INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 19 for Windows => Topic started by: rjm on September 25, 2013, 02:34:06 pm
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Even if its usually a good idea to find working defaults, i think this whole video conversion thing needs an advanced options area with at least the few basic knobs to adjust the conversion profiles for everyones use-case. Something to ponder and discuss on, I imagine.
Please try Air Video HD. It works out of the box with no complicated setting choices.
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Please try Air Video HD. It works out of the box with no complicated setting choices.
Within one stricly controlled eco-system, sure.
We're trying to support more then iOS with one set of defaults here. :)
Gizmo streaming also works out of the box without many settings, yet the advanced users complain and want advanced options.
From what i read, it uses H.264 passthrough (ie. remuxing) if possible, so any H.264 files would just decode as-is, assuming your bandwidth can do that, and of course look quite good.
Lots of video is H.264 these days, especially HD, so that is an option that can save you from a conversion, and something worth investigating for MC as well.
But that brings me back to the original problem, either Streaming needs more different quality profiles, or at least some options to be able to configure the profiles.
Pass-through wouldn't work on my Android Tablet at all, because this old Galaxy Tab 10.1 just doesn't decode most H.264 streams.
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FYI - I've only had a bit of a play with iOS devices but did find that apps like Good or Ace Player would stream Video Content from MC's DLNA server using the "MPEG2/DVD/PAL stream with MPEG2 Audio" profile (but seeking was an issue in one of the players).
The work with Bob and Hendrik this year as polished a lot of the issue around Video Conversion Testing (see thread on the Beta fourm) but still plenty to do. To me a couple of changes opens it up:
- Combine the profiles and handling into one area that is then used by all aspect of MC (Video Conversion / DLNA / Gizmo )
- Allow users to create profiles (advanced users will soon find what works or does not work and you will then get an updated set of "preset profiles"). This should even allow for plain remuxing (eg BD --> MKV).
...anyway, good to see the conversion is alive and kicking! Bring on Jan.
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Interesting. Are you saying plex makes use of JRiver tags? That would be huge.
No but because I let jriver rename my files using the same database (tvdb) it will pick them up correctly automatically and adds its own metadata to its database. This has worked 100% with TV shows. I had to manually fix just a few movies.
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Within one stricly controlled eco-system, sure.
We're trying to support more then iOS with one set of defaults here. :)
Sure, but why not start with something simple for the tablet with the largest market share.
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Sure, but why not start with something simple for the tablet with the largest market share.
Android has a 60% market share in the tablet market these days, and Android is supported through Gizmo. So, done and done? :)
We cannot change the only streaming presets we have to accommodate iOS if that means breaking support for many Android devices instead (including my own! :P)
In consequence this means that any further steps are no longer of the "simple" variant.
Device specific defaults? Maybe, not ideal though. For iOS that might work, but Android has too many devices.
Options? Confuse users. Maybe with a "Wizard" of sorts, including platform defaults? (iOS defaults vs. Android defaults)
What if i run both kinds of tablets against the same server? Different profiles, i guess?
And the list of questions goes on.
Sadly its just not going to be easy. The fact that i don't even have a iOS device doesn't help, either. ;D
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Android has a 60% market share in the tablet market these days, and Android is supported through Gizmo. So, done and done? :)
Isn't Android just a bunch of slightly different products from a bunch of not so innovative 2nd tier players? :)
And Gizmo is not even in the same solar system as JRemote.
Seriously though, I've only spent an hour or two with an Android but I got frustrated real quick and then when I looked at my list of must have apps (like JRemote) and realized they not available on Android I decided to stay with the iPad despite its high price and lack of a memory card slot.
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Sadly its just not going to be easy. The fact that i don't even have a iOS device doesn't help, either.
Oh oh, now I understand, you really really gotta get one. JRiver should spring for it.
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And Gizmo is not even in the same solar system as JRemote.
From where I'm standing, Gizmo is light-years ahead because i can actually view my videos with it. :P And it works quite well with video, too! Video has the advantage that it doesn't need much of a control/information GUI, because the screen is used for the video image anyway, so no "Playing Now" to complain about.
Disclaimer: I don't particularly care for audio, I'm way too lazy to maintain an audio library and decide what to listen, so I just pick up online radios like sky.fm or the like. :p
Anyhow, it might not be soon, but there are improvements coming, which will hopefully then also enable video playback on iOS.
And hopefully we'll also manage to find just the right solution to make it work out of the box on as many systems as possible, even if we additionally add a few options for the advanced users.
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;D I agree, Video comes with a free Audio Track anyway ;D Now about getting these online radio streams transcoded and sent to Gizmo correctly (and Live TV)!
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Seriously though, I've only spent an hour or two with an Android but I got frustrated real quick ...
I think this may disqualify you.
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I think this may disqualify you.
At least I tried it. Have you tried Air Video HD on an iPad?
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I'm going to close this one.
We need Jim to get some work done ;)
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This is work.