Hi Dennis,

I've never been happy with Mezzmo's ability to transcode video files to a format that the iPhone can handle (one of the main features I'm interested in). In response to other users' issues on the forums, you've stated that Mezzmo needs to transcode the entire file, due to an index or some other bits that can't be written until the entire file is transcoded, in order for the iPhone to play it.

The premise is that a user would click on the file to play it within a particular DLNA app, wait for the app to hang and respond with an error, exit the app, wait quite some time for the entire file to be transcoded, then relaunch the app and attempt to play the file again now that transcoding is complete. While I respect the fact that Mezzmo is one of the few media servers to actually provide some support for iOS-friendly transcoding, this solution, of course, is quite awkward and inconvenient.

Whenever I've attempted to stream a file to my iPhone from Mezzmo, it nearly brings my PC to a crawl, causing instability and often requiring a reboot of the machine. Oddly, Mezzmo transcodes to other devices (Samsung BD-C5500 and Sony SMP-N100) flawlessly.

If I may be so bold as to disagree with Conceiva's official stance regarding the way the iPhone handles streaming video, I've seen evidence to the contrary. Orb and Air Video both have been proven to transcode incompatible files to the iPhone on the fly with nearly instantaneous playback. Of course, these solutions both rely on proprietary iPhone apps.

What's particulary interesting is TVersity. TVersity does a wonderful job of transcoding files on the fly to the iPhone via it's web interface in Safari. Files play back almost instantly with impressive quality. Is it not possible for Mezzmo to do the same with such speed and grace?

I must apologize for continuing to bring up a competitor's product in your forums. The fact is, TVersity has served me well in the few years I've used it, proving to be a fast, reliable, and, above all, stable media server. Where Mezzmo outshines it is in its superior user interface, FAR better device profile capabilities, continued development, and friendly & responsive user support. With the expectation that Mezzmo will continue to resolve the few issues that affect my use of it, I hope to make the final transition to Mezzmo as my go-to server for all my media.

Is there anything on the development horizon that might make on-the-fly transcoding a better experience for iPhone users? I'd be happy to try anything you might have brewing in the lab.


Thanks,
Chris