and how's the performance? Thanks in advance.


 I had plex server running on a lower powered PC of mine. It served 1080P video to bolt fine. Without subtitles or transcoding though since my PC was old. Romeo plex is limited to 720P though.
Soon I was going to set up my nvidia shield as a plex server and use my bolt as a plex client. I paid for plex lifetime subscription for a little under $100 but so far the only premium plex feature I use is adding trailers to my movies. Otherwise free plex works fine. I love my N vidia shield as a plex client/server for my 4k movies. I have x2 10 Tb hard drives plugged into the USB ports of my nvidia shield which serves the purpose of a nas also.


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## dadrepus (Jan 4, 2012)

blackngold75 said:


> I run Plex on a small NAS (ReadyNAS 102) and use it on my Roamio and Bolt. It's slow, but does OK serving up music and seems to work with photos. However, I can't play videos and I think that it's a limitation of the NAS (I haven't tried it yet using a PC as the host). Is anyone using Plex to feed video to their TiVos using a NAS? If so, what NAS are you using and how's the performance? Thanks in advance.


If one goes to the Plex forums you can look up which NAS's will run Plex the most effectively. There will be a link that is constantly updated with the newest info. I run a Qnap TSV-951X which has a celeron processor. So, no ARM. Arm will not effectively run 4k and multiple streams. I have 5 8tb drives running raid 5. No backup as of yet, expense! But everything is new. The TIVO app is end of life but still works. Plex, like so many others, has abandoned Tivo support. Maybe with the new stream Plex will be back but not for the old software. It is best to get a dedicated streamer to watch Plex.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

dadrepus said:


> If one goes to the Plex forums you can look up which NAS's will run Plex the most effectively. There will be a link that is constantly updated with the newest info. I run a Qnap TSV-951X which has a celeron processor. So, no ARM. Arm will not effectively run 4k and multiple streams. I have 5 8tb drives running raid 5. No backup as of yet, expense! But everything is new. The TIVO app is end of life but still works. Plex, like so many others, has abandoned Tivo support. Maybe with the new stream Plex will be back but not for the old software. It is best to get a dedicated streamer to watch Plex.


 It has been about 6 months I thought since I used plex on Tivo as a client setup to Pc plex server but it was working. How are you differentiating between the app still working but not supporting it end of life


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Because Roku sucks too, a closed system you cant do anything with. Firestick blows it away.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

^ Just give it time, Roku will literally be Hockey Pucks


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

And it's reflected in their stock price too.


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## 241705 (Mar 9, 2010)

leiff said:


> I had plex server running on a lower powered PC of mine. It served 1080P video to bolt fine. Without subtitles or transcoding though since my PC was old. Romeo plex is limited to 720P though.
> Soon I was going to set up my nvidia shield as a plex server and use my bolt as a plex client. I paid for plex lifetime subscription for a little under $100 but so far the only premium plex feature I use is adding trailers to my movies. Otherwise free plex works fine. I love my N vidia shield as a plex client/server for my 4k movies. I have x2 10 Tb hard drives plugged into the USB ports of my nvidia shield which serves the purpose of a nas also.





dadrepus said:


> If one goes to the Plex forums you can look up which NAS's will run Plex the most effectively. There will be a link that is constantly updated with the newest info. I run a Qnap TSV-951X which has a celeron processor. So, no ARM. Arm will not effectively run 4k and multiple streams. I have 5 8tb drives running raid 5. No backup as of yet, expense! But everything is new. The TIVO app is end of life but still works. Plex, like so many others, has abandoned Tivo support. Maybe with the new stream Plex will be back but not for the old software. It is best to get a dedicated streamer to watch Plex.


Thanks for the responses. I just set up a Plex server on an older PC I have as a quick test: much better performance compared to Plex server on my NAS. Works pretty well with my Bolt. Works even better with my Roku. Video works for both.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

My Extreme Plex Server: AMD FX6300 (6 cores @ 3.5GHz), 16GB RAM, 256MB SSD for boot and transcoding, 32TB RAID-5 array, on 1Gb/sec network.

Serves up 4K HDR streams to Plex app on Roku or Smart TV perfectly, every time.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

OrangeCrush said:


> Roku has strict limitations on what apps are allowed to do and large chunks of Kodi would have to be stripped out. Even then, it would probably still be a challenge to get their app approved for political reasons. Roku's been very squeamish about anything that could open up their devices to easier piracy, and Kodi has a bit of a reputation.
> 
> There are also tons of Roku apps that can play media from a local network drive. It's hard to see what Kodi could or would be allowed to add to what's already out there.


Exactly...it is precisely the features of Kodi that make it appealing to hackers that make it a no go on Roku. Roku's business model is based on having as many apps as possible. If Kodi ever appeared on Rokus every single app provider would rethink their support. Without those "features" Kodi on Roku would be pointless.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex is pure garbage. Sorry, worst software Ive ever used.
> Emby is not too far behind.


What planet are you living on? Plex is pretty impressive. I have it on my HTPC and that streams to my Roku, and it's a pretty awesome piece of software. It indexes and easily allows playback of my torrented TV shows with relative ease, and has an interface that's as good or better than every streaming service out there except for Netflix.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> Because Roku sucks too, a closed system you cant do anything with. Firestick blows it away.


This is another total head scratcher. Roku is the closest thing we have to an agnostic platform. Fire TV is owned by Amazon, and is a giant ad for Amazon content and services. I have no particular problem with the Fire TV hardware, as long as people realize that they're playing in Amazon's world. Android TV is a bit better, but still linked with Google, and Apple TV is definitely Apple's domain. They're all good streaming platforms, but if you want something that is close to an agnostic platform, Roku is by far the closest thing we've got.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> .... It indexes and easily allows playback of my torrented TV shows with relative ease, ...


Proves everything I just said and contradicts Collins claim why Kodi is not on the Roku and Plex is accepted.

Im not saying your torrented TV shows are pirated, they might be if they are not from OTA broadcasts.

How do movies show up digitally in Plex? Especially HD versions?


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> Proves everything I just said and contradicts Collins claim why Kodi is not on the Roku and Plex is accepted.
> 
> Im not saying your torrented TV shows are pirated, they might be if they are not from OTA broadcasts.


Kodi is notorious for pirated streaming services. Plex is bring your own video, so it's on the user at that point to determine if it's legal or not.



> How do movies show up digitally in Plex? Especially HD versions?


They show up just fine, and if you have multiple copies, it even offers you the choice of which one to use.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> Kodi is notorious for pirated streaming services. Plex is bring your own video, so it's on the user at that point to determine if it's legal or not.
> 
> They show up just fine, and if you have multiple copies, it even offers you the choice of which one to use.


But how did those HD versions of studio Movies get into your plex server?


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

foghorn2 said:


> But how did those HD versions of studio Movies get into your plex server?


I purchase a BluRay and then rip it and add it to my Plex server
...and now is where you're going to tell me that's illegal


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Tony_T said:


> I purchase a BluRay and then rip it and add it to my Plex server
> ...and now is where you're going to tell me that's illegal


Thats not for me to determine, but are all files on Plex servers ripped from Blu-Ray and those disks are in possession of the server owner and not somewhere else?

The hypocrisy of accusing Kodi of allowing pirates and stating Plex does not is in clear view here.

If plex really does not want pirated stuff streaming from their platform, they need to provide the studios with all your server data and let them determine whats legal 

They are already in bed with some of them anyway.


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## fyodor (Sep 19, 2006)

I think that his point is that the firetv sticks allow for alot of hacking and sideloading android apps and other kinds of flexibility. I think that some people really value those features. That being said, they're not important to most people and Roku IMNAAHO provides the best and most reliable streaming platform with the strongest set of prepared apps.



Bigg said:


> This is another total head scratcher. Roku is the closest thing we have to an agnostic platform. Fire TV is owned by Amazon, and is a giant ad for Amazon content and services. I have no particular problem with the Fire TV hardware, as long as people realize that they're playing in Amazon's world. Android TV is a bit better, but still linked with Google, and Apple TV is definitely Apple's domain. They're all good streaming platforms, but if you want something that is close to an agnostic platform, Roku is by far the closest thing we've got.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

foghorn2 said:


> Thats not for me to determine, but are all files on Plex servers ripped from Blu-Ray and those disks are in possession of the server owner and not somewhere else?


I'm the only one who has access to my Plex server. 
I use it for the convenience of not having to insert the Blu-ray into my DVD player.


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Im starting to wonder how many savvy TiVo users are using Plex to stream decoded and re-encoded TiVo files- movies recorded from cable and erroneously the copy flag was not set correctly.

Just wondering...


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> But how did those HD versions of studio Movies get into your plex server?


Torrents. Plex itself is legal, what I do with it... is what I do with it.



foghorn2 said:


> Im starting to wonder how many savvy TiVo users are using Plex to stream decoded and re-encoded TiVo files- movies recorded from cable and erroneously the copy flag was not set correctly.
> 
> Just wondering...


Huh? The copy flag is only supposed to be set on HBO and other premiums that require it by contract. Some providers do it wrong and flag all the cable channels.

Probably few, as the quality isn't that great coming off of cable.


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> Torrents. Plex itself is legal, what I do with it... is what I do with it.....


Right, and Kodi itself is legal, Collins assertion that Kodi is not allowed on the Roku because of pirates and plex is -is completely false.

Kodi is not on Roku, I believe its because its a closed system and they there's no development of it, and soon others wont develop on Rokus either, much like Tizen. Its all going to be andriod and ios as they are on cell phones too. There will no reason to develop for Rokus in the near future, the same fate of TiVo apps and older Samsung Tv's.

And yes, Plex, will soon have it all, all your data, and just watch it somehow get hacked and the studios get it.


----------



## saeba (Oct 12, 2004)

foghorn2 said:


> And yes, Plex, will soon have it all, all your data, and just watch it somehow get hacked and the studios get it.


Won't happen if you wear a tinfoil hat!


----------



## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> Right, and Kodi itself is legal, Collins assertion that Kodi is not allowed on the Roku because of pirates and plex is -is completely false.


The problem is Kodi has a lot of pirated streaming services that are easily baked into it versus Plex, which is just a media server.


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> The problem is Kodi has a lot of pirated streaming services that are easily baked into it versus Plex, which is just a media server.


Not true, you down Kodi, there are no pirated services, you have to use addons for that. Just like you have to download/ torrents pirated files and use Plex to serve it to your devices or others.

With Plex, you literally are serving pirated materials, with Kodi, your getting links and using them to stream through its interface.


----------



## wizwor (Dec 18, 2013)

Bigg said:


> The problem is Kodi has a lot of pirated streaming services that are easily baked into it versus Plex, which is just a media server.


The problem is Kodi won't run on a Roku. Roku runs scripts not apps or programs. That's by design.


----------



## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> Not true, you down Kodi, there are no pirated services, you have to use addons for that. Just like you have to download/ torrents pirated files and use Plex to serve it to your devices or others.


Apples and Oranges. With Plex you have to put them there, Kodi does a lot of the pirated streaming with the add-ons.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> Apples and Oranges. With Plex you have to put them there, Kodi does a lot of the pirated streaming with the add-ons.


With Kodi you have to add the add ons and choose to stream.

Since Plex is a server, it literally can stream pirated content to devices and others. And the law usually go after the distribution of stolen materials more so than receivers. And all that metadata is all there in Plex's hands as to what you have, and what you do with it.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

Narkul said:


> Is there a better way to get your magical shows from your computer to your television?


pytivo with TE3.


----------



## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

dadrepus said:


> I also still use Tivo to record some shows and it does do a great job. But i like to keep some shows and don't like to fill up Tivo HD so I use kmttg to transfer to my NAS after cutting commercials and putting it in the correct format for Plex to read. My wife and I rarely watch the recorded shows on Tivo especially since we have moved back to TE3 and no longer have auto skip ( which wasn't available on every show, anyway).
> You know, to each his own. I really like the guide in TE3 but Plex has become an established player in my familiy's entertainment system. There might be other things out there that does much of the same thing and i am willing to listen to people expand on their virtues. But all these Negative Jerks should just stop. You really do show the community your true colors.


How is the quality of the off loaded TiVo shows that you later watch via Plex?

On what platforms do you watch TiVo to Plex shows?


----------



## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

To me, pytivo transfers from PC to TiVo (Bolt, Roamio, Premiere) look and sound better than LG, Samsung AllShare or Streambaby DLNA streaming. 

How does Plex, Kodi, Roku, etc., quality content look and sound on a TiVo? TV? Other devices?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Sparky1234 said:


> To me, pytivo transfers from PC to TiVo (Bolt, Roamio, Premiere) look and sound better than LG, Samsung AllShare or Streambaby DLNA streaming.
> 
> How does Plex, Kodi, Roku, etc., quality content look and sound on a TiVo? TV? Other devices?


In most cases Plex will recode on the fly to match some predetermined max the device is capable of handling. It's been a loooong time since I played with it but for my Roamio it would recode everything to 720p at 59.94fps was not good compared to an original 1080p 24fps BD rip.

pyTivo only transcodes when it has to. And I think more research has been put into what each individual TiVo unit is actually capable of handling. So in a lot of cases it will just remux while retaining the original video. Although recent units haven't been tested as well so 4k content still aren't handled properly.


----------



## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> In most cases Plex will recode on the fly to match some predetermined max the device is capable of handling. It's been a loooong time since I played with it but for my Roamio it would recode everything to 720p at 59.94fps was not good compared to an original 1080p 24fps BD rip.
> 
> pyTivo only transcodes when it has to. And I think more research has been put into what each individual TiVo unit is actually capable of handling. So in a lot of cases it will just remux while retaining the original video. Although recent units haven't been tested as well so 4k content still aren't handled properly.


Thanks Dan.

So your original BD rip looked better with pyTiVo vs Plex? Your "pyTivo only transcodes" further explains why some pyTiVo transfers to Bolt, Roamio, Premier can't play video on a different class TiVo.


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

I did not even know pytivo could stream to a tivo. neat, i tried plex years ago for that and was never reliable.

i just use py to replace tivo desktop to get tivo recordings back from a nas.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Dan203 said:


> In most cases Plex will recode on the fly to match some predetermined max the device is capable of handling. It's been a loooong time since I played with it but for my Roamio it would recode everything to 720p at 59.94fps was not good compared to an original 1080p 24fps BD rip.
> 
> pyTivo only transcodes when it has to. And I think more research has been put into what each individual TiVo unit is actually capable of handling. So in a lot of cases it will just remux while retaining the original video. Although recent units haven't been tested as well so 4k content still aren't handled properly.


PLEX can be set to not transcode (I have PLEX on a Raspberry PI4, and only play at home on my Roku, so I never transcode)


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> I did not even know pytivo could stream to a tivo. neat, i tried plex years ago for that and was never reliable.
> 
> i just use py to replace tivo desktop to get tivo recordings back from a nas.


pyTivo can't stream. But, at least if you still have TE3, it can transfer a video from a PC to a TiVo. In most cases that transfer is faster than realtime, and you can watch while it's transferring, so it's essentially the same experience as streaming. But it's actually copying the data to the TiVo so you can't FF past the current data that's on the TiVo and you have to delete it when you're done watching.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Tony_T said:


> PLEX can be set to not transcode (I have PLEX on a Raspberry PI4, and only play at home on my Roku, so I never transcode)


Yeah but some clients, like TiVos (at least last time I tried) don't handle that well and usually just throw up an error that the stream is incompatible with the device.

But again it's been a few years since I tried it, and I only had a Roamio at the time, so the experience may have improved with newer versions of Plex or newer TiVos


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Yes, I got errors all the time with the Roamio and Bolt Plex client, setting it to transcode or not. When playing with any other client it worked but the performance was terrible. It was like molasses - fast server -1G lan

Thanks, I just tested MP4 videos- an 80's Astronomy program from PBS called Project Universe, tranferred from OTA>VHS>Pinnacle Hardware encoder>AVI>Handbrake>MP4>Tivo via PyTivo

Its was nice seeing this on my Tivo in OTA mode, Ghosting and all. Its like pretending Tivo recorded this way back when. I felt like I was 8 again!


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

OH wait! I just realized if I rename those MP4 files with the mpeg extension, the Netgear Nas DNLA serves those files to the Tivo to download as well! WOW This stuff all works with TE3 still


----------



## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> With Kodi you have to add the add ons and choose to stream.
> 
> Since Plex is a server, it literally can stream pirated content to devices and others. And the law usually go after the distribution of stolen materials more so than receivers. And all that metadata is all there in Plex's hands as to what you have, and what you do with it.


Say what you want, it's still apples and oranges. You can disagree about how Roku treats each of them, there's certainly an argument to be made there, but they are not the same thing.


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> Say what you want, it's still apples and oranges. You can disagree about how Roku treats each of them, there's certainly an argument to be made there, but they are not the same thing.


I dont think its about "how Roku treats them", nowdays its about where developers want to develop. Thats why there will be no new or updates apps for the TiVo, and I'm afraid Roku will eventually suffer the same fate. All this plex, tivo, roku stuff will be niche usage while the masses will use ios or android to stream readily available legal content in the clouds. The new pay OTA - over the cloudy air


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

Tony_T said:


> PLEX can be set to not transcode (I have PLEX on a Raspberry PI4, and only play at home on my Roku, so I never transcode)


How's the quality?


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> I dont think its about "how Roku treats them", nowdays its about where developers want to develop. Thats why there will be no new or updates apps for the TiVo, and I'm afraid Roku will eventually suffer the same fate. All this plex, tivo, roku stuff will be niche usage while the masses will use ios or android to stream readily available legal content in the clouds. The new pay OTA - over the cloudy air


The recurring costs will drive those consumers back to cheaper sources like OTA IMHO. I'm seeing it already...


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Sparky1234 said:


> The recurring costs will drive those consumers back to cheaper sources like OTA IMHO. I'm seeing it already...


Right, and then Peacock, CBS All Access, Disney/ABC will start putting all their main shows on those streaming services, the diginets will keep degrading the PQ and mess with aspect ratios with annoying medical commercials to drive you away.

You cant win


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

Sparky1234 said:


> pytivo with TE3.


Unfortunately TE3 is not an option due to the gigabytes of recorded seasons and the associated wife.


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## OrangeCrush (Feb 18, 2016)

foghorn2 said:


> Not true, you down Kodi, there are no pirated services, you have to use addons for that. Just like you have to download/ torrents pirated files and use Plex to serve it to your devices or others.
> 
> With Plex, you literally are serving pirated materials, with Kodi, your getting links and using them to stream through its interface.


Both Plex and Kodi can be used 100% legally. Both Plex & Kodi can be used to play pirated materials. The difference is that the Kodi client application can be used to enter web addresses directly (against Roku's rules) and installs add-ons that can scrape pirate media sources (against Roku's rules) and torrent media up and down (against Roku's rules, also opens customers up to legal liability).

If the Kodi devs decided to port it over to Roku, ignoring the technical issues for the moment, they'd be rejected because of the ability to enter URLs and install add-ons. Firefox devs would get rejected for the same reasons. (And we all know that the real reason behind Roku's policy is they don't want their devices being used to go out on the wild web finding pirate streams to keep the media conglomerates happy.)

A special Roku-edition Kodi-Lite could strip out all the add-ons and ability to enter URLS and just play media from local network shares, but that's a lot of effort to replicate what many existing Roku apps can already do.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

No, I think Roku just wants to control what you can watch and from where. Thats why it sucks and will eventually die off.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> I dont think its about "how Roku treats them", nowdays its about where developers want to develop. Thats why there will be no new or updates apps for the TiVo, and I'm afraid Roku will eventually suffer the same fate. All this plex, tivo, roku stuff will be niche usage while the masses will use ios or android to stream readily available legal content in the clouds. The new pay OTA - over the cloudy air


Roku is not a niche. TiVo is. Roku is the most popular streaming platform, and developers will develop for it. The big 4 are Roku, FireTV, Android TV, and Apple TV that most developers will develop for. Smaller players like TiVo, good luck.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Bigg said:


> Roku is not a niche. TiVo is. Roku is the most popular streaming platform, and developers will develop for it. The big 4 are Roku, FireTV, Android TV, and Apple TV that most developers will develop for. Smaller players like TiVo, good luck.


And my hope would be that, as part of that, Roku is looking over its shoulder at TiVo and planning its best ways to compete with the new upstart who got so much attention at CES. It seems to me that the consumers will be coming out ahead.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Mikeguy said:


> And my hope would be that, as part of that, Roku is looking over its shoulder at TiVo and planning its best ways to compete with the new upstart who got so much attention at CES. It seems to me that the consumers will be coming out ahead.


Tivo could have the advantage, as any new app thats made for android, its on their stick automatically. The developers would have to port over the code for Roku. If Tivo is smart, they could eat Roku alive.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Right, and then Peacock, CBS All Access, Disney/ABC will start putting all their main shows on those streaming services, the diginets will keep degrading the PQ and mess with aspect ratios with annoying medical commercials to drive you away.
> 
> You cant win


Concur with: "You can't win."


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

Narkul said:


> Unfortunately TE3 is not an option due to the gigabytes of recorded seasons and the associated wife.


Then you may be stuck with less desirable streaming options.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Te3 vs. Wife ? 
Decisions decisions..


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

foghorn2 said:


> Te3 vs. Wife ?
> Decisions decisions..


My shows vs. Husbands bags on the doorstep, from her perspective.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> Say what you want, it's still apples and oranges. You can disagree about how Roku treats each of them, there's certainly an argument to be made there, but they are not the same thing.


And now Roku is playing silly games with Apps and what they allow, nothing to do with piracy, I told you they want to control what you can watch and from where:

Fox News hosts urge their fans to complain to Roku over streaming blackout


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## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

I find it funny that foghorn2, who started posting on the first page 25 days ago saying they hate Plex and it's the worst software ever, is somehow STILL here posting about it.


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## jcliff (May 24, 2017)

foghorn2 said:


> i tried plex years ago for that and was never reliable.





b_scott said:


> I find it funny that foghorn2, who started posting on the first page 25 days ago saying they hate Plex and it's the worst software ever, is somehow STILL here posting about it.


Plex has changed quite a bit in the time period of "years ago", so by their own admission they're pretty ignorant or out of date re: Plex.

It's also weird to have someone use privacy as a reason not to use Plex or a Roku. The Amazon Fire Stick is by *far* the device that pings home to the mothership most on my network, even compared to my Roku 3, Shield TV, and TiVo.

Of those, the Android TV/Shield TV seems to report back to the mothership least, and it's down to the individual apps.

Part of the Roku/TiVo/etc. business model IS your data, so if that's a major concern streaming services aren't ideal.



Sparky1234 said:


> How's the quality?


I've seen the question of quality come up re: Plex a few times, and like many things, it depends on your source.

A Roku and a TiVo don't have the same "direct play" capabilities. If the media on your Plex server is in a format that your "receiving" device can play natively, it won't need to be transcoded.

For a TiVo Bolt that's essentially an h.264 video with AAC audio. With a Roku it tends to be a bit more flexible (my Roku 3 can direct play AC3 audio, for example).

So in the case of "direct play", the quality is... the same as your original file. If your player *doesn't* support the file format of your original file, it has to be transcoded, and the quality will depend on your Plex settings (such as whether you've focused on bandwidth or quality) and what your receiving device/bandwidth can handle.

Using Plex hand-in-hand with your TiVo is pretty neat. You can record a show like "The Good Place", transfer it to your PC using something like KMTTG, then cut out the commercials and store it on your Plex server.

Once that's done, you can clear up the space on your TiVo by deleting the show.

If you set it up right, KMTTG can even download your shows from the TiVo, import the Autoskip timestamps, and encode the file via Handbrake to save some space before putting it on your server.

Some aspects of running a Plex server/pulling shows off your TiVo/ripping your own media can get pretty technical, so it's not something I'd recommend to the average home user unless you want to learn about setting up your own server/NAS. Which isn't rocket science, but it's also not always plug and play.

So tl;dr... the quality is good if you know what you're doing.



foghorn2 said:


> With Kodi you have to add the add ons and choose to stream.
> 
> Since Plex is a server, it literally can stream pirated content to devices and others. And the law usually go after the distribution of stolen materials more so than receivers. And all that metadata is all there in Plex's hands as to what you have, and what you do with it.


Like many things, it's more complicated than that. If you've downloaded a copy of pirated content, and you're streaming it to others, that can be considered an unauthorized "performance". So you'd be liable for both the downloaded copy AND the streaming. But no more so than any other service that can stream your own content.

But since most Plex instances are going to be much, much smaller in scope than something like an online site that provides streams of pirated content (in addition to earning ad revenue), and limited to people you've authorized to use your Plex server, you're drastically overstating the danger of running a Plex server. It's pretty close to the FUD ("fear", "uncertainty", "doubt") that surrounded the use of DVRs to begin with.

A lot of Kodi's bad reputation is due to some unflattering press coverage and 3rd party resellers providing devices with Kodi and add-ons for downloading/streaming pre-installed:

The Piracy Box Sellers and Youtube Promoters Are Killing Kodi

Something that Plex partly by how it functions/is designed and honestly probably just partly by chance never had to deal with. Despite their having *similar* functionality in some ways, but drastically different goals and philosophies in others.

Plus, being a for profit company means the potential for them to kick money back to content creators/providers is a lot higher than a volunteer open-source project. As shown by their introduction of their own (IMO less painful/more functional and thankfully, hide-able) ad-supported streaming.



> *Soon Plex will have it all. *


This cracks me up, because even as a Plex fan their development cycle is not, uh, laser-focused.

The Engadget post is describing a TechCrunch post which is referring to a single in-person conversation they had with the Plex CEO. Every single *concrete* description of "how" or "when" is pure conjecture on TechCrunch's part.



> CEO Keith Valory says Plex is currently planning to focus first on its existing ad-supported streaming product and subscription video, with deep linking to follow. But the actual launch order could change based on numerous factors, including user feedback.
> 
> Ideally, however, deep-linking features won't be developed until Plex feels its core ad-supported library of content is robust. Today, Plex is working with more than 40 content partners for its ad-supported library, but has only ingested around 5,000 of the 40,000 total titles available through its deals.


Even taking their quote at face value, "won't be developed" makes it pretty clear they're *not* currently developed.


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## jcliff (May 24, 2017)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Possibly for the same reason the Channels DVR app for Roku was dropped: only the newest models can do local decoding and deinterlacing. The developers may consider the new models to be still underpowered, or perhaps it's now primarily a business case. They have their hands full with their current apps, and I think they'd get a lot of bad reviews when people try to load their app onto older devices. Plex can transcode and deinterlace on the server, but the Channels devs don't want all that going on inside home networks.





OrangeCrush said:


> Roku has strict limitations on what apps are allowed to do and large chunks of Kodi would have to be stripped out. Even then, it would probably still be a challenge to get their app approved for political reasons. Roku's been very squeamish about anything that could open up their devices to easier piracy, and Kodi has a bit of a reputation.
> 
> There are also tons of Roku apps that can play media from a local network drive. It's hard to see what Kodi could or would be allowed to add to what's already out there.


Kodi is made up of volunteers, so it's a combination of technical limitations and resources.

Kodi support for Roku



> Short answer is that Kodi can not (ever) be supported on Roku is because Kodi is a native C/C++ application and Roku does does not support (or rather allow) native C/C++ applications. Roku's SDK only support script applications that are written in Roku's own BrightScript language.
> 
> Read more here: https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc/...+Reference
> 
> ...


I think a TiVo app wouldn't be possible for similar reasons.


----------



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Right, its easier to get apps for ios and andriod, Roku is too tight and currently playing stupid games with Fox and plex wont play any file. Its a dead end in the long run.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> And now Roku is playing silly games with Apps and what they allow, nothing to do with piracy, I told you they want to control what you can watch and from where:
> 
> Fox News hosts urge their fans to complain to Roku over streaming blackout


Isn't that a game of business $ economics and chicken? Not unlike what cable does with broadcasters, with the customers/viewers in the middle?


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Mikeguy said:


> Isn't that a game of business $ economics and chicken? Not unlike what cable does with broadcasters, with the customers/viewers in the middle?


True, but seriously Roku is trying to strong-arm Fox over a streaming app? you can get a firestick 4k for $35 and get everything (excepy VuDu- but you can sideload it)


----------



## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

Narkul said:


> My shows vs. Husbands bags on the doorstep, from her perspective.


LOL.


----------



## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> And now Roku is playing silly games with Apps and what they allow, nothing to do with piracy, I told you they want to control what you can watch and from where:
> 
> Fox News hosts urge their fans to complain to Roku over streaming blackout


That was a bizarre story. It's hard to say what happened. With pay TV, you know it's almost always the fault of the content provider. With this one, it's hard to say one way or the other.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Bigg said:


> That was a bizarre story. It's hard to say what happened. With pay TV, you know it's almost always the fault of the content provider. With this one, it's hard to say one way or the other.


Sean Hannity said Roku is at fault, even his message was slightly muddled by saying he didn't know why there was a problem but also saying it involved Roku's business interests - while staying mum on the business interests of Fox News.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1223280611814715393
So, yeah, as you said, not much different from other recent stories of Dish, etc. losing channels when carriage negotiations lock-up.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

krkaufman said:


> Sean Hannity said Roku is at fault, even his message was slightly muddled by saying he didn't know why there was a problem but also saying it involved Roku's business interests - while staying mum on the business interests of Fox News.
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1223280611814715393


​Normally, whatever Sean Hannity says is wrong, so it's fairly safe to assume that the opposite is actually true. That being said, since he works for Fox, you'd expect him to be on Fox's side, and thus his bloviation is pretty much meaningless in this situation.



> So, yeah, as you said, not much different from other recent stories of Dish, etc. losing channels when carriage negotiations lock-up.


That's actually the opposite of what I said.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Bigg said:


> Normally, whatever Sean Hannity says is wrong, so it's fairly safe to assume that the opposite is actually true. That being said, since he works for Fox, you'd expect him to be on Fox's side, and thus his bloviation is pretty much meaningless in this situation.


 This is so false, hes been right about everything so far. He was not in the 2000's- could not stand him back then. Yes hes on Fox's side, but why does Roku want to block the app? Would you like it if they blocked the other 2? Or PBS ? Regardless of the content and where you stand politically, its better when all points are heard, let the viewer make up their own mind.


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

b_scott said:


> I find it funny that [someone] who started posting on the first page 25 days ago saying they hate Plex and it's the worst software ever, is somehow STILL here posting about it.


But the wonderful thing is that education has taken place over the course of the thread. A redeeming social quality of TCF.


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## powrcow (Sep 27, 2010)

foghorn2 said:


> why does Roku want to block the app? Would you like it if they blocked the other 2? Or PBS ? Regardless of the content and where you stand politically, its better when all points are heard, let the viewer make up their own mind.


It's not political (all Fox apps were being blocked). Simply that Fox's contract with Roku was expiring and Roku wanted a larger cut of ad revenue from Fox. Fox disagreed so Roku said they wouldn't renew their contract. They've since inked a new deal.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> its better when all points are heard, let the viewer make up their own mind.


Right, so one would think that both Roku's *and* Fox News' business interests would have been cited, rather than making it greedy ol' Roku against the viewer. Roku dropping the app is no different than a cable provider dropping channels if a distribution agreement isn't reached. Seems an unbalanced presentation of the issue, and none too fair.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

So Kodi or Plex for streaming? 

Not sure this threat answered that question.

So far pytivo still works best for me for home use.


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## wizwor (Dec 18, 2013)

Bigg said:


> Normally, whatever Sean Hannity says is wrong, so it's fairly safe to assume that the opposite is actually true.


explains so much


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> *This is so false, hes been right about everything so far.* He was not in the 2000's- could not stand him back then. Yes hes on Fox's side, but why does Roku want to block the app? Would you like it if they blocked the other 2? Or PBS ? Regardless of the content and where you stand politically, its better when all points are heard, let the viewer make up their own mind.


Well that explains a lot.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Bigg said:


> This is another total head scratcher. Roku is the closest thing we have to an agnostic platform. Fire TV is owned by Amazon, and is a giant ad for Amazon content and services. I have no particular problem with the Fire TV hardware, as long as people realize that they're playing in Amazon's world. Android TV is a bit better, but still linked with Google, and Apple TV is definitely Apple's domain. They're all good streaming platforms, but if you want something that is close to an agnostic platform, Roku is by far the closest thing we've got.


You can sideload the "Appstarter" app on the Fire TV and it will replace the home screen with the icons of the installed apps.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

Bigg said:


> Kodi is notorious for pirated streaming services. Plex is bring your own video, so it's on the user at that point to determine if it's legal or not.
> 
> They show up just fine, and if you have multiple copies, it even offers you the choice of which one to use.


Plex has gray market apps similar to Kodi that can be installed.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> This is so false, hes been right about everything so far. He was not in the 2000's- could not stand him back then. Yes hes on Fox's side, but why does Roku want to block the app? Would you like it if they blocked the other 2? Or PBS ? Regardless of the content and where you stand politically, its better when all points are heard, let the viewer make up their own mind.


LOL That's some pretty lame trolling. Hannity is a pathetic excuse for a "journalist". He's not even one of the more-or-less-journalists at Fox, he's in the loony bin part of their programming during Prime Time.

Roku's blocking Fox is not due to their poor quality right-wingnuts news, it's about money, I just didn't realize that there are deals between Roku and channels to be on Roku. It's such a weird setup. It sounds like Roku wants a cut of the advertising revenue, not just what's on the home screen.



shwru980r said:


> Plex has gray market apps similar to Kodi that can be installed.


Not to the same extent as Kodi.


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## jcliff (May 24, 2017)

Sparky1234 said:


> So Kodi or Plex for streaming?
> 
> Not sure this threat answered that question.
> 
> So far pytivo still works best for me for home use.


Streaming what? And from where?

Kodi is a media "player". It plays back your own media, that you store on your network/via a hard drive. It doesn't really stream anything.

Plex is a media "server". It can play back your own media, but its true usefulness is in streaming the media to other devices/apps.

If you mean streaming as in using one or the other to watch Netflix/Amazon Prime/etc., the answer is neither. Neither one is a Roku/TiVo/etc.

If you have your media on one device/PC, and you can hook that device/PC to your TV via HDMI, I really like Kodi.

If you have a PC that can act as a "server", or a "NAS", Plex is super useful for setting up your media library once, and then watching it via apps on pretty much any mobile OS/browser.

Plex technically has DVR capability, but right now the feature is in its infancy and clunky (plus, you can't DVR cablecard encrypted channels). TiVo still wins there.

But neither one is great at streaming your services like Netflix/Hulu, IMO. Dedicated devices like a Roku/Fire Stick/etc. are more useful for that.

What's nice is that they're not mutually exclusive. You can actually use any combination of the above.

If you're already locked into the TiVo ecosystem in a way where you have a TiVo/TiVo Mini in every room, it's probably not worth setting up Plex OR Kodi.

But if you had Roku Sticks/Fire Sticks in your bedrooms/guest rooms and you don't mind using something like "KMTTG" to pull shows off the TiVo and put them onto your server, then Plex is really cool.

And if the living room is the hub of your house or is the only place you want to watch media, Kodi is nice. I do find setting it up initially overwhelming because there's just such a baffling amount of settings. Not that you HAVE to customize each setting, it's just that if a customizable setting exists, I feel obligated to tweak it.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

jcliff said:


> Streaming what? And from where?
> 
> Kodi is a media "player". It plays back your own media, that you store on your network/via a hard drive. It doesn't really stream anything.
> 
> ...


Nice summary, thanks.

What are your views on privacy settings for Kodi and Plex? It always feels like big brother is watching (along with me) with these 2 options. Not that FireTV, Roku, etc., are any better.


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## dadrepus (Jan 4, 2012)

shwru980r said:


> Plex has gray market apps similar to Kodi that can be installed.


No it doesn't. Plugins have been discontinued, are no longer supported. I am not sure how one would load a grey market app now and where it would show up in the UI.


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## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

Wil said:


> But the wonderful thing is that education has taken place over the course of the thread. A redeeming social quality of TCF.


why did you redact foghorn2's name?


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## wizwor (Dec 18, 2013)

dadrepus said:


> With Plex you can record live tv
> Add your own video and music
> Watch on many devices
> and now they will be adding streaming services
> Plex Is Making Itself Impossible to Ignore as a Go-To Streaming Service


I just tried Plex via my TiVo Roamio/OTA. It kind of sucks. The audio drops out frequently -- just for a fraction of a second, but, IMHO, it's unwatchable. I don't blame Plex for this -- the same program plays flawlessly using the Plex app on my TCL Roku TV. I do blame Plex for not supporting their clients. People pay for the clients and they ought to work and be updated when necessary.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

The Hulu App on TiVo is also outdated.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

wizwor said:


> I just tried Plex via my TiVo Roamio/OTA. It kind of sucks. The audio drops out frequently -- just for a fraction of a second, but, IMHO, it's unwatchable. I don't blame Plex for this -- the same program plays flawlessly using the Plex app on my TCL Roku TV. I do blame Plex for not supporting their clients. People pay for the clients and they ought to work and be updated when necessary.


 Perhaps your video was A1080P resolution video that was problematic. Romeo plex can only handle 720P video. Bolt plex handles 1080P fine as long as you don't need subtitles Or trans coding I think


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

leiff said:


> Perhaps your video was A1080P resolution video that was problematic. Romeo plex can only handle 720P video. Bolt plex handles 1080P fine as long as you don't need subtitles Or trans coding I think


Plex on the bolt is badly outdated. Freezes and sometimes the Bolt reboots. Can't handle my vpn. The version on Roku looks completely different and runs flawlessly even with vpn enabled on the Plex server machine.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

Never run the Plex client on Tivos.


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

slowbiscuit said:


> Never run the Plex client on Tivos.


Never run any Apps on TiVo.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Never use Plex period


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Never use Plex period


Tried Plex again after 5 year hiatus and it is growing on me....


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## Tony_T (Nov 2, 2017)

Plex working great


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

Tony_T said:


> Plex working great


A new HDR TV helps.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Plex Is Coming Under Fire for Piracy - Cord Cutters News

Plex sucks !


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex Is Coming Under Fire for Piracy - Cord Cutters News
> 
> Plex sucks !


Don't share outside your immediate family, follow DMCA, and you should be fine.


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## dadrepus (Jan 4, 2012)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex Is Coming Under Fire for Piracy - Cord Cutters News
> 
> Plex sucks !


No, they actually are not. What they have quoted is actually a vicious rumor started by a rival Emby. Do you really think Plex doesn't have lawyers making sure they follow the laws of the various countries they do business with? Plex is no longer just a bunch of volunteers. It hasn't been for a while.


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## Chuck_IV (Jan 1, 2002)

dadrepus said:


> No, they actually are not. What they have quoted is actually a vicious rumor started by a rival Emby. Do you really think Plex doesn't have lawyers making sure they follow the laws of the various countries they do business with? Plex is no longer just a bunch of volunteers. It hasn't been for a while.


Lol, this has nothing to do with Emby. This outfit claiming that Plex has piracy issues also claims a lot of other places have piracy issues. It's what they do... whine about everything under the sun.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex Is Coming Under Fire for Piracy - Cord Cutters News
> 
> Plex sucks !


Really? Stop trolling.


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## mschnebly (Feb 21, 2011)

So how soon is soon for it to have it all? This year?


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## Narkul (Nov 7, 2004)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex Is Coming Under Fire for Piracy - Cord Cutters News
> 
> Plex sucks !


Computers are coming under fire for piracy - too many articles to list

Computers suck !


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

Narkul said:


> Computers are coming under fire for piracy - too many articles to list
> 
> Computers suck !


People build computers, therefore people suck


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## dameatball (Feb 24, 2014)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex is pure garbage. Sorry, worst software Ive ever used.
> Emby is not too far behind.


Baaa the noob paying for the antiquated TiVo box says plex/Emby sucks. That's really funny/ironic. May have to share this.


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## wizwor (Dec 18, 2013)

dadrepus said:


> No it doesn't. Plugins have been discontinued, are no longer supported. I am not sure how one would load a grey market app now and where it would show up in the UI.


Not supported <> Not available; Google is your friend


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