Print

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

[SmoothJimB]

I could use help in determining the best media network configuration for my home.

My journey with MC began with MC Jukebox but the Theater View and Video and Image capabilities of Media Center is what got me to purchase a license starting with Media Center 14.

Media Center 15 has been running solidly on my systems for a while now and I have purchased the upgrade to the MC 16 license but have not yet converted my main library.

My setup:

I have a basement PC which is on all the time with all of the media storage, this PC does not get used much.

I followed the directions in the MC14 days of mapping all of my drives on every computer on my home network (4 other PC’s wired, 1 wireless Laptop, 1 Playstation 3 wired) with the same drive letters and having library files on that basement PC.  Once setup the system has worked well.  As you know the first PC to Open MC gets the read/write rights and subsequent connections are read only.

My office PC (not the basement PC with the local content) is usually the one with the read-write rights and that is the preferred location for me to add new content (cd’s, pictures, movies.)

My library is large (to me) with 50,000+ audio tracks,  50,000+ jpegs, and several hundred DVD .ISO files (each computer is running Virtual CloneDrive and the DVD is mounted and played when executed from MC.) I subscribe to half a dozen podcasts as well.  Two of the PC’s are attached to TV’s and they default to the theater view and are controlled by remotes.  The rest of the systems are keyboard and mouse setups.

Is it time, with MC 16, to drop this arrangement and go with the DLNA or Connect to Library features?

1) I assume I could keep MC16 running on the Basement PC (rarely used and local content) configured to allow others to connect to the library.
2) Configure each of the other PC’s to connect to the Basement PC’s library.

My questions:

Will this arrangement work for me?

Will the DVD .ISO files work in this arrangement?

Would I still be able to add content from my office PC and edit tags?

Would other family members at other PC’s be able make and edit playlists?

Would it be the Basement PC (and only the Basement PC) that would download and update my podcast subscriptions?

Are the play counts updated for all the plays at the connections?

What media network setting are best for the Basement PC and teh connected PC?

When MC 16 is closed on a client PC and reloaded will it connect to the same library it was connected to when shutdown?

I would appreciate any insights from my fellow Media Center enthusiasts.

[kdwykleingeld]

hi, i am having simular questions.... can yoyu update on your experiences sofar ?

thanks

reg koen