Network Encoder file segmenting question

[brolling]

Hello,
Long time reader, first time poster. I've just set up a relatively confusing SageTV/SageTV Recorder/SageTV Clients system and I'm finding some things that I can't figure out on my own.

The SageTV "server" is running RAID5 array and 5 pvr-250 cards. It has a share which I have mapped as V: on it and the SageTV Recorder machine.

SageTV Recorder machine has 3 more PVR-250 cards and it seems to be talking nicely to the SageTV Server. Scheduled recordings on the Server start and stop recording and everything seems to work as expected, with a few exceptions.

The first exception is file segmenting. When using the PVR-250 cards in the SageTV Recorder box, files seem to segment around 200-500MB. SageTV and its clients all see that the program consists of multiple files, and within SageTV it plays as one. But when I go to use the files for something else I'm stuck with tens of files instead of one.

So my question is this: Is there a way to specify when files get segmented? Is there a preference edit I can make that will determine a minimum and maximum duration of any single file?

I'm sure I will have some more questions, and I appreciate the community here and the way folks seem to want to help each other out.

Thanks in advance,
Ben

[Opus4]

I don't use SageTV Recorder, but I would imagine that the files shouldn't be getting broken up like that. About the only thing I can think of is to double check the network throughput to make sure there isn't a problem handling the data as the show gets recorded.

- Andy

[brolling]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I don't use SageTV Recorder, but I would imagine that the files shouldn't be getting broken up like that. About the only thing I can think of is to double check the network throughput to make sure there isn't a problem handling the data as the show gets recorded.

- Andy

It claims to be using less than 10% of the network resources. That would make sense, 3 encoders running at about 3Mbit each on a 100Mbit network card. There shouldn't be a problem beyond that, it's hitting a gigabit cisco switch and there is a server grade gigabit card in the "server" system.

It does the same thing whether one card is recording or all three ithe SageTV Recorder system. I've seen some errors pop up on the SageTV Recorder system, but i don't know exactly what they are because I don't have a monitor on that system right now. I'll post the content when I see it again. Something about null.
Ben

[perfessor101]

I had a similar problem when I first set up SageTV ... I later found out one of my network cables seemed to have an intermittent fault or was possibly loose. The cable appeared to work normally under windows with file sharing and dragging dropping files from one machine to another (albeit slower than anticipated). I replaced the cable going to my SageRecorder system and now it only splits files when it does a surprise reboot (only happened once in the last month, I think).

Hope this helps ...

Bobby

ps - it would be nice if it were that easy ...

[brolling]

Originally Posted by perfessor101

I had a similar problem when I first set up SageTV ... I later found out one of my network cables seemed to have an intermittent fault or was possibly loose. The cable appeared to work normally under windows with file sharing and dragging dropping files from one machine to another (albeit slower than anticipated).

Yeah, that would be nice... but it doesn't seem to be the problem. Tried several different network cables.

This is an error code I've been getting pretty regularly on the Sage Recorder system:

there was a problem utilizing the SageTV DirectShow filters. Unable to connect to the mpeg2 pin of the capture filter to the dump filter.
err code 0x80040207

I'm beginning to suspect that this error showing up corresponds to when the file segments, though I haveny sat and watched it to be sure. What the heck is an mpeg2 pin anyway?

Ben

[salsbst]

Pins are the term used to describe endpoints in directshow filters. Your directshow graph (a series of filters whose pins are connected) seems to be having intermittent problems in the general area of the dump filter (the one responsible for writing the file to disk), so it does stand a good chance to be related to the segmented files. It may not be a directshow problem directly, though.

It seems like it must be a network dropout, but you say that you don't believe it is, so ??? .

[brolling]

I don't believe it to be a network problem. I'll get to that in a minute.

I got a new error just now: Native Error "There was an unspecified native null error."

nothing says "I Love You" like an unspecified native null error.

Could these problems be processor speed related? It's an older machine, and I thought I could get away with it because the cards are supposed to handle the processing. It's a 700MHz Pentium 3, but the processor sits at about 5-10% utilization even when it is recording on all three cards. The processor does tend to spike right before restarting a file.

Another thing may be my configuration. Sometimes on the SageTV Client system while I'm watching a channel that is being recorded on the SageTV Recorder it will stop playing back. The machine seems to freeze for a while and then comes back up but the video never restarts.

Let me briefly detail how the software is configured on the Recorder.
Yes, I'm looking at this now and thinking I should have looked at this in the first place. I assumed it was working because all three remote encoders are able to schedule and record shows, seemingly without complaint on the SageTV Server. My bad.

So, how does one set up the recorder/server properties files when there are three pvr-250 cards in the recorder machine? Do I have to run multiple copies of recorder?
Thanks again
Ben