I used to use both, after a bit of tweaking i got a nice theme/skin for kodi and intergrated plex and netflix into it... ive since switched to the plex app since i like it better, in my opinion i can't see anything taking over these 2

I have both... Kodi/Openelec on each of the TVs in my home. Plex my wife likes so she can watch stuff on her iPad while she sits at her desk. Personally I rarely go to Plex.

I use both Kodi and Plex. It's pretty simple to change the poster / background if it is wrong. However, I've been using the following name format for movies NAME OF MOVIE (YEAR) and for TV shows NAME OF SHOW SxxExx. I've had both Kodi and Plex not being able to scrape a few movie, but it was easy to edit.

 

I use Kodi to stream movie to my HTPC and Plex to stream out side network. My family and friends love Plex!

I use Kodi (OE) on all of my internal clients.

 

While I would LOVE to share my library with friends/family but my UL is only 5Mbit.    So, while I do have Emby running, it is really just for myself.

 

I also find that that the metadata scraper in Emby is the best out there (and I have tried just about all of them).

 

John

Kodi (Openelec) on FireTVs and Chromeboxes in the house.

Plex for streaming outside the house.

 

I thought about dumping Kodi for the new Apple TV boxes (and use Plex), but I just installed LEDs on the back on my TV and use Ambilight with Kodi. I don't see Plex/Apple/Whatever doing that anytime soon!

I use Kodi (OE) at home on all my TVs and Plex to stream to my daughter's iPad and to friends and family (which is so much easier than refilling external hard drives with content like I used to have to do).

 

I think the Kodi interface is much nicer and is a more enjoyable overall experience, but love the flexibility Plex provides when outside of the house. I also find Plex much easier to manage the content for my daughter as I tag anything I want her to be able to see, and can easily customize it. Kodi has some of this, but it doesn't seem to be as complete a solution.

Kodi (Openelec) on FireTVs

 

How is OE on the FireTV??? Fast, sluggish? Never heard of it being done. Any pointers to a good setup guide?

 

Thanks.

 

H.

Kodi (Openelec) on FireTVs

 

How is OE on the FireTV??? Fast, sluggish? Never heard of it being done. Any pointers to a good setup guide?

 

Thanks.

 

H.

 

FireTv is perfect.

 

FireTV Stick is perfect if you are not more than 10ft from your router. 

 

 

Another user who uses Chromebox loaded with openelec for main system connected to tv and Plex for streaming to tablets and smartphones.

Kodi (Openelec) on FireTVs

 

How is OE on the FireTV??? Fast, sluggish? Never heard of it being done. Any pointers to a good setup guide?

 

Thanks.

 

H.

 

FireTv is perfect.

 

FireTV Stick is perfect if you are not more than 10ft from your router. 

 

But can you actually install Openelec on a Fire TV...? Or is it just a matter of installing Kodi from the Android Store and running it as an app...? I would NOT be a fan of using Plex as my htpc interface.

Kodi (Openelec) on FireTVs

 

How is OE on the FireTV??? Fast, sluggish? Never heard of it being done. Any pointers to a good setup guide?

 

Thanks.

 

H.

 

FireTv is perfect.

 

FireTV Stick is perfect if you are not more than 10ft from your router. 

 

But can you actually install Openelec on a Fire TV...? Or is it just a matter of installing Kodi from the Android Store and running it as an app...? I would NOT be a fan of using Plex as my htpc interface.

 

Not sure about OE but Kodi is a piece of cake.  Google 'sideload fire tv kodi'

 

http://www.htpcbeginner.com/install-kodi-on-amazon-fire-tv/

 

John

I see lot's of people who use OpenELEC at home and Plex on the road or to phablets.

 

Do you all know there is a Plex variant of OpenELEC???? Why maintain two separate metadata databases, watch status, etc? Also, the new Plex Media Player has Plex supported / built embedded files for RPi2, and x86 systems.

 

I'm a Plex user, formerly XBMC/Kodi, and my main reason for switching was a central database that takes ZERO effort to link to the server (Kodi can do central, but its cumbersome and doesn't work well, IMO.)

 

Link to OpenELEC Plex: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/88788/oe-install-and-package-status-thread

Kodi is the dogs bollocks.

Kodi with Emby is proof that god is a HTPC user

I am using Kodi and Emby. Gives me the best of both worlds. My HTPC is running Kodi with the Emby for Kodi plugin. And for outside streaming I use Emby. Emby is running as a backend and the Emby for Kodi plugin is keeping my library between Kodi and Emby in Sync.

Very useful because I am away a lot.

 

Same here.

 

Used to be a Plex user and while I loved the client/server model, I got fed up waiting for them to support LiveTV/PVR. Hopped around a bit and have ended up with Kodi clients talking to Emby server via plugin and ArgusTV (all in unRaid VMs of course  )

 

Emby solves the multi-client issues inherent in Kodi without messing with databases and Kodi now has improved LiveTV video display quality so it's close to perfect. (even managed to get it set up to play 192KHz audio files from Emby).

 

Funnily enough, I just wrote a blog entry on my setup last week which goes into a bit more depth;

 

http://mediaserver8.blogspot.ie

 

I am using Kodi and Emby. Gives me the best of both worlds. My HTPC is running Kodi with the Emby for Kodi plugin. And for outside streaming I use Emby. Emby is running as a backend and the Emby for Kodi plugin is keeping my library between Kodi and Emby in Sync.

Very useful because I am away a lot.

 

I got fed up waiting for them to support LiveTV/PVR.

 

This was huge leap forward for Emby!  The fact that they included an  EPG was icing on the cake.

 

I have not taken the leap yet and replaced my Kodi MySQL library with Emby.  My comfort level just wasn't quite there yet a few months ago but I think I will revisit.  @Meep...I am going to go and read your blog now.

 

BTW...I'm watching Live TV at work right now via Emby. 

 

 

Funnily enough, I just wrote a blog entry on my setup last week which goes into a bit more depth;

http://mediaserver8.blogspot.ie

 

I read your blog entry. Very Interesting! Quick question: What sort of remote control do you use for the two Kodi VMs you have running from UnRaid? I've been playing with the idea, but love the one-click control my Harmony remote and separate media players give me. I've looked at the Kodi Android Remote. It works well, but makes watching a movie slightly more complicated by adding a second 'remote' to the system...

 

Thanks!

@johnodon

 

I haven't played with TV in EMBY yet as I don't think it supports those of us outside the US in terms of listing etc. Must investigate more though as it's been a few months since I had a look.

 

@DoeBoye

I use a variety of remote, all of which work equally well; kodi remote on iOS works well but for my Harmonys I plug in either a generic MCE IR receiver or a USB FLIRC. (I find FLIRC more stable, some of the MCE IR receivers would actually crash the VM and bring down unRAID!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

I have either a Logitech Harmony One or 900 on each HTPC.  They are quite customizable and have a high wife approval factor.

I use a Flirc + DirecTV RC65 remote on each (6 instances of OE in all).  That remote has everything I need, is sturdy (4 and 5 year old boys), is dirt cheap on Amazon/Ebay (I have gotten a 2 pack for $ and TV control is consistent throughout the house.

 

 

I see lot's of people who use OpenELEC at home and Plex on the road or to phablets.

 

Do you all know there is a Plex variant of OpenELEC???? Why maintain two separate metadata databases, watch status, etc? Also, the new Plex Media Player has Plex supported / built embedded files for RPi2, and x86 systems.

 

I'm a Plex user, formerly XBMC/Kodi, and my main reason for switching was a central database that takes ZERO effort to link to the server (Kodi can do central, but its cumbersome and doesn't work well, IMO.)

 

Link to OpenELEC Plex: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/88788/oe-install-and-package-status-thread

 

There -is- a plugin for KODI that makes it possible to view stuff from your plex server.. Maybe that comes close ?  The one drawback with two systems is that the "viewed" status is not consistent (There are tools that say to solve this but I have found they never work)

Same here.

 

Used to be a Plex user and while I loved the client/server model, I got fed up waiting for them to support LiveTV/PVR. Hopped around a bit and have ended up with Kodi clients talking to Emby server via plugin and ArgusTV (all in unRaid VMs of course  )

 

Emby solves the multi-client issues inherent in Kodi without messing with databases and Kodi now has improved LiveTV video display quality so it's close to perfect. (even managed to get it set up to play 192KHz audio files from Emby).

 

Funnily enough, I just wrote a blog entry on my setup last week which goes into a bit more depth;

 

http://mediaserver8.blogspot.ie

 

Meep thank you for this article...To me, the big mystery in 5+ years of running all this stuff has been LiveTV. I am in the US and I have good old cable TV... I understand that my cable provider basically DRMs (not sure if this is the right term) all the cable channels like CNN, Discovery, History, etc. I think the only thing they don't protect are the basic CBS, NBC, ABC, and local PBS station. They do offer cable cards for PC tuners.

 

I think you need a special way to get a cable card and a special something to be able to stream to your various TV sets... Can I impose on you to describe how you are making LiveTV work through unRAID, Emby and Kodi devices... While I do not use Emby and Kodi (I use Kodi centralized db), I would not mind switching over to Emby. My htpcs are all Openelec.

 

I am also curious how the LiveTV in Kodi functions. Do you get the EPG on the screen? Do you have to program the channels somehow? What hardware do you use for the CableCard? I don't understand the function of ArgusTV. Who talks to who and does what...

 

Basically I would love to understand how all the elements work with each other to deliver the TV in Kodi.

 

PVR is not important to me (Sickrage is my friend).... pausing live TV would be nice though.

 

Any guidance or pointers are greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers.

 

H.

Sorry, I may have not been clear. I assumed if you were running multiple VMs of Kodi on your server, that the server lived in one spot, while your TVs were in another... I use Harmony remotes on my two Kodi installs, and love them. Sooo easy!

 

My concern was how to control a VM of Kodi running on a server in another room... I assume the only way was to use an app over the network.... Is there a Harmony remote that supports network-based control?

 

 

Same here.

 

Used to be a Plex user and while I loved the client/server model, I got fed up waiting for them to support LiveTV/PVR. Hopped around a bit and have ended up with Kodi clients talking to Emby server via plugin and ArgusTV (all in unRaid VMs of course  )

 

Emby solves the multi-client issues inherent in Kodi without messing with databases and Kodi now has improved LiveTV video display quality so it's close to perfect. (even managed to get it set up to play 192KHz audio files from Emby).

 

Funnily enough, I just wrote a blog entry on my setup last week which goes into a bit more depth;

 

http://mediaserver8.blogspot.ie

 

Meep thank you for this article...To me, the big mystery in 5+ years of running all this stuff has been LiveTV. I am in the US and I have good old cable TV... I understand that my cable provider basically DRMs (not sure if this is the right term) all the cable channels like CNN, Discovery, History, etc. I think the only thing they don't protect are the basic CBS, NBC, ABC, and local PBS station. They do offer cable cards for PC tuners.

 

I think you need a special way to get a cable card and a special something to be able to stream to your various TV sets... Can I impose on you to describe how you are making LiveTV work through unRAID, Emby and Kodi devices... While I do not use Emby and Kodi (I use Kodi centralized db), I would not mind switching over to Emby. My htpcs are all Openelec.

 

I am also curious how the LiveTV in Kodi functions. Do you get the EPG on the screen? Do you have to program the channels somehow? What hardware do you use for the CableCard? I don't understand the function of ArgusTV. Who talks to who and does what...

 

Basically I would love to understand how all the elements work with each other to deliver the TV in Kodi.

 

PVR is not important to me (Sickrage is my friend).... pausing live TV would be nice though.

 

Any guidance or pointers are greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers.

 

H.

 

Hi hernandito

 

Where I live, I can receive unencrypted channels via satellite (UK freesat) and digital terrestrial (Irish Saorview). I also have the option of encrypted satellite (Sky TV) but I don't subscribe and have never tried a DIY decryption on my system. Just not interested - I have all the channels I need on the free-to-air systems.

 

What follows can be set up on physical server & client machines, a single machine which acts as both client and server or, in my case, I use multiple unraid VMs for this - it shouldn't make any difference.

 

I have a Windows 7 Server that has 6x tuners from Digital Devices (https://digitaldevices.de). 4x Satellite tuners and 2x Terrestrial tuners. These all hang off a single PCIe card. Some systems will have a PCIe card per tuner or pair of tuner. To these physical cards, I attach cables from my satellite dish and antenna. You need one or more of these tuner cards that match your type of signals. (if you're dealing with encrypted channels, this gets more complex but we'll leave that for now). Cards will usually require drivers fro your OS.

 

The cards by themselves are not much use. You need software to work with them. There are multiple options here;

 

Some front end / client software has support for tuners built right in. For example, JRiver Media Centre, MediaPortal and now Emby can talk to tuner hardware directly.

 

Some front end / client software has no direct support for tuners but supports one or more 'back end' / 3rd party programs as a plug-in (see next paragraph). Jodi works like this. Emmy used to work like this before it gained native support. Plex has no such capabilities.

 

Some client software ONLY does TV. For example, NextPVR, ArgusTV and others. These programs run on the same machine as the tuner cards and provide an interface to them. Once installed, such software should detect your cards and invite you to set them up. That's to say, you would typically use the software to scan all or specified frequencies on each tuner. The software identifies available channels. You usually then select the channels you want on your system, ensure the naming is correct and set ordering. Different software has different ways of doing this but the objective is the same - tell the software about your tuners and have it tune in all your channels.

 

Typically, this software also manages the schedules of programming on the various channels. (the database that eventually populates your on-screen EPG and lets you know what shows are on which channels at what time). There are 2 ways they do this. The most straightforward is over the air (OTA). Many TV broadcasts include details of upcoming programmes in the signal itself. Typically this runs out to 2 or 3 weeks. The software can decode this programming info. from the channel and store it for your use. The other option is to use some 3rd party service (either free or paid) which supplies TV channel info, (typically in XML format) that you can add as a source to your TV software and map the data to your channels. People use this if they don't have OTA data or need schedules for longer time periods. This can be somewhat obtuse and tricky to set up. I've never needed it.

 

You also usually tell your TV software where you want to store time shift recordings and scheduled recordings and a few other settings. They're all a bit different from each other.

 

So far, you have your tuner cards set up and some software installed that can tune channels, understand schedules, allow scheduled recordings to be set up etc. Sometimes, that will be enough. The standalone tuner software will usually have display/control capabilities to allow you watch TV right in the program itself.

 

However, the fun starts when you set up a system that can integrate this tuning capability inside software that also plays back digital video, music etc. You get a unified interface, single remote control and support for multiple clients/locations/TVs around the house (and even outside!). I use Kodi for this.

 

Having tried a lot of alternatives for TV Tuning / PVR, I settled on ArgusTV. To my mind, it has the best (most configurable) recording options and has been very very solid for me. I like to use a separate TV tuner software for the same reason that I like to use separate processors and power-amps for audio - it's hugely flexible. With ArgusTV as a back-end, I can set it up once and use any client software that supports it on the front end. (or even different clients, if I want). So for example, since I set up ArgusTV, I've used both MediaPortal and Kodi as clients. (historically, MP had superior TV picture to XMBC/Kodi but once they equalised, I switched to Kodi as it is much more configurable and has many more skins to play with. In making that switch, I didn't need to touch my server - ArgusTV served up pictures to each client.

 

Anyway, this is turning into something of an essay and may serve to confuse more than inform. Sorry.

 

I'll finish with a summary of my setup;

 

I have a 'media server' Win7 VM that has tuners passed through and runs both ArgusTV (for TV tuning as described above and Emby (for media indexing).

 

On my clients (Win 8 or Win 10 VMs, physical Win 8 PCs, Raspberry Pis, Macs) I run Kodi with the PVR plug-in enabled and configured to point to the ArgusTV on the Win 7 server. The Emby plug-in is also configured (it nicely integrates with the Kodi local database but solves the problem of multi-client installations).

 

Regardless of the TV backend you use, Kodi provides an EPG/Guide interface very much like a STB would. Depending on the skin you use, this will look different but all will take the schedule from the TV software, allow you too navigate it and select channels to view or record).

 

(what happens here is when you select a channel to view in Kodi UI, it send a commend to the back-end software asking it to tune a particular channel and then streams the video from there back to the client).

 

This all works really great. Some TV backends have better support in Kodi or expose more features. For example, in my setup, I can ask Kodi to instruct ArgusTV to record a particular instance of a show, but I can't set up a 'series recording'. While ArgusTV supports this, and I can do it via the WebUI it exposes, the Kodi plug-in does't. I wait patiently.

 

Here's a few screen grabs attached of the default TV UI in Kodi 14.2 (just what I have installed on my Mac at the time of writing).

 

Hope that all helps, do fire any more questions you might have....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, I may have not been clear. I assumed if you were running multiple VMs of Kodi on your server, that the server lived in one spot, while your TVs were in another... I use Harmony remotes on my two Kodi installs, and love them. Sooo easy!

 

My concern was how to control a VM of Kodi running on a server in another room... I assume the only way was to use an app over the network.... Is there a Harmony remote that supports network-based control?

 

Actually, I do run multiple instances of Kodi on a single unraid server (in my attic), serving up to TVs via HDMI cables (my house layout allows me access 3x TVs from one spot in the attic with 20' cable runs.)

 

I also run a 20' USB cable from the server to each of these locations and plug the receiver into that.

 

 

Oo DVR discussions, me like ? OK I use two dual tuner USB devices connected to my Chromebox running openelec, the backend is tvheadend with the normal Kodi tvheadend client, both running on the same box. This gives me close to unlimited streams of any channel to any number of devices, including tablets and smart phone via the wonderful android app called tvhclient, I was even running the version of tvheadend with transcode support so that I could then stream live TV over the internet. All in all I'm pretty pleased with it and it works a treat for UK freeview.