Support local paths for timeshift and recording

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tripkip
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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:28 pm

Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by tripkip » Thu May 07, 2015 3:52 pm

I don't see a limitation why Argus TV requires a shared folder. Local (mapped) folders should work.
In my case it's particularly hard to have a shared drive available.
I'm using a tool to create a ramdisk and the tool allows me to do this automatically after reboot.
However, Windows will not recreate the shared drive on that *new* hard drive (tool creates a new virtual drive after reboot).

Infidelus
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Location: UK

Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by Infidelus » Thu May 07, 2015 5:04 pm

I'm sure there was a discussion on this in the dim and distant past, but I'm feeling lazy so haven't searched the forums :)

I agree though in principle. I don't see any reason why we need a UNC path for recording. Most people probably record to their local drives (there will be exceptions, me included), so permissions shouldn't be an issue. If a user is recording to a network share, then they probably have an idea of how to set that up anyway.

logifuse
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:17 am

Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by logifuse » Sat May 09, 2015 1:01 am

It's not for the server, it's for the clients.

Infidelus
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Location: UK

Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by Infidelus » Sat May 09, 2015 11:04 am

That's OK, but if you only use one machine to record and play, having to set up a share is completely unnecessary.

I'd imagine most users are more likely to be recording to a local path than a network share. If you plan on setting the recording path up to be shared across the network, you still have to do that yourself anyway because Argus TV doesn't create the share or set the permissions for you, so there's no real reason Argus TV needs to force you down the UNC path route.

logifuse
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Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by logifuse » Sun May 10, 2015 3:23 am

I disagree - Argus isn't a front end, let alone an all in one solution. Given that all it is is a server, configuring it to service any possible client, including network clients, by default is logical.

Yes, I'm certain that 90+% of users would/do record to a local folder (I do), but to assume that they would also view from a local folder is incorrect, as one of the biggest selling points of Argus is the TV over LAN aspect. e.g. my server is in my garage. It services a PC with MediaPortal in my loungeroom, an OpenElec PC in my bedroom, MP/XBMC in my office, numerous Android clients, plus I access the scheduler console from my desktop in my office. All of which need shares rather than local access.

If you want a simple all in one option, then MP is configured that way, with the ability to give clients access down the track, but Argus isn't a front end.

Infidelus
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Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by Infidelus » Sun May 10, 2015 11:54 am

You're missing my point.

It's not about whether Argus is providing a server service or not. You shouldn't have to set up a UNC if you don't need it, and even if you do want to share your media, you certainly shouldn't need the timeshift folder shared. What is the point of that? None whatsoever from what I can see. It's just a pointless share. The fact Argus only does 1/2 a job at it makes it worse, not better. It rams a UNC path down your throat but doesn't configure it for you, so if you're an end user that has no idea about networking or permissions, you're going to run into problems.

Don't get me wrong, being able to share files around the network is great, and I'm all for it, but it's not Argus TV's job, and if the software isn't going to do the setup for you (which I wouldn't recommend anyway from a security standpoint), it has the potential to cause more harm than good with user frustration.

logifuse
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:17 am

Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by logifuse » Mon May 11, 2015 5:37 am

I am missing your point, because the way you're using Argus is completely different to me & anyone else I know who uses it, so it doesn't seem logical to me.

The timeshift share is for any client that watches live TV - they read the .TS file directly from it. RTSP (the other option of watching live or recorded TV) is too slow for channel changing & has other issues.

You're looking at the shares the wrong way - they're simply a means for the clients to directly access the recordings & live TV .TS files while viewing them through the preferred client which interacts with the scheduler database.

Emby (formally Media Browser) works in pretty much the same way for other media if you want to avoid it transcoding (which you do for a client that's a decent PC). It does have the ability to set the media paths as local on the server, but then you MUST add the UNC translation to allow the clients to access them - perhaps a tweak like this might be a suitable middle ground?

Edit: Here is how Emby allows local to be converted to UNC
EmbyPaths.JPG
EmbyPaths.JPG (34.65 KiB) Viewed 24877 times
At the moment, configuring Argus with working shares by default keeps it universal. It will work with a local client & it will work with a network client. Configuring to a local path means local only, & then you need changes down the track (& probable database issues) if you want to add network clients.

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tripkip
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Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by tripkip » Mon May 11, 2015 9:23 am

logifuse, You convinced me that the shares are necessary. Thanks.

Infidelus
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Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by Infidelus » Mon May 11, 2015 8:42 pm

logifuse, I don't use Argus any differently than you. I'm playing devil's advocate. I'm quite happy with my networking skills but others may not be, and I while I applaud Dot-i for the software he's created that we all use, I think the implementation of some features need work. Sadly I'm not a developer or I might look at the the bits that have been open-sourced myself.

You shouldn't need two network shares to play some media. Argus may be all about sharing media, but at its core it's a recorder & scheduler, and you don't need to map drives to work on a single machine. Again I'm sure there are a quite a few users that do this. It should, in my opinion, be an (advanced) option. That way, if you need that functionality, you can enable it and then set up your shares. The principle Keep It Simple Stupid springs to mind.

logifuse
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:17 am

Re: Support local paths for timeshift and recording

Post by logifuse » Wed May 13, 2015 5:37 am

I agree that on the surface, 2 different shares doesn't seem right, but it does allow you to have timeshift on a specific drive, such as a RAM disk or a faster HDD.

The initial configuration is quite fiddly - the translation option (like Emby) as an advanced option would probably be better.

However, I still think that the network aspect is as important as the scheduler/recorder - I came from WMC to MP with its TV Service & finally to Argus specifically for the network TV capability.

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