More > JRiver Media Center 25 for Windows
NEW: Television tuners on clients are allowed to be used for recording
imeric:
--- Quote from: Yaobing on February 27, 2019, 09:28:32 am ---The client sees server's content. The meaning of the option is "if the client finds an identical file locally, it will play the local file, instead of having to stream the file from the server".
--- End quote ---
So it makes me wonder why the server needs to see the Client's TV recordings in the first place.... In other words when MC is connected to a server, it is smart enough to also know about its own local content and play it instead... Based on this logic wouldn't it make this whole feature a lot easier and simpler for the users to just change the client behavior so it shows both the Server's content (when available) and its local one when connected as a server?
Some sort of a hybrid mode that would always prioritize a Server connection while recording TV shows locally and show both local and remote content?
Due to this I guess?
--- Quote ---the recording rule is sync'ed to the server and thus the server would perform the actual recording.
--- End quote ---
Can this be user selectable? This would also make it easier to keep subscriptions different on all 3 PCs instead of having a pool of subscriptions on the server where you select client vs server...Also eliminating the server's dependency to see the Client content...
--- Quote ---Some time ago we added the option to always start in the main library.
--- End quote ---
Yes I'm the one who requested it :)... https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,103629.msg720089.html#msg720089
Only problem with it is...When I close MC the server part doesn't close so it will never load on its main library...Changing this to when the GUI closes would resolve this!
I feel we are really close to something working (for me anyway...) since it is now possible to record on a client locally while connected to a server this is the main thing....
Just need to play with this a bit more....
RoderickGI:
Think about the MC Client/Server process a bit more. Specifically, how the Client's copy of the Server Library is refreshed (overwritten) each time the Client connects.
Also consider, for this solution to work, the Kitchen PC needs to always load the Server Library. No more need to open the Main library (once you configure MC for this new functionality).
MC doesn't know what is local versus what is elsewhere if a drive has been mapped. The Client will always show both the Server and Client content, when connected in Client/Server mode. You may need to MC User functionality to control access to Views and restricted content.
Read Yaobing's first post again, particularly the Recording Rule stuff. Rules can operate on the Client or Server. But as they must be stored in the Server Library, because that is now the only Library in use, they will be synced to the Server Library.
Are you running Media Server on the Clients? Why?
Yaobing:
--- Quote from: RoderickGI on February 27, 2019, 03:35:38 pm ---The Client will always show both the Server and Client content, when connected in Client/Server mode.
--- End quote ---
I think Eric and you are talking about two different concepts regarding "Server and client content". Eric wants the client computer to have its own library, in addition to the server library so he could have the client record TV shows independent of the server. That is not possible.
The new feature of allowing clients to record should meet his need after he figures out how to control who can see what content.
--- Quote ---Are you running Media Server on the Clients? Why?
--- End quote ---
Eric has been running the Kitchen computer as an independent computer except when he needed to access the contents of another computer. I think that is why he was running Media Server.
This reminds me that with the new feature allowing client to record, we will have to put the client in Media Server mode too because we will need the computer running if we want it to record TV show. The new feature seems to open a small can of worms...
imeric:
Thanks Yaobing good to see you totally understand my needs!!!
--- Quote ---This reminds me that with the new feature allowing client to record, we will have to put the client in Media Server mode too
--- End quote ---
Just so you know I am running all 3 PCs in server mode including the Kitchen PC without any issue but loses the ability to record TV shows when I connect to a server...(Which is the only problem really with my current setup and what I would like changed or modified without a dependency to a server...)
I was in the midst of replying back to RoderickGI so I'll try to rephrase for him....Only fair as he's trying to help!
--- Quote from: RoderickGI on February 27, 2019, 03:35:38 pm ---Are you running Media Server on the Clients? Why?
--- End quote ---
Mmmm how do I respond to this politely :)... You could re-read my earlier posts on my current setup but let me rephrase it in a way that will hopefully make sense to you:
- 3 PCs: HTPC (recording Specialty channels on STB for shows and sports), Living Room PC (similar setup as HTPC but aimed at recordings for the kids ie...Sports), Kitchen PC with ATSC Only (recording wife+family stuff) and used as a client from time to time to mostly watch sports....
Not having everything on one PC is great and allows for the following:
- Leverage hardware (hard disc space, ATSC tuner cards, 2 accessible STB recording different Specialty channels)
- Allows me to control what the kids have access to and watch.
- Even though this got a lot better over time...The overall client experience was fair at best for me...When possible I'd rather connect to a server PC directly for a better channel surfing experience and until very recently it was not possible to cancel recordings and a few other things from the client...
- Connecting to a server requires both PCs active therefore requiring unnecessary resources...
- If something happens to one of the PCs the other 2 are available as backups...
- The overall efficiency is better this way since those PCs will run comskip, do transcoding tasks for a few shows and so on...
Enough Talk, time to try this out and post back!!!
RoderickGI:
It's always good to keep it polite and remain civil Eric. Particularly if there is simply a terminology or communication difficulty, which I suspect that there is in this case.
Nothing you just described requires the JRiver Media Server to be running on your Client PCs.
The only reason to run the JRiver Media Server on a PC is if you wish to share the contents of that PC with other PCs or devices.
In your case, I assume that you share the contents of the HTPC with the Living Room and Kitchen PCs, so it needs the JRiver Media Server to be running. If you also share the contents of the Living Room PC with the HTPC and Kitchen PCs, then it will need to run the JRiver Media Server. Do you share the contents of the Kitchen PC with the HTPC and Living Room PCs? If so, then yes, you would need the JRiver Media Server running on the Kitchen PC.
Also, in each case, if you had music on a PC and wanted to be able to play that music on phones, tablets, and other devices, then yes, they would need the JRiver Media Server running.
You will notice that I am specifically saying "JRiver Media Server". So, terminology
JRiver Media Center GUI:
The main program, which when running can do the tasks of the JRiver Media Server as well as provide the user with a GUI. Can be started at Windows Startup or directly later from a Windows shortcut etc.
JRiver Media Server:
The component of MC that can be run independently of the JRiver Media Center GUI, and will allow MC Client and DLNA connections to the content in the Library loaded on the PC it is running. Can be started at Windows Startup or later via the "Tools > Advanced Tools > Media Server" option in the top menu of JRiver Media Center GUI Standard View. Sometimes called the Library Server, but that is a superseded term I think.
JRiver Media Network:
A feature of MC that provides the setup and communication functionality to support MC Clients and optionally DLNA Clients. The feature needs to be turned on in MC under "Options > General > Features" to allow access to the MC Client configuration, however, the settings at "Options > Media Network > Use Media Network to share this library and enable DLNA" does not need to be turned on for MC Clients to connect to a JRiver Media Server or JRiver Media Center GUI acting as a Media Server.
JRiver Media Center 2x Service:
A component of MC visible in the Windows Task Manager, which isn't the JRiver Media Server, runs whether the JRiver Media Server is running or not, and can keep running for a while even if the JRiver Media Server and GUI have been shut down. Prevents MC from being started again until it closes when it is finished whatever it is doing, or is closed manually. If JRiver Media Server and GUI were doing nothing when they were closed, the JRiver Media Center 2x Service closes immediately. If Service was doing something when the JRiver Media Server and GUI were closed, it can take a few minutes for the JRiver Media Center 2x Service to close. (Description included for clarity, given that this Service has been mistaken for the JRiver Media Server previously.)
--- Quote from: Yaobing on February 27, 2019, 04:14:50 pm ---I think Eric and you are talking about two different concepts regarding "Server and client content". Eric wants the client computer to have its own library, in addition to the server library so he could have the client record TV shows independent of the server. That is not possible.
--- End quote ---
Yes, I understood that is how he is using it now, but this new functionality replaces that need. Eric will need to move any content on the Kitchen PC to a location on that PC that is visible to the Server, and he will need to import that content into the Server Library, as part of the transition to using this new functionality. But a local Library on the Kitchen PC would not be required anymore.
--- Quote from: Yaobing on February 27, 2019, 04:14:50 pm ---The new feature of allowing clients to record should meet his need after he figures out how to control who can see what content.
--- End quote ---
I agree.
--- Quote from: Yaobing on February 27, 2019, 04:14:50 pm ---Eric has been running the Kitchen computer as an independent computer except when he needed to access the contents of another computer. I think that is why he was running Media Server.
--- End quote ---
As above, Media Server doesn't need to be running on the Kitchen PC for it to access content on another computer. Media Server needs to be running on that other PC.
--- Quote from: Yaobing on February 27, 2019, 04:14:50 pm ---This reminds me that with the new feature allowing client to record, we will have to put the client in Media Server mode too because we will need the computer running if we want it to record TV show.
--- End quote ---
I don't understand this statement. The Client needs to be running as a Client of a MC Server, so that it can have a copy of the Server Library with the Recording Rules available. It will need to be able to wake the Client PC at the correct time. It will also need to send WOL commands to the MC Server so that it can update the MC Server Library via synchronisation. While that wake process may take a little while, it does seem to be working pretty well now since Bob made some changes. Of course, I don't know if a MC Client woken to record a program will automatically send WOL commands, but currently any activity on the Client that requires writting to the Library does seem to do that, with some delay.
Maybe "putting a Client in Media Server mode" means something different to running JRiver Media Server on the Client?
But all the above is basic to the idea of having Clients being able to record TV while connected to a MC Server.
BTW Eric, if a MC Client is connected to a MC Server, it is dependent on that Server. There is no getting around that. Although theoretically, with recent changes, if a MC Client can't access the Server it is "connected" to, it will ask if it wants you to fall back to the local Library, and I think after a while it does that automatically. So if a recording rule in the Client copy of the Server Library woke the Client, the Client couldn't wake the Server and fell back to the local Library, and if the rule was also in the local Client Library, at that time MC should start the recording locally. But that would mean managing rules in two Libraries, much like now, and would probably be horrendously unreliable, as dropping such connections can cause issues, because they rely on DLNA protocols.
Did I miss anything?
EDIT:
The Shares and Drive Mappings required need to be done in Windows.
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