Cutting the cord - best apps & services

[Dirk Diggler]

Since upgrading to 500Mbit fibre, I've now cancelled BT landline, sky TV etc. I'm using the usual apps like Netflix etc but I've thing I'd like to find is UK Terrestrial TV via an IPTV service.

Is there something I could add to Kodi? I'm basically trying to avoid installing an aerial.

TIA

 

[Kesomir]

What about using the catchup services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub C4 etc?

Or does it have to be live?

 

[Dirk Diggler]

What about using the catchup services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub C4 etc?

Or does it have to be live?

They're not bad, it's ITV that's the worst service really and it would be handy to have them all in the one place with an EPG.

 

[Kesomir]

What's wrong with the hub? content or app issues? they are switching to itvX later in the year which will mix things up a bit: https://www.itvx.com

 

[Dirk Diggler]

What's wrong with the hub? content or app issues? they are switching to itvX later in the year which will mix things up a bit: https://www.itvx.com

It's STV player we need to suffer up here, and the UI is painful

 

[TheVoice]

If your TV has the ITV app available (it should do) you can just use that, and put in an English postcode.

The image quality on some of the catch-up apps is still fairly poor (My5 isn't great), unfortunately. They've yet to grasp the concept of HD.

 

[Kesomir]

The image quality on some of the catch-up apps is still fairly poor (My5 isn't great), unfortunately. They've yet to grasp the concept of HD.

They also differ depending on device, some do HD on connected TV apps, but not on the Web.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Rather than start a new thread, I'm hoping this can be answered here...

What's the easiest and cheapest way to run a Plex server? Ideally, I'd like a little box under the TV that contains the hard drive or SSD and the tech to run it. Is Raspberry Pi the way to go? I'm currently using a Windows PC but would like something low power as running a PC 24/7 on the off chance that I want to watch something isn't really very cost effective.

 

[Biffa]

Preferably you want something with an intel gpu built in for hardware transcoding on plex. Raspberry Pi CPU won't really hack it

I'd go for a small NAS like a Synology DS220+ £293 or TerraMaster F2-221 £239

Then you need a couple of hard drives and your good to go.

 

[Armageus]

Preferably you want something with an intel gpu built in for hardware transcoding on plex. Raspberry Pi CPU won't really hack it

Ideally you'd avoid transcoding altogether by ensuring all you media is in a format your clients can direct play

 

[Biffa]

Of course, encoding all your own media means that you will guarantee that. But some people get media from all sorts of places, and you can't always plan on who or what is going to use your plex down the line. I've only been using Plex for 8 years or so but there have been times when its needed to transcode even though I didn't plan to, and I was glad of having that intel GPU. A Pi4 with case and all the bits is going to be £200+ anyway. Even dropping down to the Pi3b isn't going to save you much outlay initially and you still need external storage for your drives.

You could save 30-40 quid on a non intel model nas from Qnap or Synology I guess. But its false economy imho. But each to their own.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

What format should I be storing my media in, would I be better converting it all in Handbrake? I only expect to be using this server via home LAN , streaming to Fire Sticks and LG TVs.

It's currently running from a PC containing Ryzen 3700x. I've been messing around with sleep settings and can wake the PC with an app on my phone by sending a magic packet, so I think I'll just stick with the hardware I have as it's efficient now the way it's set up.

Will a 3700x comfortably encode on the fly when required?

 

[Biffa]

It should be fine

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Cheers for that.

My setup is almost where I want it to be, but I have a little niggle and I fear it might be a bit bespoke. I can wake the PC with a magic packet app and then stream whatever I like from one of the Plex apps on the TV and it will stay awake throughout the stream. The niggle is that as soon as the stream is finished and I return to the Plex menu, for example to choose the next episode, the PC has returned to sleep instantly and I need to wake it again.

It's not a really big deal, but would be nice if I could configure a delay period somehow, if anyone has any suggestions for a workaround. Maybe I could run a process "on wake" for a specific period of time?

 

[Biffa]

You said it was a windows PC, you can control the sleep delay in the power settings, but there are also some hidden registry keys related to the Advanced settings that might need to be reset. Check https://superuser.com/questions/124772/windows-7-goes-to-sleep-in-conflict-with-power-option-setting

 

[Armageus]

But some people get media from all sorts of places, and you can't always plan on who or what is going to use your plex down the line.

Doesn't sound much like "cutting the cord", sounds more like piracy

 

[Dirk Diggler]

You said it was a windows PC, you can control the sleep delay in the power settings, but there are also some hidden registry keys related to the Advanced settings that might need to be reset. Check https://superuser.com/questions/124772/windows-7-goes-to-sleep-in-conflict-with-power-option-setting

That's similar to threads I've found by Googling, but not quite what the issue is. There can only be 2 things causing my particular issue, either the magic packet is sending options to resume sleep 2 minutes after waking, or there's a default setting somewhere in Windows for handling wake by magic packet. It might be a driver setting.

In any case, I've amended the power settings to sleep after 3hrs and this means I don't need to use the magic packet and just wake manually if I want to watch anything.

Thanks for the suggestion, BTW.

 

[Biffa]

Doesn't sound much like "cutting the cord", sounds more like piracy

Your words/assumption not mine