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[Jinster]

I have had this problem for a while now. When I access my MC library on the server from another instance of MC on my laptop, the amount of free space on my laptop decreases with each movie file I play. If the movie file is 600MB, then my free space on the laptop decreases by around 600MB. The problems are:
1. MC seems to copy the entire file onto my laptop before playing back the file. This results in significant delays (up to 5 minutes) over my 54G network.
2. The temp files thus created don't seem to get deleted when I close MC.

I have searched for these files in the specified MC temp directory but no file of comparable size exists. I have searched my entire HDD for these temp files and yet nothing comes up.

I am very certain this decrease in my HDD space relates to MC. It happens every time I load a big movie file on my laptop's MC from the MC server library. I watch the free space steadily decrease on my resource meter until the movie starts to play. And then the space is not reclaimed after MC exits.

Anyone know what's going on? There is a good chance that this happens with other file types as well. It's just easily noticed with large video files.

[ThoBar]

Yes, I've seen and reported this also.

Eventually I gave up on the library server for video content, and have instead moved to the "Mapped Library" method (accessing the library by means of a mapped drive). Playback for video via this method is pretty much instantaneous.

[John Gateley]

Is the space reclaimed after a reboot? We're using IE to do the actual HTTP transfer, I bet IE is saving the file...

j

[Jinster]

From memory, no, the space is not reclaimed after reboots.

I remember having to re-distribute my logical drive spaces (with a non-destructive software) after using MC in this way. And the reboots gave me the re-distributed space, but nothing more. This was before I figured out MC was eating my free space and not returning them. I just thought it was windows getting bloated.

I am away from home for a week. Will test it out formally when I get back.

[ThoBar]

Is the space reclaimed after a reboot? We're using IE to do the actual HTTP transfer, I bet IE is saving the file...

It is, and similarly to Jinster, I am not in a position to test properly right now, but will feedback soon... unless I forget... again.

[Jinster]

Verified.

Lost HDD space not recovered after reboot.

[Jinster]

So, John. Is there any plans to change this practice of using IE for transfer at the moment?

Is anyone else using MC remotely without incurring this loss of space phenomenon?

[JimH]

Check your IE settings for how it is handling temp file space.  I think it's under Tools/Internet Options/General/Browsing History.

[Jinster]

I suppose I can setup some sort of batch file to delete the IE temp files after using MC.

But what about the issue of needing to wait for the entire file to copy before playback? It's a long wait for 600mb plus video files. Previewing large video files is basically impossible like this - making using MC as a media server difficult to live with.

The only work around I can think of at the moment is to point at my server MC directories by their shared network directory names rather than local names, and instead of using MC laptop to access MC server, I can use MC laptop to load the same MC library file... not an elegant solution, but might work....

[Alex B]

... But what about the issue of needing to wait for the entire file to copy before playback? It's a long wait for 600mb plus video files. Previewing large video files is basically impossible like this - making using MC as a media server difficult to live with.

Library Server is designed to be able to stream files through any TCP/IP connection. It does not use MS NetBIOS and provide direct disk file access. Apparently many video file formats cannot be streamed. I.e. the decoder filter needs to see the end of the file before playback can be started.

The only work around I can think of at the moment is to point at my server MC directories by their shared network directory names rather than local names, and instead of using MC laptop to access MC server, I can use MC laptop to load the same MC library file... not an elegant solution, but might work....

The "Shared Library" option could work for you. Check the "Synchronizing MC library across multiple computers" part in the following wiki article:
http://wiki.jrmediacenter.com/index.php/DVD_Library_in_Media_Center