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TheArmCommander
12-25-2009, 10:00 AM
Hello,

At first i should probably thank you guys for amazing piece of software ... i tried about 4 other media servers and none of them came even close in regars of functionality, so props to you :-).

Unfortunatelly i run into a bit of hiccup. I plan to use Mezzmo to stream video files (mainly movies of 720p or 1080p resolution) that are stored in MKV containers AVC codec (mostly encoded by x264, high profile, bandwidth of around 10000Kbit for the video. The audio codec is commonly AC3 6 channel or alternatively DTS.
The device i want to stream it to is "Panasonic VIERA TX-P42V10E" (2009 model), which is supposed to support DLNA. Unfortunatelly the TV does not support AVC for DLNA streaming and so all the videos have to be transcoded on the fly to MPEG2.
Firstly the most obvious problem seems to be that Mezzmo does not currently provide a profile for my particular TV and it only detects it as a generic device. If you could provide a profile for my "Panasonic VIERA TX-P42V10E" (should be the same for every other DLNA enabled Panasonic plasma TV from 2009 as they all use the same chip) i would be very greateful. Or perhaps there already is a profile listed that has the proper settings for my TV but i definitelly do not want to try them one by one :-).
Secondly even with generic profile the streaming actually is possible. I can see the Mezzo server from the TVs menu, i can browse the files, i can even run them. This is however where it gets messy. Every MKV/AVC file i tried run for about 10-60 seconds, then it stopped and returned to files selection on the TV screen. It is rather strange, because the streaming obviouslly can work. The network has sufficient capacity (100mbit fullduplex), the streaming server is a very very powerful machine (Intel Core i7, 3.6Ghz, 6GB of RAM) and the transcoding seems to kick in fine.
I imagine this bug may be related to some settings in the respective *.prf profile file, but although i am tech savvy i cant say i understand the profile file enough to poke around in it on my own.

Thanks or your time and i hope i did not bore you too much with my lengty post :-).

Paul
12-25-2009, 11:04 AM
Hello,

Thank you! I'll try to get you up and running.

To create a profile for your (and as you correctly noted probably other Vieras) TV, can you please generate a log file (to turn on logging please see this thread: http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php?t=419), so that we can see what's hapenning between the TV and Mezzmo.

With a profile fit for your TV, it shouldn't stop after a few seconds, especially with such a powerful transcoding machine.

If you try to play those files a second time, do they play correctly?

If they do and until we generate a correct device profile for your TV, you may wish to experiment by selecting a different Generic Device profile and seeing if that makes the files play correctly (just try each of the 4 Generic Device profiles and see if any of them work). If one of them works correctly, can you please tell me which one.

To change a device profile, please go to Media Devices, select your device, click Edit and then select Generic Device 1,2,3,4 in the combo box, click OK and restart the server.

TheArmCommander
12-25-2009, 12:52 PM
Hey,

Thanks a lot for the swift reply ... i appreciate it.

I actually looked a little bit deeper in the profile and i tried doing something about the various settings by creating sort of a "custom" profile. I actually managed to almost eliminate my original problem (the one with videos stopping in under a minute) ... not completely however. They still do stop from time to time. It seems the log files are too big for me to attach to my posts here on the forums so i uploaded them and the profiles used to http://rapidshare.com/files/325555582/TAC_Mezzmo_Logs.zip.html (sorry about the rapidshare, but i dont have any better way of doing this atm).

However while i was trying to fix my original problem i discovered a new one. I found out that MKV 1080p videos will not stream at all (it wont even run). The wierd thing is that the very same video (identical video and audio streams) run without problem when it was inside MP4 container. On the other hand MKV 720p videos run mostly fine. I was trying all this with the "custom" profile i made and it should be apparent from the log files.

There is one more thing. Seeking in a file (rewinding it, fastforwarding etc.) does not work. Now as i understand it this is an inherent limitation of on the fly transcoding. Am i right on that point or is seeking possible in such scenarios?

Thirdly i found out that the transcoder actually transcodes the 720p and 1080p sources both into 720x576. Plus in media devices => Device Settings => Performance tab i cannot set higher maximum video size than the aforementioned 720x576. EG. when i tick Maximum video size option and then select High Definition TV - 1080p (1920x1080) from the presents and click ok the setting does NOT persist and when i open the Device Setting performance tab next time its always back on 720x576. Is this a limitation of some kind or a bug?

Heh, now i feel like such a troublemaker, 1 answer and 3 more questions :-).
Thanks for helping though

Paul
12-25-2009, 01:14 PM
It's best if you send the log files to support (at) conceiva (dot) com (zipped up of course), but uploading to a file service will work as well of course.

To increase the video resolution, you can add the size you want to the container in the device profile (you'll see a list of dimensions, just add to that) - the containers that have encode="1" are the ones that we'll transcode to.

Seeking is not possible while transcoding, but once the file is done and you play it, you should be able to seek.

The office is actually closed for Christmas, so I won't be much help till maybe Monday (I can only offer general guidance tips till then).

TheArmCommander
12-25-2009, 01:32 PM
I fully understand that, and i am happy already that i actually got your attention today and i highly appreciate it.

I will try to play around with the profiles a bit. If i am still out of luck after christmas i will mail the logs as you suggested.

Merry christmas and thanks for all the advice,

Paul
12-25-2009, 01:41 PM
Thank you and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well!

myflower
02-04-2010, 09:07 PM
Hello - I am having the same issue with my Panasonic Viera - is there a solution, or there's still no profile available?

Paul
02-05-2010, 08:30 AM
Hello - I am having the same issue with my Panasonic Viera - is there a solution, or there's still no profile available?
There is still no custom profile available for the Panasonic Viera, but I'll make one soon. I'll use the profile supplied by TheArmCommander and expand on that. I'll let you know once it's done and ready for testing (if you wish, you can also send a message to support, so that we can continue this via e-mail).

myflower
02-05-2010, 04:45 PM
There is still no custom profile available for the Panasonic Viera, but I'll make one soon. I'll use the profile supplied by TheArmCommander and expand on that. I'll let you know once it's done and ready for testing (if you wish, you can also send a message to support, so that we can continue this via e-mail).

Thank you, I'll just wait for your reply here.

Paul
02-08-2010, 08:52 AM
Well, as a starting point, please download the attached device profile and put it in your device profiles folder (you can search your computer for GenericDevice1.prf to find the folder). After that restart the Mezzmo media server and your TV should be recognized as a Panasonic Viera.

If you can tell me what formats it supports, I'll be able to further tweak the device profile to fit the device better (at the moment the profile is set to support MPEG1/2, MP3, LPCM and JPEG, but the TV may support more formats that we don't need to transcode).

Please let me know how it goes.

Cyberax
02-12-2010, 06:03 PM
Hey Dennis,

So yeh let get us started....
I downloaded the panasonic viera file and started up mezzmo.., first my panasonic didn't detect the mezzmo server, i have also the Lacie NAS server and this is visuable on my panasonic so i know it has something to do with Mezzmo.... so i restarted mezzmo again and yes then it came visuable.
So first i have to start my panasonic and then mezzmo then it will work!!
So i checkes a couple of files of MKV. and it works...
the 1080p is still a little bit slow (in the beginning it falter but then continues ok) also my cpu Load is pretty high 99% on Dual Core 3Ghz with 4Gb intern Mem.
But when i maximize the size to 720p it runs perfect and i must say the quality is Super.
Also DVD vob files work but i have to do some test here.
i need to know if the complete film is beeing played or that it stops at every new vob File.
1 problem with i have at the moment is that the subtitles are not beeing displayed... In VLM it work but on my panasonic i can not set this... so i don't know if there is a solution for this...
i Still have to check MP3 and other files but i will let you know.

at the moment i'am using he trail version so i have 15 day's to check it out, are the any restrictions with the trail version and registered one ???

Thanks

Paul
02-15-2010, 08:43 AM
Hello,

Thanks for trying it out and for your feedback!

The subtitles will be included as a new feature in a future update, so at the moment you cannot get them unfortunately.

We fixed some connectivity issues in the new update that's coming very soon, so hopefully that'll solve the problem where you have to start your TV first. If it doesn't, please contact support after the release and we'll sort it out.

We don't have the functionality to play a complete movie out of VOB files at the moment, but that's also planned to be a feature in the future.

The trial version is fully functional and has no restrictions.

Dennis

Panaman
03-26-2010, 10:12 AM
Hello,

I'm also on a Panasonic Viera just a bit larger: TX-P50V10E. But it is the same model series and recently purchased, so I suppose it uses the same or similar solution for the DLNA bit. I have downloaded and installed Mezzmo, also the profile for the Viera referenced in this post. I have come across two issues, which are not related as far as I can tell.

The first problem is that Comodo Firewall does not like Mezzmo. I have tried to open all the ports for Mezzmo as listed on these forums (53168, 2869, 1900) but I cannot access the service from the Panasonic. They are on the same network anyways and are trusted, therefore visible, but I can only access Mezzmo when I turn the firewall off. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but any help would be appreciated. I can give you more information if necessary.

The second issue is much more important and on the topic of this post. With the firewall disabled, in fact uninstalled, the Viera can see Mezzmo and access all the files. It can play back the content that it knows how to decode with no issues, but when it comes to transcoding, the situation goes bad. The transcoding starts off fine, sometimes even lasts 20 or 30 minutes into the playback, but at some point it starts stuttering horribly and finally locks up. I've tried several different profiles, including the one downloaded off this thread. The processor load never seems to go past 60 or 70% even when transcoding 1080p files, but the problem shows up when transcoding even lower resolution content.

The Viera is connected via a Gigabit switch to the Mezzmo PC, which is a Windows 7 x64, Intel Core Duo E8200 2,66 GHz, 4GB RAM. I can provide logs or whatever is required to fix the problems.

Thanks

Paul
03-26-2010, 10:18 AM
Hello,

The first problem is that Comodo Firewall does not like Mezzmo. I have tried to open all the ports for Mezzmo as listed on these forums (53168, 2869, 1900) but I cannot access the service from the Panasonic. They are on the same network anyways and are trusted, therefore visible, but I can only access Mezzmo when I turn the firewall off. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but any help would be appreciated. I can give you more information if necessary.

Hello,

We'll test it here and I'll let you know if we can reproduce that issue and how to fix it.



The second issue is much more important and on the topic of this post. With the firewall disabled, in fact uninstalled, the Viera can see Mezzmo and access all the files. It can play back the content that it knows how to decode with no issues, but when it comes to transcoding, the situation goes bad. The transcoding starts off fine, sometimes even lasts 20 or 30 minutes into the playback, but at some point it starts stuttering horribly and finally locks up. I've tried several different profiles, including the one downloaded off this thread. The processor load never seems to go past 60 or 70% even when transcoding 1080p files, but the problem shows up when transcoding even lower resolution content.

Can you please generate a log file (see this thread: http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php?t=419) of playing that one file which stutters and send it to support@conceiva.com, so that I could take a look.

Thanks!

Paul
03-26-2010, 11:04 AM
We'll test it here and I'll let you know if we can reproduce that issue and how to fix it.

I have tried it and things seem to be ok here with the Comodo Personal Firewall (free edition). If you let Mezzmo and all related applications through, it should work ok.

Can you please tell me what settings you have in your firewall, so that I could duplicate your system here (you can e-mail support@conceiva.com to keep it private, if you wish)?

RMerlin
03-27-2010, 08:09 AM
Hello,

The first problem is that Comodo Firewall does not like Mezzmo. I have tried to open all the ports for Mezzmo as listed on these forums (53168, 2869, 1900) but I cannot access the service from the Panasonic. They are on the same network anyways and are trusted, therefore visible, but I can only access Mezzmo when I turn the firewall off. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but any help would be appreciated. I can give you more information if necessary.



Make sure Comodo isn't configured to block some of the Windows services that might be required for proper operation of Mezzmo (such as anything related to uPNP, SSDP Discovery, etc...).

Comodo's logs might be given more detail as to what it is actually blocking.

Panaman
03-27-2010, 10:38 AM
Hi,

Thanks for the prompt reply.

After a small change, I think I have managed to get Comodo Firewall to work. For historical reasons, the server is running on a fixed IP that is within the router's DHCP pool. I moved the IP, modified Comodo's port rules accordingly and now I can access Mezzmo from outside the firewall. I'm not sure if this fixed it, so I'll leave it running for a few days with no changes.

I've created the log files of the stuttering and sent them to the support mailbox.

As a bonus, I also found some files that Mezzmo cannot transcode. The process starts but then it bums out after a few seconds, returning to the file listing screen. They all seem to be high def, so I created a log and sent it too.

Thanks

Paul
03-29-2010, 08:55 AM
Make sure Comodo isn't configured to block some of the Windows services that might be required for proper operation of Mezzmo (such as anything related to uPNP, SSDP Discovery, etc...).

Comodo's logs might be given more detail as to what it is actually blocking.
Thank you for the additional information!


Hi,

Thanks for the prompt reply.

After a small change, I think I have managed to get Comodo Firewall to work. For historical reasons, the server is running on a fixed IP that is within the router's DHCP pool. I moved the IP, modified Comodo's port rules accordingly and now I can access Mezzmo from outside the firewall. I'm not sure if this fixed it, so I'll leave it running for a few days with no changes.

I've created the log files of the stuttering and sent them to the support mailbox.

As a bonus, I also found some files that Mezzmo cannot transcode. The process starts but then it bums out after a few seconds, returning to the file listing screen. They all seem to be high def, so I created a log and sent it too.

Thanks
I'll take a look at those files and get back to you via e-mail.