I'm trying to add another PC to my network here with the goal of simply watching captured shows from my master server. I don't wanna use boot the new machine from the CD everytime, so I just installed R4 and from mythtv-setup, edited the sources so that 192.168.0.4 (IP of master server) was entered in both places for the view only box.

Hardware specifics of view only box: P2-450, gateway 440BX chipset motherboard w/ onboard everything (you know how gateway does it). 512 meg EDO ram.

I can get the GUI up okay, and I can read my database on my master server (192.168.0.4) because when I select 'watch recorded shows' all of them are there... the problem is I can't view the captured TV shows.

I did comment out skip-networking in my /etc/mysql/my.cnf on the master and I also restarted mysql before trying to use the other box as a frontend.

So... here's the error as seen on the view only box:

sh-2.05b$ mythtv
mythtv: could not connect to socket
mythtv: Connection refused
Failed to create lirc socket for mythtv
Unable to open mixer: '/dev/mixer'
connecting to backend server: 192.168.0.4:6543
ASSERT: "i <= nodes" in /usr/share/qt3/include/qvaluelist.h (372)
ASSERT: "i <= nodes" in /usr/share/qt3/include/qvaluelist.h (372)
ASSERT: "i <= nodes" in /usr/share/qt3/include/qvaluelist.h (372)
QGDict::hashKeyString: Invalid null key
QGDict::hashKeyString: Invalid null key
QGDict::hashKeyString: Invalid null key
QGDict::hashKeyString: Invalid null key
sh-2.05b$

Thanks for the help all

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

OK... setup the IP address of the master server ON the master server and almost everything is good.

Now I can see the shows AND I can see the little preview window. It changes as I hilight different shows. Now, can someone tell me why when I try to view a show, all I get is a blank monitor? I know it's talking to the db on the master because I see the listing AND I see the preview video just fine.

Thanks again all!

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

If this is a frontend only, you don't have to run mythtv-setup. All you need is mysql.txt with the info for the IP of the backend and the password(mythtv).

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Well... if I boot from the CD in frontend mode, I can play the captured shows just fine. When I reboot from the HD and attempt to do so... blank screen! I cannot figure it out. Nor can I get any debugging info because once I start to play the vid, it freezes. I have to restart gdm to unlock it.

Any ideas?

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

The way you describe setting it up, it acts like a slave backend. This this shouldn't effect on playing the video, I don't what effect it has since it doesn't have a tuner card, etc.

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Get this: after I followed the knoppmyth readmes, my backend master stopped working. Here's what I did:



Well, upon doing that, I could not access the database on the backend master. I could browse to tv>watch shows, but from there, it locked. If I commented the line back the way it was (#skip-networking) all is well.

Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

_________________
Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

Did you:
?
This has to be done on the backend not the frontend. All the frontend need is mysql with the right information....

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Yes I did:

on backend machine whose IP is 192.168.0.4:

$ mythtv-setup
option 1
set both options to 192.168.0.4

I know you said it doesn't matter, but I've tried it many different ways on slave/viewing box whose IP is 192.168.0.3:

$ mythtv-setup
option 1
set master ip to 192.168.0.4
set ip of own machine to 192.168.0.3 also tried 127.0.0.1 and 192.168.0.4

...one of the options is for the master ip, the other is ip of <machinename>

I wonder if this is somehow a problem with the on board video card. Like i said, when I boot with the CD in fronend mode, it plays these just fine.

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

Here's what I did to setup a KnoppMyth frontend that boots from the hard disk. (I'm being wordy in case someone with limited linux experience wants to follow along.)

First, on the backend, in mythtv-setup/General set both IP addresses to be the IP of the backend server.

Then, as root in a terminal window, /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend restart (just to make sure the changes are registered.)

For the frontend I chose automatic install. After the reboot and the network setup (I chose to enter static network info) the Myth backend setup was started. I ignored it.

I opened a terminal window as root and did the following:

/etc/init.d/mysql stop (you don't want it running on the frontend)
/etc/init.d/mythtv-backend stop (shouldn't be running but just in case.)
mv /etc/init.d/mysql /etc/init.d/orig-mysql (don't let it start on boot.)
mv /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend /etc/init.d/orig-mythtv-backend
vi /usr/share/mythtv/mysql.txt
Change DBHostName to IP of backend server.
Change DBPassword to mythtv
Change LocalHostName to something unique
Save and exit.

The next two commands prevent the backend setup from being run on the frontend each time the computer boots:
rm /home/mythtv/.newcard
rm /home/mythtv/.configure

Reboot the frontend.

That worked for me.

I have tried using the CD as a frontend on my laptop and this works ok. I would like to do a frontend only install to a linux partition on the laptop, but I can't use the auto-install option because it will blow away my windoze stuff.

What's the best way to do it ?

Pete

A manual install. Read the directions carefully. Depending on the version of WIndows you are using, you DON"T install LILO to the MBR. Plenty of resource exist on the web on how to dual boot.

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Thanks for all the great replies all. I still can't get a picture unless I boot from the CD. Here's the problem: the P2-450 doesn't have enough horsepower to decode the mpeg-2! It does it, but at about 10 fps! Audio is equally choppy.

Have to wait until I have some money for a 1900+ and a case I suspose. No frontend in the bedroom for now...

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

Mike, just wanted to say thanks for that very nice howto (maybe you should post it to the howto section). It worked for me just fine.

_________________
Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.