Ongoing Which is better – client/server or multiple standalone PCs ? (1 Viewer)

[Taipan]

I have been a very happy MediaPortal user for a couple of years now, with a single installation connected to a front projector in my lounge room. I now need to update my old TV / DVD player / VCR in the family room, so I thought that this would be a good opportunity to introduce a second install of MediaPortal.

My initial thoughts were to duplicate what I already have and simply build another quiet PC, add a couple of DVB-T cards, a big disk and an LCD monitor for the family room.

However, it may make sense to build a server to run TVE3 and to store all my media (mainly music files), and build a simpler client PC for the family room.

The advantage of the first solution (standalone PC) is that it is simple and provides some redundancy (if a PC dies, I always have the other one available). The disadvantage is that I have 2 sets of TV cards, programs recorded on one PC cannot be viewed on the other PC, and the media files would be duplicated (although this provides some backup capability).

The advantage of the second solution (client-server) is that it reduces the number of TV cards required, enables recorded TV programs to be watched in either room, and reduces the duplication of media files. The main disadvantages are that the server PC would have to be running 24x7, the HDDs would have to be mirrored to minimise any data loss, and if the server failed, neither of the clients would be useful.

I am very interested to hear (read) what other MediaPortal users have done in a similar situation, and if it is possible (or even practical) to setup the server to wake up (automagically) when required and then go back to standby mode when not required?

 

[Nogge69]

Hi Taipan

It's been +-a year since i moved over to the TVE3, and can't say I have regretted that for a second.

I have 5-6 client PC's running Mediaportal around the house. (Started out with 2 as you are)

The first TVE3 server i had was an old Pentium III 800 with 512MB of RAM i had lying around, which actually did the job pretty well.
This server was also running on a power schedule using a software called Auto Power-on & Shut-down. (Worked quite well this too)
Nowadays, the Server HW has been upgraded a few times, and are running constantly. (In a corner of my basement)
I have a MCE500 dual tuner card in there, and are running mail server for the family on it too(FTGATE)
All my movies & music is stored on the server, and have attached a 500GB external HD as a backup disk for this. (Scheduling backups every night with SyncToy)
It makes life so much easier when you have everything in one place, instead of copying things from here to there all the time

The cost for some HW for a server these days are so low that I would highly recommend that, as soon as you have more than one PC running mediaportal.

 

[guytpetj]

I have a few HTPC's around the house. In a mix of stand-alone and tv server configuration.

The stand alone machines is a back-up HTPC for recording if the other system goes to sh*t. It's nice to have this type of redundancy. Helps the Keep WAF high as well.

my experience with TV Server is that it works perfect single seat or with one or 2 pc's as clients, but with more found some problems, just not working flawless. Some interuptions playing tv, recorded tv/movies over the network. it's possible that I have to upgrade from 100 to1000 LAN.

At home I'm running at the moment 1 x stand alone, 1 time TVE3 single seat with 3 x TV Client. Works nice, but not perfect. I'm looking at buying another TV tuner to change my configuration to; 2 x stand alone, 1 time TVE3 single seat with 2 x TV Client.

My server runs 24/7, which puts a bit of a toll on the HDD's. I have too many HDD's to mirror them all, and taking Murphy's law in account, I recently had one of my 320GB HDD crash (not mirrored) and lost 320GB of DivX files, thats quite a bit of recorded TV series.

If you are just having 2 HTPC's around the house than I would advice 2 x stand alone, and have the luxery of redundancy. Just run one as the main machine for all the recording and media storage and link this over the network to the other PC. At the same time you can use the exta HDD capacity on the second PC as data back-up for your important files.

 

[Taipan]

Thanks for the feedback guys - I am still interested in what other experiences there are out there, so if anyone else would like to share their advice with me, please don't be shy ....

 

[Gympiebrowns]

networking htpc

hey good ppl, new to htpc been trying to do it with linux and lost too much hair (and drank to much) soooo have converted old pc P4 2gig 512mb ram 100gig hd 32mb nvidia vid card, i have a home network setup and am wanting to set up the htpc in the lounge hooked upto tv for movie and music playing.

it would be great to have it on my wired network so kids and us can watch the movies at their pc's and listen to cd's also and then down the road stream tv to all.

NOW, how do i go about setting up the other pc's on the network so they can watch and listen to their hearts content, does mp need to be on all computers in its completness or is there a client type setup available...

well ppl many many thanks for the assistance..

 

[Taipan]

Hi Gympiebrowns,

Have a read of this information on the TV server - that should give you an idea of how MediaPortal can be configured in client-server mode.

 

[ThaClown]

I am just starting to build a small server (with some leftover PC parts) but now I have two single seat HTPC's running.
My main is the Silverstone LC11 (this has the TV ard and HD2400Pro) and via cable network I have my workPC with most of my diskspace.
This workswell, but now all my drivebays are full and I really dont want to have my workPC running all the time.
So for me a server would be great, will see about multiseat when the server is done..

 

[Danguard]

I have 1 Server and 2 Clients
I was already using a server solution for my datas before starting to use MediaPortal (since i'm already a user of a SqueezeBox 3).
My pcs are:
- Server: P4 512Mb Ram, 1 HD 180Gb
- 1° Client: Desktop Amd XP with 16:10 Samsung monitor (my pc)
- 2° Client: Laptop Compaq Evo 1000 for my bedroom connected to a 4:3 TV

Until i was not involved in MP, the 180GB of the server was enough, but now well... it's just damn too little ^^
I'm going for a NAS solution (probably the Promises Surestor 4300n) with 2 HD 750Gb in mirroring (for a good redundancy).
This solution is the best for:
1. Server failure, i still have all my datas available even if i'll not have the Slim Server working (can access to mp3s anyway)
2. No duplication of datas around the house (easy to find anything, since i keep everything centralized, even various utilities, drivers, whatever)
3. If i'm ripping/encoding my DVD collection (still have to encode around 100 dvd x_X ) my PC is totally free to do whatever i need, or it can be simply turned off
4. The server is working as a real server (DHCP, NAT) and centralized applications (Emule, Slimserver, Encoding, BitTorrent)
5. If a friend come to visit me, it's easy for him to reach all my resources without having to explain everything, just 1 network mapping and that's all

Hope it helps,
Bye