Perfect stable setup (1 Viewer)

[Poko]

Hi all,
Firstly, I'd just like to voice my thanks to developing this brilliant piece of software.
I've been using it on and off for a couple of years now and it just keeps getting better.

Now, my question is, if money was no object, what would be the most stable hardware/software combination?
What I'm essentially after is a dedicated TV server, which needs to be rebooted perhaps at most once or twice a year (like a regular corporate server), and a couple of dedicated clients.

My setup currently is a home-made PC acting as a dedicated server (DVB-S), and a couple of Dell Studio Hybrids (downgraded to XP SP3) as dedicated clients. I do have some instability, where a TV service restart is required a couple of times a week, and the clients need to be bounced too.

What I'd like to ask is if ANY hardware could be chosen for rock solid performance and stability, what would you choose?

UK Freesat is a requirement, as is HDTV (720p only).. I don't need any fancy plug-ins, just pure stability. Which OSs would be the ones of choice?
What software would you load on both the server and the clients (as little as possible, ofc) - Disable windows updates, that kind of thing. Build it once and forget it.

Has anyone achieved a great deal of stability with MP, and if so, would it be possible to list the hardware that you have used for client/server (including TV cards). And a list of the perfect combination of software would be grand. IE. MP 1.0.2, XP codecs pack, some H264 codecs, etc etc.

I realise that some of this is covered by the install guide and there is plenty of info on these forums to advice what CAN be used, but it'd be lovely to have a definitive guide for a perfect setup.

Appreciate the help!
Thanks.

 

[Guzzi]

Hi all,
Firstly, I'd just like to voice my thanks to developing this brilliant piece of software.
I've been using it on and off for a couple of years now and it just keeps getting better.

Now, my question is, if money was no object, what would be the most stable hardware/software combination?
What I'm essentially after is a dedicated TV server, which needs to be rebooted perhaps at most once or twice a year (like a regular corporate server), and a couple of dedicated clients.

My setup currently is a home-made PC acting as a dedicated server (DVB-S), and a couple of Dell Studio Hybrids (downgraded to XP SP3) as dedicated clients. I do have some instability, where a TV service restart is required a couple of times a week, and the clients need to be bounced too.

What I'd like to ask is if ANY hardware could be chosen for rock solid performance and stability, what would you choose?

UK Freesat is a requirement, as is HDTV (720p only).. I don't need any fancy plug-ins, just pure stability. Which OSs would be the ones of choice?
What software would you load on both the server and the clients (as little as possible, ofc) - Disable windows updates, that kind of thing. Build it once and forget it.

Has anyone achieved a great deal of stability with MP, and if so, would it be possible to list the hardware that you have used for client/server (including TV cards). And a list of the perfect combination of software would be grand. IE. MP 1.0.2, XP codecs pack, some H264 codecs, etc etc.

I realise that some of this is covered by the install guide and there is plenty of info on these forums to advice what CAN be used, but it'd be lovely to have a definitive guide for a perfect setup.

Appreciate the help!
Thanks.

The only thing that made my (separate) tvserver instable has been caused by epg-grabbing. There are some channels causing freezes in tvserver requiring restart. I have now reduced EPG-Grabbing to the most important channels for me and since that time (several month) I NEVER had to reboot or restart the tvserver (just for windowsupdates and other stuff). btw: Using FireDTV S and S2 for sattelite TV, so no experience with other HW/drivers.

 

[winterescape]

I actually run a couple of scheduled tasks to perform routine maintenance on my HTPC. It is running Win XP pro sp3. I have scheduled tasks to run defrag, epg grabbing, and reboot every night. I applaud your quest for stability, but it can be achieved by rebooting every day @ 2AM

 

[wijnand]

@ Guzzi,

That's a good tip. I struggle to make my Tv server more stable. Now I reduced the EPG grabbing to a minimum and now it is much more stable

 

[mrkaras]

I don't think any of your stability issues are related to your hardware or operating system. crashes and freezes are a core part of the mediaportal experience. I don't have much problem with my server, but I use task manager to kill off the client at leas once a day, sometimes immediately after a system restart. always has crashed and frozen, pretty sure it always will.

 

[tourettes]

I don't think any of your stability issues are related to your hardware or operating system. crashes and freezes are a core part of the mediaportal experience. I don't have much problem with my server, but I use task manager to kill off the client at leas once a day, sometimes immediately after a system restart. always has crashed and frozen, pretty sure it always will.

How about providing a proper bug report than just whining? I personally haven't seen MP 1.0.2 to crash in many months on daily usage. Crash reasons could be the drivers, HW or the application itself.

 

[revs]

I have a stable system - I can't think of when it last crashed.

I have a single-seat system at the moment, with the machine on all day running MediaPortal only (i.e. not used as a normal PC).

To keep everything running smoothly I have the machine reboot every day at 6am. I also have scheduled tasks to clear out temp files/defrag/encode recordings and perform other maintenance

I have DVB-T and DVB-S for freesat/freeview. I have various codecs installed to play any media I want, and have the moving picures and tvseries plugins.

Basically only install the bare minimum of what you need: Windows + all patches, codecs (either the SAF codec pack on the forum or roll your own). And of course any specific drivers you need.