Atom Based System as GbPvr Server

[tjb]

Hi Martin,

You requested that I start a new thread in this forum and include a copy of my logs. The original post was:
[INDENT]
In the past I had been using an HP Proliant ML150 as my main server, which included GbPvr recording and hosting two PCH's as clients. It definitely was up to the task, but used around 250 to 300watts at idle. So I started searching for a greener solution. First, for storage, I got a NAS from Qnap (Ts-410) which uses only about 20 watts with three 1.5 TB disks in it. Then for the heck of it, I temporarily tried to use my Dell Vostro A90 (Atom 1.6, identical to the Dell Mini 9) to act as a GbPvr server. To my surprise, it worked perfectly for recording shows. However, it is not up to the task of streaming video to the NMT. So now I am thinking about building a system based on the Zotac IONITX motherboard (which has a dual core Atom processoor) so I can get my Vostro back...

[/INDENT]

I deleted all logs, then restarted GbPvr and tried to stream a recording to my PCH (A110). I have attached the logs. It does look like it's getting some errors at the end. Sometimes the playback stutters, sometimes it loses sound, sometimes appears to fast forward. I did check the CPU usage on the Vostro and you were right, it never got above 30% while steaming. I should mention that playing the recordings directly from the PCH works fine.

In the other thread, you mentioned:

[INDENT]Normally GBPVR streams to the PCH via http but the --use-shares option cause the file to be read via cifs/smb In theory you don't lose com skip, but many NAS devices don't have the oomph to support streaming required be mvpmcx2. It might be worth a try.
[/INDENT]

If you tell me how to invoke the --use-shares option I will try this out. Does it go in the MVP section of config.xml or is it a command line option to mvpmcx2?

[martint123]

If you tell me how to invoke the --use-shares option I will try this out. Does it go in the MVP section of config.xml or is it a command line option to mvpmcx2?

I had a search for that as well, but I think the forum software and google search ignore the dashes, so I didn't find anything.

[borgs5]

I've recently switched to running GB-PVR on a Toshiba NB100 netbook. I don't use that to record TV programs, that is done on another machine. However, it streams mpeg2 files that are stored on the hard disk of the recording machine to an MVP with no problem whatsoever.

I've also had it streaming mpeg4 videos to the MVP no problem either.

Maybe there is something not quite right with your NAS?

[mvallevand]

Hi guys, I don't think it has been specifically documented, UJB might be the only one using it. It uses the same process as loading a DVD.

1. To use it first locate how GBPVR sees the file in your log

Code:

2010-03-06 10:33:15.118    VERBOSE    [7]    Opening media file: \\Nas\Recordings\Lost\Lost_20100302_21002200.ts

2. Add the following with your IP to gbpvr.cgi in the setup section around the portion where the mvpmc share is mounted

Code:

mkdir /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings
mount -t cifs //##.##.##.##/Nas/Recordings /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings -o username=,password=,ro

3. Add --use-shares to the mvpmcx2 command line in startmeup

@tjb I consider 30% CPU for simple streaming to be very high

@borgs5 streaming HD and SD are so different that MVP and NMT comparison aren't really possible. SD would probably play fine too.

Martin

[tjb]

I'm currently running mvpmcx2 that was installed using the CSI installer. Is there a way to do this with my installation, or do I need to switch to starting the program from a share? I tried changing this in daemon.cgi, but then mvpmcx2 would not start up.

[mvallevand]

Ok, in your case create a file called

/share/Apps/mvpmcx2/bin/useropt.sh

Code:

if [ -d /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings ]
then
else
    mkdir /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings
    mount -t cifs //##.##.##.##/Nas/Recordings /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings -o username=,password=,ro
fi
/share/Apps/mvpmcx2/bin/mvpmcx2 --use-shares >/dev/null 2>1 &

Martin

[tjb]

Martin,

One last favor. I'm not that well versed in shell syntax and when I try to run useropt.sh manually, I get the following error

Code:

/opt/sybhttpd/localhost.drives/HARD_DISK/Apps/mvpmcx2/bin # ./useropt.sh
./useropt.sh: line 2: syntax error: unexpected "else"
/opt/sybhttpd/localhost.drives/HARD_DISK/Apps/mvpmcx2/bin # cat useropt.sh
if [ -d /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings ]; then
else
    mkdir /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings
    mount -t cifs //192.168.1.109/Nas/Recordings /mnt/\\\\Nas\\Recordings -o username=admin,password=xxxxxxxx,ro
fi
/share/Apps/mvpmcx2/bin/mvpmcx2 --use-shares >/dev/null 2>1 &
/opt/sybhttpd/localhost.drives/HARD_DISK/Apps/mvpmcx2/bin #

[mvallevand]

I changed the original does that help?

Martin

[tjb]

No, same error. I had tried several things but couldn't get it to work

I added an echo statement after the then and it worked. But I am getting mixed results trying to play a recording, none good at the moment. Thanks for your help.
It appears that the share is not being mounted properly - I will play with it some more tomorrow.

[mvallevand]

The way that script works it will require a power off to try a second time, so it is worth figuring out the actual syntax using telnet. NFS which I'm pretty sure your NAS supports would probably be a better option if you can figure out how to set up to share on the NAS. The syntax for the NMT is here http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...hlight=nfs

Good luck

Martin