V6.3.4 Auto Transcoding Issue

[edbmdave]

I have noticed that the shows are ending up in the transcoding queue multiple times. It seems that by the time (some job which appears to run on a regular basis) it checks if the shows haven't already been transcoded it adds them to the list again. This includes files currently being transcoded. I noticed my list grew for the last two days, each time it was a complete addition of anything not already encoded. I also noticed (and this appears difference from prior behavior) that instead of just skipping the transcoding of a file that was already transcoded. It actually redid it. ie it was a MPG and first transcoding took it to a MP4, then next and all following transcoding actually took the MP4 and retranscoded them to MP4..

Anyone else seeing this?

[evilpenguin]

When files are sceduled for autoCompress they should also have a .autoCompress file placed right next to them that prevents them from being readded. Can you check if these are getting made?

[edbmdave]

Out of the 4 files currently in the encoding queue, only the one actually being currently encoded has a .autocompress. the others do not.

[JREkiwi]

Are you using the Auto Compress import on the default STV or SageMC?

What version is the import or SageMC?

John

[edbmdave]

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

Are you using the Auto Compress import on the default STV or SageMC?

What version is the import or SageMC?

John

The server runs as a service with the default STV, I have a client that runs sagemc. I typically set up the compression through the client with SageMC. It is running version SageMC 6.3.5.1 (and has been prior to this issue.).

[evilpenguin]

Does you're default STV have JREkiwi's autoCompress plug-in imported? Also, are you using the built-in compression or my Video Tools plug-in?

[edbmdave]

no, no add-ins. Just stock. Server runs as a service with default stv, main client runs SageMC no add-ins, MVPs all run SageMC no-addins.

[JREkiwi]

Are you connecting to the video directories on the server via UNC paths? If you're not, then the clients will be unable to create the .autocompress file that prevents the compress from running again.

John

[edbmdave]

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

Are you connecting to the video directories on the server via UNC paths? If you're not, then the clients will be unable to create the .autocompress file that prevents the compress from running again.

John

This may answer the question then. Does the Client (not the server/service) create the .autocompress files. If so I think I may have know the issue. (I recently installed Windows Home Server and may need to check on the write privileges for that machines userid).

I thought the autocompress files were created by the service/server.

is there a way for this to be done on the server and not by a client?

[JREkiwi]

As the process is STV based, the creation of the .autocompress files and the transcoding job submissions are done by the client. And, as you are running SageMC on all your MVP's and client then each of them is capable of doing a transcoding job submission.

The issue will not be with the MVP's as they will be creating the .autocompress file. Your client will need rights to create the .autocompress file and have access to the media file using the exact same path as the server accesses the media file.

Having it server based has been looked at, but there are many issues with interaction and extensibility.

John

[edbmdave]

That did it. Installing Windows Media Server changed the permissions (password) that I connected with. Resetting and validiating the client could write to those folders fixed it. Thanks!

[edbmdave]

Ok, now that I am getting an understanding of the autocompression in SageMC, let me ask a question so that I understand how this works, and then followup with an issue I have.

Part of this goes to my understanding, then part goes to the issue I am dealing with now. (below)
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28988

I am using SageMC on all my mediaMVPs and the SageClient I have. In check both the MVPs and the Client, autocompress is enabled, and use native compression is set. My Server (running as a service, runs the default STV w no addins. ( Not even the auto-compress add-in for the default STV)

Question 1. Where is the compression being managed from? The MVPs? The Clients? All of them? One of them? Can I set up the Client to no do anything and have the work done from MVPs? How can I optimize this so I know what is being done by whom in a multiclient environment. If I turn off autocompress on the client (can I?) and leave it on, on the MVPs will it work?

Question 2. I am trying to convert all my drives (3 of them) on the server from drive paths (D:\MEDIA\VIDEO, E:\MEDIA\VIDEO) to be UNC based (\\SERVER\VIDEO1, \\SERVER\VIDEO2) so that I don't have to manually map and manage the mappings for the client to process the autocompress. In following the FAQ for moving to UNCs, I found my MPG files moved fine, and showed up again, but all the files I had auto-compressed were missing. (the files were there, but no longer showed up in Sage). Details are in the link. Andy has asked if native compression was used, and I thought through the selections (use native compress) it is, but I want to confirm. Andy indicated that Sage no longer sees these as recorded show files thus might have dropped them. Can you help me understand how and what the autocompress does and is it really using native compression? If so is this a bug then?

[evilpenguin]

All autocompress does is automatically do an in-place compression using the same commands you would use to set up a manual compression, so there's no magic there.

Here's what you can do to check: switch to the default STV, scedule an in place compression to mp4, then try and move that to UNC. If it doesn't work in the same way as the ones you made with autocompression (which is my suspicion) then its a Sage issue and should be submitted as a bug.

[edbmdave]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

All autocompress does is automatically do an in-place compression using the same commands you would use to set up a manual compression, so there's no magic there.

Here's what you can do to check: switch to the default STV, scedule an in place compression to mp4, then try and move that to UNC. If it doesn't work in the same way as the ones you made with autocompression (which is my suspicion) then its a Sage issue and should be submitted as a bug.

Thanks. I will try that and open a bug if it fails.

How about question 1. Any background on the how/where Autocompression is controlled from?

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by edbmdave

Question 1. Where is the compression being managed from? The MVPs? The Clients? All of them? One of them? Can I set up the Client to no do anything and have the work done from MVPs? How can I optimize this so I know what is being done by whom in a multiclient environment. If I turn off autocompress on the client (can I?) and leave it on, on the MVPs will it work?

In SageMC, All of them.
The autocompress is a global setting, so if you turn it off on any client/MVP, then it's off.

The compression is done on the server. All the clients are doing, is a scan for new files and if they are setup to compress then telling the server to compress them.

John

[edbmdave]

Thanks All. I have done the compression with the native STV and it also fails to successully migrate to the new path. I am going open a bug report.