Hi Guys,

 

With the XBMC Gotham Beta 2 out, I would like to make use of the UPNP library sharing function to maintain an always on XBMC VM which can receive library update commands from ArchVM-SB/CP/NZBDrone.

 

Does this make sense? I have a HTPC running XBMC in the bedroom connected to Unraid however the box is mostly in standby and as such cannot receive library updates as episodes are downloaded.

 

Should I rather pursue trying to WOL the Bedroom XBMC in order to receive the update, rather than trying to create an always on XBMC VM purely to receive updates?

 

Update: I'm trying to install this right now on ArchVM and thought others might find this useful. I will post back if I am successful.

https://github.com/wernerb/docker-xbmc-server/tree/gotham

 

This will allow you to serve files through UPnP to your UPnP clients (such as Xbmc). Docker is used to compile and run the headless version of xbmc.

 

 

Why not use a centralised mysql database? I have 4 different instances of xbmc around the house and I can update my library from any and it's seen on the others instantly.

Surely if you have a vm on your unraid box running mysql receiving library updates from cp/sickbeard etc then your htpc will see it when you wake it up.

The bonus of using this method is that your watched states can also be synced.

 

I will add I'm using Frodo still, so if things have changed with Gotham please do educate me ;-)

 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

 

Why not use a centralised mysql database? I have 4 different instances of xbmc around the house and I can update my library from any and it's seen on the others instantly.

Surely if you have a vm on your unraid box running mysql receiving library updates from cp/sickbeard etc then your htpc will see it when you wake it up.

The bonus of using this method is that your watched states can also be synced.

 

I will add I'm using Frodo still, so if things have changed with Gotham please do educate me ;-)

 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

Gotham can work the same. I have 4 clients on beta 3 using a shared MariaDB sql server running on an UnRAID VM. I think I read somewhere that Gotham is the last build to support this as it's going to move to a multi-master model (potentially like Nokoff is trying to setup, but I haven't really looked into it), but MySQL/MariaDB still works fine in Gotham.

Gotham can work the same. I have 4 clients on beta 3 using a shared MariaDB sql server running on an UnRAID VM.

Me too!

 

I think I read somewhere that Gotham is the last build to support this as it's going to move to a multi-master model

 

That's unwelcome news but, perhaps, unsurprising, considering the changes to art which were introduced in Frodo.

 

I adopted XBMC/OpenELEC (having moved away from PopCornHour) just because it allowed minimalistic clients, with all the media maintenance being performed in a central server.  My media players are all diskless - the AMD450 devices using PXE boot, and the ARM devices booting from flash.

 

What would this change mean for all those who are putting effort into ARM-based (including RPi) players.  There seem to be a number of manufacturers bringing out new ARM devices (I have a Matrix as well as several Pis) aimed at the media player market.

 

If the XBMC team really are going in the 'multi-master' direction, I foresee the project branching.

It's also possibly that I am not communicating their intention correctly.

 

I have no idea where I read that, but did a quick search and came across the following:

 

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=184083

 

http://xbmc.org/xbmc-13-0-gotham-beta1-rises/

 

The second post talks about improved UPnP where the clients "speak to each other", which is where they are heading.

 

I don't what (if anything) this means for Pi and other ARM devices, though unless they get better (more specifically PI) I don't see a large adoption. I found it way too slow to use (though Gotham is supposed to improve it somewhat). Even with lighter skins you need (well I need) more horsepower.

 

I am much happier with the Asus ChromeBox I bought which is much more responsive (and now can support OpenELEC), but it's pricier. I am looking at picking up an Amazon FireTV next month to try as well since it more in the PI price range.

Why not use a centralised mysql database? I have 4 different instances of xbmc around the house and I can update my library from any and it's seen on the others instantly.

Surely if you have a vm on your unraid box running mysql receiving library updates from cp/sickbeard etc then your htpc will see it when you wake it up.

The bonus of using this method is that your watched states can also be synced.

 

I will add I'm using Frodo still, so if things have changed with Gotham please do educate me ;-)

 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

Hey dude the specific thing you haven't mentioned here is the piece of software to update your SQL database. I already installed Maria dB on my download box to hold the library but sickbeard cannot interact with the database directly, it needs something like xbmc salud plugin to actually receive the update from SB and then do the work to update the database. Hence the link I provides which claims to so exactly that however I was unable to get it to work

 

Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Tapatalk

 

 

Just to clear some stuff up.

 

XBMC devs have always hated mysql support because under the hood the implementation sucks (hence why it is STILL only in beta and officially unsupported). I believe Mysql support will be dropped in favor of uPnP library sharing once it is feature comparable.

 

I cant predict the future but I would be very surprised if mysql support was dropped in 14. I can only see this happening if the replacement blows the old methods away and is universally accepted but it is no where near that stage yet and until XBMC can run headless (officially) I cant see them getting universal acceptance.

 

So use mysql with confidence this now. There are tens of thousands of us

 

Hey dude the specific thing you haven't mentioned here is the piece of software to update your SQL database. I already installed Maria dB on my download box to hold the library but sickbeard cannot interact with the database directly, it needs something like xbmc salud plugin to actually receive the update from SB and then do the work to update the database. Hence the link I provides which claims to so exactly that however I was unable to get it to work

 

Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Tapatalk

 

Apologises for my previous post, I now understand where you are struggling.

 

Sadly I don't have any solution for you as I don't have this setup myself, however I will keep an eye on this thread for one as its something I plan on doing in future myself. My initial thought was perhaps a Linux distro vm running a copy of xbmc (or even xbmcbuntu) constantly to receive update commands, this could be a multi purpose vm also hosting your database or even other apps. Would that be a viable option for you?

 

Good luck with it, hope you find a solution

 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

Just to clear some stuff up.

 

XBMC devs have always hated mysql support because under the hood the implementation sucks (hence why it is STILL only in beta and officially unsupported). I believe Mysql support will be dropped in favor of uPnP library sharing once it is feature comparable.

 

I cant predict the future but I would be very surprised if mysql support was dropped in 14. I can only see this happening if the replacement blows the old methods away and is universally accepted but it is no where near that stage yet and until XBMC can run headless (officially) I cant see them getting universal acceptance.

 

So use mysql with confidence this now. There are tens of thousands of us

 

You're right. In fact xbmc devs have openly said that they will drop mysql in the future and it will be replaced with upnp. I have been using mysql for years, but just to test I did a fresh install of Gotham, with a local library and tested upnp. I was very disappointed by the implementation. It has a looong way to go to replace mysql.

 

Unfortunately though, xbmc devs have already dropped support for mysql. A couple of mysql bugs I reported in frodo last year were ignored. The answer was no dev was interested in fixing them.

 

I since switched to plex for all secondary media steamers. I have a roku and a chromecast and they work great with Plex. On the main htpc in the living room I still have xbmc mainly because of cinema experience and the pseudo tv plugins. And the aeon mq5 skin is gorgeous.

 

So I basically no longer need mysql or similar solutions. Plex takes care of all secondary or mobile devices.

 

And trakt.tv syncs the two perfectly

 

Hey dude the specific thing you haven't mentioned here is the piece of software to update your SQL database. I already installed Maria dB on my download box to hold the library but sickbeard cannot interact with the database directly, it needs something like xbmc salud plugin to actually receive the update from SB and then do the work to update the database. Hence the link I provides which claims to so exactly that however I was unable to get it to work

 

Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Tapatalk

 

Apologises for my previous post, I now understand where you are struggling.

 

Sadly I don't have any solution for you as I don't have this setup myself, however I will keep an eye on this thread for one as its something I plan on doing in future myself. My initial thought was perhaps a Linux distro vm running a copy of xbmc (or even xbmcbuntu) constantly to receive update commands, this could be a multi purpose vm also hosting your database or even other apps. Would that be a viable option for you?

 

Good luck with it, hope you find a solution

 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

My first attempt was to para virtualize a windows 8 VM and install XBMC (only because I am more familiar with windows) then install Gotham. The problem with this was it was chewing up my system resources when XBMC was running big time, unfortunately it doesn't make sense to keep it running for that single purpose. Its a waste of resources.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Tapatalk