[Usability] Free disk space -indicator (2 Viewers)

[Kui]

Summary:
How much space is left on HDD for TV recordings.

Area:
TV/TV Recordings

Description:
So my Improvement Suggestion is pretty small, and it is kinda already done.

One feature me and GF has been missing is the indicator how much space is left for TV recordings (and/or ofc overall the space left). We have many times missed some recordings due to HDD is full, and that's why obviously recordings has been failed. (Yes, we are lazy to remove watched recordings )

Couple days ago I started to find out is the indicator possible for MP, and yes it is. Found this thread:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/drive-free-space-plugin.54798/

With quite alot fiddling around, I got it working nicely with StreamedMP skin, but it needed few tweaks which I found on forums.

The installation was "very manual" and I bet many users won't be able to do it by themselfs, changing XML files, adding new icons etc.

So perhaps the plugin could be made more "user-friendly" to install and overall keeping it more up-to-date (now it lags support, or hasn't been updated for a while).

I think this suggestion is being made couple times before but here it is once again!

Btw, ofcourse this plugin could/should be something more than just showing TV recordings space left.

Screenshot from the idea on my test computer attached.

Cheers,
Kui

 

[Scrounger]

+1

And an additional suggestion:
At the moment the drive-free-space plugin only works corrcet for local drives.

But in a client - TvServer lan area, mostly the recordings will stored on a local drive of the TvServer. That means its not possible with the drive-free-space plugin get information about the drive space on TvServer.

My suggestions is to implement a standard MP Client-Server Plugin where the user can manually define the watched drives. The Server plugin communicte with the client plugin over the standard mp remote control.
So its possible to integrate standardly information about recording drive in the TvPlugin, for example in the recording screen.The manual watched drives could be integrated by skin devs or the user it self

At my opinion, this is a "must have" standard MP feature

 

[regeszter]

The TVE3 is codefreeze state so we can't make any new feature before TVE3.5 is released but I will keep my eye on this feature.

 

[Kui]

Didn't actually know that the plugin is not working with other than local HDD's...
Well i would guess the plugin could be updated rather simply to get the info's users needs, afterall this seems to be rather "simple" plugin..

But yeah, thanks for @regeszter for thinking of this thing, hopefully this will someday soon be part of MP or plugin etc.

Meanwhile if any of you guys wanna the "hack" i did, i can post a thread how to install it step-by-step (or atleast could try to explain ).

Cheers,
Kui

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

But in a client - TvServer lan area, mostly the recordings will stored on a local drive of the TvServer. That means its not possible with the drive-free-space plugin get information about the drive space on TvServer.

I'm using Drive Free Space on Multiseat without issues. Only thing needed is to map a drive letter to the HDD or Folder your records are placed in.

 

[Scrounger]

The TVE3 is codefreeze state so we can't make any new feature before TVE3.5 is released but I will keep my eye on this feature.

Thx!
ok, fastest way would be to write a little server and client process plugin

Hi.
I'm using Drive Free Space on Multiseat without issues. Only thing needed is to map a drive letter to the HDD or Folder your records are placed in.

I mean a standalone server + serveral clients in network, not a multiseat. I dont know if drive-free-space work with shared drives?
But in a "custom" network you can't use shared drives. So the communication to the TvServer is the solution

 

[Lehmden]

Hi

I mean a standalone server + serveral clients in network

This is exactly a typical Multiseat environment. I'm using the same setup. TV server is on a dedicated machine, clients are always on different machines.

I dont know if drive-free-space work with shared drives?

Yes it does, I'll use it daily.

But in a "custom" network you can't use shared drives.

Of course you can. MediaPortal (Client and Server) is running on Windows platforms only and there you always can map shared drives, no matter if those shares are originally on Windows, Mac, Linux,... And btw, if you want to use XBMC you definitely need to share your TV-Recordings folder as XBMC Live-TV did not work without.

So the communication to the TvServer is the solution

No way to get this into MP1. That never will happen. This will be, if ever, only a part of MP2 as MP2 has this kind of communication build in... MP1 is old software (in a few month we celebrate MP's 10th birthday). The team does the best one can do to make this software as user friendly as possible, but some things are too hard to achieve. That's why MP2 is started, to avoid limitations and lead to new and future proof HTPC solutions.

As long as DFS is working, this will be the only possibility. If the plugin stops working someone with coding skills has to write a new plugin or we're not able to use this feature at all. Up to now (MP V1.5) the version for MP 1.2 Beta of this plugin is working well. But with the next MP version it will stop working probably. MP 1.6 will be based on .NET 4.0 (atm it's .NET 3.5) so most (if not all) plugins will stop working until they are recompiled against .NET 4.0

 

[Scrounger]

Hey Lehmden,

thanks for the detailed informations. I understand your arguments. Hope that such a feature will be implemented in MP2.

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

Hope that such a feature will be implemented in MP2.

I'm pretty sure it will, but don't expect this happen too soon. I think of this more as a long term project, adding all those "mothers little helpers" to MP2 as long as the basics are not 100% finished. But with MP2 we have the possibility to integrate this easily, not like in MP1 where such things are never be planed at all.

 

[Kui]

Hello,

If thinking this as a plugin only for MP1, making it working and user-friendly would need:
1. Compiling the source to .NET 4 (like @Lehmden said).
2. Installer (MediaPortal Extension Maker --> Easy thing i think).
3. Support for skins (now the plugin values has to setted manually, ie. PosY and PosX etc. I don't really know much about this thing).
And perhaps 4. Making abit simpler setup in Mediaportal Configuration.

Feel free to say if some of those above are not correct, just had those things in my head.

I just thought about making this plugin availeable for more users than it is now, and showing only few simple details of HDD space:
(Example1: Used 200GB out of 250GB.
Example2: Used space 80%.
Example3: About 05:15 hours left for videos.
and so on...)

I understand some folks wants it to show "bell's and whistle's", but perhaps it would be best to keep this simple somehow.. After all, this plugin does work atm very well, just setting it up is harder.


Cheers,
Kui