Suggestion: Integrate with Plex to allow transcoding
#1
Currently, when I watch a TV show using ServerWMC, the PVR client directs XBMC to stream the file directly from a shared folder on my Windows Media Center. This is fine for devices that support MPEG2 decoding and where I have a large enough pipe to accommodate the traffic.

However, there are many devices that don't do MPEG2, don't do it well, or which won't have a big enough pipe to accommodate the traffic. For a while, I've solved that problem by using PlexBMC, an XBMC plugin that integrates with the Plex Media Server and allows me to view the same shows transcoded. The downside is that I have to use the PlexBMC inferface for those shows, rather than the XBMC Live TV interface.

It seems to me that it should be fairly easy for you guys to modify ServerWMC so that when it supplies the list of Recorded Programs to XBMC and their URL/Path, that instead of providing the path to the shared folder, it could share the path/command that would cause XBMC to request the stream from PlexBMC via the Plex Media Server.

This would allow ServerWMC to provide full transcoding to Mpeg4, and all you guys would have to do is make a simple change to the referral link.

Any thoughts or interest in doing this?
I welcome comments and suggestions for the Kodi (XBMC) Set-up Guide that I wrote.
You can read it here:  http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=193310
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#2
Is it just a simple referral link or do you need the PlexBMC addon/interface to interpret that link and remux/decode it etc to present video to XBMC? I suppose we would have to look at the PlexBMC addon code to determine that. FYI we already support MB3 which can do transcoding etc so if you really needed this you could just run MB3 for your devices that don't handle MPEG2 or you want to stream over the internet etc...
pvr.wmc TV addon and ServerWMC Backend Development Team
http://bit.ly/ServerWMC
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#3
I have no idea how PlexBMC does it. Tell me where to look and what to look for and I'll do so and report back.
I welcome comments and suggestions for the Kodi (XBMC) Set-up Guide that I wrote.
You can read it here:  http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=193310
Reply
#4
Mb3 doesn't help if you want xbmc as the frontend. which is advocate's goal (I think). I agree we need to see how the plex addon does this. The other way to get you what you want is to use ffmpeg to do the transcoding, which is really all mb3 is doing. We would start a thread that issues a command line type setup to start the transcode and send a link to the output file onto xbmc. But is there some other reason why we should use plex? Actually for all I know plex is also using ffmpeg too.

I assume if we come up with some complicated setup to get you to this goal you'll write a guide, right? Smile
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
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#5
I'd only want you to do it if it is a simple matter of changing the referral link's prefix or something.

Yes, I'd write a guide! Smile

(2014-06-19, 04:16)krustyreturns Wrote: Mb3 doesn't help if you want xbmc as the frontend. which is advocate's goal (I think). I agree we need to see how the plex addon does this. The other way to get you what you want is to use ffmpeg to do the transcoding, which is really all mb3 is doing. We would start a thread that issues a command line type setup to start the transcode and send a link to the output file onto xbmc. But is there some other reason why we should use plex? Actually for all I know plex is also using ffmpeg too.

I assume if we come up with some complicated setup to get you to this goal you'll write a guide, right? Smile
I welcome comments and suggestions for the Kodi (XBMC) Set-up Guide that I wrote.
You can read it here:  http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=193310
Reply
#6
(2014-06-19, 04:16)krustyreturns Wrote: Mb3 doesn't help if you want xbmc as the frontend. which is advocate's goal (I think). I agree we need to see how the plex addon does this. The other way to get you what you want is to use ffmpeg to do the transcoding, which is really all mb3 is doing. We would start a thread that issues a command line type setup to start the transcode and send a link to the output file onto xbmc. But is there some other reason why we should use plex? Actually for all I know plex is also using ffmpeg too.

I assume if we come up with some complicated setup to get you to this goal you'll write a guide, right? Smile
Mb3 does have a xbmc client.
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