O'boy what a mess

[russromei]

I've tried 2 or 3 media servers, can't get any of them to stop stuttering
Then I tried mezzmo V 2.7.1.0 Trial , worked initially, then things started falling apart
It worked OK sometimes, but now it has started locking up.

The problems that I am observing are as follows:

1. Stuttering
2. Locks up
3. Some files not showing up in library
4. Seems to be a new instance of mezzmo in my Sony BDR S370 every time I try to view it , must be 8-10 there right now
5. Occasionally can't connect to server (maybe not using the correct instance (although they are all labeled the same)

I have tried all the trouble shooting tips and various settings, but apparently have not hit the right combination.
Have also turned upnp on/off on router.

I am using a wired netgear 85mps wall plug for a connection
Netgear wireless G router
I currently am using the SONY BDR compatible as the device type

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated

[JohnM]

Hi russromei welcome to the forums.

Most of the problems you are having is because of the limited types of files that the Sony BDPS-370 will support over DLNA. That is not to say that it is a bad player (I have 7) just it is somewhat limited.
1. Stuttering - in this case it is probably that the files you are trying to watch are not in a format that the BDP can show. This means that Mezzmo must trancode (change the files) into something that the BDP can. This is not a bad thing, but it is a processor intensive one. This can cause the movie to stutter as it tries to catch up. To see if this is the case Mezzmo includes the feature to pre-transcode a file. Try to do that and see if it eliminates the problem for you. (Read all the hints before starting.)
2. Locks up - I have seen this happen when the processor on the PC hits 100% utilization. It has not really stopped but is so slow that it might as well have. Try not running as many things at once or pre-tanscode.
3. This can be tricky, are the files in Mezzmo when you look at it on the PC? If they do not show up on the BDP it means that they are not viewable by the BDP. It also means that Mezzmo did not know how to transcode them for you. This is probably the device profile that you have selected for the BDP. For that model you should probably use the profile Sony BDP, HT, SMP. You set that under the media devices tab. (Note that the profile selects what to change the incompatible files into so can drastically change how the system works. When setting it you should also tell mezzmo about the slowest link on your network. If you select the profile click edit. On the general tab is a pulldown for Connection. I noticed that you use a 85MBPS wall plug, be sure to set it there or set it for the wireless connection speed if it is slower. That will tell Mezzmo how fast it can stream data to you. Getting this part right can get rid of a lot of stuttering issues (unless they are cpu related.)
4. The Sony seems to be very sensitive about the server id. It uses a number of factors to determine if a new one has appeared. Things like version and profile can force it to show as a new server. (Evidently the position of the planets is also taken into effect. ;^) They profile that you can use is the one in green. Anything that is greyed out is not useable. It will help a lot to clear out the ones that will not work. To do that bring up the menu bar, scroll all the way to the left. Then go down to Network Settings and select it. Then scroll down to Connection Server Settings and select it. The easiest way once it shows the list is to push Options on your remote. Then select erase all. You can then press options again and run diagnostic to re-discover the working Mezzmo.
5. The icon should be green to be able to be used. If none of them are open Mezzmo and make sure that it does not say Start Media Server on the menu bar. If it does go ahead and start it.

From my use of the Sony BDP series I set a few standards that I use to make my families life easier. All of my video I save in one of two formats. Mpeg2 (can also be VOB) or for HiDef M2TS. The files also only use Dolby AC3 format audio. That is what the Sony like to see. By putting my library in that format it remove the requirement of transcoding. The reason that I did that was to make sure that my PC can serve all 7 BDPs simultaneously without stuttering.
Good luck with your trial, once you figure out what your system wants I am sure you will become a happy couch potato.

[Paul]

Excellent advice, JohnM.

russromei: Please email us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com and we'll provide a patch that fixes the multiple Mezzmo icons on your Sony device. In your email, please also include a set of logs so we can see what's happening when you stream files to your Sony device. Turn on logging (see http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/419-FAQ-How-to-turn-on-diagnostic-logging) and restart your Mezzmo server. Connect to Mezzmo from your Sony device, and stream a file. When it starts to stutter or stop, stop your Mezzmo server and exit Mezzmo. Zip up all the logs and email them to us. Also, include the FFmpeg information for the file that you streamed. Right-click on the file in Mezzmo and click 'Get FFmpeg Information'.

[russromei]

OK, thanks JohnM,
I set everything like you recommended, then I started pretranscoding a few of the files.
It worked ok for those files.
Before getting in to deep, I downloaded and registered the latest version
I reset everything as you recommended and voila!, no need to pretranscode the .avi and .mpg4
They all are working.

Paul, the duplicate instances are no longer a problem, I cleaned everything up after the new version and they have not returned. Thanks for you offer of help on that!

OK, the only outstanding items are:

1. The .MKV do not work pretranscoded or not. Is there a special setting for that file type?
2. On the BRD menu below the mezzo icon, a set of folders and sub folders exist for a structure I don't recognize. Only on folder which has sub folders for the files and they are separated by file type. Is there a way to get everything into one folder?

Again, thanks to you both, I am completely heartened by my recent successes (after 2 months of nothing)

Regards

Russ

[Paul]

Hi Russ,

Glad you are (mostly) up and running now. Some answers:

1. MKV files should work fine. Check your device profile for your Sony BDP device listed in the Media Devices dialog in Mezzmo. Edit your Sony BDP device in the Media Devices dialog and try the 'Sony BDP, HT, SMP' device profile. If that is no better, then try 'Sony BDP (NTSC)'. If still no better, then email us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com and we'll provide a device profile to get you up and running.

2. In Mezzmo, if you look at the tree on the left, that is your Mezzmo library and it contains all the playlists, folders and files that will be displayed on your DLNA devices such as your Sony BDP. If you don't want certain playlists or folders listed, then you can remove them from your Mezzmo library (click on a playlist/folder in the tree and press the DEL key on your keyboard). If I have misunderstood your question, please take a photo of what you mean on your Sony BDP and post it here.