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[Spike1000]

I'm slowly getting to grips with JRiver and developing my JRiver set up at home but today I saw something today that confused me.

I have an i5 NUC as my MC that holds all my audio (mainly FLAC) and DVD rips. My audio plays fine on my MC ie FLAC files play as FLAC as you'd expect. When using another NUC as a DNLA renderer and playing an FLAC file from the MC to the renderer it appeared as a 320kbs 16bit 44.1kHz file on the renderer when I expected a 948 kbs 16bit 44.1khz file. Is that right?

I used an Android based app (JRemote) to start playing the file from the MC to the renderer.
I'm playing to my Sony TV via HDMI using WASAPI as I've not set anything else up as yet to play the audio.

Is this the problem? The Sony TV can't play FLAC so JRiver has to convert to MP3?

I have audio conversion turned off in the DNLA settings under the Media Network settings so the apparent conversion surprised me.

(it's JRiver 20.0.115 on both Windows 7 NUCs)

Spike

[mwillems]

I have audio conversion turned off in the DNLA settings under the Media Network settings so the apparent conversion surprised me.

Where do you have this turned off (which specific media network menu options, and on which computer)?  Also is there a specific reason that you're using DLNA instead of a library server/client setup?

[Spike1000]

Where do you have this turned off (which specific media network menu options, and on which computer)?  Also is there a specific reason that you're using DLNA instead of a library server/client setup?

Ah, it sounds like I'm not doing this the right way am I . . .  

I thought using DNLA was the way to get JRiver installs on separate PCs to play from my 'master' MC with all my files on. When I first started I had hardware renderer that I stopped using very quickly as it wouldn't play HLS streamed radio. I just replaced it with a NUC running another copy of JRiver as a DLNA renderer.

I'm not using a server/client setup as I didn't know I should, or it's any different from DNLA. I am getting strong hints from your reply that how it should be done  

The Audio Conversion setting is Media Network | Advanced | Client Options (when connected to a Library Server)
I'm now taking the 'Client' bit in the line above as a bit of a clue that only applies to a server/client setup.

Spike

[Spike1000]

In my Media Network | Add or Configure DLNA servers if I set the Audio format to 'Original' or 'Specified output only when necessary' I get an 'Error occurred during playback' on the renderer so it looks like I have to convert to MP3.

If I use server/client can I play files without any conversion as that's what I'd like to do or will conversion always be necessary to play through the TV?

Spike

[mwillems]

If I use server/client can I play files without any conversion as that's what I'd like to do or will conversion always be necessary to play through the TV?

It sounds like you have a computer attached to the TV that is running media center?  If that's correct, you should set it up as a client of the MC server following the steps here: http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Media_Server#Access_from_another_PC_on_your_LAN

You should then open options on the client computer and configure the audio conversion settings at Media Network | Advanced | Client Options so that they don't convert.  Those settings a) only apply to a client/server relationship and b) only work when configured on the client side.

Your TV shouldn't be an issue if a computer is driving it directly via HDMI (not using the TV as a DLNA renderer or something).

[AndrewFG]

What is your renderer software?

If it cannot play flac, then set MC to convert to PCM 16 bit no header, aka L16

[Spike1000]

What is your renderer software?

JRiver

It seems I'd gone about playing on remote devices the wrong way. I'd assumed DNLA was the answer to the problem and it could "encapsulate" a media file, send it over a network and deliver it intact to the other end for processing and playing. I don't know how it does work, but it doesn't seem to work that way. It seems to only support certain formats and 'down convert' things it doesn't understand.

In my case I had JRiver playing to JRiver configured as a DNLA renderer, it was sending FLAC files and playing MP3s :-(

Following yet more useful advice from mwillems I should really be using JRiver server client library sharing and get my JRiver renderer to map the same drive letter to my shared media files on my MC. This I have done. I can now play from my renderer directly rather then trying to get my MC to send the files to the renderer. I now get FLACs playing as FLACs. Result.  

Would I have been stuck if I'd installed linux on my renderer and used JRiver for Linux. . . . I wouldn't be able to 'map' a drive letter back to my shared media library on my windows based MC. . . If that's the case how does the ID work?

Spike

[mwillems]

Following yet more useful advice from mwillems I should really be using JRiver server client library sharing and get my JRiver renderer to map the same drive letter to my shared media files on my MC. This I have done. I can now play from my renderer directly rather then trying to get my MC to send the files to the renderer. I now get FLACs playing as FLACs. Result.  

Would I have been stuck if I'd installed linux on my renderer and used JRiver for Linux. . . . I wouldn't be able to 'map' a drive letter back to my shared media library on my windows based MC. . . If that's the case how does the ID work?

The mapping of drives is a best practice, but not required to make client-server work.  If the client lacks direct access to the files, the server dutifully serves them in accordance with the client's specified preferences (i.e. not converting if no conversion is specified, etc.).  Direct access to the files just "cuts out the middleman" and makes the client more independent of the server instance of MC.  Try it and you'll see what I mean, it works fine without mapped drives.

DLNA can be configured to work without converting too, and it will work, it just (in most cases) provides less playback flexibility/control than a direct MC to MC connection, so I recommend using client/server

[Spike1000]

Once again many thanks mwillems for your detailed help and explanations.

It is all slowly coming together 

Spike