Network Streaming Issues reappear, as well as Menu Folder Order & Thumbnail questions

[Visor]

Hello again Dennis,

First, I wanted to thank you for all the work you've done so far with fixing and optimizing Mezzmo for WD TV Live (as well as any other DLNA players that benefit).

I am currently using Mezzmo 2.1.9.0.

Anyway, the infamous problem with network streaming doesn't seem to have been fully resolved. While it occurs much less often than with earlier versions, I still witness the occassional freeze-ups, and after a few seconds the video fast-forwards in order to catch up with itself and finally continues to play as normal. My WD TV Live is now connected via 100 Mbit Ethernet, so I know it's not a wireless issue. I guess I'll have to turn on logging again so I can give you something to analyze.

Meanwhile, I also had a couple of other questions: First, how do I rearrange my menu folders? I used to be able to do this by removing a folder and then re-adding it, which would put it at the bottom of the list. However, whenever I try this, it always puts it back in alphabetical order. While I understand the logic in this, I'd still like to be able to customize the order of my menu items.

Second, is there any way to completely disable thumbnails? I have no need for them, and whenever I add/remove folders, Mezzmo wants to find thumbnails for everything again. I thought that unchecking the file types in the "Browsing Files" section within the Options would've taken care of this, but Mezzmo still wants to update all my thumbnails. This, of course, causes ffmpeg to run constantly (using close to 50% of my dual-core CPU).

Thanks a bunch,
Visor

[Dion]

I have not encountered the freeze/drop issue yet since last update. Will test more on new one.

As for the thumbnail thing. That is one of the best features of Mezzmo. Cause these Thumbnails transfer over to the WDTV Live. But I do agree there should be an option to stop it from looking for thumbnails.

[RMerlin]

I haven't encountered any freezing issue with my WDTV Live - and I use it daily. Maybe it has to do with specific file types? The content I watch is mostly Xvid/MP3 AVIs, with an occasional H264/AAC movie.

There's a chance it could still be a network issue - if you have other Ethernet cables at hand, try swapping them, just in case. Also, if you haven't tried it yet try unplugging the WDTV for a few secs and plugging it back in. It's essentially a Linux-running computer, so maybe one of the background services crashed, affecting the WDTV Live performance.

I assume you are running either the latest WDTV Live firmware, or B-Radd's excellent custom firmware (that's what I use personally)?

[Visor]

As for the thumbnail thing. That is one of the best features of Mezzmo. Cause these Thumbnails transfer over to the WDTV Live.

Most of the thumbnails that were automatically generated by Mezzmo/FFMpeg are unappealing as they're just random screen captures. The List Mode is more than adequate for me at this time.

Maybe it has to do with specific file types?

95% of my library is .mkv containers, which are mostly x264 or VC-1 encodes of 720p material.

There's a chance it could still be a network issue

Doubtful, because during the time Mezzmo had serious freeze-up issues, I went back to using Windows 7's built-in media streamer, and I never had a freeze-up problem. Dennis has admitted in many posts here that there is a streaming issue that they've identified, but are unsure if they've fully resolved it yet.

try unplugging the WDTV for a few secs and plugging it back in.

This actually reminded me of a brown-out that happened last week which caused the WDTV to power-cycle. Maybe because it was a brown-out, it didn't cycle properly. At any rate, I've fully unplugged the unit to do a proper power-cycle, so we'll see if this helps.

I assume you are running either the latest WDTV Live firmware, or B-Radd's excellent custom firmware (that's what I use personally)?

I'm using the latest official firmware. I've seen B-Rad's firmware, but I'd rather not risk bricking my unit with unofficial firmware just to add utilities that I'd rather use on my own PC like Usenet and Bittorrent.

Thanks,
Visor

[Dion]

Most of the thumbnails that were automatically generated by Mezzmo/FFMpeg are unappealing as they're just random screen captures. The List Mode is more than adequate for me at this time.

You're suppose to add your own Thumbnails.

Like So

[Paul]

To answer the original questions:

- You cannot arrange the folders/playlists in a particular order as yet. We already have this issue on our list of future improvements, and we will introduce a way of ordering playlists/folders/files in your Mezzmo library.

- You cannot turn off creating thumbnails as yet. We will certainly consider this. The only thumbnail creation that you can turn on/off at the moment is getting album artwork for music files from the internet.

All good ideas. Many thanks.

[RMerlin]

95% of my library is .mkv containers, which are mostly x264 or VC-1 encodes of 720p material.

If the same files work fine using the WMP's own media streaming, then it does seem like an issue related to Mezzmo indeed. I don't use MKV much, so maybe the issue is specific to those types of files - that would explain why I have no problem here

I'm using the latest official firmware. I've seen B-Rad's firmware, but I'd rather not risk bricking my unit with unofficial firmware just to add utilities that I'd rather use on my own PC like Usenet and Bittorrent.

That's ok. The custom firmware doesn't add anything in terms of supported codecs, since that component is closed-sourced, so if you don't need a custom theme or the added features, the original firmware will be good enough.

[RMerlin]

Meanwhile, I also had a couple of other questions: First, how do I rearrange my menu folders? I used to be able to do this by removing a folder and then re-adding it, which would put it at the bottom of the list. However, whenever I try this, it always puts it back in alphabetical order. While I understand the logic in this, I'd still like to be able to customize the order of my menu items.

Not ideal, but as a temporary workaround, you could insert numbers at the start of your playlist names. For instance, I want my "New" folder to always be at the top in my Video playlists, so I simply named it "###New" to ensure it shows up at the top of the list. You could extend that to "1-New", "2-Movies", "3-Concerts", etc...

[Visor]

Hey guys, thanks for all your responses.

You're suppose to add your own Thumbnails.

Dion, are you saying that in order for me to prevent Mezzmo from creating its own thumbnails by using ffmpeg, I would need to manually add my own Thumbnails? I'm afraid that this would be too daunting of a project, given the sheer number of material I have.

Not ideal, but as a temporary workaround, you could insert numbers at the start of your playlist names.

Yeah, I may go for that method for the time being.

Thanks,
Visor

[Dion]

Hey guys, thanks for all your responses.
Dion, are you saying that in order for me to prevent Mezzmo from creating its own thumbnails by using ffmpeg, I would need to manually add my own Thumbnails? I'm afraid that this would be too daunting of a project, given the sheer number of material I have.

It doesnt prevent it. It just makes it look nicer.. Plus you could use Thumbnail mode on WDTV Live. It takes awhile.. But imo its worth it. I'm pretty sure Thumbs dir is on there too do list. Maybe next update But I do agree.. Should be an option to stop videos from generating thumbs.