Multiple TV servers (1 Viewer)

[Martin11]

Hi,

I live in Germany but would like to watch Dutch TV channels. It would be possible for me to create a new TV server and place it in the Netherlands and receive cable TV from Ziggo.

At home I would like to configure the front-end to use my own (satellite) TV server and the Dutch Ziggo TV server simultaneously. Would that be possible?

Thanks,
Martin

 

[mm1352000]

Hello and welcome Martin

At home I would like to configure the front-end to use my own (satellite) TV server and the Dutch Ziggo TV server simultaneously. Would that be possible?

Yes, you can setup two TV Servers on different PCs and connect to those servers from a single front-end... but you can't connect to the two servers simultaneously. Originally this feature was planned and even partially implemented, but the feature was (and still is) disabled because it was either never completed or too unreliable. The related code is scheduled for removal at some point...
I note that the internet bandwidth used/required to connect to a remote server would be significant. You would need a very very good internet connection with low latency, high bandwidth and high or unlimited data cap.

mm

 

[Martin11]

Thank you for your answer. I guess that the only thing possible is for me to have two Media Portal clients installed, one with configuration for the local TV server and one for the remote server.

About the bandwidth? How much would I need? A typical TV channel is around 5-10 mBit I guess including audio. Am I correct about this assumption?
I also do not understand the requirement for low latency, in my understanding the stream would start a bit later than from a local server, but once it is going latency would not be an issue?

 

[mm1352000]

Thank you for your answer. I guess that the only thing possible is for me to have two Media Portal clients installed, one with configuration for the local TV server and one for the remote server.

You can only install one instance of MediaPortal per PC.
MythTV supports multiple servers ("backends"). If you aren't afraid of Linux, you could try that...

About the bandwidth? How much would I need?

It completely depends on the provider and would vary from channel to channel.

A typical TV channel is around 5-10 mBit I guess including audio. Am I correct about this assumption?

That is approximately correct yes. Some SD h.264 channels are ~2 Mbps; some HD h.264 or MPEG 2 channels are ~15 Mbps.

I also do not understand the requirement for low latency, in my understanding the stream would start a bit later than from a local server, but once it is going latency would not be an issue?

You're right. What I should have said is consistent latency. In other words, the variation in latency should be low.

 

[4Fred]

Or setup a tv-server and install mpextended and webmediaportal and use that to watch Dutch TV channels.
Yeah I know, it's not really the same as having a full MePo setup but still it's better than nothing

 

[Martin11]

Thank you both for your answers.

I'll write a batchfile to switch media portal configs so I'll have an easy way to switch between both settings. It's too bad that it cannot be realized in one front-end but I guess that this need is not shared by many. Merci!

 

[4Fred]

Best of luck