Just completed my first install, and WOW am I impressed...

[caddywhompus]

But I do have a few questions;

• How do I install the Media Director software locally so I don't have to boot from the PXE?  Or maybe I should be asking, is there a way to install the MD software locally?  Or better yet, SHOULD I install and run the MD software client locally?  The reason I'm asking is because the PXE boot is seriously slow, and the MD box is dedicated to this cause so their is no need to have another OS loaded on it.
• During the core install, I had two HDs in the system (originally was a Mythdora Backend server).  The primary was a 80GB drive, and the secondary was a 160GB drive.  In the original setup, they were pooled in an Logical Volume to get me about 200GB of Mythtv storage.  When L-MCE installed it reformatted the primary disk (breaking the LV) and left the second disk unformatted and unavailable.  I tried to fdisk it through KDE but it denied me (even as SU).  I'm not really a linux newbie anymore, but I'm much more familiar with Fedora than Unbuntu so I'm struggling with the nuances
• In my previous network, my router was a ClarkConnect box that was doing the DCHP and also serving MySQL and providing the Apache webserver for my web site.  The most important reason I love ClarkConnect was the content filter, which keeps the chilrens safe from the darkest parts of the internet.  Can L-MCE be configured to host my website AND add the content filter so I can get rid of the extra server?
• And last, the version of MythTV built in to L-MCE seems grossly out of date.  I was previsouly using Mythdora 5, which had MythTV 0.21 installed.  I haven't looked yet at which version is included yet, but it appears much older.  Is there a way to update MythTV to the newer release?  Also, is there a way to add some of the missing themes and plug-ins back into Myth? (The GANT theme is terrible, hurt my eyes!)

Sorry for the long winded message.  I do want to thank the group who develops this software.  You guys have done an AMAZING job.  I was stunned at the automation and intelligent scripting I saw during the install and configuration.  For a few years I've dreamed of something like this, but desipte my best efforts I was never able to do it.  I can't wait until I get home and show the wife the new setup!

[hari]

we have still some things to fix and improve :-)

helping hands always appreciated,

best regards,
hari

ps: most of your questions are already answered in the forums/wiki and I'm too lazy to look it up for you :-)

[caddywhompus]

Well to be fair, I did search the forums and read the WIKI before posting, so I must have missed the topics.

You should have seen my list of questions BEFORE I did my own research!   The ones I posted above are just the leftovers I couldn't find anywhere.

[hari]

disked MD:
http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6295.0
http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5334.0
http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5599.0

PXE boot should be pretty fast with sane networking gear.

fdisk:
I recommend to use parted or fdisk on the console :-) Watch your disks and backup first :-)

webserver/content filter:
yes, apache is already running. Install a content filter of your choice and lock up your children. Be aware they could have better skills than you nowadays ;-)

mythtv:
depends on your skill

best regards,
Hari

[caddywhompus]

OK thanks for the help, really.

So the PXE boot is just something I have to live with.  OK, it's not terrible, just seems like wasted bandwidth on an already strained 100M/bit switch.  But I can live with it until someone comes up with a better solution.

Fdisk from the konsole is actually what I tried already.  I got a message (forgot exact syntax) indicating that the system couldn't access the drive, even as SU.  I was attempting this through KDE Desktop after the machine was fully booted, so maybe that was the problem?  I was thinking of pulling the drive, booting from my Gpart cd and formatting the disk that way.  Then wouldn't LMCE pick it up on reinstall into the core?

Apache and Webserver, awesome.  That really is going to help.  I did find instructions on how to install Dansgaurdian by searching the forums after my initial post so I'll give it a try later.  The worst part about the kids (10 and 13) is that so many of my stupid neighbors have WAPs broadcasting without any security.  They haven't figured it out yet, but all they have to do is drop the WIFI connection I've supplied them in favor of one of the many others.  For this I have no defense except to try and talk to some of these people and teach them the way of WIFI security.

MythTV, did some more research and reading after first post, not even gonna try it for now.  I will wait patiently for the next version of LMCE and hope the upgrade to Myth 0.21 is included.

I do have one new question. Assuming I get the second HD formatted and reinstalled into the core, how to I tell MythTV to use that space for recording TV?  Right now it appears to be looking at one directory for storage space rather than several?

Thanks again for the help.  If I was more of a Linux genius I would offer to try and help with some of this stuff but for now it's best to learn and do no harm.

[tschak909]

Currently the MythTV-Plugin is hard coded to put its shows on the main core disk. This will be resolved in the future.

-Thom

[caddywhompus]

Currently the MythTV-Plugin is hard coded to put its shows on the main core disk. This will be resolved in the future.

OOHHHH!  That hurts!

I did not get that memo when I started this project.  I assumed (I know, I know) that I would always be able to add drives and/or storage space to MythTV at a later date.  Had I known this, I would have swapped the 80 and 160 GB drives and installed on the 160 so I could at least get some decent recording space.  With Mythdora, I had the LVM setup so I could add drives willy-nilly, this features appears to be missing in Unbuntu.

So this is kinda a show stopper right now, unless someone has a work around I'm not thinking of.  I have about 60GB of recording space, and since I like my video crisp that is less than 20 Hours of TV.  The wife is not going to like that, neither am I.

Is there any way I can trick MythTV to use the 160GB drive for it's recording volume?  What if I delete all recorded shows, erase the current recording folder, and mount my 160GB drive to the same folder?  Would that work?

[tschak909]

use the lmce directory structure, and make a symlink from a folder called tv_shows_1 on that disk, to /home/public/data/videos/tv_shows_1

please be sure to do this outside of the directory structure on the managed disk. DO NOT MESS WITH MOUNTS IN LINUXMCE. You will crash the system. The system has an extensive automounter system that will detect and mount all filesystems it finds.

i.e. say the disk is device 69

make a folder on /mnt/device/69 called tv_shows_1
then ln -s that to /home/public/data/videos

-Thom
 

[caddywhompus]

Curious... 

I went to attempt your suggestion, and found two existing symlinks already in the original recording folder.  One was for my (newly reformatted) second Hard drive, and the other was to an open windows share on the network.  MythTV is still reporting only 64GB available for recording space, yet the symlinks appear to be present allowing a much greater storage space?  This befuddles me.

Also, MythTV isn't holding my settings between sessions.  I keep changing the default Mpeg decoder and various other preferences and each time the MD restarts it defaults back to original.  Any way around this?

[tschak909]

No, you misunderstood. I am not talking about symlinking into the videos folder on that disk. That would literally cause the files to double up.

I am talking about creating a folder on the top level of where your disk is mounted, and making a symlink there to /home/public/data/videos/tv_shows_1

And yes, again.. this is an appliance. Currently the mythtv plugin resets all the configuration information itself. There is no way to change this currently.

-Thom

[caddywhompus]

Ah yes, I got you now.  The stern warnings all over the forum re not messing with FMCE's automounting had me scared.  When i saw the existing symlinks I stopped in my tracks.

For the record I also had to "chown linuxmce" on the new directory so MythTV could write to it.  Minor detail but wanted to keep the thread accurate for others.

As for MythTV settings always resetting back to defaults... well I guess I just found the first flaw with this awesome new thing I've been drooling over.  That's just plain dumb.  The default settings aren't even the best-looking decoding that the Nvidia cards can display.  On my systems, which are all 5x00 or 6x00 Geforce cards libmpegII is a MUCH clearer picture, and the on-screen overlays don't bounce around and look grainy like they do with the defaults.  I guess I will have to come up with a remote macro or something that goes in and sets everything the way I like it every time myth is spawned?  Hopefully this is something that will be addressed in the next release along with 0.21?

Anyway, thanks for the help and keep up the good work!

[tschak909]

i'm sorry you feel that way, but please understand, this system is'an appliance. it is intended to repair itself. this will remain a central feature......

-thom

[caddywhompus]

Well I can see your point, but I don't really understand how forcing MythTV to use the same settings for every MD is the right solution.  From my perspective (end user) the real problem here is my TV quality looks terrible and the OSD is likewise jumpy and flaky.  I know that switching to a different decoder and changing the default deinterlace method cleans everything up real nice. 

Granted I'm a newbie, so forgive me presumptions.  As I understand, a network may contain MDs of many different designs.  There could be generic PCs, store-bought dumb terminals, laptop computers...etc.  They all have different capabilities and need to be optimized in unique ways.  I would suggest allowing a certain level of MythTV adjustment from the core web administration page.  I can see all the various MD images and various settings on the web admin page, and adjust certain aspects, that function is already there.  Just add the ability to select a default decoder, display theme, OpenGL support...etc. to that same area.  Then every MD can be optimized for best appearance.

If the facts are that I have to live with the poor quality TV then I'm sorry to say this solution won't work at this time.  I Still believe this product is innovative and extremely impressive, and will watch for the future release to see if some of these issues are addressed.

But again, I understand that what seems obvious to me may not be so because of details I don't yet understand.

[tschak909]

We can welcome patches so that decoder settings could be set by MythTV-Plugin based on media settings, but as of yet, nobody has done this.

It is important that we do not clutter the UI with lots of settings with tons of possibilities, these things need to be intelligently determined and then set based on criteria.

I'm sorry it's not worth it for you at this time. I do call on you, or anyone who is interested, to help flesh out this functionality, as we are stretched very thin on implementing functionality at the moment.

-Thom

[caddywhompus]

I certainly understand.  Such is the life of Open Source.

I doubt I have the capacity to offer much assistance, but I'll take a look and see what I can come up with.  Understand that I'm a Mechanical Engineer during the day, and only an egghead part time. You guys that are full-time programmers have an obvious advantage.