Just a FYI for all those who have PlexPass...
Plex sent out a Major Release that has many fixes for CCast users including Direct Play (no Transcoding) of MKV/H.264 L4.1/AAC. (PMS Server 0.9.9.5.411 is required.)
They also updated the Plex Android Apps and they now will show movie preview on your TV (I believe it's just posters) while your browsing for movies in Android.
There are many other little perks including better transcoding in general and I haven't had a chance to test most of the new features yet but just wanted to let you know that CCast Playback of MKV without Transcode does appear to be possible with Plex.
Asphyx said:
Just a FYI for all those who have PlexPass...
Plex sent out a Major Release that has many fixes for CCast users including Direct Play (no Transcoding) of MKV/H.264 L4.1/AAC. (PMS Server 0.9.9.5.411 is required.)
They also updated the Plex Android Apps and they now will show movie preview on your TV (I believe it's just posters) while your browsing for movies in Android.
There are many other little perks including better transcoding in general and I haven't had a chance to test most of the new features yet but just wanted to let you know that CCast Playback of MKV without Transcode does appear to be possible with Plex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The latest version of Plex Media Server that I found on their site is 0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd. Where did you find 0.9.9.5.411?
johnjingle said:
The latest version of Plex Media Server that I found on their site is 0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd. Where did you find 0.9.9.5.411?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but the announcement is at https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/62832-plex-media-server/?p=586803
Asphyx said:
Just a FYI for all those who have PlexPass...
Plex sent out a Major Release that has many fixes for CCast users including Direct Play (no Transcoding) of MKV/H.264 L4.1/AAC. (PMS Server 0.9.9.5.411 is required.)
They also updated the Plex Android Apps and they now will show movie preview on your TV (I believe it's just posters) while your browsing for movies in Android.
There are many other little perks including better transcoding in general and I haven't had a chance to test most of the new features yet but just wanted to let you know that CCast Playback of MKV without Transcode does appear to be possible with Plex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Per Google - https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/media
With Google Cast you have several options for supporting various media types, codecs, and facilities:
Video codecs: H.264 High Profile Level 4.1, 4.2 and 5, VP8
Audio decoding: HE-AAC, LC-AAC, CELT/Opus, MP3, Vorbis
Image formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WEBP
Containers: MP4, WebM
Containers: MPEG-DASH, SmoothStreaming, HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)
Level 1 DRM support: Widevine, PlayReady
Subtitles:
TTML - Timed Text Markup Language
WebVTT - Web Video Text Tracks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So - it certainly looks like the new server is repackaging the supported codec streams into something other than an MKV.
That's an exciting step forward and it may be under Direct Play but are you sure that is the same thing as local casting from your phone?
IOW - does that server run on the Android device or does it require LAN access to a desktop running it?
I confess that lots of Plex still eludes me. I thought that the Plex Media Server was desktop only.
By the way, today's Plex change announcement - https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/60585-plex-for-android/page-3#entry586879
So far as I understand things, it's not transcoding (the codec streams are supported after all) but is still using a desktop computer for transmuxing (because the MKV container is not supported).
EDIT - Vaporware follows:
It would probably be pretty cool if someone were to transmux on the phone and then send things via WebRTC (like tab casting or Koush's mirror for Android). Or to mp4 if WebRTC requires WebM.
Not sure offhand how much work that would be but it wouldn't require a desktop server. And of course would only work with Chromecast-supported codecs.
EarlyMon said:
Not sure but the announcement is at https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/62832-plex-media-server/?p=586803
I didn't have the option to download that because I don't have a Plex Pass subscription. I was really confused until I read that.
Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated the web to 2.0.16 and server to 0.9.9.5 all seems OK. I do have a Plex Pass.
johnjingle said:
The latest version of Plex Media Server that I found on their site is 0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd. Where did you find 0.9.9.5.411?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im still trying to find PMS Server 0.9.9.5.411.. can someone post a link. i am a plexpass member.
---------- Post added at 10:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------
revdirty said:
Im still trying to find PMS Server 0.9.9.5.411.. can someone post a link. i am a plexpass member.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NVM found it.. on the download page u have to click the show plexpass button then go tto the server downloads.
Wonder how long they are going to hang on to cc features. I bought the app but it is seeming like a waste now considering there are other viable well working free options out there.
Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
shelby04861 said:
Wonder how long they are going to hang on to cc features. I bought the app but it is seeming like a waste now considering there are other viable well working free options out there.
Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really, what other cc app transcodes or plays all files with full seek, ff and rw? I haven't found one. BubbleUPnP doesnt allow you to seek on any transcoded files like mkv. Avia doesnt play most files. Not sure what you are using that can do the same as this for cc.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
I see your point but I don't transcoded my movies. I keep them all the same format so it is less taxing on my server because I share my server with my family.
Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
EarlyMon said:
So - it certainly looks like the new server is repackaging the supported codec streams into something other than an MKV.
That's an exciting step forward and it may be under Direct Play but are you sure that is the same thing as local casting from your phone?
IOW - does that server run on the Android device or does it require LAN access to a desktop running it?
I confess that lots of Plex still eludes me. I thought that the Plex Media Server was desktop only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone has nothing to do with it at all other than you can run the Plex app and play all media on the server on the mobile device or send it to the CCast and control it ....Local in this case means Local Networked Media such as DLNA. But Plex will make all your content available to you via the Internet even if your not locally connected.
And yes....PMS does run on a Desktop or Server.
Having Plex removes the need to ever keep content on your phone at all since you can see your home media from anywhere there is Internet Access. It also has a Sync function so you can pre-download media to your device for viewing when Internet is not available.
Plex for all intents and purposes is a Home Cloud Netflix like service that can stream all the content you own.
Direct Play in Plex in the past has simply sent the the file to the device without Transcoding.
I spoke to someone at Plex and it may not be direct playing the file YET but it is perhaps Direct Streaming via HTTP which is a new streaming protocol they added. This might suggest it is only container flipping and only works with files that are Codec compatible. But the Transcode Profile does have an Entry for Direct Play for Matroska container.
Two transcoding profile entries have been added for Matroska
Code:
<VideoProfile protocol="http" container="matroska" codec="h264" audioCodec="aac" context="streaming">
<Setting name="VideoEncodeFlags" value="-x264opts bframes=3:cabac=1" />
</VideoProfile>
and
Code:
<DirectPlayProfiles>
<VideoProfile container="matroska" codec="h264" audioCodec="aac" />
<VideoProfile container="mp4" codec="h264" audioCodec="aac" />
<MusicProfile container="mp4" codec="aac" />
<MusicProfile container="mp3" codec="mp3" />
<PhotoProfile container="jpeg,gif,bmp,png" />
</DirectPlayProfiles>
The Media Types listed on that Google link are what the CCast is capable of decoding via Hardware. That does not mean you can't make a Player App to load on the CCast that can Software decode other types especially other containers where the Codecs are compatible with the hardware. Roku Hardware doesn't natively support Matroska container either it is played via Software decode.
I'm going to assume that the Direct Play entry will not work until the CCast Player can handle the Container via Software. Until then it will use the Streaming Profile. SO it may be setting up the Direct Play profile for something else in the Future.
To all of those who can't find the new version you need to be a Plex Pass Member, Go to Plex.tv, Sign in, Go to Downloads and select show Plex Pass downloads.
On the Android side it's all in the Play Store and the features will be there or not based on your signing into PlexPass
shelby04861 said:
Wonder how long they are going to hang on to cc features. I bought the app but it is seeming like a waste now considering there are other viable well working free options out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other options out there (BubbleUPnP and PlayOn being the closest to mirroring what Plex does) do not have all the features Plex does.
Some however have features that Plex does NOT have such as playing content stored on your Mobile device locally. Plex removes the need to ever store content on your mobile device since it works as a Home Cloud for Media available anywhere you have access to the Net.
And while Bubble and others may be able to send ON UNIT content to the CCast it won't do it unless the Source is CCast compatible.
Bubble does have the ability to transcode if the content is coming from the Bubble Server (on the Desktop) but I'm not sure it will transcode ON UNIT LOCAL files when sending to CCast. Perhaps it does but it would require sending the file from your phone to your desktop then sending it to CCast. You should ask the Dev for Bubble to clarify this they post here regularly and are very responsive to their Users. (I have Bubble running myself on the same server as my Plex. and It's a very good alternative for Plex.)
Apps like aVia and Real Player are all very limited to playing content either on a cloud or locally on the the device.
Great if you have everything you want to view locally or synced to the cloud but hardly gives you the TBs of data that my Plex makes available to me.
Plex is perhaps a bit pricey right now since CCast support requires PlexPass but there is a way around that using Bubble UPnP until such time as CCast support no longer requires PlexPass.
Set up the Plex Server and also set up BubbleUPnP and let it aggregate the Plex Media Server library.
Then use the BubbleUPnP on your mobile device to send to CCast.
Bubble Server will transcode for you and you can still use the Plex for Android App (Paid app like aVia) for viewing on your mobile device if you like.
Once the CCast options go public you can decide which interface you like better.
Right now I have PlayOn, BubbleUPnP and Plex server all running on the same machine.
I rarely use anything aside from Plex since I have Plex Pass.
[EDIT/UPDATE]
Ok just went to Plex and found out that Direct Play is NOT currently supported the direct play entry was left in the profile by mistake.
It will however stream and has added a new streaming protocol that allows MKV to play without a heavy transcoding thread being needed for sources that are codec compatible (H.264/AAC)
The Player must support the DirectPlay (which may happen in future) and if it can't it will kick it back to the transcoder for streaming.
All direct Play is determined by the Player not the server so if it tries to direct play and fails it fallsback to the transcoder.
Bottom Line though is that Matroska is now supported in profile and will stream much better provided the codecs do not need changing.
And as with any container, Multiple Audio Tracks will always require transcoding to select which Audio track to play. So unless you want the first Audio Track you will probably still be using the full on Transcode.
All of this can change in the future if and when they update the CCast Player App to support more containers via Direct Play and Track Selection on the Client side.
But they are not there yet.
@Asphyx - many thanks for the detailed information and your legwork on this, I really appreciate it.
Ok, so - fwiw, ffmpeg can do transcoding or transmuxing, and an example file that can take 10 minutes to transcode will transmux in a very few seconds. And it can do it on the fly.
I mention that because while Plex may have rolled their own, it's usually less risk to deploy with commercial off-the-shelf solutions and focus on integration.
And my point is that either way, transmuxing to a stream would be fast, efficient, effective and highly supportable.
While I agree that a custom player could deal with an MKV container directly, and I don't doubt that someone will try it, that's a higher risk approach.
I'm using the classical definition of the risk factor here -
risk = (complexity / maturity)
Having a more complex player without a track record = high/low = very high risk.
I think that you nailed it, they're using a newer http transport they've implemented and I'm willing to bet 100 quatloos that it's MPEG-DASH, same as Hulu on Chromecast.
That approach would allow them to go with a single function receiver based on MPEG-DASH, ergo less complex, with a well known method, ergo more mature, with subsidiary risk from Google support in the Chromecast firmware. And that last component, while unknown because outside their volume of control, is accompanied by high risk mitigation because Google has at least one major player that will hold their feet to the fire if they screw that up.
Given that Plex is already a highly functional desktop server, I'm not sure that any other deployment model would make as much sense.
As for offloading significant work to the Chromecast, I don't disagree that it can be done, but I will note that when Koush deployed an H.264 decoder in Javascript, using the mature broadway.js method, the result was immediate heat death of his Chromecast. That's anecdotal but absent other data, I'd say that's a strong enough case to tread carefully where this MediaTek processor is concerned.
Anyway, if we combine our ideas to the single-point approach using MPEG-DASH, and looking at the work involved for sorting that out, I wouldn't say that Plex is dragging their feet.
Genius may be instantaneous but quality takes time.
Edit/PS - note that using a black box component such as ffmpeg reduces code work whether transcoding or transmuxing is required. Either way, you form a command string, dispatch it and stream the result. Added complexity to evaluate whether to transcode or just transmux is very minor compared to other approaches.
EarlyMon said:
@Asphyx - many thanks for the detailed information and your legwork on this, I really appreciate it.
Ok, so - fwiw, ffmpeg can do transcoding or transmuxing, and an example file that can take 10 minutes to transcode will transmux in a very few seconds. And it can do it on the fly.
I mention that because while Plex may have rolled their own, it's less risk for to usually deploy with commercial off-the-shelf solutions and focus on integration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually they may have renamed the file but I am pretty sure they are using FFMPEG as their Transcoder base with some extra wrapping to make decisions on which format and settings are required for their Profile system.
EarlyMon said:
While I agree that a custom player could deal with an MKV container directly, and I don't doubt that someone will try it, that's a higher risk approach.
I'm using the classical definition of the risk factor here -
risk = (complexity / maturity)
Having a more complex player without a track record = high/low = very high risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does require a more complex player but I do believe at some point that is going to happen on the CCast side.
To do things like subtitle overlay and Audio track selection properly, this is always best done on the client side. Codec support is really the only stumbling block to realizing this. Since you can't load codec support into the CCast itself and to add them all into a player would be a ridiculously bloated app, A public codec repository (similar to Windows Media) would be the best bet for that. and in THAT respect I agree not likely anyone but google would take up such a project..
But that said...
While most devs are getting their code around the DIAL and Control protocols at some point they will have that stable and efficient and all that would be left would be to add Player side features such as Track Selection and possibly Software decoding for some containers where Codec is not an issue.
If I had to guess I would bet someone like MX Player Developers would be the first to make something like this happen since their Android Player already supports this type of functionality and it shouldn't be too hard to port that into a CCast compatible implementation.
EarlyMon said:
I think that you nailed it, they're using a newer http transport they've implemented and I'm willing to bet 100 quatloos that it's MPEG-DASH, same as Hulu on Chromecast.
That approach would allow them to go with a single function receiver based on MPEG-DASH, ergo less complex, with a well known method, ergo more mature, with subsidiary risk from Google support in the Chromecast firmware. And that last component, while unknown because outside their volume of control, is accompanied by high risk mitigation because Google has at least one major player that will hold their feet to the fire if they screw that up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently the Plex Player supports HLS, DASH and whatever this new HTTP protocol is as streaming methods with Direct Play for Native MP4/H.264/AAC.
I neglected to add there is some movement on the Music and Picture front as well but I have not had a chance to check that yet.
EarlyMon said:
Given that Plex is already a highly functional desktop server, I'm not sure that any other deployment model would make as much sense.
As for offloading significant work to the Chromecast, I don't disagree that it can be done, but I will note that when Koush deployed an H.264 decoder in Javascript, using the mature broadway.js method, the result was immediate heat death of his Chromecast. That's anecdotal but absent other data, I'd say that's a strong enough case to tread carefully where this MediaTek processor is concerned.
Anyway, if we combine our ideas to the single-point approach using MPEG-DASH, and looking at the work involved for sorting that out, I wouldn't say that Plex is dragging their feet.
Genius may be instantaneous but quality takes time.
Edit/PS - note that using a black box component such as ffmpeg reduces code work whether transcoding or transmuxing is required. Either way, you form a command string, dispatch it and stream the result. Added complexity to evaluate whether to transcode or just transmux is very minor compared to other approaches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well right now the goal with Plex Devs seems to be to make any content work via Transcode if need be because that is the main role of PMS.
For most devices with mature Player Apps the Transcoder is rarely used because the Player Apps don't require it and can Direct Play different containers and codecs.
There is one team for Plex Media Server and another for Transcoding in general. (a Third is working on the CCast player specifically.)
They are focused on making transcoding work for everything and then (as an Afterthought) looking for ways to tweak the profile to not transcode where the device can handle it. (Basically it assumes it will have to transcode everything and then the profile will make exceptions to direct play.) the rest of the profile merely tells the transcoder what settings to use.
Which is why I don't expect any software decoding anytime soon, but they have considered it for future once they have everything working on CCast the way it is from the transcoding side.
Lets not forget Plex's goals are not specific to CCast they are just adding it as a target so their goals are not as much about CCast as someone like aVia and MX Player would be which is why I think they would be the first to create these types of Mature Decoders before Plex.
And who knows once someone does it wouldn't take much to license and load the CCast player code to add that functionality.
With most things like this I find once one takes the time to do it the others soon follow to not be left behind...
But I TOTALLY AGREE on the issue may be your CCast bursting into flames if not done correctly because heat does seem to be the one design flaw in CCast hardware.
I'd doubt anyone looking at platform independence would go with HLS, I think it's just too Apple centric. But as you say, Plex already supports it.
I think that the (relatively) new SDK refined MPEG-DASH support so I could see them calling that their new http method.
Remember, the chrome.socket method exists but is not exposed. Without that, no matter how good a programmer you are, your hands may be well tied as to how much of a private transport you can build.
If socket primitives existed a home network could go down to RDP or even UDP and really scream performance compared to anything you could achieve with http.
Anyway, I hear you, there may be something private and newer than MPEG-DASH there - but for all the reasons you note that this is one component of their business model, I can't imagine why they'd go for a higher risk, higher cost solution to do the same thing. Of course, that's just my opinion, worth every penny you paid for it.
Putting everything, or as much as possible, into the config files is simply a best practice.
Make the app data driven and offload maintenance and feature support to the config writer/parser subsystem.
I say "simply a best practice" because it is, but the guys that didn't figure that out couldn't compete with those that did/do.
As for just doing transcoding now, that's simply another best practice.
If they have a new server method and a new config parser, that's plenty to deploy.
Make sure that works, then deploy transmuxing as an incremental refinement. Even if the devs believe it's ready, history has proven what happens if you bite off too much with a release.
Sadly for us, too few devs get that.
I really don't think that a right way to offload more work to flame-free Chromecast will be found. Even if such a thing could exist (which I more than really doubt) I just don't see the incentive for anyone to do it.
Btw - I don't know if you've noticed this but if you go to a site with embedded MP4 videos, vGet will cast that or play it locally to MoboPlayer, MX Player will complain that it's an unknown format.
I agree that MX is a great player and ahead in a lot of areas but I would say that caution is in order predicting anything in this area, again, just imo.
---------- Post added at 02:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------
PS - as I'm sure you know, everyone including Google is chomping at the bit to get H.265 and VP9 happening.
So existing code and methods have to be supportable, maintainable and inexpensive enough - everything today is on its way to becoming a legacy method.
Given the processing requirements for VEHC, I can't see that happening on the existing Chromecast.
And if that's what a Chromecast 2 will support, and I'm betting it will, I can't see estorica being built by anyone at this point for the existing Chromecast.
Even if you're not in the market for 4k video, I can see the attraction of a more condensed network stream to support 1080p.
Personally, I expect that to hit the front burner before other transcoding and closed caption support does. (edit - Wrong! LOL see next post)
Asphyx said:
Bubble does have the ability to transcode if the content is coming from the Bubble Server (on the Desktop) but I'm not sure it will transcode ON UNIT LOCAL files when sending to CCast. Perhaps it does but it would require sending the file from your phone to your desktop then sending it to CCast. You should ask the Dev for Bubble to clarify this they post here regularly and are very responsive to their Users. (I have Bubble running myself on the same server as my Plex. and It's a very good alternative for Plex.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BubbleUPnP Server can transcode *any* media that Android BubbleUPnP can access. That applies to local Android media managed by the app, but as well any external media sent from third party apps to BubbleUPnP.
And for the next release of BubbleUPnP / BubbleUPnP Server, there are major improvements, such as: proper subtitle support (and not of the crappy burning subs in video kind, that everyone is doing), seek in transcoded videos, audio and video track selection, and many transcoding fails fixed.
Moreover, BubbleUPnP Server transcodes video and/or audio tracks only if necessary.
bubbleguuum said:
BubbleUPnP Server can transcode *any* media that Android BubbleUPnP can access. That applies to local Android media managed by the app, but as well any external media sent from third party apps to BubbleUPnP.
And for the next release of BubbleUPnP / BubbleUPnP Server, there are major improvements, such as: proper subtitle support (and not of the crappy burning subs in video kind, that everyone is doing), seek in transcoded videos, audio and video track selection, and many transcoding fails fixed.
Moreover, BubbleUPnP Server transcodes video and/or audio tracks only if necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way to go!
EarlyMon said:
I'd doubt anyone looking at platform independence would go with HLS, I think it's just too Apple centric. But as you say, Plex already supports it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the Plex folks are supporting Apple so I suspect they need to support all things Apple.
As for what they might dore Transcode vs Player based it will depend on the end results. Many are running Plex on NAS and other low power units where even transmuxing is a Task.
In the end there is only so much you can do on the server side and have to look at the client side for solutions. Thats all I'm getting at. Subtitles being a prime example. Multi Language and Audio track selection being another.
bubbleguuum said:
BubbleUPnP Server can transcode *any* media that Android BubbleUPnP can access. That applies to local Android media managed by the app, but as well any external media sent from third party apps to BubbleUPnP.
And for the next release of BubbleUPnP / BubbleUPnP Server, there are major improvements, such as: proper subtitle support (and not of the crappy burning subs in video kind, that everyone is doing), seek in transcoded videos, audio and video track selection, and many transcoding fails fixed.
Moreover, BubbleUPnP Server transcodes video and/or audio tracks only if necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgive me if I misrepresented Bubble there. I was under the impression that Bubble required Server (on a PC) to be running in order to transcode. And if you simply streamed from Bubble Android to CCast without that Server it would not transcode. Either that Changed or I was misinformed.
Happy to see you support Client side Subtitle Overlay and Audio Track selection. That is the only proper way to do those operation which is why I don't understand why everyone else seems intent on doing it on the server side. My guess is lack of knowing Android and Mobile Coding on their part.
In conclusion I will say this...
The Dev who makes the best CCast Loadable Player App could make a lot of money licensing that app to other developers to use in their Projects.
Asphyx said:
Forgive me if I misrepresented Bubble there. I was under the impression that Bubble required Server (on a PC) to be running in order to transcode. And if you simply streamed from Bubble Android to CCast without that Server it would not transcode. Either that Changed or I was misinformed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the server is required on PC for transcoding. There's no transcoding done at all on Android.
What I was saying is that it can also transcode Android local stored media.
But apperently I misundertood your original statement where you wondered in the app could transcode itself: it can't.
Asphyx said:
Happy to see you support Client side Subtitle Overlay and Audio Track selection. That is the only proper way to do those operation which is why I don't understand why everyone else seems intent on doing it on the server side. My guess is lack of knowing Android and Mobile Coding on their part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Audio track selection requires at least remuxing in a new container and possily transcoding if the track is not compatible.
bubbleguuum said:
Yes the server is required on PC for transcoding. There's no transcoding done at all on Android.
What I was saying is that it can also transcode Android local stored media.
But apperently I misundertood your original statement where you wondered in the app could transcode itself: it can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not hard since I wasn't very clear LOL
It is transcoding from android but only if you have the server running on PC!
bubbleguuum said:
Audio track selection requires at least remuxing in a new container and possily transcoding if the track is not compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even in the case of MKV/AAC where Multiple Audio Tracks are embedded?
I understand it for unsupported formats like AC3 and DHT but if there is a stereo AAC and 5.1 AAC you shouldn't have to remux if the Player does client side track selection.
I'm thinking along the lines of what VLC does which granted is far more complex of a player due to the fact it's years in the making and has a full blown PC to power it.
Related
This isn't another repeat of the same question regarding apps/compatibility. I know there are some solutions out there and some that we'll have more access to shortly (i.e. Plex.)
My question is what is going to be the best setup for hosting and serving local media to a ChromeCast? I currently have an outdated (unsupported) Windows Home Server with 3TB of storage. With an Intel Atom CPU it still functions nicely as a lightweight, energy efficient file server. I'm concerned about it's capability to function as a DLNA server, however. It's powerful enough to serve raw files but I think that's about it.
I bought the Avia expanded feature set and haven't had much luck with it. I understand I can't use it to simply browse files on my server and play them, so I installed the Serviio DLNA server (http://serviiowhs.codeplex.com/) and the Avia app does find this media (although some files are sporadically missing.) Playing them on Avia doesn't work at all, either on my phone or on Chromecast. I turned off transcoding on the server but I'm just generally confused at where the video processing is all taking place and where I want it to be taking place.
Ideally I'd like to just serve files up to my ChromeCast and have it perform all of the decoding/video processing, I think? Is that ever a realistic option or do I need to find something that is going to work better as DLNA server? Maybe a NAS with some kind of DLNA functionality built in? Anyone else have opinions on the best setup?
usefulidiot127 said:
My question is what is going to be the best setup for hosting and serving local media to a ChromeCast? I currently have an outdated (unsupported) Windows Home Server with 3TB of storage. With an Intel Atom CPU it still functions nicely as a lightweight, energy efficient file server. I'm concerned about it's capability to function as a DLNA server, however. It's powerful enough to serve raw files but I think that's about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Atom is fine for DLNA, but things that require transcoding (ie, Plex Media Server) will probably leave you wanting more horsepower.
usefulidiot127 said:
I bought the Avia expanded feature set and haven't had much luck with it. I understand I can't use it to simply browse files on my server and play them, so I installed the Serviio DLNA server (http://serviiowhs.codeplex.com/) and the Avia app does find this media (although some files are sporadically missing.) Playing them on Avia doesn't work at all, either on my phone or on Chromecast. I turned off transcoding on the server but I'm just generally confused at where the video processing is all taking place and where I want it to be taking place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on WHS 2011 now, but IIRC WHSv1 supports UPnP and Windows Media Connect. It might show up for DLNA, but I don't remember if Windows Media Connect is turned on by default. Regardless, DLNA alone won't help you if your media isn't in a Chromecast-compatible format.
usefulidiot127 said:
Ideally I'd like to just serve files up to my ChromeCast and have it perform all of the decoding/video processing, I think? Is that ever a realistic option or do I need to find something that is going to work better as DLNA server? Maybe a NAS with some kind of DLNA functionality built in? Anyone else have opinions on the best setup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chromecast's processor is powerful, but nowhere near as flexible as a desktop computer. You can't necessarily automatically download and install software CODECs like you can on a desktop computer.
Think of it more like an iPod - unless the media was made to be compatible, there will likely need to be some amount of "preparation" (ie, transcoding) that needs to be done to make it compatible.
Your options would be to convert/transcode your media library so it's Chromecast compatible, use RealPlayer Cloud (which will require you to upload any incompatible media to RP Cloud where they'll do the transcoding for you via their SurePlay feature), or use Plex Media Server so you have on-the-fly transcoding.
bhiga said:
Hmm... Atom is fine for DLNA, but things that require transcoding (ie, Plex Media Server) will probably leave you wanting more horsepower.
I'm on WHS 2011 now, but IIRC WHSv1 supports UPnP and Windows Media Connect. It might show up for DLNA, but I don't remember if Windows Media Connect is turned on by default. Regardless, DLNA alone won't help you if your media isn't in a Chromecast-compatible format.
Chromecast's processor is powerful, but nowhere near as flexible as a desktop computer. You can't necessarily automatically download and install software CODECs like you can on a desktop computer.
Think of it more like an iPod - unless the media was made to be compatible, there will likely need to be some amount of "preparation" (ie, transcoding) that needs to be done to make it compatible.
Your options would be to convert/transcode your media library so it's Chromecast compatible, use RealPlayer Cloud (which will require you to upload any incompatible media to RP Cloud where they'll do the transcoding for you via their SurePlay feature), or use Plex Media Server so you have on-the-fly transcoding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm guessing I'm running into issues with Avia/ChromeCast because I have transcoding disabled and the media may not be in a format supported by Chromecast? I thought maybe since my android phones/tablets with MX Player can process just about any file, maybe the ChromeCast could as well. (Not taking into account that ChromeCast is a vastly cheaper device.)
My best option might just be to run Plex on my full powered desktop and treat my server as network attached storage. I'll just need to turn the PC on when I'm ready to Cast (surely there's an app out there to wake a desktop from sleep mode...)
usefulidiot127 said:
Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm guessing I'm running into issues with Avia/ChromeCast because I have transcoding disabled and the media may not be in a format supported by Chromecast? I thought maybe since my android phones/tablets with MX Player can process just about any file, maybe the ChromeCast could as well. (Not taking into account that ChromeCast is a vastly cheaper device.)
My best option might just be to run Plex on my full powered desktop and treat my server as network attached storage. I'll just need to turn the PC on when I'm ready to Cast (surely there's an app out there to wake a desktop from sleep mode...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - most likely your media isn't in a format Chromecast can play.
You can test it by shooting a 720p clip on your phone/tablet and throwing that onto your server - that should be playable by Chromecast unless you have an uber-fancy device that saves in a non-mainstream format.
MX Player is pretty awesome - it really makes good use of hardware decoding and such, but of course today's phones and tablets are closer to desktop computer than appliance-type devices like Chromecast.
Yes, probably your best bet it to run Plex on a reasonably-fast machine. It might be worth trying it on your WHS box too, though it might be slow to start stuff, depends. My WHS 2011 box is an Atom 330 (dual-core), it was a good upgrade from my previous Atom 230 (single-core) but its CPU isn't much faster than those found in some of the more-powerful NAS units. I just use it as a fileserver, so it's not a huge deal and the primary design factor was small form factor (it's mounted to a plate mounted on the back of my TV).
As long as the network connection between your server and your Plex Media Server machine is good, it should work well. For a while I was running pyTivo on my desktop to on-the-fly transcode stuff to play on my TiVos...
bhiga said:
Yes - most likely your media isn't in a format Chromecast can play.
You can test it by shooting a 720p clip on your phone/tablet and throwing that onto your server - that should be playable by Chromecast unless you have an uber-fancy device that saves in a non-mainstream format.
MX Player is pretty awesome - it really makes good use of hardware decoding and such, but of course today's phones and tablets are closer to desktop computer than appliance-type devices like Chromecast.
Yes, probably your best bet it to run Plex on a reasonably-fast machine. It might be worth trying it on your WHS box too, though it might be slow to start stuff, depends. My WHS 2011 box is an Atom 330 (dual-core), it was a good upgrade from my previous Atom 230 (single-core) but its CPU isn't much faster than those found in some of the more-powerful NAS units. I just use it as a fileserver, so it's not a huge deal and the primary design factor was small form factor (it's mounted to a plate mounted on the back of my TV).
As long as the network connection between your server and your Plex Media Server machine is good, it should work well. For a while I was running pyTivo on my desktop to on-the-fly transcode stuff to play on my TiVos...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Plex Server is running everything just fine off of an old Dell Dimension E510. The only upgrade I've made to that server was to boost the ram from 1gb to 4gb. It transcodes everything on the fly just fine. I'm quite surprised, actually.
jsdecker10 said:
My Plex Server is running everything just fine off of an old Dell Dimension E510. The only upgrade I've made to that server was to boost the ram from 1gb to 4gb. It transcodes everything on the fly just fine. I'm quite surprised, actually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like your E510 is an 3GHz Intel Pentium 4 531 (or at least the one CNET reviewed was).
My Atom 330 is still kinda poopy in comparison, but this at least gives me enough hope to perhaps try Plex server and see how it fares.
Thanks for that!
bhiga said:
Looks like your E510 is an 3GHz Intel Pentium 4 531 (or at least the one CNET reviewed was).
My Atom 330 is still kinda poopy in comparison, but this at least gives me enough hope to perhaps try Plex server and see how it fares.
Thanks for that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, you may as well at least give it a shot and just see how it'll fare because I wasn't really too optimistic about mine being able to handle the duties of transcoding either...ie. from mkv, from avi, etc. But to my surprise, it did the job just fine n dandy & I've been MORE than satisfied with my setup so far.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Doesn't WHS come with Twonky Server? Or is that just some Brands of it?
Twonky will do transcoding but you might need to install FFMPEG and set it up to do it.
Tonky is probably the best at transcoding and very configurable so if WHS has it I would look into using that first.
Yes the Atom is probably underpowered for good transcoding but provided your source files aren't too High Quality I think it might cut it.
As for anyone looking for the BEST WAY...The choices are pretty slim right now....
You have ONLY two choices right now....
Plex and Plex apps OR DLNA server and aVia and I think we established that aVia even with DLNA server that transcodes doesn't always mean a CCast compatible stream.
Maybe Bubble solves that or maybe some other player does but until they are released those are really the only two choices and answers anyone can give for people without a rooted CCast.
I'm having best luck using PlayOn/Avia. PlayOn uses VLC player so can stream just about any format, haven't found one yet it can't do. Avia can fine PlayOn server via DLNC. Also doesn't require too much CPU, have even used a netbook as PlayOn server and works really well. Plus, you get all the PlayOn channels, which is a bunch.
xenokc said:
I'm having best luck using PlayOn/Avia. PlayOn uses VLC player so can stream just about any format, haven't found one yet it can't do. Avia can fine PlayOn server via DLNC. Also doesn't require too much CPU, have even used a netbook as PlayOn server and works really well. Plus, you get all the PlayOn channels, which is a bunch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And the PlayOn app will soon support CCast as well, At least they are advertising that as coming very soon.
Like I said there are going to be more options coming out soon that will change whatever answer is given today which is why I caution anyone from re-encoding their Library trying to fix a temporary problem!
Asphyx said:
And the PlayOn app will soon support CCast as well, At least they are advertising that as coming very soon.
Like I said there are going to be more options coming out soon that will change whatever answer is given today which is why I caution anyone from re-encoding their Library trying to fix a temporary problem!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear CCast support is coming for PLayOn. Works OK with Avia but direct support will be great. The best thing about PlayOn is that is uses VLC Player so just about every format supported as well as low CPU needs.
xenokc said:
Good to hear CCast support is coming for PLayOn. Works OK with Avia but direct support will be great. The best thing about PlayOn is that is uses VLC Player so just about every format supported as well as low CPU needs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it may use VLC to play on Android but there is no guarantee it will use VLC on the CCast.
It is my hope that VLC (and all Player apps that are out there) will support CCast and create a DIAL registered Player App for Chromecast that other programs could use as well.
Asphyx said:
Well it may use VLC to play on Android but there is no guarantee it will use VLC on the CCast.
It is my hope that VLC (and all Player apps that are out there) will support CCast and create a DIAL registered Player App for Chromecast that other programs could use as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually PlayOn uses VLC on the server side, not the client side.
Does anyone think we'll be able to use the 'Cast Screen' in the display settings with Chromecast anytime soon?
The S3 Kid said:
Does anyone think we'll be able to use the 'Cast Screen' in the display settings with Chromecast anytime soon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I've been wondering why this isn't working for me in OmniROM. Is this a standard feature/option even on the stock ROM for KitKat? Or are you using OmniROM as well? It doesn't detect my Chromecast. Thanks.
ritzxda said:
Ah, I've been wondering why this isn't working for me in OmniROM. Is this a standard feature/option even on the stock ROM for KitKat? Or are you using OmniROM as well? It doesn't detect my Chromecast. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KitKat is Miracast certified. Problem is, Chromecast doesn't support Miracast, at least not today...
bhiga said:
KitKat is Miracast certified. Problem is, Chromecast doesn't support Miracast, at least not today...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah got it! Thank you. I thought it was something new due to the new "Cast" option in the settings. Thanks.
xenokc said:
Actually PlayOn uses VLC on the server side, not the client side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks didn't know that.
The S3 Kid said:
Does anyone think we'll be able to use the 'Cast Screen' in the display settings with Chromecast anytime soon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you mean on your KitKat Phone, as @bhiga noted thats for Miracast not CCast. You can however cast a screen from a Desktop Browser. It may be possible in the future to do screen mirroring as there is code in KitKat to do it but from what Koush sees it seems like it will be up to the manufacturer to cook it into the ROM which says to me it will need driver support in the Kernel to work.
Lets hope I'm dead wrong about that!
I have Plex, Twonky, Subsonic, Air Video, and from the 4, only 2 show up as DLNA on my network (plex and twonky) Now, I modified my Subsonic to play from the browser locally as well as remotely so I guess Chrome + anything that plays on chrome could be casted to Chromecast, correct?
Will try it out... Also, I can play Plex from Chrome browser, going to see if I can get a fullscreen going..
EDIT: I got all 3 Plex, Subsonic and Twonky to stream in fullscreen (but from Chrome it has a 720p limit - lame...) ---another note, for Twonky, when you pick the media, you have to cast the opened tab, not the one you are currently on when you select the media like the other 2, just like when you drag and drop .mp3 or .mkv to Chrome, whichever tab opens, you cast that one, only problem is when I drag an MKV to Chrome I get no sound, so I will stick to Plex/Subsonic/Twonky when playing .MKV... Saves me having to run an HDMI cable to the TV, I think it's still worth the $35 even if I can't root it
m4f1050 said:
EDIT: I got all 3 Plex, Subsonic and Twonky to stream in fullscreen (but from Chrome it has a 720p limit - lame...) ---another note, for Twonky, when you pick the media, you have to cast the opened tab, not the one you are currently on when you select the media like the other 2, just like when you drag and drop .mp3 or .mkv to Chrome, whichever tab opens, you cast that one, only problem is when I drag an MKV to Chrome I get no sound, so I will stick to Plex/Subsonic/Twonky when playing .MKV... Saves me having to run an HDMI cable to the TV, I think it's still worth the $35 even if I can't root it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Playing video via Chrome + Cast extension is more like playing video through remote desktop rather than playing directly. It's the least desirable solution for video playback, though a reasonable fallback in most cases.
As previously announced (some 6 months ago), it finally happened. Seems very stable from the 30 minutes I had to play with it. Opens a lot of opportunities. Funny that it supports Plex better than Plex themselvesf, and free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp&hl=en
Enjoy...
BubbleUPnP UPnP/DLNA free 1.8.0 with full chromecast 15250 support it's limited to 20/30 minutes of playback.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp&hl=en
If you want more you have to pay €3,49/$4.69 for BubbleUPnP UPnP/DLNA License
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp.unlocker&hl=en
What's New
1.8.0
Finally, full Chromecast support with optional transcoding for playing non natively supported media.
Play your music, videos and photos to your Chromecast, whether located on your Android device, your local network or the cloud!
Playing Chromecast natively supported media is unrestricted in the free version of BubbleUPnP.
Playing transcoded media requires installing BubbleUPnP Server 0.8 on your network, and is limited to 20 minutes per app launch in the free version of BubbleUPnP.
Free for up to 20 minutes of playing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BubbleUPnP free version limitations:
- ads
- Internet streaming with BubbleUPnP Server is limited to 30 minutes per app launch
- Playlist and Library Shuffle are limited to 16 tracks
- downloads limited to batches of maximum 40 tracks
- the local renderer is remotely controllable by external Control Points for 30 mins per app launch
- the local Media Server is not browsable by filesystem (SD Card)
- playing media from external apps is limited to 3 plays per app launch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spent a bit more time with it and still impressed. I bought a premium version about a year ago, and was completely oblivious that there might be some limitations. Glad to see that app is 100% free and working for Chromecast supported formats.
In their defence, also bought Plex app, and still unable to cast anything. And as I said, it does Plex better than Plex app in my opinion.
Yes I'm very glad I could release Chromecast support.
It has been a long wait since my early tests in August/September.
jasenko said:
Funny that it supports Plex better than Plex themselvesf, and free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please explain! Plex app works great for me...
mathorv said:
BubbleUPnP UPnP/DLNA free 1.8.0 with full chromecast 15250 support it's limited to 20/30 minutes of playback.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp&hl=en
If you want more you have to pay €3,49/$4.69 for BubbleUPnP UPnP/DLNA License
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp.unlocker&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just launched 1.8.0 and the history says
Playing media natively supported by Chromecast is unrestricted in the free version of BubbleUPnP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so I believe the 20/30 minute limit applies only if you need BubbleUPnP Server to transcode content?
bhiga said:
so I believe the 20/30 minute limit applies only if you need BubbleUPnP Server to transcode content?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Media natively supported = MP4, webm, (with supported codecs) and audio files. In this matter you are right it's free, but I have not tried it to be absolutely sure.
Now with BubbleUPnP support, can someone give me some advice? I use BubbleUPnP a lot and it is my favorite app for media.
I have an original firmware Chromecast that has never seen the Internet. I don't want to lose the flexibility of the software potential, but now with BubbleUPnP as well as Google releasing the APIs, I am wondering what the best plan would be.
What would you guys do with your original firmware Chromecast?
xdadevnube said:
Now with BubbleUPnP support, can someone give me some advice? I use BubbleUPnP a lot and it is my favorite app for media.
I have an original firmware Chromecast that has never seen the Internet. I don't want to lose the flexibility of the software potential, but now with BubbleUPnP as well as Google releasing the APIs, I am wondering what the best plan would be.
What would you guys do with your original firmware Chromecast?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would root it. If you don't care about root, sell/trade it to someone who does.
The only thing you lose is some time between a Google OTA release and the corresponding Team Eureka release.
Normal incremental releases don't see much/any functionality breakage.
This one was an exception because of the new SDK and APIs needing to be in-sync across both clients and Chromecasts.
bhiga said:
I would root it. If you don't care about root, sell/trade it to someone who does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS!
If you don't really want root then it's more valuable to someone else than it would be if you allowed it lose it's rootable condition.
Congrats to the BubbleUPnP folks for the added CCast support.
I have not tried it fully yet but to those who are currently using aVia, a switch to Bubble might be a good move.
Especially if you have the Bubble Server running on a PC since you will get the transcoding goodness not available with aVia...
Now if MX Player would add CCast support my local streaming to CCast world would be complete.
bhiga said:
I just launched 1.8.0 and the history says
so I believe the 20/30 minute limit applies only if you need BubbleUPnP Server to transcode content?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read it that way also.
so now is there a way to make srt subs to work?
rkirmeier said:
Please explain! Plex app works great for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plex app was very slow for me when browsing channels. No issues with BubbleUPnP. Plus I had to pay for a month of premium service just to see how it works with the chromecast. Glad to also see some serious competition.
Thumbs up!
Very stable so far for sending photos to Chromecast, much better than Avia because it leaves the last pic up until it's (more or less) ready to load the next one.
caifaz said:
so now is there a way to make srt subs to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not currently, but subs will be supported in the next version of the app.
external srt (provided the media server expose them to BubbleUPnP, for video accessed via UPnP) and embedded subs (mostly found in MKV) will be supported.
And it will be done properly, without burning the subs in the video which is horrible (reencode).
bubbleguuum said:
Not currently, but subs will be supported in the next version of the app.
external srt (provided the media server expose them to BubbleUPnP, for video accessed via UPnP) and embedded subs (mostly found in MKV) will be supported.
And it will be done properly, without burning the subs in the video which is horrbile (reencode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply, I'm glad that someone cares!
bubbleguuum said:
Not currently, but subs will be supported in the next version of the app.
external srt (provided the media server expose them to BubbleUPnP, for video accessed via UPnP) and embedded subs (mostly found in MKV) will be supported.
And it will be done properly, without burning the subs in the video which is horrbile (reencode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking of embedded things in MKV, just successfully cast Simpsons from the NAS zonly be joined by di director commentaries- I have no option or means to disable this stream as I would on n pc
Sent from my One using Tapatalk
Hey bubbleguuum,
I tested a file (streamed from Interntet) in 4 different apps today (vGet, LocalCast, BubbleUPnP and Avia). All but Avia were heavily stuttering. The receiver apps looked very similar in the other three so I am guessing, it is a standard implementation of the protocol. Avia on the other hand did some caching magic behind the scenes and the end result was far more pleasing to watch without constant interruptions. I hope next version of BubbleUPnP will also have some magic applied to it.
jasenko said:
Hey bubbleguuum,
I tested a file (streamed from Interntet) in 4 different apps today (vGet, LocalCast, BubbleUPnP and Avia). All but Avia were heavily stuttering. The receiver apps looked very similar in the other three so I am guessing, it is a standard implementation of the protocol. Avia on the other hand did some caching magic behind the scenes and the end result was far more pleasing to watch without constant interruptions. I hope next version of BubbleUPnP will also have some magic applied to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will be magic, but not in this area I'm afraid. It's true that if all 3 apps shows the same UI on the CC, they are using the default media player app. When using Avia, does the video continue to play to the end if you kill Avia (I mean really kill it, not leave it in the background) ? That's for testing the possibility it might proxy the stream.
I just tried BubbleUPnP on the Chromecast. When using the transcoding option, which puts a huge CPU load on the computer, I am unable to seek the transcoded files. When I play Chromecast-supported files, then no transcoding occurs and I can seek just fine.
I wonder if there is a way to seek transcoded files, so one doesn't have to start a video over from the beginning.
Hey all,
I don't know about you, but I'm finding it hard to keep up with a lot of the new apps and methods for casting. Since the SDK release, things have really been moving quickly. A lot of the apps seem to offer the same features, but some here or there offer something new. It's hard sifting through them and finding those new features though.
Would you guys like to suggest what you have found to be your preferred method of casting? Do you convert your vids, or upload them (like with Real), or just cast direct ...etc
As it stands for me right now, I'm on Windows and using the VideoStream extension in Chrome. From my phone, I'm using either Avia or Allcast. Not sure if I could be doing this more efficiently.
Tried XBMC, BubbleUPnP, Wonder Share Media Center and some other more exotic ways to cast from my computer and, for me, Plex is the way to go.
Especially since it no longer requires a Plex Pass subscription.
A one time 5$ fee for the app and I can cast everything on my computer and control it from my phone.
ataft said:
Hey all,
I don't know about you, but I'm finding it hard to keep up with a lot of the new apps and methods for casting. Since the SDK release, things have really been moving quickly. A lot of the apps seem to offer the same features, but some here or there offer something new. It's hard sifting through them and finding those new features though.
Would you guys like to suggest what you have found to be your preferred method of casting? Do you convert your vids, or upload them (like with Real), or just cast direct ...etc
As it stands for me right now, I'm on Windows and using the VideoStream extension in Chrome. From my phone, I'm using either Avia or Allcast. Not sure if I could be doing this more efficiently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Plex for most everything except local casting, and Chrome Beta (with experimental chromecast support enabled in flags) for streaming things like dailymotion, etc (tried LocalCast for this but it just never worked for me), Chrome Beta does it perfectly, adds the chromecast icon to the video and everything...plex DOES have channels, dailymotion being one of them and it works just as well, but it's nice to have it all in Chrome.
As for device to TV casting I use Solid Explorer with the free chromecast plugin.
There are a lot of Apps but there is no KILLER App yet to date....None that just DOES EVERYTHING...
You have Two distinct Groups of Apps...Players and Media Servers (Media Servers being a bit more comprehensive as they also include players to interface with their system)
You're (currently) going to need one of both types to be able to stream everything you might want to stream to a CCast.
Media Servers - Include Bubble UPnP and Plex. (PlayOn is another system but I'm not sure they have added their CCast support yet)
Media Servers usually work in conjunction with a more powerful computer running the server part of the system that can do things like convert (Transcode) media to be compatible (playable) on any device including a CCast, and make your media available via DLNA, UPnP or via a custom Cloud Service.These server systems in most cases do not stream content stored on your local (android) device (some like BubbleUPnP can), but they remove the need to store content on your device altogether by making a master media library server that can be accessed anywhere (even remotely). Some Media Servers will also allow you to sync content locally (Plex does not sure about Bubble) to a device when required so you can view that content even when no Network access is available (think in a Plane or when the only Network is a metered Mobile Data account.) These servers also have corresponding player apps to interface with their servers for best results.
Plex and Bubble are very different in many respects and make a very good symbiotic pair. Running Both gives you a great deal of power as far as what can be streamed and streamed specifically to a CCast due to the transcoding that is available.
Bubble UPnP - can play local DEVICE (aka Android Device) stored content and in conjunction with it's server counterpart (running on a PC) can transcode that media for playback on the CCast when needed. I will also note that Bubble currently has the edge on the CCast Player side support due to it's client (CCast Player) side Subtitle overlay, and if I read his changelog correctly last night will support multiple Audio Tracks during transcode. The ONLY thing Bubble is missing is the actual Media Library service. It can Aggregate content from DLNA,and UPnP sources that exist on the network but has no ability to include Media folders. So it requires a Plex like Server or an NAS with UPnP capability to collect the media it will display. It can however also use Windows Media sharing to get it's content. Not the best option (IMO) but it will work and since Bubble will do the transcoding should work better than Windows Media Sharing does by itself. The developer of Bubble is a regular poster here and can answer any questions you might have (or correct my stupidity if I have Misinformed) . I myself run Both Plex and Bubble on my main Media Server/HTPC
Plex Media Server (PMS) - is a full fledged DLNA server and Library system. You point it to Media folders based on content type (Movies, TV, Music, Photos, etc) It will scrape those contents to find metadata which includes cover art, Description of title, even Actors and Genre. It saves all of this info in a database that can be used to create a very nice looking display of your content, organized and tidy. The server runs on a PC and the Player app (Plex for Android and iOS) will only work with content stored and configured on that PLEX server's database(other DLNA sources will not show up). There is a way to include Local DEVICE stored content into the server but it's complicated, and that content requires the device to be on in order to stream to other devices. Plex also creates a home cloud situation where you can stream directly anywhere you are or SYNC to be able to play content when network is not available. Plex Transcodes media for compatibility and also has Channel support which is important to the cord cutters. Not all channels are CCast compatible but when the rest of the web world catches up to modern standards and makes their content HTML5 compliant that issue will go away. Plex also has a website that can send content to CCast from a PC using Chrome with the Googlecast Ext installed. And if you and your friends all run Plex server you can share content from those servers with each other.
If you run both systems you get the majority of what you need for streaming to the CCast with the exception of Live Browser (Tab Casting)
Bubble will handle the local streaming, Plex will supply the DLNA/UPnP component Bubble requires.
Now onto the other type of software that is where the 99,000 options will eventually be seen....
Media Players - Currently there are half a dozen options available (aVia, Real Player, YournamehereCast, you get the idea)
Most of these are no different than your typical Android media player with the exception being they have added the ability to find and send content to a CCast. In most cases no transcoding is possible which means it only works if the content you want to play is already CCast compatible. Think of every media player you have ever seen in the Play store...IMO they will ALL have CCast ability at some point if they want to stay in the game. The winner being the one who figures out how to get the CCast to play the most media types without the need to transcode. (Think MX Player's ability to support media that Android native can't support only this time it's the CCast that it adds the capability to.) Many of the players you find that support CCast also support flinging to DLNA renderers on the local network which is nice if you also have ROKU or an XBMC HTPC running on your network.
These Media players can see media from a variety of sources (including Local DEVICE stored media and those DLNA/UPnP/Cloud Storage servers) but the caveat is the transcoding is not there. (Real Player Cloud will transcode but only content that is stored on their cloud service.)
The one big advantage of a good Media player with CCast support is that it can make content from apps that support an external player but do not have CCast support able to stream to a CCast. You launch the media and when it asks for which player select a CCast compatible player and that player will then give that app CCast support. This is how some are getting XBMC to stream to CCast as well as some apps like Movie Browser UPnP. So even if you have a full fledged media server running it sure doesn't hurt to have a Media Player with CCast support that can give you some CCast capability even if your favorite media app doesn't support CCast by itself yet. But that app MUST support external players which most do these days.
My hope is MX Player or VLC eventually supports CCast because of all the players I have tried over the years those two seemed to be the best ones to use.
There are quite a few extension options that add capability to stream via the chrome browser. I don't use any of them (other than the GoogleCast extension that is required for PlexTV, and YouTube Web to work.) With that extension installed the websites will show the CCast icon on the player controls so you can fling content from PC. I'll let someone else talk about the other extensions that are available for PC and Browsers because like I said above with Bubble and Plex combined I have pretty much everything I need as far as Media flinging to CCast is concerned.
[EDIT] I listed Allcast as a Media Player but after thinking about that it isn't so much a player as it is a Media Flinger so I removed it from the list.) I consider anything Koush does to be a Must have app so get it and buy it if you haven't already!
You ought to talk to bhiga about getting that post into his faq.
using serviio in my computer. I have a post with more info.
caifaz said:
using serviio in my computer. I have a post with more info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I tend to shy away from anything Java based and the two media servers I mentioned are Free.
The Players for those servers may have a puchase involved but the server itself I believe is free to use which makes them work for just about any player you want to use.
---------- Post added at 10:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 PM ----------
EarlyMon said:
You ought to talk to bhiga about getting that post into his faq.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL he knows he is free to take anything I say he feels is useful and put it in the faq...
Problem is what I said will most likely change in a week so it probably should stay out just to avoid having to remove them later when things change.
Asphyx said:
LOL he knows he is free to take anything I say he feels is useful and put it in the faq...
Problem is what I said will most likely change in a week so it probably should stay out just to avoid having to remove them later when things change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was lazy and linked.
So far I have setup a Plex Media Server and connected it to Bubble UPnP+Server. Don't see why I would need to get(/pay for plex app) anything else?
Ok so the difference between Bubble and Plex that I notice is that Bubble can play local files?
Edit: and that bubble kills my wifi?
I second the request for MX Player supports CC in the near future.
MOLON LABE
bhiga said:
I was lazy and linked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL You deserve to rest and save your strength for the important stuff! LOL
---------- Post added at 03:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:42 AM ----------
Zyphur said:
So far I have setup a Plex Media Server and connected it to Bubble UPnP+Server. Don't see why I would need to get(/pay for plex app) anything else?
Ok so the difference between Bubble and Plex that I notice is that Bubble can play local files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On Android yes...On PC it requires a DLNA or UPnP source to be active and available to aggregate.
If Bubble adds a full Media Library with database and scraping you wouldn't even need the Plex server....
me personally I love the interface, Local Sync and Share capability of Plex. If you have PlexPass (I Do) then you don't need to pay for the app. But then again it costs more to have PlexPass than it does to buy the $5 app.
Asphyx said:
LOL You deserve to rest and save your strength for the important stuff! LOL
---------- Post added at 03:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:42 AM ----------
On Android yes...On PC it requires a DLNA or UPnP source to be active and available to aggregate.
If Bubble adds a full Media Library with database and scraping you wouldn't even need the Plex server....
me personally I love the interface, Local Sync and Share capability of Plex. If you have PlexPass (I Do) then you don't need to pay for the app. But then again it costs more to have PlexPass than it does to buy the $5 app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love love love the Plex server interface, so I'm just using that with the Plex app now. Bubble kept killing my wifi, and didn't do anything extra.
Zyphur said:
I love love love the Plex server interface, so I'm just using that with the Plex app now. Bubble kept killing my wifi, and didn't do anything extra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's App does play local DEVICE stored media which Plex Apps don't do....
Good reason to have both. Not sure why Bubble would kill your WiFi....No issues here...
Asphyx said:
Asphyx said:
Well it's App does play local DEVICE stored media which Plex Apps don't do....
Good reason to have both. Not sure why Bubble would kill your WiFi....No issues here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I noticed that, but I put things on my plex server before I put it on my phone anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bubble handles subs way more efficient. My plex server doesn't have the balls to transcode so anything that needs subs (think forced subs) makes bubble a must in my situation
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
sherdog16 said:
Bubble handles subs way more efficient. My plex server doesn't have the balls to transcode so anything that needs subs (think forced subs) makes bubble a must in my situation
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is why I noted in my post that Bubble currently has the edge on CCast support because it does more on the client side where it SHOULD!
I haven't really had time to test his new version which is supposed to transcode and keep multitrack audio but that in itself would be another major innovation that puts Bubble ahead of Plex from a pure CCast support POV.
I have AllCast, LocalCast, and Bubble.
I now use Bubble exclusively. It was the easiest to plug and play with my current setup.
1. I can cast direct to the chromecast from phone or tablet local storage using the respective device.
2. I can cast tablet local storage using my phone and vice-versa. Also really cool. (And no it doesn't have to go thru the "caster" if you will. My phone can tell the CC to get content direct from tablet)
3. I have movies on my Windows PC. By enabling media sharing (and Wake-on-Lan!) I can use my portable to tell CC to access my PC media directly. I know its direct cause I can turn off my portable and it still plays. Also, if I open Bubble on another device (or restart on initial device,) it picks up right where it should (slider position, play/pause status, etc.) You can also enable (.srt) subtitles. These are sent directly from your portable tho. But this takes very little CPU and battery to do. Plus you can control the font, color, etc. easily. I'm able to cast the subtitles from my Windows PC as well. Simple as it could possibly be.
4. My content is all MP4 with AAC audio so I don't need any transcoding, but if you need it, install the Bubble "server" on your Windows PC. I quote it like that since its not really a server in my sense of the word. Its a wrapper for your current server (it works with several, easiest of all your built-in windows media server) and can transcode on the fly and offer a web control interface.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Not sure why people were hating on the chromecast, i think it's excellent.
I just purchased one yesterday and set up plex off my home server. Working great so far!!!
Hey guys, I've had my Chromecast for 2 days and found something that seems to be amazing (and still being developed).
It is a Chrome browser extension named Videostream for Google Chromecast.
It is free, simple to use, and seemingly great quality.
They have a website if any of you are interested.
www.getvideostream.com
I have tested it with some music videos (.mp4, 720p) and anime (.mkv, 720p, embedded .ass subs don't display at the moment, for me at least).
Hope this helps everybody, and sorry if it is general knowledge. :laugh:
Got my Chromecast yesterday, within 30 mins have got the free Plex Server installed on my Laptop which holds copies of all my media (music, photos and video), and installed the paid Plex app as a client on phone and tablet and happily streaming media.....:good:
Later on I also installed BubbleUPnP on the client devices, which appears to do a better job as a Plex Server client than the Plex App itself.
Playlisting / Shuffle etc across all media types, along with ability to cast media on the device are the main 'killer' features in BubbleUPnP lacking as far as I can tell in the Plex App and it seems a little faster overall to get the stream running. So I bought a license (don't think I actually needed one for my usage, but gotta reward good development). I don't mind paying for the Plex app either, even if I'm not likely to use it much, given that the Plex server software is free.
But for those with tight pockets it does appears that the free Plex Server plus free BubbleUPnP app is a viable solution if all the media is already Chromecast compatible (which mine mostly was) and doesn't require transcoding. And if it's not Handbrake to convert to Chromecast format is also free.
Also good excuse for a tidy up - do I really still need to keep the entire 6 seasons of LOST having watched the lot at least 4 times....??? :silly:
Anyway the purpose of this post really is to say thank-you to Bhiga for maintaining an excellent FAQ and Asphyx for the informative posts in this thread and others. Without the background reading I'm sure I'd have been messing around until the small hours yesterday trying to get things set up rather than relaxing with a couple of films that have been sat on my hard drive for months unwatched.
Am I correct in thinking there is no video play with chromecast push support? I.e. MX Player, you are watching video on phone then you press cast button?
Not possible or just no app has done it yet?
Avia has paid ($2.99) CC support.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
There is an app called y2cast which can cast videos to the Chromecast together with an app called Moliplayer. The 1. problem of this is that everytime you turn on your TV, you have to connect y2cast with your Chromecast before you can start casting via Moliplayer and the 2. is that Moliplayer doesn't play every file format (even when you haven't connected it to the Chromecast) and is also very slow/has a lot of lag.
---------- Post added at 03:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 PM ----------
Does Avia play every file format and can avia cast every file format to the chromecast?
There are loads of apps now that will play media from phone to Chromecast - BubbleUPnP is my personal choice, Allcast, Localcast, Avia....there are more.
They vary in their capabilities - most can't cast videos that are not encoded in a Chromecast friendly format. BubbleUPnP can with the help of a Bubble Server installed on a PC on the local network.
neu - smurph said:
There are loads of apps now that will play media from phone to Chromecast - BubbleUPnP is my personal choice, Allcast, Localcast, Avia....there are more.
They vary in their capabilities - most can't cast videos that are not encoded in a Chromecast friendly format. BubbleUPnP can with the help of a Bubble Server installed on a PC on the local network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well then you could just cast the video in a tab via Chrome. I'd love to see a solution where an android device does that, most of the devices are probably capable of doing it.
Pete1612 said:
Well then you could just cast the video in a tab via Chrome. I'd love to see a solution where an android device does that, most of the devices are probably capable of doing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Share the page to either vGet or Web Video Caster, and cast from there.
It's one extra step - sharing the link - but it works great for supported video formats.
vGet has more options and is a paid app. Web Video Caster just casts and is free.
EarlyMon said:
Share the page to either vGet or Web Video Caster, and cast from there.
It's one extra step - sharing the link - but it works great for supported video formats.
vGet has more options and is a paid app. Web Video Caster just casts and is free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for thus you can also use chrome for android (free from google obviously), go to chrome://flags and turn on chromecast support
Avia does NOT work on all formats. It's a bit of a hit and miss. Some work some dont
The moment everyone is waiting for is for mx player or vlc to support Chromecast !
I think that the limitions are not in the players but in the software of ccast that can play only a few format and codecs.
Do you think that, in future, ccast will be updated and so it will play other video format? Is a feature that can be implemented with a firmware upgrade?
Thanks!
davboc said:
I think that the limitions are not in the players but in the software of ccast that can play only a few format and codecs.
Do you think that, in future, ccast will be updated and so it will play other video format? Is a feature that can be implemented with a firmware upgrade?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and Maybe....
You're right in that the CCast is limited in codec and container support.
But that is really only true if the Player app that gets loaded into CCast relies on the CCast hardware to play the files.
Android itself is almost as limited as the CCast is as far as Compatible file formats are concerned but the video players we use on Android add the support for those different codecs and container types into the APPs themselves.
The same could be done on the CCast side and BubbleUPnP seems to be the one (and Only) app that has gone the farthest in doing that.
All the others seem to just send whatever format the file is in and if it isn't CCast compatible it won't play.
What needs to happen is for someone to create an MX Player type CCast Player app that can play many Container and Codec types without the need for Transcoding. Then others could potentially use that Player App (think along the lines of a JW Player type CCast Application) when sending Media to the CCast without the worry of incompatible file and codec format.
Or Google needs to create it and add it to the CCast OS as the default player.
As of now there is no option close to that...Bubble supports more container types than others and in conjunction with the Bubble Server will transcode the ones it doesn't support.
Plex seems to transcode everything that isn't directly CCast compatible and the other Player Apps we have for Android don't deal with Compatibility at all they merely send the media to CCast and it works only if it is compatible.
Perhaps in time they will add to the CCast Player side to gain more support but Bubble is so far the only one to really focus as much on the Player side compatibility expansion and features.
Plex is working on it as well but they are less focused on Compatibility due to the fact they are able to transcode everything to whatever format they want. After they get all the transcoding perfected they might turn focus into finding ways to avoid transcoding for those who have issues due to low power servers.
Asphyx said:
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
perfect explanation! Really thank you. I hope that this device will be supported with the right software, meaning apps, in the near future.
Thanks again.
davboc said:
perfect explanation! Really thank you. I hope that this device will be supported with the right software, meaning apps, in the near future.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem right now seems to be that every App creates their own CCast Player App (called the receiver) but the DIAL protocol really doesn't require that to happen.
If the Open Source community would create a FREE TO USE Player App for CCast that any Android (or iOS app for that matter) could have the CCast load You might see a situation where all players could use that app to play to CCast and remove the need to code a Player themselves.
The only reason to code your own player then would be if you wanted to add other features like Media Info Mirroring and if the Player was Open Source it could be used inside their custom versions as well provided there is no issue with GPL license and Commercial Use.
the CCast support has come a long way since December...
I hope by next December we see more after people figure it out better.
The holdup is Google Locking it all up with the Whitelist.
I keep looking here hoping to find a developer that has decided to work on a CCast Player side to bring full client side support that others can use.
So Far Bubble is the only one focused on that side of the coding.
In the end the CCast player should support any container, Most Codecs, Client side selectable Subtitles and Multitrack Audio with Client side selection as well.
If they could add Dolby Support (not likely given the Licensing requirements) it would set the bar for all the others.
Localcast works well for me. Even let's me access and stream movies/TV shows straight from my USB stick on my Note 2 using an otg cable.
Sent from my Sinclair ZX81.
Koush tried software decoding for H.264 video - the processor ran hot enough to destroy his Chromecast, and that was using a known and mature routine.
The MediaTek processor is very good but it has limitations.
Maybe someone will take it further and succeed. I think it's more reasonable to look for more codecs on Chromecast 2, if at all.
Btw, LocalCast now lets you use your phone for headphones for stuff you're casting.
Not doubting you here...I know the Hardware is close to being an Egg Cooker even under normal usage....
But I'm curious as to why would he software decode H.264? No need to do that as it's already supported.
I'm just wondering if he was trying to do transcode from unsupported codec to H.264 on the device.
That method I would expect to not work at all.
But by adding loadable Software codecs it should not require the same proc cycles and speed as trying to transcode as it's really just a decoding operation which is roughly half the intense of transcoding which both decodes then re-encodes.
The Tricky part would be getting the player to load codecs on an as needed basis which is where I expect it might make the approach impossible.
I'm personally less concerned with codec support as I am with Containers, Subtitles and Audio Track selection being done on the Player side.
All of my Library is already H.264 But I much prefer MKV container for keeping Subs and Multiple Audio (for Commentary) so once a player comes out that supports all of those without transcoding I'll be a very happy puppy.
I don't know but I imagine that he was simply following a standard best practice -
Comparing known quantities to map the solution space before proceeding into the unknown.
The H.264 routine (just a software codec attached to a simple player from what I recall looking at the time) made sense for that, precisely because it was a mature, known quantity that could be compared to the existing feature in hardware.
Apples to apples.
perhap he tried that since H.264 is the most hardware intensive compression compared to say On2, Cinepak or the older Indeo...
If it could software decode H.264 then it could pretty much decode everything else just fine with the exception of MPEG2 which requires specific hardware.
Asphyx said:
What needs to happen is for someone to create an MX Player type CCast Player app that can play many Container and Codec types without the need for Transcoding. Then others could potentially use that Player App (think along the lines of a JW Player type CCast Application) when sending Media to the CCast without the worry of incompatible file and codec format.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying if a player i.e. MX player had the cast function builtin into it then you can cast any video format that MX player supports?
ermacwins said:
Are you saying if a player i.e. MX player had the cast function builtin into it then you can cast any video format that MX player supports?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what a lot of people want.
ermacwins said:
Are you saying if a player i.e. MX player had the cast function builtin into it then you can cast any video format that MX player supports?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No not at all.....an App's (aka Transmitter) ability to cast to a CCast has little to do with it can support but what the CCast supports....Other than through the player app it tells CCast to load to receive the stream (aka the Receiver app).
Every App tells the CCast to load a player and it is that player that determines what format can be played not what the App that started the cast supports.
So even if MX Player supported CCast now...Doesn't mean at all that streaming from it to a CCast means MKV or MOV files will play on the CCast despite the fact they play in MX Player just fine.
That is unless MX Player wrote a custom player (receiver) for the CCast that supported all the formats MX Player does or MX Player added the ability to transcode any format to work with the receiver they load into the CCast.
As of today just about every app that supports more than just the standard CCast compatible media do so via Transcoding.
And thats not likely to change soon unless someone figures out a way to do it without frying the unit.
I bet it would work a lot better if the player app was run outside of the Google Sandbox the way Netflix is when it does it's own decryption.
The question is will anyone other than one of the Partners who invented the DIAL protocol ever get that type of access to the hardware?
Not without Google being fully on board....
Updated - This is a how to on Casting Xbmc from Computer to TV for Free using the Chrome Browser. No more player core factory file needed and seems to play all formats including Live Streams.
http://youtu.be/4tm7-micx1s Instructional Video
Step 1. Go into Chrome Browser and add the Google Cast Extension at
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-cast/boadgeojelhgndaghljhdicfkmllpafd?hl=en
Step 2. Download and install XBMC Windows version 13.1 Gotham at
http://xbmc.org/download/
Step 3. Demonstration
Start Chromecast
Open Chrome Browser.....Hit Google Cast Button....Cast this Tab to Beta-Click down arrow on far right.....Cast Entire Screen-Experimental.....Click your Chromecast......Click Yes to Screen Sharing Request.
Start XBMC
Start your show and Chromecast automatically finds the Chrome Browser and plays the video on your Big TV.
Good Luck!
This should play anything that plays on-computer. However it should be noted that it adds to CPU load on the computer as content is being recompressed on-the-fly and sent to Chromecast. Also, the quality of the image sent to Chromecast will be affected by your desktop resolution. Tab/Desktop casting gets iffy above 720p.
its a quick and dirty workaround but unfortunately the Cast a Screen option does not work for systems than have more than one screen.
It will cast all the screens at once and does not let you select one or the other.
XBMC really needs to add CCast support to their system.
Mac
Could someone with a Mac try this and let me know if it works. Thanks
Did anyone try this solution from computer to TV. Did it work okay or was there lag? Just trying to get some feedback. Thanks
vincent1964 said:
Did anyone try this solution from computer to TV. Did it work okay or was there lag? Just trying to get some feedback. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it definitely works but you are not getting full frame rate and your probably also really stressing the proc of the computer you're using...
This is just casting the desktop, a standard Chromecast capability that's nothing to do with XBMC. Performance will likely be poor for most people, and it puts a heavy load on your desktop CPU.
Ok, sorry this wasn't useful to everyone.
UOTE=DJames1;53633579]This is just casting the desktop, a standard Chromecast capability that's nothing to do with XBMC. Performance will likely be poor for most people, and it puts a heavy load on your desktop CPU.
Move along, nothing to see here...[/QUOTE]
No need to get personal. It is a valid point. This method requires better than average network conditions and computer performance.
To summarize, this method...
+ Is easier to set up than messing with playercorefactory
+ Supports anything XBMC can play on the computer
- Requires good network condition, or there may skipping or reduced frame rate
- Requires good computer performance, or there may skipping or reduced frame rate
- Computer cannot be used for other tasks during operation
- Limited to 720p, also may be scaled if desktop/tab resolution is not 720p
Lets also be clear about something here....
All this talk about methodology to stream XBMC is really just limited to the Video Add Ons that stream web based channel content.
You can already stream all the local Library content to CCast using Yatse or any DLNA content player with CCast support like aVia.Both are in app purchases to get the feature but work like a charm.
What you don't get is transcoding which XBMC does not do no matter what you do....
This method simply uses Chrome to transcode (and badly I might add) whatever appears on the XBMC screen.
It works but it is similar to using a screwdriver to hammer in a Nail!
A Hammer would be better....
People mention Plex because it too has Video Channels you can add to it....Problem is not as many channels as are available for XBMC but then again since XBMC has moved to a new codebase (Gotham) a whole slew of channels have broken anyway!
If we really want to come up with a useful solution here what would be the best thing going forward would be to code a Converter that can take the Channel information from an XBMC Channel and convert it for use in Plex...
Plex does do transcoding and supports CCast which XBMC doesn't do and from my conversations with the Devs over there NEVER WILL!
They are simply not interested in supporting CCast and Transcode is not what they consider a core goal!
Thats one of the reasons Plex exists at all!
XBMC Dev's refusal to implement Transcode....It was needed for their fork of XBMC (which became PHT Plex Home Theater) and so they created PMS (Plex Media Server)
I love XBMC and have it installed on a few dedicated HTPCs here....
But without direct CCast support it's only useful as a direct HDMI connect project!
It is a frontend for an HTPC and thats all they ever intend it to ever be!
So if you really want to use XBMC you should start looking into building a cheap HTPC to run it....
If you don't skimp too much on the Power and make a machine capable of transcoding without breaking a sweat, you can also install PMS and get the best of both worlds on one machine!
Either that or hound the hell out of the developer of Yatse and get him to make the Add On Support work...it works on the Android unit directly but not to the CCast.
Hi,
I have tried on the fly transcoding through Plex, Bubbleupnp and VLC. The truth is it works ok but so much of the quality is lost you are better of with a wire.
vincent1964 said:
Hi,
I have tried on the fly transcoding through Plex, Bubbleupnp and VLC. The truth is it works ok but so much of the quality is lost you are better of with a wire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still much better quality than this method and it does give you remote control which is not possible using Tab Casting.
I totally disagree. You can get 720 with this method versus before flat screen quality with on the fly transcoding. Is your computer outdated?
Asphyx said:
Still much better quality than this method and it does give you remote control which is not possible using Tab Casting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vincent1964 said:
I totally disagree. You can get 720 with this method versus before flat screen quality with on the fly transcoding. Is your computer outdated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No my computer is just fine and I get 1080P with full surround sound from Plex....So I don't know why your thinking 720p Stereo is better than that....
Are you talking about playing from Xbmc? You made this mistake the last time we talked also. Are you sure you even know what on the fly transcoding is?
Asphyx said:
No my computer is just fine and I get 1080P with full surround sound from Plex....So I don't know why your thinking 720p Stereo is better than that....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xbmc mobile to chromecast is what i am looking for.
Sent from my GT-I9082 using XDA Free mobile app
vincent1964 said:
Are you talking about playing from Xbmc? You made this mistake the last time we talked also. Are you sure you even know what on the fly transcoding is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I'm talking about Channels from Plex!
XBMC channels is the only thing this is good for and you would probably get better results on screen just going to the sites themselves.
This method you are using at BEST gets 20 FPS and minimal Stereo sound where some of the sites the XBMC channels use sometimes have better versions with Surround Sound,,,,So Yes your method works....But it's a poor way to transcode an XBMC output.
XBMC does NO TRANSCODING PERIOD! Did you read my post regarding all of this?
Okay, Of course then that's how you are getting 1080p. You are just viewing plex channels and are not doing any transcoding. That's what I thought all along. I was talking about using Xbmc and VLC to do on the fly transcoding.
Hi Vicent
I was hoping you may be able to help on one of your previous methods of Xbmc from computer to chromecast using bluestack
Im trying to use Bubbleupnp but I get the message Failed to connect to Google Play Services for casting- network error
I've downloaded the chromecast app on bluestack but i get the message "no chromecast found on bluestack" it seems it not searching my network which has two chromecast on
any help would be appreciated
Thank you
vincent1964 said:
Okay, Of course then that's how you are getting 1080p. You are just viewing plex channels and are not doing any transcoding. That's what I thought all along. I was talking about using Xbmc and VLC to do on the fly transcoding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vincent you really need to read what I'm saying.....
All of these channels (XBMC and PLEX) are nothing more than Metadata menu creators that take information from a publicly available internet website (either via RSS, XML or Direct DB read), And create a list of links to go to and view the content.
You can get everything you think you are getting now without the need to run XBMC (or Plex for that matter) by simply going to the website for that content DIRECTLY..and then you have the option of casting a tab if you have to or in some cases those sites will have Chromecast support already in their Player (see ESPN who uses JW Player that now has CCast support natively).
You will get just as good a quality as you think you are getting from XBMC (or Plex) with screen casting and in cases where CCast is supported, even BETTER quality as no transcoding is needed at all!
I would LOVE IT if XBMC supported CCast....I just wish everyone who wants it to work with CCast would get on XBMC Dev's case and get them to implement it.
I sympathize with the Cord Cutters need to get channels in an easy to use interface on a CCast...
But we would all be better off if we would all focus more on getting the channels you want working on a product that DOES support the CCast...
Or getting XBMC to get with the program and support the desires of it's user base!