Recently, my cable company started to provide a cloud-based DVR for it's customers.
Consequently, I am able to travel and still be able to my recorded program while camping.
I understand that this is not totally new technology. Does anyone else have this capability?
Nightfox wrote to Mike Dippel <=-
I understand that this is not totally new technology. Does anyone else have this capability?
Not cloud-based or cable, but on my BBS PC at home, I also have a
Plex media server (where I keep some of my movies & TV shows etc.
to stream to my devices). I also have a TV tuner connected to
it, and Plex is able to stream over-the-air TV to my devices, and
it also acts as a DVR, letting you record TV broadcasts (a paid
feature). Plex can stream outside the home too, so I could watch
any of that content wherever I am, as long as I have internet
access.
I'm recently been playing with a Plex server setup, and have it working well for stuff here in the house, using the Roku app on several TV's.
I have a newbie question about it - does that "streaming outside the home" ability require a *serious* video card be in the server machine,
to provide the "transcoding" functions needed? Not sure that's the
right term, but I think so. Thanks.
Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-
Re: Re: Taking My DVR With Me
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Fri May 19 2023 12:58 pm
I'm recently been playing with a Plex server setup, and have it working well for stuff here in the house, using the Roku app on several TV's.
I have a newbie question about it - does that "streaming outside the
home" ability require a *serious* video card be in the server machine,
to provide the "transcoding" functions needed? Not sure that's the
right term, but I think so. Thanks.
It seems to me that it depends on several factors. Ideally, the
client device & app would be able to stream the video directly,
in which case it wouldn't need to transcode the video; thus a
serious video card wouldn't be needed.
Things that could cause it to transcode:
- Client can't handle the codec that the video is encoded in.
For instance, if the video is encoded with h265 but the client
only handles h264, Plex will need to transcode the video. I
think this is determined more by the client's hardware than the
Plex client app.
- Low bandwidth: Plex might decide it needs to transcode to a
lower resolution or lower bit rate, depending on the bandwidth
- Subtitles in a graphical format (such as PGS) - I've found that
if you're using subtitles, it's best to use subtitles in a
text-based format (such as SRT). Some movies come with subtitles
in a graphical format (PGS), and in that case, Plex would have to transcode the video so that the image includes the subtitles
along with the original video.
- If you've specifically chosen on the client that you want a
lower bit rate, the Plex server will transcode the video to that
bit rate
It seems there's a wide variance in the capabilities of various
client platforms and what they can handle. In my experience, it
seems the Nvidia Shield Pro performs the best from what I've
tried and is able to handle a lot as far as codecs, subtitles,
etc. With Roku clients, if I use subtitles, I've been trying to
use SRT subtitles so it will avoid transcoding video, especially
if I'm watching 4K content. I can tell if it's transcoding or
not based on how long it takes to buffer - Sometimes it takes a
few moments to buffer, which may mean the video is being
transcoded. If the video isn't being transcoded, then buffering
is usually fairly quick (assuming your network/internet bandwidth
is good).
Also, these things apply to streaming within your home network as
well as outside. And it seems that even if you have a fairly
good video card, it may have trouble transcoding and streaming (I
haven't quite figured out why). I have an Nvidia GTX 1060 in my
Plex/BBS PC, and sometimes it still has trouble transcoding 4K
videos, so I try to avoid transcoding when possible. That PC of
mine also has an Intel i7-8700k, which has Intel's QuickSync,
which Plex can make use of for transcoding - but I'm nto sure if
Plex is only using the Nvidia card or if it uses both for
transcoding.
Sorry if this is a lot of information to process.. Just wanted
to share what I've learned.
"Able to my recorded program"? I assume you mean "view" your recorded program?
That's an interesting features. And since it's cloud-based, I'm wondering if
they're really recording it for you at all - or just letting you replay it later (they might just broadcast a recorded version anyway).
Not cloud-based or cable, but on my BBS PC at home, I also have a Plex media server (where I keep some of my movies & TV shows etc. to stream to my devices). I also have a TV tuner connected to it, and Plex is able to stream
over-the-air TV to my devices, and it also acts as a DVR, letting you record TV
broadcasts (a paid feature). Plex can stream outside the home too, so I could
watch any of that content wherever I am, as long as I have internet access.
Nightfox
they store it for me. Streaming is definitely become way more popular than ever. I
could actually get rid of my home boxes and do stream only, but I want to ensure I can
still watch TV if the Wi-Fi goes out, so I will keep the ones I have. I love the technology.
That's an interesting features. And since it's cloud-based, I'm
wondering if they're really recording it for you at all - or just
letting you replay it later (they might just broadcast a recorded
version anyway).
Well... that... and one of your Atari computers, right? :)
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