multi-room setup

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berky

2[H]4U
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so I want to plan out the ability to make my entire house be able to access a media/file server. I want to have a single backend storage system that all of the front-ends can access over the network. There's just a few things i'm not clear on. Here is a diagram of how I envision the setup and my questions are after.



what do i need in order to plug in the coax from the cable company? I'm talking about the high level at this point. would it be best to use the backend server? If so, how do I change channels and the like? do I use a separate dedicated PVR system? or do i just use one of the front-ends?

for the front-end systems, I want something small that doesn't cost much. I only need one system that can handle 1080p, which the ps3 should be able to do, correct?

once i figure out where the pvr portion needs to go, then i can figure out what kind of specs i'll need.

sorry if my questions sound stupid, but something's just not clicking with me.

thanks.
 
Are you trying to watch live tv in each room with only one cable line? If so, I don't think that will be possible.
 
tvvarsity..

do a google search and you can find a few programs that will let you stream tv accross your network..

a couple of tuners and you can change channel and record tv..
 
complexx said:
Are you trying to watch live tv in each room with only one cable line? If so, I don't think that will be possible.
Click to expand...

Very possible if his file server has 4 tuners in it and uses something like Sage or MediaPortal to access them over the network.

If you use something like MediaPortal (there's plenty of other flavors out there too), you can install the server end on your server, along with tuner cards, then install the client on each client PC. The nice thing about MP is that you can schedule as many simultaneous recordings as your hardware can handle and it'll just use tuners until they're all used up. Invest in good hardware encoded tuners, not the cheap software ones. A hardware tuner has its own memory and processing so it can encode the video stream without really taxing the machine itself.

That's it at a high level, just a coax splitter to x number of tuners in the server. The other option is to put a tuner in each local PC and run your coax right to each room.
 
there will be a hdhomerun Cable card tuner out soon that will give you HD TV sharing to PCs in the house soon (dont know exactly when)
 
complexx said:
Are you trying to watch live tv in each room with only one cable line? If so, I don't think that will be possible.
Click to expand...

not really. i have the coax going to each tv already. what i want to do is be able to stream recorded shows to any tv of my choosing. I just don't want to buy a PVR for each room. Plus I want to put my DVD collection on a central server so i can watch them wherever.

Easykill1978 said:
tvvarsity..

do a google search and you can find a few programs that will let you stream tv accross your network..

a couple of tuners and you can change channel and record tv..
Click to expand...

i'm aware of TVersity, but the streaming isn't the part I have questions on. It's more about what device I use as the 'entry point' for the cable and the specs on the front-end boxes.

webdes03 said:
Very possible if his file server has 4 tuners in it and uses something like Sage or MediaPortal to access them over the network.

If you use something like MediaPortal (there's plenty of other flavors out there too), you can install the server end on your server, along with tuner cards, then install the client on each client PC. The nice thing about MP is that you can schedule as many simultaneous recordings as your hardware can handle and it'll just use tuners until they're all used up. Invest in good hardware encoded tuners, not the cheap software ones. A hardware tuner has its own memory and processing so it can encode the video stream without really taxing the machine itself.

That's it at a high level, just a coax splitter to x number of tuners in the server. The other option is to put a tuner in each local PC and run your coax right to each room.
Click to expand...

I already have coax to the TV's... see the first part of this post above for what i want to do.

so what you're saying is that you would run the input direct to the file storage server and put your tuners in that? Is there a benefit to doing it all in one? or just to save cost of not having 2? The only reason I was thinking of making 2 systems is because I don't know how much space I'll have for a large file server. I'd like to keep the footprint limited for areas directly around the TV's, and I figured that I'd need to have the PVR with the TV so I can use a remote to set up what to record.

Adidas4275 said:
there will be a hdhomerun Cable card tuner out soon that will give you HD TV sharing to PCs in the house soon (dont know exactly when)
Click to expand...

Good to know. obviously i'm still in the planning phase, so I appreciate any input on good hardware.
 
Which front end are you thinking of using? The two most popular ones are Windows Media Center & Sage.

There are plenty of ways to distribute your media around the house. I use 3 dedicated HTPC's that are plugged into a matrix switcher. This gives more flexibility because I hate the limitations involved with using extenders (Cant stream blu-ray)

You should hit up AVS Forum. All kinds of useful information there

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36
 
you havent gotten a ton of responses because what you are asking for is kind of a main feature of HTPCs. An adequate PC with any front end software can do the basics of what you want. If you want to take it a step farther you can get a true client server app like sageTV or MediaPortal. They allow you to view Live TV from tuners installed in a centralized server. Other apps make you put a tuner in each box. Without going into much detail, if you have multiple tvs and record a decent amount of tv, the client/server feature is fantastic. I won't do without it if I want to do PVR. Basically you install the tuners in your main box and the software allocates them as resources to whatever the PVR schedule and live TV demands. you could do several stand alone installations of a windows media center OS but PVR gets tricky. each tuner is statically designated tot hat TV. I had 5 clients but only 3 tuners in my sage setup...this was sufficient because I never had all 5 tvs on at the same time and sage automatically allocated them as needed. Also, since the PVR is done on the server, all of the clients had the same PVR schedule on your guide. You could set a show to record from any vlient and it was immediately available to all clients once it recorded. AVS forum has lots of info, but I suggext checking out the demos of sage and mediaprotal. they also have good forums ver there with plugins and skins. Sage is in the middle of developing a version 7 so hold off if you decide to purchase. the interface is supposed to be much better on the new version. the current one takes lots of modifications to be as visually appealing as most other options. Media portal is a breeze for the basic setup but I have been told that the tv server can be tricky.
 
Rob Black said:
Which front end are you thinking of using? The two most popular ones are Windows Media Center & Sage.

There are plenty of ways to distribute your media around the house. I use 3 dedicated HTPC's that are plugged into a matrix switcher. This gives more flexibility because I hate the limitations involved with using extenders (Cant stream blu-ray)

You should hit up AVS Forum. All kinds of useful information there

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36
Click to expand...


I was thinking about just using MythTV. I'm no stranger to linux, so that doesn't bother me. If you know of any major limitations, i'm all ears. I'm just trying to keep costs down as much as possible.

What model matrix switcher do you have? i'd like to do some reading on that.

i've been on AVS before, but only when i was researching HDTV's. I'll check it out, thanks!


IDversusEGO said:
you havent gotten a ton of responses because what you are asking for is kind of a main feature of HTPCs. An adequate PC with any front end software can do the basics of what you want. If you want to take it a step farther you can get a true client server app like sageTV or MediaPortal. They allow you to view Live TV from tuners installed in a centralized server. Other apps make you put a tuner in each box. Without going into much detail, if you have multiple tvs and record a decent amount of tv, the client/server feature is fantastic. I won't do without it if I want to do PVR. Basically you install the tuners in your main box and the software allocates them as resources to whatever the PVR schedule and live TV demands. you could do several stand alone installations of a windows media center OS but PVR gets tricky. each tuner is statically designated tot hat TV. I had 5 clients but only 3 tuners in my sage setup...this was sufficient because I never had all 5 tvs on at the same time and sage automatically allocated them as needed. Also, since the PVR is done on the server, all of the clients had the same PVR schedule on your guide. You could set a show to record from any vlient and it was immediately available to all clients once it recorded. AVS forum has lots of info, but I suggext checking out the demos of sage and mediaprotal. they also have good forums ver there with plugins and skins. Sage is in the middle of developing a version 7 so hold off if you decide to purchase. the interface is supposed to be much better on the new version. the current one takes lots of modifications to be as visually appealing as most other options. Media portal is a breeze for the basic setup but I have been told that the tv server can be tricky.
Click to expand...

so if I read this right, I could have my PVR sitting in the basement, with a couple tuners in it, and be able to use a remote with a front-end sitting anywhere in the house to browse channels, and also not really need a direct coax input at the TV's location? i'm still unsure how the changing of channels works with this setup. will I need a cablecard? right now i only have 1 digital cable box from the cable company. the rest is all standard broadcast cable.

i'd like to plan for the ability to have 1 digital hd, 1 standard digital, and maybe 2 or 3 standard broadcast (tv's). I assumed that would mean 1 tuner per tv, but it sounds like some software let's you dynamically allocate tuners to tv's, correct?





So, i think my only real major outstanding question at this point is, is it recommended to combine the PVR function with the storage server, a front-end, or make it a standalone?
 
berky said:
so if I read this right, I could have my PVR sitting in the basement, with a couple tuners in it, and be able to use a remote with a front-end sitting anywhere in the house to browse channels, and also not really need a direct coax input at the TV's location? i'm still unsure how the changing of channels works with this setup.
Click to expand...
correct. If you use analog cable, the tuner changes the cahnnels. If you ahve digital with a cable box, the software can send IR signals to a cable box, you can use a HDPVR, or you can get cable card.


will I need a cablecard? right now i only have 1 digital cable box from the cable company. the rest is all standard broadcast cable.[/quote]
you dont need it, but it is supposed to be easier. I had multiple STB boxes and 4 IR blasters.

berky said:
i'd like to plan for the ability to have 1 digital hd, 1 standard digital, and maybe 2 or 3 standard broadcast (tv's). I assumed that would mean 1 tuner per tv, but it sounds like some software let's you dynamically allocate tuners to tv's, correct?
Click to expand...

correct. with sage all you need is a networked PC and you can get the signal from your tuners int he server. I haven't specified about HD, SD or broadcast because a lot of the hardware is the same. It just depends on what you feed it. See link below for your options. The 2250 will tune QAM HD, OTA HD, SD cable, and regular SD broadcast TV (all witht he right antenna)

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035444126&postcount=3


berky said:
So, i think my only real major outstanding question at this point is, is it recommended to combine the PVR function with the storage server, a front-end, or make it a standalone?
Click to expand...
I prefer to record to a local drive so I installed sage on my server. was rock solid for 3 years.
 
Thanks everyone. I think I have a good idea of what needs to be done, now I just need to figure out what hardware and software to use for each component. I'll have to read the guide someone posted recently.
 
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