A few issues encountered during evalutation

[sysrage]

I'm currently running Mezzmo with the free trial to see if it meets my DLNA streaming needs. I had previously been using a competitors product, but I've been frustrated with the lack of support. Overall, Mezzmo has been VERY good and has solved a great deal of the issues I had with other software. However, during my evaluation of Mezzmo, I've encountered a few issues I'm hoping somebody can help me with.

1. The 'Folders' view shows empty folders on the DLNA device. As I have several TV shows in the media directory, this makes navigation very difficult. I've seen a few posts on these forums asking for empty folders to not be shown. I'm curious to know when this can be implemented.

2. Some video files I have were apparently recorded with an odd aspect ratio. The old media server I had been using would automatically transcode videos that weren't in the correct aspect ratio to one which would fit properly on my TV. I tried digging through the Mezzmo forums to find out if there was a way to do this, but didn't see anything. I found one post saying that the videos would just need to be re-recorded properly. This isn't really an option for me, so I'm hoping there is a better way.

3. Some MKV files I have include multiple language tracks and/or multiple built-in subtitles. The old server I had been using allowed me to select which audio track and/or subtitle track to use for transcoding/streaming right from the DLNA device. I don't need that exact method, but I do need to be able to select the tracks. Is this just done by right clicking the video within Mezzmo, going to properties, and selecting the audio and subtitle tracks to use?

Thanks for writing such great software. Hopefully I can get these issues resolved or worked around so I can purchase a copy.

[Paul]

Some answers:

1. If your folders empty but there should be files listed - and your files are coming from a NAS drive or another computer, then that typically is an access permissions issue. See this FAQ to fix it - http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/4597-FAQ-Accessing-files-from-external-computers-and-NAS-drives-on-your-home-network. If your folders are empty and you don't want them displayed when empty, then that's a feature request from several Mezzmo users as well and we'll implement it for an upcoming version.

2. What device are you streaming to? Any what device profile is assigned to your device in the Media Devices dialog in Mezzmo? You can try pre-transcoding the video to various formats and that may correct the wrong aspect ratio. See this FAQ how to pre-transcode a file - http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/6025-Tutorial-Pre-transcoding-Files. If that does not work, let us know.

3. You are right. The Video tab in the Properties dialog lets you select your preferred video and audio channels to stream to devices. This is used when Mezzmo transcodes your videos that cannot be played on your devices into compatible formats. You can also select the 'Only stream the preferred channels to devices' checkbox to force the natively supported videos to also only stream the preferred channels to your device. See this FAQ for more details - http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/6029-Tutorial-How-to-stream-your-preferred-audio-language-in-a-video.

Let us know if you need further help.

[sysrage]

Thank you for the quick reply! Already better support than the last server I was using. :)

Regarding #1, yes I want empty folders to not be displayed. I hope this feature can be implemented soon as it's frustrating to not know which folders actually have new and/or unwatched episodes.


I gave #3 a try and it works like a champ. Thanks! One issue solved.



2. What device are you streaming to? Any what device profile is assigned to your device in the Media Devices dialog in Mezzmo? You can try pre-transcoding the video to various formats and that may correct the wrong aspect ratio. See this FAQ how to pre-transcode a file - http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/6025-Tutorial-Pre-transcoding-Files. If that does not work, let us know.


I'm streaming to a Sony TV (KDL-60R550A). I've tried both "Sony Bravia KDL 3D" and "Sony Bravia KDL (2012 Models)" without any luck. With both profiles, the video was squished with the wrong aspect ratio. I'll play around with pre-transcoding a bit to see if it'll resolve the issue.

Thanks again.

[sysrage]

Forum software being wonky. Says my reply wasn't posted, but I see it above...

[Paul]

#1 - We'll try to get it into the next release (later this week) or the following release.

#2 - Let us us know how you go. If no success, post the FFmpeg information on the video. To do this, right-click on the video in Mezzmo and click 'Get FFmpeg Information'.

#3 - Glad that worked :)

[Paul]

Forum software being wonky. Says my reply wasn't posted, but I see it above...

Found and fixed the forum database problem. Thanks for reporting it!

[sysrage]

After a week of use, I'm still having several issues with Mezzmo. Please let me know if there are solutions to any of the following:

1. I leave my computer, which has my media library and Mezzmo, running 24/7. I've noticed that if I don't regularly re-start the Mezzmo service, it starts acting very screwy. Fast-forward and rewind will stop working properly, the DLNA menus to select my videos start getting stuck, and more. I can set up a Windows task to automatically re-start the service once a day, but I'd obviously prefer not doing this. Any known issues related to this and/or better workarounds?

2. Pause, fast-forward, and rewind appear to work properly on my Sony KDL-60R550A but not on my Sony KDL-52EX700. The last media server I used allowed FF and rewind to work just fine with the 52EX700. Any fixes or workarounds?

3. Mezzmo seems to have trouble with transcoding any larged video files. I have an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU (Q9550) @ 2.83Ghz with 8Gb RAM. This was enough for the last media server I used to be able to transcode HD movies on the fly. I would really prefer not having to pre-transcode all these movies before watching them, so is there any way to improve performance?

4. I'm still having issues with the aspect ratio on some videos. They show at the correct aspect ratio on my KDL-52EX700 but are squished on the KDL-60R550A. I tried pre-transcoding with the only options I saw (mpeg-mpeg2video/ac3 and mpegts-h264/ac3), but it made no difference. The following is the ffmpeg info for an example video:

ffmpeg version N-50460-g393dcbf Copyright (c) 2000-2013 the FFmpeg developers
built on Mar 4 2013 17:38:17 with gcc 4.6.2 (GCC)
configuration: --enable-memalign-hack --arch=x86 --target-os=mingw32 --cross-prefix=i686-w64-mingw32- --enable-static --disable-shared --enable-zlib --disable-postproc --prefix=/home/peter/ffmpeg/build/gpl --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-gpl --extra-libs='-lx264 -lpthread' --enable-runtime-cpudetect --extra-cflags=-I/home/peter/cc/include --extra-ldflags=-L/home/peter/cc/lib --pkg-config=pkg-config --disable-w32threads --enable-zlib
libavutil 52. 17.103 / 52. 17.103
libavcodec 54. 92.100 / 54. 92.100
libavformat 54. 63.102 / 54. 63.102
libavdevice 54. 3.103 / 54. 3.103
libavfilter 3. 41.100 / 3. 41.100
libswscale 2. 2.100 / 2. 2.100
libswresample 0. 17.102 / 0. 17.102
Input #0, avi, from 'E:\Downloads\Movies\An American Tail Fievel Goes West (1991)\An American Tail Fievel Goes West.avi':
Metadata:
encoder : Nandub v1.0rc2
Duration: 01:11:54.84, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1363 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (Advanced Simple Profile) (XVID / 0x44495658), yuv420p, 544x384 [SAR 1:1 DAR 17:12], 25 tbr, 25 tbn, 25 tbc
Stream #0:1: Audio: mp3 (U[0][0][0] / 0x0055), 48000 Hz, stereo, s16p, 32 kb/s
At least one output file must be specified

<MEZZMO>: Child process ended with code: 109, ExitCode=1


---> DB Level Info: 5, 15
---> Frame rate: 25.00
---> Aspect ratio: 17:12

[sysrage]

Encountered an even more annoying issue tonight. We were watching a movie and it was transcoding on the fly while we were watching. I paused the movie near the beginning to get a drink. Apparently pausing the movie caused the transcoding to stop, as it got stuck at 23% and just sat there. When the movie got to that 23% mark, it stopped playing. After already being annoyed, I stopped the transcode and started a pre-transcode. When it completed about 45% of the transcode, I started the movie again. However, it wouldn't allow me to fast-forward (even though fast-forward usually works). I had to let the pre-transcode finish, then stop and re-start the service. After that, fast-forward worked again.

I really like Mezzmo, but it doesn't seem to be working out. If there's something I should be doing to use it differently and don't encounter these issues, please let me know.

[Paul]

Some answers:

1. We've fixed a few issues regarding Mezzmo server stability so hopefully these are fixed in the new version. When it is released (later this week), give it a try and if no better, then capture a set of logs when it happens and we'll be able to see what is happening.

2. Typically the lack of FF/REW suggest the video was being transcoded on-the-fly and your TV does not like FF/REW when transcoding takes place. After the file is fully transcoded, you should be able to play it again and FF/REW. Go to the Transcoding pane in Mezzmo to see if it is transcoding whilst you are streaming it. If it is, then wait until it is finished, then try streaming it again & then try using FF/REW. If no better, what device profile is assigned to your Sony KDL-52EX700? Go to the Media Devices dialog to see this. And, what is the FFmpeg information on the video file?

3. Transcoding performance is directly related to your computer's performance - i.e. CPU, memory, other running programs. Also, selecting the wrong device profile can cause excessive/unnecessary transcoding. Try several of the other Sony Bravia device profiles to see if they are a better match for your TV.

4. We are working a few reported aspect ratio issues at the moment, so hopefully these fixes also improve your playback. One thing to check on your TV is the screen display settings, since your TV has settings how it renders videos. Whilst the video is playing, press the Options button on your TV and select Picture Settings -> Screen. Set the Wide settings to Normal and turn off Auto Wide. If that is no better, then right-click on the video in Mezzmo and go to the Transcoding tab in the Properties dialog. Delete all transcoded files. Next, pre-transcode the video again for your Sony TV. In the Pre-transcode Formats dialog, choose the mpegts-h264/ac3 format and select the "Force full transcode" checkbox. After transcoding is complete, try streaming the video again. If no better, let us know.

5. Pausing the video on your TV should not be stopping transcoding in Mezzmo. We'll check this out and fix it if we can reproduce the problem here. The FF/REW problem is related to 2).

[sysrage]

Some answers:

1. We've fixed a few issues regarding Mezzmo server stability so hopefully these are fixed in the new version. When it is released (later this week), give it a try and if no better, then capture a set of logs when it happens and we'll be able to see what is happening.

I really did like Mezzmo, but due to these issues I've been trying other options. I've found one solution that covers almost every base I need covered, so I'm continuing to use that for now. I can let you know what I'm using in a PM if you're interested, but I won't advertise a competitor on your forums. :) I'd definitely like to give Mezzmo another try, but the below issues will need to be addressed first.


2. Typically the lack of FF/REW suggest the video was being transcoded on-the-fly and your TV does not like FF/REW when transcoding takes place. After the file is fully transcoded, you should be able to play it again and FF/REW. Go to the Transcoding pane in Mezzmo to see if it is transcoding whilst you are streaming it. If it is, then wait until it is finished, then try streaming it again & then try using FF/REW. If no better, what device profile is assigned to your Sony KDL-52EX700? Go to the Media Devices dialog to see this. And, what is the FFmpeg information on the video file?

The software I'm using now has allowed me to fast-forward, rewind, and pause all videos without any problems even when they are being transcoded on the fly. So, it's possibly related to the device profile I had selected in Mezzmo, but it's not an issue with my TV or my computers performance.

I tried using all of the following device profiles, and they all seemed to behave the same:
- Sony Bravia KDL (2010 Models)
- Sony Bravia KDL (2012 Models)
- Sony Bravia KDL 3D

I don't remember exactly which video I was watching when the secondary issue was seen, so I can't easily grab the FFMPEG info. I posted FFMPEG info from one problem video above, though. If the stability and performance issues are addressed, I can re-try some of these and provide details.


3. Transcoding performance is directly related to your computer's performance - i.e. CPU, memory, other running programs. Also, selecting the wrong device profile can cause excessive/unnecessary transcoding. Try several of the other Sony Bravia device profiles to see if they are a better match for your TV.

I tried several of the profiles with no change in performance. This is definitely not a problem with the performance of my computer, as the software I'm using now has been able to transcode high-def and 3D movies on the fly without any stuttering or any other issues. If you have other suggestions or specific profiles I should try, let me know.


4. We are working a few reported aspect ratio issues at the moment, so hopefully these fixes also improve your playback. One thing to check on your TV is the screen display settings, since your TV has settings how it renders videos. Whilst the video is playing, press the Options button on your TV and select Picture Settings -> Screen. Set the Wide settings to Normal and turn off Auto Wide. If that is no better, then right-click on the video in Mezzmo and go to the Transcoding tab in the Properties dialog. Delete all transcoded files. Next, pre-transcode the video again for your Sony TV. In the Pre-transcode Formats dialog, choose the mpegts-h264/ac3 format and select the "Force full transcode" checkbox. After transcoding is complete, try streaming the video again. If no better, let us know.

This issue seems to be a problem on almost every media server I've tried, so I don't blame you guys one bit. :) I did try pre-transcoding the video I posted the FFMPEG data for above. It made no difference. What's very strange is, it shows in the correct aspect ratio on my older TV but not the newer TV. Changing profiles didn't seem to make a difference, but maybe I just didn't ever have the right profile.


5. Pausing the video on your TV should not be stopping transcoding in Mezzmo. We'll check this out and fix it if we can reproduce the problem here. The FF/REW problem is related to 2).

I know it shouldn't have stopped the transcode, but unfortunately it did. The Mezzmo 'Transcoding' tab still showed the video as being transcoded, but it was stuck at a certain percentage.

Like I said, I really liked the Mezzmo interface and I definitely appreciate your responsiveness. I'd love to use Mezzmo full-time, but the performance issue is the biggest problem. I can't pre-transcode everything I want to watch and other servers have shown that I shouldn't even need to. Please let me know if there's a different profile I should be using, that you think will make a difference, and I'll give it a shot. Thanks much!

[Paul]

Thanks for the great feedback, sysrage. Please do email us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com the product you are using now and we'll check it out to see if we can improve things on our side. Hope you re-visit a future version of Mezzmo as I am sure we will iron out the issues you experienced :)

[Paul]

Thanks for the great feedback, sysrage. Please do email us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com the product you are using now and we'll check it out to see if we can improve things on our side. Hope you re-visit a future version of Mezzmo as I am sure we will iron out the issues you experienced :)