Streaming to TV : What is my best option (1 Viewer)

[NutterButter]

I went on to the WD Live forums and talked with a knowledgeable poster.

He said srt files are not supported using DLNA but are supported using network share. Since I am using DLNA I have to just embed the srt files into the media file, which is pretty simple to do and have already had working correctly.

Cliff, does what he said jive with what you are doing?

Had to double check. I still have transcoding enabled which from what I gather, is required for subs. Never a problem playing the files with it enabled, but as mquinnjr said, fast-forwarding sucks. It is fine for TV rips that are only 300~mb but for anything bigger you can't FF anything more that 2x (in my experience).

Wdlive have the ability to skip ahead by chunks of time which you can configure? For instance, everytime I hit the right arrow, it skips by 5 minutes.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I went on to the WD Live forums and talked with a knowledgeable poster.

He said srt files are not supported using DLNA but are supported using network share. Since I am using DLNA I have to just embed the srt files into the media file, which is pretty simple to do and have already had working correctly.

Cliff, does what he said jive with what you are doing?

Had to double check. I still have transcoding enabled which from what I gather, is required for subs. Never a problem playing the files with it enabled, but as mquinnjr said, fast-forwarding sucks. It is fine for TV rips that are only 300~mb but for anything bigger you can't FF anything more that 2x (in my experience).

Wdlive have the ability to skip ahead by chunks of time which you can configure? For instance, everytime I hit the right arrow, it skips by 5 minutes.

are you asking or stating?

I have seen "skip to desired time" on my screen when I hit pause but I have not yet seen where to configure the jump (assuming you can even do that when streaming).

 

[NutterButter]

I went on to the WD Live forums and talked with a knowledgeable poster.

He said srt files are not supported using DLNA but are supported using network share. Since I am using DLNA I have to just embed the srt files into the media file, which is pretty simple to do and have already had working correctly.

Cliff, does what he said jive with what you are doing?

Had to double check. I still have transcoding enabled which from what I gather, is required for subs. Never a problem playing the files with it enabled, but as mquinnjr said, fast-forwarding sucks. It is fine for TV rips that are only 300~mb but for anything bigger you can't FF anything more that 2x (in my experience).

Wdlive have the ability to skip ahead by chunks of time which you can configure? For instance, everytime I hit the right arrow, it skips by 5 minutes.

are you asking or stating?

I have seen "skip to desired time" on my screen when I hit pause but I have not yet seen where to configure the jump (assuming you can even do that when streaming).

Asking. The oplay has it so was wondering if Wdlive did as well.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I went on to the WD Live forums and talked with a knowledgeable poster.

He said srt files are not supported using DLNA but are supported using network share. Since I am using DLNA I have to just embed the srt files into the media file, which is pretty simple to do and have already had working correctly.

Cliff, does what he said jive with what you are doing?

Had to double check. I still have transcoding enabled which from what I gather, is required for subs. Never a problem playing the files with it enabled, but as mquinnjr said, fast-forwarding sucks. It is fine for TV rips that are only 300~mb but for anything bigger you can't FF anything more that 2x (in my experience).

Wdlive have the ability to skip ahead by chunks of time which you can configure? For instance, everytime I hit the right arrow, it skips by 5 minutes.

are you asking or stating?

I have seen "skip to desired time" on my screen when I hit pause but I have not yet seen where to configure the jump (assuming you can even do that when streaming).

Asking. The oplay has it so was wondering if Wdlive did as well.

I will keep looking but have not seen anything yet. But the "skip to desired time" must be there for a reason.

 

[MCguidance]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but when you build even a basic HTPC, it can handle anything. All of the above issues are essentially solved.

 

[NutterButter]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but when you build even a basic HTPC, it can handle anything. All of the above issues are essentially solved.

If you have multiple tvs, do you need an HTPC per tv?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but when you build even a basic HTPC, it can handle anything. All of the above issues are essentially solved.

A basic HTPC is about 5x the price. It is most definitely better but not that much better. Once you get it setup for streaming rips, it is a breeze. For stuff like Netflix, YouTube, Siruis, Pandora, MLB, etc. you can beat a simple unit like a WDTV (and I'm assuming a Roku but I've never used one).

 

[NewlyRetired]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but when you build even a basic HTPC, it can handle anything. All of the above issues are essentially solved.

A basic HTPC is about 5x the price. It is most definitely better but not that much better. Once you get it setup for streaming rips, it is a breeze. For stuff like Netflix, YouTube, Siruis, Pandora, MLB, etc. you can beat a simple unit like a WDTV (and I'm assuming a Roku but I've never used one).

Every issue I have has been solved for $75. I am very happy.

 

[NewlyRetired]

After years of using the PS3 Media Server, I decided to take a look at other Media Servers and now I am wondering why I ever bothered with the PS3 Media Server.

It took me about 3 seconds to toss the PS3 Media Server once I took a look at the Plex Media Server.

I highly recommend those still using the PS3 Media to check out Plex if you get a chance. It has a ton of fantastic features. Not only does it stream perfectly to WDTV, it also allows for access to my media from any computer or tablet in the house and its meta data feature is wonderful.

Take a quick peek, it took just a few minutes to set up once you understand the naming conventions for files.

https://plex.tv/

 

[Cliff Clavin]

After years of using the PS3 Media Server, I decided to take a look at other Media Servers and now I am wondering why I ever bothered with the PS3 Media Server.

It took me about 3 seconds to toss the PS3 Media Server once I took a look at the Plex Media Server.

I highly recommend those still using the PS3 Media to check out Plex if you get a chance. It has a ton of fantastic features. Not only does it stream perfectly to WDTV, it also allows for access to my media from any computer or tablet in the house and its meta data feature is wonderful.

Take a quick peek, it took just a few minutes to set up once you understand the naming conventions for files.

https://plex.tv/

Might have to check it out.

FYI, PS3 can stream to Android devices. Never tried with iOS.

 

[NewlyRetired]

After years of using the PS3 Media Server, I decided to take a look at other Media Servers and now I am wondering why I ever bothered with the PS3 Media Server.

It took me about 3 seconds to toss the PS3 Media Server once I took a look at the Plex Media Server.

I highly recommend those still using the PS3 Media to check out Plex if you get a chance. It has a ton of fantastic features. Not only does it stream perfectly to WDTV, it also allows for access to my media from any computer or tablet in the house and its meta data feature is wonderful.

Take a quick peek, it took just a few minutes to set up once you understand the naming conventions for files. https://plex.tv/

Might have to check it out.

FYI, PS3 can stream to Android devices. Never tried with iOS.

Check it out even if you don't use it just to see what is out there for an interface. It won't affect the PS3 Media server.

It gives one the real feeling of managing a library with posters and descriptions and synopsis all built in just by reading the file name of the movie or tv show.

I had all my tv shows entitled "X Episode Y" where X was the TV show name and Y was the episode number and it cleans everything up for you adding in the title of each episode.

Just download and install the server and then open up the Media Manager Gui and get started. It has a ton of paid features I have not looked at yet because the dlna streaming is all I wanted for now.

In early testing it appears more robust than the PS3 Media Server who I had to reset every so often.

 

[NewlyRetired]

So after 3+ weeks of heavy use WDTV Live things look great except for one strange quirk I can not figure out. If anyone has experienced please let me know:

I am having a disconnection problem when streaming.

It occurs if I am using either media server or network share.

It only occurs if the media I am watching is paused.

I can watch for hours on end with no disconnection issues, but if I pause for even 10 minutes, when I come out of the WD screen saver, it says that I have been disconnected.

I feel like I have some sort of keep alive issue when paused.

Any ideas?