MP2 synchronising of stoptime (1 Viewer)

[Anthony Vaughan]

I am starting to look at MP2, version 2.1.1, with a view to moving to it at some time in the future, from MediaPortal 1.20 (or later).

One aspect of MediaPortal that is important to me is being able to watch a program from one client workstation and to be able to resume watching the same program from another workstation, resuming from where I left off before. In MediaPortal 1 the last watched point is stored in the stoptime field in the ResumeData table in the VideoDatabaseV5.db3 database.

I have done some testing of MP2 with a server/client installation on one machine and another client installation. The stoptimes seem to be kept separately, one for each client. Is that behaviour by design? Would you please let me know where the stoptime data is stored in MP2 so I can check out what is going on?

Thank you in advance.

Tony

 

[HTPCSourcer]

You should upgrade to version 2.2 where a full user management is implemented. There you can watch your videos on a client as a specific user and then continue on any other client as the same user to be presented your own resume points.

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Thank you for getting back to me.

I started by using MP2.2 but reverted to 2.1 to make sure the behaviour was consistent across versions.

I'm happy to use on 2.2. I did have one system crash while I was using 2.2. I'll get back to you if that recurs.

I think the idea of storing stoptime by user is a really elegant solution. I've tested that out and it's working for me

One other aspect of daily usage that I notice is that, under version 1, you can scroll through the TV guide in both directions without terminating at channel one. Version 2 stops scrolling upwards when it reaches channel 1. This can be really annoying since I currently place my most used channels around the channel one position while keeping the channel order in line with my TV magazine. Is this a policy decision or can it be changed? Maybe perpetual scrolling could be an option?

BTW, I particularly like the WMC skin as I used WMC for several years before moving to MP at version 1.11. I notice that, when using a MOUSE to pause or make steps, the MP1 style (or something akin to it) is displayed showing where you are in the program. However, when using a REMOTE control, a dialog appears only showing the time or skip time is diaplyed. Would it be possible to have the same progress screen for both input methods?

Finally, under version 1, I could have all my clients share a configuration by using a custom MediaPortalDirs.xml in the users documents folder to direct MP to its configuration. Is there a similar option under version 2, or another way of achieving the same thing? I wondered whether the introduction of users would mean that client system configuration might be stored by user but that doesn't seem to be the case; in my testing anyway. The ability to store system configurations in one place is important to me because I have several client machines in my setup and it is a real pain to have to configure each machine individually, especially when performing system testing.

Sorry to bombard you like this, but I need to understand these things before I can justify moving to version 2 (and keeping the rest of my family happy).

Tony

 

[HTPCSourcer]

I did have one system crash while I was using 2.2

There is a bug in the TVE, which has already been fixed for the final.

Version 2 stops scrolling upwards when it reaches channel 1.

There hasn't been any change between the versions, at last none I would remember. @ge2301 may know more.

under version 1, I could have all my clients share a configuration by using a custom MediaPortalDirs.xml in the users documents folder to direct MP to its configuration. Is there a similar option under version 2

Currently not.

I wondered whether the introduction of users would mean that client system configuration might be stored by user but that doesn't seem to be the case

That's correct. At the time being settings are not shared per user across different machines. Maybe in the future.

I have several client machines in my setup and it is a real pain to have to configure each machine individually

There's not that much to configure. Skin/theme of course, number of EPG lines if you deviate from standard settings and certainly the views for movies and series. Anything more? I guess one could simply copy the respective settings files from one PC to the other, but I agree that an automatic share would be more comfortable. However, settings are stored locally and not in the database, hence it's more difficult to realize than it might look at first glance. On the other hand it is a one-time activity for each PC.

 

[ge2301]

There hasn't been any change between the versions, at last none I would remember. @ge2301 may know more.

Which skin and which epg screen? In case of FullEPG it should be as described for 2.2. I can not remember a change, but in case it was different, it’s correct now. In case of loop scrolling you can never reach the top menu with remote, so scrolling must end at first and last channel.

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Under MP1, 1.20, I am using the DefaultWideHD skin. If you navigate focus into the channel name column you will be able to go to the title row (with the date navigation controls in it). Whereas if you have the focus in the programs section, the channel-scrolling loops. This is a real deal-breaker for us, because it is a major pain to have to scroll through all of the channels if we want to watch one of the last channels in the list.

BTW, the same applies to the other notification dialog, like the shutdown menu. In MP1, these types of dialog are also scrolling. I think this approach is much more user friendly.

I agree that, for many users, central configuration may not be essential. However, when doing more complex tasks like setting up keys and sounds, it very frustrating to have to roll out configurations across all client machines every time one needs to make a change. I assume that MP1 was setup to have central configuration for a reason and I don't see why the same reason does not apply to MP2. It's just a thought.

Having used MP2, in testing only, and comparing it to MP1, I am finding that the progress bar being visible when navigating through a video, that is working for both keyboard input and remote input in MP1, is a real miss in MP2 when using a remote.

I have implemented User control in MP2, but I am finding that while an administrator can view the TV Guide on the Server/Client machine, the same user on a client machine displays an empty TV Guide. Has anyone else experienced this?

Tony

 

[HTPCSourcer]

because it is a major pain to have to scroll through all of the channels if we want to watch one of the last channels in the list.

Try Channel+/Channel- to jump one screen up/down. Much faster this way.

This is a real deal-breaker for us

In that case we regret, but this is something that won't change. Otherwise the controls on the top of ths screen cannot be reached with a remote.

I assume that MP1 was setup to have central configuration for a reason

The mediaportalsdir.xml is an inofficial feature, which, when in doubt, is unsupported. I found myself victim to this when bringing to the team's attention soemthing that wouldn't work anymore. I would need to search for the exact posting but the response was probably what pushed me to abandon MP1.

the same user on a client machine displays an empty TV Guide. Has anyone else experienced this?

No, this is a malfunction on your system. Probably a network problem. Try to restart the MP2 client app and if that's not helping reboot the client PC.

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

That's a disappointing reply.

I guess I will be sticking with MP1.

Tony

 

[Anthony Vaughan]

Hi All

I'm re-looking at MP2 to see if I can live with the issues I mentioned above.

I'm trying to use the Paths.xml file to relocate my database to a server, but am getting an access error. I want to use a UNC path - \\ServerName\ rather than F:\.

Here's the log; 192.168.10.170 is the IP address of the MediaPortal server - not where I have pointed the database.

What permission do I need to set to fix this.

Any help appreciated.

Tony

 

[CyberSimian]

under MP1, you can scroll through the TV guide in both directions without terminating at channel one. MP2 stops scrolling upwards when it reaches channel 1. This can be really annoying

I'm re-looking at MP2 to see if I can live with the issues I mentioned above.

If I remember correctly, last year one of the MP2 developers implemented "scroll to top of list" and "scroll to bottom of list" functions that can be assigned to buttons on the remote control. This may address the problem of the guide (and other lists) not wrapping round when the start or end of the list is reached.

(I thought that I would mention this in case you had not seen the discussion that occurred at the time this was implemented.)

-- from CyberSimian in the UK