MP2 description (2 Viewers)

[cewillis]

Sorry to be dense if that's the case, but --
Is there a single, concise, but reasonably complete description of MP2 somewhere? Something a little more elaborate that "MediaPortal 2.0 Alpha - RELEASED". I do not mean what I see in the documentation (mostly how to) or this forum (mostly how to fix). I do mean 1) why does MP2 exist?, 2) In what surface (visible) ways is it different or superior to MP1?, 3) How is it different or superior internally?, If 1, 2, and 3 don't answer the question, then what is the reason(s) to change to MP2 from a perfectly satisfactory MP1 installation?

I know perfectly well that the developers didn't start this just for the fun of it. Probably has been fun, but the idea is to make a better product. I assume it it, but in what ways?
Thanks

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

1) why does MP2 exist?

Because the code base of MP1 is not ideal, pretty outdated and nearly any further development like an integrated central database for all media and all plugins is very difficult up to impossible to achieve.

2) In what surface (visible) ways is it different or superior to MP1?

As soon as you've added a media source on one client and then turn on the second client you will see the difference instantly. MP2 is a modern Server- Client application while MP1 is a stand alone app that has later ripped out one single part (the TV engine) to be usable from more than one Client... This means you don't need to add all media to all clients, once added to one client they are available on every client instantly. You don't need to take care about the "watched flags" of your media as this is stored centralized too. Especially on slower devices the GUI speed of MP2 is much better. You don't need a full blown SQL server only to store a tiny little database for the TV engine. This is like buying a huge truck only to carry your lunch box. The basic installation of MP2 is feature complete. You don't need to add "thousands" of external plugins only to have basic functionality of a HTPC software. Indeed out of the Box MP1 nearly is unusable. No fanart support, no support for tv series, no weather, no streaming services,... With MP2 you do the installation, configure the TV (nearly the same as in MP1, so very complicated compared to the rest of the MP2 configuration) and add your media sources. Now you are good to go without any further Installation of plugins or similar. I think I can go on forever...

3) How is it different or superior internally?

It is a complete server - client system with all the benefits this gives. Much cleaner and better code base with lot less possibilities for errors, and so on...

Similar to Kodi, MP1 is very far developed, very mature, but also a bit too "old fashioned" to keep up with the changes in today's media world. MP2 is more like Plex or Emby, much more modern and much more usable in mixed environments but not completely mature today. If for some reasons MP2 will die in near future (pretty sure it will not) I won't go back to MP1 and also not to Kodi. The missing of a real centralized server is unacceptable to me so MP1 or Kodi is a completely no go for me. Then I definitely would go for Emby (+ DVB Viewer as TV Engine) as the Emby server is much faster than the Plex server. At least if the development of all this software continues like it is now...

 

[cewillis]

Thanks for the reply, and info, Lehmden.

If someone has the current versions of MP1 and MP2 installed and setup as nearly identical as possible on identical computers - single-seat only, client and server on the same machine,
1) would there be a significant difference in performance with regard to recording and playback of TV?
2) assuming simple as possible skins, would there be a significant difference in functionality?
3) would there be a major difference in reliability? (crashes, recording errors, other??)

Will backup/restore (or something else) correctly transfer settings and configuration from an MP1 install to MP2?

(it may appear that I'm trying to find a reason not to upgrade to MP2 -- but that's not true)

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.

would there be a significant difference in performance with regard to recording and playback of TV?

No. Maybe on some very weak machines the SQL server needed for MP1 is eating too much resources. In such rare circumstances MP2 can be the better performer. But in general there is no difference.

assuming simple as possible skins, would there be a significant difference in functionality?

You can not compare that at all as both have totally different set of functions. They are completely different programs. If you only install the main program then MP2 has much, much more functionality as it has in-build support for TV series, weather, fanart, online videos,... and MP1 is missing all this without community plugins installed separately. On the other side MP1 has two home screens where MP2 did not even have one, at least with the pre-installed skin. The default MP2 skin Blue Vision is completely without a home screen as you may know it from MP1 or Kodi. Other skins like the WMC lookalike skin can provide a "classic" home screen. This completely depends on the person who has done the skin.

would there be a major difference in reliability?

Also not that easy to tell as this also depends too much on the users hardware. As example I never got the MySQL server reliable on any of my systems so I often had failures with MP1 TV. Now with MP2 there is no MySQL (or SQLExpress, did not made any difference, also never reliable) and I didn't had a single failure in TV or scheduled recordings for years... Others are not happy with the reliability of MP2 and prefer MP1 instead. You need to test this for yourself, nobody else can do this for you.

Will backup/restore (or something else) correctly transfer settings and configuration from an MP1 install to MP2?

You can transfer the TV settings with the in-build import/export function of the TV configuration. You can transfer at least your movie settings by exporting them to .nfo files. Sadly TVSeries did not support those .nfo files at all (MP2 does of course) And you can export your "watched flags" from TV Series (in-build) Moving Pictures, MyVideos and MyFilms with a tool I've written some time ago as I needed such. And all those watched flags you can import into the MP2 media library with the same tool. So only if you have customized settings (description,...) in your series collection, they are lost. Everything else you can preserve and transfer from MP1 to MP2. The watched flags for series are compatible both ways. So it's possible to transfer them from MP2 back to TVSeries too. Same is for TV Settings They also can be transferred from MP2 to MP1 like the other way round...