Plex DVR instead

Before you set up TVHeadend and Freetvarr, check whether you need them at all. Plex has its own recorder, Live TV & DVR. With a network tuner such as an HDHomeRun, it records free-to-air TV straight into your Plex library. If you already have a Plex Pass, that may be all you need.

The author built Freetvarr before he noticed that his own Plex Pass already covered Plex DVR.

TIP

If you already have a Plex Pass, try Plex DVR first. If you don't, compare the Plex Pass price with a free setup.

Cost

Recording in Plex needs a Plex Pass. Watching live TV through Plex is free (Plex FAQ). TVHeadend and Freetvarr are free and open source.

Plex Pass prices, from Plex's plans page in October 2026:

Plan	AUD	USD
Monthly	A$11	US$6.99
Yearly	A$110	US$69.99
Five years	A$390	US$249.99
Lifetime	A$1,190	US$749.99

The lifetime price rose from US$249.99 to US$749.99 on 1 July 2026.

Over three years, someone without a Plex Pass pays A$330 on the yearly plan, or A$390 for the five-year plan. The free route costs A$0 in fees, but it takes longer to set up. Both need the same tuner and an always-on computer, because Plex Media Server needs one too.

When Plex DVR is enough

Plex DVR suits you if most of these are true:

• You have a Plex Pass, or you would pay for one anyway.
• Plex Media Server already runs on an always-on computer that can transcode video (Plex needs that for live TV).
• You watch on Plex apps: Apple TV, a smart TV, a phone, or a games console.
• You can live without captions on live TV (see the table below).

What Plex DVR does well

• One app for everything. Live TV and recordings play in every Plex app, the Apple TV app included (Watching live TV).
• No import step. Recordings go straight into the Plex library you choose.
• Flexible series options. Record all episodes or new ones only, limit to one channel, keep only the latest few, or delete after watching (Setting up recordings).
• Ad skipping without touching the file. By default Plex marks the ad breaks and the player offers a Skip button, so a wrong detection costs nothing (Removing commercials).
• Watching away from home, with Plex's remote access and a Plex Pass.

What TVHeadend and Freetvarr add

• No subscription. Everything is free, now and later, whatever Plex charges.
• A recorder that is separate from Plex. A Plex Media Server update cannot stop a TVHeadend recording. Plex forum users report missed and cut-short recordings after some server updates (example).
• Live TV in any browser, on a phone or a computer, with no app to install.
• A careful ad cut. Detect-only mode to check accuracy first, and an .orig backup of every cut file. Plex's "detect and delete" mode cannot be undone.
• Captions kept in the file. TVHeadend keeps the Teletext captions that Australian channels send, so Kodi and VLC can show them.
• Any tuner TVHeadend drives, including SAT>IP and IPTV.

Comparison

Topic	Plex DVR	TVHeadend + Freetvarr
Cost	Plex Pass to record (see Cost)	Free
Guide	Plex's own guide (in Australia, a "Freeview" lineup for your region), or an XMLTV feed such as i.mjh.nz	An XMLTV feed, or the broadcast guide
Series rules	All, new only, keep latest, delete after watching	Title and channel, skip episodes already recorded
Padding	Minutes before and after, per show	The same, 2 and 10 minutes by default
Ad removal	Mark and skip (default), or delete (cannot be undone); custom comskip.ini allowed	Detect-only, or cut with an .orig backup; comskip.ini tuned for AU
Live TV	Every Plex app	Any browser; the tuner's own app on the TV
Captions	None on live TV; no Teletext support yet	Shown on live TV in the browser; kept in recordings for Kodi and VLC
Library	Straight into Plex	Imported, renamed, and refreshed in Plex
Away from home	Plex remote access, with a Plex Pass	Home network only; a VPN for away
Setup	One wizard in Plex	TVHeadend (an evening) plus Freetvarr (30–60 minutes)

Sources: Plex's Live TV & DVR, XMLTV, and Watching live TV articles, and an open Teletext request on the Plex forum.

Setup

Plex's own guide is Live TV & DVR. In short, for an Australian HDHomeRun:

1. In your router's settings, give the tuner a fixed IP address with a DHCP reservation.
2. In Plex's web app in a browser, open Settings → Live TV & DVR and press DVR Setup.
3. Pick the tuner, choose Antenna, and choose any country.
4. Press Have an XMLTV program guide on your server? Click here to use that instead.
5. Enter the address of your region's XMLTV guide, such as https://i.mjh.nz/au/Sydney/epg.xml, and give it a name.
6. Check the channel list, untick the channels you don't want, and continue.
7. In DVR Settings, set the padding (2 minutes before and 10 after suits free-to-air) and set Remove Commercials to Detect commercials and mark for skip.
8. In Plex's TV guide, open a show and press Record.

WARNING

Plex expects to have the tuner to itself (Supported tuners). Don't record from Plex DVR and TVHeadend on the same tuner at the same time. To try Plex DVR, pause TVHeadend's recordings first.

If Plex DVR does the job, you need nothing else on this site. If you later want a free recorder, browser live TV, or captions in your recordings, Hardware and TVHeadend are the next steps.