[mythtv-users] Copying movies to Myth from Windows PC

[Rod Smith]

On Saturday 24 November 2007 14:21:06 Paul Broadwith wrote:
> I have a few movies I'd like to copy to the Myth box and was wondering
> the best way to do this? I use MythDora.
>
> Would I just install Samba on the Myth box and use MB shares or is there
> a better way?

The "better" way depends on what software you've already got and with what 
you're familiar. What you suggest will work. So will NFS, FTP, SSH (via scp), 
sneakernet on a DVD+/-R(W), e-mail, and lots of others. Some of these have 
security implications -- I wouldn't want to run Samba, NFS, or an FTP server 
on a network that's exposed to the Internet, for instance. E-mail would be 
extremely impractical, as would sneakernet (unless you want to archive the 
material to a DVD anyhow).

As a practical matter, Samba/SMB, FTP, and SSH are the most practical for 
Windows-to-Linux network transfers, since the requisite client software is 
easy to find. SSH is probably best from a security point of view if the Myth 
box is exposed to the Internet.

> Where do the movies go when copied (so that I cna watch them under Watch
> Recordings->Watch Videos)?

This is configurable in MythTV itself. You set the videos directory in one of 
the setup screens in the frontend (exactly where depends on your menu 
layout). Chances are you'll find it best to configure the server software for 
the protocol you use to make this directory (or a parent directory) 
accessible; this way you can transfer the files directly from Windows to the 
MythTV videos directory, rather than transfer them elsewhere and then move 
them.

-- 
Rod Smith
http://www.rodsbooks.com