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Disappointed with DLNA?

5K views 39 replies 10 participants last post by  qz3fwd 
#1 ·
Not really sure where to post this topic. I tried the Blu-Ray forum, but nobody has responded.


I bought a Blu-Ray player with DLNA so I could watch my recorded OTA Hi-def TV shows. My Win7 HTPC does the recording and I don't like using an HTPC for playback for various reasons (let's not get into that).


I was hoping to use the Blu-Ray player for playback of these recordings. And while it does play them back, they seem to be somewhat downrez'd. Or just suffering from image quality. Playback looks way better from my HTPC.


Is it possible I'm doing something wrong, or is this just how DLNA works?


Btw, the player is a Sony BDP-S470. And my home network is Cat-5 100MB.
 
#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by CZ Eddie /forum/post/20070671


Btw, the player is a Sony BDP-S470.

Hi Eddie,


Do you have the DLNA certificate for your Sony? I had looked at the certificate for another Sony BD player, and it only supported standard-definition over DLNA, not HD. So I suspect your DLNA server is transcoding, as it is supposed to do in that situation.


I believe Sony does not want you to be able to play HD over DLNA because they want you to buy the Blu-Ray disk instead (which they get royalties from, no matter who made it).
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkHotchkiss /forum/post/20071189


Hi Eddie,


Do you have the DLNA certificate for your Sony? I had looked at the certificate for another Sony BD player, and it only supported standard-definition over DLNA, not HD. So I suspect your DLNA server is transcoding, as it is supposed to do in that situation.


I believe Sony does not want you to be able to play HD over DLNA because they want you to buy the Blu-Ray disk instead (which they get royalties from, no matter who made it).

Aww, dang. I had no idea there were any restrictions like this. I just googled this "certificate" thing you mentioned. From what I can tell, this player may be SD only? Here is the cert for my player:

http://certification.dlna.org/certs/REG24686364(1).pdf
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Disappointed with DLNA?
It is an appropriate subject heading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CZ Eddie
Aww, dang. I had no idea there were any restrictions like this.
[Soap Box]

Yes. IMHO, the purpose of DLNA is to hide the deficiencies from the consumer. It allows manufacturers like Sony to sell crippled equipment by preventing the buyer from determining what that equipment can and cannot really do. They even went so far as to design the certificate in code (do you know what MPEG_TS_SD_EU_T means?).


Yes, I'm disappointed in DLNA. It is an anti-consumer standard, in my opinion.

[/Soap Box]
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkHotchkiss
Yes. IMHO, the purpose of DLNA is to hide the deficiencies from the consumer. It allows manufacturers like Sony to sell crippled equipment by preventing the buyer from determining what that equipment can and cannot really do. They even went so far as to design the certificate in code (do you know what MPEG_TS_SD_EU_T means?).


Yes, I'm disappointed in DLNA. It is an anti-consumer standard, in my opinion.
Agreed.


"DLNA" on the marketing press-sheet is a good warning sign that the component has sub-standard networking capabilities.


Or put another way, none of the better network players that everyone around here think highly about even mention DLNA.


-Suntan
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan /forum/post/20073018


Or put another way, none of the better network players that everyone around here think highly about even mention DLNA.

What is a good network player that will have no purpose in life other than to provide easy, high quality hardware decoding of audio & video so I can watch my OTA recorded HD shows?


I want something that I can set & forget.
 
#9 ·
Btw, I installed something called "Mezzmo" on my HTPC. Using that, I'm getting nice quality playback from DLNA on the BluRay player. But there is no fastforward or rewind until after it's been transcoded. Which is a deal killer for me.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by CZ Eddie /forum/post/20073288


What is a good network player that will have no purpose in life other than to provide easy, high quality hardware decoding of audio & video so I can watch my OTA recorded HD shows?


I want something that I can set & forget.

A SageTV HD300 extender at each TV. With SageTV Media Center running on your server PC.

www.sagetv.com


WMC doesn’t come close to the functionality when you are looking to run the same interface on multiple TVs around the house.


-Suntan
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan
none of the better network players that everyone around here think highly about even mention DLNA.
I don't believe this correct statement, e.g., Boxee Box, WD TV Live Hub mention DLNA explicitly. Some players mention UPnP, which is the basis of DLNA.


And I praise DLNA/UPnP: thanks to it my 5+ years old DSM-520 is still relevant - paired with Playon it has an access to Netflix, Pandora, Amazon VOD, Hulu (free, no subscription needed), Youtube, MLB, ...

And, with multiple players, I don't need to configure each of them, everything is centralized.
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ptsenter /forum/post/20099042


I don't believe this correct statement, e.g., Boxee Box, WD TV Live Hub mention DLNA explicitly. Some players mention UPnP, which is the basis of DLNA.


And I praise DLNA/UPnP: thanks to it my 5+ years old DSM-520 is still relevant - paired with Playon it has an access to Netflix, Pandora, Amazon VOD, Hulu (free, no subscription needed), Youtube, MLB, ...

And, with multiple players, I don't need to configure each of them, everything is centralized.

But the boxee and wd players do not rely solely on DLNA. They have vastly more accomplished methods for accessing network media.


As for Play On, yeah its useful, but the number one complaint about it is the lack of improved quality (namely, support for streaming HD.)


Play On's response has always been that it would be too complicated and require too much computer hp (on average) to be able to offer it under the current constraints of the system.


-Suntan
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan /forum/post/20099458


But the boxee and wd players do not rely solely on DLNA. They have vastly more accomplished methods for accessing network media.


As for Play On, yeah its useful, but the number one complaint about it is the lack of improved quality (namely, support for streaming HD.)


Play On's response has always been that it would be too complicated and require too much computer hp (on average) to be able to offer it under the current constraints of the system.

Whatever real or perceived "deficiencies" of DLNA and/or Playon they don't change the falsity of your statement.

And even so Boxee Box and WD TV Live twins don't rely "solely" on DLNA I'm highly satisfied with it. And DSM-520 and Diamond MP-1000 are still relevant because they rely "solely" on DLNA. And DLNA provided backdoor access to Netflix for Boxee Box and still serves Hulu.

Playon's "deficiencies" are out-of-scope of this thread and I mentioned it just as an example.

DLNA is still highly useful tool for any media player. And media player without DLNA is not worth a dime.
 
#15 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ptsenter /forum/post/20104467


Whatever real or perceived "deficiencies" of DLNA and/or Playon they don't change the falsity of your statement.....

DLNA is still highly useful tool for any media player. And media player without DLNA is not worth a dime.

No you have it wrong. The best players do not have/need DLNA ****.

Most folks here need much more than it can provide.
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ptsenter /forum/post/20104467


. . . And media player without DLNA is not worth a dime.

I would have to take issue with so broad a statement.


I have a perfectly working, full-featured system, with photos, music, video and OTA-TV fed to multiple locations from a central server in high-definition, and without a hint of DLNA.


And you're saying it's not worth a dime?
 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkHotchkiss /forum/post/20104806


I would have to take issue with so broad a statement.

That's your right. I have no issue with you taking an issue.


Quote:
I have a perfectly working, full-featured system, with photos, music, video and OTA-TV fed to multiple locations from a central server in high-definition, and without a hint of DLNA.


And you're saying it's not worth a dime?

I'd like to answer your question unless it's rhetorical.
But I'd need to know what player you have.
 
#20 ·
TViX plays MPEG2@HL well....in fact it does well with transport streams recorded from Dish too with good controls. There's a model with dual tuners too, but unfortuantely it is limited to the guide in the PSIP.


Forgot to mention, it does not use DLNA, you have to set it up as NFS or SMB.
 
#22 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ptsenter /forum/post/20129817


Oh, really? Wow!!!


BTW, what about Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, MLB, Comedy Central, Youtube, Amazon VOD, Discovery Channel, ...

Can it play all of them?

Chill man. Take a second to realize that the OP specifically inquired about playing back his OTA recorded HD files. which are broadcast in Mpeg2 @HL Thus Kei's response.


It's one thing to proceed OT in someone else's thread. It's quite another to ridicule another member for trying to get back on topic and help the OP.



-Suntan
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ptsenter
Oh, really? Wow!!!


BTW, what about Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, MLB, Comedy Central, Youtube, Amazon VOD, Discovery Channel, ...

Can it play all of them?
The TViX is not designed to be an online streamer, so no, with the exception of the YouTube feature.


What is is designed to be is a client for people with media servers. As such, the benefits of going this route is:


1. NFS/SMB support with simple setup

2. Great GUI application (TViXiE)

3. 23.976Hz and native frame rate (1080i) support

4. DVD menu (no menu for BD) and ISO support

5. HD-Audio bitstreaming

6. Good NTFS file handling with recently updated GPT format support


For those who want the streaming services, the current TViX units should not be considered, but if you want it mostly to play your stored files, it is a stable player that's simple to use and offers good file handling features, as well as nice bookmark/remote control functions...and it handles TS files very well.


The next TViX Xroid due out next month with Android platform may offer some of functions you mentioned but I won't be making any predictions.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kei Clark
The TViX is not designed to be an online streamer, so no, with the exception of the YouTube feature.

...

The next TViX Xroid due out next month with Android platform may offer some of functions you mentioned but I won't be making any predictions.
I have no doubt they are great players in their own right, never had.

But, surprise - surprise, they can have an access to all those sites today.

I remember you mentioned you have WHS. Just install Playon or similar server and voila.

And that is a courtesy of UPnP/DLNA.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan
Chill man. Take a second to realize that the OP specifically inquired about playing back his OTA recorded HD files. which are broadcast in Mpeg2 @HL Thus Kei's response.


It's one thing to proceed OT in someone else's thread. It's quite another to ridicule another member for trying to get back on topic and help the OP.
How is that moralistic lectures usually come from people with questionable morale?
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ptsenter
How is that moralistic lectures usually come from people with questionable morale?
Suntan, I knew there was something I liked about you.
 
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