Setting up Mezzmo in a network without internet

[Dave.]

Hi,

I have just brought a new Panasonic Viera TH P42V20D plasma tv and planning to use my home pc as a media server. Mezzmo seems to the best in terms of DLNA what Panasonic supports.

I realize my question might be slightly off-topic. Setting Mezzmo is my end goal and hence posting the question here.

I do not have a wireless router as such. I use a USB fob for internet connectivity.

Is it possible to create a wireless network if I get a wireless network card and eventually get Mezzmo working?

Many Thanks

[Paul]

Hi,

Mezzmo doesn't really need the Internet (unless you want to grab albumart), so it should work fine without it. Of course it does need a network path to your TV from your PC.

Does the TV have WiFi built-in? If not, I don't think you can set it up without adding a router (wireless or not) to it...

[RMerlin]

Hi,

Does the TV have WiFi built-in? If not, I don't think you can set it up without adding a router (wireless or not) to it...

He could probably run a crossover network cable between the PC and the TV, and assign static IPs on both, but it's usually simpler to spend a few more bucks in a router setup.

[Paul]

He could probably run a crossover network cable between the PC and the TV, and assign static IPs on both, but it's usually simpler to spend a few more bucks in a router setup.

Yep, if running a cable is an option, then that will of course work, but he mentioned getting a wireless card, so I assumed that the network has to be wireless

[GliMM]

Yes, a cross-over cable would be the nicest solution.
The importent thing is that the tv and computer ends up on the same IP ranges.
Ie. Computer: 192.168.0.1 TV: 192.168.0.2
I have no idea if the TV allows you to configure a static ip adress or if it requires a dhcp server but it is possible to solve either way.
Another cool solution (still avoiding a router) is if you are using Windows 7 on you computer, to set that up as a WiFi router.
http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/

But that requires a wireless network card on your pc and wireless support on your TV.

[Dave.]

Hi Guys,

Thanks Dennis\RMerlin\GliMM for the answers.

The Panasonic Viera I bought does support WiFi but does not has it built in. Apparently I need to buy this USB adapter - http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DY-W.../dp/B003960G1U

I would prefer to get it working via wireless. I do run Windows 7 - thanks again GliMM for suggesting virtual router on codeplex, I like it.

Couple more questions,

I am planning to buy a 54Mbps wireless card for my desktop PC. Is that sufficient to stream data(720p, 1080p etc.) using Mezzmo over the WiFi?
Does Mezzmo support streaming 720p and 1080p mkv files?

Regards
Dave

[RMerlin]

I am planning to buy a 54Mbps wireless card for my desktop PC. Is that sufficient to stream data(720p, 1080p etc.) using Mezzmo over the WiFi?
Does Mezzmo support streaming 720p and 1080p mkv files?

It actually depends on the bitrate used to encode those files. Usually, 54 Mbps wireless isn't enough for 1080p (unless you were using a low bitrate, in which case quality would suffer, and your 1080p would look as bad as a 720p, if not worse).

Keep in mind that 54 Mbps is the pure, best-case-scenario transfer rate for 802.11g WiFi. In real life applications, you will be closer to 15-20 Mbps when taking in account the distance, TCP/IP overhead, encryption overhead, and so on.

[Paul]

Yes, RMerlin is right - some h264's with low bitrates in high-def will stream fine over Wireless G (well, at least when the devices are 2 meters apart without any walls in between them ), but generally, if you want to stream anything better than 720p, you'd be better off with a wired connection. You may also try an "N" wireless, but it's still wireless in the end and may or may not give you a consistent signal strength. If the strength drops, your throughput goes down and you get choppy or aborted video.

[Dave.]

Thanks RMerlin and Dennis.

I have read about ethernet home plugs but they are not very popular over here. So planning to get a ethernet crossover cable and connect the pc and plasma and see if I can set the IP address in plasma. Otherwise will get a router and setup wired connection.

Thanks guys for your help so far, I will keep you posted.

[Paul]

I've tried a homeplug at home, but didn't find it to be reliable - similar to wireless. So, in the end, I spent a weekend and pulled some wires through