Jump to content

Advice on optimum set up.


gordonj
Go to solution Solved by bloodtaker,

Recommended Posts

I have a Windows Home Server (it is v1 so is 2003) which contains all my media (it's an acer easyStore).  The minimum requirements for MB Server are Windows Server 2008.

 

I decided to install a VM on the Home Server with Windows 2008.  I only have a max of 2GB of Memory to play with so I am running MS Server with 3/4 GB.  I might up it to 1GB (not sure if I can hurt the file serving?).

 

It is functional and has allowed me to try out Media Browser 3.

 

In the beginning I found that images would be very slow to load within Theatre and I am still seeing the odd blank page when I navigate into a movie and also gaps in the DVD covers as I navigate through my list movies.  Sometimes you can wait 30 seconds and it will populate sometimes it seems stuck.  Sometimes things seem very snappy, sometimes not.

 

My machines are all hard wired.

 

I suppose what I am getting at is, do any of you guys do anything like this in your set up and have any general advice?

 

WHS is serving files and backing up PCs, that is all.  I feel that my meagre resources should be able to stretch to running MB Server.  At the moment it is merely okay however the family may not understand that you have to wait sometimes.

 

Having one server box on all the time is enough so is there anything I can do to squeeze these 2 servers to the max?  Is there anything in Windows Server 2008 which can be uninstalled which will aid performance without breaking Media Browser Server?  Is this set up futile?

 

Is Media Browser Theatre caching images and metatdata on the local machine or is it always looking it up on the fly?

 

I do have the option of upgrading WHS to 2011 but I'm not certain I want the pain nor I am sure I want to lose the raid.

 

Sorry for the ramble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Solution
bloodtaker

First question for you what cpu are you using?

 

 

I will say the 2gb memory is going to hurt you if that is the computer you are using as a Media Browser Server and streaming to other computers.

 

The caching is on the server computer.

 

For my setup I have a Amd Phenom II 910e quad-core with 8 gb of ram and tv tuner in it setup as my server. Its setup for energy efficiency since it is always on.

 

I myself tend to either use the website built into MediaBrowserServer or use WMC7 mainly due to my remote only working as expected in WMC7. Any program other than WMC7 it tends to take forever for the key presses to register. It is a known issue with the haupauge remotes sadly.

 

MBT is still a alpha so it is bound to have a few bugs here and there. It does work great though when im setting at the computer not wanting to use the remote. After the inital mediascan that the server does it runs smooth when it comes to displaying images and metadata. I have over 1100 movies and 1500 tv episodes on my server.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply.

 

You have certainly given me food for thought.

 

I think once theatre becomes a release version, I will look at a new server.

 

I can run the old one as a file server.

 

can't recall the processor right now. Atom 64bit of some kind. It has served me well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

bloodtaker

Yeah if its a Atom its going to have issue with trans-coding to other computers on your network.

 

I would go with at least a quad core of either amd or intel to get a decent transcode going.

 

Amd anything above the 910e would work 910e is older so the new ones are the apu's and then the fx series in amd

 

on intel i would go with an i5 or higher

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had tried out the Android App and any videos I watched would stop and start every few seconds. 

 

At the time, I put this down to wireless but as I learn more about the Media Browser 3 architecture, I get the feeling that it is the server which is struggling to get the video out.

 

I'll need to get saving. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...