I'm very new to the whole DLNA scene after finally ditching my old CRT telly and getting a Samsung LE40C650.

Anyway I thought I'd look at Mezzmo as a DLNA server as I've heard good things.

I have found that when trying to play standard mpeg2 video files from ripped DVDs (i.e. mpeg2 streams taken straight from DVD VOB files) Mezzmo is transcoding these files before sending them to the Samsung TV.

Now if I disable transcoding within Mezzmo and again choose that file from the TV, Mezzmo then sends that file natively where it is perfectly playable using the codecs of the DLNA client.

Why then is Mezzmo transcoding this file? Is this just a profile issue in Mezzmo that doesn't understand the capabilities of the DLNA client on the TV (it correctly shows the device as "Samsung C") or something else?

How does one know what formats a DLNA client is capable of receiving? Does the DLNA spec allow the client to announce what file formats it can decode/play?