Multiple servers sharing recordings: Possible with BMT?

[src666]

I'm still looking for a solution to totally segregate the kid's shows from the rest of our content. With the addition of the BMT metadata add-in it occurs to me that it may now be possible.

My idea is to have 2 servers - one that just records/feeds the kid's media, and one that handles everything else. I would then make the kid's server's drives Video imports on the main server.

My question is would BMT on the main server see the metadata from the kid's server's shows and automatically mark them as "Sage Recordings"? I know that when I transfer shows to Video shares for long term archival, they are flagged as "Sage Recordings" on my server, and I'm wondering if that would also occur if the shows originated on another server.

This would integrate them into the normal My TV/Recordings view, which is the ideal solution for me.

Is this a workable idea, or am I just chasing my tail on this one?

[Fuzzy]

I think an easier solution might be to set up some custom menus and filters to limit their display to kids only stuff, and keep everything on the same server.

[src666]

I want total segregation - different lineups, everything. I have yet to see a solution that works well in Sage. At best, I could lock some menus away and set up parental controls, but that would still let them tune to any channel in the lineup that is showing something within the rating limits, and we would prefer to have more granular control than that.

By setting up a separate server, we can control the channel lineup better, and also institute some better server access controls that would prevent them from watching during the times they aren't permitted to do so. They have limited access to TV/Video games, but we would like that access to be more convenient for them when it is available.

[Fuzzy]

Do they have the need to watch live tv at all? It seems it might be simpler to pretty much lock them into the video library, with a set of programs that are their favorites recorded on the sage server. You can use something like SJQ to move their recordings into an import folder. this would free up all tuners for full conflict management, while still allowing them access to just what you allow.

[src666]

Just accept that what I want isn't available with the other work-arounds. I'm just hoping that someone who knows more about how BMT works can let me know if this is a viable idea, otherwise I'm going to have to set up another server just to test it.

[Skirge01]

What you're saying sounds somewhat possible. The issue I see is that you want segregation with integration. At least, it sounds like it.

I'm picturing two separate servers and at least one client PC or HD100/200. The servers will have independent tuners and have channel lineups which are geared towards either the adults or the children, never crossing. Each server will have it's own import directories for recordings and/or imported videos/music, never crossing; although the adult server could import the children's shows. If you lock down the settings, this should be enough. BMT and any other SageTV add-ons would need to be installed on both servers and/or clients, assuming you wanted the features on both.

The potential issue comes in if you want a single client PC or HD100/200 to use BOTH servers. Preventing these clients from connecting to one server could be done with some effort, but the opposite would be difficult. (Note: I have no experience with the HD100/200's, so I don't know how they connect to the server. I assume it's probably similar to this...) In a full, client PC setup, you can tell SageTV to connect to a specific server every time or have it ask you every time. Clearly, you don't want the prompt for the kids. But, you'd need to block the adult IP address so that the kids can't modify the install and point it to the adult server. At this point, you wouldn't be able to use the client yourself to connect to the adult server... at least, not without undoing whatever blocking you put in place. This is the segregation/integration issue I originally mentioned.

Hope this helped.

[src666]

Thanks, Skirge, you have it nailed. Right now I have 1 server and 3 extenders, and if this idea works I am planning on adding 2 more extenders plus another server for the kids.

The networking issues aren't a problem - I'm well versed in dealing with those. It's easy enough to block the MAC address of the kids' extenders at the server. Allowing the other extenders to access the kid's server isn't a problem, but that can be controlled as well if I wanted to. I would also be setting up timed access rules for the extenders on the kids' server, to lock them out when the kids aren't supposed to be watching.

The main issue is BMT and its ability to integrate media files into Sage's Recordings guide. It does it naturally when I move recordings to the VIDEO drives for archival, and I just want to know if it will do the same for recordings from another server, or if I would have to manually flag them after the library rescan picks them up. That's the process I would have to automate to make this work.

It would be very easy to just let the recordings drop into the "My Videos" collection - there wouldn't be any effort involved in that. My preference, however, is to have them show up in the recordings list.

[Fuzzy]

If BMT is getting proper info for the recordings from the filename alone, then yes, they should have no problem bringing them into the recordings list. It may even be easier than that, as if the second server sees the properties files generated by the primary server's BMT, it may already do it (I'm not sure the moving into the recordings databse is done with the properties file or not). All that would be needed is a SJQ job to move Just the kids recorings (and the associated properties file) into a specific folder, and then have JUST that folder as an import folder on the kids server.

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by src666

The main issue is BMT and its ability to integrate media files into Sage's Recordings guide. It does it naturally when I move recordings to the VIDEO drives for archival, and I just want to know if it will do the same for recordings from another server, or if I would have to manually flag them after the library rescan picks them up. That's the process I would have to automate to make this work.

The only reason you see them in the recordings guide is because the server has that folder set as an import folder for videos. This is why I said you would need separate folders for the adult content and kid content, separated by server. You would have each server ONLY import videos from the ones you want the connected clients to have access to. Adult server would have video import directories of "adult folder 1" and "adult folder 2", etc. Kid server would have "kid folder 1" and "kid folder 2", etc. As long as "adult folder 1" and "adult folder 2" are not listed as import directories on "kid server", that content won't show up. BMT would be installed on both servers, the first server with BMT looking at the adult folder(s) and the other server with BMT looking at the kid folder(s).

[src666]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

If BMT is getting proper info for the recordings from the filename alone, then yes, they should have no problem bringing them into the recordings list. It may even be easier than that, as if the second server sees the properties files generated by the primary server's BMT, it may already do it (I'm not sure the moving into the recordings databse is done with the properties file or not).

That was my thinking. I imagine that there is something in the metadata that BMT sees which causes it to put it in the Sage Recordings list. As it is right now, when I move items to the video import folders, I copy the metadata files as well. When BMT scans them, it shows them as "Sage Recordings", and they show up in the recording list twice (assuming I don't also delete them from the recording drive).

This caused me to assume that there is something in the metadata that BMT recognizes, and that causes it to treat the recording as a Sage Recording (My TV), instead of just a random imported file (My Videos).

Originally Posted by Skirge01

The only reason you see them in the recordings guide is because the server has that folder set as an import folder for videos. This is why I said you would need separate folders for the adult content and kid content, separated by server. You would have each server ONLY import videos from the ones you want the connected clients to have access to. Adult server would have video import directories of "adult folder 1" and "adult folder 2", etc. Kid server would have "kid folder 1" and "kid folder 2", etc. As long as "adult folder 1" and "adult folder 2" are not listed as import directories on "kid server", that content won't show up. BMT would be installed on both servers, the first server with BMT looking at the adult folder(s) and the other server with BMT looking at the kid folder(s).

Yes, the kids' server recording drives would be set up as VIDEO folder imports on the main server. Right now, the main drives are \\Sage-Server\TV1, TV2, TV3. The new drives would be shared (i.e. \\Sage-Kids\Kids1, etc.), and the adult box would be set to use them as VIDEO import paths.

[src666]

I've been trying to avoid setting up a new server until I knew if this worked, and just had a thought.

Could someone send me the .MY file from a show that I also record? Then I could just copy my recorded show, rename it to match the name from your server, pop it and the metadata into my Videos folder, and see what happens.

That would answer the question pretty darn fast.

If anyone is willing, possible candidates that others might have on-hand from this week: Caprica, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Lost, Heroes, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men.

Either attach it to a reply here, or you can mail it to me. The address to send it to is sage-test-1, at the domain (after the @ symbol) mail-drop.org

Thanks in advance!

[Skirge01]

Sorry, I don't use .my files, only .properties files. There's a flag in the .properties file which tells something like TVE to display it as a recording. I think it's "MediaType=TV" or something, so that might be what you're talking about.

I have Caprica, Heroes, and Two and a Half Men recorded if we can find a file that would work for you. Sorry... already watched BB.

[src666]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

Sorry, I don't use .my files, only .properties files. There's a flag in the .properties file which tells something like TVE to display it as a recording. I think it's "MediaType=TV" or something, so that might be what you're talking about.

I have Caprica, Heroes, and Two and a Half Men recorded if we can find a file that would work for you. Sorry... already watched BB.

Hmmm. I just use .MY files for recorded TV, and when I copy them BMT picks them up as recordings. Thanks for the offer, hopefully someone else will come along with a .MY file.

[Fuzzy]

I don't think BMT uses the .my files at all. Where are you copying these files from/to? I'm thinking you might be seenig something else happening.

[src666]

I copy the .MY file and the actual recording to my VIDEO import folder. That's all. When BMT sees the file, it marks it as a Sage Recording, which puts the file back into the recordings list under My TV, instead of the My Videos group.