MediaMVP and external files question

[dvd_maniac]

I just purchased a wired MediaMVP and forgot to ask a couple questions b4 I did.

I use metadata(.properties and .my files) and .smi external subtitle files and was wondering how the MediaMVP used them? Do I have to go back to using UNC paths for them to work with the MediaMVP?

The main reason I am reluctant to do so is because I do not want my kids to be able to browse my movies folder through network. I have parental control setup to not allow anything rated above R to play without password but my kids are smart enough to browse the network to see them outside of Sage. Which is why I do not have it shared.
They can't get to the main Sage Server right now.

[Opus4]

The Media Extender (and Placeshifter) run as part of the server application, so they will browse as if they are on the server. The local system of the SageTVClient is the local PC it is running on, but the local system for an extender or Placeshifter is the server it is connected to.

- Andy

[dvd_maniac]

Awesome... That means I can keep my kids out of the Rated "R" realm.

Thanx opus

[dvd_maniac]

Well,
I received my MVP today and hooked it up in like 5 minutes.
Great in almost every way... Some of my .mp4 files are not playing. It starts to open up and sometimes just a black screen with the timeline moving and other times with the bottom couple of inches a digitized greenish bar.
Most do work though. Where should I start troubleshooting?

[Taddeusz]

How powerful is your SageTV server? For the MVP to play anything other than MPEG2 video and MP3 audio it must be transcoded. If the server doesn't have a powerful enough processor to do that in realtime you'll get weird stuff happening.

Plus, from what I understand, Frey isn't using the latest version of that transcode utility. It's my understanding that it's not the most efficient MPEG4 transcoder.

Just as an example I have issues trying to play HD H.264 videos through my MVP. My server is a AMD X2 3800. Even though it's only using around 60-70% total CPU while transcoding I still get really bad stuttering or the video doesn't even play. SD stuff plays just fine though.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by dvd_maniac

The main reason I am reluctant to do so is because I do not want my kids to be able to browse my movies folder through network. I have parental control setup to not allow anything rated above R to play without password but my kids are smart enough to browse the network to see them outside of Sage. Which is why I do not have it shared.

Just put a "$" at the end of the share name and they won't show up when you browse the network.

[dvd_maniac]

Hey Stanger,
I Learned that one when I was MCSE certified back in NT 4.0
I already tried it too. Unfortunately, my kids also learned about it. They had some friends over and were all playing the Xbox 360 when all of a sudden I started hearing Eddie Murphy - Delirous. If thier friends weren't there, I probably would have killed them. It's funny that they know how to pull up the hidden share in Explorer but they do not know how to edit the metadata in Sage to change the rating... I guess I have them pretty scared of mass punishment if they screw up anything in SageTV.

[dvd_maniac]

How powerful is your SageTV server?

Not the most powerful but it is an AMD X2 4600+. The transocder not having enough power is not the issue since most of my .mp4 files play fine and it's just a few that don't. I have over 1500 movies and they are all almost the same as far as codec, bitrate and resolution. And the ones that do not play are encoded with the same settings and application as the ones that do play.
I sent one of the files to Sage and am waiting for a response...

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by dvd_maniac

Hey Stanger,
I Learned that one when I was MCSE certified back in NT 4.0
I already tried it too. Unfortunately, my kids also learned about it. They had some friends over and were all playing the Xbox 360 when all of a sudden I started hearing Eddie Murphy - Delirous.

OK, OT now, but I'm curious, so they know the path/sharenames, or do I need to learn something about displaying "hidden" shares in windows?

[dvd_maniac]

Well I initially just shared the drive letters themselves (The built-in hidden shares) and once they learned them I shared the folder as the folder name and they figured that out too. So I stopped sharing them all together and gave up on using UNC paths. The only reason I like to use UNC paths is for external file support on the clients which really wasn't a big deal.
So if I just used a more unique hidden sharename then they wouldn't know about it...Homer Simpson DOH!!!
For some reason it just never occurred to me and I just gave up too easily thinking I didn't want to play the cat & mouse game with them. But I know that they would've eventually looked into the Sage setup menus and seen the network path. But now that it has been awhile maybe they won't even try to access the network anymore.

Thanx Stanger