Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[dpetr]

I was wondering if you folks at JRiver are planning a profile for the Sony Bravia TV, like the one for Playstation 3?  Reason being, is that like others before me, video playback doesn't work...even using settings others have tried successfully.  Most of my videos are m2ts and avi files which play fine in Media Center 15 and show up fine on the Bravia, but don't play.  They do play with other DLNA server software with no transcoding.  Playstation 3 is rock solid.  Bravia is another story.  I think I might have got it to work once, but playback was horrible.  Don't even remember how that happened.  In any event, I just thought I'd try to get a handle on your future developments in this regard.  I am assuming that your DLNA development is an ongoing process.  Thanks.

[JimH]

I may be mistaken, but I think that someone made some progress with the video problem recently.

Please try this version:
http://files.jriver.com/mediacenter/MediaCenter150158.exe

It's not yet quite public, but video conversion is working and probably needed.

If you'll report what you find, we'll try to improve the support.

Make sure your Sony firmware is up to date.

[dpetr]

Hello Jim.  Thanks for the update (v 15.0.158).  It fixes the problem.  Every video now plays.  It appears every video gets transcoded, even though the Bravia can play the H264 files natively.  Anyway, they do play.  I've got the DLNA server set up as follows:

Support video content unchecked.
Converion: Convert unsupported formats.
Encoder: MPEG2/stream
DLNA checked.
DLNAExtra checked..
MPEG video mimetype override checked.

I did notice that fast forward or fast rewind places the video at the beginning every time.  Is that because the videos are being transcoded?

[bob]

Hello Jim.  Thanks for the update (v 15.0.158).  It fixes the problem.  Every video now plays.  It appears every video gets transcoded, even though the Bravia can play the H264 files natively.  Anyway, they do play.  I've got the DLNA server set up as follows:

Support video content unchecked.
Conversion: Convert unsupported formats.
Encoder: MPEG2/stream
DLNA checked.
DLNAExtra checked..
MPEG video mimetype override checked.

I did notice that fast forward or fast rewind places the video at the beginning every time.  Is that because the videos are being transcoded?

The DLNA spec only requires that MPEG2 streams play, others are device specific. We are doing a lot of tuning on the PS3 and Xbox 360 devices to make intelligent transcoding decisions. You could try 'never convert' and see which ones play and which don't. A work around would be to have 2 servers running, one that converts and the other that doesn't if you are trying to avoid converting when not necessary. That mimetype override you have checked will present everything to the Bravis as mpeg and assume that it will figure out whether it can handle the codec or not. You might want to test videos with that option on and off.

[NickF]

I have tried the recommended settings for my Sony KDL-32EX713.

Support video content unchecked.
Converion: Convert unsupported formats.
Encoder: MPEG2/DVD stream
DLNA checked.
DLNAExtra checked.
MPEG video mimetype override checked.

I have tried with several file types including:
.mpg - this worked a few times and gave smooth video with reasonable quality, presumably because it wasn't transcoded.  Now it gives "playback not available".  I haven't found out why yet.
.dvr-ms - some delay before playback starts then stuttering/jumpy movement in video.  Still frames reasonable but noisy.
.avi - stuttering movement in video.  Still frames reasonable but noisy.  
.wtv - very long delay before playback starts, presumably while the Win 7 wtv to dvr-ms conversion takes place.  Then no video and very distorted audio - dalek like.
HD .ts - long delay before playback starts.  Video and audio OK for the first few seconds then major stuttering in both video and audio with about half a second lag in audio.
  
So the results so far are not good.  I assume you are using ffmpeg for transcoding.  I have seen this type of result with several other upnp/DLNA media servers.  I would be interested to know what is causing the stuttering.  It's a bit like using the incorrect frame rate.  I am in the UK and, consequently, use 50Hz frame rate (video at 25Hz).  Is the transcoding producing 30Hz?  If so, how can this be changed.  Ideally, it should use the frame rate of the original video.

It seems that you are transcoding .dvr-ms files.  I understood that these were really MPEG2 in a container.  If this is the case, why not strip off the unneeded container and re-package as a pure MPEG2.  Then there would be no need to transcode and the video quality would be hugely improved.

I understand from Sony that video streamed via the ethernet input is not upscaled, so whatever the vertical line resolution presented, that is what is displayed.  I am intrigued about the MPEG2 stream options - high, medium and low.  Do these affect number of lines or some other aspect of quality?

I am desperate to find a good solution for video playback for this Sony, particularly recorded TV playback.  I assume many others are too.  I hope this info helps.

Nick.

[JimH]

We're working in this area (video conversion) right now, so be sure to use the latest build from the top of the MC15 board.  If you'll be patient, we'll probably solve this in the next few weeks.

[NickF]

Thanks Jim, that's good news.  Yes, I am on the latest version.

If there is any more feedback I can give you, let me know.

Nick.

[bob]

There are PAL presets in the video conversion options as well, you'll probably want to use those.
You could also mess with the presets in the xml file.
It's in your Application Data->JRiver->Media Center 15->Plugins folder.
If you find something that works better please share it...

[NickF]

Bob, just to confirm, is it the DLNA Medium.xml file you are talking about?

I can't find any references anywhere to frame rate.  There has to be a reason for the stuttering.  Can you confirm whether or not you keep frame refresh rate the same as the original file in transcoding or is it changed?  If it isn't frame rate, is it due to buffering somewhere?

Nick

[NickF]

I have added my ripped movie colection to the library.  These are in .ifo and .vob file formats.  These play well on the Sony, no stutter or jumpiness to the movement.  In the Media Network settings, DLNA Server Video "Support video content", "Conversion" and "Encoder" options have no effect.  The Advanced options do need to be the same as for recorded tv.  So I assume that Movie file formats are not treated as "Video".  If not, are they transcoded?  I don't know if the Sony can handle .vob natively.

How does the DLNA Server handle movie .vob files?  Are they transcoded?  If so, why do they work so well when other transcoded video file formats don't?

Nick.

[bob]

Bob, just to confirm, is it the DLNA Medium.xml file you are talking about?

I can't find any references anywhere to frame rate.  There has to be a reason for the stuttering.  Can you confirm whether or not you keep frame refresh rate the same as the original file in transcoding or is it changed?  If it isn't frame rate, is it due to buffering somewhere?

Nick

Check the ffmpeg.xml in the ffmpeg directory

[bob]

I have added my ripped movie colection to the library.  These are in .ifo and .vob file formats.  These play well on the Sony, no stutter or jumpiness to the movement.  In the Media Network settings, DLNA Server Video "Support video content", "Conversion" and "Encoder" options have no effect.  The Advanced options do need to be the same as for recorded tv.  So I assume that Movie file formats are not treated as "Video".  If not, are they transcoded?  I don't know if the Sony can handle .vob natively.

How does the DLNA Server handle movie .vob files?  Are they transcoded?  If so, why do they work so well when other transcoded video file formats don't?

Nick.

The movie vobs are streamed as they are to the device but as a single mpeg2_ps stream, that's why they work.

[NickF]

I have discovered that the stuttering of these recorded tv files is nothing to do with the streaming process.  I started a conversion and stream by viewing a file on the TV.  I then stopped the play.  On the server PC, I waited for ffmpeg to complete the conversion and saved the converted mpeg file from the user/appdata/roaming/j river/media center 15/temp folder.  When I played this back on the PC, the video still stuttered badly, both at 50Hz and 60Hz frame rate.  So this is definitely a ffmpeg problem.   The question now is what settings are required to get a stutter-free conversion.

Nick.

[bob]

Try dropping the bitrate, use one of the mpeg2 medium presets.

[NickF]

I have tried all of the presets and none of them produces a smooth video.

I have found that the recorded tv files show a frame rate of 59 frames per second in the file properties.  These files are definitely 50 Hz as they play smoothly on a tv or pc running the display at 50Hz.  I have three Windows 7 PCs with tv cards and they all produce files with this incorrect frame rate info.  I wonder whether ffmpeg is using this file info and doing something strange in the conversion.  I don't understand why Windows is setting the frame rate incorrectly.  I cant find a setting anywhere in the registry.  It may not be related but it looks suspicious.

Nick.

[NickF]

I have started a new topic on this as I don't believe it is caused by Sony TVs or DLNA streaming

Nick.