[mythtv-users] Multiple frontends watching the same backend program.

[Matt Mossholder]

Robert,
    Replies within...

 On Wed, 2005-01-19 at 05:20 -0600, Robert Denier wrote:
<snip>

> 1) All myth backends do is compress a data stream and send it out.  They 
> have no need to store any data, at least with respect to Live TV.

This isn't how things happen today, and would represent a major change.

<snip>

> 3) It then begins sending out packets of video to each frontend that is 
> online.  Ideally one would think some form of multicasting would be 
> desired.  I have never seriously looked at multicast packets on linux so 
> I've no idea if thats feasible.

I would assume you actually mean it would start sending the packets to
the FEs that are interested...

<snip>

> 2) Allowed frontends that are the second or later to join watching the 
> channel to be able to change the channel.  (This should be one of the 
> easier changes since you can do this with something like ssh backend 
> /usr/bin/channel_change 333.)

The Myth protocol already handles channel change (at least for one front
end). No problem there...

> 3) Allowed frontends to eventually allow changing the live TV settings 
> to be encoded.  The original frontend that selected the format is forced 
> to either change as well, or use a different tuner.
> 
> -Robert
> 



    The thing that strikes me the most about this is that A) This seems
like it is very tailored to your own personal situation and B) requires
a lot of work :)
Since I'm not personally doing the work, no skin off of my back if
someone else wants to do it... but...

    Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to allow FE/BE use a different BE as a
video source? You basically would configure the front-end/back-end combo
boxes with a "capture card" that just grabs a stream from the BE that
has the tuner card. This would seem the have the lowest impact on the
Myth infrastructure, while allowing multiple systems to use the same
tuner for live TV. The only gotcha becomes the contention for control. I
would assume the easiest way to deal with this would be to have a pop-up
appear on-screen when someone tries to change the channel. The FE that
had the tuner originally would prompt the user with something like
"Another system wishes to change the channel. Hand over control?
(Yes/No)", with a timer to allow for unattended FEs.

    Just my $0.02.

        --Matt

-- 
Matt Mossholder <matt at mossholder.com>
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