Live TV requirements?

[Bgrigg 0]

Hello,

 

Getting tired of waiting for both SiliconDust's HDHR DVR and Plex's DVR beta (esp. the lack of communication with both). I've seen some other frustrated users have gone to Emby, although I'm a bit hesitant since I backed the HDHR Kickstarter and have a lifetime Plex subscription.

 

But wondering what is required to get live TV working with Emby? I currently have a Prime and Connect (something Plex doesn't support yet (just one or the other)), planning on using Win10 HTPC as DVR (Nas eventually) and probably one of the Android boxes for bedrooms (since Netflix won't support Pi). Do I need to subscribe to an EPG provider or does it come with the Premier purchase? Also, seems like the alternatives don't (or possibly won't ever) support a grid style guide layout due to patent held by Rovi, so how is Emby getting away with it? I don't want to start using it only for it to disappear in a few years due to lawsuit.

 

Also, are devices with OTA tuners (like Wetek) supported for live TV? Would be nice to not have to tie up one of the network tuners,albeit without recording capabilities I would think.

 

Thank you in advance,

Brian

[tvinhas 14]

I ditched Plex last week after trying Emby for a few days.

Communication here is great and the devs answer to EVERY SINGLE request/bug/question you post here. Besides that, you can watch the development progress on Github, follow the commits and use either the beta or dev channels for bleeding edge features.

 

The software is stable enough, the Live TV feature is AMAZING, full guide, recording, post recording processing, etc. It doesn't support pausing Live TV at this time, or rewinding Live TV. Other then that, I'm pretty happy with Emby.

[clarkss12 296]

For guide, you WILL have to subscribe to Schedules Direct.  It is really quick and easy to get the TV portion working.  I am running the server on a very low powered Windows 10 microPC (Tronsmart Ara X5), and it works very well.  Even though it does not have the computing power of a more traditional computer, it does do direct streaming without the need to transcode, but it has limited transcoding power.

 

Today, I was away from home, so I thought I would watch live TV on my older LG phone using my Verison 4g data, and I was able to watch HD channels perfectly.  That is one major benefit of using this server, I can watch pretty much anything that is coming into my house, using my HDHomeRun Extend (transcoding disabled), from any where in the world that has cellular signals.

Edited December 28, 2016 by clarkss12

[tvinhas 14]

Now answering to your questions:

 

1 - Live TV setup works pretty much like Plex's DVR setup. Emby will auto-detect your HDHR devices out of the box

2 - It works on Windows or Linux. I'm using it on Linux with no problems but haven't tried on Windows, except for the viewing app (Emby Theater) that is waaaay better than Plex's Windows 10 app.

3 - The Android TV app is great. Works just as Plex's , but has all the DVR and Live TV capabilities

4 - Yes, you have to pay for the EPG or use XML TV (which I have no idea how works). EPG has a 7 day trial for free and costs $6 for 2 months or $25 for 1 year. I'd rather not paying for it, but I'm fine with it for now.

5 - Grid style layout for the TV Guide is here and works great. I guess thet don't give a damn about patents.

[Luke 37278]

For #2, Live TV also works on the Mac Server. It works on all Emby servers in other words.

[Bgrigg 0]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone.

 

No time shifting is a deal killer even for me (as I know it would be for wife). I'm guessing the EPG subscription costs might cover the patent fees, but it would be nice to get an official answer on that.

 

Yes, the Plex Win10 app was horrible. I just had to replace my 13yo receiver and it wouldn't output DD audio (ripped or recorded from Dvr) via optical, but fat/thick client would as it offered more setup options (like output device for audio). Speaking of which, any issues with Dolby/DTS (lossy and lossless)? I see Emby just supported digital audio just a month or so ago (which is a bit concerning). Plex has supported digital audio for awhile, although Nick from SD just stated that they should support it with Win10's next release in the spring.

[Luke 37278]

The Emby Theater Windows desktop app has always had full support for digital audio. The Window Store app has always had support for Dolby audio thanks to native Windows 10 support. It is just the DTS part that we have been working on recently.

[tvinhas 14]

 I'm guessing the EPG subscription costs might cover the patent fees, but it would be nice to get an official answer on that.

 

Well, patents are not really our problem, so I'm not sure it would be a concern. You can't be sued for it, Emby can.

[Bgrigg 0]

[tvinhas 14]

So, you're single.

 

I know we can't, but if Emby did get sued, then the grid style guide would disappear and go to a search based style, like the others use.

 

I'm married and have kids.  

 

I'm sure if they get sued, as a modular open source software, they could remove the grid from the official released software and someone could release it as a plugin.

There are plugins for illegal IPTV channels and all kinds of sorts. 

[Bgrigg 0]

Yeah, but the wack a mole strategy isn't a long term solution either. And I'm not into illegal solutions or plugins, that's one reason why Kodi has a bad rep and got pulled from Amazon.

 

I want a decent legit/legal solution that isn't put together with superglue and duct tape. And I'm OK waiting on features (to a certain degree), but the lack of communication with the two other options out there is unacceptable.

[pünktchen 1264]

Why do you think the guide layout is patented to Rovi?

[Bgrigg 0]

I haven't researched it yet (like a typical FB user), but that's what others have said on the Plex forums as to why Plex, HDHR DVR, and others have searched based guides (or what's next style). And the Comcast and other providers just pay the licensing fees since they're not short on cash.

 

Although it does seem awfully ridiculous how someone could patent an X-Y stile grid. But then why don't others offer it?

[Bgrigg 0]

Actually, thanks for prompting me to research this, as I keep meaning to. Looks like it might be dead according to this ruling from November, https://www.arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/11/rovis-tv-guide-patents-now-owned-by-tivo-are-doa-at-appeals-court/

[ebr 14960]

The Emby Theater Windows desktop app has always had full support for digital audio. The Window Store app has always had support for Dolby audio thanks to native Windows 10 support. It is just the DTS part that we have been working on recently.

 

Most of our other apps have pretty much always supported digital audio as well.  It is just HD/Lossless audio support that was recently implemented in the Android TV app (on hardware that also supports it).  The other HTPC clients have also supported this for a long time.