Cannot Choose NAS Share as MP1 TV-Server Recording Path (1 Viewer)

maypo

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I am running MP1 version 1.13.0.0
I have Synology NAS DS-411J with a dedicated Share set up for recording.
On my Windows 10 PC I am able to map a share to a drive T:
I see the T: drive in Windows Explorer but the NAS drive itself does not appear as a Windows (Samba) server, just as a "Other Device" under Networks.
In the TV-Server configuration tool I cannot manually type the path in (arg!) and when I "browse" the NAS drive does not show up, nor does the mapped T: drive show up in the list.
I have spent more hours than I care to think about, scouring this forum, trying to find where MP1 TV-Server configuration is stored, in the DB, in XML somewhere - but cannot find it to manually edit it in.
I finally exported the settings to XML, manually edited the recording paths, and imported them thinking that would force it to retain the paths. No. The settings reverted before the next recording session.
Help please! I am at my wits end and am considering going back to Myth TV on Ubuntu if I cannot figure this out.
Thanks in advance
 

mm1352000

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    Hello and welcome

    ...but the NAS drive itself does not appear as a Windows (Samba) server, just as a "Other Device" under Networks.
    ...and when I "browse" the NAS drive does not show up...
    By this do you mean that you cannot use the recording folder selection dialog to select the share under My Network Places -> Microsoft Windows Network -> [workgroup/homegroup name] -> etc. (or whatever it has become under Windows 10)?

    In the TV-Server configuration tool I cannot manually type the path in (arg!)...
    This is intentional - firstly to avoid people making mistakes, and secondly because recording directly to a NAS is not recommended (many things can go wrong).

    I have spent more hours than I care to think about, scouring this forum, trying to find where MP1 TV-Server configuration is stored, in the DB, in XML somewhere - but cannot find it to manually edit it in.
    The configuration is stored in the TV Server database "Card" table, "recordingFolder" column. It is possible to edit the contents of the database with most SQL/database editors. Note that many editors require knowledge of SQL and are therefore not easy to use for people who are not familiar with databases. Sorry, I'm not able to provide a recommendation for an editor that would be easy to use.

    I finally exported the settings to XML, manually edited the recording paths, and imported them thinking that would force it to retain the paths. No. The settings reverted before the next recording session.
    Correct. Those settings cannot be imported. I assume the logic is that the import/export functionality was intended for migration between PCs, and since regular folders are PC-specific it would not make sense to transfer the setting.

    Kind regards,
    mm
     

    megahorst

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    Some years ago I had a similar setup with a Synology NAS.
    Beside the well know issues regarding write permissions on the NAS for the TV-service the following thing was important:
    NAS and TV-server had to be in the same workgroup and the Synology option "SMB-Master" had to be activated. After this it was possible to navigate to the NAS-share within the dialog where the recording folder has to be chosen.
     

    The_Stig

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    secondly because recording directly to a NAS is not recommended (many things can go wrong).
    From my own experience with a 214play, many things not only can go wrong, they are going wrong. Don't even try maypo. I invested quite some time and never got it going reliably. Now my setup is to record to my local hdd and after 2 days its moved to my nas. Found a script somewhere on the internet where even recordings-database is adjusted accordingly so I can start every recording from TV-Recordings section.
     

    maypo

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    Hello and welcome


    By this do you mean that you cannot use the recording folder selection dialog to select the share under My Network Places -> Microsoft Windows Network -> [workgroup/homegroup name] -> etc. (or whatever it has become under Windows 10)?


    This is intentional - firstly to avoid people making mistakes, and secondly because recording directly to a NAS is not recommended (many things can go wrong).


    The configuration is stored in the TV Server database "Card" table, "recordingFolder" column. It is possible to edit the contents of the database with most SQL/database editors. Note that many editors require knowledge of SQL and are therefore not easy to use for people who are not familiar with databases. Sorry, I'm not able to provide a recommendation for an editor that would be easy to use.


    Correct. Those settings cannot be imported. I assume the logic is that the import/export functionality was intended for migration between PCs, and since regular folders are PC-specific it would not make sense to transfer the setting.

    Kind regards,
    mm

    1) Yes, that was exactly what I meant by "browse" not working.
    2) Perhaps an "advanced view" for settings could be coded to allow something like this. It is a huge bother to not be able to type a path in for experienced (30 year programmer here) user.
    3) The issue is the actual location of the DB is not documented anywhere - how do I use a DB editor tool to actually load and edit the file? Once I know that I'm pretty sure I can find the setting I need. ;-) Just a link to a wiki page/forum post that says, "using this editor this is how you find the DB in MP1" is all I need.
    4) Thanks.

    Some years ago I had a similar setup with a Synology NAS.
    Beside the well know issues regarding write permissions on the NAS for the TV-service the following thing was important:
    NAS and TV-server had to be in the same workgroup and the Synology option "SMB-Master" had to be activated. After this it was possible to navigate to the NAS-share within the dialog where the recording folder has to be chosen.

    I tried this exact thing (one of the hours of frustration). Even with my Synology set to be the SMB-Master it does not show up, even after reboots, etc. (I am running Win 10 so perhaps that is causing it)

    From my own experience with a 214play, many things not only can go wrong, they are going wrong. Don't even try maypo. I invested quite some time and never got it going reliably. Now my setup is to record to my local hdd and after 2 days its moved to my nas. Found a script somewhere on the internet where even recordings-database is adjusted accordingly so I can start every recording from TV-Recordings section.

    That is a great idea - any pointers to the script would be appreciated so I don't need more hours of research to learn how to modify the DB using a script. ;-)

    Thanks all!
     

    mm1352000

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    1) Yes, that was exactly what I meant by "browse" not working.
    Okay. I hope megahorst will be able to assist further on this front. Otherwise the only other option is editing the DB contents.

    TV Server's database is a standard MySQL or SQL Server database. It's location is a computer which you chose. You don't need to know a file location.

    The specifics of how you connect to and edit the contents of the database entirely depend on the database and editor tool. Considering (1) that there are tens if not hundreds of editors available and (2) that people don't normally need to directly edit the database contents in order to use MediaPortal, in general I don't think it's reasonable to expect us to provide such documentation.

    If you would like me to provide specific instructions, please tell me which type of database you have: MySQL or SQL Server.
     

    maypo

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    1) Yes, that was exactly what I meant by "browse" not working.
    Okay. I hope megahorst will be able to assist further on this front. Otherwise the only other option is editing the DB contents.

    TV Server's database is a standard MySQL or SQL Server database. It's location is a computer which you chose. You don't need to know a file location.

    The specifics of how you connect to and edit the contents of the database entirely depend on the database and editor tool. Considering (1) that there are tens if not hundreds of editors available and (2) that people don't normally need to directly edit the database contents in order to use MediaPortal, in general I don't think it's reasonable to expect us to provide such documentation.

    If you would like me to provide specific instructions, please tell me which type of database you have: MySQL or SQL Server.

    I'm using MySQL and I see from doing more searches what I should be using is the MySQL Workbench to edit the DB.
    I mistakenly thought I needed to use the SQL Lite editor tool from another thread - which required choosing an actual DB file rather than using ODBC connections. My mistake - thanks!
     

    mm1352000

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    Yes, MySQL Workbench is the editor supplied by Oracle, so it's effectively the official/recommended tool for MySQL.

    Here are instructions for MySQL Workbench 5.2, which is the version I currently have.

    1. Open Workbench.
    2. Double-click on "Local instance..." on the left hand side.
    upload_2016-4-20_11-52-7.png


    3. Enter the root user password. Default for a database installed by MediaPortal's installer is MediaPortal (case sensitive).
    upload_2016-4-20_11-53-15.png


    4. In the object browser (left hand pane), double-click on the MediaPortal TV Server schema. The default name is MpTvDb, but I called mine "mediaportal_tv_server".
    upload_2016-4-20_11-55-3.png


    5. In the query editor (centre pane), enter the query to update the setting. For example, to set the recording folder for all tuners to be \\server\share:
    UPDATE Card SET recordingFolder = '\\\\server\\share' WHERE idCard != 1;

    Note that back-slashes must be escaped, and so every back-slash must be doubled.

    6. Click the lightning bolt to execute the query and apply the change.
     

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