Fixing a long annoying issue Plex + FireFly + DVD Order

Download DVDOrderAgent.bundle from https://github.com/HuggableSquare/DVDOrderAgent.bundle

Follow steps in this post
1) Stop plex server.
2) Copy DVDOrderAgent.bundle,zip to plug in folder
    Path ~ C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Plug-ins
3) Extract  DVDOrderAgent.bundle,zip  to here
    Delete zip file
4) Start Plex server
5) In Plex web app,  go to a TV show - not a season page, the main page for the show - click the ellipsis (...) on the left and select "Fix Incorrect Match". Click on the "Auto Match" drop-down menu, and select "TheTVDBdvdorder". The metadata will be updated with the correct alternate order.
Episode order is fixed!!!

Setting up Plex

Last December, I setup on Plex media server to create a NextFlix like interface for my mine DVD collection.

Plex lets your stream MP4s to multiple clients at once. In my household, typically there are 2-3 plex clients running at once.  Best part is Plex Media Server is free.

First things is to download Plex Media Center. http://www.plexapp.com/getplex/.

Its available for Windows, OS X, Linux, and some NAS applianaces.

Plex clients are available for computer and mobile devices.  The mobile device clients are not free neither is the Windows 8 client. http://www.plexapp.com/.

Here is my Plex Media server configuration

• Hosted Plex Media server on a Windows 8 machine Intel 2-CPU single core Xeon 2.5 Ghz, 4GB RAM , 32bit.
• Using ZyXel NAS325 ARM processor with 4 TB of disk space to host my media files.
• Mapped shared folder on NAS325 to a drive letter on the Windows 8 machine.
• Windows 8 machine is connected to my 60in flat screen TV.
• Also use Plex Media Center as the client on the Windows 8 machine. http://www.plexapp.com/download/plex-media-center.php.

Note: I purchased the Plex client from the Windows 8 store.  It was ~$3.00.  The playback was too slow and choppy.  I downloaded Plex media center and its performance was very nice.

Another cool feature is with a little port forwarding, you can allow access to the personal Plex server over the internet.  I have the paid version of  Plex client for Android $4.99 on my Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire tablets.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.plexapp.android&hl=en

Now to complete my TV watching experience on flat screen TV, I installed http://www.unifiedremote.com/ which comprises of a service that is installed on a Windows machine and then a client that is installed on my Nexus 7 tablet.  Now, I have a free convenient mouse /keyboard remote control for Windows!

I also installed Plex Remote which is by far the easiest Plex remote to use.  Allows me to control the Plex media center installed on any of my Windows machines.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appealingworks.plexremote&hl=en

I converted my DVDs with

• Handbrake http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php
• AnyDVD HD from SlySoft. http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

Note: I rip my DVDs on Intel i7 8 core processor 3 GHZ with 8 RAM.  

Total cost for this project is~$400.00.

• $40.00 for Windows 8 license for old converted PC.
• $150.00 for Zyxel NAS unit without drives
• ~$130.00 for 2 - 2TB SATA hard drives - special deal on newegg.
• $13.00 on Plex clients for Windows 8 and 2 android tablets.
• ~$40.00 for AnyDVD license.

Great way to recycle an old PC with a decent video card.

Plex Media Server

Over Thanksgiving, my brother-in-law introduced me to Plex Media Server.
It's like  your own personal Netflix using MP4 ripped from your collection.

Plex Media Server is a media distribution system that can use a variety of formats (I'm using MP4/m4v) and distribute the media to different devices at once.
In my household, I am streaming to 3 xboxes, 6 computers, and 4 android tablets.

There other nice aspect of Plex Media server, it is going to allow me to purchase movies and TV shows now in MP4 format then deploy them

Plex is just the server so you will need additional software to convert DVD to MP4s. http://www.plexapp.com/

I am using AnyDVD HD from SlySoft. http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

And I am using Handbrake for Windows. http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php

HandBrake can seems a bit complex but reading through the explanaion of the parameters and the help got me started.  I would recommend that you do a couple sample conversions and testing the resulting MP4.

The nice thing is in handbrake you can save your settings as presets.

I created a preset for action movies and went with very conservative parameters to capture motive and I tested the with Wide screen edition of Empire Strikes Back which I then viewed in a 60in TV via XBOX 360.  Handbrake ripped the movie in 2 hrs on 4 3.0 GHz Quad core XEON Dell Precison 490 with 4 GB RAM running 32 bit Windows 7.  The video came out fantastic.

Of course with any software solution, better hardware results in better performance.

Compare:  Ripping a Red Dwarf Episode using good quality video settings (identical on both).

Intel 2-CPU 2-Core Xeon 3.0 Ghz, 4GB RAM , 32bit Windows 7:  ~28 min
Intel i7-2600 CPU 3.40 Ghz, 8 GB RAM, 64bit Windows 7: ~8:30 min !!