Media Servers

["Keith Doxey" <ukha@xxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

the subject of the XP Media edition certainly raised a few posts !!!

I read the review last night and have been thinking about several of
the
points raised in it and also thinking about the requirement that others
on
this list have mentioned in the past.

At first glance it looks very good until you consider some of things
they
indicate it should be used for.

1. PVR - This is the application that will probably get hammered the
most
and as pointed out in the review, despite a hardware encoder and a meaty
PC,
it still suffered stuttering. Totally unacceptable :-(

2. Audio Player - I would say that a substantial proportion of those on
this
list already have some form of centralised MP3 distribution system with
a
central repository of files namely the MP3 Server. Playback methods
vary
with some people using PC applications like WinAmp, others using
dedicated
playback devices such as RIO and SlimMP3 etc, and in my case, my web
based
jukebox software that I designed for my individual needs.

3. DVD and Video playback - across between 1 & 2 in so much as the
video
files were obtained from elsewhere such as a ripped DVD as we are doing
with
CD to MP3. Playback only needs a suitable Codec and control application
for
any decent PC or dedicated playback device.

4. Photo album - again easily achieved with a bit of webserver software,
a
database to store info, and lots of disk space for storage of the
photos

5. Normal workstation !!!! - well hardly :-(
The photo on the review shows that the VGA output was blocked off so
the
only intended method of connection is S-Video to the TV. This will not
have
the display resolution to do any serious work and the rest of the
family
would be seriously unimpressed if you stole the TV to check your email
while
they wanted to watch Eastenders.

What have we learned from the hardware we already have....

Tivo - GREAT :-)
A vast improvement over the VCR because you can watch a recording whilst
you
are recording something else. OK, so some of us could do that with VCR
because we had more than one machine, but VCR's didnt have the superb
TV
guide, the ability to learn what you like and suggest programs to record
and
a VCR isnt anywhere near as user freindly. Just try remembering which
tape
you recorded something on never mind where on the tape. I know you
could
make a note of where and when but many of us are not that organised and
TiVo
takes care of that for us.

Which is where Tivo's biggest limitation (IMO) comes. It is sold as a
PVR
(Personal Video Recorder) IT ISNT !!!

Tivo is a FVR ( Family Video Recorder ). Whilst the suggestions are
superb,
it learns from everything it shows and records irrespective of WHO
watched
it. Hands up anyone who wouldnt readily have a Tivo for each member of
the
family so that it was truly a PERSONAL video recorder.

If several Tivo machines could be networked together, could learn
individual
preferences, and share the TV guide distributing the recording tasks
amongst
the machines it wouldbe the untimate recording system. There are often
time
when a couple of programs clash but more that 3 clashes are very rare
especially given Tivo's ability to record alternative showings.

So... what do I want from the convergance of Computers and
Entertainment.

Total flexibilty - the ability to watch what I want, listen to my
music,
view my photos, email, surf, a bit of work maybe. Thats what the
reviewed
machine and software claimed to be able to do. But I want to do it from
anywhere in the house and I also want anyone else in the house to be
exercising their freedom of choice at the same time.

What do I need to achieve this.....

1. A data network - GOT THAT
2. Display devices - I have PC's with monitors and I have TV's.

The PC's would be used for "proper" PC type tasks such as email,
work, and
surfing where the resolution of a TV is not up to the task and the task
itself tends to be a private one rather than a shared experience. The
whole
family dont want to see me typing email etc.

The TV's need a way to convert signals on the data network into a picture
I
can watch and audio I can listen to. Several people already have their
own
"Set Top Box" based on the Via ITX PC's. I see these as highly
suitable for
that task and they could also be used for games etc where only simple
controls are needed. Obviously some form of IR control would be
required.

3. Source devices  - 1 or more servers for the mass storage of
media.
Located in node 0 or similar.
    Live feeds or PVR - dedicated Mini PC with a TV capture
card doing the
recording or streaming. Programs could be buffered on the local hard
disk
and shipped off to the central server as processor resources allowed to
avoid stuttering problems .

4. Control - isnt that what Home Automation is all about :-)
Many of us already run a webserver on our own intranets, be it Apache,
PWS,
IIS or something smaller and more specific such as HomeVision, Homeseer
etc.

With my web based jukebox software, (which also handles video files as
well)
the webserver is only used for searching the database for the file to
be
used and telling the client where to find it. It doesnt need to be on
the
same server so if you want to keep the webserver machine separate form
the
file server you can. You can also add additional file servers if you
need
the extra storage.

Great work has already been done with xAP thanks to a dedicated band of
very
talented and dedicated people. xAP could be the ideal way to pass
commands
to the dedicated Mini PC's that have the sole task of encoding video. In
a
household with low recording demands you could have just one encoding
machine, other houses could have 2 or 3. There is also another option
for
recording... recording the digital data streams from Freeview or
incoming
ADSL feeds. That would have low processor requirements unlike the
conversion
of analogue video.

The biggest stumbling block is the electronic program guide. Digiguide
is
good but is a dedicated application that isnt designed to relinquish
its
valuable data to an external application. I spent a long time devising
my
own TV guide by parsing the HTML files grabbed from ananova and just as
I
was ready to deploy it they redisigned their website and totally screwed
my
application. I havent had time to do anything else on it since. A
reliable
source of TV program data in XML format would give us the information
we
need and work could then start on an application to capture and predict
our
viewing choices as TiVo already does.

With the skills of people on this list we can achieve most of the above
for
a fraction of the cost of the Microsoft system with the added advantage
that
we are free to mix and match operating systems, hardware, and
functionality
as we choose.

Anyway, thats what I would like to see :-)

No doubt others will have different views!!

Keith

www.diyha.co.uk
www.kat5.tv



http://www.automatedhome.co.uk
Post message: ukha_d@xxxxxxx 
Subscribe:  ukha_d-subscribe@xxxxxxx 
Unsubscribe:  ukha_d-unsubscribe@xxxxxxx 
List owner:  ukha_d-owner@xxxxxxx
List of UKHA Groups here - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKHA_Grouplists/

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.