Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[bassmann]

Hi there,

I have thoughts on upgrading my Windows MC license to a master license...before I do just like to throw a few ideas/questions out there of how others are using multi platform MC in the home.

My initial thinking is to build a Linux based MC server as a VM on my home server, which is running a XenServer Hypervisor.

Starting Questions:
- If running MC as a master server on Linux, is there a preferred distribution? I'm familiar with CentOS, Debian (Server based) and Mint (Client based).
- Can a MC server implementation run in a command line environment or is GUI based implementation recommended (just thinking about resource allocation)?
- Open question: Any tips and tricks on running MC as a master server on Linux to consider?
- Can the Apple implementation of MC run a client implementation off an iPad?
- Android TV Box - what are MC options here?
- On the fly rendering - I'll be running the MC Master Server on a E5- 8core, so what processing tasks could I centralise on the server to take load off the clients?

My Hardware:
- Desktop PC: dual boot Win10 and Linux Mint
- Android TV Box
- ipad
- QNAP NAS (where all my media is)
- 8 core E5-2600 Server running XenServer with various VM's. Most of the time are idle.....

I think this discussion could be interesting in where it goes.

[mwillems]

I ran my JRiver server on Linux for a year or so in a mixed platform household, so I can offer some tips/advice.  To answer your questions:

- If running MC as a master server on Linux, is there a preferred distribution? I'm familiar with CentOS, Debian (Server based) and Mint (Client based).

MC is developed on debian stable and it's the only officially supported distro.  Other distros should work fine, but debian is the safest bet.

- Can a MC server implementation run in a command line environment or is GUI based implementation recommended (just thinking about resource allocation)?

No MC can't run as a CLI program.  MC requires a running xserver.  You don't have to have a monitor hooked up (there are afew good threads about running headless), but MC requires an xserver

- Open question: Any tips and tricks on running MC as a master server on Linux to consider?

Cross-platform filepaths are different.  That means a windows client of a linux server may have certain types of difficulties (e.g. DVDs ripped in .ifo structure).  Additionally the lack of feature parity between MC for windows and linux can be limiting (i.e. linux has no TV support, so the linux server can't serve a TV tuner, etc.).  Otherwise it's about the same as running aserver on windows.

- Can the Apple implementation of MC run a client implementation off an iPad?

There's an ios app called JRemote that can connect to any version of MC (windows, linux, or mac), but it's not a "full" client, it's an app.  The ipad can also connect to the web interface via panel/webgizmo.  There's no "full" MC version for ipad, but for just listening to music or watching video jremote is great.

- Android TV Box - what are MC options here?

Similar to the ipad situation; gizmo and jremote are two MC android apps (one free one premium).  Eos is another third party app.  All work well on a normal android phone or tablet; I've never used an android TV box, but I assume they're a similar environment.

- On the fly rendering - I'll be running the MC Master Server on a E5- 8core, so what processing tasks could I centralise on the server to take load off the clients?

The server can be configured to handle transcoding for computer clients (and with the android and ios clients, the server always does the transcoding), so that piece is already handled. 

[imugli]

I run a Linux file server, so run MC as a server on that, but if I'm honest, it's really only any good to serve to Gizmo / JRemote or a Linux client. If you're on windows or Mac, you're creating their own libraries due to file path differences, and lack of ifo and TV support mean my lounge room HTPC has its own library. I'd stick with with windows if you want a fully featured MC server.

[mwillems]

I run a Linux file server, so run MC as a server on that, but if I'm honest, it's really only any good to serve to Gizmo / JRemote or a Linux client. If you're on windows or Mac, you're creating their own libraries due to file path differences, and lack of ifo and TV support mean my lounge room HTPC has its own library. I'd stick with with windows if you want a fully featured MC server.

That was ultimately mostly my conclusion too.  I don't use .ifo files at all, so the file paths weren't a serious issue on my windows clients, but the lack of TV support was a killer.  I was running an MC server and then a nother linux software suite to handle the TV and it was just too much faff.  I switched my MC server back to windows after a year on linux.  I still have linux clients of course because I personally live on linux, but the server was not to be (at least for now).

[aoqw76]

I serve on linux and all client computers are Windows, but this is for audio exclusively. We also have a couple of ipads using jremote, and a Naim streamer using dlna. Everything is fed by the mc library on linux. No issues for me, have been running this since the linux version of mc was made available with mc19.