# Plex on the TiVo is the Stupidest thing Tivo ever did



## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

What a load of carp Plex is, its a disgrace on the TiVo and everywhere else for the matter.
I swear this program is disguised spyware. Why the hell do you have to scan your media to play it. (with invalid tiles and file descriptions)
The WDTV and XBMC/KODI does not need this bloatware just to view your files off a directory on a server. Now that you cant put shows on your Tivo from a server with Hydra, there is no reasonable way to play your library from a PC or NAS.

Please Ted or anyone else watching, just let the TiVo play compliant files off a shared directory or DLNA server!!


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## ajwees41 (May 7, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> What a load of carp Plex is, its a disgrace on the TiVo and everywhere else for the matter.
> I swear this program is disguised spyware. Why the hell do you have to scan your media to play it. (with invalid tiles and file descriptions)
> The WDTV and XBMC/KODI does not need this bloatware just to view you files off a directory on a server. Now that you cant put shows on your Tivo from a server with Hydra, there is no reasonable way to play your library from a PC or NAS.
> 
> Please Ted or anyone else watching, just let the TiVo play compliant files off a shared directory or DLNA server!!


plex is the best tivo app next to youtube and cox ondemand I don't have the issues you are having.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> What a load of carp Plex is, its a disgrace on the TiVo and everywhere else for the matter.


I absolutely agree 100% with your evaluation of that TERRIBLE program Plex. I do not know why TiVo has always worked very hard to NOT allow their equipment to play back any native file from a computer or storage device, but in my opinion, that stupid decision has really hurt their brand and potential for expansion.

Sure, the primary purpose of TiVo has always been just a simple DVR, but now they "claim" to be a one-stop, do everything box. What a stupid joke that is. I have a 10 year old Asus box that cost less than $100 and will play virtually any format of music and video files from any storage device or networked computer; THAT is what TiVo should have implemented long ago.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

I have no problems with Plex, I have several thousand files set up in Plex. Yes occasionally I have to rename something so it pulls correctly from thetvdb or themoviedb. My wdtv's collect dust most of the time, unless I'm traveling and take one with me. DLNA is not all it's cracked up to be either. My tv's have a hell of time playing anything thats on my NAS via DLNA.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> What a load of carp Plex is, its a disgrace on the TiVo and everywhere else for the matter.
> I swear this program is disguised spyware. Why the hell do you have to scan your media to play it. (with invalid tiles and file descriptions)
> The WDTV and XBMC/KODI does not need this bloatware just to view your files off a directory on a server. Now that you cant put shows on your Tivo from a server with Hydra, there is no reasonable way to play your library from a PC or NAS.
> 
> Please Ted or anyone else watching, just let the TiVo play compliant files off a shared directory or DLNA server!!


??? I'm having no problems with Plex and my TiVos. Since Hydra I set KMTTG up so it would move the shows to my Plex folder. And then I can easily stream them to any of my Tivos if I want. I'm only using a Corei3 Gen 4 and it has no problem streaming my recordings with Plex to a couple of my TiVos at the same time.


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## adessmith (Oct 5, 2007)

I have a library of a couple hundred ripped DVDs and, personally, I'm a big fan of Plex.
Occasionally I have to remap a movie because it doesn't pull the correct metadata, but it's not been a big problem.
Admittedly, I don't use plex on my roamio as much as I do on my fire TV, but I have in the past. Our kids occasionally use it on our tivo minis also. When I have used the tivo version it seems to work just as well as the other platforms.
It sounds like plex is not designed to do what you want. Realize that Plex is NOT directly affiliated with Tivo. If you simply want to play "files" from a DLNA server or shared directory, that's not what Plex was designed to do. It is more of a multi-platform "media management" system in that it also indexes your movies so you can have a more polished experience with synopsis, trailers, cover images, ratings, cast information, etc... While I realize none of this is really "necessary", some of us enjoy having that sort of polished system that presents our movies as a "collection" rather than just a list of mp4 files with arbitrary file names. If you don't care about all that, there is no reason to put down plex because it's not an app designed for what you want. Blame tivo for not providing what you want, rather than blaming plex for not being what you want.


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## wblynch (Aug 13, 2003)

TiVo = record and playback TV shows. Everything else is better on a Smart TV, Roku, Fire Stick, ChromeCast... (pick from any of 1,000)


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Why the hell do you have to scan your media to play it. (with invalid tiles and file descriptions)


What are you talking about? You only need to make sure the file names make sense IF you want art and the rest (like extras). You can put random videos in a video folder and treat them like home movies if you want, which is basically treating it like a dumb server.

PLEX does NOT scan files, just the names.

I have almost no problems with Plex. Some systems play it better than others but Tivo does just fine.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

TonyD79 said:


> What are you talking about? You only need to make sure the file names make sense IF you want art and the rest (like extras). You can put random videos in a video folder and treat them like home movies if you want, which is basically treating it like a dumb server.
> 
> PLEX does NOT scan files, just the names.
> 
> I have almost no problems with Plex. Some systems play it better than others but Tivo does just fine.


I does scan them , and even makes tiles out of them. what are you talking about? 
Its a complete mess, worst media software/server I've ever tried.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> I does scan them , and even makes tiles out of them. what are you talking about?
> Its a complete mess, worst media software/server I've ever tried.


You must be using a different PLEX than I am. The one I use is certainly not a mess. And it's extremely easy to use.


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## adessmith (Oct 5, 2007)

aaronwt said:


> You must be using a different PLEX than I am. The one I use is certainly not a mess. And it's extremely easy to use.


I agree.
In most cases, if I add an unrecognized video it simply doesn't show any artwork or metadata.
Occasionally if it is an actual movie and the file name is ambiguous, it will match it to the wrong version or sequel or something, but I normally don't have much of a problem.
My 8 year old uses it regularly and doesnt have any problem with it. She used to use "My Movies" with windows media center prior to me transitioning our library over to plex a few years back. Both opperate on similar principles but to me it seems like adding a movie in plex is easier.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I seem to remember unrecognized videos showing a thumbnail automatically pulled from the video itself in the place of the cover image.


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## cbrrider (Feb 2, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> I does scan them , and even makes tiles out of them. what are you talking about?
> Its a complete mess, worst media software/server I've ever tried.


You can disable generate chapter and video preview thumbnails. Just go to settings > server > library

If you don't want to rename your files, just add the folder as "Other Videos".

Just follow the naming conventions, if you want to have a nice pretty library of TV shows and movies with metadata. It'll take some time, but not too bad if you use a renaming macro app.

The Plex server program is free. Only gripe is that it's limited to 720p 4 Mbps bitrate on Roamios, but that's a limitation of the TiVo hardware. Works great on my Apple TV gen 4.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

PLEX is a seriously good, useful utility to have accessible on a device like TiVo. PLEX is not for everyone. It requires some knowledge to set up and use properly. I have about 800 movies, 500 short films, and 13,000 TV episodes from about 560 different series indexed and accessible to play via PLEX. But you can get going pretty quickly with it if you're willing to read a bit first, especially over at the PLEX user forums, to learn how best to arrange your files, depending on what exactly you want to be able to do.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Why do you have to rename it they way it wants it, its already named (as the file name) the way it should be, like I said, utter garbage.

If I use Kodi on the HTPC, no issues, its all there, you look at the file name, you choose it, it plays it.
Plex cant even do ISO's. Even windows media player can play an ISO.

Plex: Still Sucks


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> Why do you have to rename it they way it wants it, its already named (as the file name) the way it should be, like I said, utter garbage.


Because PLEX is trying to connect a vast amount of metadata to each of your files. If you don't want it to do that, you need to configure the library differently so that it knows it's not such a file that has external metadata. Like I said, you need to be willing to read the instructions a bit before using it.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

dswallow said:


> Because PLEX is trying to connect a vast amount of metadata to each of your files. If you don't want it to do that, you need to configure the library differently so that it knows it's not such a file that has external metadata. Like I said, you need to be willing to read the instructions a bit before using it.


I did, I know what Im doing, it still sucks, It bloated crapware!


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> I did, I know what Im doing, it still sucks, It bloated crapware!


Well, considering what you're complaining about, you obviously didn't do so before you started, and either still don't really have it set up properly, or you're just venting and we're all wasting our time thinking you perhaps wanted some help.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Never had issues with Plex on Tivo. I use it almost daily.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Lets just say even if Plex is great and the best thing in the world and magnificent, but you have to name things to its ways and make all kinds of changes to the settings to make pretty and accurate tiles on your screen of your thousands of videos, whys is such a cumbersome finicky piece of software, which most of you claim it is, on the Tivo?

Such software does not belong on the Tivo, maybe on a Roku, but NOT ON A TIVO!! Thus the tile of this thread and the plea for Tivo to get us something as good and easy as all the other apps they offer!!


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

V7Goose said:


> I absolutely agree 100% with your evaluation of that TERRIBLE program Plex. I do not know why TiVo has always worked very hard to NOT allow their equipment to play back any native file from a computer or storage device, but in my opinion, that stupid decision has really hurt their brand and potential for expansion.
> 
> Sure, the primary purpose of TiVo has always been just a simple DVR, but now they "claim" to be a one-stop, do everything box. What a stupid joke that is. I have a 10 year old Asus box that cost less than $100 and will play virtually any format of music and video files from any storage device or networked computer; THAT is what TiVo should have implemented long ago.


Exactly, you buy a Tivo because if it simple to use interface, so now theres an app that is the exact opposite in it. I could just see a Best Buy or cable customer tinkering with this carp and getting frustrated and even returning it.

Get rid of it or hide it, and get Tivo something like what V7Goose mentions: "play virtually any format of music and video files from any storage device or networked computer"

Plex: Still Sucks


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

cbrrider said:


> ......... Only gripe is that it's limited to 720p 4 Mbps bitrate on Roamios, but that's a limitation of the TiVo hardware. .......


That's barely HD -- surprised the Roamio hardware has that limitation. I use a gen 1 Fire TV PLEX client -- actually don't know what resolution/bitrate it can handle but would be surprised if it isn't much better than that.


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## cbrrider (Feb 2, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> Get rid of it or hide it,...


TiVo Central > Apps > Add & Manage Apps > uncheck Plex


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

cbrrider said:


> <snip> Only gripe is that it's limited to 720p 4 Mbps bitrate on Roamios, but that's a limitation of the TiVo hardware. Works great on my Apple TV gen 4.


Um, what? The Roamio h/w can do 1080p and way higher bitrates that 4Mbps.


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## cbrrider (Feb 2, 2005)

lpwcomp said:


> Um, what? The Roamio h/w can do 1080p and way higher bitrates that 4Mbps.


Yes, but how TiVo/Plex implemented the app on Roamios, it's limited to 4 Mbps 720p.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

cbrrider said:


> Yes, but how TiVo/Plex implemented the app on Roamios, it's limited to 4 Mbps 720p.


So *not* "a limitation of the TiVo _*hardware*_."


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## cbrrider (Feb 2, 2005)

lpwcomp said:


> So *not* "a limitation of the TiVo _*hardware*_."


According to Plex it is. Who knows? There's no such limitation on the Bolt Plex App.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

cbrrider said:


> According to Plex it is. Who knows? There's no such limitation on the Bolt Plex App.


If their app can't do the job on a Roamio, then it's *their *problem. They just don't want to devote any resources to fixing it.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

I have a Netgear Router with built in Plex, works great with TiVo Plex app., and I don't have to keep my computer on, (except to active any given TiVo or Mini for Plex once) also with a little extra money you can have people watch your movies from their home, I do this with my married kids.


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

If you want 4k 60fps Plex suppor5 you need series 6.

*TiVo*
*Series 4 and Series 5 (TiVo Premiere, Roamio, Mini, etc.)*
Considerations:


These TiVo models currently only support video playback up to 4 Mbps, 720p quality. Content with higher bitrates or resolution will be automatically transcoded to be compatible.
MP4 container content must be "Web Optimized" to allow Direct Play.
*Series 6 (TiVo Roamio OTA, Bolt, etc.)*
Additional Direct Play video support:


MKV container with H.264 video encoding
Additional 4K (UHD) video support:


MKV container with hvec (H.265) video encoding
Framerates up to 60fps
Considerations:


MP4 container content must be "Web Optimized" to allow Direct Play.
We've noticed issues when seeking or resuming UHD content in some media specific cases. (We'll continue working with TiVo to resolve these issues.)


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

Oh and to be clear it’s not tivos Plex app. It’s plexs app on the TiVo. Plex own the code not tivo. Personally I would rather see emby as the founders of that project are not dictatorial a holes and support things like iso and vobs.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

alexb said:


> Oh and to be clear it's not tivos Plex app. It's plexs app on the TiVo. Plex own the code not tivo. Personally I would rather see emby as the founders of that project are not dictatorial a holes and support things like iso and vobs.


There was a time plex did play iso's/vobs much like emby does now, very limited with no menu control. Instead of enhancing the ability, they canned it.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

TonyD79 said:


> PLEX does NOT scan files, just the names.
> 
> .


Actually this is not true. Plex server DOES scan files as it has the ability to use metadata embedded in mp4 files to assist with matching and lookup.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Why do you have to rename it they way it wants it, its already named (as the file name) the way it should be, like I said, utter garbage.
> 
> If I use Kodi on the HTPC, no issues, its all there, you look at the file name, you choose it, it plays it.
> Plex cant even do ISO's. Even windows media player can play an ISO.
> ...


No idea what that person did in the review. But on most of my devices Plex will play back my TiVo recordings in the original quality. Like My UHD Rokus, SOny UHD BD player, Mini Vox, and Bolts. Of course my ROamio can't.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> Why do you have to rename it they way it wants it, its already named (as the file name) the way it should be, like I said, utter garbage.
> 
> If I use Kodi on the HTPC, no issues, its all there, you look at the file name, you choose it, it plays it.
> Plex cant even do ISO's. Even windows media player can play an ISO.


The naming or pulling metadata from the file is a function of the agent(s) you use.
You can always use Folder view, but I think it is clear Plex is not for you. For me it is almost more important than TiVo for our viewing.

I also recently added DVR and OTA recording to my Plex configuration and while the Plex DVR is no TiVo, it does have some features that TiVo doesn't.

It would be nice to have an ISO interface in Plex that gave you the ability to functionally play a file as if it was the original DVD with menus and all. Before Plex I used WDTV and kept everything as an ISO. Unfortunately WDTV was not providing updates needed to keep it current for me.

I view my Plex setup as my own personal Netflix that anyone in my family can access from nearly any device and from anywhere in the world with an easy to use interface, and easy to search program management.

My advice to any that haven't tried Plex is to decide for yourself. Plex may be for you, or it may not. Clearly some people have other tools they prefer but for some, like myself, Plex is indispensable.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Yes that is one thing I dislike about Plex. That it can't play ISOs. I have over 2K BD ISOs. But I use my media players to play those anyway.

I'm mainly using PLEX since switching to Hydra. Since I can't transfer from a PC to the TiVo with Hydra. So PLEX allows me to have access to those TiVo recordings on my PC.

All my shows that are recorded(the ones that aren't restricted) are transferred to a PC I have dedicated to kmttg, pyTiVo, and PLEX. So if something happens to the original recording on the TiVo, I can just stream it from PLEX if I need to.

For me it's a good workaround to replace transferring from the PC to the TiVo.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

^^

Using plex and having it index and scan your tivo files on a server or nas is a big waste of time. Tivo just needs to see the shared directory or dlna content and just play its own files. Plex is unnecessary bloatware for this kind of usage.

Perhaps TiVo can enhance the original TiVo desktop and make this happen.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

^^

clueless


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

^^

Sounds just like someone on: Plex: Still Sucks

Seriously, you want to run fat Plex on a Server or Nas just to play native Tivo files and loose the trick play, gimme a break!!


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

PLEX is not really for people who occasionally want to play one of 10 files on their PC. It can. But it does so much more for you that your effort to set it up for your 10 files is going to seem like a lot of wasted time and you'll have to learn things you'll think have nothing to do with what you want to do with it and you'll get frustrated and start posting crazy statements on internet forums disparaging something you don't understand. We've all seen it happen.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Hey Doug, please dont take personal offence when one is critical of a program, the code for the program has no feelings. I have lots and lots of video files on a Nas, home videos of all kinds of formats, iso's, mp4's quicktime ect ect. Plex is the worst program to use. Perhaps if one is pirating videos off the internet, or wants to make beautiful walls of tiles of their videos and stare at them all day, yes it may suit them. 

I'll say it again, using Plex to play native Tivo files is silly and a waste of time. Thats not "posting crazy statements on internet forums disparaging something you don't understand"


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

it still seems like you are missing the point.

I understand Plex doesn't meet your needs and that is fine, hyperbolic statements like Plex is the worst program to use leads to you losing credibility.

I have been able to configure Plex to meet all my needs and present an interface to the family that is as easy to use as Netflix and they can use it on any of our smart TVs, iPhone, iPad, at home, college dorm, at a friends house, on vacation, anywhere, anytime.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

"I have been able to configure Plex to meet all my needs and present an interface to the family that is as easy to use as Netflix and they can use it on any of our smart TVs, iPhone, iPad, at home, college dorm, at a friends house, on vacation, anywhere, anytime."

Yes, "you have to configure it" and when you do, it does not work right!

Right, and such a program that to have to read its manual and program it right or else you are clueless and dumb and dont know what you are doing, belongs on the Tivo as the only way to play your offline files , yeah right!

Are you copying and pasting off the same scripts? : Plex: Still Sucks


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Why are you so angry?

"I have been able to configure" is not the same as "you have to configure it" 

I also don't understand "and when you do, it does not work right!"

Default config on a windows PC my 18 year old son was able to use the free version of Plex Media Server with no issues without any help or reading any docs, visiting forums, asking me questions, changing any config.

I have a WD Cloud Home Duo received for product review and there is a lot i don't like about this box. But the built in Plex Media Server that really can't be custom configured, also works pretty well. 

Yes I do some complicated stuff, and to meet more complex requirements I have not found any platform as easy to configure and flexible as Plex. 

I wouldn't try to convince you Plex is the best, I have no idea, may be something better I don't know about. 
But I am absolutely sure it isn't the worst.

Not that it matters, seems you are just trying to stir things up to entertain yourself, but what did this mean? "Are you copying and pasting off the same scripts?"


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## stonewallers (Apr 8, 2010)

I've been curiously reading this thread. I recently set up plex because I've been in search of something a little more universal to access media cross-platform. I like kodi better but it doesn't have a tivo app. 

After much trial and error. I have plex up and running on my old desktop (using linux). I figured it was all ready to go but my brief trial bombed. The loading was sooo laggy that it was unwatchable. I haven't tracked down the issue yet to either the tivo app, tivo's connection, my home network, my old pc, or my linux install. Because the network is ethernet (my PC and tivo are in the same switch even) and because a brief trial of plex on OOH wifi wasn't as bad suggest that it is something on the tivo/tivo app side. Oh well, nothings ever easy. (I'm not looking for help here, eventually I'll find time to track down the bottleneck).

Still seems odd to say it's the stupidest thing. I might prefer kodi or something more universal and without the insecurity of 2nd party software but at least there is some option.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Take a look at the Status on the PlexMediaServer side when playing back. The TiVo Plex Client app doesn't seem to be able to or just isn't currently configured to make the most of the TiVo hardware. You may find that trans-coding is occurring that you didn't anticipate.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> ^^
> 
> Using plex and having it index and scan your tivo files on a server or nas is a big waste of time. Tivo just needs to see the shared directory or dlna content and just play its own files. Plex is unnecessary bloatware for this kind of usage.
> 
> Perhaps TiVo can enhance the original TiVo desktop and make this happen.


After the initial scan, it only takes seconds to scan my new items as they are added daily..


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Hey Doug, please dont take personal offence when one is critical of a program, the code for the program has no feelings. I have lots and lots of video files on a Nas, home videos of all kinds of formats, iso's, mp4's quicktime ect ect. Plex is the worst program to use. Perhaps if one is pirating videos off the internet, or wants to make beautiful walls of tiles of their videos and stare at them all day, yes it may suit them.
> 
> I'll say it again, using Plex to play native Tivo files is silly and a waste of time. Thats not "posting crazy statements on internet forums disparaging something you don't understand"


Very little time involved. I just needed to have kmttg decode the .tivo files and stick them in a folder that I added to Plex.

Now if I want everything to come up all pretty, then I just stick the decoded .tivo files in their own folders with the name of the show. And everything comes up with individual show tiles and listed by episode.

But the way I'm using Plex is just to replace the option to transfer from a PC to a TiVo. And I periodically delete those files anyway. Although right now I'm taking up twice the space since I still keep the original .TiVo files. But I have a 6TB drive dedicated to TiVo to PC transfers.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> What a load of carp Plex is, its a disgrace on the TiVo and everywhere else for the matter.
> I swear this program is disguised spyware. Why the hell do you have to scan your media to play it. (with invalid tiles and file descriptions)
> The WDTV and XBMC/KODI does not need this bloatware just to view your files off a directory on a server. Now that you cant put shows on your Tivo from a server with Hydra, there is no reasonable way to play your library from a PC or NAS.
> 
> Please Ted or anyone else watching, just let the TiVo play compliant files off a shared directory or DLNA server!!


For those with simple 'playback from a directory' needs, Plex may be overkill. We happen to have about 7-8TB of audio and video files on our Plex server. Navigating that by filename alone would be difficult. Plex allows me to organize it by folder or playlist, search by title, director, actor, genre, release date, etc. Plus I can do that from any of my TiVos, a tablet, practically any streaming device, locally or remotely, providing a smooth streaming experience.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Diana Collins said:


> For those with simple 'playback from a directory' needs, Plex may be overkill. We happen to have about 7-8TB of audio and video files on our Plex server. Navigating that by filename alone would be difficult. Plex allows me to organize it by folder or playlist, search by title, director, actor, genre, release date, etc. Plus I can do that from any of my TiVos, a tablet, practically any streaming device, locally or remotely, providing a smooth streaming experience.


I have more that that on my Nas, its already has good filenames and in folders for easy selection, I dont need Plex to redo all that for nothing, just need to play the darned file!! Kodi and WDTV does all that no issues.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> Very little time involved. I just needed to have kmttg decode the .tivo files and stick them in a folder that I added to Plex.
> 
> Now if I want everything to come up all pretty, then I just stick the decoded .tivo files in their own folders with the name of the show. And everything comes up with individual show tiles and listed by episode.
> 
> But the way I'm using Plex is just to replace the option to transfer from a PC to a TiVo. And I periodically delete those files anyway. Although right now I'm taking up twice the space since I still keep the original .TiVo files. But I have a 6TB drive dedicated to TiVo to PC transfers.


Decoding and Encoding/Transcoding files are a complete waste of time with Gigabit Ethernet and cheap storage, its almost 2018 already. Plex is obsolete.

(I can see where transcoding is needed to send things through the internet/mobile, but were talking about Plex on the Tivo. Tivo stream already takes care of that).


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## adessmith (Oct 5, 2007)

The metadata and cover art might be "fluff" to some people, but some of us like it for reasons other than "to make beautiful walls of tiles of their videos and stare at them all day". For instance, my daughter was using plex long before she was able to read. That would have never happened with a DLNA client or a file share. She could navigate the titles based on the image and find the one she wanted. If you have a large library of content, eventually you may want to find movies that you don't remember the exact title. You might remember what the cover looks like and can identify it that way, or you can search by an actor or genre. I have some older movies in my collection that I wouldn't remember what they were about if it wasn't for the cover to jog my memory. For a file share you have to decide how to organize them but with something like plex you dump them in and they are tagged in different ways. What was that movie you own that has Russell Crowe in it? Just search for Russel Crowe... Also, in this example "A Beautiful Mind" is sorted under "B" and not "A" (Most DLNA clients aren't smart enough to do this, so you end up with a crap ton of movies that start with "A", and "The". Was that movie called "Bucket List", or "The Bucket List"... doesn't matter... it will be in the "B"s... It can also be found in either the "Drama", or "Comedy" genres.
You may not care about all this, but it is worth setting up for some people.
Some of the people using plex have hundreds or even thousands of movies in their collection. I wouldn't want to scroll through thousands of "file names" looking for something to watch.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> Decoding and Encoding/Transcoding files are a complete waste of time with Gigabit Ethernet and cheap storage, its almost 2018 already. Plex is obsolete.


I don't have a Gigabit link between my house and my car, sometimes I need to transcode for bitrate.
Not every device supports every format, if I want to play a 4K HDR 10 on my phone I'll need to transcode format.
Not every device supports every container, I may need to transcode mkv to mp4
Occasionally my files have an unsupported audio format for the playback device, may need to transcode audio and delivery video directly.

Just like you don't want to rename your files, I don't want to have to keep a different version for every playback scenario. Plex takes care of all of that.

If someone - other than you - wanted to use Plex with same collection of files you have, I am quite sure they could be used with a little tweaking to deal with the standard naming convention you are using.

Or they could just list By Folder for a plain DLNA like view of the names you used without all the pretty tiles.


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## Mikey_C (Jun 24, 2003)

I've had absolutely no issue using Plex on both of my Roku Ultra's, streaming full untouched rips of my BluRays with absolutely no transcoding. I also was spoiled by WDTV for many years, but realized it was time to get up to date with the newer technology. As far as I'm concerned Plex rocks! If you "dont want any kind of “app” running on your desktop PC" and "don’t want to deal with any kind of “library” feature" then may I suggest you just plunk your desktop PC next to your TV, plug it into a spare HDMI port (that is if your PC even has HDMI output), get a wireless mouse and fire up Windows Explorer and just double click the file you want to watch.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Decoding and Encoding/Transcoding files are a complete waste of time with Gigabit Ethernet and cheap storage, its almost 2018 already. Plex is obsolete.
> 
> (I can see where transcoding is needed to send things through the internet/mobile, but were talking about Plex on the Tivo. Tivo stream already takes care of that).


You don;t have a choice with the TiVo recordings. they are encrypted. They need to be decrypted first before you can watch them streamed from the PC.


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## jakerock (Dec 9, 2002)

Thanks for this thread. It reminded me that the show that I wanted to watch was on a Plex server that I have access to. TiVo worked great to watch it!


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Probably the wrong thread to ask this.. Does Plex let me STREAM and not download? and if so, does it let me do QuickPlay while streaming?

The "old" streaming, e.g. from StreamBaby, doesn't let me do QuickPlay (darn), though I can QuickPlay when streaming from another Tivo (even from a Premiere 4 which doesn't natively support QuickPlay itself... which makes sense, but is still sort of surprising).

..and as someone who JUST downloads raw MPEG files with the metadata files kmttg makes, I presume those all "just work", regardless of the filenames I make? (I make something like DATE_TITLE_EPISODENUM, and they can have spaces in them of course.)


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

Plex streams, but the classic TiVo quickplay operations aren't available, just the same as they're not available in any other third-party app like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.


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## Nak (Aug 18, 2010)

I really, really, want to like Plex. For Music on the Tivo, it's great. Love it. For SD videos, not so much. All of my SD videos, which play perfectly when transferred by PyTivo, play in a box with black bars on all four sides. I posted on the Plex forums, absolutely no help whatsoever from the developers on that and several other bugs I listed. Not even a reply. One guy--who is on here as well--at least tried to help. He said the videos need to be encoded at 720x480, which they are. (And yes, I have tried setting aspect ratio prior to starting plex.) So, Plex definitely sucks for some people. And the developers clearly don't care. (Like I'm going to buy a plex pass when I can't get any help or even a "go F*** yourself from them.) Why do people get angry? Because that's the only option in Hydra right now. If Tivo brings back PC -> Tivo transfers then people that think Plex sucks can ignore it and enjoy far better native playback with Tivo. So, if Plex somehow works for you, that's great. Perfect. I am seriously happy for you. But understand that Plex has severe problems for a lot of other people and the Plex developers don't care even a tiny little bit. That's why a lot of us hate Plex. If Plex worked and there was even a tiny effort at support, I'd buy the Plex pass. But it's laughable that they even have the paid option right now.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Nak, if you want to send me one of your SD videos that does not stream correctly via Plex, I would be happy to load it on my plex server and see if I can figure out what is different from mine. I have tones of old tv episodes that are SD and they play fine via plex.

I agree Plex support is abysmal but its what we have on Tivo. When it works its great, when it don't its very frustrating. If interested, PM me and I'll give you my direct email address. We can work out the file transfer from there. I will have some free time to play with this over the holidays.


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## gonzotek (Sep 24, 2004)

Re: SD videos playing via Plex:
I can't recall if the same condition applies to the Opera (Vewd) web-based apps (of which Plex is one, even though it isn't listed in the Vewd store [I really hate that name]), but HME apps still suffer from a long standing bug (or missing feature if you prefer) that would not allow TiVo aspect ratio correction(Panel, Zoom, Full) while in the app. You had to drop out to live tv or a recording, change the aspect ratio, then go back into the app to observe whether you were in the correct mode. So, from the description of letter and pillar boxing on the videos, maybe try Zoom mode? It might not help, but it's fairly quick and easy to test, and if not, I'd take up jcthorne on his offer to test against his setup.


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

foghorn2 said:


> ^^
> 
> Sounds just like someone on: Plex: Still Sucks
> 
> Seriously, you want to run fat Plex on a Server or Nas just to play native Tivo files and loose the trick play, gimme a break!!


I don't think anyone here thinks that is the purpose of Plex.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

Gotta love this thread... wah, Plex doesn't work for me so it sucks for everyone.

Um, no. It doesn't suck for everyone, so stop trolling as if it does.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

slowbiscuit said:


> Gotta love this thread... wah, Plex doesn't work for me so it sucks for everyone.
> 
> Um, no. It doesn't suck for everyone, so stop trolling as if it does.


Quit trolling, It does suck on the Tivo. It wont even play tivo files natively, thats how bad it is on the Tivo.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

dswallow said:


> Plex streams, but the classic TiVo quickplay operations aren't available, just the same as they're not available in any other third-party app like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.


Why cant it on your lan? Is there something wrong with it?

The skip buttons work on Kodi just fine, whats wrong with plex?


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> Why cant it on your lan? Is there something wrong with it?
> 
> The skip buttons work on Kodi just fine, whats wrong with plex?


The functionality in general works, but to the extent "quickplay" or other terminology usually is meant to describe the quick 30-second skip/jump and 5-second rewind capabilities, just like any other apps, those are only possible via the TiVo interface for TiVo-recorded programs.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

dswallow said:


> The functionality in general works, but to the extent "quickplay" or other terminology usually is meant to describe the quick 30-second skip/jump and 5-second rewind capabilities, just like any other apps, those are only possible via the TiVo interface for TiVo-recorded programs.


Try pytivo.....


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

Sparky1234 said:


> Try pytivo.....


Hydra doesn't currently support video transfers from a PC to TiVo.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

dswallow said:


> Hydra doesn't currently support video transfers from a PC to TiVo.


And plex is no substitute for what we lost with hydra, another supporting position for my title of this thread.

Maybe tivo should work with the maker of pytivo and TivoDan and make tivo transfers great again!! - a new Tivo Desktop would be marvelous!! and let it just play off the TiVoPy Desktop!! No transferring needed, but optional for people with slow networks.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> And plex is no substitute for what we lost with hydra, another supporting position for my title of this thread.
> 
> Maybe tivo should work with the maker of pytivo and TivoDan and make tivo transfers great again!! - a new Tivo Desktop would be marvelous!! and let it just play off the TiVoPy Desktop!! No transferring needed, but optional for people with slow networks.


I guess this is the source of the problem here, apparently clueless as to what Plex is generally used for. TiVo is just another platform for this application which is widely available on many devices.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

MighTiVo said:


> I guess this is the source of the problem here, apparently clueless as to what Plex is generally used for. TiVo is just another platform for this application which is widely available on many devices.


It has been suggested, by other people elsewhere in the TCF, that the ability to transfer from PC to TiVo is unnecessary as Plex is a better alternative.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

Plex , in spite of working fine in the past, "cant find my server" . So after re-installs, reboots and all other techniques to fix things, I just gave up. Computer hdmi to hdmi input on my tv pretty much gives me access to all my movies and music.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

mattyro7878 said:


> Plex , in spite of working fine in the past, "cant find my server" . So after re-installs, reboots and all other techniques to fix things, I just gave up. Computer hdmi to hdmi input on my tv pretty much gives me access to all my movies and music.


Certainly sometimes the simple solution might be best, my needs are much more complex which is why I have a dedicated Ubuntu VM to support Plex and it is pretty solid. The most complicated part of the process is ripping disks to store on the server. Keeping up with DRM can be a pain at times but this is not function of Plex function, it is for managing the collection, user access, and stream to any/every device I have, from home or away.

One feature I wish Plex handled better is presenting groups of Movies together. It handles TV series quite well, but it is not currently designed to present all my Star Wars movies in one group, they are just listed with everything else. There are ways to group these but I don't think it isn't as easy as it should be.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

lpwcomp said:


> It has been suggested, by other people elsewhere in the TCF, that the ability to transfer from PC to TiVo is unnecessary as Plex is a better alternative.


I agree with this somewhat. Instead of transferring my movies to TiVo it is much easier and is presented and managed better, keeping movies and TV series I want to keep for a long time in Plex. Hydra is a big step forward for presentation of TV series and if I could somehow have TiVo (Hydra) access a TV series that was on cheap, and easier to replace/grow storage. I would seriously consider using the TiVo interface for access.

To compensate for this, and to take the work out of transferring programs recorded on TiVo, I chose to purchase a HDHomerun tuner that the Plex DVR can use. I use the Homerun tuner to store and archive series on my Plex server which (work in progress) can remove commercials and I can access later through Plex. The Plex DVR is certainly no comparison to TiVo for daily viewing, but for accessing archives of programs I find it works much better.

For example I like to hold on to episodes of Nova, America's Test Kitchen, things like that. These are not always easily available through a streaming service, so I maintain my own collection. It is certainly on the realm of program hording, but it is pretty inexpensive and doesn't take a lot of physical space.

My son in college doesn't always have access to some programs and he can very easily access my Plex server from the dorm to view programs I have put on Plex. Certainly the TiVo app/online can do similar, but the Plex server has much better access management and he can maintain his own saved position and viewing records. It really does work just like managing my own Netflix like service for my personal collection.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

dswallow said:


> Hydra doesn't currently support video transfers from a PC to TiVo.


Yep


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

MighTiVo said:


> Certainly sometimes the simple solution might be best, my needs are much more complex which is why I have a dedicated Ubuntu VM to support Plex and it is pretty solid. The most complicated part of the process is ripping disks to store on the server. Keeping up with DRM can be a pain at times but this is not function of Plex function, it is for managing the collection, user access, and stream to any/every device I have, from home or away.
> 
> One feature I wish Plex handled better is presenting groups of Movies together. It handles TV series quite well, but it is not currently designed to present all my Star Wars movies in one group, they are just listed with everything else. There are ways to group these but I don't think it isn't as easy as it should be.


Grouping of movies that are a series is the thing I don't like either. I manually have to go into each movie and change the sort by title to Star Wars 001, Star Wars 002 or Bond 001, Bond 002 etc. to get them to display together and in order.

I think this is a limitation of the information provided by themoviedb data.


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

I love the Plex app and use it almost daily with zero problems and never had. Always agendas for these same 1-2 people here to scream and rant about something then twist it to say what they really want.

Here get a clue, it DOESN'T do what you want, but works fine as standard Plex app. I could care less about transferring shows to a desktop so do not care at all if they ever add that feature.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

osu1991 said:


> Grouping of movies that are a series is the thing I don't like either. I manually have to go into each movie and change the sort by title to Star Wars 001, Star Wars 002 or Bond 001, Bond 002 etc. to get them to display together and in order.
> 
> I think this is a limitation of the information provided by themoviedb data.


Just drop the "franchise" films into separate directories and create a library for them. I have Star Wars, Star Trek, Bond, Marvel, Quentin Tarantino films, Martin Scorsese films, etc. all in distinct groups in Plex. I also playlists for things like my AFI 100 collection, my submarine movie collection, etc. - basically anything that may cross the other groupings. You can also sort by release date or, if all else fails, yes, you can edit the sort title. The only place I use that is the Star Wars films, which I have listed in "machete" order.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Rkkeller said:


> I love the Plex app and use it almost daily with zero problems and never had. Always agendas for these same 1-2 people here to scream and rant about something then twist it to say what they really want.
> 
> Here get a clue, it DOESN'T do what you want, but works fine as standard Plex app. I could care less about transferring shows to a desktop so do not care at all if they ever add that feature.


Get a clue yourself. I *couldn't* care less if Plex on TiVo was the greatest streaming app ever. For a number of reasons, streaming is not a viable alternative to transfer *for me* and I'm almighty tired of being told that it is.


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## Chuck_IV (Jan 1, 2002)

I never let Plex do the IDing of my movies. What I used(and it still does work but requires an extra movie lookup step) is a program called Ember. It was mainly because when I use a Popcorn Hr PCH-A210, the scraping wasn't to my liking. I let Ember scrape the box art and background image(aka. fan art) . I then went through and adjusted the ones I didn't like to my liking. Now, whenever I add a movie, I use Ember to get the movie info and then I choose the box art and fan art and everything looks great for my Plex server(running on a QNAP TS451+).

I have close to 300 movies now. Mine are all either straight 1:1 rips from DVDs or Blurays using Makemkv or pulls from my Tivo. So for those that say it's not a replacement for transfers, it actually IS a replacement for the functionality. HOWEVER, it requires a Plex server and storage location first. This is where people become intimidated and don't bother. However, once the server is running, you are just transferring the movie to the Plex storage location and not back to the Tivo. An easy way to get a solid Plex server is pick up an NVidia shield and add an external drive.

As for Plex on the Tivo, it works well enough on my Bolt that we use it for the upstairs TV and the minis. It plays ALL Tivo ripped movies perfectly, as if it were on the Tivo. However it does struggle a bit on high bitrate Blueray rips(Avatar comes to mind) so I have to turn the bitrate of Plex down a bit. On our downstairs TV, we use an NVidia Shield because it handles the HD audio codecs like Atmos and such.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Diana Collins said:


> Just drop the "franchise" films into separate directories and create a library for them. I have Star Wars, Star Trek, Bond, Marvel, Quentin Tarantino films, Martin Scorsese films, etc. all in distinct groups in Plex. I also playlists for things like my AFI 100 collection, my submarine movie collection, etc. - basically anything that may cross the other groupings. You can also sort by release date or, if all else fails, yes, you can edit the sort title. The only place I use that is the Star Wars films, which I have listed in "machete" order.


Thanks, all great ideas. I do have separate folders, for example one named "Star Wars [Collection]" What I would like to see is the Plex agent pick up on this (or similar naming convention) so I just have to move the files and not manually edit the database info. Also once tagged in a Collection, by agent or manually in the Edit/Tags tab, the movies would be grouped in the main library view instead of me having to change to Collection View.

Of course this is just my personal preference and may not meet what others think is a good presentation.


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## stonewallers (Apr 8, 2010)

MighTiVo said:


> Take a look at the Status on the PlexMediaServer side when playing back. The TiVo Plex Client app doesn't seem to be able to or just isn't currently configured to make the most of the TiVo hardware. You may find that trans-coding is occurring that you didn't anticipate.


Thanks for this suggestion. I probably should have checked this thread before messing with it this weekend. As far as I can tell from reading some threads (some of which are over a yer old) is that it is a max rate/resolution issue with the roamio and premieres that are the issue? It has to transcode my 1080 recordings down to 720p? (I think a poster mentioned this on the first page of this thread). I was able to get it to run smoothly on my brother's and sisters's bolts (both out of network). Still that causes an issue since my main tivo is a roamio (and a couple premieres).

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll see if I can figure out exactly what is happening... and look for more recent threads on here or the Plex forums. If anyone knows where to look, let me know.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

I have long thought that the creation of sub libraries should be automatic. For example, if I have the following structure:

--->Movies
----->File1.mrv
----->File2.mrv
----->Bond Films
-------->File3.mrv

File1 and File2 should in the "Movies" library, which contains a "Bond Films" entry that is a sub-library (like season folders in TV series). If you were to select "Bond Films" you would then see File3. But creating libraries for each works, just means creating the library in Plex. This is my Library Menu in Plex:










If I select the Star Trek library I get:










Sure it would be cool if it were automatic, but there is a simple way to make it happen.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Diana Collins said:


> I have long thought that the creation of sub libraries should be automatic. For example, if I have the following structure:
> 
> --->Movies
> ----->File1.mrv
> ...


Thanks for the demo, understand you suggestion, I am not sure I want to trade having all those libraries to get that view but it certainly gives me something to think about.


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## Nak (Aug 18, 2010)

Diana Collins said:


> I have long thought that the creation of sub libraries should be automatic. For example, if I have the following structure:
> 
> --->Movies
> ----->File1.mrv
> ...


I didn't know about this. Very Nice!


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## Nak (Aug 18, 2010)

jcthorne said:


> Nak, if you want to send me one of your SD videos that does not stream correctly via Plex, I would be happy to load it on my plex server and see if I can figure out what is different from mine. I have tones of old tv episodes that are SD and they play fine via plex.
> 
> I agree Plex support is abysmal but its what we have on Tivo. When it works its great, when it don't its very frustrating. If interested, PM me and I'll give you my direct email address. We can work out the file transfer from there. I will have some free time to play with this over the holidays.


jcthorne, thanks so much for your offer! Please don't think I was ignoring you; I had surgery coming up--today--and Tivo slipped to the bottom of my thoughts. I'll PM you my email. I'll be on some pretty powerful painkillers for the next few days, so my thought processes will be running pretty F***** up for a while, so probably best to wait a bit.. Thanks again! (BTW, surgery was a complete success.  )


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## Nak (Aug 18, 2010)

gonzotek said:


> Re: SD videos playing via Plex:
> I can't recall if the same condition applies to the Opera (Vewd) web-based apps (of which Plex is one, even though it isn't listed in the Vewd store [I really hate that name]), but HME apps still suffer from a long standing bug (or missing feature if you prefer) that would not allow TiVo aspect ratio correction(Panel, Zoom, Full) while in the app. You had to drop out to live tv or a recording, change the aspect ratio, then go back into the app to observe whether you were in the correct mode. So, from the description of letter and pillar boxing on the videos, maybe try Zoom mode? It might not help, but it's fairly quick and easy to test, and if not, I'd take up jcthorne on his offer to test against his setup.


Thanks for the thought and trying to help, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately I already knew about the aspect ratio issue and tried working with it. It wouldn't really have helped though; with a 12 foot screen zooming SD material sucks quality wise.

On a completely kind of unrelated note, that 12 foot screen really shows the difference between Comcast and Frontier Fios. Just switched to Frontier and All I can say is WOW! Especially the cable channels. Interestingly, even though Comcast supposedly does not compress local channels, some shows--files size-- on local channels are about 25% bigger on Frontier. And also show a video quality improvement over Comcast.


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## Darrin D. (Dec 19, 2017)

Plex rocks. Let me tell you why it belongs on TiVo. Being the bit head in the household, I have plex accessing roughly 1000 movies, 20,000 songs and countless videos. I've never had to manually enter a single title. When implemented properly, plex just handles it.

But the reason it is perfect for TiVo is because I can hand the TiVo remote to my wife and she can access EVERYTHING. It took me 5 minutes to teach her. Now I finally have peace in my household. That's worth $$$.


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## mroy5150 (May 30, 2017)

I have a TiVO Roamio OTA and I have Plex Server running on a QNAP 451+ NAS Server. Now this may be a limitation of the Roamio OTA as opposed to the other TiVo models but I have found all of the built in apps to be significantly inferior to the same apps on Apple TV or Fire TV. My biggest issue with the Plex app on the Roamio is that it has limited compatibility with Dolby 5.1 formats. It seems to only be compatible with AC3 audio but anything encoded with AAC Dolby 5.1 will only play in stereo. I'm guessing that it may be a limitation of the hardware but either way if I want to watch a movie in full Dolby 5.1 I usually have to watch it on my Apple TV. If anyone knows if this has been rectified on Hydra then let me know.


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

mroy5150 said:


> I have a TiVO Roamio OTA and I have Plex Server running on a QNAP 451+ NAS Server. Now this may be a limitation of the Roamio OTA as opposed to the other TiVo models but I have found all of the built in apps to be significantly inferior to the same apps on Apple TV or Fire TV.


That has always been the case for as long as tivo has had apps.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mroy5150 said:


> I have a TiVO Roamio OTA and I have Plex Server running on a QNAP 451+ NAS Server. Now this may be a limitation of the Roamio OTA as opposed to the other TiVo models but I have found all of the built in apps to be significantly inferior to the same apps on Apple TV or Fire TV. My biggest issue with the Plex app on the Roamio is that it has limited compatibility with Dolby 5.1 formats. It seems to only be compatible with AC3 audio but anything encoded with AAC Dolby 5.1 will only play in stereo. I'm guessing that it may be a limitation of the hardware but either way if I want to watch a movie in full Dolby 5.1 I usually have to watch it on my Apple TV. If anyone knows if this has been rectified on Hydra then let me know.


What the heck is AAC DOlby 5.1? Shouldn't it be either AAC 5.1 or Dolby 5.1? There should be two separate audio tracks. Since those are completely different formats.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

mroy5150 said:


> I have a TiVO Roamio OTA and I have Plex Server running on a QNAP 451+ NAS Server. Now this may be a limitation of the Roamio OTA as opposed to the other TiVo models but I have found all of the built in apps to be significantly inferior to the same apps on Apple TV or Fire TV. My biggest issue with the Plex app on the Roamio is that it has limited compatibility with Dolby 5.1 formats. It seems to only be compatible with AC3 audio but anything encoded with AAC Dolby 5.1 will only play in stereo. I'm guessing that it may be a limitation of the hardware but either way if I want to watch a movie in full Dolby 5.1 I usually have to watch it on my Apple TV. If anyone knows if this has been rectified on Hydra then let me know.


Its a limitation of the Tivo hardware and licencing. Tivo ONLY supports AC3 for 5.1, AAC in stereo only. If you want 5.1 sound on the tivo, the files will need to have DD 5.1 track encoded as AC3 as the first audio track. Plex does not transcode AAC 5.1 to AC3 5.1 on the fly. It probably could but it does not.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

I use Kmttg to automatically push select tv shows (decrypt and commercial skip) from my TiVo to a file directory that Plex indexes and I don't do anything else. It automatically picks up the show and includes it in my library.

My daughter as college is able to watch her favorite shows whether they are on Plex, Netflix or any other streaming service she decides to use. 

Plex has been a great value to my family. The combination of TiVo tools and Plex flexibility has allowed me to set it up and not have to mess with it all the time.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

bradleys said:


> I use Kmttg to automatically push select tv shows (decrypt and commercial skip) from my TiVo to a file directory that Plex indexes and I don't do anything else. It automatically picks up the show and includes it in my library.


This is on my todo list, are you doing it on Linux or Windows? If Linux have a good how to ref or tips/tricks?


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

MighTiVo said:


> This is on my todo list, are you doing it on Linux or Windows? If Linux have a good how to ref or tips/tricks?


I use a windows machine, but a buddy of mine has Plex setup on a Linux server and it works great.

How To Install & Set Up Plex Media Server On Linux


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

bradleys said:


> I use a windows machine, but a buddy of mine has Plex setup on a Linux server and it works great.
> 
> How To Install & Set Up Plex Media Server On Linux


Thanks, have a large Plex setup - multiple Plex server VMs, network and cloud storage as well as many other VMs for automating tasks that fall under the entertainment umbrella. it was the Kmttg on Linux I was asking about.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

Diana Collins said:


> I have long thought that the creation of sub libraries should be automatic. For example, if I have the following structure:


I use collections: Collections

And as shown as shown in the link you can manually create and edit the tags.










The Metadata Agent can automatically import the collection information from TheMovieDatabase movie sets by selecting the following settings...
_Settings --> Agents --> Movies --> Plex Movie --> Plex Movie_ (click the gear icon)
and
_Settings --> Agents --> Movies --> The Movie Database --> The Movie Database_ (click the gear icon)


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

Sure...I have used Collections as well. They work too, but require editing the metadata to add the Collection tag. Using Libraries establishes a directory for each group. As new Star Wars movies come out, for example, I just drop them into the directory and they get logged and the metadata created automatically.

They each have different ways of getting to a similar goal. Collections can be more flexible - to move a file from one library to another requires physically moving the file, while a simple change to the Tags can change the Collection. Libraries is the default view, and you can automatically add new files to a library, so I think they are a bit easier.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

I have use collections from TMD turned on, but nothing worthwhile ever comes from it so I can't comment on how it organizes collections. 
I suspect it may not match what I was hoping. I have used collections manually a bit, but long term was hoping for an automated solution for custom collections that doesn't exist today.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

One other comment...We have used Plex for years (long before TiVo had a Plex client) so, for the most part, our video and music collection has grown *since* we started using Plex. It is probably much easier if you start out with Plex than if you try to add thousands of titles in at once. It does sometimes get things wrong and correcting one entry is a lot simpler than needing to correct dozens.

But I think the key point has been made...if you are looking for a way to quickly and easily add a large library of off-line content to your viewing choices Plex may not be the ideal solution. But if you want to create a private streaming service that makes your library available to nearly all devices, Plex is one very viable option.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

bradleys said:


> I use collections: Collections
> 
> And as shown as shown in the link you can manually create and edit the tags.
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting that. Going to give it a try. Been using Plex for several years and never read about Collections.


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## GomezL (May 15, 2009)

Foghorn2, I read through this thread, and I have to say that your initial post was a very aggressive post suggesting that PLEX "is a disgrace on the Tivo", and "disguised spyware".

I happen to enjoy Plex, not only on my Tivo, but on many other devices. It provides a very consistent interface and is highly customizable.

You asked a question "Why do you have to scan your media?" I think you are asking why do you have to do it manually, and the answer is you can configure Plex for automatic updates.

The Plex server is so much more than just a "Bridge to a shared directory or a DNLA server". As a plex user, I find that I am able to search through my indexed "Meta Data" (Movies), and quickly find them. It "Just Works". Playback is nearly instant and works as expected.

As other users have mentioned, you are certainly not required to use Plex or any other Tivo App.

Tivo certainly didn't do anything evil by implementing Plex (Or any other app). It's an optional feature that you can use as you please.

I do believe that you are trying to request that Tivo enhance the system so that it can access video stored on the local network. I happen to agree that this is a great wish.

I have been using Tivo Desktop (2010) which was their attempt to provide just that. This product has been discontinued, even though it looks like you can still download it. I believe that the latest "Hydra" or "Enhanced Experience" is not supporting Tivo Desktop.

As a comparison to Plex, Tivo Desktop barely worked. I was unable to mount a large library if I had more than a dozen movies in a folder, it timed out, and it's hit or miss if the server even appears on my Tivo. Even with a very fast server and network, I found that I couldn't stream movies unless I gave them quite a head start (Download/Transfer, and then I could start watching it).

I think it would be great to add a network share to a PC, Mac or NAS device, but I don't think that it's as easy as you might think. Personally, I would be making suggestions to the Plex & Tivo developers to enhance their interface (Resolve the pesky problems that you are finding). My own experience has been that I enjoy Plex from a variety of devices. It is worth noting that Plex accepts the Tivo interface without requiring an additional license fee. This is huge!

I think that Tivo Online is the direction that Tivo is working for viewing TV on your PC. It seems that the interface keeps getting better.



foghorn2 said:


> What a load of carp Plex is, its a disgrace on the TiVo and everywhere else for the matter.
> I swear this program is disguised spyware. Why the hell do you have to scan your media to play it. (with invalid tiles and file descriptions)
> The WDTV and XBMC/KODI does not need this bloatware just to view your files off a directory on a server. Now that you cant put shows on your Tivo from a server with Hydra, there is no reasonable way to play your library from a PC or NAS.
> 
> Please Ted or anyone else watching, just let the TiVo play compliant files off a shared directory or DLNA server!!


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

I like the idea of Tivo viewing on a PC too, but then it should have a full screen interface controllable with a remote too. Like a windows 10 10' app.

I still think Plex Sucks bad, XBMC and the legal use of Kodi is just so much better and would be better suited on TiVo (maybe a stripped locked version with no add ons, let it play network shared files including tivo files natively).

Plex: Still Sucks


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Kodi vs Plex on TiVO...

Plex is primarily for streaming media virtually anywhere.
Kodi mostly deals with files on the platform it's running on, It _can_ stream content from other devices, but only local, and it can't do transcoding.

The TiVO platform has local files under control, doesn't have the native ability to stream from other than another TiVO, and has a limited reange of file formats it can play.

Seems like the Plex Client is what TiVo needs, not Kodi...


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

MighTiVo said:


> Kodi vs Plex on TiVO...
> 
> Plex is primarily for streaming media virtually anywhere.
> Kodi mostly deals with files on the platform it's running on, It _can_ stream content from other devices, but only local, and it can't do transcoding.....
> Seems like the Plex Client is what TiVo needs, not Kodi...


What, you have your tivo in a car?


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## m.s (Mar 8, 2007)

foghorn2 said:


> What, you have your tivo in a car?


I can help with your confusion, since I can understand context. Read the sentence as "Plex is primarily for streaming media _from _virtually anywhere."

Oh, and if you think Plex is "the Stupidest thing Tivo ever did" (you really should learn how to use capitalization), you can simply uncheck it under "manage apps," and pretty much avoid it completely. Problem solved.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> What, you have your tivo in a car?


I know the Plex app is one of the apps that works with Android Auto in my car. But I have not tried it yet to see how it works in the car. I have no idea if it's used for only audio or both audio and video. My guess though would be that it's only for audio.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> What, you have your tivo in a car?


Funny.. sorry if this was confusing you, but I suspect you understood I was saying that the Plex app is built for streaming and the Kodi app is built for local file playback. Since the local files on a TiVO are played back fine with the native TiVO interface, it seems the Plex app is what TiVO needs to enhance streaming playback from other storage not Kodi.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

MighTiVo said:


> Funny.. sorry if this was confusing you, but I suspect you understood I was saying that the Plex app is built for streaming and the Kodi app is built for local file playback. Since the local files on a TiVO are played back fine with the native TiVO interface, it seems the Plex app is what TiVO needs to enhance streaming playback from other storage not Kodi.


Local tivo files on a server cannot be played back with a Tivo natively when using hydra, nor cant it with Plex without file decoding.

Plex: Still Sucks


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> Local tivo files on a server cannot be played back with a Tivo natively when using hydra, nor cant it with Plex without file decoding.
> 
> Plex: Still Sucks


It's easily automated with kmttg. Which is what I'm doing now. I've had kmttg transferring TiVo recordings from dozens of shows to a PC for many years now. But I kept them encrypted with the .TiVo extension. Since I could transfer them back to the TiVos if I needed to.

But since Hydra doesn't work with PC to TiVo transfers, I changed the settings in kmttg so it decrypts the .TiVo files and stores them with a ts extension and in a PLEX friendly format. It's still just as automated as before, it just needs to go through the extra step of decrypting the file.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

foghorn2 said:


> *Local *tivo files on a *server *cannot be played back with a Tivo natively when using hydra, nor cant it with Plex without file decoding.
> 
> Plex: Still Sucks


On a server = remote 
I give up....


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

MighTiVo said:


> On a server = remote
> I give up....


Yes local files, in the house, on a server, not in someone elses house using plex
I give up..


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## m.s (Mar 8, 2007)

foghorn2 said:


> I give up..


Our wishes have been granted!


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> I know the Plex app is one of the apps that works with Android Auto in my car. But I have not tried it yet to see how it works in the car. I have no idea if it's used for only audio or both audio and video. My guess though would be that it's only for audio.


You really should get a mini in you car so you can stream decrypted tivo files from plexus from someone 500 miles away.


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## m.s (Mar 8, 2007)

foghorn2 said:


> You really should get a mini in you car so you can stream decrypted tivo files from plexus from someone 500 miles away.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> You really should get a mini in you car so you can stream decrypted tivo files from plexus from someone 500 miles away.


I prefer 3000 miles away.

Sent from my Galaxy S8 using Tapatalk


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Plex: Still Sucks


Trolling because you don't like something: still sucks.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> Local tivo files on a server cannot be played back with a Tivo natively when using hydra, nor cant it with Plex without file decoding.
> 
> Plex: Still Sucks


I play back all my Plex movies that are stored in MP4 format, goes directly from DVD/BD to MP4 Plex (using DVDfab) with no TiVo playback problems, my kids in the next town over can also play the same movies on their TiVo without problems.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> I give up..


I knew it was too good to be true. 

Obviously, Plex is not what you want. Guess what: you don't have to use it and, since it costs nothing, it cost you nothing but time to try it. If you want some other client on the TiVo you need to talk to the client vendor since THEY must do the port.

Plex is very successful so SOMEBODY finds it useful. That you don't is your prerogative. We get it...you don't like Plex. Case closed.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Diana Collins said:


> I knew it was too good to be true.
> 
> Obviously, Plex is not what you want. Guess what: you don't have to use it and, since it costs nothing, it cost you nothing but time to try it. If you want some other client on the TiVo you need to talk to the client vendor since THEY must do the port.
> 
> Plex is very successful so SOMEBODY finds it useful. That you don't is your prerogative. We get it...you don't like Plex. Case closed.


Agreed plexus is garbage on the tivo, case closed.


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## m.s (Mar 8, 2007)

Here's a helpful link for everyone.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

foghorn2 said:


> Agreed plexus is garbage on the tivo, case closed.


*plonk*


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I tried using PLEX this morning with Android Auto. It worked very well for playing music. But for me, all my music is in the cloud at Amazon. So I wouldn't consider streaming my music from home until Amazon dumps their cloud music storage service completely.


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## gonzotek (Sep 24, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> I tried using PLEX this morning with Android Auto. It worked very well for playing music. But for me, all my music is in the cloud at Amazon. So I wouldn't consider streaming my music from home until Amazon dumps their cloud music storage service completely.


Amazon Music Ending Cloud MP3 Storage, Streaming Option

They're still supporting some parts of the service, but if you've uploaded a lot of your own tracks (vs. purchased them from Amazon MP3 store or used the cd autorip service they offer with purchases), I think that is coming to an end sometime next year (2019).


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

gonzotek said:


> Amazon Music Ending Cloud MP3 Storage, Streaming Option
> 
> They're still supporting some parts of the service, but if you've uploaded a lot of your own tracks (vs. purchased them from Amazon MP3 store or used the cd autorip service they offer with purchases), I think that is coming to an end sometime next year (2019).


Yes. I'll be good for at least another year. And I do have a local copy of all my CD rips. l But I'll need to download all the songs I purchased from Amazon over the years I've been subscribing to the music cloud storage. Since all those purchases were added automatically.

I'll need to dust off my Intel NAS with all my music one day and try linking it with my PC running Plex. To see how well it works with a couple of Terabytes of Music.


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## adessmith (Oct 5, 2007)

foghorn2 said:


> And plex is no substitute for what we lost with hydra, another supporting position for my title of this thread.


Plex was on the TiVo well before we lost kmttg and tivo desktop support with Hydra... therefore it was not added to the TiVo as a "substitute for what we lost with hydra".
It was meant for a somewhat different purpose. It is true there is some overlap in their capabilities, but it was NEVER designed to be a substitute for native transfers.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

adessmith said:


> Plex was on the TiVo well before we lost kmttg and tivo desktop support with Hydra... therefore it was not added to the TiVo as a "substitute for what we lost with hydra".
> It was meant for a somewhat different purpose. It is true there is some overlap in their capabilities, but it was NEVER designed to be a substitute for native transfers.


Correct, and it never will because it sucks.


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

You sure have a hardon for Plex. At this point I'm guessing your wife left you for Plex.

Lucky her.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

stile99 said:


> You sure have a hardon for Plex. At this point I'm guessing your wife left you for Plex.
> 
> Lucky her.


Well I would not go so far as you in attacking all the Plex fanboys, I would not want to get banned.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

adessmith said:


> Plex was on the TiVo well before we lost kmttg and tivo desktop support with Hydra.


I don't recall hearing that kmttg doesn't work with Hydra (only uploads are broken so half the functionality of TiVo Desktop).

Scott


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

HerronScott said:


> I don't recall hearing that kmttg doesn't work with Hydra (only uploads are broken so half the functionality of TiVo Desktop).
> 
> Scott


Yes. kmttg is working great with my Hydra Bolts and Hydra ROamio. SInce installing Hydra I have kmttg set to automatically transfer my shows to my PC like before. But then I have them automatically decrypted and put in a PLEX folder. In a format that PLEX can easily deal with to have the proper season and episode lists.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> ......In a format that PLEX can easily deal with to have the proper season and episode lists.


Why cant Plex do that automatically? Also why cant plex just play the tivo file or decrypt it on the fly? Whats wrong with it?

Plex: Still Sucks


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

This feels like I'm peeing into the wind here, because we all know you're trolling and there's probably about a 99% chance you know the answer, since you've already been told. Multiple times.

Plex is not from TiVo. You asking why Plex can't play TiVo files is like asking why Pepsi put too much ice into your drink at the movie theater.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Expecting Plex to be able to stream non decrypted TiVo files, via the Plex app on TiVos is not some crazy thing, it seems more than realistic to me, especially if moving to Plex was designed to partially replace TiVo Desktop.

I also think people need to looks at the bigger picture here. When TiVo dropped official support for TiVo desktop they dropped official support for moving files off of or onto a TiVo. THIS IS A BIG DEAL. Hydra went the next step and killed third party support for moving files onto a TiVo. The last step is for TiVo to kill third party support for moving files off of a TiVo. I will say again *THIS IS A BIG DEAL*.

I do not think that attacking Plex is really helpful, however letting TiVo know that this is unacceptable is important.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

stile99 said:


> This feels like I'm peeing into the wind here, because we all know you're trolling and there's probably about a 99% chance you know the answer, since you've already been told. Multiple times.
> 
> Plex is not from TiVo. You asking why Plex can't play TiVo files is like asking why Pepsi put too much ice into your drink at the movie theater.


That has not been answered and please quit trolling and then claim others are, please!! There is no technological reason why Plex could not stream native Tivo files or allow playback of iso other than Plex just wont do it and it sucks on the TiVo.


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

I'll do what others have already, and what I should have long ago.

*plonk*


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

stile99 said:


> This feels like I'm peeing into the wind here, ......
> ....I'll do what others have already, and what I should have long ago.
> 
> *plonk*


Please we dont need bathroom humor here..

No need to leave, just let me know why Plex wont play TiVo files without manipulation, why it wont play iso's (at one time it did) and have to baby the files names exactly so it will like it and wont give you wrong silly foreign cover art.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> No need to leave, just let me know why Plex wont play TiVo files without manipulation...


I don't know if you really want a serious answer or not but it's because TiVo encrypts all of their video files.

I'm not sure why it's up to Plex to decrypt them.

The rest of your questions have already been answered in this very thread.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

JYoung said:


> I don't know if you really want a serious answer or not but it's because TiVo encrypts all of their video files.
> 
> I'm not sure why it's up to Plex to decrypt them.
> 
> The rest of your questions have already been answered in this very thread.


Exactly. TiVo's file format is proprietary and not a standard. Unless tivo develops a plugin for plex to decrypt, it isn't going to work. But you do have a way to change the files. So you do that.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Other programs can decrypt Tivo files, Tivo did not write decrypting plug ins for them, why cant Plex?


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

foghorn2 said:


> Other programs can decrypt Tivo files, Tivo did not write decrypting plug ins for them, why cant Plex?


I would guess that TiVo does not own Plex, TiVo just got permission to use the Plex app on their system, like Netflix or any other app, how it works is up to the provider of the app, not TiVo. One does not have to use any app that they don't like, if TiVo removed Plex, then you could not use it and Plex would not be a *stupid* app anymore.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

lessd said:


> I would guess that TiVo does not own Plex, TiVo just got permission to use the Plex app on their system, like Netflix or any other app, how it works is up to the provider of the app, not TiVo. One does not have to use any app that they don't like, if TiVo removed Plex, then you could not use it and Plex would not be a *stupid* app anymore.


Plex is a separate company not connected with TiVo or Rovi.

While there are a couple (or a few) other programs that can decrypt .tivo files, IIRC, all of them exclusively deal with TiVo files.

Plex is a general purpose, multi platform media library system and the TiVo client is just one of several that they publish.

I'm sure that Plex has an idea of how many people have actually used the Plex for TiVo client and considering it would be subset of TiVo users, I'm going to guess it's a smaller number than say the Roku client, the Apple TV client, the Fire TV client, the Playstation client, the Xbox client, the Android client, and the iOS client.
It's probably not worth their effort to write a decrypt plug in for TiVo files (or at least not enough reward for spend the resources to do so).

Incidentally, who's pushing this line that Plex is the official replacement for TiVo Desktop (and transferring files off of TiVos)?

I don't recall seeing anything from TiVo on it.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

JYoung said:


> Incidentally, who's pushing this line that Plex is the official replacement for TiVo Desktop (and transferring files off of TiVos)?
> 
> I don't recall seeing anything from TiVo on it.


I don't believe anyone is "pushing this line" but the facts are these:

The capability to transfer PC to TiVo doesn't exist in Hydra and there has been no commitment from TiVo that it will be restored. You can't transfer at all to a Hydrated TiVo except through the website.

They never said anything about the push capability, it simply stopped working.

They stated a long time ago that they no longer *support* PC<->TiVo transfers.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

lpwcomp said:


> I don't believe anyone is "pushing this line".....


I'm just asking for clarification because, due to a certain lack of... shall we say.. coherence in this thread, it sounded like some felt that Plex was now the official way to do this (or should be).
I would certainly disagree with that belief.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

JYoung said:


> I'm just asking for clarification because, due to a certain lack of... shall we say.. coherence in this thread, it sounded like some felt that Plex was now the official way to do this (or should be).
> I would certainly disagree with that belief.


I don't know what you mean by "the official way" way, but it is certainly the only _*supported*_ way to do it with Hydra. The only way to transfer a recording to a wet TiVo is to first transfer it to an S4 or dry S5 or S6, then use the website to transfer it from there to the actual destination.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

JYoung said:


> I'm just asking for clarification because, due to a certain lack of... shall we say.. coherence in this thread, it sounded like some felt that Plex was now the official way to do this (or should be).
> I would certainly disagree with that belief.


Who knows what TiVo's intentions were, however we know what their actions were and it is pretty simple.

TiVo drops official support for TiVo Desktop.

TiVo adds support for Plex.

TiVo prevents transfers from PC to TiVo via any means in Hydra.
The result of the above is the only way to play files from a PC on your TiVo running Hydra that you used to be able to move onto the TiVo to play via TiVo Desktop and other programs is to use Plex.

Perhaps it wasn't TiVo intention but the end result is that Plex is the only work around to replacing some of the functionality lost in Hydra, that used to be provided by TiVo Desktop and other programs.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> Who knows what TiVo's intentions were, however we know what their actions were and it is pretty simple.
> 
> TiVo drops official support for TiVo Desktop.
> 
> ...


For Item #2, I'd say that Plex wrote a client for TiVo. I don't know if TiVo solicited Plex to do so or not.
(Certainly TiVo approved the app.)

And while I understand that under Hydra this seems to be the only way to get that functionality back, Plex would not be my first recommendation for that.
(At least, not for someone who's not technically inclined.)


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

JYoung said:


> For Item #2, I'd say that Plex wrote a client for TiVo. I don't know if TiVo solicited Plex to do so or not.
> (Certainly TiVo approved the app.)
> 
> And while I understand that under Hydra this seems to be the only way to get that functionality back, Plex would not be my first recommendation for that.
> (At least, not for someone who's not technically inclined.)


I agree that Plex is a poor solution to replacing TiVo Desktop and the other third party programs. My guess is that is the whole point of this thread. Every time someone brings up the issue of Hydra dropping support for PC to TiVo transfers, Plex always comes up, which it should as it is the only partial work around available. However some people seem to want to dismiss the loss of functionality as irrelevant and just say use Plex, which again is my guess on part of the reason we have this thread.

I have nothing against Plex, however TiVo dropping support for TiVo Desktop and blocking PC to TiVo transfers in Hydra is a BIG DEAL. We should not be happy and should let TiVo know (which I think we have).


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

DIdn't TiVo drop TiVo Desktop a long time ago?


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

aaronwt said:


> DIdn't TiVo drop TiVo Desktop a long time ago?


Best I can remember is it was around the release of the Bolt, but I could be wrong. While I am not happy about that, the bigger issue is making PC to TiVo transfers not allowable in Hydra, which of course makes us worry that the next step is to stop TiVo to PC transfers.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Tivo desktop still had full functionality till hydra. Same for netgear nas.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

atmuscarella said:


> Best I can remember is it was around the release of the Bolt, but I could be wrong. While I am not happy about that, the bigger issue is making PC to TiVo transfers not allowable in Hydra, which of course makes us worry that the next step is to stop TiVo to PC transfers.


Well the easy answer there is to not use Hydra if you want transfers. Done.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

slowbiscuit said:


> Well the easy answer there is to not use Hydra if you want transfers. Done.


Not really, the benefits of Hydra outweighs the loss of getting files back to the Tivo without TiVo Online or from a non tivo remote share.

But it would be nice that functionality came back, Plex wont do it amongst all the other things it wont do since its garbage and useless on the TiVo for me.

I could pull out yet another lifetime unit from the closet and leave TiVo classic on it and use it a mediator  between the other units with hydra I suppose.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I've been using Plex more and more the last couple of weeks. I set Plex up as a service recently on my TiVo PC. Where I also use kmttg as a service. I gave Plex access to around 10K songs recently as a test. And it's working well in my car with them. And I've been able to stream archived TiVo recordings with Plex while at work. Automating the Decryption process as well as automating the file naming for Plex made things so much easier. I only wish I would have been using Plex when I only watched HD content.


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## csell (Apr 16, 2007)

atmuscarella said:


> Who knows what TiVo's intentions were, however we know what their actions were and it is pretty simple.
> 
> TiVo drops official support for TiVo Desktop.
> 
> ...


My question is - are they preventing transfers from PC to Tivo or simply haven't implemented that part yet? Big difference. Hopefully the latter. That is the #1 reason why I am not upgrading.... I love Plex, but would much rather transfer a show/movie via pyTivo than watch on Plex. The main reason is its so much easier to rewind a few seconds with a show on the Tivo rather than when you are streaming it.

I would love to see a feature on Plex that says "transfer to Tivo" for each video. I guess that goes along with the issue of whether its being prevented or not implemented yet.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

csell said:


> My question is - are they preventing transfers from PC to Tivo or simply haven't implemented that part yet? Big difference. Hopefully the latter. That is the #1 reason why I am not upgrading.... I love Plex, but would much rather transfer a show/movie via pyTivo than watch on Plex. The main reason is its so much easier to rewind a few seconds with a show on the Tivo rather than when you are streaming it.
> 
> I would love to see a feature on Plex that says "transfer to Tivo" for each video. I guess that goes along with the issue of whether its being prevented or not implemented yet.


Who knows, if preventing PC to TiVo transfers in Hydra was intentional or accidental, or if they intend on providing that functionality in the future. We do know that:

dropping official support for TiVo Desktop was intentional
adding streaming from your TiVo to a browser via TiVo Online was intentional
adding the Plex app was intentional
adding TiVo to TiVo transfers via TiVo Online was intentional
I can say that TiVo was concerned with making sure that TiVo to PC and PC to TiVo transfers via TiVo Desktop worked when the Bolt was being beta tested and did fix some issues before release. I have to believe they new that PC to TiVo transfers (or TiVo to TiVo transfers without using TiVo Online) did not work with Hydra, so either there wasn't time to fix it or they decided not to fix it.

My guess is this does not get fixed in Hydra.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````


atmuscarella said:


> My guess is this does not get fixed in Hydra.


That's my guess as well as I don't believe they view it as "broken" as it is a no longer supported feature and there is no real way to implement it within their glitzy new GUI.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> I agree that Plex is a poor solution to replacing TiVo Desktop and the other third party programs. My guess is that is the whole point of this thread. Every time someone brings up the issue of Hydra dropping support for PC to TiVo transfers, Plex always comes up, which it should as it is the only partial work around available. However some people seem to want to dismiss the loss of functionality as irrelevant and just say use Plex, which again is my guess on part of the reason we have this thread.


Thank you.
I haven't really been reading the threads concerning transfers under Hydra so I missed that.



atmuscarella said:


> I have nothing against Plex, however TiVo dropping support for TiVo Desktop and blocking PC to TiVo transfers in Hydra is a BIG DEAL. We should not be happy and should let TiVo know (which I think we have).


That I understand.
It also wouldn't hurt to request Plex to make a transfer/decrypt plug in but I don't know if they'd think it to be worth their while.



atmuscarella said:


> I can say that TiVo was concerned with making sure that TiVo to PC and PC to TiVo transfers via TiVo Desktop worked when the Bolt was being beta tested and did fix some issues before release. I have to believe they new that PC to TiVo transfers (or TiVo to TiVo transfers without using TiVo Online) did not work with Hydra, so either there wasn't time to fix it or they decided not to fix it.
> 
> My guess is this does not get fixed in Hydra.


I wouldn't rule out complaints from the content providers causing TiVo to lag or jettison fixing this.
***(Cough)Comcast(Cough)***


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## ajwees41 (May 7, 2006)

JYoung said:


> Thank you.
> I haven't really been reading the threads concerning transfers under Hydra so I missed that.
> 
> That I understand.
> ...


better yet why can't there be a software like archivo with a plex plugin that puts the tivo tivo videos the the correct format in the plex library


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

The saved TiVo files/file names should be perfect and good enough for any software to scan, decrypt, and stream/share, unfortunately plex on the Tivo cant do such and was a stupid move by TiVo. If all we need is a decrypter, then get us Kodi or DLNA on the TiVo


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

foghorn2 said:


> The saved TiVo files/file names should be perfect and good enough for any software to scan, decrypt, and stream/share, unfortunately plex on the Tivo cant do such and was a stupid move by TiVo. If all we need is a decrypter, then get us Kodi or DLNA on the TiVo


The plex server handles the codecs. Not the client. Plex on the TiVo is a client.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

TonyD79 said:


> The plex server handles the codecs. Not the client. Plex on the TiVo is a client.


Right, Plex on the server will not decrypt TiVo files or let the client decode it. Its useless without intervention with other decrypters that Tivo does not make plug ins for. Lame Plex wont do it no matter what.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

That last post made no sense. Plex clients do not decode. The decode is handled on the server side. TiVo has nothing to do with “other decrypters” for plex.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

TonyD79 said:


> That last post made no sense. Plex clients do not decode. The decode is handled on the server side. TiVo has nothing to do with "other decrypters" for plex.


Right, there is no Tivo file decoding at all with Plex, no mater which side. Basically useless unless a enduser has to decrypt them with another program. Other programs can decrypt without Tivo creating plug in for them, but not with Plex, the only client app on the Tivo that can stream videos from a server.

We can continue to go in circles if you like


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

ajwees41 said:


> better yet why can't there be a software like archivo with a plex plugin that puts the tivo tivo videos the the correct format in the plex library


kmttg already does that. You just have to create the format you want to use. Which is what I did with my kmttg setup. I set it up to show the info that I want in the file name while it also puts the info that Plex needs in the file name.

Everything is completely automatic. The shows transfer to the PC automatically. They decrypt automatcially. And the file names get changed automatcially and put in a folder. I don't need to touch my TiVo/Plex/kmttg PC unless I need to setup a new show to transfer to the PC. But then I can just access it remotely from any PC, tablet or cell phone since I run Plex and kmttg as services with a headless pc. I only wish I would have set this up years ago for Plex with my TiVo PC.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

Ffs this thread is still going? Foghorn2 patently Plex doesn’t do what you want, that’s not a TiVo issue, that’s Plex. For many folks they already had Plex so ability to use Plex is a bonus. If you are unhappy I suggest you just don’t use Plex. See easy solution!

#ignorethread tool is awesome!


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## derekmski (Jan 12, 2014)

Love Plex, glad it's on there.


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