I bought the Popcorn Hour to replace the Buffalo Linktheater so I could play the x264, h264, Blue-ray and mkv video files that the Buffalo can't handle. So far it's been better than the Buffalo for the most part, but I'm having some issues that I could use help with.

1. I thought the Popcorn was supposed to recognize m2ts and mkv file extensions? If that's true, then it is not working for mine. I stream my files from my PC using Wizd and MyiHome and just tried SwissCenter and those file types are not recognized or displayed.

However, if I changed the mkv extension to mp4, then the videos are seen and most of them are able to be played successfully - although they do not have "chapters", so I can only FF thru the files and not skip.

If I change the m2ts extension to ts, then those videos are now seen and play back fine as well. So that covers the Blu Ray files.

2. I did have problems playing back quite a few h264 .ts files where the Popcorn would just hang on the buffering screen. But running those files thru tsremux and outputting a new .ts file made those files playable. So that's fine.

3. Another minor issue is I can't play videos from the You Tube service that is included in the applications. Google videos plays fine from the Google service and so do a few other web video sites, but the You Tube videos just freeze on the buffering screen. Should this work?

4. The Popcorn was also unable to play back xvid avi files I have that the Buffalo played with no problems. I think the error was "can not play".

5. Internet radio streaming from the included application also is not working. I'll get a second of audio and then it cuts out.

So can anyone shed some light on these issues for me? The Popcorn is connected to my AV receiver via HDMI, and like I said, I'm streaming from my PC and not playing back files from the internal HD.

Thanks.

I bought the Popcorn Hour to replace the Buffalo Linktheater so I could play the x264, h264, Blue-ray and mkv video files that the Buffalo can't handle. So far it's been better than the Buffalo for the most part, but I'm having some issues that I could use help with.

1. I thought the Popcorn was supposed to recognize m2ts and mkv file extensions?


It does. I play lots of .mt2s and others are playing .mkvs fine.


If that's true, then it is not working for mine. I stream my files from my PC using Wizd and MyiHome and just tried SwissCenter and those file types are not recognized or displayed.


Sounds like the http streaming software isn't recognising the extensions - not the PCH. MyiHome streams .m2ts (I'm pretty certain) for me.

However NFS or SMB - which are file based rather than stream based - should work if you can't find http stuff that streams.


However, if I changed the mkv extension to mp4, then the videos are seen and most of them are able to be played successfully - although they do not have "chapters", so I can only FF thru the files and not skip.


Chapters and Time Seek within mkvs isn't implemented yet. Time Seek should appear in the next firmware release - due soon. Not sure if that includes chapters.


If I change the m2ts extension to ts, then those videos are now seen and play back fine as well. So that covers the Blu Ray files.


Yep - sounds like the PC software for streaming isn't configured (or configurable?) to stream mkv and m2ts - but is to stream mp4 or ts files - so it doesn't offer them unless the extensions are changed.

SMB or NFS (NFS is higher performance) should solve that.


2. I did have problems playing back quite a few h264 .ts files where the Popcorn would just hang on the buffering screen. But running those files thru tsremux and outputting a new .ts file made those files playable. So that's fine.


Yep TSRemux has solved a few of my problems as well.


3. Another minor issue is I can't play videos from the You Tube service that is included in the applications. Google videos plays fine from the Google service and so do a few other web video sites, but the You Tube videos just freeze on the buffering screen. Should this work?


Odd - works for me.


4. The Popcorn was also unable to play back xvid avi files I have that the Buffalo played with no problems. I think the error was "can not play".


Have you run them through avinaptic or mediainfo and posted the details on the PCH support site? They, and others, are pretty good at responding and are very active in developing the firmware to support more stuff and fix bugs.


5. Internet radio streaming from the included application also is not working. I'll get a second of audio and then it cuts out.


Hmm - that also works for me. The fact that both radio and youtube have problems might indicate a common issue ?

I've also got internet radio working for my own stations by creating a small HTML file with the <aod> extensions and the URL of the streaming server - from details on the support forums.


So can anyone shed some light on these issues for me? The Popcorn is connected to my AV receiver via HDMI, and like I said, I'm streaming from my PC and not playing back files from the internal HD.

Thanks.

If you haven't been to www.networkedmediatank.com - which is the official support area for PCH - I recommend that you do.

(Apologies if it is inappropriate to post links to other forums - but this is the dedicated support area for PCH and other Networked Media Tank products)

Thanks for confirming that m2ts and mkv files should be recognized by the PCH. Like I mentioned, I am using MyiHome, Wizd and Swisscenter and the files do not appear on the PCH in any of those servers. So what should I do on the PC to have those files recognized on the PCH?

I just shared my folder containing the m2ts and mkv files this morning before leaving for work, so tonight I'll test and see if I can play them thru a share. But I'd rather stream them as I do with everything else if it is supposed to work. I can play all the files fine with Windows Media Player, Zoom and Media Player Classic, so the PC itself recognizes the files.

Not a big deal about the internet radio stations not playing, but it is annoying to not have a feature work. And I have no clue why the You Tube videos freeze on the buffering screen. I have to unplug the unit or wait a solid 5 minutes for it to return to the previous screen.

Are you using HDMI or component? I'm using HDMI.

Hey, just saw that a new firmware has been released today. Includes mkv timeseek feature now!

http://www.popcornhour.com/download/firmware_update.html

Pomc & Sneals2000,
This is a great thread... I too have a Linktheater that I want to replace with a popcorn hour (if they ever offer to sell me one) and this information is great to have! Thanks!
-Pete

Ok, so I every everything working now with the exception of viewing You Tube videos through the included services application. Now I do not just get a lock up on the buffering screen, but instead get a message that this is temporarily unavailable.

I copied a few mkv movies to the internal HD and also mapped a share from the PCH to the folder which contained the mkv and m2ts files. When viewing the contents of the internal HD and share I could see all the files now.

So now I knew it was something with MyiHome or the PC. I went to uninstall MyiHome and do a reinstall and went to the download site to make sure I had the latest version. There was my problem - I had an older version that did not support the mkv or m2ts files. I had just downloaded the version I had within the past 2 weeks, so I don't know how I ended with with version 3.4 instead of the current 4.7.

Still have a few mkv files that will not play, they just go to a black screen and then kick back to the menu. So right now I'm testing converting those to mp4 or mpeg2 to see what happens.

The internet radio stations are now also playing fine, so that problem has been cleared up as well.

So the Popcorn is shaping up to be a suitable replacement for the Buffalo Linktheater. I have two of those and the Popcorn will replace the one in the theater room and that Buffalo will go up to the bedroom now. The Popcorn remote is also much better than the Buffalo's lousy ranged remote. My only wish would be for Wizd or Swiss Center to add support for mkv and m2ts files since I do prefer those applications.

My only wish would be for Wizd or Swiss Center to add support for mkv and m2ts files since I do prefer those applications.

I think you only need to add the extensions in the capabilities file in swisscenter. I would check the swisscenter forums. AFAIK If the player can play it, swisscenter can stream it.

In case anyone cares, I added the necessary support to Wizd so it can stream AVIs and WMVs to the PCH A-100. Wizd didn't implement http "HEAD" so AVI and WMV playback was broken when using the PCH A-100. Go here for details and link to download:

http://www.networkedmediatank.com/viewtopic.php?t=1140

I care!!! Thanks jhue.

I did hit one snag though. While I can play most file types via Wizd, I cannot get ISO files to play. The Wizd website says they support them and they are listed in the wizd.conf file, but when I try to play one, via the PCH, using Wizd, the system goes to a blank screen for just a moment, then returns me to the directory listing. The PCH plays the same ISOs files just fine via the PCH interface.

Any ideas?