TV Server Configuration shows incorrect path for recording (1 Viewer)

[perky]

HI All,
Been using 1.10.0 and things are looking good guys, thanks!

A couple of things I've noticed:
I would like to put my recordings folder on a NAS drive and keep timeshifting in a local folder (possibly RAM drive) but I'm a little confused by the folder setting for recording. The TV Server shows C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV as my record folder, but in reality this is C:\ProgramData\Team Mediaportal\MediaPortal TV Server\recordings. The timeshift buffer path seems to be OK. Is this just a default display issue?

Also I'm a bit unsure how the timeshift buffer works with multiple clients. I would expect the timeshifting buffer to be local to the client (with different clients having their own buffer, and local to it), so how do you configure local timeshift buffering for different clients if the folder config is in the TV Server? Should this be a client specific configuration? It would make sense to do the latter to cut down on the LAN traffic so only sources are served to individual tswriter components and tsreader only reads locally (Forgive me if I've misunderstood anything!).

Thanks,
Mark.

 

[mm1352000]

Hello Mark

The TV Server shows C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV as my record folder, but in reality this is C:\ProgramData\Team Mediaportal\MediaPortal TV Server\recordings.

I'm not sure what you mean. The folder that TV Server config shows is the folder that TV Server will use.

Is this just a default display issue?

No, I don't think so.

I would expect the timeshifting buffer to be local to the client...

All client buffers are kept in the folder(s) that you specify in TV Server configuration, which are usually on the server. Why would you expect them to be on the client(s)?

so how do you configure local timeshift buffering for different clients if the folder config is in the TV Server?

In short, you don't. The same timeshift settings are used for all clients. There are separate buffer files for each client... but that doesn't require separate settings.

Should this be a client specific configuration?

As it stands, timeshift configuration is not client-specific. Are there particular settings that you think should be made client-specific?

It would make sense to do the latter to cut down on the LAN traffic so only sources are served to individual tswriter components and tsreader only reads locally

Sorry but this doesn't make any sense to me. Clients are not pulling data that they don't use (they only pull from their individual buffer), and therefore LAN traffic is already minimised. The same amount of data would have to cross the LAN regardless of where the buffer is kept.

Regards,
mm

 

[breese]

perky said:
↑
The TV Server shows C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV as my record folder, but in reality this is C:\ProgramData\Team Mediaportal\MediaPortal TV Server\recordings.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you mean. The folder that TV Server config shows is the folder that TV Server will use.

I think there might be an issue...
After reading this and seeing what @perky posted I opened my new install and checked it...

As you can see the default directory is C:\User\Pubic\Recorded TV

Yet that directory does not exist on my machine...

 

[perky]

Hello Mark
I'm not sure what you mean. The folder that TV Server config shows is the folder that TV Server will use.

It's definitely not, see above post!

All client buffers are kept in the folder(s) that you specify in TV Server configuration, which are usually on the server. Why would you expect them to be on the client(s)?
...
In short, you don't. The same timeshift settings are used for all clients. There are separate buffer files for each client... but that doesn't require separate settings.
...
As it stands, timeshift configuration is not client-specific. Are there particular settings that you think should be made client-specific?

Well I suppose I see timeshifting as being a client specific thing, with buffer sizes and settings locally set on the client. It would make it faster from the client's perspective (locally stored timeshift buffer) and possibly simplify the rewind control mechanism between the client and server, and deal with issues of a client going offline unexpectedly etc. However it doesn't cope too well if you ever wanted to store live data while playing a recording as it would double the used LAN bandwidth.

Sorry but this doesn't make any sense to me. Clients are not pulling data that they don't use (they only pull from their individual buffer), and therefore LAN traffic is already minimised. The same amount of data would have to cross the LAN regardless of where the buffer is kept.

You're right, the live channels would need to be served anyway.

I'm going to conceed defeat on this one, if the goal is to conserve LAN bandwidth and simplify the client's hardware requirements it's probably optimal already. I should think these things through a little more more before posting ;-)
Mark.

 

[mm1352000]

It's definitely not, see above post!

Sorry, I still don't understand what you're trying to say. Breese's post doesn't explain your comment.

You originally said:

The TV Server shows C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV as my record folder, but in reality this is C:\ProgramData\Team Mediaportal\MediaPortal TV Server\recordings.

Those two folders are not and never have been equivalent or in any way linked. So, could you please explain exactly what you mean by "...in reality this is...".

Well I suppose I see timeshifting as being a client specific thing...

Sure, timeshifting is client-specific in so much as each client has its own independent buffer.

...with buffer sizes and settings locally set on the client.

If timeshift buffers were stored on the client then this probably would be necessary. However as it stands, such configuration seems like unnecessary complexity.

It would make it faster from the client's perspective (locally stored timeshift buffer) and possibly simplify the rewind control mechanism between the client and server...

Both of these points are true.

I'm going to conceed defeat on this one, if the goal is to conserve LAN bandwidth and simplify the client's hardware requirements it's probably optimal already. I should think these things through a little more more before posting ;-)

Not at all. Talking through these things is useful. After using MP for as long as I have, I sometimes become blind to flaws that are obvious to fresher eyes.

In theory the goal is to deliver the best user experience. From that perspective the most relevant points to consider would be the trade-off between the additional setup/configuration complexity (ie. the fact that each client would have to be configured individually) and the improved seeking performance.
In practice we are also limited by the availability of developers... and developers choose what they want to work on.

I'd also say that there's no perfect solution for design problems like this. The beauty of the current approach is that it requires minimal configuration (no per-client stuff) and works for both timeshifting and recording access. As you say: seeking would certainly be faster if the client were accessing local files. However if we were to do a cost-benefit analysis I think the costs - in terms of implementation effort, additional setup, and maintenance of complex code - would outweigh the benefit. In any case network access speed/bandwidth is increasing over time (1 Mb/s => 10 Mb/s => 100 Mb/s => 1 Gb/s => 10 Gb/s etc.), and this improves the seeking performance without any effort on our part.

 

[perky]

Sorry, I still don't understand what you're trying to say. Breese's post doesn't explain your comment.
...
. So, could you please explain exactly what you mean by "...in reality this is...".

I'm not sure how else to put it, when I said "the TV Server shows C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV as my record folder" this is what the TV Server config page says and is shown as the first screenshot in Breese's post, and "in reality this is" refers to the actual folder MP is using for recordings, which is C:\ProgramData\Team Mediaportal\MediaPortal TV Server\recordings. They are different.

Those two folders are not and never have been equivalent or in any way linked

I know, the C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV directory doesn't even exist and yet it is shown in the TV Server config page!

I can see how defining how these things work can be difficult. The most elegant solution may, or may not, be the most optimal but has the advantage of simplicity and is obviously much easier to maintain and configure. I'm not complaining BTW, this is a stunning project and I'm very happy with what has been achieved.

 

[perky]

BTW my concern here is saving new settings in the TV Server config might change the recorded folder path from its default even if it hadn't been changed by the user (assuming the config utility simply provides a GUI to edit an xml file). I would have expected the config utility maybe to read in the current xml and save it with the new settings when exiting (?).