Streaming Endpoint Thread

[jbinkley60]

If the Mezzmo folks don't mind, I'd like to start a thread to get feedback on the various streaming endpoints that folks use with Mezzmo. My interest is the level of DLNA support by endpoints for things like meta data (i.e. cover art, descriptions etc..), FF/RW functionality (ie. does the end point support it and how well does it work), speed of browsing files (especially on large folders) and similar DLNA functionality. I am in search of the "perfect endpoint" and have tested a number with varying results. For others I have been sending E-mails to the various support groups for some vendors to get answers but real world experience with Mezzmo is the best feedback.

I'll start the list of ones I have tested or own:

Device: Netgear EVA-9150
Meta Data: Supports cover art and Comment/Description
FF/RW: Yes but slow at high bitrate video files (above 20Mbs)
Browsing speed: Good
Comments: No longer supported by Netgear


Device: Netgear NEO-550
Meta Data: Supports cover art only
FF/RW: Yes but slow at high bitrate video files (above 20Mbs)
Browsing speed: Very slow on large folders
Comments: No longer supported by Netgear


Device: WD Live (Model WDBHG70000NBK-HESN)
Meta Data: Supports cover art only
FF/RW: Yes
Browsing speed: Good
Comments:


Device: Dune TV-301 AW
Meta Data: None
FF/RW: Yes with both X2-X32 and time based jumps. Best I have tsted so far.
Browsing speed: Good
Comments:


Device: Windows Media Player
Meta Data: Cover art for music only
FF/RW: No
Browsing speed: Good
Comments: No folder view, just alphabetical listing of all files by type (i.e. audio, video etc.)


Device: DVDFab Media Player
Meta Data: Cover art only
FF/RW: Good but no time search or jump
Browsing speed: Good
Comments: Software only. Windows and MAC versions available


Device: Direct TV HR22
Meta Data: None
FF/RW: None
Browsing speed: Moderate
Comments:

Added August 4, 2012

Device: Micca E950 or Himedia HD900B (same unit different manufacturers)
Meta Data: None
FF/RW: 2X - 32X and time search. Time search is very good. As good or better than Dune.
Browsing speed: Very good. Includes preview option to play video files in a window prior to launch.
Comments: No PgUp/PgDown keys but up/down arrows are quick.


Added October 3, 2012

Device: XMBC software version v11.0
Meta Data: Cover art only
FF/RW: Good but no time search or jump
Browsing speed: Good
Comments: Software only. Windows, Linux, MAC and other versions available

[Paul]

Great idea, jbinkley60.

[Visor]

Hi jbinkley60,

I'm not familiar with the term "endpoint", but looking at your list I'm assuming you mean various hardware media players.

I use a WD TV Live as well (first generation, i.e. not the new Streamer model). I agree with your findings above, although I wanted to add a note about FF/REW. The smoothness of this feature depends on how the file was encoded. Both Xvid and x264 codecs have what's called 'keyint' options. Both of these codecs set their default values at 25 frames for min and 250 frames for max (i.e. every 1-10 seconds for PAL). This causes ff/rew at the 8x & 16x speeds to be very sluggish, jerky, and inaccurate. When I encode my video, I set the min keyint at 2 frames and the max at 24 frames. This significantly improves ff/rew performance and accuracy at the 8x & 16x speeds. I imagine other media players would also benefit from this improvement.

Regards,
Visor

[jbinkley60]

Thanks for the response. All of my testing was done with the m2ts container, h264 and a bitrate around 30Mbs. One thing I've seen is that the bitrate of the encoding also plays a part. Most players will have a smoother FF/RW below 16Mbs but I find the real test is how well they do at the higher bitrates. It tends to separate out performance better..