Mezzmo for Roku doesn't see Mezzmo Server 5.1

[reformedalpineskier]

I just downloaded and installed the Mezzmo app for my new Roku Premiere+. Unfortunately, the Roku app isn't finding my Mezzmo Server (version 5.1) once I start the app. My Blu-ray player streams from the server just fine but the Mezzmo app (the Roku and Sony Blu-ray player are connected to the same switch on my network) is stuck at the "Loading" screen. The Roku is able to browse my network to the Mezzmo Sever with its DNLA media player. From the Mezzmo Server side, Windows Firewall isn't announcing a Mezzmo app's request to connect to it. The app also doesn't find the server with the LAN firewall turned off.

There appears to be nothing to configure on the Roku app side. It should snoop the network and connect to the server - at least that was my impression reading the Wiki. Looking on my server, the media devices list included the IP address associated with the Roku, but recognized it only as a generic media device. It is set to allow connections. I updated the profile to a Roku Streaming Player. It made no difference.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[Peter]

Hi,
it is possible the Mezzmo Roku app is finding a device on your network that returns some xml data that is causing a crash when processing servers, can you please try installing the Mezzmo Roku beta channel https://my.roku.com/add/MezzmoBeta to see if this finds the server as we have made some improvements to the error handling.

[reformedalpineskier]

Thanks Peter. I added the beta app to my profile. It looks like it'll take up to a day for it to show up on my device but once it's there, I'll give it a go.

[reformedalpineskier]

OK, I tried Version 1.4 build 0 and still get the same result. The app is stuck at the "Loading..." screen apparently attempting to find or connect to the server.

[Peter]

We have updated the beta channel with some changes, please go to settings > system > system update on your roku and select to check for updates to update the channel. Please let us know if this update allows you to find your Mezzmo server in the app.

[reformedalpineskier]

I updated to version 1.4, build 2. The app again did not find the server. Also, following up on a possible cause you mentioned in your initial reply to me (another device sending some xml causing a crash), I shut down my WHS2011 machine which has its own DLNA server and is set up as an iTunes server. With the WHS off the network, the app still didn't find the Mezzmo server.

[jmcease]

I just bought a sharp TV with ROKU built in and I am seeing the same result. I have also tried the Beta version and the same result. Worth noting is that the TV IP address is not showing in the media devices section of Mezzmo software.

[Peter]

Does the app remain stuck at the "Loading..." still when using the Beta or does it complete and just show no servers found?

[reformedalpineskier]

Peter, the loading message and the spinning circle have continued indefinitely. The longest I've let it continue before exiting to the main screen is about 10 minutes. In no instance (based on at least 10 attempts) has the discovery process completed. The two betas and the production app have all behaved identically as best I can tell. BTW, I'm away from home skiing this week so it'll be next weekend before I can test out anything new. I'll test out any ideas you come up with and post here once I get back home.

[Peter]

The loading message and the spinning circle should stop after about 60 seconds, since it is continuing indefinitely this indicates an error is still occurring causing the app to get stuck. We will do some investigation to see if we can find any weak points in the code where the crash might be occurring and add some protection. You can try turning off any other devices that use UPnP or stopping other programs or servers on your PC that use UPnP to see if the problem still occurs.

[Peter]

We have just uploaded an update of the Mezzmo Roku Beta with some changes:

- Added a setting to turn on/off continuous play of videos (it is off by default)
- Added support for manually adding a server using the ip address. You can use this to add your Mezzmo server to stream over the Internet to a Roku in another location.

We also fixed a problem where if the URL to the server returned no data or invalid data it would crash the app and leave it on the 'loading...' page.

You can update the existing beta to the new version by going to settings on the Roku then System then System Update and selecting Check Now.

[reformedalpineskier]

Hi Peter:

I updated to version 1.4, build 3. The app still gets stuck at the "Loading..." screen. No server other than Mezzmo and Win10's DLNA are installed on the machine hosting Mezzmo. That computer's primary purpose is recording sports programming using NPVR and a Hauppauge Colossus. It is those video files I'm hoping to use the Mezzmo app on the Roku Premier+ to stream rather than the Sony Blu-Ray player I've used for several years.

Going down the deductive path that maybe some other uPnP device is interfering with the Roku apps server lookup, I've taken of screen capture of the devices screen in Mezzmo so you can see all the media devices on my network. The devices I use (just a fraction of the total) for sharing files, network streaming, and internet streaming work as they did before I added the Roku. FYI, the clunky Roku DLNA app I downloaded from the Roku store can browse my Mezzmo and WHS2011 servers (the Roku can see them) - it just cannot play the HD formats I use (Hauppauge NPVR recordings, iTunes from the WHS). My primary means of streaming from Mezzmo to my TV is via has been the Sony Blu-ray. That hasn't changed -- and it's not affected by the presence of the new Roku. Given all this, it does seem that the app's server discovery is being interfered with as opposed to a hardware or network setup problem.

If I could get the Roku app to load, I'd love to set it with a static IP (most of the shared devices on my network use a static IP) and hopefully not have to deal with the device discovery process! Thanks in advance for your help.

[Peter]

We have made a change so that the search for servers is not performed by default when starting the app, this should enable you to get to the servers screen where the Refresh icon and '+' add icon are displayed. You can try using the Refresh icon to initiate the search to see if the server is found or you can select the '+' add icon to enter the ip address of the server to add it manually.

[reformedalpineskier]

Peter, that change allowed the app to see and I could select the Mezzmo server! I can browse and navigate through the folders. Now I have a new challenge to address: None of the videos play. When I press the play/pause button on the Roku remote (or my Harmony remote) to select and play a show, nothing happens. I get the deadpan beep and sometimes a partially filled progress bar flashes across the bottom of the screen. Also, I cannot scroll/navigate to the Play button in the upper right of the screen using the arrow buttons to attempt playback that way.

I'll start researching what the Roku natively supports to ensure the .ts files produced by the Hauppauge Colossus are compatible. There's no sign (the transcoding window on the server is empty) that the server is trying to transcode the file.

[reformedalpineskier]

Peter, it looks like it is a file compatibility problem. I'll work on that first. If I need to remux or trancode each .ts file to a .mkv that Roku supports, I probably will just continue in almost every instance to use my Sony Blu-ray player to stream the shows recorded by the Hauppauge Colossus. I can use the Roku and the Mezzmo channel app to display photos and music stored on the servers.

Your solution to add the search button, an add server button, and to display the connected Mezzmo servers on the lower left of the screen is a pretty elegant (and flexible) solution. Bravo! I didn't clearly say in the message above, but the app, once it loaded, had discovered my Mezzmo server and it displayed it as a third button next to the add button.

[Peter]

Glad to hear the Roku app is working now and finding the Mezzmo server. For the issue with playing the .ts files can you please right-click on one of the files in Mezzmo then select 'Get FFmpeg Information...' and copy and paste it into a post here or send it to support [at] conceiva [dot] com so we can try to reproduce the problem here with a similar file?

[reformedalpineskier]

As a test I had Mezzmo pre-transcode one of the .ts files that wouldn't play on the Roku. Once transcoded using the recommended (bold) settings, the file played fine. The PQ wasn't really very good -- artifacts were easily visible. But it did get over the first hurdle - it successfully streamed to the TV via the Roku.

Here is the ffmepg info for one of the files created by the Hauppauge Colossus that will not play from the Roku:

ffmpeg version N-78742-gf477849 Copyright (c) 2000-2016 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 4.9.2 (GCC)
configuration: --enable-memalign-hack --arch=x86_64 --target-os=mingw32 --cross-prefix=x86_64-w64-mingw32- --enable-static --disable-shared --enable-zlib --disable-postproc --prefix=/home/peter/ffmpeg/build/gpl64 --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-gpl --extra-libs='-lx264 -lpthread -lstdc++' --enable-runtime-cpudetect --extra-cflags=-I/home/peter/cc32/include --extra-ldflags=-L/home/peter/cc64/lib --pkg-config=pkg-config --pkg-config-flags=--static --disable-w32threads --enable-libvpx --enable-libvorbis --enable-libtheora --enable-libx265 --enable-libmfx --enable-gnutls --extra-libs='-lz -lnettle -lhogweed -lgmp -lidn -lws2_32 -lcrypt32'
libavutil 55. 19.100 / 55. 19.100
libavcodec 57. 25.101 / 57. 25.101
libavformat 57. 26.100 / 57. 26.100
libavdevice 57. 0.101 / 57. 0.101
libavfilter 6. 36.100 / 6. 36.100
libswscale 4. 0.100 / 4. 0.100
libswresample 2. 0.101 / 2. 0.101
Input #0, mpegts, from 'D:\Recorded TV\FIS Alpine Skiing\FIS Alpine Skiing_20170114_14301600.ts':
Duration: 01:29:55.80, start: 0.533156, bitrate: 9564 kb/s
Program 1
Stream #0:0[0x1011]: Video: h264 (High) (HDMV / 0x564D4448), yuv420p, 1920x1080 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 90k tbn, 59.94 tbc
Stream #0:1[0x1100]: Audio: aac (LC) ([15][0][0][0] / 0x000F), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 194 kb/s
At least one output file must be specified

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


---> DB Level Info: 40, 100
---> Frame rate: 29.97
---> Aspect ratio: 16:9 PAR=1:1
---> Duration: 01:10:34

[Peter]

I tried playing some similar files here and with transcoding enabled Mezzmo was transcoding each file to hls on the fly, this can take some time to start playing if the video is HD as a full transcode is performed. With transcoding disabled the files started playing quite quickly but it was not possible to seek within the file. The Roku only supports seeking on hls and not on ts files. Please try disabling transcoding in Device Settings on the Transcoding tab to see if the files play. If they do then you will need to determine if you require the ability to seek within the file and then this may require pre-transcoding.

For the issue with the PQ and artifacts it may be because we are not specifying a crf value when transcoding, you can try editing the ffmpegAdditional.xml file in your Device profiles folder and adding -crf 22 to the h264+encoding+ultrafast values.

The Roku supports seeking using thumbnails of the video so this is a nice advantage of using the Roku over the Sony Bluray player, if you don't see the thumbnails when seeking you may need to maintain the file in Mezzmo and check the box to update video preview thumbnails.

[reformedalpineskier]

I already have transcoding disabled (no check in the box) and it's in that configuration the .ts files do not play (described in message 14 in this thread; progress bar flashes for less than a second, and beep, followed by nothing but the same screen I was at). That the .ts files you tested play successfully but don't allow "seeking" (not sure what playback features that encompasses) is different behavior than I get.

My Mezzmo server is short on power for stutter-free transcoding on the fly. It's CPU is an Athlon II X255. Pre-transcoding files (.ts to .hls) would be the only realistic path open to me for the Colossus-created files when NPVR records TV shows or sports event. I'll test your suggestions to improve the PQ and share the results with you.

[reformedalpineskier]

Peter, adding the -crf 22 parameter apparently caused the transcode to fail. I've attached the log Mezzmo generated.

[Peter]

I can see the problem, the -crf 22 is between the -preset and ultrafast parameters. Try putting it before -preset and it should work.

[reformedalpineskier]

I edited the profile to this:

<ffmpegadditional id="h264+encoding+ultrafast">-pix_fmt yuv420p -copyinkf -coder 1 -flags +loop -fflags +genpts -crf 22 -preset ultrafast</ffmpegadditional>

...and tried transcoding another video. But the error is identical. Log attached.

[Peter]

After editing the profile you will need to stop then start Mezzmo and your Mezzmo media server so that the profile is reloaded.

[reformedalpineskier]

I completed transcoding a 60 minute long Pirelli World Challenge race in under 60 minutes. The PQ was much better than the FIS World Cup race I transcoded (without the -crf 22 parameter) a couple days ago. It's a somewhat softer image compared to streaming the .ts file with the Sony Blu-ray player but it's quite good (like 720 v 1080) and there's almost no pixelation or motion artifacts. Not only was the PQ better, but the file transcoded at 33 fps rather than 4-6 fps. I might have just enough CPU to dare an attempt at on-the-fly transcoding.

Thanks for all your help the past few days, Peter!

[Peter]

Glad to hear it is working, you can try adjusting the -crf value to get faster transcoding speed or better quality. 0 is lossless and 60 is the worst quality so increasing the value from 22 to say 25 you will lose some quality but will gain some transcoding speed.

[reformedalpineskier]

Good to know. A chance to run some experiments!

[wback]

Exactly same issue here: I have TWO Roku devices: On one (Roku TV), it suddenly started working after a couple of days and is working flawless since (for now around 4 months). The second (Roku 4 Premier), is still unable to find the Mezzmo server.
BTW: I'm using Mezzmo Pro Version 5.1.1.0 on Win 10 in console mode, since unable to run Mezzmo Server as Service (issue logged in other thread).

[Peter]

Can you please try installing the Mezzmo beta channel https://my.roku.com/add/MezzmoBeta to see if this finds the server? You can also manually add the server location.

[RLG59RD]

Hi Peter,

Sorry to hijack this thread - trying to set Mezzmo up with Roku box and server is not seen, have installed the latest Beta in this thread and have tried to install manual location (not sure i have done this correct - if you could list step by step please). The app spins and searches then finds nothing and stops?


RLG

[Peter]

Hi RLG,
can you please check to make sure the Mezzmo Server on your PC is allowed through the firewall as this can cause the Roku app not to find the server if it is blocked. Also please check the IP address of the Roku device in settings to see if it is in the same subnet as the Mezzmo server.