Dynamic Streaming System on MVP??

[Stuntman]

I've noticed that the Placeshifter client has the ability to dynamically alter it's stream based on a number of factors and wonder.. could it be possible or is it already fact that the MVP could do similiar things? My MVP has a hard time playing back HD content over my local network, sometimes it does okay, sometimes lousy.. often the audio gets out of sync with the video.. Even if I set the conversion quality to normal it is always questionable how any HD will get transcoded..

So, I wondered if Sage could perhaps monitor the process.. and adjust accordingly.. to make sure that we are getting the best possible transcode at any given time..

[Narflex]

If you're having transcoding problems like that then the issue is probably related to the CPU maxing out on your server. So you could get a beefier server to solve that problem....but a much better solution is the STX-HD100 so you won't need to do any transcoding.

http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/me...tegory_Code=HD

[Stuntman]

Originally Posted by Narflex

If you're having transcoding problems like that then the issue is probably related to the CPU maxing out on your server. So you could get a beefier server to solve that problem....but a much better solution is the STX-HD100 so you won't need to do any transcoding.

http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/me...tegory_Code=HD

I already have 3 STX-HD100's.. only 1 MVP left in the house (actually garage).. my PC is a dual core Athlon64 XP 4800+ with 3GB RAM over gigabit ethernet.. Maybe that isn't a screamer, but it isn't a dog either..

It isn't a big issue, just wondering if anything could be done to help with transcoding for the older MVP'S.. at my house using placeshifter will sometimes work better than the MVP, which I assumed was due to the placeshifter being able to dynamically alter it's stream based on various conditions.. thought maybe the MVP could benefit from the same technique.

Was just a thought!

[CollinR]

If thats the case then you may have a networking issue.

[BFisher]

You can compress the files when the PC isn't busy (late at night) so it's ready to play them without transcoding...

[Stuntman]

Well, I have 3 HD extenders now and just the one MVP.. I don't want to compress anything if I don't have to. I was just thinking outloud. There is the extender quality setting for 'Standard' or 'High'.. just thought another option.. say 'Adaptive' would be a useful thing...

[paulbeers]

I haven't done a lot of comparison's of core2duo's vs. athlon x2's in a while, but I can't get reliable 'High' quality transcoding with anything less than a core2duo @ 2.4 ghz. I would guess that your athlon X2 is just slightly under powered to handle transcoding at high on the fly. The transcoder is NOT (last I checked anyway) multi-threaded. Adaptive could be nice, I suppose, but since Sage has released the HD Extender, I can't imagine they are going to put a lot of stock into making things for the MVP better....

I would also check your network capacity. Do you notice greater issues on with audio sync/studdering/etc. when you are using other extenders?

[Stuntman]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

I would also check your network capacity. Do you notice greater issues on with audio sync/studdering/etc. when you are using other extenders?

I rarely use more than one at a time.. but the sync and studdering and such seems pretty consistant.. I've tried running a 'thin' server with all but essential services off..

I figure Sage won't put too much work into their older products, but I was thinking if the code for the adaptive streaming was already in the placeshifter product, maybe it could get ported to the server product and used with the MVP..

Was just a thought!

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by Stuntman

I rarely use more than one at a time.. but the sync and studdering and such seems pretty consistant.. I've tried running a 'thin' server with all but essential services off..

I figure Sage won't put too much work into their older products, but I was thinking if the code for the adaptive streaming was already in the placeshifter product, maybe it could get ported to the server product and used with the MVP..

Was just a thought!

I'm not saying its not worth dropping a line to the dev team to see what they could do, just not saying you should hold your breath....

[Stuntman]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

I'm not saying its not worth dropping a line to the dev team to see what they could do, just not saying you should hold your breath....

Narflex's comment pretty much assures me that this won't be looked at.. I only posted as an idea.. there are plenty of projects I've worked on over the years where somebody mentions something and you catch yourself surprised you never thought of it, and are surprised nobody else has ever mentioned it.

In this case I thought maybe the code base was already done (in placeshifter) and that it might work for the MVP's (which were still being sold by Sage just a couple weeks ago)..

$200 is just too much to spend to replace the particluar MVP that I'm concerned with.. unless Sage finds a way to get HD to it better on a 'legacy' system, I'll just have to live with it!

[Taddeusz]

I think the reasoning is that there is enough bandwidth on a LAN that doing that type of throttling is not at all necessary. Even with Placeshifter when you're connecting to the server through your LAN it doesn't do the kind of throttling as it does when you're connected from across the internet. It just doesn't make any sense when the bandwidth isn't the bottleneck when watching locally.