Advice on Server set up requirements (1 Viewer)

[Callumgw]

Hi there,
I'm looking to move the TV service out of the lounge room and onto the server in the study. I've been running the current setup for a while and added a client in the kids playroom about a year ago. The second client doesn't have access to tvserver. Its all a bit clunky and recording can be a pain, so I thought it was time to invest in a proper server setup. I already run a HP Proliant ML110 box (microAtx) with linux (ubuntu server ed). The server already supplies SqueezeboxServer, NAS functions and torrent client. I'd like to use my existing Hauppage Hvr1300 and Hd500 tv cards.

So to serve up TV at 1080i and record at least one other channel simultaneously, so would I benefit from a graphic card to help processing, or would a i3 with hd4000 inbuilt graphics do fine?
How important would RAM be? 16gb and Win7x64? or is all this overkill?
Will this be OK for MP2? or should I wait?

Any thoughts or experience appreciated!
C

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
The decoding of video material is done on client side, so no need for High- Power CPU/GPU on TV Server. An Atom/Brazoz bases system should be easily powerful enough to deliver two live-tv streams at the same time... If you got problems it's much more often the performance of the timeshift- drive (RAM disk will help here) as CPU performance...

But you can easily use an existing MP TV Server on a "SingleSeat" Machine as TV Server for other clients as well. No need to run the TV Server on a dedicated machine... This would be a waste of energy and hardware if this PC did not do anything else than TV server...

It's best to build the TV Server were you have your Antenna available. So no need for much "cable- salad" (as we say in Germany)

 

[Callumgw]

I got the wires, so thats not a problem. Is recording done on the server? and is it a RAM/HDD thing?C
C

 

[JimCatMP]

Hi

Recording is 'best' on server itself, but if you have the network capacity, recording to share is perfectly possible and reliable, many people do - being aware of permissions going in (so TV service can write to network share) seems to be key factor in getting it running 100% 1st time

Time shifting is generally best done in RAM if you have capacity - the TV server will give you guide on how much space you need for how far you want to be able to time shift. By setting up a RAM disk, your saving in disk/network traffic, power usage should be lower (and quieter) and as data is ephemeral anyway, not problem if it's lost on reboot/power fail.

I have TV server running headless as pure server (dictated by where aerial point is and where I can run cable - my network is 200M powerline from server to client & RDP management box - I'm not allowed any cable-salad by wife;-?

However, if your set up permits, the 'single seat' option is obviously the best in terms of system & power usage and the TV server process can still be accessed by other MP clients (so it your need changes, MePo is ready!-)

Hope that helps - TTFN - JCMP

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

Just to be clear - you aren't looking to use your existing server as it is for TVServer?

TVServer only works on windows - so either you need to rebuild your existing server (you could run VMware/etc), or you will need an additional server/hardware

J.

 

[Callumgw]

Yep that is fully understood. I realise Linux has to go, unfortunately.....
I started with a bit of hardware research with the hope of re-using as much of the existing stuff as I can. Trouble is finding a mATX board with two PCI slots for the TV cards and ivybridge+HD4000. This is so it fits into the HP Proliant M110 box. I don't think the hardware in there at the moment will run this well, not much RAM (2Gb) and its slower (800), with dual core (gen 1) intel.
That said I'm going to grab a second HDD and give it a try - that way I can switch back quickly if things don't work well.

MY current software investigations are hovering between Win7x64 and WinHS 2011 - the latest server releases (2012) seem very expensive and won't add much.

Thanks!
C

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

Just checking...

If you are talking about using it as a pure TVserver, you wont need Ivybridge (unless you are encoding/streaming) - The standard CPU might be ok (GPU is not used for receiving/processing the stream)

As for TV tuners - How many do you need? you can get quad tuner single slot cards.

I'm not saying the ML110 is the best H/W...but it might wokr

J.

 

[Callumgw]

I was hoping to use the ones i have, hauppage hvr1300 and nova500, which give 3 digital. That should be enough. if i go to a new board most have 2 pciE, but i'd need 2 pci. I get the feeling the new board would only be for more and faster ram. On the software front, the software forum recommends win7x64 over whs2011. So might grab a cheap hdd and try somethings.Cheers!C​

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[Callumgw]

Guys,
Thanks for your help, after a minor installation hiccup I've got a trial setup running. A quick test shows it can record and view at the same time...so, so far so good. We'll try a bit more stress testing through the week and see how things go.

Thanks again!
C
FYI, testing server has E2130 (dual core 1.8Ghz intel): 8Gb Ram: HP ML100 G5 Motherboard and case: onboard graphics (matrox G200e- truely terrible graphics!, drivers don't even do wide screen formats!) 120Gb SSD (reused from desktop, end version will be 320Gb HDD): Hauppage HVR-220: Win7x64 Ultimate

Ohh and I intend to add the Nova T-500 I have as well to give a total of 4 digital cards.