Directv Receivers

[jasonm]

I am currently running Mezzmo in trial mode and really like it for my Apple devices. I do have a few questions regarding my two Directv receivers before I can commit to a purchase.

Currently Mezzmo is running on a Dell PowerEdge server with Win2003 Enterprise, 4GB ram and over 1TB of drive space. Network is 1GB to the router.

As stated above I have two Directv receivers, one is an H24/100 and an H25/500. I have selected the Directv HR24 (mp3) device profile for both receivers however even after pre-transcoding any .MKV or .MP4 video file the playback is choppy and pauses every 10 seconds or so. When I can get the playback to work (I have one video file that plays back without pausing) functions like pause and FF do not work.

Am I using the correct device profile for these receivers? Play back, pause and FF all work fine on our iPads, iPhones and iTouch devices.

Thanks
Jason

[smitbret]

I am currently running Mezzmo in trial mode and really like it for my Apple devices. I do have a few questions regarding my two Directv receivers before I can commit to a purchase.

Currently Mezzmo is running on a Dell PowerEdge server with Win2003 Enterprise, 4GB ram and over 1TB of drive space. Network is 1GB to the router.

As stated above I have two Directv receivers, one is an H24/100 and an H25/500. I have selected the Directv HR24 (mp3) device profile for both receivers however even after pre-transcoding any .MKV or .MP4 video file the playback is choppy and pauses every 10 seconds or so. When I can get the playback to work (I have one video file that plays back without pausing) functions like pause and FF do not work.

Am I using the correct device profile for these receivers? Play back, pause and FF all work fine on our iPads, iPhones and iTouch devices.

Thanks
Jason

The DirecTV boxes are just terrible for media streaming. No matter what you do, you will never be able to FF/Rew on them, although you should be able to pause. It's just how DirecTV set up MediaShare. It is a "beta" project and you should not expect any updates to it. In fact, I am surprised it hasn't been completely removed from the IRDs already.

The problem with DirecTV's media share is that everything has to be transcoded to MPEG-2 files which are much larger than .mp4 or .mkv files that are encoded with h264. The video files also have to have their framerates adjusted to 30fps so if you are streaming anything with a filmlike 24.97fps, then it has to insert frames for playback which could explain some of the jitter. I would guess that the bitrate is too high for the boxes, though. I would suggest that you set the transcoding fora maximum of 1280x720p and leave the quality slider somewhere in the middle or lower. That should keep the bitrate down. Finally, are you streaming via DirecTV's wireless Cinema Connection kit? If so, you may just have too weak of a signal to stream video files over the wirless connection between the CCK and your wireless router/AP. If you can hardwire it up you'll have much better results.

I played long and hard with the DirecTV boxes (HR24, H24 and H25) over the course of a few years and if everything wasn't just perfect then you could have any number of issues but it will work (except for FF/Rew).

Let me know if I can offer any advice.

[jasonm]

Thanks for education smitbret, that explains a lot. I do have everything hard wired and will try your settings on the next pre-transcode. I've read that I will be better off purchasing a DLNA capable player and leave the Directv receivers to their own.

All the best!

[digital-2k]

I can't even get my H24 to acknowledge playback. Gave up and went back to my WD Lives

[smitbret]

I can't even get my H24 to acknowledge playback. Gave up and went back to my WD Lives

Acknowledge playback or acknowledge the Mezzmo Media Server?

[digital-2k]

Let m,e rephrase that. The H-24 wont find Mezzmo Server - ALL other boxes do. This will be a Winter project to resolve. Summer is too short!

[smitbret]

Acknowledge playback or acknowledge the Mezzmo Media Server?

Do you have the TV connected to an SD television and/or have a band stop filter attached to the back of the box along the coax line?

[digital-2k]

Smitbret,

The answer is no coax filtering, and HD on HDMI or Component.

Can you enlighten me why that would even affect the ability to see a server on local network? It does see the Internet (on Hughes) for the so-called cheesy APPS they provide.
SD or HD video output is a function of the video block of the receiver.
And the band "anything" filter only affects the LNB to receiver feed.
And yes - the RJ45 is clean to the Router (like 12")

Now I could be wrong - so again what is your opinion/reasoning?

[smitbret]

Smitbret,

The answer is no coax filtering, and HD on HDMI or Component.

Can you enlighten me why that would even affect the ability to see a server on local network? It does see the Internet (on Hughes) for the so-called cheesy APPS they provide.
SD or HD video output is a function of the video block of the receiver.
And the band "anything" filter only affects the LNB to receiver feed.
And yes - the RJ45 is clean to the Router (like 12")

Now I could be wrong - so again what is your opinion/reasoning?

I used to work case management with DirecTV a few years ago and I have run into this kind of thing before. Problem is it was a couple of years ago and I am a little light on my recollection. Do you have Whole Home DVR functioning on this particular Receiver? You say it is a clean RJ45 to the router, does that mean you are running an ethernet cable from the router to the rear port of the IRD or into a CCK/DECA adapter?

The reason I ask about HD and SD is because installers would often install HD receivers in place of SD receivers on SD TVs and would stick little hardware items here and there that would alter the way things would work. We would see it a lot in MPEG-4 markets where the customer had SD service but needed HD receivers to get their local channels.

[mrduongonline1]

I would suggest that you set the transcoding fora maximum of 1280x720p and leave the quality slider somewhere in the middle or lower. That should keep the bitrate down

[Thorbengilles]

wow.. perfect :)