[ViX_Misc] Question on streaming between two openvix boxes using Remotestreamconvert

[smipx]

What type of support thread are you creating?

Possible bug

What OpenViX Image build number are you using?

6.8.002

Have you tried re-flashing WITHOUT settings restore?

NO

Have you tried re-flashing WITH a settings restore?

NO

Hi all,

This is a follow-on question from a thread in a more general forum as I feel this is a bit off-topic for that thread. Hope that is okay?

I'v recently discovered streaming and also remote tuners as I have 2 boxes. I have settled on Remotestreamconvert as this seems a good, sime and stable solution. All setup fine. I have a "tuner master" box (ZgemmaH7) with 2x s2x and 1xT2 built-in + 1xT2 USB (XBOX). The streaming bouquets have all been setup and work very well, no breakup or glitches - very happy

The way I am doing it is to import the streaming bouquets to the slave box (which has no tuners active), getting the EPG populated and then and setting up the recording on the "slave storage" box EPG (pointing to the streams) and saving the recordings to the slave box's HDD. All working very nicely - for a single recording or up to 4x recordings (one for each tuner).

I am used to being able to record (when I only had one box) multiple channels on a single Sat or T2 tuner as long as they are on the same transponder/multiplex. In fact I could (on T2) record BBC1HD 2HD,ITV HD, C4 HD and C5 HD all with just the one tuner. Witha bit of careful thought I could get literally a dozen recordings going at one time and the Zgemma H7 coed with it admirably. With the slave box and Remotestreamconvert it looks like the first recording to a tuner takes over the whole tuner and does not allow additional recordings on the same transponder/mux.

I wanted to know if this should be the caase or is it a bug? I can't see any reason why it would not work but my knowlege of remote recording of a stream is very limited to scrabbling around on the google search and trial and error. I'm hoping thee will be some tweak that the coding gurus can make to bring back the functionality?

Many thanks,

Paul

 

[Huevos]

You should be doing the recordings on the server box, not the client.

 

[smipx]

You should be doing the recordings on the server box, not the client.

Why so? I will only ever be watching the recordings on the client box and never on the server box.

My scenario is that the server box is in an unused location but it is the room the has the connections to the Satellite dish (which I don't want to move due to being a rental property). The client box is in the lounge where I will watch the content. If I save the content to the Server box it would first have to stream it to the client box to record back to the server box and then to watch the program I would have to stream the file again to the client box.

I get that this is not the "usual" modus operandi but in my use case, would not the way I am doing it be more efficient on network usage?

cheers,
Paul

 

[smipx]

But is it a bug / limitation of streaming - that is what I really want to know

 

[Huevos]

You don't stream recordings, you access them via a network mount.

 

[smipx]

Thanks for helping me understand Huevos. Teetering beyond the level of my knowlege here a bit.

Based on your succinct comments ; This is what I currently think is right (to be corrected by more knowlegable folk like you)...

1. Your recommended way; i.e. Recording to "Master Box" where Tuner lives:
I add a timer for a stream location (Master box) to save to the "master" box HDD (done from the menu of the "slave" box). There is network impact at all. Only "master" disk and CPU is used. We'll call this Network use = +0, Master CPU = +1, Master Disk = +1. Then I watch it on the slave box - Network = +1, Slave CPU = +1 Master Disk = +1 Master CPU +1 (transcoding), Slave disk +0

Total Network 0+1 = 1
Master Disk 1+1= 2
Master CPU = 1
Slave disk = 0
Slave CPU = 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Network = 1
Total disk use (all boxes) = 2
Total CPU Use (all boxes) = 2

2. The way I am doing it is to stream the program to the "Slave" box (Network use = +1, Master Disk +1, Master CPU +1 (transcoding) and for the recording bit to the slave box (network use = +0, Slave box CPU +1, Slave disk +1. Then when I watch it on the slave box (network use = 0, Slave CPU +1, Slave Disk +1)

Total Network = 1
Master Disk = 1
Master CPU = 1
Slave disk = 1+1= 2 (split over several days weeks as watching later)
Slave CPU = 1+1 = 2 (split over several days weeks as watching later)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Network = 1
Total disk use (all boxes) = 3
Total CPU Use (all boxes) = 3

Is this the reasoning to say to record it to the Master box (i.e. more disk use and more CPU use)

Do you think I would notice the extra CPU and Disk on the Sf8008 (Slave) box as it has a 1Tb SSD and a better CPU or is my way going to slow things down badly?
btw the Master (Zgemma) also has 1Tb SSD and both boxes are ethernet (100mbit).

I just need to get it right in my head before I move all my recordings back onto the master box and change the slave so that it records onto the master box.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[Huevos]

Go back a few posts (maybe in the other thread) Twol told you there is a remote timer plugin. This allows setting recordings on the server box from the client box.

Is this the reasoning to say to record it to the Master box (i.e. more disk use and more CPU use)

Recording DVB records the transport stream from the tuner, to a .ts file. There is no buffering. You want that to go straight to the HDD, not across a network.

For playback, you setup NFS between the server and client. Then on the client set up the server HDD as the recording location. That way, when you open MovieSelection on the client you will be viewing the recordings located on the server. And you don't need an HDD at all in the client.

 

[smipx]

Ok thanks.....

My reasoning is that things seem to be working pretty well my (bad) way (i.e. the .ts file is streaming over to the client and then recorded locally).

I am not trying to annoy you in any way (although I suspect I am) but I have some other reasons to throw into the mix. I totally get that I can use the remote timer to look at a simple list of the timers on the master box but the way I am doing it just now has a really key and major benefit that you are possibly overlooking - I can look at a fully fledged timeline of the EPG locally where and can also use all of the features of the EPG like Autotimer, IMDB and most importantly I can see the Red shading on events that are set to record and make changes easily and simply to the timers. What I am missing still area ny other downsides that you may know about that have not been explained to a simpleton like me

I also appreciate that recording the streamed file over the network is possibly not the most desirable (maybe due to effiency vs streaming)??? Is the quality different when it is streamed and then recorded??? however, when I come to watch the file on the client, if it were on the Server box then the .ts file would still have to go over the network to watch it.

I expect I'm missing some critical bits of the jigsaw???

I did a bunch of recordings last night and they were all flawless.

However - one big caveat.. Does doing it your way avoid the complete tying up of a tuner when a recording is done. As explained/asked on the other thread I have noticed this anomaly

This is the link to the other thread for anyone following this that is interested: https://world-of-satellite.com/thre...back-tuners-and-client-mode.62223/post-548781
This was my question there:

"
Another question on the topic of the tuners while using Cleint mode / fallback tuners.

Under normal operation a tuner such as Simple S2X / T2 can record multiple programs if they are on the same Transponder / Mux

e.g. in the UK I can record
BBC1 HD + BBC2 HD + ITV HD and Channel 4 HD all at the same time on BBC B Mux and it only takes up one T2 tuner or
Channel 4 London + Film 4 + More 4 as they are on one transponder (10936 V)

I have noticed that if I stream, say BBC1 HD, to my client box to watch something then it seems to take up the whole T2 tuner and I seem not to be able (on the master box) to record, say, BBC2 HD even though it is on the same MUX. Is this by design? If so thats a real bummer - but - I may have been doing something wrong or mis-observing during my testing.
"

Cheers,
Paul

 

[smipx]

So... After all my testing I am very happy with the recording of the streams on my client box and all of the additional benefits it gives (using EPG to set timers etc.). I did a big test and it looks like the T2 tuners are able to utilise multiple recordings on the same MUX but the S2x tuners cannot cope with doing that and the whole S2x tuner is tied up with the first recording (simple tuners as opposed to FBC).

For anyone else looking at doing this or something similar it will be fine with T2 tuners. I was able to happily record 6 streams - 3 of them HD streams (split over 2 muxes) from the server tuner box to my client box all over a 100mbit homeplug / 4g Router setup and the network held up very well (even though I was not able to look at the peak saturation of eth0 at the time as the tools don't exist in the feeds to do so). I could have also added another 2 S2X streams with the two additional S2x tunsers I have. One of the tuners is an £8 xbox USB tuner too and the Server "Tuner" box is a lowly Zgemma H7s!

My only regret is that I got an SF8008 as the client box where I guess I could have gotten a box with no built-in tuners (however it will be a good backup box if the elderly Zgemma packs in).

Thanks to Huevos for the help etc. and I hope this thread may be of some use to other novices like me when you come to set things up


Paul