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[glynor]

I'll start by explaining something odd about me very quickly... I don't have a TV of any kind in my bedroom.  We like to keep the bedroom free of that kind of mindless junk.  Whenever I want to watch something from bed (which really only happens occasionally, usually when I get a bout of insomnia), I just use my laptop and connect to my MC library.

So, last night, I had another particularly bad bout of insomnia.  Unfortunately, my laptop's battery was dead and the power cord got forgotten at the office.  So, laptop watching was out.  So I was lying in bed and surfing around on the internet and I found a few mentions on the SageTV forums about an iPhone app called AirVideo.  The premise is simple.  You install the client App on your phone/ipod.  Then you download and install the free "server" app on your PC (or Mac) where the files live, point it to "watch" the folder where your video files live, and it "serves" these files up to your iPhone.  The beauty in it is that it uses FFMPEG to automatically transcode unsupported file types to a video format that the iPhone can use ON THE FLY (or in the background if you'd like).  I was quite skeptical, but the app was only $2.99 and I really couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd give it a whirl (grumbling, but only if it takes less than 10 minutes to set up the server and walking to the basement).

http://www.inmethod.com/air-video/index.html

So, I downloaded the server.  Installed it, which took seconds.  The installer launched the configuration panel, which was pretty simple to follow.  I added my M:\Video\ directory to the initial Shared Folders tab.  I clicked through the other tabs in the config utility, but everything looked pretty simple and the defaults were fine.  So I figured, what the heck and I fired it up on my phone.  It found and connected to the server in seconds, and then presented a very simple view of the folder structure inside M:\Video\.  I navigated through, chose a TV show file (a XviD encoded AVI) and hit the Play with Live Conversion button.  The file took 4-8 seconds of buffering (and I watched the CPU usage on my server machine ramp up quickly), but much to my surprise, the file started playing perfectly.

You can skip ahead and back (via normal seeking on with a player bar, and via a dedicated 30 seconds skip back button) Rotate the phone to flip the view.  It auto-remembers the last played position of the file on a per-file basis.  The UI is very simple and utilitarian, but it works very smoothly.  I wandered upstairs and continued to watch 2 full hour long episodes on my phone until I was finally able to drift off to sleep.

[glynor]

Now, all of this was on my local WiFi in my house, which is connected to my internal LAN, so this is certainly a best case usage model.  That's what I was really interested in last night, but I did see that in the app store and on their website, it supposedly also supported streaming via the same mechanism over the Internet (like a SlingBox).  Again, I was skeptical, and figured it would be difficult to set up, but I might as well give it a whirl.

After I woke up this morning, I thought today would be a perfectly good opportunity to test this out, if the setup didn't take too long.  So, I wandered downstairs and popped open the AirVideo server app dialog again.  I went to the Remote tab in the Server UI and checked the Enable Access from Internet (Experimental) checkbox.  Turns out the app can actually use UPnP on your router to auto-open the appropriate port.  I have UPnP disabled, though, so I just unchecked the "Automatically Map Port" option in that same dialog.  It then immediately showed what port it was using and said to manually forward it.  I quickly logged into my firewall and forwarded the appropriate port, which took only a few minutes, and then hit the "Test Connection" button in the Server UI.  It said it worked and was ready to go.  The way it works is quite simple... You do NOT need to have a static IP or a Dynamic DNS account (though it works fine if you have those and want to use them).  Instead, the server connects to the AirVideo servers and assigns you a 9 digit PIN.  You simply enter this PIN into the AirVideo app on your iPhone, and it redirects the app to the appropriate IP, even if it changes down the road.  All told, including adding a few additional video Shares to watch, it took me another 10 minutes to set up, and most of that time was mucking with my firewall.  If you use UPnP on your router, it would be a 30 second deal.  I did all of this before my morning coffee (while I waited for it to brew).

Again, I was skeptical, but I figured it was worth a shot.  So, when I got to work and got settled at my desk, I fired up the App (my iPhone connected to our internal public WiFi network)... Typed in my PIN and the password I set for the server (if you open it to the Internet, they strongly recommend you set a password, but you only need to enter it once on your phone and then it is remembered)... Happily, it connected right up and again showed me the list of file shares.  I browsed through and started playing a file.  Performance was a little slower here, but not terribly so (thumbs generated a little slower, and buffering was a little longer, but only marginally).  Again, the file played flawlessly.  I did notice that the quality here at the office isn't quite as good as at home, but only slightly.  Certainly still completely watchable and enjoyable, and the sound quality is clear and strong.  I couldn't believe it... This was actually working.

So, I figured I needed a tougher test.  I set about playing back one of the recordings from my DVR application (I set up that share this morning).  These are 6+Mbps 720p H264 Transport Stream files.  Again, the file launched and played fine.  Then, I tested a 1080p x264 MKV movie file I had in my library (an episode of LOST).  Again, started up fine.  I'm absolutely shocked.

They say on their website that Internet Streaming also works over 3G.  I don't have 3G coverage where I live (coastal Maine), so I haven't been able to test it yet.  I can say, EDGE did not work.  That's really no shocker though... I am going on a trip to Florida tomorrow though, so I'm excited to try it out at the airports for my layover.

Now, I must say... I do have the AirVideo server running on a quite highend machine at home (this one).  I did read on the SageTV forum that people had trouble with the on-the-fly conversion of HD H264 transport stream files using less powerful machines (Core 2 Duos and whatnot), but I saw no problems at all.  When I did my initial tests at home, the CPU usage was going to 90-95%, so it is not resource shy, even on a powerful Quad-Core machine.  Those same reports online from people who said they had trouble with HD files though said that using it with Standard Def x264 and XviD sources was fine though.  It uses FFMPEG to do the transcoding, so I suspect that it can handle pretty much anything you throw at it that FFMPEG would handle (which is a lot).  If you do a lot with HD video, you'll probably have a fast PC anyway.

Of course, even if the on the fly encoding doesn't work for you, you can actually queue up offline encodings using the iPhone app, and then they'll be available to play once they've finished.  I haven't needed it yet, but that's good to have for slower server machines.  You can tweak the quality settings for the encoding as well, but this really wasn't needed.  And lastly, if you have any files that are iPhone/iPod ready already, the server detects this and doesn't force you to use the on-the-fly encoding.  It Just Works.

I have to say... I'm VERY impressed.  And, I'm very excited that I'll be able to access my entire library at home from my iPhone remotely.  It is really just better than I ever imagined and a very good deal for only $3.  I'll be sure to update this with my 3G experiences after my trip.  But so-far, so good!!

[bspachman]

Thanks for the tip! I jumped on this yesterday and found it on sale for $1.99. I couldn't agree w/Glynor's review more--I really feel like I'm living in the future!

I actually hooked my iPhone up to a small TV with the Apple composite cable and used it to stream an entire mp4 encoded movie without a hitch.

Now I'm looking for the manual to figure out how the aspect ratio options interact....

brad

[glynor]

FYI... I've been using it on my trip quite a bit.  Running over 3G has been flawless.  Quality degrades a bit further than over WiFi (it must test connection speed or something), but still perfectly watchable.

I saw that $1.99 price yesterday.  Figures, I would buy it the day before a sale.  Whatever... Absolutely worth $3 and certainly worth $2.

Amazing piece of software.  Kinda makes me want an iPad.

BTW... I've had no aspect ratio issues at all.  Seems to just work.  TV out aspect ratio issues are a function of the iPhone itself.  Check the iPhone settings.  There's something related in there.

[rossp]

All, get the latest air video server from the forum for better video support. I found it can play 80% of my library now

http://www.inmethod.com/forum/forums/show/3.page

Ross

[glynor]

All, get the latest air video server from the forum for better video support. I found it can play 80% of my library now

Even without the beta build (which I upgraded to earlier this week), I haven't found ANY video files in my library that it chokes on.  It does struggle a slight bit to do on-the-fly conversions of my HD H264 TS files recorded off of my HD-PVR (but still usually pulls it off, just slowly), and I was seeing an occasional a/v sync issue (re-seeking the video would almost always fix it), but it would play pretty much anything I'd throw at it.

What types of files are you seeing it fail with?

[rossp]

After it re-thumbnailed my video files it seems to play them all. I have no idea why it failed on some of the flv ones before. I did see a lot of ffmpeg processes lying arround. These may have been from the old server version and held up the new one.

Ross

[glynor]

After it re-thumbnailed my video files it seems to play them all. I have no idea why it failed on some of the flv ones before. I did see a lot of ffmpeg processes lying arround. These may have been from the old server version and held up the new one.

Ahh... Old school flash video.  I haven't tried any of those.  The new build of the server does seem to have fixed my occasional (and it really was only occasional) audio/video sync issue, so that's good.

Of course, now I'm in withdrawal, made only worse by my new dependence on AirVideo... Last night on my way through the parking lot, I decided it would be a good idea to pull my phone out of my pocket to pick a different podcast, hit the headphone cord with my other arm, and fling the phone across the parking lot (where it landed in a nice pile of gravel and rubble).

Picked it up, brushed off the dirt and was happy to see that it looked okay.  A second or two later, there was a small popping sound, and a crack ran the full length of the face of the phone (I'm guessing grit got under the glass, and then as the metal band cooled in the Maine air, it pulled it tight and there you go).  This morning I woke up to one additional crack down at the bottom of the screen.  The phone itself still worked fine (screen was fine, touch controls all worked fine and everything).  But, you could slightly feel the larger crack at one end with your finger, and I'm afraid that it could get worse...  I've dropped it a few times before and it was always completely fine (even onto my basement and garage concrete floors), but never into a pile of grit like that.  Was not a happy ride home, let me tell you.

So, about two hours ago I packed up the phone in a box and sent it off to iResQ for an $80 glass replacement.  I feel so.... Out of sorts, I guess.  I've trained myself over the past two years to never leave anywhere without instinctively checking my pocket for the weight of the phone (after a few left-in-bathroom or left-in-store scares).  So every time I go anywhere, I think about the fact that it is gone away.  Standing in line is going to kill me, and I'll have to completely avoid going to the grocery store (I don't think I can handle that place anymore without my headphones in and Plants vs Zombies to occupy me in line).  It is supposed to be back on Monday on the UPS truck.  It better be!

[rossp]

Ouch Glynor, maybee you need an iTouch for backup

Ross

[JimH]

Here's a cheaper solution.  Get yourself a pair of these new iPod skins:



Sorry for your loss.

[glynor]

"Out for Delivery" are always happy words on the tracking web page, aren't they?

[park]

Does it browse by folder? There is an app for HP Mediasmart owners that does almost the same thing. I think it's called iStream. The only thing is, it uses twonky media server.

Simplify uses the itunes or winamp libraries.

I'm just holding back on using one of these kinds of apps because of all the time I've invested in organizing my library in MC. I'm hoping that in future it will be possible to stream to a phone from MC on a server which doesnt have a soundcard.

Plugplayer looks like the most promising but i havent managed to get vpn on the iphone working yet.

[glynor]

Does it browse by folder? There is an app for HP Mediasmart owners that does almost the same thing. I think it's called iStream. The only thing is, it uses twonky media server.

Simplify uses the itunes or winamp libraries.

Yes, it just has a simple file system browser.  It works quite well so long as you use the ability in MC to Rename/Move your files into a structured file system.  That's actually one of the reasons I think it works so well with MC, because MC's ability to organize video files on disk by tags is so powerful and flexible.  Sure it'd be better if it plugged directly into the MC Metadata library, but that doesn't seem likely anytime soon.  And this has the ability to use any video file on disk, even those that might not be managed by MC at all, and the server application has a very small footprint.

This is very similar to the iStream application, but it does only video (not music or photos).  I've also read about lots of problems with using iStream over 3G with video, and lots of video incompatibilities (plus, this doesn't require a special HP Windows Home Server setup).

Simplify is all messed up.  Don't invest anything in anything by SimplifyMedia.  They just dropped almost all of their products and announced they were "changing direction" (but not how or where).  Plus, they already had a bad rep with the SimplifyMedia application, which was broken badly in later versions.  More here: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/13/boo-hoo-simplifymedia-dropping-products-and-changing-direction/

[glynor]

My phone's back.  Looks great!  More here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=56576

[rossp]

Good news Glynor, now be more careful this time 

[glynor]

Yeah... No kidding!

[fitbrit]

Hi glynor et al.
Thanks for the review. I've actually been using Air Video since last year. If you like the performance currently, you should have seen it back then! I guess more filetypes are supported now, but I find the more recent versions, stutter and degrade video quality much more than the older ones did. And everytime it does so, it goes back a few seconds - can be quite frustrating. I used to use it every night for bedroom viewing like glynor - pop on a pair of headphones and the wife isn't disturbed either. Most of my video library is 720p or 1080p mkv, and it used to work flawlessly. Now, I'd use it personally, but would not demo it to a friend because of the performance issues. Nothing much has changed in my home except upgrading to new versions of the software on the iPhone - and I can't go back to an old version, right?

Overall though, it's an amazing piece of work; I'll have to try the internet/3G options too. I wish it would do audio only streaming too though. Any recommendations for an iPhone app that does this?

[glynor]

I haven't had any issues like that at all.  If I manually advance or rewind a track, I do get some stuttering while it gets back to where it should be, and once in a while I'll have the iPhone App crash just as I start playback (this is rare but it happens occasionally).  But once playback starts, it has always been 100% flawless for me, even on 3G, unless I completely lose network connectivity (if I start playback and walk around through a large WiFi network, like we have at the office, it'll stutter sometimes as it switches from one WAP to the next).  The only quality issue I've experienced at all is that audio and video sometimes get out of sync (some files it happens, some it doesn't).  Usually hitting the 30sec skip back button a few times will resync it though, and a complete stop and restart always fixes it for sure.

I've been using it almost every single day since I wrote this post originally, with a pretty wide variety of media.

I suspect the issue might have more to do with your computer not quite being up to the task.  I'm running the server on a Core i5 750 @ 4.0GHz with 4GB of RAM and I see no issues, even with 1080p MKV conversions on the fly.  It is possible that more recent versions of the server are doing conversions at higher quality and therefore need a beefier CPU to do the conversions from HD formats.  I know they've updated FFMPEG versions in just about ever version of the server app that comes out.

I doubt it is the phone's hardware, as I'm on a iPhone 3G (not 3GS) so I should have the same processor hardware in my phone as you (or yours is better), even if you have a 1st gen iPhone.  It is possible that something is wrong with your particular phone's hardware or install, I suppose.  Do you have trouble playing videos if you actually convert them and sync them over to your phone manually?

[fitbrit]

Thanks for the input, glynor. I didn't have any problems until I did my first Air Video upgrade on my iPhone. We moved into a new place recently, and Air Video worked well for a while until the change. I didn't consider that the serving PC could be too slow, though. I changed from my 2 x 2.4 GHZ Opteron to my 2 x 2.2 GHz desktop PC for Air Video mostly, so that could be it. I'll look into it all soon. I also need ot install the Pro 24 port switch in the basement; right now we're making do with a regular 8-port consumer switch, which might be being overworked.