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[cncb]

PS. the app works ok on Android TV on the Sony but it doesnt go back from video properly to navigate without going all the way back out to the start screen.
On Android TV you also dont seem to support switching subtitles on/off and switching audio streams. (understand it's first release)

Thanks for the report.

I have not seen the navigation problem.  What do you see when you exit the video playback screen?

I plan to add audio and subtitle selection in the future. I just wanted to get basic playback working first.

[cncb]

If I understand correctly you presently only support Video on Android TV. Do you know when you will have support for Images?

Sorry, Rod. I am not sure when but it is on the list.

[hoyt]

I've ordered a Shield ...

I should be picking up a Shield tomorrow ...

Me three!  I won't be able to hook mine up until Wednesday, but looking forward to playing with this for sure.

[hoyt]

I have a few requests/ comments/ perhaps I'm doing it wrong things that have built up over the last few weeks specific to the offline playback.

1) I've downloaded a good bit of music to keep offline, I love this.  However, non of my music has coverart at the root folder.  I imagine most of this is because the views are built on MC and not the app?  I see coverart when I play the files, but my root level of downloads is starting to be a mess (especially in the thumbnail view, see the screenshot).  Most of these that I've downloaded have been single albums, so I'd like to see the album coverart showing.  Am I doing anything wrong here, or is that not possible?

2) Would it be possible to replicate the hierarchy with the offline files?  This seems to be known to the app because the listing shown is <server name>\<root library item>\<next library organization>\etc.  Instead of having it all spelled at the root level, could it blend this back in so I see the name of my server, I click it, then I see the Root Library (Audio), then I click it, then i see my organization that I defined? 

3) With one artist in my library, I downloaded all albums (at the artist level, I hit Play and choose to download).  All of those albums are now shown at that level, not with an album break out.  If #2 is possible, I could simply redo this download to be how I want it to show (meaning, click on each album and download it individually).

4) Earlier today I clicked download on several albums quickly, one after the other.  I think, though I haven't tried to reproduce this, that it didn't work because of that, and I only got 1 download started.  I was in a rush, and don't even know if I saw the "this download is going to take X MB" message.

Thanks!

[cncb]

@hoyt
1) I considered downloading the library icon at the level of each download, but I did not put that mechanism into place.  I will try to add this.

2,3) Each download is pretty much like a playlist since I did not want to replicate MC's library browsing in the app.  So, anything you want to appear separately you should do separate downloads (e.g. download albums separately as you suggested).

Having said that, would it be sufficient to break it up into the first 2 levels?  That is, server, then top level (Playlists, Audio, etc.) and then all downloads listed that match these 2 levels?  For example:

-My Server
--Playlists
---Music\My Favorites
--Audio
---Albums\Cool Music
---Artists\Best Musician

4) You would need to accept each download before it will start.

[hoyt]

1) Thanks! 
2/3) Gotcha.  Yeah, having some kind of hierarchy would help.  My library organization has a few added layers in it to keep the different categories of music straight, but when I download something to my phone, it's a far smaller list.  So I don't need to see Server Name\Audio\Studio\Artist\Album Name\Bit Depth.  But when I browse my entire library, I do need that since I will often have a few different copies of each album.  Or perhaps enabling a rename of the listing would be helpful?
4) Makes sense.  I figured that was the issue, but hadn't gone back to it.  Thanks for confirming.

[jkolker]

Wow, this is nice.  So far so good.   Though I haven't yet figured out the custom views yet (even for Panel) but I do like the app!

Curious, have you thought about putting it on Amazon app store for inclusion as a Fire TV app? 

[cncb]

Curious, have you thought about putting it on Amazon app store for inclusion as a Fire TV app?

I might consider it once I have the Android TV support further along (I just added it) but I don't have a Fire TV device.  Thanks.

[jmone]

OK - I've got the Shield TV and done some basic setup with MO 4Media installed and ready for some testing.  Any suggestions on the config to allow (if possible) native / un-trascoded playback of the media (such as BD) or what formats are (currently) supported or not?
Thanks
Nathan

[cncb]

Single files like mkv and m2ts should be fully supported but ripped disk formats (DVD and BD) are not (these would have to be converted).

[jmone]

I've starting to poke around a bit with both the Internal and External Player options (one of which is PLEX).  I'll run through a bunch of my test files and see what works and does not with what players.  Oddly no Audio files play (either FLAC or MP3) so I must have something basic wrong as I can play videos.

[cncb]

Nothing wrong - there is only video support for now.

[jmone]

After a bit more playing around the Shield is an interesting bit of kit.....  I tested uisng MO 4Media offloading playback to various Players, and the "best" I've found so far is the Kodi Client.  It will play most of my test files including UHD HDR with bitstreaming of the Audio (including Atmos etc), Auto Display Rate changing, and stream selection!  The of the Kodi Client is that unlike other players (Plex, VLC, Video player) it "takes over" and does not auto quit when stopping the video (the Kodi GUI becomes visable and you have to then close it to get back to MO 4Media).

Couple of other things with MO 4Media:
- Navigation works nicely
- When Playing a video using an external player the list of external players is shown but some of the entries are off the bottom of the screen so you can't see what you are selecting.

Comments regarding MC & MCWS for Clients
- JR will need to do some server side work to make this "better" for such apps.  Ideally, MCWS should handle the selection of streams etc, but then the selected streams should be muxed and sent.  This would then work with all sorts of media not just files.
- An old presentation issue (same with Panel and other remotes) is each level of views need to be navigated even if the meta data is the same for each level (eg I get multiple nested "Unassigned" objects to get down to where the files are).
- Sometime items added or changed in on the server don't appear in the MCWS views (eg I added a couple of Test files in MC but it did not show up in MO 4Media or Panel till I closed and restarted MC and then only one of the two appeared). 

On the Shield Itself:
- Nice HW with plenty of potential of HTPC for a cheap box that supports most of what you want for Video (various refresh rates, bit depths, and colour spaces).
- Can be very irritating with things like the Shield App on my phone being very stuttery when trying to type in info or finicky with HDMI and HDCP stuff.
- Will need a good combination of MC / MC Client to get the best out of it for a JR HTPC (eg look at Kodi App as an example!)

[cncb]

I just wanted to mention that external playback is not the intended/necessary use of the app on Android TV.  The internal player does a pretty good job with the files I have tried and with audio passthrough of everything but DTS-HD.  I mainly added external playback due to seeking being unavailable in the internal player for ts files (and therefore anything being converted).  Seeking in ts should be possible in the near future.  I also plan to add track selection.

[jmone]

FYI - I did not have much luck with the internal player with UHD material.

[cncb]

What file types?  Hilton seemed to have good results with a Sony Android TV so maybe it has something to do with the Shield? Unfortunately, I don't have a 4K tv so I can't test.

[Hilton]

Unfortunately my shield is on BO until end of August. I'll try another supplier this weekend and play around a bit more with Android TV on the Sony and take a couple of videos to show you whats going on.

PS. The screen just stays blank until you navigate all the way back to the first screen. It displays the folder level that your browsing in the top right from memory and thats it until you get back to root folder when all the main folders show up again.


Cheers

[robt]

I am able to play UHD ripped to mkv (with MakeMKV) without issue via Nvidia Shield. I've not enabled the trial or paid yet so stops after 30 seconds but playback of 4K seems fine for me, including HDR. It compares well with playback via Kodi.

Any other checks on the Shield I can do for you? I also have an Android TV but haven't installed to that at the moment.

[jmone]

The internal player gets a black screen when trying to play the original M2TS from UHD BD, but if I remux them to an MKV then they play fine.  In general the internal player does not seem to like M2TS/M2T/TS files pending on the combination of the Streams that are muxed in.  I can test more to find the combination of Container and Stream formats it does not like if that helps?

[jmone]

...and the other thing the internal player does not do (at this stage) is have an option to auto Frame Rate change to match the content of the video being played.

[DJLegba]

I love that the app is in active development. I just bought a subscription to support your efforts. I'd really like to see a way view and possibly edit tags, and something like the "view assets" feature in the iOS version of JRemote.

[cncb]

Thanks, all, for the testing.  Hopefully, the m2ts issues might be resolved when ts seeking is possible in the player but we will see.  I have requested that MC supports straight remuxing (i.e. put unconverted video on-the-fly into mkv) which would help.

I will put auto frame rate switching on the list.

[jmone]

I think you are correct, a Re-mux option would solve a bunch of issues.

[cncb]

I love that the app is in active development. I just bought a subscription to support your efforts. I'd really like to see a way view and possibly edit tags, and something like the "view assets" feature in the iOS version of JRemote.

Thanks.  You can view tags by tapping a file in Playing Now or the Library browser and selecting "Show Tags".  Could you explain what "view assets" does?

[DJLegba]

Thanks.  You can view tags by tapping a file in Playing Now or the Library browser and selecting "Show Tags".  Could you explain what "view assets" does?

Fantastic, thanks - don't know how I missed "Show Tags".

"View assets" in JRemote lets you access the images, PDFs, etc that are in the same folder as the audio files. For example, you can open the PDF booklet that comes with many downloads.

[cncb]

"View assets" in JRemote lets you access the images, PDFs, etc that are in the same folder as the audio files. For example, you can open the PDF booklet that comes with many downloads.

I will keep looking into this, but I don't think the web service gives me access to these files. Sorry.

[DJLegba]

I will keep looking into this, but I don't think the web service gives me access to these files. Sorry.

They are imported as data by MC. Doesn't the web service give you access to documents in the library? I assumed JRemote uses the web service, but of course I could be completely wrong.

[cncb]

They are imported as data by MC.

Oh, I thought they were just in the same folder and not imported.  Yes, I can certainly access documents.  I will put it on the list. Thanks.

[Hilton]

Picked up a Nvidia Shield yesterday and it works flawlessly with your app.  When using external player with shield native video player, it isnt quite as capable as the default video player in the Sony, Plex seems to be the best external video player for shield at this stage from several i tried, though still not perfect.

I should explain also, I havent played UHD Dolby vision files, a container format isnt available for that yet. I used Dolby vision test files.  But all other HDR mkvs play fine as direct stream. (no transcoding)

[jmone]

I'm seriously impressed with what is possible with MO on the Shield.  A low cost device that can play back 4K HEVC, HFR, HDR, Bitstream Object Based Audio, Auto change Refresh Rates / Colour Space..... The missing pieces for me are:
- MCWS : Remux Option (for BD Rips Etc)
- MO : Auto change Refresh Rates / Colour Space with the Internal Player

One other thing MO could add is support for Live TV.  At present the only Remote that can do this is EOS (not even MC's own remotes have support even though it is supported by MCWS).  It is basically the same except there is some additional calls to Start and Stop the Channel and get the file details to play.  The order from a browser was as follows:

Code: [Select]

http://localhost:52199//MCWS/v1/Television/PlayChannel?Channel=309464?Zone=1?ZoneType=ID
<Response Status="OK"/>
http://localhost:52199//MCWS/v1/Television/GetPlayerServingChannel?Channel=309464?Zone=1?ZoneType=ID
<Response Status="OK">
<Item Name="TVPlayer">08B4C360</Item>
</Response>
http://localhost:52199//MCWS/v1/Television/GetJTVFile?Channel=309464?Zone=1?ZoneType=ID
<Response Status="OK">
<Item Name="JTVFilename">
\\MAIN\Media\Video\TV Recordings\7 Digital 2014-09-14 18-28\7 Digital 2014-09-14 18-28 - Client Playback.jtv
</Item>
<Item Name="JTVFileKey">1974298</Item>
</Response>
http://localhost:52199//MCWS/v1/Television/StopChannel?TVPlayer=08B4C360&File=1974298&Channel=309464?Zone=1?ZoneType=ID
<Response Status="OK"/>

[robt]

How to disable subtitles when playing back video?

I'm probably being thick here but cant find anything, is another player being used? I haven't changed the default settings....

[cncb]

How to disable subtitles when playing back video?

Not possible yet.  I will add this when I add audio track/stream selection.

[robt]

Not possible yet.  I will add this when I add audio track/stream selection.

Noted. This is all looking good for the future.  Kodi replacement...

[jkolker]

Hello!

I noticed that I can connect to my server when on wi-fi, even if it's not my home wi-fi.  But cannot connect if just cell service.  Is this by design?  Was thinking of using it with Android Auto, but not sure it will work without a wi-fi connection.

Thanks!
Jeff

[cncb]

I noticed that I can connect to my server when on wi-fi, even if it's not my home wi-fi.  But cannot connect if just cell service.  Is this by design?  Was thinking of using it with Android Auto, but not sure it will work without a wi-fi connection.

You can connect over a cellular connection.  Did you open a port on your router?  More info: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Network_Access

[jkolker]

You can connect over a cellular connection.  Did you open a port on your router?

Yes, Gizmo and Panel work everywhere.  Gizmo works over cell connection and plays just fine.  Your app just asks if I want to go in offline mode when on cell network, but will connect from anywhere when using a wi-fi connection.

In fact, I can be somewhere (such as my office) and turn off wi-fi, and it won't work.  Turn on wi-fi and it will connect to my house just fine.  That should mean the port is open...

[cncb]

Weird.  I am not sure why it is working externally over WiFi but not Cellular.  I connect via Cellular all the time.  Could you try turning off WiFi, go to the servers page (tap the top middle icon), make sure the access key is input there, and see what error message you get when you tap on Connect?

[jkolker]

I get "Connection Failure"

"Could not reach the server.  Please check the network connection.  Tap the help icon (?) for assistance"

All the appropriate stuff is there.  Turning wi-fi back on...works like a charm.

[jkolker]

I got it working, but for some this may not be a solution.

I use NoIP to give my system a simulated fixed IP address instead of the dynamic one I get from my service provider.  Instead of using the JRiver access code for the server, I typed in the web address given to me by NoIP (myname.myserver.com:52199 for example) and your app connects just fine via cellular or via wi-fi.  Great! 

But just so you know, Gizmo is set up with the access code and connects over cellular.  At least now I've got it working, and wanted you to know what I did. 

[cncb]

Thanks for letting me know.  I still don't understand why cellular and wi-fi are behaving differently for you but I am glad you got it working.  Note that I sent you a private message yesterday to try to investigate this.

[MikeO]

I am using an iPad mini as my main control device

I is there any progress on an iOS version

The only Android device I have is a small phone which is too small for normal use

Mike

[cncb]

I is there any progress on an iOS version

No, sorry.  To be honest, I am still not sure if I am going to do an iOS version because it might not be worth it.  I may start a different thread at a later date to gauge interest.

[cncb]

The only Android device I have is a small phone which is too small for normal use

By the way, I realize you probably don't want to buy another device but I have found the Amazon Fire 7 tablets to be decent controllers.  It is (at least was a few years ago) easy to put the official Google Play Store on there to install any Android apps including MO 4Media.  Under $50 and often are on sale.

[MikeO]

Thanks I'll keep an eye open

I don't really want to get more devices , I have an iPad and even a spare my wife doesn't use any more !!

Mike

[cncb]

v1.3.3 is now available which adds refresh rate switching and track/stream selection for video in Android TV and other additions/fixes detailed in the second post.

[Gatherum]

So I've been experiencing a rather odd audio problem.

In short, playing back media in MO 4Media to This Device results in faint crackling/static in the right ear when using headphones. This is true regardless of conversion options, bit depths and sample rates, et cetera. However, MO 4Media proves to be a lot more reliable about streaming and buffering content on the go regardless of encoding.

Whereas, JRiver Panel does not exhibit the problem with static, with everything sounding pristine; however, it really struggles to buffer and stream content through the cloud while on the go.

Is there something off about MO 4Media's audio processing?

Also, question:

Would it be possible to add DSP Studio options to the app? In particular, I would love to have the Volume Levelling, Adaptive Volume, and Headphones options since they're designed to work intelligently with audio analysis. I'm sure others would enjoy the equalisers as well.

[cncb]

MO does not do any audio processing - all conversion is done in MC on the server.  It will adjust the playback volume automatically if you have Volume Leveling enabled in the settings.  Maybe it is a hardware issue that might be evident at higher volumes (if you are using the Leveling setting)?

Sorry, DSP studio is not currently possible when streaming from MC with the web service.  It would be something JRiver would have to add.

[IAdventurer01]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong since no one else has reported this, but I'm having an issue where if any conversion is made to the audio it sounds very low fidelity. MP3 low, MP3 high, and even WAV and PCM options sound roughly the same.  The audio path suggests it's making different conversions, but it doesn't sound like it.  The only way to get it to sound good is to disable conversions which isn't great when I have to wait a couple of minutes for a song to stream from my Hi-res FLAC collection to Android auto!

Interestingly, I didn't have this issue several versions ago.  I don't recall which update it broke on, but it was around the time MC24 was released because I thought that was the culprit at first, but it behaves the same when I reverted to MC23.

Until the issue is fixed, I'm stuck using gizmo - which sounds fine - but doesn't integrate well with my car which is primarily what I'm using this for.  Any suggestions to fix this would be appreciated!

[cncb]

Mine doesn't sound great in the car either but I just assumed it was bluetooth degrading the quality.  I will check to see if the conversions are working properly.

[cncb]

Thanks for reporting this.  It is indeed always getting "MP3 low".  I will fix this ASAP.