can tv tuners be distributed?

[sflamm]

Can you have multiple clients each with a tuner card in them, and for the RecordedTV be centralized?

In other words, with a tuner in each sagetv client, if you schedule something to record on TV, will the recording take place on any available tuner from whatever sagetv client tuner is available?

Or do you have to centralize all of your tuners (on the server)?

[stanger89]

You can do that, but you'll need to run full SageTV Media Center (vs SageTV Client). You set up Sage on one machine as the server, and configure the rest as "encoding servers" which share their tuners back to the server. Then you run the interface in client mode connecting back to the main server.

[Opus4]

Continuing my role as an online manual reference search bot... check "Appendix G: Network Encoding" in the SageTV PDF manual, found in your SageTV install directory.

- Andy

[sflamm]

Thanks for the quick replies.

Follow up questions (after having read Appendix G):


1. Does the 'Main' server schedule which server will record in advance? Or is it dynamic?
2. Will the 'Encoding Server(s)' wake from sleep to help decide?
3. In general, how are tuner priorities established, say between 'Live TV' and Recordings across these servers?

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by sflamm

Thanks for the quick replies.

Follow up questions (after having read Appendix G):


1. Does the 'Main' server schedule which server will record in advance? Or is it dynamic?

There's only one server, the rest of the machines are slaves to that server. The Server does all the scheduling and dynamically allocates tuners as necessary.

3. In general, how are tuner priorities established, say between 'Live TV' and Recordings across these servers?

Nothing is dedicated to anything. As many tuners as are needed and are able to tune the required recordings are used. LiveTV is a recording just like anything else.

[sflamm]

If the 'Encoding Servers' are just slaves to the 'Master Server' which dynamically allocates tuners (even LiveTV which is essentially "record now"), does it wake the slaves ('Encoding Servers) from sleep? Or do they have to be up all the time?

[sflamm]

Anybody?

Will the 'Encoding Servers' be dynamically woken from sleep by the 'Master Server' or do the 'Encoding Servers' need to always be on?

[gplasky]

Since the master server can be waken for a recording and you are esentially running the server software for each encoding server I would think it would awaken the machine. I'm not running encoding servers.

Gerry

[sflamm]

I'm told (see above) that the Master Server is the one who dynamically makes the assignments... so it makes sense that it would wake to record.

What is not clear, is that when the Master Server has to decide what to record and where to record if it only takes into account the Encoding Servers that it can dynamically see or whether it will actually somehow wake servers that it knows should be available...

Does anyone know? (I want to set up a network encoder but want to know what to expect and how to configure in advance)

Thx.

[Djc208]

I guess it would depend on how the network encoders handle the recording schedule. Sage can wake up the computer it is on to record, however as we've seen with the clients/placeshifter/extenders Sage will not wake up a remote server.

So I'd have to guess that if each network encoder maintained a copy of the schedule then yes, that encoder would wake and record (assuming that function works properly). If it acts like a "dumb" terminal where it doesn't start recording until the main server signals it, then I would guess no, since Sage doesn't support WOL features. If you can get your network card to wake on directed traffic then you might still be able to make this work.

[sflamm]

They are all servers, so I suppose it is possible that they share the schedule at all times - in which case they could all wake up before a scheduled show to decide who will record it.

However that would not really be a working solution - suppose you wanted to watch LiveTV or record another show from a client. The only server awake to know about the need would be the "Master server" who might have all its tuners already in use. It would still need to be able to wake an "Encoding Server" to handle the dynamic need.

Does anyone know from experience what happens?

Is everyone running these "Encoding Servers" up 24x7 or is anyone letting them sleep?

[stanger89]

I think very few are running true, separate encoding servers. I think the most common use of network encoders is to run a local one with an unsupported tuner.

My guess is that if you let the encoding servers sleep, the master will think they've become unavailable. But that's just a guess based on how network encoders work. Sage's encoding server logic/protocol may be more advanced.

[Opus4]

The network encoder PC does not know the recording schedule (the server is in charge of that) and simply activates the tuner when the server says to do so. Since it doesn't know the schedule, it is not able to wake itself for scheduled recordings.

- Andy

[sflamm]

Based on what you are stating, then is it correct that the 'Encoding Server' needs to be up all the time to successfully be available as a tuner for the 'Master Server'?

[stanger89]

That would be my assumption.

[GKusnick]

Is there some reason you're not willing or able to centralize your tuners on one server? Given your concern about being able to sleep the clients, that seems like it might be a better (and cheaper) way to go.

[sflamm]

I would like to -- unfortunately I can't do that if my central computer is my NAS as it does not have an open slot for my HVR2250.

My next best option I think is (as your suggest) to centralize it on the computer that is (was ) my main VMC machine (where the HVR2250 resides today).

I had hoped that there might be a performance advantage putting it all on the NAS but it looks like there would not be much and certainly does not justify the large expansion in complexity of the installation.