Database Develop

[Q] Best way to serve local media?

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 I currently have an outdated (unsupported) Windows Home Server with 3TB of storage.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 I currently have an outdated (unsupported) Windows Home Server with 3TB of storage.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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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...)
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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...
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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?
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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...
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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.

Plex and CCast

Do I need to have Plex pass subscription in order to cast my own media to the Ccast?
This is the msg I got when I click on the "Casting" button. its say its blocked, unless I have subscription...
Anyone??
Tomer

The message you got is correct. Currently you need a Plex Pass subscription to enable connection to the Chromecast from the Android app, the iOS app, or the Plex Web app. There's no independent capability to connect to a Chromecast in the free Plex Media Server or its built-in Plex Media Manager. In other words, you need to pay to play until such time as Plex decides to open it up to everyone.

teisner said:
Do I need to have Plex pass subscription in order to cast my own media to the Ccast?
This is the msg I got when I click on the "Casting" button. its say its blocked, unless I have subscription...
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If you have stuff outside of Plex, Avia (paid option) and RealPlayer Cloud (free) will do it as well.
This is covered in the (long) FAQ.

Has anyone heard a date when Plex will offer this without the Plex Pass?

That was already discussed in the other Plex thread, but to summarize: nobody knows, Plex isn't giving any hints, feel free to speculate all you like.

Im using plex and chromecast every day but im dissapointed with fullHD 1080p videos. They are transcoded so they lose quality even with direct play turned on. Anyone know some way how to stream local content to chromecast without lose quality?

castaway1 said:
Im using plex and chromecast every day but im dissapointed with fullHD 1080p videos. They are transcoded so they lose quality even with direct play turned on. Anyone know some way how to stream local content to chromecast without lose quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your Source videos must be MP4/H264/AAC to direct play on CCast.

Asphyx said:
Your Source videos must be MP4/H264/AAC to direct play on CCast.
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Click to collapse
so i need convert all of my mkv to one of those formats? for example via http://handbrake.fr/ ?and it will not lose quality?

castaway1 said:
so i need convert all of my mkv to one of those formats? for example via http://handbrake.fr/ ?and it will not lose quality?
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Conversions always lose some amount of quality unless the target format uses lossless compression (which Chromecast doesn't support and is generally impractical anyway). The key is whether the loss is visible.
As long as you use a reasonable bitrate, there is no perceptible quality loss. 4-6 Mbps is a good starting point.

castaway1 said:
so i need convert all of my mkv to one of those formats? for example via http://handbrake.fr/ ?and it will not lose quality?
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Click to collapse
Only need to do that if you want Direct Play without Transcoding.
But I do NOT suggest people go re-encoding their Library just to make their files CCast compatible for Plex... it's just way too soon in the development of Plex to say that drastic a step needs to be made yet.

Does live Transcoding that bad? I want to buy a NAS with a good cpu like i3 for live Transcoding to chromecast. Is it not worth it?
Asphyx said:
Only need to do that if you want Direct Play without Transcoding.
But I do NOT suggest people go re-encoding their Library just to make their files CCast compatible for Plex... it's just way too soon in the development of Plex to say that drastic a step needs to be made yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

GreenDroidX said:
Does live Transcoding that bad? I want to buy a NAS with a good cpu like i3 for live Transcoding to chromecast. Is it not worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends. The ability for Plex to transcode on the fly and send just about anything over is an awesome convenience.
If your library is already Chromecast compatible, you can run Plex on a slower machine because it's not burning CPU cycles every time you play the video.
But if you have multiple clients, you probably don't want to "dumb down" everything to the least-common denominator as it'll mean the higher-quality playback devices won't be playing at full potential.
Not to mention, if you have a large library it could take days and a lot of disk space to re-encode your files.
If there's something that you play often (ie, you have kids or a really special favorite video) it might be worth converting that. But overall, if it's just going to be an occasional play, let Plex decide what's best for the client and do the conversion on the fly - you'll ensure that you get the best quality for each player, assuming your Plex server isn't too slow to do the transcode.

GreenDroidX said:
Does live Transcoding that bad? I want to buy a NAS with a good cpu like i3 for live Transcoding to chromecast. Is it not worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO no it's not that bad as far as transcoding is concerned and if someone is noticing a reduced quality I would bet it has to do with the settings they have rather than the transcoding.
but transcoding does complicate the operation and is best done on high powered machines.
While an i3 NAS might be ok for that... it's been my experience that a dedicated server with 4-6 Gigs of ram is much better.
Not just for the transcoding power but because NAS' run out of space eventually and limits how much content you can eventually have in your Library.
Having a separate Server you can Map the NAS drives to it and add another NAS when the first one fills up.
If you don't have an NAS already then go get that first. You could always use your PC to run the server if you find the transcoding to be troublesome on the NAS.
If and when you upgrade your current desktop turn the current one into an HTPC/Media Server.

I don't have Plex Pass and I can cast from my Android app. I do have MyPlex, but that's free. It's just registering on the site basically. Friends and family can even cast my Plex server remotely.

zenisnotchosen said:
I don't have Plex Pass and I can cast from my Android app. I do have MyPlex, but that's free. It's just registering on the site basically. Friends and family can even cast my Plex server remotely.
Click to expand...
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Plex dropped the Plex Pass requirement for CCast support months ago!

Plex gets Major Update today Lots of CCast Improvements!

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?
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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
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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.

Yatse Remote offer XBMC Streaming to CCast

Just released, the Yatse Remote for XBMC now offers the ability to stream content from XBMC to CCast (In app Purchase for Unlocker required $4.99 plus the free plugin to cast)
I had never really tried this remote before but when I saw it supported streaming to CCast I went and bought it.
haven't had a lot of time with it but it does offer some major features that don't exist in the Official XBMC remote.
First and foremost you can stream to your local device from XBMC. Note XBMC has not transcode capability so compatibility as far as CCast is concerned will probably still be an issue. (Bubble and Plex are still your friends here!)
The app claims to be able to launch XBMC remotely which I suppose is possible but have not tested nor do I know if it works.
What I do know is it does quite well stream and send content to any DLNA/UPnP/DIAL (tested with CCast) targets on the network which is a very good feature for those who have an HTPC running XBMC and wish to add it's content to another Monitor without having to buy an entire HTPC for each TV.
So for all of those folks who were looking for ways to stream XBMC content to CCast your day has finally arrived.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree

Asphyx said:
Just released, the Yatse Remote for XBMC now offers the ability to stream content from XBMC to CCast (In app Purchase for Unlocker required $4.99 plus the free plugin to cast)
I had never really tried this remote before but when I saw it supported streaming to CCast I went and bought it.
haven't had a lot of time with it but it does offer some major features that don't exist in the Official XBMC remote.
First and foremost you can stream to your local device from XBMC. Note XBMC has not transcode capability so compatibility as far as CCast is concerned will probably still be an issue. (Bubble and Plex are still your friends here!)
The app claims to be able to launch XBMC remotely which I suppose is possible but have not tested nor do I know if it works.
What I do know is it does quite well stream and send content to any DLNA/UPnP/DIAL (tested with CCast) targets on the network which is a very good feature for those who have an HTPC running XBMC and wish to add it's content to another Monitor without having to buy an entire HTPC for each TV.
So for all of those folks who were looking for ways to stream XBMC content to CCast your day has finally arrived.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm this is nice feature from Yaste! I have used it as remote to my XBMC but then I feel they are charging high just to cast.
If you want to CCast XBMC, it can be played by AVIA (most of CCast users have already bought it) by making deualt player for AVIA. There are number of details threads on how-to..

Hi,
Thanks for info.
Since I'm mostly interested in streaming plugins to CCast. Can yatse do that, or is it limited to library?
Thanks.
pino.

puppinoo said:
Hi,
Thanks for info.
Since I'm mostly interested in streaming plugins to CCast. Can yatse do that, or is it limited to library?
Thanks.
pino.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tried any of the Apps as far as CCast is concerned but they do appear in this program.
Something I have never seen from the other remote apps.

sting098 said:
hmmm this is nice feature from Yaste! I have used it as remote to my XBMC but then I feel they are charging high just to cast.
If you want to CCast XBMC, it can be played by AVIA (most of CCast users have already bought it) by making deualt player for AVIA. There are number of details threads on how-to..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me this is a much better experience than the XBMC External Player method.
Especially since it can use Content from XBMC that is not on the local unit but on other XBMC units on the network.
.

Asphyx said:
Believe me this is a much better experience than the XBMC External Player method.
Especially since it can use Content from XBMC that is not on the local unit but on other XBMC units on the network.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I almost spent 5 bucks on it, but at the last minute decided to wait and see how well it works with Chromecast. I am especially interested to see if you you can play BBC iPlayer streams and or some other catch-up TV add-ons. ESPN is another one I would be interested to know if it works. Hulu is also the big one, as they have lots more than what Hulu Plus offers. If that works, this app would be a killer.

yatse is worth more than that $4.99 trust me, its an awesome remote for xbmc with tons of features that puts the official xbmc to shame, the xbmc remote should take some notes on yatse and do some work on that app.. just sayin

Bought it, yet to stream a single file successfully. Even upgraded to Gotham, no luck. None of the add-ons work. Am I missing something? Really trying to make this work.
Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

jasenko said:
Bought it, yet to stream a single file successfully. Even upgraded to Gotham, no luck. None of the add-ons work. Am I missing something? Really trying to make this work.
Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me. Bought it hoping to make plugins work but many of them show empty folders or if I can stream them they give format error cause probably they are not compatible with supported codecs. I really hope there will be a BubblUpnp like approach where a server could transcode stuff to compatible formats, or maybe forward addons to chrome and make it transcode. So far no luck..

jasenko said:
Bought it, yet to stream a single file successfully. Even upgraded to Gotham, no luck. None of the add-ons work. Am I missing something? Really trying to make this work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jasenko said:
I almost spent 5 bucks on it, but at the last minute decided to wait and see how well it works with Chromecast. I am especially interested to see if you you can play BBC iPlayer streams and or some other catch-up TV add-ons. ESPN is another one I would be interested to know if it works. Hulu is also the big one, as they have lots more than what Hulu Plus offers. If that works, this app would be a killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have BBC Add On installed so I can't test this for you. But channel support in all of the options available have issues with CCast because of the various transport protocols being used for web that are incompatible with CCast due to the player extension requirements of those transport protocols when streamed in Chrome.
Where is this XBMC your trying to stream from located? This program is meant to control an XBMC on an HTPC not the XBMC on your local android device. As I said in the OP it will have the same restrictions most other NON-Transcode (like aVia) options have. So unless your media is CCast compatible it will have issues playing them.
puppinoo said:
Same for me. Bought it hoping to make plugins work but many of them show empty folders or if I can stream them they give format error cause probably they are not compatible with supported codecs. I really hope there will be a BubblUpnp like approach where a server could transcode stuff to compatible formats, or maybe forward addons to chrome and make it transcode. So far no luck..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See what I said about regarding Add Ons and Transport Protocols.
In order for XBMC to do what Bubble and Plex does the XBMC Devs need to get off their "We are a Frontend" soapbox and realize that to stay relevant they need to add some Transcode support to their DLNA services.
Right now the only way to get XBMC content to transcode is to aggregate it into BubbleUPnP.
The focus of this program is not to create a CCast app the main purpose has always been to control an XBMC machine somewhere on your network that is attached to a real TV from an Android device. What makes it good is this App also will allow you to view and play XBMC content on the device itself (something other XBMC Remotes have lacked). And because it can play locally it was easy to create an addon that would then allow files to play on the CCast and other DLNA and UPnP renderers.
I will also say after a night of playing with it (perhaps unfairly) that while this is a great addition to those who have XBMC HTPCs in their house it is not way a good replacement for Plex or Bubble which will allow content to be streamed outside the local network and support Transcoding.
It is however a better replacement for the hacked aVia methods that have been discussed here for playing XBMC content.
Especially from an interface and navigation POV.
I also noticed that you can use MX Player as the player app for Android in the settings. That doesn't have any CCast relevance but it is a good perk for those who wish to view XBMC content on Android with Hardware decoding.

I should have been clearer, I was unable to even play local Chromecast supported files. The message pops out to force playback, with that enabled I can't even get to the option to play.
Internet streams from various compatible websites like Vimeo, should be a no brainer but they just fail without even attempt to play them

jasenko said:
I should have been clearer, I was unable to even play local Chromecast supported files. The message pops out to force playback, with that enabled I can't even get to the option to play.
Internet streams from various compatible websites like Vimeo, should be a no brainer but they just fail without even attempt to play them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And on what machine is XBMC running on that the content doesn't work for CCast?

Asphyx said:
And on what machine is XBMC running on that the content doesn't work for CCast?
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HTPC is a windows box, media is on NAS. Local playback works for my files, but nothing casts to Chromecast. I will ask for the money back, nothing works as advertised. I had more luck with the external player on Android and playing addons while connecting with BubbleUPnP through Plex library.
Chromecast is so simple, call me spoiled, but I expect playback from apps to just work.

jasenko said:
HTPC is a windows box, media is on NAS. Local playback works for my files, but nothing casts to Chromecast. I will ask for the money back, nothing works as advertised. I had more luck with the external player on Android and playing addons while connecting with BubbleUPnP through Plex library.
Chromecast is so simple, call me spoiled, but I expect playback from apps to just work.
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How do the native apps - YouTube, Pandora, etc. work for you?

bhiga said:
How do the native apps - YouTube, Pandora, etc. work for you?
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Flawless..

Sorry to bring this thread back to life,
I am having issues with streaming to my chromecast with this app, all my files are in rar archive and playes just fine in kodi, but wont stream eather to phone (mx player) or to my chromecast, anyone have a fix?
Kodi, v15 nighlty Jan 24, 2015.

|Night| said:
Sorry to bring this thread back to life,
I am having issues with streaming to my chromecast with this app, all my files are in rar archive and playes just fine in kodi, but wont stream eather to phone (mx player) or to my chromecast, anyone have a fix?
Kodi, v15 nighlty Jan 24, 2015.
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CCast doesn't support RAR riles

Asphyx said:
CCast doesn't support RAR riles
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Hey thank you for response, I've tested both rared and unrared same issue, when I try to stream to my phone in either mx player or vlc, it crashes after a few minutes and goes back to yatse screen. Have you seen that issue before?

|Night| said:
Hey thank you for response, I've tested both rared and unrared same issue, when I try to stream to my phone in either mx player or vlc, it crashes after a few minutes and goes back to yatse screen. Have you seen that issue before?
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No but all of my files are Encoded to be every device compatible....
Yatse (and by default XBMC) does not transcode media to be compatible with various codecs and containers.
So unless the media is fully container/codec compatible it simply won't play.
Since this is not just happening on CCast and crashes on your phone as well I have to assume the files you are trying to stream have some issue and are not container/codec compatible.
Ideal for compatibility is MP4 container with a H.264 Codec. AAC Audio is also best supported by mobile devices.
A program like Plex or BubbleUPnP will transcode any format to a device compatible format so you might want to look into using one of those instead of using yatse.
You can install them onto the same machine you are currently running XBMC on.
Thats what I do.

sting098 said:
hmmm this is nice feature from Yaste! I have used it as remote to my XBMC but then I feel they are charging high just to cast.
If you want to CCast XBMC, it can be played by AVIA (most of CCast users have already bought it) by making deualt player for AVIA. There are number of details threads on how-to..
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But you cant play contents from your private network, with AVIA.

UK broadcasters unenthusiastic

Some disappointing news from the UK: http://m.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2338217/uk-broadcasters-shun-google-chromecast. Catchup TV is particularly scathing as they say that the CC simply isn't powerful enough to handle live TV. I put this to the test by tab casting a live iplayer broadcast and it was fine, maybe a little slow.. If I was casting directly from the app, it would surely have been even better. I do have a fairly speedy connection though, 100 mbps cable. What we other people's experiences with casting live TV?

Rooksx said:
Some disappointing news from the UK: http://m.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2338217/uk-broadcasters-shun-google-chromecast. Catchup TV is particularly scathing as they say that the CC simply isn't powerful enough to handle live TV. I put this to the test by tab casting a live iplayer broadcast and it was fine, maybe a little slow.. If I was casting directly from the app, it would surely have been even better. I do have a fairly speedy connection though, 100 mbps cable. What we other people's experiences with casting live TV?
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Sounds like a cop-out to me. Sounds more like they don't want to put the effort into it. A proper live stream would simply pull from an Internet stream, same as the current apps do.
A live stream may not have as many flavors or quite as much compression as a pre-recorded stream can, but that doesn't stop it from working. More likely either their live encoder hardware is simply not tuned for a Chromecast-compatible compression profile, or they don't want to put the effort into modifying their app to transfer credentials to Chromecast (otherwise any viewer who accessed the same URL could get the live stream for free).

Lots of Content providers who already have access to the big screen via Tuner will be hesitant...Because they feel they already support and have the Big Screen model they prefer and it makes billions for them!
Their foray into Tab and Mobile streaming is merely to capture those screens which have no tuner support.
And their mindset is that if they support the Big Screen via CCast they will lose out on all the money they make on the Tuner subs.
They aren't wrong about that part but what they don't seem to realize is they are going to lose that money anyway as more content is available via the Web and people start cutting cords.
And as more of their competition realizes and adds support for this new Big Screen methodology they will either jump onto the ship or risk it sailing away without them.
It's difficult to get a business to change the way they make money when the old method has made it for them for half a century and switch to a new way of making even more money by cutting out the middleman.
They could charge more for a sub than they get per subscriber from the cable companies now.
And people would pay it provided they got to pick and choose which networks they pay for (ala Carte) and could view it on any screen they may own.
Music Industry once faced this same dilemma, they picked wrong and look what happened to their industry!
The same will happen to TV if they don't open their eyes and smell the Data!
They will lose the subs, People will pirate the shows they want to see, No way to record ratings or views and if that happens they won't even have the money to implement the new methods or create new programming...

Rooksx said:
Some disappointing news from the UK: http://m.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2338217/uk-broadcasters-shun-google-chromecast. Catchup TV is particularly scathing as they say that the CC simply isn't powerful enough to handle live TV. I put this to the test by tab casting a live iplayer broadcast and it was fine, maybe a little slow.. If I was casting directly from the app, it would surely have been even better. I do have a fairly speedy connection though, 100 mbps cable. What we other people's experiences with casting live TV?
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Live streaming via iPlayer app over WiFi works just fine with CC, so I don't really know what the TV Catchup issue is or what their "extensive tesing" actually involved. Do we even know why YouTube doesn't support live streams on CC? Since they point to this as justification. Some of the comments seemed odd - like the one suggesting that the app needed to stream to CC directly, rather than CC playing the given URL, or that VOD content was only "okayish" (have they even tried the Netflix or Play Movies apps?)
The other UK broadcasters as we know are just talking out their backsides as usual.
Having said that, there's little value for me in streaming live channels via CC when they're just a button press away on my TV ...

ghtop said:
The other UK broadcasters as we know are just talking out their backsides as usual.
Having said that, there's little value for me in streaming live channels via CC when they're just a button press away on my TV ...
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Yes. I've had iPlayer on my Chromecasts since it launched but never watched live TV. Why would anyone in the UK want to watch PSB broadcasters live this way - unless their TV was broken or something. I accept there is a market among expats but that would be irrelevant to the broadcasters.
Anyway, just tested it for the first time on 40" and 19" sets and live streams work perfectly. Better than direct from the website in fact since there is none of the trademark judder. To be fair though it is only a matter of time before the BBC starts to offer live 720p streams (the Winter Olympics feeds worked beautifully for those with good connection speeds) so perhaps our sticks would cope less well with these?
But the whole point of these players is for catch up TV - this is a very disappointing cop-out and even more reason to praise the BBC for getting their app up and running with Chromecast so promptly.

This post is relevant to me as I am UK based, have two chromecasts and my second TV does not have an aerial connection.
I've followed TV Catchup's position on this and I have to say I agree that it is a complete cop-out on their part. More fool them. If iPlayer, Redbull TV and (monday update of) BT sport can integrate casting then their excuse that the CC is not powerful enough is wide of the mark.
My experience of live streams from iPlayer is top notch but I have an excellent fibre optic connection.
So, for my second TV I have embarked on a quest to find a work around.
TV Catchup + Mirror app. Works OK. Resolution is as you'd expect, watchable but no where near HD. Sound quality also suffers. So whilst this solution is boarderline acceptable. It's not great.
XBMC =AVIA. Awesome. ALMOST a fully comprehensive solution for me. I am using the XAF version with 1channel, icefilms and Mashup with playercorefactory set up for Avia. This is great for ondemand services BUT live streams fail to start. This is particularly annoying for me as I subscribe to Offside Streams (for my sports) and I cannot get this to work outside of casting a chrome tab. THIS is my holy grail.
Plex Channels = The Plex live channels I have found to be hit and miss. There are not enough channels of interest and it is a lottery if they work.
BUBBLE UPNP - So I have set up a transcoding server for Bubble. It's delightful. When casting local/network/server files from Android the PC does the grunt work. It pretty much maxes out my quad core 8GB rig, but playback is perfectly acceptable for me.
What I would love to do with Bubble UPnP is fire up a live stream which is transcoded by my server rig and cast to the CC. This would offer me the solution I crave but I have no idea if it is even possible.
New Tasker Plugin - AUTOCAST. This has promise and I will be spending a few more hours setting it up. It is not for the less tech/tasker savvy. So far I have combined it with AutoShare to share local media files direct from the galley or a file explorer. It even runs videos from the chrome browser IF the website is compatible. IF more websites were compatible, this would be my casting of choice. I really like it's functionality once it has been set up correctly. The dev is publishing some guides on this from Monday.
I am watching you JW PLAYER. Now JW is the player of choice for many large companies websites. They have just announced chromecast support (to be rolled out) and I think this will open the door to new horizons.
Obviously, I'd love to see ITV player, 4OD and Demand Five release both Chromecast support and live streaming from their respective apps. I won't hold my breath. BBC, I am not fond of your general operations but I have to applaud you as an early adopter. BT sport is an added bonus. SKY and SKY GO is as closed shop as they come so let's write that off before we begin.
I have every faith that some smart dev will release a player that can pull flash and html5 video from websites and cast to chromecast. I'd love to see a JW Player app but I think MX Player will be the first there.
GO DEVS GO, I have cash waiting.

Funny I don't think Google intended the Chrome cast to be powerful. The new Amazon TV can handle lots. Roku 3 pretty solid. I am more disappointed that to get the most out of Chromecast you have to be in the USA for one thing and the UK for another. Using a VPN is possible but more complicated then other devices I have. It is cheap.
Sent from my Xoom Wifi using XDA Premium HD app

Drizwaldo1 said:
.....
What I would love to do with Bubble UPnP is fire up a live stream which is transcoded by my server rig and cast to the CC. This would offer me the solution I crave but I have no idea if it is even possible.
.....
I have every faith that some smart dev will release a player that can pull flash and html5 video from websites and cast to chromecast. I'd love to see a JW Player app but I think MX Player will be the first there.
GO DEVS GO, I have cash waiting.
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BubbleUPnP can cast live streams from the browser - I'm just not 100% sure on compatibility and how it integrates with the Server. So far I've only tried mp4 streams which just work and don't need any transcoding.
The way it works for me using Firefox browser - 1) go to streaming website and open your video - often Firefox itself can't play the video. 2) Long press the video to bring up a share menu - one of the options is 'open with app' - click that and BubbleUPnP is an option. 3) Select BubbleUPnP and if the Chromecast is already set as the Renderer the stream is on your TV.

neu - smurph said:
BubbleUPnP can cast live streams from the browser - I'm just not 100% sure on compatibility and how it integrates with the Server. So far I've only tried mp4 streams which just work and don't need any transcoding.
The way it works for me using Firefox browser - 1) go to streaming website and open your video - often Firefox itself can't play the video. 2) Long press the video to bring up a share menu - one of the options is 'open with app' - click that and BubbleUPnP is an option. 3) Select BubbleUPnP and if the Chromecast is already set as the Renderer the stream is on your TV.
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BubbleUPnP can transcode (if necessary and provided that BubbleUPnP Server is installed) videos from any source, including http video URLs sent from web browsers or any other app.
As for streaming live content not web related, I've got report of users streaming live TV streams in TS format served by some specialized boxes (like the HD HomeRun), and transcoded by BubbleUPnP Server on the fly to be compatible. Theorically it should also work with any media server serving live streams like MythTV and others.