[mythtv-users] How to watch recordings on a laptop

[Jay Foster]

> On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Jay Foster <jayf0ster at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> 
>> On 10/1/2010 9:14 AM, mythtv-users-request at mythtv.org wrote:
>>
>>>>>  However, VLC and MPlayer WILL play the raw HDHR file in Linux on the
>>>>>  backend, but the Windows versions will not over the network.
>>>>>
>>> Have you tried to copy the file to the windows machine to see if your
>>> network is simply too slow.
>>>
>> I haven't tried that yet with the raw (non-transcoded) file.  It does work
>> just fine over the network after performing a lossless transcode (MPEG2-TS
>> -> MPEG2-PS).
> 
> 
> Is it possible that your lossless transcode is modifying something else,
> audio, etc.  Is the resulting file the same size?  Is it fragmenting during
> recording, while the transcoded file is not.  Are the recording and the
> transcoded file on the same disk/array, same mount point, same permissions,
> etc.  The only way to be sure that your playback issue is not the network is
> to eliminate the network... same story with all of those other variables,
> take them out of the euqation.  Copy the file to the windows machine and try
> and play it.
They are on the same disk, same permissions, same directory.

I copied the (non-transcoded) file to my Windows machine, and VLC and 
Media player still fail to play it.  MPlayer would.  It takes less than 
half the program length of time to copy the file, so network bandwidth 
still does not look like my problem.  I have tried both a wired and 
wireless connection with the same results.
> 
> 
>>
>>> Have you tried installing the HDHR software on your windows PC, and trying
>>> to watch live tv on the windows box?
>>>
>> The HDHR software is installed, but I don't use it because my HDHRs are on
>> an isolated network to the backend.  I also am not interested in doing this
>> for live TV, only my recordings.
> 
> 
> You miss the point... I am trying to remove the backend from the equation as
> a troubleshooting technique.  Of course you want to use myth with those
> tuners, this is the mythtv mailinglist afterall.  If you can tune and watch
> the live stream, then you know your machine is up to par for playback and
> that your HDHR isn't corrupting the stream in any way.
> 
> 
>>
>>>  The HDHR simply puts out a raw MPEG stream... one that is easily played
>>> on
>>> just about any OS, with just about any MPEG2 compatible player.
>>>
>>> Is it possible that your windows computers are simply under powered for
>>> playing back such a high-bandwidth video?
>>>
>> They play just fine if I first do the lossless transcode.  The laptop has a
>> quad core i7 CPU with 6GB RAM.
> 
> 
> I doubt that is the issue then, still could be a configuration issue on the
> laptop, but MPEG-TS is not so much different than MPEG-PS that I would think
> you could inadvertantly configure your computer such that it would play one
> but not the other.
>
Could this be problem with samba?  Does it need to be configured 
specially to handle streaming large files?  They copy just fine.