[mythtv-users] How to choose between 2 backends ?

[Michael A Weber]

> On Apr 5, 2018, at 12:53 PM, Barry Martin <barry3martin at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Klaus!
> 
> Some interesting inquiries you have been making!
>> I have frontend and backend on a desktop pc.
>> 
>> But I would also like to record tv on a laptop. This laptop has no screen and 
>> the graphic card is probably to small to watch tv. I installed frontend on it 
>> to test it, but now I want to use only the frontend on the desktop pc.
>> 
>> So sometimes, I want to record tv on the laptop, but watch recorded episodes 
>> on the desktop machine. Copy or move the recordings to the desktop pc should 
>> be easy by ftp or an external usb hard disk.
>> 
>> How to organize that ? How to tell frontend on the desktop pc which backend I 
>> want to use ?
>> 
>> In the setup, I saw the option "This server is the Master backend" I can 
>> untick.
>> 
>> Of course I can change IP address in mythtv-setup, but there is certainly a 
>> more elegant solution. Is it possible to create profiles for this purpose ?
> 
> 
> I have done something similar here with two Backends, though I'll admit not an 'elegant' solution.  I have two Backends because of 'pixellation  issues' -- really due to reception problems but that's a different issue.  Having a Frontend switch from viewing one Backend to the other appears to be more complicated than simply updating the configuration file to the alternate BE's IP and password: it appears when the configuration is changed the FE's audio and video configuration is reset to default, in other words instead of using a High Quality nVidia video setting it is changed back to the default generic setting.  Same for the audio.  The Theme preference also is resent to Terra (default).
> 
> What I did, which LIS isn't elegant, is use a Raspberry Pi B as my second Frontend.  The primary FE is a desktop with the output to HDMI1 of the television.  The secondary FE is an RPi, configured to the other Backend, and whose output goes to HDMI2 of the TV.   (Told you it wasn't elegant!)
> 
> Now what I found is the RPi B and MythTV don't play nice all the time with the WiFi here at the house: some video and audio stuttering.  The good news is no problems with a wired connection.  The computers around here are all hardwired so simply pulled an old 10/100 switch from the storage box to 'split' the Ethernet to the two Frontends.  Works fine!
> 
> Admittedly not quite what you had in mind but given for consideration as a different way to  accomplish the end.  I have no idea if the new PRi 3+ has sufficient 'oomph' to work with MythTV; LIS my RPI 3 is right on the verge, so hopefully.... 
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Barry—

The anomalies you list in switching should not be happening if your network and host names are setup correctly.  I’m going to assume you have two databases (one on each backend), and each of those databases will hold settings for each of your frontend machines.  If you switch from one backend to another and you’ve never configured that frontend on that backend, then yes, all the settings will default because backend 2 has never seen backend 1.  However, if you configure all of your settings also on backend 2 the same as backend 1, changing backends should be transparent as long as the settings are identical.

It would be no different than setting up a completely new frontend to replace an existing frontend, giving it the same host name and IP address as the replaced frontend, and connecting it to a single backend.  The new frontend gets all the settings just like its predecessor had.  I’ve done this numerous times over the years, and that’s exactly what I have found.

Hope this helps you make your system a tad bit more elegant, because it’s myth… and it should be.  :)

Best,
Mike

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