Network Streaming

[pduncan67]

Now that I have GBPVR set up and working, I would like to try using the network features to play back recorded material. My question is - does the 'client' need to have a TV Capture card installed?

Also - I have an old Win-TV GO card - it doesn't have on board MPEG compression so I know I cant use it to record - BUT - could I use it to simply watch live TV on my 'client' PC - and still use the EPG program guide?

[sub]

Now that I have GBPVR set up and working, I would like to try using the network features to play back recorded material. My question is - does the 'client' need to have a TV Capture card installed?

No, a client doesnt need a card.

Also - I have an old Win-TV GO card - it doesn't have on board MPEG compression so I know I cant use it to record - BUT - could I use it to simply watch live TV on my 'client' PC - and still use the EPG program guide?

The card lacks the required hardware MPEG2 encoder so isnt compatible with GB-PVR. You might be able to get it working with the GraphRecorder plugin, but I dont really know anything about that.

[soccerdad]

To clarify, the client will use the card in the server for live tv so unless the card in the server is already busy, you don't need any cards in the client (like sub said)

[johnsonx42]

I've often pondered the idea of a 'hybrid client' for gb-pvr. That would be a client that works exactly like it does now, EXCEPT it does have one tuner that can be used for LiveTV only. All recordings would be done by the server, there's only the one database, etc. That way for simply watching TV, you wouldn't tie up a tuner on the server, and you could use Live Preview Mode. For any other function though, it goes to the server.

Obviously there would be some restrictions - the client's tuner would have to be able to pull in the same channels as the server's tuner(s), probably some limits to round-about operations like watching live tv, then switching to time-shift mode, then converting to a recording (since the time-shift file would be on the client, but the recording is supposed to happen at the server). Maybe solve the latter initially by allowing only LivePreview on the client....

sub, any thoughts? it shouldn't take too much extra logic to implement (easy for me to say since I don't have to do it)

[pBS]

it would probably be easier to make a 'client plugin' and run as normal standalone with the plugin for server functionality...makes keeping things separate easier...
or a standalone mode plugin running under a client...either way..

cuz the logic involved in mixing sources/methods would be a spaghetti mess when you think about it..and impose limits that would be hard to remember..

graph recorder is most of what's needed for a 'capture' plugin to give local functionality while being a client...but the recording service logic would be a trip up..
so a 'client' mode plugin seems to be the easiest way to go...

like a 'window' onto the other machine, the rest being a normal local install..
too bad they never finished the MVP emulator they started a while back..would have been the answer..

another thought, i can make a batch file that switches you from client mode back to normal local mode and back as well... just setup a custom task and good to go..

[JohnD]

I've often pondered the idea of a 'hybrid client' for gb-pvr. That would be a client that works exactly like it does now, EXCEPT it does have one tuner that can be used for LiveTV only.

Could you not just install an additional capture card on the server? that way you would have additional functionality on both server and client and no software changes needed.

[SLR_65]

I've just started to play with a client. I'm just doing standard def recordings with older, smaller, tvs so I'm just using an Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard for both the server and client.

So far things are going well except I gave up on watching LiveTV from the client. I can get it to work well with streaming mode but then the fast forward and rewind have a small delay in them and it makes things feel kinda sluggish so I went to file sharing and now they work perfect but LiveTV breaks up. Oh well, just decided to not use LiveTV.

I've been thinking of a hybrid system myself since I have an extra PVR-150 laying around.

If you would configure the client with a tuner card and then add the server's temp directory to the client's video library then it would show up and play through the video library, correct? And it should retain and display the meta data?

Basically the only disadvantage would be that you couldn't schedule or view what's scheduled on server?

/Steve

[johnsonx42]

So far things are going well except I gave up on watching LiveTV from the client. I can get it to work well with streaming mode but then the fast forward and rewind have a small delay in them and it makes things feel kinda sluggish so I went to file sharing and now they work perfect but LiveTV breaks up. Oh well, just decided to not use LiveTV.

I've been thinking of a hybrid system myself since I have an extra PVR-150 laying around.

Hence the merit of a tuner-equipped 'hybrid client'. A lot of people have problems with Live TV on the client, but everything else works great. Also, when all you want is LiveTV, doesn't it seem almost silly to have the server allocate a tuner, feverishly record the stream to the hard drive, then send that stream out over the network?

If you would configure the client with a tuner card and then add the server's temp directory to the client's video library then it would show up and play through the video library, correct? And it should retain and display the meta data?

Basically the only disadvantage would be that you couldn't schedule or view what's scheduled on server?

With the Video Library pointed at a Recordings directory, it just lists file names, no metadata. You get something like "SHOWNAME200903172200-200903172230.ts". When you play it, the OSD also shows only that. Perhaps one of the plugins would pull the metadata, but the stock plugin does not.

[stustunz]

if you loaded up say wintv or some other tv watching program
added it as a external task call it "surf TV channels"
thats the simple way
draw back is no tvguide but if your watching live im guessing its more for channel surfing

if you steel the video library xml form the slick skin the meta data shows
down side no delete
i have Xrecord on my client works very well for this best of both worlds

[johnsonx42]

if you loaded up say wintv or some other tv watching program
added it as a external task call it "surf TV channels"
thats the simple way
draw back is no tvguide but if your watching live im guessing its more for channel surfing

the TV Guide is the very reason that I started pondering this idea... I can watch LiveTV all I want using my TV's tuner. But, there's no TV Guide.

if you steel the video library xml form the slick skin the meta data shows
down side no delete
i have Xrecord on my client works very well for this best of both worlds

very useful info, thank you.