Can't get Live TV working in client/server setup

[pjh]

I've setup GB-PVR on an XP (SP2) machine, it's working fine, the channels from a Cinergy 1200 DVB-S are scanned, tuning and recording works, the EPG is working everything looks good.

I've installed the same version of GB-PVR on another machine (XP SP2) and am trying to get it set up as a client.

On the server machine I've setup the GBPVR dir and another directory for sharing the live TV/recordings. On the client machine I've configured it as a client and pointed it at the server (ip address and shares)

Here's what's working on the client (File Sharing Mode):

I can see the EPG
I can record a program
I can playback a recording

What isn't working is Live TV or selecting a program from the TV Guide.

The server seems to start the recording OK but the client screen remains black and hangs. GB-PVR then needs to be stopped.

If I change it to streaming mode I can still see the EPG but even the ability to watch recorded programs is gone.

In both cases (stream and file) when I choose a live TV program in the EPG and select watch the GBR Tray icon turns green and the status box shows "Live TV" and the prorgram name .dvr-ms

When I stop the client, the server recording stops and a dvr-ms file of the program that I was trying to watch live is left behind in the Live TV Buffer dir. if I then copy the .dvr-ms file from the buffer Dir over the network to my client machine I can play it fine by selecting it in Video Library, so it doesn't look like a codec problem on the client machine?

I've attached a log from both the client and server where the client is trying to connect and play live TV - any ideas? anything obvious I've missed?

[CFC]

As far as I know, you can't use dvr-ms muxer for the client. You may try the TS muxer, or any other you might have installed (Cyberlink, ATI for example).

CFC

[martint123]

I think CFC is correct - no dvr.ms for live tv.
I'm using the cyberlink mpg muxer along with streaming for the client and it works.
I don't know why this would stop you recording from the client though. Make sure the client has write permissions to the database on the server (I made the whole directory writeable).

Martin

[CFC]

To clarify, you need to change the multiplexer option on the "server" side.

CFC

[pjh]

Thanks for the replies.

Tried the Cyberlink Mux - nothing worked on the server machine

Tried the ATI Mux.

Server (local to DVB-S card)
-Can no longer watch BBC-HD
-Nero MPEG2 decoder no longer works - (not sure which decoder is being used - is there a way to see filter usage in GB-PVR?) whatever mpeg2 codec is being use is no longer deinterlacing.
- Channel changing takes 5-10 seconds. Every now and then the channel doesn't change and the viewer needs to be shut down

Client
File sharing mode is a choppy, but the streaming mode now seems to work reasonably well. Still don't seem to have control of the codec (like I did when I was playing ms-drv recordings over the network). Channel change is 10+ seconds.

Maybe GB-PVR isn't for me for this application, I've tried mediaPortal (some issue again with network streaming) and ProgDVB (free version won't handle the HD streams though it seems it has a workable network streamer).

Any solutions for this app or could anyone recommend any other apps. Basically I want a server machine in one room, initially with DVB-S for the UK freesat channels (including BBC and ITV HD) with the potential to add a DVB-T card when terrestrial digital is launched. Then I want another "media PC" capable of connecting to that server, with a nice EPG for live TV/recordings and also playback of Xvid downloads. - any ideas?

[martint123]

It looks like HD may be the source of the problem (I don't know for sure as I'm still waiting for my dvb-s tuner). I have a feeling live TV with HD differs to my setup with just analogue and dvb-t. I hope when my tuner turns up, it doesn't collapse the system as I use a number of PC clients, mainly for scheduling from the EPG and for background noise.
Main TV use is with Hauppauge MVP's and a recently acquired PopcornHour.
Have you tried ts-mux for streaming, I think it has been tweaked in the latest version?

[pjh]

Have you tried ts-mux for streaming, I think it has been tweaked in the latest version?

I thought about trying it but a couple of posts I read seemed to imply it was for debugging only so I left it alone. I'll give it a go.

[pjh]

ts-mux seems to leave me back pretty much in the same place as dvr-ms - on the 'server' machine everything is rock solid - HD and the right decoder is in use, reasonable quick channel changes.

On the client the same - I can see the EPG and schedule recordings. When set to streaming mode I can't play anything, when set to file sharing I can watch recordings but Live TV doesn't work in either.

[martint123]

Bugger. Hopefully sub may catch the thread and make a suggestion although looks like bad timing as he's going walkabout.

[sub]

The client/server support is really designed for SD MPEG2 material in a .mpg file. Things like high def H.264 support has been added more recently to the app, and the client/server support hasnt yet been updated to work with it. Hopefully for 1.3.x.

If you're lucky it might work in 'file mode' with the 'TS Mux' option.