How do I get DVDs to stream to my Roku?

I find it astonishing that it's this difficult. I have DVDs. I have a whole host of programs, including DVD Shrink, DVD Decrypter, Nero 2014 Platinum, AutoGK, HandBrake, etc etc etc., and yet I have been unable to successfully stream from my server to my Roku.

Oh, I can get the titles to show up with my trial version of Mezzmo, but when I try to play them, they spin for a very long time (despite being pre-transcoded) before playing beautifully ... if completely silently. Nope, not a peep.

So first, there must be a standard procedure or best practice for this. What do I do to get the best, quickest, and easiest streaming of DVDs, preferably with subtitles? Currently, I'm using DVD Shrink to rip the main movie of the DVD, and Nero to generate an H.264 MP4 file, which I plop into my Videos directory.

Second, looking at the profile file for the Roku, it doesn't include AC-3. That can't be right, can it? I know you can stream AC-3 with a Roku; I do it all the time. Why is it restricted with Mezzmo.

I'm not a stupid person (or at least, I'd like to think that's the case), but I've had horrible luck so far. I've tried Plex, Nero, Windows Media Player, and a few others I can't recall. Blessing and fame and riches to the one who helps me get this running! :)

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

We'll get you up and running. First step is to rip your DVD. If you can play the ripped DVD using media players or other devices, then Mezzmo should be able to read it and add the video titles from the DVD into your Mezzmo library. Once you have your DVD titles in your Mezzmo library, then you should be able to connect to Mezzmo from your Roku and simply browse and play the videos.

If you are getting video, but no audio then it suggests the Roku device profile may need some tweaking. Go to the Media Devices dialog and check that you have 'Roku Streaming Player' device profile assigned to your Roku device. If not, then change it and try streaming again.

Assuming your device profile was set OK, then right-click on a video that you have pre-transcoded and click 'Get FFmpeg Information'. Email this to us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com. Next, right-click again on the video and click Properties. On the Properties dialog, go to the Transcoding tab and select your transcoded file and click the 'Get FFmpeg Information' button. Email this information to us as well.

Regarding AC-3 audio support, it is not enabled in the device profile since the Roku 3 manual/spec does not state AC-3 support. However, the documentation could be wrong, so let's try & see if it works. On the Transcoding tab on the Device Settings dialog for your Roku, turn off transcoding. Now try streaming a few files that have AC-3 audio channels and see if they play OK. Mezzmo will stream them directly to your Roku without and transcoding. If they play OK with sound, then we know that AC-3 audio does work OK and we'll enable this in the device profile. Email us your findings.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paul

Hi Jeff,

We'll get you up and running. First step is to rip your DVD. If you can play the ripped DVD using media players or other devices, then Mezzmo should be able to read it and add the video titles from the DVD into your Mezzmo library. Once you have your DVD titles in your Mezzmo library, then you should be able to connect to Mezzmo from your Roku and simply browse and play the videos.

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Ok, let's start with a sample DVD. In this case, the film "Gosford Park".

I ripped the main movie from the disk and placed it in the directory tree: C:\Users\Public\Videos\DVD\Gosford Park. There is an AUDIO_TS\ and a VIDEO_TS\ directory as expected.

I pop down into the VIDEO_TS\ directory and by double-clicking on one of the VOB files, I get the film with audio.

So so far, the ripping process appears to work.


Next, I've recoded the film using Nero Recode, producing C:\Users\Public\Videos\Gosford Park.mp4. Oddly enough, when playing this file through Windows Media Player, I get a blank picture and no sound (but it does progress through the film). This could be because I'm using a Remote Desktop connection to my server, but it's still suspicious.

However, I then tried playing the same file with Nero Showtime and I get video and audio as expected, so at least in theory, the movie is playable.

I go into Mezzmo (great name, by the way!) and search for "Gosford". I see two entries: one for the MP4 file and one for the DVD.

If I right-click on the MP4, I see the Play option. If I select it, a viewer comes up, and like with Windows Media Player, I'm getting a blank picture and no sound.

If I right-click on the DVD, I don't get the option to play.

Could this be a direct show graph problem, or just some weird side effect of using Remote Desktop?

Thanks,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

When you right-click on a file in Mezzmo Windows and click 'Play', it tries to play your file with the default media player app on your PC (i.e. local playback). For DVD titles, they cannot be played using a local media player app since Mezzmo has created gapless multi-files. Gapless multi-files are a series of 1 or more of your media files that are joined together. We create gapless multi-files for DVD video titles since a DVD video is made up of parts of 1 or more .VOB video files from the ripped VIDEO_TS folder.

To test your videos, start your Mezzmo server and connect to Mezzmo from one of your DLNA devices on your home network. Try streaming the MP4 and the DVD titles. They should all play fine.

Regarding recoding your DVD into MP4 using Nero Recode, this step is unnecessary for you since Mezzmo will find and add your ripped DVD videos into your Mezzmo library and allow you to stream them directly to your devices on your home network. Mezzmo handles any transcoding that may be required.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paul

Hi Jeff,

When you right-click on a file in Mezzmo Windows and click 'Play', it tries to play your file with the default media player app on your PC (i.e. local playback). For DVD titles, they cannot be played using a local media player app since Mezzmo has created gapless multi-files. Gapless multi-files are a series of 1 or more of your media files that are joined together. We create gapless multi-files for DVD video titles since a DVD video is made up of parts of 1 or more .VOB video files from the ripped VIDEO_TS folder.

To test your videos, start your Mezzmo server and connect to Mezzmo from one of your DLNA devices on your home network. Try streaming the MP4 and the DVD titles. They should all play fine.

Regarding recoding your DVD into MP4 using Nero Recode, this step is unnecessary for you since Mezzmo will find and add your ripped DVD videos into your Mezzmo library and allow you to stream them directly to your devices on your home network. Mezzmo handles any transcoding that may be required.

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Ok, I bit the bullet and purchased the software, hopeful that somehow, we'll get this to work. Things have been improving; I've deleted the MP4 files I've been converting and just using the ripped DVDs, letting Mezzmo do the transcoding.

Now here's where it gets interesting.

As a test, I ripped the film "A Touch of Cloth" using MakeMKV, since my other software couldn't crack the more recent encryption. This left with me a number of MKV files in the same structure as the original DVD. I added them to Mezzmo and renamed the main movie file to be "A Touch of Cloth" within Mezzmo, and told it to pre-transcode it.

I went to work, and went I got home, I wanted to show off to my financee' my fine work. So I fired up the Roku in the living room and queued the movie, and started it playing. It buffered quickly, and started to play!

Only there was no audio. The video seemed superb, but there was no audio whatsoever.

Depressed, I went upstairs to the bedroom and, on a whim, fired it up on the bedroom's Roku 3. It played superbly ... with sound!

WTF?

So we clearly have an audio issue, and it may be related to the different versions of the Roku, or it may be due to the configuration of the two systems. The bedroom one is a straight HDMI run through from the Roku, through the receiver, to the monitor. The living room is more complex: HDMI video to the monitor, with (if memory serves) optical running the digital signal to the receiver.

Your thoughts?

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Are both your Roku's using the same device profile? Check this in the Media Devices dialog. If they are different, then that could explain the different playback (i.e. no audio in your living room).

If device profiles are the same, then it must be the audio setup you have in your living room since you have already proved that the transcoded video plays fine in your bedroom with audio. Check your Roku's settings in the living room regarding audio out/optical out and your receiver's settings regarding audio in.

If no success, let us know and we'll help further.

Many DVDs are specially protected and you need a professional DVD software to make copies to computer hard drive, and then stream to Roku. Meanwhile, you should make sure the saved DVD copies are in Roku compatible video/audio format.