home video sharing

[WuTangDvD]

i had this idea and im sure its been done before. Basically i would like to be able to display all video files to 2 TVs. These video files would all be stored on a server. so this includes dvd rips, divx, avi, xvid , mpeg 2 etc.....

there would need to be some sort of menu interface or GUI on the TV to choose a specific video file from the server. navigating will be done with a remote control.

*can 2 TVs access the same video file at the same time?

looking at the picture ive drawn up, and based on what i want done, what would device A and B have to be?

it would have to be something that could decode ANY video file type and output to the TV. is something like this already out?

I would also like to add DVR funcitonallity to this setup.
Where device A or B would send the TV video to the server and save it in whatever format. all done with a remote.

*is there software for this type of thing?


is this all just impossible?

[redwudz]

Here's one setup you might look into: http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_mediamvp.html You might need two of these for two TVs for them to operate and get the videos from the computer independently.

[videomaniac]

What you have drawn is very close to what I do and have been doing for a year or so.
TV A is my 50" HDTV(Downstairs), B is my 20"SD TV(Upstairs)

Device A is a I\O Data Linkplayer2 $250
Device B is a MediaMVP <$100

Server software comes with the devices (networked media players) and is simple and straightforward to use.

I capture, surf the internet, cut commercials and video can be viewed on both TVs all at the same time. And yes the same video file can be viewed on both TVs at the same time.

Wired is the best way to go, wireless will more than likely give you some trouble.

[WuTangDvD]

why would the 2 devices be different? or was it a price issue?

also you say it is very close to what you do, how is it different please share !

do you have dvr functionality on both TV , and does it get saved to the server?

[videomaniac]

why would the 2 devices be different? or was it a price issue?

also you say it is very close to what you do, how is it different please share !

do you have dvr functionality on both TV , and does it get saved to the server?

The simple answer for two different devices is that the I/O Data Linkplayer2 does HD and more video formats, so that is why it is hooked up to our HDTV. The MediaMVP is a solid unit but only plays mpeg2 in SD and therefore is connected to our SD TV.

Actually we are exactly the same except for small un-related details. I have a wireless and wired network. There are a total of (4) computers and the two devices on it so I have a 10/100 switch.

I do not have total DVR functionality at each TV. The server software for these types of devices allows you to select, play, skip, fastforward, reverse, bookmark and in the case of my LP2 delete files after viewing them. Show recording/scheduling is done at the server. I use Beyond TV for this. BTV works with my capture card (PVR-250) and my cablebox. It provides a TV guide that is customizable and makes it quite easy and convenient for scheduling recordings. So my server is really a very flexible DVR.

So the way it works is as follows;

BTV to select and schedule recordings using my cable guide and cablebox--->recordings are mpeg2(PVR-250 PCI capture card) to HDD--->when recording is complete commercials breaks are automatically detected--->when I have some time I confirm the commercial breaks and batch save the mpeg2 files minus the commercials--->my family watches the commercial free shows they want and then we delete them.

Removing commercials not only greatly enhances the viewing experience but also reduces HDD space by 25-33%. I have several external USB drives hooked to the server and a large internal dedicated HDD.

BTW my server is also my primary computer, I use it for surfing the internet, encoding personal video, email ect... It is not located in close proximatey to any our TVs.

My family has grown quite fond of this setup. I used to burn recorded shows to DVD (500+) but no more....IMHO this setup is a solid, simpler, cheaper alternative to HTPC.

[WuTangDvD]

thank you very much for responding.

i still have a couple of questions:

so all the TV recording is done on the file server [main computer].
can you watch a different show on a TV while a show is recording on the server.
example:
new episode of lost is on and im home but my wife isnt. i want to watch football but record Lost for her.
so i would set it up on the server to record , but can i go watch football while the server is recording Lost?

im just wondering because when my current dish network dvr is recording you cant watch anything else , unless you want to view previously recorded video.

[videomaniac]

thank you very much for responding.

i still have a couple of questions:

so all the TV recording is done on the file server [main computer].
can you watch a different show on a TV while a show is recording on the server.
example:
new episode of lost is on and im home but my wife isnt. i want to watch football but record Lost for her.
so i would set it up on the server to record , but can i go watch football while the server is recording Lost?

im just wondering because when my current dish network dvr is recording you cant watch anything else , unless you want to view previously recorded video.

Very good question! When I signed up for my cable they included up to (3) cableboxes so since I only have two tvs I use one of the cable boxes exclusively for recording my server (main computer), which means that I can and do in fact record shows while watching other shows. My cablebox is hooked to my capture card via S-video.

[WuTangDvD]

I was thinking of using this to conntect everything. 200mbps should be more than enough, and its better than rewiring my house.

"Wall Socket vs. Wi-Fi:200Mbps & Counting
Before investing in that Pre-N Wi-Fi equipment, home networkers might consider just plugging their laptop network connectors into the wall socket. The new generation of powerline adapters push high-speed data via existing home electrical systems at a promised 200Mbps. Just plug one Netgear Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter ($129) into your router and wall socket to send a high-speed signal throughout your home grid. A second adapter plugs into any wall socket and sends the stream into any Ethernet device, whether a laptop, game console, or home media server. Netgear claims the latest iterations are 12 times faster than previous powerline techniques, and if they are any more reliable and consistent than some of the Pre-N Wi-Fi rigs we have been trying, then we’re willing to have a go. "

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/c0609/...4F6AAB0DE999E3



what do you think?

[VidaBox]

Hey OP,

What you're describing is a media center, or HTPC. Do you plan on building your own, or are you buying ready-to-go, plug-n-play equipment?

If you're looking to buy, here are a few companies that make quality media centers/HTPCs:

VidaBox
Niveus
Inteset

The three companies above make media centers that connect directly to your first TV, and then stream everything to your second TV.

On the other hand, if you're planning to build your own, pay a visit to The Green Button forums. Be sure you have plenty of time, patience, and technical expertise. Slapping it together to JUST stream video is one thing. Successfully building what you're describing, troubleshooting it to work 100% with no crashes or bugs, and having your wife/significant other use it is another

Seriously, read the GB forums carefully before decide building your own. Just look at the number of threads on there for seemingly "easy, solvable problems." This is the biggest reason why media centers/HTPCs still aren't popular. People don't want to pay for quality, so their build their own, wind up with problems, and blame the software, scaring and making the non-technical, general public into thinking that ALL media centers are bad...

Best of luck!

[VidaBox]

I was thinking of using this to conntect everything. 200mbps should be more than enough, and its better than rewiring my house.

what do you think?

I actually have the ones from Netgear. Make sure you try before you buy. The speed you get is VERY dependent on the quality of your wiring. Some areas of my house just give me REALLY bad connections (from den to living room, which are 10 feet away vertically), whereas from one end of the house to another can be great.

Keep in mind too - surge protect your CAT5 cable. If you're plugging this baby in (CAT5 -> power socket), it can easily carry a transient back to your server during the rare lightning strike and fry it. PC components dont need much to go bad.

[WuTangDvD]

Hey OP,

What you're describing is a media center, or HTPC. Do you plan on building your own, or are you buying ready-to-go, plug-n-play equipment?

If you're looking to buy, here are a few companies that make quality media centers/HTPCs:

VidaBox
Niveus
Inteset

The three companies above make media centers that connect directly to your first TV, and then stream everything to your second TV.

On the other hand, if you're planning to build your own, pay a visit to The Green Button forums. Be sure you have plenty of time, patience, and technical expertise. Slapping it together to JUST stream video is one thing. Successfully building what you're describing, troubleshooting it to work 100% with no crashes or bugs, and having your wife/significant other use it is another

I know i said i would like each TV to have DVR function and those recorded TV shows get sent right to the server, but now im thinking i like the way videomaniac has his setup:

"I do not have total DVR functionality at each TV. The server software for these types of devices allows you to select, play, skip, fastforward, reverse, bookmark and in the case of my LP2 delete files after viewing them. Show recording/scheduling is done at the server. I use Beyond TV for this. BTV works with my capture card (PVR-250) and my cablebox. It provides a TV guide that is customizable and makes it quite easy and convenient for scheduling recordings. So my server is really a very flexible DVR"

this makes things CHEAPER and easier to maintain i think.

what do you think vidabox? what kind of setup do you have?

[VidaBox]

I know i said i would like each TV to have DVR function and those recorded TV shows get sent right to the server, but now im thinking i like the way videomaniac has his setup:

this makes things CHEAPER and easier to maintain i think.

what do you think vidabox? what kind of setup do you have?

Hi WuTang,

As my callsign indicates, it's obvious that I work for VidaBox, so please feel free to take what I say below with a grain of salt. It sounds like you're thinking of building your own system. However, before you decide for sure, consider the following example:

Would you expect to cook "on-the-level" with a Gourmet chef, even if you were armed with 1000 cookbooks?

Probably not... but why not? Everything is documented - all the ingredients are listed, all the instructions and procedures are outlined. Right? Why won't it work?

If you've had experience with cooking, you know that it's never as easy as it seems... and building a PVR/DVR/HTPC is the same.

Go to the BTV forum - get a taste of the problems you'll encounter before you start. Have all of these seemingly "easy" problems (i.e. EVERY PROBLEM) that are posted on the forums been solved?

If you decide to build your own PVR with BTV, MythTV, WinMCE - expect problems. Why? Because configuring software is complicated, just like cooking. You *can* eventually get it right - but how much time do you have? Hours? Days? Months? YEARS, perhaps?

The bottom line is - BTV is a fine product, and so is MythTV, Windows Media Center, etc. The configuration problems come in because people that know a *bit* about computers see these forums and start thinking - "hey, look at this HUGE community.. if these guys can do it - so can I!"

Well, if that's true, then, why aren't they more mainstream? Shouldn't they be in everyone's home? It's because 90% of all the home-brewed systems out there have bugs and require maintainance to have them keep running. Most likely, they're using their keyboard/mouse every other day to try and figure out why X & Y aren't working. They may figure out and solve X, but then problem Z comes up. Don't be fooled that something is easy to do by the illusion of a large community.

This is actually the same reason why Linux isn't more popular - building the system is the easy part. Getting it to work 100% without any problems nor constant maintainance is another. As great & stable as open source software & Linux are, the fact is - it really requires a certain level of expertise and time to build these systems.

Remember - reading about people who got systems "just working" at a B or C-grade condition is not difficult. If you can enjoy troubleshooting, can tolerate bugs, system crashes, and have the time for it, then by all means, go ahead and build one - it'll definitely keep you busy. There's nothing wrong with that.

Much like cooking, the internet provides the info for building a PVR, but using that info to execute and implement a successful recipe/design is simply another. It's the knowledge, experience, and engineering work that you're paying for if you buy a pre-built, plug-n-play media center.

You also bring up an interesting point - "CHEAPER and easier to maintain." If you decide to build your own, yes, it will be cheaper, but then you'll be spending your time to maintain it instead. In all seriousness, any system that is build properly should only need maintainance on a rare occasion. That's the defining characteristic between a system using a successful design vs. one that's been slapped together.

Bottom line - yes, you CAN successfully build a 100%, condition 1, grade-A media center - but it'll take you helluvalot of time. You can also take that time to work, go to school, educate yourself on other things, and further your career. It's the same reason why (most) people don't build and fix their own cars and buy them instead. Chilton has published specs and diagrams on everything - but reading about it is one thing, and figuring out everything and how to build/fix it is another..

Anyways, sorry for my rant... Lemme make some drawings to demonstrate my setup to u.. brb!

[WuTangDvD]

you make some good points about just going out and buying a store bought HTPC.

But this is like a hobby for me, VCD, SVCD and DVD Capturing, Encoding, Authoring and Playing and now video sharing on a home network.
Its something i would like to learn how to master in my free time. Im no novice at troubleshooting either, im almost done with a 1 year course at the Chubb Institute for computer networking and security, And we have done plenty of troubleshooting. (internship coming soon)

Do you own one of these $5,000 HTPC things? whats your setup like?

[Kid Chameleon]

I think a HTPC is the way to go. I have one computer set up with Windows Media center. It records tv from two motorola DCT-6200 cable boxes with firewire. Then I have a XBOX 360 on every tv in my house that networks with the pc. So I can record a tv show on any tv in the house and play it back on any tv in the house. It has a tv guid, you can set it up to record every new episode of your favorite tv shows on it's own, you can watch downloaded videos in divx, and you can play any music you have on your pc in any room of the house. You can even record HD tv and burn any tv show to dvd right in the main menu. It is the best home network you could ask for.