Hello again!
Yes, you have it right. If you're only going to be playing via a DLNA renderer then you don't need to set up MC's own audio and video settings.
DLNA renderers can be problematic in several areas, but it really depends on how you're going to be using them. Firstly, as you've probably gathered, DLNA protocol is standard but a lot of players, controllers servers etc don't necessarily all adhere to the same standards! Some renderers work well, others can be hit and miss. Renderers within TVs in particular seem to be quite dodgy. I've always used a WDTV Live - it's one of the most well-respected but the latest firmware update has broken it somewhat. The old style device (as opposed to the newer model) still works. There are other people on here using Oppos, so you may get some information on that particular device.
Multi-zone/multi-room doesn't work well with DLNA devices, there is no way to synchronise them. If you want a separate player in each room then as long as you want them independent then that's fine.
One big advantage of using a DLNA device, especially a media box like the WDTV, is that they are cheap, dedicated units and therefore you don't need to splash out on a decent PC for audio and video. A fairly-low spec PC will do as the media server and a cheap renderer device will do to play the media.
Since the WDTV firmware debacle, I'm now starting to play around with distributing audio around the house rather than having multile player devices. I have a Marmitek Audio Anywhere wireless audio transmitter and receiver and it works well in all rooms of my house, which is quite a feat considering it has 2-foot thick stone walls! You can get additional receivers for it so I'm now just considering whether to get a receiver for each room and a pair of powered speakers. The audio can come either from MC itself or via a DLNA device, but either way I'll get the same audio in all rooms at the same time. I might end up ditching DLNA altogether and get a small, silent media server PC as a central media player and control MC directly, either via JRemote or a Windows 8 touch device -I think that's the next big thing! Imagine a tablet like an iPad but with the full MC Theater View interface. Or a coffee-table all-in-one PC with a 20" touch screen, which are simply acting as wireless remote controls for a central media player that is connected to the TV and your amp. No VGA/HDMI, USB, or network cables running from that screen, only a power cable possibly. It would all really look like one of those very expensive AV distribution systems! Mind you, adding up all these components, a JRiver solution would probably end up being very expensive too. But at least you have the audiophile quality and the amazing customisation and flexibility that comes with J River as opposed to those other dedicate systems.
As I've indicated in another thread, I think J River haven't concentrated enough on the client interface. The full experience needs to be available on wireless devices, tablets, touch screens etc. That's why apps like J Remote from third parties have appeared. J Remote seems to be the best and is really quite astounding, but it's still not quite the full Theater view experience. I've been playing with Theater View on a touch monitor tonight and even with the "touch screen" theme, it just doesn't work. It doesn't recognise swipe gestures, I haven't been able to work out a way to scroll yet (so I'm stuck on the first half a dozen albums from artists beginning with A and can't find anything else!), or operate cover flow. It still assumes point-and-click, i.e. a mouse or a remote control with up, down, left, right, OK, Select etc buttons. I even have a MCE remote control with a built-in trackball which would be ideal, but since all it does is move the mouse and MC doesn't recognise such gestures, I have to resort to the cursor keys again. Touch is the way forward.
Author
Topic: Oppo DLNA renderer question (Read 3684 times)