[mythtv-users] Recovering from Disaster, Rebuild Options?

Sun Feb 8 18:03:06 UTC 2015

On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 4:22 AM, Stephen Worthington <
stephen_agent at jsw.gen.nz> wrote:

> On Sun, 8 Feb 2015 02:28:48 -0600, you wrote:
>
> >Not to go too far into some of the "fun" I've had over the last week, but
> >I'm still in the process of recovering from some pretty major corruption
> >I'm still tracking down.
> >
> >That said, I'm looking at what I've got right now and I'm not very happy.
> >I'd like some comments on some questions that'll help me look farther into
> >the future of my TV architecture.
> >
> >1) What's the "favored" Tuner for MythTV These days?  I've currently got a
> >pcHDTV3000 and 5500 in my backend at this point but those seem like "old"
> >solutions these days.  Is everyone pretty much sporting an HD Homerun at
> >this point?  Is there something better?  What's considered the "best
> >option" for a small number of Tuners at this point.  What would you
> >recommend for someone saying "Hey, I want to build a Myth TV system?"
> >
> >Backend:  My backend is now running on a Dell Optiplex 740 (AMD X2 5600+)
> >which is better CPU than I had in my old Backend, but it's running an
> >integrated graphics card.  The tech specs show "Nvidia Quadro NVS 210S"
> >(whatever the hell that is) but LSPCI is showing a GeForce 6150 LE
> >Chipset.  It is an nforce4 based motherboard (I think) so that makes
> >sense.
> >
> >The thing does have an open PCI-E x16 slot (both PCI slots are now taken
> up
> >by the Tuner Cards) but I wouldn't know what NVIDIA card to throw in there
> >since the PS (302 w) doesn't have a connector for the power input on a
> >modern graphics card...and running a new power supply is way out of my
> >interest level with this box (Dell's are so custom built).
> >
> >2) Suggestions on a PCIE Graphics card I could throw into this thing to
> get
> >rid of the onboard and actually get some reasonable playback?  (It's
> mostly
> >a backend but I want it to work as a frontend if/when we're trapped down
> in
> >the basement for storms..playback is entirely unacceptable at this point).
>
> There are plenty of Nvidia cards with no extra power connector.  You
> need at least an Nvidia 220 or better for full deinterlace to be
> available.  In the current Nvidia cards, it seems they are all
> sufficiently capable.  Consider whether noise is a factor - do you
> want a fanless card?  They are readily available, but ones that do not
> intrude into the next slot are much harder to find.  The fanless cards
> normally do not have the extra power connector, as they would be
> unable to dissipate all the extra power.
>
> >Future:
> >
> >So lets say I network a NAS Storage Device for the house and move all my
> >drive space to it, and pick up something like an HD Home Run for my tuner.
> >At that point the ONLY thing the PC is being used for is the CPU, Memory,
> >Network and Graphics Card.  Could I technically go down and buy a cheap
> ass
> >$300 laptop with some low end CPU and Memory and at least run a backend
> off
> >it?  I realize HD Playback would be an issue if it's not an NVIDIA or ATI
> >card in there (which it won't be, it'll be Intel graphics) but even a $300
> >cheap ass laptop would be about 3 generations of hardware better than what
> >I'm running my backend on right now.
>
> Recording to a NAS has lots of hazards.  It is possible to run out of
> network bandwidth when doing multiple simultaneous recordings quite
> easily, resulting in gaps in the middle of recordings or recordings
> that stop prematurely.  If someone else in the house uses the NAS box
> to copy a big file, that may be enough to cause a recording failure
> also.
>
> There are also a lot of commercial NAS boxes that have actual
> performance that is way below what you might expect, due to, for
> example, cheap slow processors and bad software.  Building your own
> NAS is preferable if you go that route, as you can then make sure that
> you really do have 1 Gbit Ethernet transfer speeds available and that
> the NAS hard drives perform at full speed.  I would recommend using a
> dedicated Ethernet connection just for the MythTV traffic, and a
> second Ethernet for the other household NAS traffic.
>
> >3) What's the best "oh crap that hardware just died on me what do I do
> now"
> >proofing solution for MythTV at this point?  My largest issue seems to be
> I
> >run these MythTV boxes till they die and then am looking at the prospect
> of
> >a $1000 Desktop to replace it since the hardware is SO out of date by that
> >point.
>
> I use a combination of various strategies.
>
> I generally try to replace my MythTV hardware before it fails, then
> keep the old hardware in case I need to replace something in the new
> hardware temporarily.  I have a test PC with a power supply I can
> borrow if that is needed too, and a spare cheap Nvidia card with a fan
> (my normal Nvidia card is fanless).
>
> All my hard drives have SMART checking enabled, which has saved me
> from incipient drive failures at least twice now.  I tend to upgrade
> them fairly often as I am a TV hoarder and run out of storage unless I
> change them regularly to new bigger drives, so they do not tend to be
> around long enough for the bearings to go before they get replaced.
> The oldest drive I have in my MythTV box is reporting 1448 days power
> on time (3.9 years), but it is a very high quality (and expensive when
> I got it) Hitachi 7K3000 model.  Almost all Hitachi drives are
> extremely reliable compared to the other manufacturers, but you do pay
> extra for that.  My system drive is another Hitachi 7K3000 currently
> reporting 1330 days power on time.
>
> It always pays to have enough cash readily available to replace things
> in a hurry if needed.  A SMART warning from a drive means you need to
> be able to buy a replacement and get it delivered within 2-3 days if
> you are going to be reasonably sure of being able to copy off all the
> data safely.
>
> My mythconverg database is backed up daily to another PC on my
> network, as well as the default Mythbuntu backup on the same PC every
> week.
>
> On top of that, my laptop is fully capable of running as a MythTV
> system - I take TV recordings with me on an external hard drive when I
> am away from home.  So in the direst sort of failure situation, I
> could use the laptop until I get my main MythTV box going again.
>
> And my Windows box has Mediaportal and three DVB-T tuners installed
> and is also capable of recording TV for me.  I have it set up to
> record my favourite series just in case I have a problem on the MythTV
> box.  I hate missing an episode, especially in the series with ongoing
> storylines.
>
> Even with all of that, I am still vulnerable to one of the drive
> failure types where it just completely dies instantly.  Fortunately,
> those seem to be pretty rare except in very old drives - there is
> usually some warning of problems ahead of time.  The only real
> solution to that problem is to have redundancy eg RAID, or automated
> backups of all drives.  That is just too expensive for me, but if I
> ever win Lotto, I would probably do it.
>
> And a natural disaster such as a fire or earthquake could kill MythTV
> also - for that, I would need everything automatically backed up
> offsite.  Which is not completely impossible either, now that 200/200
> Mbit/s optical fibre Internet connections with unlimited caps have
> arrived on my street.  But it is also extremely expensive for all that
> huge amount of TV data.
>
> >Anyone able to help me architect?
> >
> >--Doug
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Thanks VERY much for the info.

>From the NVIDIA side of the fence, what card should I really be looking
at?  Noise is not my concern and the box I"m currently using does pretty
good with noise dampening.  This is in my basement/office so no "living
room noise" factor to worry about.  Any recommendations would be
appreciated.

The specs show this is a PCIe 16x capable slot, however given that the
system is several years old, do I have a "versioning" issue to worry
about?  i.e. Newest cards won't work unless you have a version 3 slot or
something like that?

Still looking for recommendations on Tuners?  A network based tuner does
indeed sound interesting (pulls it out of the myth backend meaning I don't
have to have PCI slots available and other things of that nature).
Downsides?  Better options?

I'm not really trying to make a "bullet proof" system.  Everyone in my
house would tell you TV is NOT a priority for them...till they miss an
episode of something...then there's hell to pay.  We record very little,
but what we record we really like/want.

I'll take what you've posted above to heart as I look at what went wrong
this time around.  Thanks for your time!

--Doug
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