Not sure why I would pay US$4.99 a month for PlexPVR when there are solutions like NextPVR that don't require a subscription.

 

I set up Plex DVR first thing this morning.

It's fantastic! Plex is one of those companies that understands how to make a solid user interface. They're also really good about supporting multiple platforms. I can use it on all of my devices, and it works very well with Chromecast.

To answer your question @ExDilbert, a DVR without guide data isn't worth much. NextPVR doesn't include guide data with their software like WMC/SageTV/BeyondTV did. Add Schedules Direct to NextPVR and you're up to $25/year, and Plex does a much better job with media collections and supporting multiple devices than NextPVR. Plus Plex is really, really polished. Polished to a greater degree than other software in this category.

Plus, setting up Plex DVR was easier/faster than any other DVR software I've ever configured - and I've been running a PC-based DVR since 2003.

Now, Plex DVR isn't perfect. I'm sure when I spend more time with it, I'll find faults. But right now I'm super happy with it.

 

I would have to agree with ExDilbert on the $4.99/mp thing. I currently use MediaPortal as my main PVR with a couple of Kodi clients. I'm not the biggest fan of the integration with Kodi, but it works and Raspberry Pi's are cheap.

Regardless, does Plex plan to support the Hauppauge ATSC and HDPVR tuners in the future? If so, I might be interested in a single solution.

 

So, I've had more time to mess with it...

Pros:
1. Their UI is significantly better than the HDHomeRun DVR UI in most cases. And better than most other HTPC user interfaces that I've seen. It's functional, easy to use, and nice to look at.
2. The guide and show metadata is really solid.

Cons:
1. They don't support live TV or watching in-progress recordings (not a huge problem for me, but I hope that feature is coming).
2. The real time transcoding feature (for HDHomeRun Connect tuners) is indeed very experimental. I hope it gets better.
3. Only recent HDHomeRun tuners are supported. Your HDHR3 tuners from 2010 won't work.

Frankly, I'm more excited about this DVR system than I've been for any DVR software I've seen for years!

If you don't want to pay $5/month, why not go for $40/year, or $150/lifetime? If your budget is $0, that's fine, but considering the cost of the rest of the setup (antenna, tuners, HTPC, etc), if someone can make the rest of my setup really shine with fantastic software, I think it's totally worth $40/year or $150.

 

I am glad you like it. I've tried Plex server and, while it's a cut above other media servers, I don't understand all the hype. That's especially true for Canada because the subscription is quite US centric (like most media servers, though some are also EU centric.)

I pay Schedules Direct for guide data. Considering the other features a Plex subscription provides, I don't consider $40 to be exorbitant by any means. I guess that makes my above remark a little flippant. Watching recordings in progress is an important feature. I'll keep an eye on Plex PVR to see where it goes. In the meantime NextPVR and Kodi do a fine job. Kodi also works as a media server so there is no lost functionality there.