Federated/Loosely coupled SageTV Systems...

[jpappas]

Hey all,

I am looking to move into an RV for an extended period of time and was wondering if anyone out there has a multi-server setup; that is to say 2 basically stand alone SageTV systems that can share recordings (Like Tivo Series2 on a network).

As the RV (potentially) does not have reliable/consistent power or reception, I would like to set up a capture system at my house set up with tuners capturing my "Not to miss" TV, setting up SJQ2 to auto-transcode and comskip so that the files are more manageable than 2-8Gb/hr. I am sure that a simple rsync pull from the "home" STV system to a video import directory on the "mobile" system would work, but I am looking for something a little more elegant.

Additionally, I recently read bcjenkin's blog, and he mentions using an RSS feed (podcast style) to iTunes to automatically add specific recordings to iTunes (Since iTunes does not have a "directory watch" polling methodology AFAIK). That would be sweet! Has anyone automated the loading of content to iPod/iPhone?

Right now, I would expect that both systems will be running a couple MVP/SageHD extenders and my RV display computer (right now, it is a linux box, but I am looking to go to a MacMini to make the sync with my iPhones via iTunes more seamless.

I would love to discuss any ideas that are floating around out there!

Thanks!
jp

[jpappas]

I did stumble on This Thread related to the RSS functionality of nielm's webserver. This looks like the ticket, as it can create custom RSS feeds from searches, so basically, it looks like I can create private podcasts for each show, and even better, maybe even 2 different feeds for each show, one for full size and one for iPod formatted shows.

Will advise on my progress. Looks like I need to update my hardware to multi-core so that I can handle multiple transcode jobs!

jp

[GKusnick]

Do you actually plan to do any recording in your RV? If not, then perhaps all you need is an HD200 in standalone mode with an external USB disk.

Before I sold my beach house, I used to run a second Sage setup out there. I quickly found that copying even SD recordings back and forth over the Internet was not worth the trouble, so I resorted to a portable USB disk instead, preloading it with recordings and metadata from the town house before heading out to the beach (and vice versa). The webserver allows for importation of exported metadata into the database at the other end, so that recordings show up where they belong in the UI. I used Placeshifter to connect back to the home server periodically and monitor disk space, mark things Watched, etc.

[jpappas]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Do you actually plan to do any recording in your RV? If not, then perhaps all you need is an HD200 in standalone mode with an external USB disk.

I expect to have OTA tuners, and potentially Satellite TV tuners on the rig, so recordings will happen on the RV, as long as I have power and reception.
I will not be returning regularly to the "home" PC do perform the copy to the USB drive, so the internet seems like the most feasible. I will be doing automated transcoding to minimize filesize, but I agree that this may not be feasible...

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Before I sold my beach house, I used to run a second Sage setup out there. I quickly found that copying even SD recordings back and forth over the Internet was not worth the trouble, so I resorted to a portable USB disk instead, preloading it with recordings and metadata from the town house before heading out to the beach (and vice versa).

I agree that a 4GB (2 hr SD) recording grabbed via a 1Mb pipe is not feasible, as it takes nearly 16 Hrs. I am hoping that the transcode delivers usable feeds at much lower bandwidth needs.

How were you performing the copies? I will (probably) be using rsync in order to overcome both bandwidth reliability and potential throttling issues.

jp

[jpappas]

Well, RSS feeds via neilm's webserver work, and update in iTunes. Problem is that they then get downloaded to the iTunes library, thus resulting in duplication. Fortunately, you can specify to iTunes how many episodes to keep and which ones get downloaded per subscription, so there is some granularity of control.

Working now on getting the comskip and auto-transcoding up and running.
jp