MythMusic

[UKenGB]

First of all, I'd like to apologise for posting this. I did try searching the forum for existing threads that might help, but as per usual I was simply informed the word MythMusic was too common for the search engine to even bother looking. This is a particularly irritating piece of nonsense that keeps hampering my attempts to learn more about MythTV and really is the daftest lack of functionality I've ever come across in a forum.

I also might have been able to avoid having to ask what might appear to be very basic questions had there been any decent documentation on the subject. There's pages of it, but it simply fails to tell me what I actually need to know. Hence I have to resort to bothering you all again and asking tiresome questions.

MythTV is very obviously a client/server system with a defined backend and a defined and independent front end. In my case, as seems the obviously optimum solution, I have a backend and will use many front ends. This is what I think is a standout feature of MythTV. But so much of the general documentation makes no clear distinction between these 2 very different entities and it's left up to the reader to have to figure it out for themselves, which since they are reading the docs in the first place kinda suggests they ain't already experts. So one can easily be left in a chicken and egg impasse. But back to my questions:-

So, to start off with, where does MythMusic fit into the MythTV scheme of things? Where would it be installed? Obviously something is needed on the front end, but it apparently uses MySQL. Is that the same MySQL instance as the backend uses? What about the media storage? ALL my media is in Storage Groups on the backend, the frontends being MiniMyth diskless boxes. So where does MythMusic expect to find the music media? Local storage on the frontend is a no go for me obviously, but if it's stored on the backend, how does the frontend see it? Does it require explicit NFS shares to do this or use MythTV's own built-in communications between front and back ends?

It does appear that MythBuntu includes MythMusic, but it is shown in the MythBuntu Control Centre/Plug-ins as a frontend plug-in. Yet the above would indicate that it does rely on a lot of backend components. Or does it?

For anyone already familiar with MythMusic this is really basic stuff, but without any documentation that actually explains it all, it's as clear as mud to me. So I'd really appreciate it if someone could clarify some of these issues for me.

Thanks.

[pvr4me]

The forum is less than 2 years old--the mailings lists and the wiki have tonnes more info than has accumulated here. Thus, searching them is much more likely to bear fruit, such as:

https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Mythmusic

Craig

[UKenGB]

Indeed and that's the main culprit as it simply doesn't answer my questions. That entire page contains NO reference to either frontend or backend. Ultimately it's good to know what codecs it can support etc, but first, I'd really like to know where it needs to be installed and an overview of how it functions, how the pieces fit together.

As I've said elsewhere, I really believe in MythTYV, but gaining sufficient understanding to get it all set up is like pulling teeth.

[PhilB]

I have not used mythmusic but my working assumption would be that information about the music is held in the database on the back end, the music itself on a back end but you play it on a frontend. That is how recordings work.

As for the documentation, we have to remember that all this stuff is voluntary. Stirling work has been done but it is up to all of us to help improve it. In a month or so when you understand it please go back to the documentation and just add the odd clarification 'on the backend' or 'on the frontend' etc.

Best wishes
Phil

[UKenGB]

Yes I know and it's all free, so I can't complain and I'm really extremely grateful for all the effort that goes into these things. But it can get very frustrating sometimes when it seems impossible to find out the smallest, most basic details. Once I am more conversant with it all, I will do my best to put it some effort to improve things. I see MythTV as being a very long term project for me, so worth the effort.

[halucigenia]

Does it require explicit NFS shares to do this or use MythTV's own built-in communications between front and back ends?

As far as I know yes, MythMusic does require a direct path to the location of your audio files and does not work with Storage groups.
I have NFS shares from all of my Mythtv PCs to all of my other Mythtv PCs making sure to have different paths on each PC as Mythtv gets confused if you make the paths the same.
There is a setting in Mythtv frontend Setup>MediaSettings>Music Settings>General Settings called "Directory to hold music" where the path is set.
E.g. on my mater backend it is mnt/local/[master backend PCName]/library/audio/music
and on my main frontend it is mnt/remote/[master backend PCName]/library/audio/music

[UKenGB]

That's good info thanks. My music will remain on the Mac Server and shared to my Mac and also at the moment to the MythTV backend (just set that up). But going by what you say, looks like it would make more sense to mount the music directly on the frontends and not on the backend at all.

This is the sort of thing I wanted to get a handle on first so I don't waste time going down a dead end.

Thanks again.

[halucigenia]

looks like it would make more sense to mount the music directly on the frontends and not on the backend at all.

Unless you run mythtv frontend/mythmusic on the backend box and have a separate array mounted on the backend box like I do in my study.
Each to their own needs and requirements.

[UKenGB]

I have all the music on a Mac Server (for iTunes and TVs etc) and will store all videos (i.e. recordings and all other forms) on the MythTV backend server. They then cross mount, so each has access to the other's media and My Mac mounts both media types from both servers. So the media only exists once, the Mac Server backs up to a Time Capsule (not in the same building) and I will add another external HD to that, which will be used to back up the MythServer's media content (i.e. the videos, recordings etc). At least, that's the plan.

So now I'll need to forget mounting the music on the MythTV backend and instead set up each frontend to mount the music from the Mac Server. It's all NFS, so not a major deal, just would prefer to be able to understand everything first so I don't make these simple errors. I had (incorrectly I now realise) assumed that the MythMusic would be handled in the same way as other media, i.e. stored on the backend and accessed/retrieved by the frontends as needed. But it appears to be entirely different. Luckily I don't think it's a major problem, but there night be ramifications that I need to consider.

[natanojl]

The development version has been updated to use a storage group called Music. This means that you don't have to use NFS on the frontends any longer.

[UKenGB]

Ooh, now that would be rather ideal. First of all, when might that make it into the mainstream and also, will MythMusic be able to access this media in the same way that the rest of the frontend accesses videos etc?

[UKenGB]

Another question has occurred to me. How do music videos fit into the MythTV universe?

iTunes actually stores them alongside the Music, so an album folder would contain the MP3s (or whatever format) and also any music videos specified as being a part of that album. IMO, this is not ideal, but it's not the first time Apple have ignored my suggestions:-) Anyway, in order to play these through MythTV, would that have to be done through MythVideo, or can MythMusic play video?

It just will determine where and how I store them, so would be handy to know.

[paulh]

MythMusic can't play videos so they would have to go in MythVideo.

[UKenGB]

Thanks for that. I suspected this was the case.