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.

After pulling our rig into a campground, I called the WiFi provider and found out that
they can give me 2 mBps campground WI-FI which allows me to stream. Just $15.00
for the week.

The next thing was to purchase a Roku device. Once I set it up, all I had to do was add
the Spectrum TV app to access my programming.

It worked like a charm. It's great to be able to access a DVR in my house while I travel.

I understand that this is not totally new technology. Does anyone else have this
capability?

Mike Dippel

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Hi,I have been using Youtube tv for around a year or so and like it.The recordings are kept on the dvr for 9 months or so.Everything is cloud based and works from my phone or physical tv.Tom
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Re: Taking My DVR With Me
By: Mike Dippel to All on Thu May 18 2023 10:55 pm

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.

"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).

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.

Nightfox

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.



... If it weren't for Edison we'd be using computers by candlelight
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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.

Nightfox

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.

No worries, and thank you! Saved this for future reference as I dive
deeper into this. Appreciate it.



... If not for the last minute, nothing would get done.
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On 5/19/2023 8:49 AM, Nightfox wrote to Mike Dippel:

"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

The recorded programs are associated with my Spectrum account, but I'm not sure how
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.

Mike Dippel

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On 19 May 2023, Mike Dippel said the following...

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.

my backup plan is basically a handful of movies i've never seen tucked away on the laptop. similar to what i do when i go on vacation keeping a couple episodes of a tv show for each night.

worst case i can dip into the tv show dvds i tend to rewatch every few years.

just takes a little planning i guess but getting by without internet for a week or so is kind of pleasant in it's own way..

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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).

I think, technologically, that'd be a great idea, but legally it might get more interesting.

But I don't know the current state of such things. Just that it's interesting when the tech has to switch to something functionally identical, but way more hassle, because of needing to get around various laws.

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When it comes to "entertainment" in the camper, we typically toss in a
Blu-ray player and some movies we love. Most of them are ones we have
seen several times. It is just some "mindless" stuff to watch if it is
raining or we just need to take a break. Now, though, we have an extra
Amazon Firestick that we may implement. As long as the WiFi at the
campground is good, we should be able to stream. I might even try it from
my hotspot on my phone.
But in reality, we rarely watch anything on the TV. I might scan channels
from the antenna or cable, just to have something on. It is mostly for
the dogs if we cannot take them with us on our day trips.
--Matt

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Well... that... and one of your Atari computers, right? :)

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Well... that... and one of your Atari computers, right? :)

Sadly, no Atari computers (or Commodore computers) are going to make any camping trips with me. I will have my laptop though, with SyncTerm. No
room for any of the retro equipment.
And you don't want to risk damaging them. I mean, I would have to pack it
like I was shipping it or something. Which takes up room and such.
--Matt

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