MySQL Database: Multiple XBMC HTPC's with 1 Shared Library

hydog Wrote:Thanks -- to clarify one thing -- you can't separate the movie from the tv show video database right...guess it wouldn't matter, but just working to get my head around this and start figuring it out

Correct. Both are in the video DB.

patseguin Wrote:Please excuse my stupidity but what's the reason to use MySQL?

From the XBMC Wiki:

If you have more than one XBMC device on your local network then you might want to synchronize them using a MySQL library. Using a MySQL library allows you to store information about your whole video library in a central database, so that multiple XBMC devices can access the same information at the same time. This gives you the ability to:

•Share watched and unwatched status for your media on all devices
•Stop watching a movie or TV show in one room then finish watching it in another room automatically
•Only one library to maintain for all devices

patseguin Wrote:Please excuse my stupidity but what's the reason to use MySQL?

And sql-lite doesn't like concurrent users

I'm confused as to why XBMC using MySQL can't distinguish that different clients might need different sources (some shared, some separate). I have 3 sources, Movies, TV and Other. In one room I want to view all 3 sources but in the other I only want Movies and TV. Right now data from all 3 sources is stored in the database and shows up on both clients even if the "other" source is not included on that client. Wouldn't it be a fairly simple query to say only show movies where the source is in my source list? I haven't poked around in the DB but surely the source is stored in the movies table?

Chimera2345 Wrote:I'm confused as to why XBMC using MySQL can't distinguish that different clients might need different sources (some shared, some separate). I have 3 sources, Movies, TV and Other. In one room I want to view all 3 sources but in the other I only want Movies and TV. Right now data from all 3 sources is stored in the database and shows up on both clients even if the "other" source is not included on that client. Wouldn't it be a fairly simple query to say only show movies where the source is in my source list? I haven't poked around in the DB but surely the source is stored in the movies table?

The sources file isn't used at all for the actual video library (local or MySQL). It's kind of like a source just for file mode/view, then it gets scanned into the DB with the file location. This is why changing your sources won't update the library automatically.

For a MySQL setup, XBMC is using the MySQL DB exactly as it would for a local DB. That's why in the wiki guide it says to have all sources you want to use on MySQL to be sharable to all XBMC devices that are using MySQL.

You could use Profiles to switch to a local DB for your local source, though. I have something kind of like that for my laptop and iPhone (with XBMC). Or have just the default profile, but use smart playlists to filter out certain content for certain devices (using path matching).

Thanks Ned, I have it right now with all sources shared then the extra source that I need added on the client that needs it but set not to be included in the library, that way I can at least access it from file mode (added as a favorite so I can hide the video menu). I haven't looked at smart playlists though, I'll have to take a look at that. The other option as you said is a 2nd profile that just contains the additional source and nothing else, and if I want to play movies from that source I can switch.

Thanks for the clarification.

DasMarx Wrote:snip

regarding my post about XBMC taking forever to open my movies list.

I checked what it is doing at that time with wireshark and it looks like this pattern:

Steps:
1. ask mysql about 1 specific thumbnail
2. check that thumbnail
3. go to 1 if there are more movies


Seriously?
This is pretty much the worst way to check this. The mysql answer is about 1-2 ms but the answer for the specific thumbnail takes about 20 ms for each movie. Regarding 2000 movies this takes 40 sec. Is there no way to make this dynamicly when asking for that thumbnail when displaying it?

DasMarx Wrote:Seriously?
This is pretty much the worst way to check this. The mysql answer is about 1-2 ms but the answer for the specific thumbnail takes about 20 ms for each movie. Regarding 2000 movies this takes 40 sec. Is there no way to make this dynamicly when asking for that thumbnail when displaying it?

I don't know the details (not a programmer myself) but we did have a problem a while back where XBMC would make thousands of connections to the MySQL server at once. Maybe the fix went overkill? I could be totally off about how this all works, though. I'll ask around and see what our MySQL experts on the team have to say.

It's not asking mysql at all about the existence of a thumbnail. The thumbnail check is a simple file stat. As the thumbnail is probably located on a network share (via pathsubstitution) this is slow as hell.

I've said about a million times that this is A BAD IDEA for exactly this reason.

Note that it won't be solved until the thumbs move into the texture cache (I'm about 70% of the way there for video thumbs).

Cheers,
Jonathan

I don't know what you call those, but i think they are Mysql questions about files.
Those happen after clicking on movies and will last for about 30 sec till i see the movies for the first time.



PS: I am not using pathsubstitution. I use symbolic links