Simultaneous recordings and viewings, and what hardware

[pjpjpjpj]

It seems like there are a lot of questions here about system setups, with regards to number of tuners, whether someone needs gigabit ethernet or not, and drive arrangement. I used to have a standard 10/100 network and a single USB external drive that was used for recordings, and I was limited in what I could record, or record+watch - there were times when I either had to stop recording something, or else wait until I could watch.

So I am curious - what's the most shows you have had recording at one time (and were they HD or SD), and number of shows/movies/media simultaneously being watched (extenders, clients, etc.), without seeing any hiccups... and what is your setup?

For example, last night was the biggest test my system has had (since I set it up last Spring) - I have four tuners, all OTA via 2 HDHRs. Last night I had 3 HD shows and 1 SD show recording, while simultaneously watching an HD TV show on the HD300, and had no glitches. Specs are in my sig, but all shows involved were reading/writing from the single SATA WD Caviar Black drive. The gigabit ethernet on the server is onboard on the MB, not a separate card.

I know there are people here with at least 10 tuners, so I'm curious how many have been recording (successfully) at once while also watching stuff.

[gplasky]

Recorded 6 shows simultaneously. All HD.
2 x HDHR-ClearQAM cable connection
2 x HDHR -OTA
1 x HD-PVR-from cablebox

2 watching recordings (previously recorded.)
1 x HD300
1 x HD200

Gerry

[blade]

Recording:
HD
4 x HDHR-ClearQAM cable connection
1 x HD-PVR-from cablebox

SD
1 x PVR-500 @ 3.2 GB/hr

Watching:
1 x HD200 (have done both previously recorded and currently recording without issue)

Commercial Processing:
3 x HD shows with Comskip as they record (if I do more than 3 I experience lag and stuttering, but I think I need more ram).

I have a gigabit network and am using 3 WD green drives in the Sage server for recording drives setup as individual disks (no raid or pooled storage).


In the past, I've captured 6 shows (4HD and 2 SD), while streaming to 1 client and processing all 6 shows with comskip as they're recording. I had 5 recording drives and replaced 3 of the smaller ones with 1 larger green drive. I also added a HD-PVR and replaced the older OS drive with a newer faster one. Since making those changes I sometimes experience lag in the UI and stuttering during playback if I try to process 6 shows at once as they're recording so I limit it to 3. I think the problem is a lack of ram because the swap file really starts to grow as new comskip processes are launched.

[Beefcake550]

ZThe big aprt of this equation that no one is specifying is their hard drive setup. I'd be hard pressed to think a single drive can handle more than the OPer mentions.

Last night, I had 3 HD recordings going (2xHDHR + 1HDPVR) with 2 clients viewing no problems. I run WHS, turn off DE during normal hours, and have 7 total hard drives. I did not look at what was being recorded where, but I'd have to believe it was hitting multiple drives. Also, the HDHR has a dedicated NIC so it won't interact with clients.

[Taddeusz]

We have 4 total sources, all HD (1.5 HDHR's and an HDPVR), with 2 recording drives. I also have SJQ set to start Show Analyzer to run live on each recording.

We have 3 extenders, an HD100, HD200, and an MVP. Only two are used at once. We have one night of the week where all 4 tuners are being used at once and I know at least one client is playing. Not sure if we've ever had both the HD100 and HD200 running at that time though.

Network is gigabit.

[RocKKer]

I have had 4 HD record via 2 HDHR's, 3 watching via HD200's. Comskip on all live TV (in the super slow mode). Gig network switches, with Intel add in NIC on server.

I also was drinking a beer, while my other hand was on the remote!

Storage is Linux software RAID5 as spec'ed in my sig.