[mythtv-users] MythTV questions...

[Dex West]

This delay between changing channels really worries
me.  Can people please tell me approx. how long this
delay on a working system is?

On Tivo channel changing happens immediately.  Is this
delay between frontend and backend configurable?

Thanks
--- Eduardo <mythtv at ease.mb.ca> wrote:
> John Sutherland said:
> > Hi guys/gals..
> >
> > I just setup and got working a basic mythtv box,
> and I have some
> > questions..
> >
> > First, a little about the system it its on.. I'm
> using this box more of a
> > proof of concept for myself.. It is a Pentium II
> 400Mhz, 128M, PVR-350,
> > and a "broken" 40G drive.. By "broken" I mean that
> I can not get more than
> > 2M/sec rates from hdparm -t.. The drive works, its
> just slow... I'm using
> > the 350's TV-Out, and for a distrib, Gentoo...
> >
> > Now for the questions...
> >
> > 1) I've noticed that channel changing is
> ---slow---.. Nearly 30 secs to
> > change the channel... I'm assuming its either the
> slow drive, or the slow
> > processor.. Which do you think it is?
> 
> There is always a delay as the backend buffers up
> some of the video (more
> on that later). 30 seconds seems very long. Unless
> everything is playing
> VERY SLOW, and this is just adding to the channel
> change time.
> 
> >
> > 2) What is the difference between the frontend and
> the backend? I haven't
> > seen a good description of what both of them
> really do... Does the backend
> > do the storage?? If I move my backend to another
> (much faster) machine,
> > would that solve the channel changing slowness??
> 
> Backend controls the tuners and records the shows.
> Even when you are
> watching "live tv" you are really recording a show.
> If you didn't you
> couldn't jump forwards and backwards. All the
> storage takes place on the
> backend. The CPU power it needs is for doing the
> encoding.
> 
> The frontend accesses the backend to receive the
> video streams. So when
> you change the channel on a frontend, it tells the
> tuners on the backend
> to change. The CPU power it needs is for decoding
> the video data.
> 
> These rules all go out the window for all the other
> plugins, mythmusic,
> mythvideo, etc, which all run on the frontend and
> don't have that nice
> "client server" behaviour. This is why everyone
> seems to map drives from
> the frontends to the backends. The backend usually
> has all the storage
> capacity, so people put their images, videos and
> MP3's on the backend.
> 
> Note, the backend and frontend can be the same
> machine. You just need the
> CPU power to do the encoding and decoding at the
> same time. Your 400 is
> pobably slow, because it has to do encoding and
> decoding at the same time.
> 
> > 3) When using the TV-out on the 350, how's it
> really work? Does it read
> > the input from the tuner, then store it to disk,
> then read it, and send it
> > to the tv-out? (kinda related to the previous
> question I guess)
> 
> It is encoded by the hardware encoder on the PVR,
> stored to disk, and then
> decoded through the hardware decoder on the PVR. The
> PVR takes away lots
> of CPU load on both encoding and decoding.
> 
> > 4) Has anyone coded up a burner plugin? To burn
> DVD's, VCD's from recorded
> > video? Or even music? If not, I might consider
> writing one..
> 
> Dunno on this one. Probably.
> 
> >
> > Thanks guys/gals!
> >
> > --John
> > --
> > --John
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-users mailing list
> > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> >
>
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >
> 
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>
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