Question on setup

[crimkid]

I have posted before and thanks for the help. My question is, i keep hearing about encoding on the server, and other things. If i have a server with 3 capture cards, and want to watch TV on 3 different tv sets at the same time, will the server be able to handle it? I do not really watch anything excepts sports in HD, so that is not a priority for me ( i only have 1 tv that is HD anyways), so i personally think that just regular Media MVP extenders would work for me, yes? The HD extender may be nicer, but do i really need it to just watch TV, and recorded TV shows or movies off my server?

[crimkid]

I have posted before and thanks for the help. My question is, i keep hearing about encoding on the box, and other things. If i have a machine with 3 capture cards, and want to watch TV on 3 different tv sets at the same time, will the server be able to handle it? I do not really watch anything excepts sports in HD, so that is not a priority for me ( i only have 1 tv that is HD anyways), so i personally think that just regular Media MVP's would work for me, yes? The HD extender may be nicer, but do i really need it to just watch TV, and recorded TV shows or movies off my server?

* merged *

[crimkid]

any comments?

[SWKerr]

I just tested it to be sure.

I have a CoreDuo 1.8ghz Server that also serves as a Client for viewing on an HDTV. I have two other SageTV Client Machines. I watched different HD-PVR recordings on both Clients and watched live TV on the server. The CPU on the server ran 40-50% while the client machines never passed 5-6%. Everything played fine.

I then played 3 live recordings at once. HD-PVR from DirecTV, OTA HD, Analog Capture from remote server on DirecTV. The CPU on the server ran 50-60% while the client machines never passed 5-6%. Everything played fine.

I do run 10/100/1000 Ethernet so if you are only running 10/100 you might still have issues. Also if you go wireless on the MPV results may differ. I do think that the main issue with the MPV is that its analog (Outdated when you by it) and it does not play h.264 content which is the future.

[pjpjpjpj]

First of all, would you ever have a time when all three TVs would be on at the same time? The encoding work is only done on the server when the MVP extender is streaming.

If so.... any HD Extender you have takes that fraction of the encoding load off of your server. You say you only have one HDTV... so you would want an HD Extender for that TV anyway (why get an MVP that only does SD?). So that means you would really only have two (SD) streams being encoded on your server at once, if both MVPs were on simultaneously. And the load on your network would still be minor even if all three were on (assuming you have one HD Extender) because the two SD streams take much less network bandwidth. You should be able to handle it with a 10/100 network.

But short of the (relatively-small) price difference and the, ahem, "out of stock" status... you really should get HD extenders. They are worth it.

[crimkid]

Thanks PJ. Yeah, i would probably get the HD one for my HDtv, and occasionally, all 3 tv's will be on, i was just worried about feeding of regular TV to the different sets. I had planned on 1 cable box, and 2 cables feeding directly into the server. Price was a little something to consider, i can get the MVP boxes for about $70, versus $200 or so a pop on the HD ones.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by crimkid

I had planned on 1 cable box, and 2 cables feeding directly into the server. Price was a little something to consider, i can get the MVP boxes for about $70, versus $200 or so a pop on the HD ones.

Just to clarify - when you say "one cable box and 2 cables"... how were you going to do that? Any digital tuner card input you have would need (for digital cable) its own cable box, so that the card can control that box, change the channels, etc. Of course, if you had a QAM-compatible card, you could run a split of your cable straight into that and get the digital QAM channels without a cable box. Or, if one of your cards is analog, you could run the cable into it (with no box) and get the analog (non HD, obviously) cable. What you wrote sounded like you were going to take the coax out from your cable box and split it into two card inputs... you couldn't do that (both cards would be on the same channel).

Sorry if you understand all of this already, I just was not sure from how you worded that.

[crimkid]

i would take 1 cable feed from the cable box, and another cable, split and directly into the cards. I know i only get 80 channels, but that is good enough for most feeds, and the 1 cable box will provide channels beyond the normal 80 we use, including the HD stuff.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by crimkid

i would take 1 cable feed from the cable box, and another cable, split and directly into the cards. I know i only get 80 channels, but that is good enough for most feeds, and the 1 cable box will provide channels beyond the normal 80 we use, including the HD stuff.

Cool. Just checkin'.

[crimkid]

thanks, all a little new to me, so i appreciate it.