I have been wondering what kind of setup for home networking and media access people use, as they have been trying to build one of my own and I would interested in other ideas on how to improve it or what alternatives people are using.
This is what I came up so far:
Router: Linksys WRT320N
WiFi, Local Network
DynDNS to have fixed address for dynamic IP
Central Storage / Media server: QNAP 219p
runs Samba/NFS shares,
UPnP server
Download station (http/torrent)
controlled through web interface
bonus: low power consumption
Media Player: TV + WD TV Live Box.
WD TV has DLNA, UPnP connectivity and can access network shares.
WD can also be flashed for custom firmware WDLXTV, that has a few extra options like streaming apple trailers, Revision 5, etc right to your TV.
Media Player: Ubuntu PC + notebook/Windows Notebook.
automount several shares from QNAP
runs XBMC to access QNAP UPnP for media streaming
Mobile: Desire HD
Qmobile to stream my QNAP media (wifi or 3g) - it is developed by QNAP themselved, but they still have a lot of room for improvement.
PCFileSync - I have setup a special share on QNAP, that syncs with my Android device with PCFileSync. The app itself is launched by Tasker whenever the phone connects to my home SSID. Unfortunatelly it does not autokill, once I leave my network, as Kill does not work on Froyo. (I am hoping for PCFileSync tasker plugin)
The phone can see the WD TV DLNA service and I can stream any video from the phone right to my WD TV as long as the HTC media player can play it (this is somewhat limiting to mp4 I guess)
Tasker to check location, turn wifi on/off and connect me to my home server
Astro file manager to access samba shares
TwonkyMedia Server to create another UPnP server from my phone, but desires DLNA now took over the Twonky functions.
Andromote to control UPnP device like WD TV Live - not very reliable for now, cannot really build playlist etc.
TODO list:
Better remote control WD TV Live from Android. Andromote more or less works on a good day, but I am looking for a more reliable alternative. WDLXTV has a Webinterface, so that maybe one way of doing it.
OpenVPN service running on my router. I have a vague idea this should be possible by flashing a custom firmware to the router, but I did not have the courage a time to start fiddling with it. But a lot of media streaming like UPnP work only on local network, so to get it running truly mobile, I guess needs to be done.
X10/Insteon Home Automation - still exploring what kind of solution to choose. X10 with Heyu linux libraries should run on QNAP as it runs linux itself, but I cannot find the CM11E module on sale anywhere and the newer CM15Pro does not seem to work with linux. And I do not really want to set up another home server. Any tips or suggestion would be appreciated.
Thanks for you tips and suggestions.
Is it currently possible for me to use my tablet, or phone to stream content from my NAS or server in my home network?
Ruzzah said:
Is it currently possible for me to use my tablet, or phone to stream content from my NAS or server in my home network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes...(and I'm going to assume you mean to the Chromecast).
Only two options available now...
Plex Player and aVia....
Option 1 - aVia Player should work with any DLNA server provided the files on the server/NAS are already compatible with Chromecast.
Option 2 - Plex has a Server AND a Player component. The server will transcode any file to be compatible with Chromecast. But the Plex Player only works with the Plex Server. And currently (temporarily actually) in order to stream content to Chromecast with Plex requires a PlexPass account. The server software is free, There are two players available one that requires a PlexPass account and another (Plex for Android) that does not (exception being that it won't work with Chromecast for now but will soon).
Plex Server will work with both aVia and obviously Plex Players. And will probably work with any future DLNA players that have Chromecast support in the future such as Bubble or Twonky.
Most NAS systems available today HAVE some sort of Media/DLNA server built into it! SO you should check your NAS to see if it already has that capability.
WD My Book has Twonky Server built in
NetGear has Plex built into it
Seagate has some proprietary thing that does not work at all! Unfortunately I have one of those and had to set up a server on another machine just to get that capability.
If money isn't an issue for you and you don't mind paying for the PlexPass account (you can get a lifetime account for $75) then I recommend Plex as it does transcoding and works much better with Chromecast than aVia does presently.
Also note that some issues with aVia have been encountered with people on JB 4.1.2 but not 4.1.1, Not sure if that means everything above 4.1.1 has issues though....Expect aVia to fix that at some point.
I currently have 4.3.1 on my phone and 4.4.2 on my tablet. Also what type of movies are compatible, and would I need a transcoder for the chromecast to work with the files?
Ruzzah said:
I currently have 4.3.1 on my phone and 4.4.2 on my tablet. Also what type of movies are compatible, and would I need a transcoder for the chromecast to work with the files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need Plex Media Server or upload to RealPlayer Cloud for real-time transcoding of anything that is not in a Chromecast-compatible format.
See 2.b, 2.c and 2.d in the FAQ.
Ruzzah said:
Is it currently possible for me to use my tablet, or phone to stream content from my NAS or server in my home network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could also use the modified AllCast with BubbleUPNP on a rooted Chromecast. Using this method I haven't had issues with MKV files and MP4 files.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47503538&postcount=98
Is it possible to cast movies in a non compatible chromecast format (avi, divx, etc) via Avia using a Plex media server?
I havent had any luck doing so. I thought the plex media server would transcode the movie to a compatible format on the go?
What about using the plex app for android with the plex pass? Would that work ? Would it do the transcoding on the go ?
burdo said:
Is it possible to cast movies in a non compatible chromecast format (avi, divx, etc) via Avia using a Plex media server?
I havent had any luck doing so. I thought the plex media server would transcode the movie to a compatible format on the go?
What about using the plex app for android with the plex pass? Would that work ? Would it do the transcoding on the go ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Plex server should be transcoding the media on the fly for you. What are the specs of the machine that's the Plex server?
I don't believe the Android app can transcode as it's just a client.
Sent from a device with no keyboard. Please forgive typos, they may not be my own.
I'll try and paste the answer from our PM so the rest of the folks can benefit...
burdo said:
Is it possible to cast movies in a non compatible chromecast format (avi, divx, etc) via Avia using a Plex media server?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hit or Miss (depending on the video format) but the answer is probably not. When using aVia the Plex server can't transcode for CCast as it doesn't even know it exists.What Transcoding Plex might use (if any) when aVia requests a stream is unclear since there is no profile specifically for the aVia (profiles are usually for devices not software and it is up to the software to identify what it needs which may not be the case with aVia).
burdo said:
I havent had any luck doing so. I thought the plex media server would transcode the movie to a compatible format on the go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transcoding may or may not happen and even when it does happen what it transcodes to varies from device to device. Only when the App making the request identifies itself as THIS TYPE OF DEVICE (or Profile) will Plex know how to transcode for it and do so. aVia Devs could probably solve this problem at some point so all of what I'm saying could change if they wanted it to.
burdo said:
What about using the plex app for android with the plex pass? Would that work ? Would it do the transcoding on the go ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES! Plex for Android and Plex for PlexPass will both play files that are not chromecast compatible and transcode them for playback on the CCast, but there will probably be some exception to that from time to time where a file doesn't transcode so easily, or the Plex Transcoder itself doesn't like the file.
The difference is in how the two methods approach playback on the CCast.
Plex treats the CCast like a DLNA player and the Plex Apps don't ever actually play the video itself they merely tell the CCast to get it directly from the Server which makes the Server use the CCast Transcoding profile and rules.
aVia acts as a sort of Middleman where it gets the data and then forwards it to the CCast.(Note this is best Guess not CERTAIN by any means only aVia devs know for sure!) This means the server has no idea the CCast is being used and sends what stream it thinks the aVia can handle (which may not be compatible with CCast.)
Method 1 (Plex) - You pick a file in PlexApp and tell it to cast it, Plex app sends a command to CCast to go get the file from the server. Server transcodes for CCast and the file plays directly on CCast
Method 2 (aVia) - You pick a file in aVia and tell it to cast it, aVia tells the server to send it to aVia then aVia sends the data to the CCast.
Best combination right now for streaming Plex Server (and incompatible) content to CCast are the Plex apps...If Plex Server can recognize the file it should transcode properly for CCast.
Unfortunately (as we speak) to use the Plex apps with CCast requires a PlexPass account (Not free). This is only temporary and it will not be required in the near future.
So if money is not a big issue I suggest trying it for a month by getting a month of PlexPass and giving it a good test run. Hopefully by the time that Month is done PlexPass will no longer be required to stream to CCast after that.
Just to be a little clearer on when and how transcoding happens...
The PLAYER is the key to transcode/Not Transcode and is the one responsible for communicating to the Plex Server what it requires as far as transcoding is concerned. It is the player communicating with the server that tells Plex Server which profile to use when the player makes a request to get the file.
In the Plex System the Player resides on and is written FOR the CCast and it tells the Plex server it is a CCast.
In aVia it is unclear what the aVia player tells the Plex server or that it gives PlexServer any information about itself or it's intentions of what it plans to do with the file at all.
Without any information about it's target Plex server may not do any transcoding or if minimal information is given during the file request it may use a generic profile which may not be as compatible with CCast as lets say a Android profile might be.
And let me be clear (and Fair to the aVia Devs). We are just GUESSING based on observations on how aVia seems to be working in conjunction with CCast. The best place to get answers (and solutions as well) is to ask these questions regarding aVia on their support site (if they have one).
Not only will they be much more informed at how their app works but your Question may even lead them to change or update their code to work much better in a transcoding environment where casting to CCast is concerned.
They may already be working on these things, or we could be totally off base in how aVia is doing what it does.
And I don't want to give the impression that aVia is doing something wrong or that Plex is better for anything other than streaming from PlexServer at the moment.
aVia does many things the Plex Apps will NOT DO such as casting Local ON UNIT files that PlexApps simply doesn't do.
And other than the temporary requirement of needing a PlexPass to cast to CCast with Plex, In the end having BOTH APPS (aVia and Plex) will make a very Versatile and Complementary tandem to stream any kind of local content (be it Plex Server or ON UNIT) to the CCast.
I'm currently using Plex Media Server on my desktop to host my music (app is free for the PC) and then use Avia on my phone or tablet to access the Plex Media Server and stream to my chromecast on my home theater. Its a good work around until chromcast features are free on Plex.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
mpgwrx said:
I'm currently using Plex Media Server on my desktop to host my music (app is free for the PC) and then use Avia on my phone or tablet to access the Plex Media Server and stream to my chromecast on my home theater. Its a good work around until chromcast features are free on Plex.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To add to that there is a temporary workaround (that always worked) if your on a PC.
Just load up the Media Manager of Plex Server (it is browser based) and use the the GoogleCast extension in Chrome to send the stream to the CCast no PlexPass is needed.
This is similar to the way aVia works except for the fact that because your on a PC and have the power and buffer space to Transcode, The GoogleCast extension will make a CCast compatible stream out of it.
Probably won't get any surround sound goodness doing it that way but it is a good stopgap method until PlexPass is no longer required.
Good to know!!!
I wanted to let you know guys that plex just added native streaming to chromecast via browser, just as youtube or netflix. No need to use the cast extension anymore. Works perfect for every format I tried and every codec. AVI, MPG, MP4, MKV,etc
You need to have your plex server setup and published (so it can be access externally). Check if it is in settings/plex media server/ myplex. If it is not you will need to forward the port to your server on your router. Once its published, access www.plex.tv (from any pc anywhere). Login to the same account you use on your server. Click on servers. You should see yours now. At the top right corner you should see the cast button to play the file locally or to your chromecast (it should be on the same newtork as the server).
Thats it. Stream it!
burdo said:
I wanted to let you know guys that plex just added native streaming to chromecast via browser, just as youtube or netflix. No need to use the cast extension anymore. Works perfect for every format I tried and every codec. AVI, MPG, MP4, MKV,etc
You need to have your plex server setup and published (so it can be access externally). Check if it is in settings/plex media server/ myplex. If it is not you will need to forward the port to your server on your router. Once its published, access www.plex.tv (from any pc anywhere). Login to the same account you use on your server. Click on servers. You should see yours now. At the top right corner you should see the cast button to play the file locally or to your chromecast (it should be on the same newtork as the server).
Thats it. Stream it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome find!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
burdo said:
I wanted to let you know guys that plex just added native streaming to chromecast via browser, just as youtube or netflix. No need to use the cast extension anymore. Works perfect for every format I tried and every codec. AVI, MPG, MP4, MKV,etc
You need to have your plex server setup and published (so it can be access externally). Check if it is in settings/plex media server/ myplex. If it is not you will need to forward the port to your server on your router. Once its published, access www.plex.tv (from any pc anywhere). Login to the same account you use on your server. Click on servers. You should see yours now. At the top right corner you should see the cast button to play the file locally or to your chromecast (it should be on the same newtork as the server).
Thats it. Stream it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They haven't added it to the Plexweb side of the server yet..It is only on the Plex.tv site right now something I expect will be updated pretty soon.
I was hoping they added this functionality to the PlexWeb.
Anyone with a ASUS Black Diamond Router rt-n65u? It is supposed to be able to share dlna media but I cannot get avia to see it.
I was hoping to stream all my MP4 movies that are on the routers usb3 external hard drive to the Chromecast with Avia.
All my phones/tablets can stream all the movies from it perfectly. ANY IDEAS how to get it to work from anyone that has the same router?
Sent from my Work Phone
RockRatt said:
Anyone with a ASUS Black Diamond Router rt-n65u? It is supposed to be able to share dlna media but I cannot get avia to see it.
I was hoping to stream all my MP4 movies that are on the routers usb3 external hard drive to the Chromecast with Avia.
All my phones/tablets can stream all the movies from it perfectly. ANY IDEAS how to get it to work from anyone that has the same router?
Sent from my Work Phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can see from the product page for that router it isn't a DLNA server just some proprietary Media Server.
Probably only works with their App.
Asphyx said:
From what I can see from the product page for that router it isn't a DLNA server just some proprietary Media Server.
Probably only works with their App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, page 32 of the manual says it is a UPnP server, but not specifically DLNA.
BubbleUPnP should be able to access it, so you might be able to browse via BubbleUPnP and share to Avia for casting, assuming your media is in a format Chromecast can play.
bhiga said:
Indeed, page 32 of the manual says it is a UPnP server, but not specifically DLNA.
BubbleUPnP should be able to access it, so you might be able to browse via BubbleUPnP and share to Avia for casting, assuming your media is in a format Chromecast can play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forget but it may also be possible aVia would be able to see it via Samba if he used one of the many Samba Mapping apps out there so they showed up as local files on his device.
Router is definitely not going to do any transcoding so it had better at least be compatible with aVia and that still doesn't guarantee CCast will work.
Asphyx said:
I forget but it may also be possible aVia would be able to see it via Samba if he used one of the many Samba Mapping apps out there so they showed up as local files on his device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea - cifsmanager or something like it might work. I've been toying with the idea to map some ISO folders so WonderShare can play them but haven't reached that point on my ToDo list yet.
Thanks all for the ideas. I will play with the ideas and see what works. Just had a thought about it as well now.
The Asus router has a app for it and I use it all the time. I "THINK" I chose the mxplayer as the default player. So MAYBE once I clear the default player then "Hopefully" it will ask again and I can choose A via as the player (as this is how I have setup ShoBox to use A via as the player). Do not know why I didn't think of it previously. I will reply here once I get home tonight to see if it will work.
If not I will try some of the other ideas. Thanks again
EDIT: I cleared defaults for MX player, opened up the AiCloud App (that I can access my hard drive connected to my home Asus Router from my phone over WiFi or cell signal), went to my movie folder, chose a movie, the AiCloud app which app to play with, I chose A via and it tried to play the movie. Now I WILL HAVE TO TEST once I get home because the upload from the router over my cell signal is too slow to play the movie. I REALLY HOPE this works like it looks like it will I will update further once I test over my WiFi at home...
Sent From My Spiderman,Ironman,Red,Dark Blue,Green, GreyedOut BadAss Themed I337
So, I have the WDTV Live with our library of movies And TV shows stored. Its very organized and took a while to setup. I have the min folder dividing the TV shows and movies.. Then the TV shows divide by series.. Then by season.. Then have all the metadata and such for every episode. The movie are divided by genre And have also have All the imdb data and cover art etc. I have been wanting to be Able to extend the experience to my wife And It's bedroom and into my daughter's bedroom. I can not justify paying for 2 more SMPs with Netflix and all nor can I justify getting a smart TV in each room Either. What I am wondering is a couple of things.
1.) If I'm reading this right..I understand that I can setup my WDTV and PC and that on plex media server... Then download this app on my wife and I's phones, then also on my daughter's nabi... And I could stream Media to all the rooms using this setup from the WDTV? (most of my media is mkv I don't know if thisnisngood or bad)
2.) If I do use the plex app on chrome cast is there a way to on my daughter's nabi to setup parent controls so that she only has access to the kids movies genre folder?
Thanks guys
jaupro said:
So, I have the WDTV Live with our library of movies And TV shows stored. Its very organized and took a while to setup. I have the min folder dividing the TV shows and movies.. Then the TV shows divide by series.. Then by season.. Then have all the metadata and such for every episode. The movie are divided by genre And have also have All the imdb data and cover art etc. I have been wanting to be Able to extend the experience to my wife And It's bedroom and into my daughter's bedroom. I can not justify paying for 2 more SMPs with Netflix and all nor can I justify getting a smart TV in each room Either. What I am wondering is a couple of things.
1.) If I'm reading this right..I understand that I can setup my WDTV and PC and that on plex media server... Then download this app on my wife and I's phones, then also on my daughter's nabi... And I could stream Media to all the rooms using this setup from the WDTV? (most of my media is mkv I don't know if thisnisngood or bad)
2.) If I do use the plex app on chrome cast is there a way to on my daughter's nabi to setup parent controls so that she only has access to the kids movies genre folder?
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the WDTV a server? I didn't think so I thought it was just a Player Box (but I could be wrong). Plex would do the actual server work for the rest of the house anyway.
WD has a MyBook Live device that has a Twonky server built in. (perhaps WDTV has something like this as well for hard drives connected to it via USB.)
Regardless of the WDTV capabilities if you have a Plex server running you could stream content to any device in the house (TVs Tablets and Phones) plus use the Plex App to send it to a Chromecast enabled TV.
But I looked and I saw no Parental controls on the Plex Server unfortunately. I don't believe the App has it either.
I have seen it requested in the Plex Forums but that doesn't mean it is coming soon.
Asphyx said:
Is the WDTV a server? I didn't think so I thought it was just a Player Box (but I could be wrong). Plex would do the actual server work for the rest of the house anyway.
WD has a MyBook Live device that has a Twonky server built in. (perhaps WDTV has something like this as well for hard drives connected to it via USB.)
Regardless of the WDTV capabilities if you have a Plex server running you could stream content to any device in the house (TVs Tablets and Phones) plus use the Plex App to send it to a Chromecast enabled TV.
But I looked and I saw no Parental controls on the Plex Server unfortunately. I don't believe the App has it either.
I have seen it requested in the Plex Forums but that doesn't mean it is coming soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The WDTV LIVE is a player with a built in TB hard drive, apps like Netflix and all of that. And has built in Wi-Fi and networks with my PC or other similar devices. I want to be able to play the files stored on it as cheap as possible.
jaupro said:
The WDTV LIVE is a player with a built in TB hard drive, apps like Netflix and all of that. And has built in Wi-Fi and networks with my PC or other similar devices. I want to be able to play the files stored on it as cheap as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said I'm not 100% familiar with that box...If it has a DLNA server built in then no need for Plex Server at all unless it doesn't transcode and your library is not Chromecast compatible (MP4/H264/AAC), Just use aVia and you can send content to the Chromecast or wait until a Better player comes along (like MX Player) that has CCast capability.
Not sure how Parental control will work but if WDTV does this it is possible that it will work over DLNA as well.
You probably wont get any of the WDTV apps to work over it though. But then again the Apps your likely to want are already available for CCast (like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and YouTube)
There is no way of controlling it from the WDTV however...At least not until WDTV comes out with an App that supports CCast.
Which may very well be on the way for all I know.
Not sure how to make it work if the HD is connected directly to the WDTV.
I have a similar setup, but I store my files on a network drive that the WD has access to. As the previous poster mentioned, Plex running on a PC on your network would allow you to access them thru the Plex app on any Chromecast.
Hello
How can I stream videos/TV shows from a WD My Cloud to my chromecast ?
Open the cloud drive on a desktop computer. Select the Shared folder you want to access... right click on it and then choose Map to Drive. This will give it a location on the laptop that anything that can access its file system can see.
Next, get a Plex account, download the Plex Media Server, and connect it to your account online (it is free with a few small limitations). Specifically, you will be asked to provide different folders for where your media is.... this is where you choose the drive that you mapped your WD cloud to.
From there, you can log in to Plex.tv and Cast your movies.
So to recap, they go from your Cloud drive to your laptop which is read by Plex and showed on their website despite being locally read by Plex Server from that hard drive letter which maps to that virtual drive, and then Plex servers get permission from Google servers to put up an https url on your Chromecast which is told by plex.tv to load a url from your local server which transcodes the file you want to see.
Tib44 said:
Hello
How can I stream videos/TV shows from a WD My Cloud to my chromecast ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All you need is any DLNA and CCast capable player app.
WD Cloud has a DLNA server built in.
Not sure what they are using these days but they used to run Twonky Server on their NAS units so you can start there.
But most DLNA servers on a NAS do not transcode due to lack of power so you might want to look into what @primetechv2 said and have a PC run either Plex or BubbleuPnP server so you never have to worry if your files are CCast compatible.
Tib44 said:
Hello
How can I stream videos/TV shows from a WD My Cloud to my chromecast ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a WD My Book LIve and I use AVIA app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.videon.android.mediaplayer) to stream directly, using Nexus 10, to my chromecast without having to use PC. It can see all the folders on my drive that I have shared over my network.
Only other thing I had to do was upgrade Twonky software to newer version as version 5 that came on drive was out of date and wouldn't play .mp4 files. Instructions I got to do this was here
http://mybookworld.wikidot.com/foru...to-upgrade-to-twonky-7-version-my-book-live-o
I'm not sure exactly what software will be on your newer model drive but if you have Twonky 7 or other similar software this should work for you. Perhaps try the Avia app first and see if it works before changing anything on your drive.
dpjohnston said:
I have a WD My Book LIve and I use AVIA app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.videon.android.mediaplayer) to stream directly, using Nexus 10, to my chromecast without having to use PC. It can see all the folders on my drive that I have shared over my network.
Only other thing I had to do was upgrade Twonky software to newer version as version 5 that came on drive was out of date and wouldn't play .mp4 files. Instructions I got to do this was here
http://mybookworld.wikidot.com/foru...to-upgrade-to-twonky-7-version-my-book-live-o
I'm not sure exactly what software will be on your newer model drive but if you have Twonky 7 or other similar software this should work for you. Perhaps try the Avia app first and see if it works before changing anything on your drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just going to point out that you need to purchase a new license for Twonky 7 to do the above mentioned upgrade from Twonky 5.
If your unit already comes with Twonky 7 then no need to upgrade is likely needed. But even if it is your OEM License should work.
Ok so I hesitated between WD MyCloud and a synology NAS
I think it will be better if I use DS Video on a Synology beetween DLNA,
I already try DLNA (before I have a chromecast) with my usb port on my router and my TV and It didn't works great a lot of video didn't work so I think it will be the same if I use mycloud in DLNA
right ?
Tib44 said:
Ok so I hesitated between WD MyCloud and a synology NAS
I think it will be better if I use DS Video on a Synology beetween DLNA,
I already try DLNA (before I have a chromecast) with my usb port on my router and my TV and It didn't works great a lot of video didn't work so I think it will be the same if I use mycloud in DLNA
right ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really depends on what DLNA server you are running as they are not all equal.
The reason some files work and others don't is due to container (mp4, mkv, avi) and Codec (H.264, Cinepack, MPEG-4, MJPEG) incompatibilities of the player application or device.
You either need to manually re-encode the incompatible files to a format that is compatible with all your devices and players (Usualt H.264 with AAC Audio) or use a DLNA Server that can Transcode the video on the fly to a compatible format for your target device.
Twonky 7 does the latter when run on a proper computer but may not be available and disabled in a low processing power device such as the WD My Cloud drives.
Plex also does this but again it is probably not available for your unit since it ships with Twonky instead. And again you have the same issue with transcode is not supported on some units due to a lack of power to transcode....
My suggestion is to figure out what files you are having problems playing, and what seems to work well. Re-Encode the non working files to MP4/H.264/AAC (or MKV/H.264/AAC if you can play this container type) in Handbrake (computer required) so that all of your library is compatible without the need to transcode.
You will probably also save yourself some space on the drive in the process and all your files will pretty much play on any device.
ok but I really don't want to have to re encode/ convert my incompotible videos. It takes time and I have to do it manually (I think)
Tib44 said:
ok but I really don't want to have to re encode/ convert my incompotible videos. It takes time and I have to do it manually (I think)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand but you have to realize that the CCast doesn't play some containers or codecs and the only way to get them to work is to either run a server that does the transcoding when needed or to do it manually.
ok so if I understand I have to buy a synology with for exemple a plex server to let it transcode my video automatically. I can't do this with a WD MyCloud
If I buy a MyCloud I will have to re encode my video manually if it doesn't works
that's it ?
Tib44 said:
ok so if I understand I have to buy a synology with for exemple a plex server to let it transcode my video automatically. I can't do this with a WD MyCloud
If I buy a MyCloud I will have to re encode my video manually if it doesn't works
that's it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably can't do it with a synology either....It depends on the power of the unit you buy...
Most NAS units do not have a processor capable of transcoding. Only the high end units do.
And plex will disable transcode on units that they feel are underpowered.
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200375666-Stand-Alone-Server
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/sections/200286217
Here is a spreadsheet that tells you what is supported by Plex on the various NAS units available.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/htmlview?sle=true
But I'll tell you right now...The NAS units that do support transcode are all going to cost upwards of $1K US
So it really comes down to what do you think is worth to you?
Buying a unit that will do the work for you or doing the work once and be able to use those files on any NAS device you can afford?
There are Programs you can get that will do batch conversion for you as well.
Anyone willing to try this... Plex running fine on MyCloud independent of PC / laptop
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-My-Cloud/Clean-debian-and-OpenMediaVault-on-WDMyCloud/td-p/785505
I'm a little nervous to give it a go as I have no idea about what all the Unix commands do so need to do some background reading before I jump in
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app
I would like to use a RPi for a media server over my network, but I haven't found anything that says that an XBOX360 would be able to see it, does anyone know how or if it can be done?
Plex maybe? Sorry I don't have a Xbox 360. I have got Plex Media Server running from my Pi 2 which I use with a Roku.
http://www.htpcguides.com/install-plex-media-server-on-raspberry-pi-2/