Questions on DLink DSM-520 - Page 3

Souki,

Couple questions for you.

1. What what the size of FAT32 hard drive.

2. So, D-Link DSM-520 is not good for HD 1920x1080 playback, isn't it?

1. The FAT32 drive is 20GB. Will upgrade to 300GB later.

2. I've tried several different clips of 1920x1080 Mpeg2 format, and they all do the same thing. I'll try looking for 1280x720 clips. So far the 1920x1080 clips are choppy with no sound. But at least I can see the image. Wonder if it's the decoder chip? I'll try finding more 1080 clips for further testing. I still haven't found a HD WMV file, maybe I'll see if HALO2 trailer is still available somewhere.. I'll update my findings. I'm still wondering why the unit doesn't detect AVI XVID files when using the USB HDD option? Yet it works when I'm streaming it..

Here are some WMV HD for you:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...tShowcase.aspx

By the way, I took cat6man's advice and tried another UPnP media server and was pleased with the results. It seems that Window Media Connect's lack of complete AVTransport support was the cause of the Jump feature previously not working. With TVersity , that functionality is restored. In addition, I've now got transcoding for unsupported media types and a catalog of Internet streamed content.

Note: TVersity doesn't have official support for the DSM-520 yet, but the DSM-320 profile works fine with only a few minor tweaks. I expect the next release will include a separate DSM-520 profile.

Even with the Jump feature working, however, it's not clear to me why FF/REW and Jump modes need to be mutually exclusive. Losing the wireless network connectivity or hitting a key that drops the playback index isn't as catastrophic anymore, since I can use Jump to get back close to where I was, but after changing modes I can no longer use the Fast Forward or Rewind features without returning to Setup and losing my playback index.

If I were to make a request for the next firmware update, in would start with the following:

- Eliminate the separate modes for FF/REW and Jump
- Assign remote control keys for +30 and -7 sec Skip functions
- Allow FF/REW speeds up to at least 16x
- Enable pressing the Delete key to delete files in the media library
- Publish the remote codes for discrete power on/off and play/pause

If they can do this, they'll have one kick-ass player on their hands.

Just wanted to write an update on the 1080p streaming/playback of the DSM-520. I've discovered that the Mpeg2 clips I was using is infact not supposed to be supported by this unit. Here are the details :

MPEG 2 1920x1088, 25 fps, 19,000 kb/s video bitrate, 256 kb/s audio bitrate @ 48 KHz
MPEG 2 1920x1088, 25 fps, 19,000 kb/s video bitrate, 112 kb/s audio bitrate @ 48 KHz
MPEG 2 1920x1080, 29.970 fps, 20,000 kb/s video bitrate, 256 kb/s audio bitrate @ 48 KHz

As you can see, the 19Mbps-20Mbps video bitrate is at least twice what the manual says as supported (8 Mbps). So that explains the stuttering and no sound, But man, those clips are so clear and detailed, it's like looking through a glass window..

I managed to get the following clip to play just fine :

King Kong 720p trailer w/AC3
XVID 1280x720, 23.97 fps, 2972 kb/s video bitrate, 384 kb/s audio bitrate @ 48KHz.


I've downloaded the Microsoft WMV9 demo files, thanks to Kabanero for reminding me about the link. The following clips have been successfully streamed via 10/100 Ethernet wired connection with no issues.

Dolphins_1080.wmv
WMV9 1440x1080, 128.923 fps, 8087 Kb/s video bitrate, 384 kb/s audio bitrate @ 48 KHz

MP10_Striker_10mbps.wmv
WMV9 1920x1080, 59.195 fps, 8465 Kb/s video bitrate, 440 Kb/s audio bitrate @ 48 KHz

Robitica_1080.wmv
WMV9 1440x1080, 123.350 fps, 7730 Kb/s video bitrate, 384 Kb/s audio bitrate @ 48KHz

So far, I've only noticed a few instances where the video frames drops/skips, but I assume it's the irregular fps of the clips that may be the culprit.

Now all I gotta do is find an AVI file that's 1080i. Apparently the manual doesn't specify the bitrate limit for this format?? Neither did it specify the bitrate limit for WMV9.

Kabanero,

I've been lurking here for a while and have had my dsm-520 for a couple of weeks now and have slowly been trying out its different features.

I downloaded all of the non-DRM videos off this page tonight, and found that although the video played smoothly over my wireless network, I had no sound whatsoever.

I've been going back and forth with d-link technical support this week regarding various FF/Rew issues and the absurd alphabetical sorting of music albums instead of by track number so I'll bring this up when I get their next reply.

Souki,

Weird that those 1080 versions of those clips worked for you. According to the webpage they're at 1080p resolution which, according to the dsm-520's documentation, is not supported for wmv9.

FWIW, the ones that I downloaded, but had no sound for were the 720p versions.

Although I would agree with all the other things you've said, I would have to disagree about the delete button feature. To me, it's a safety feature not to be able to delete any files remotely. No piece of equipment is perfect, but so far, I'm quite impressed.

Actually, did you download the latest firmware? It's supposed to fix the WMV playback issues. I'm currently on v1.01 firmware, and those WMV files played back just fine via 10/100 Ethernet connection. Sorry, I don't have wireless to confirm that type of connection. But this player does stream the audio just perfectly.

Could you tell them the following issues as well?

BMP file reported as not supported via USB HDD, but works while streaming. And I believe AVI files are not supported via USB HDD. Also could you confirm with DLink that this unit streams pure 1080i rather than scales 720p to 1080i when the source is 1920x1080? The manual says pure 1080i, but we like to hear it from the DLink techs.

I'm on v1.01 too.


I suppose the issue could be my wireless connection, but I would think there would be at least some sound, or rather a mixture of choppy video and sound. I'm seeing smooth video and no sound and unfortunately my router is too far away from the dsm-520 to connect them physically.

All the regular (non-HD) video that I've streamed has worked flawlessly (except for the issues with FF/Rew).


I'll forward your questions / comments on. I'm still not quite sure how "technical" these guys are though.

Meanwhile I'm going to download the 1080p versions of some of these videos and see if I see anything different.

Yeah, actually, I didn't even think about the limitations, just throught I'd throw those clips at the DSM-520, and it played them no problem. I haven't tried any 720p WMV files, but I would assume they would work due to lower requirements.

DLink does recommend 802.11g, not sure what type of wireless connection you currently have..

Hopefully they'll fix the FF/Rev and Jump feature on the next firmware release, since they're different buttons, it shouldn't be a problem.

They played for me, albeit without sound, as well. They were noticeably jerky too, but they did play. I guess when d-link says they don't support 1080p they're not saying it won't work, but they're just not guaranteeing it.


I have a 802.11g wireless network. The connection number/level that the dsm-520 says is in the mid-40s. I'm guessing this is a percentage, but that's not clear and there is nothing in the documentation about it.


You might want to check out the thread on the dsm-320. I don't think it's fixed there yet and that product is a couple of years old.

Another new "feature" that I discovered today is that if you add the artwork id3 tag (I'm using iTunes) to mp3s then they flat out will not play on the dsm-520. Remove the artwork reference and it'll play again.

So, it look like this DSM-520 is not good for my purpose because I am looking for the unit to play TS HD files recorded from Motorola 6412 cable box, which are 1920x1080i at 14~19 Mbps, and I have M2T HDV files that I trasfer to PC from my Sony HDV camcorder. And those files are 1440x1080i (played 1920x10810i) at 25 Mbps.

I guess I will have to order JVC SRDVD-100u.

I wonder if a wireless signal booster might help in this situation? Strangely enough my unit came with advertisement for the DLink DWL-M60AT. The advertisement says "The D-Link Directional Indoor Antenna enhances the sensitivity and extends the range of your HD Media Player's wireless signal."

Of course, a confirmation dialog should be required. The standard, "Are you sure you want to delete that file from your media library? [OK][Cancel]" should eliminate inadvertant removal. If you're concerned about hostile media hubs deleting all your media content, then you probably need to work on your network security.

It just seems awkward that after viewing a TV episode or movie that I should have to go to the other room to remove it from my media library. I was able to delete files on my Media Center Extender (just like my PVR), and I miss it on the DSM-520 practically every evening.

I've 'streamed' HD TS files from my machine with my old Sasem OnAir usbHDTV (I now have a Fusion F5USB) tuner (via windows shares) and played it on my laptop. When doing so with a wireless G network the video was jerky, and hardly any sound. When doing so with a 100Mbps ethernet connection, it worked flawlessly. Honestly, just because 802.11g SAYS it's 54Mbps, that doesn't mean that you can actually GET 54Mbps of THROUGHPUT out of the connection. Most estimates that i've seen are that 802.11g will get roughly 15-25Mbps of throughput, and that's when there's nothing else on the channel, and you have a GREAT signal. So, hands down, 802.11g just IS NOT fast enough for streaming HD files that are 19Mbps, because the network link itself can't sustain that kind of throughput. The wireless link on the dsm-520 is nice, but not practical for HD content in my opinion.

My $0.02

-Jason

Has ne1 had luck setting it up to play free internet readio streams? I bought a DSM520 for my dad and wanted to set it for him with his favorite streams.

What media server is best? The MS one seems to be slow, the DLink does not support all file types well. Do I have any other options as far as media servers?

ADV(thanks)ANCE

Would an external DVD drive with a USB2.0 connection have enough bandwidth to pass HD files?

This is interesting idea. Can somebody try it?

I would assume so, as the bottleneck would be the USB2 specs, not the HDD. Currently it's 480 Mbit/s. That's way fast enough for any HD content, even Blu-Ray as it's currently sitting at 36Mbit/s. Only problem is whether the DSM-520 can process that kinda data at HD 1080i. I'll try some more clips later to find out.

I bought an external USB enclosure for my DVD burner with the intent of trying this, but the DLink is safely under the tree until the 25th.

Just discovered that the DSM-520 can play Divx HD files. They played flawlessly. You can download clips below. Check it out!

http://www.divx.com/hd/

http://www.divx.com/movies/browse.ph..._movies_index_

[quote=Souki]Just discovered that the DSM-520 can play Divx HD files. They played flawlessly. You can download clips below. Check it out!



This is great news, as i can easily convert the Quicktime h.264 HD files into Divx HD, as well as easily encode my DV movies to play on the 520, as well. In fact, I'm converting the Batman Begins 1080p trailer right now to test the encoding times. it's looking like 45 minutes of encoding time for the 2 and a half minute trailer. Thats on an old powerbook, i bet my amd64 3700+ could churn that out faster, we'll see.

ALso, on second thought, does it support DivxHD at 1080??? That's what i'm encoding, the 1080 versions.

I'll see if I can find any Divx 1080p files for testing..

Turns out the Divx codec doesn't integrate into the windows version of quicktime, even with the Divx Create program installed, so on a PC i might have to go from mov>avi>divx :\\ there's like 8 gigs of raw avi in a 2 minute trailer, that's gonna take forever


as far as testing files go, these seem to work fine (free registration):
HDclips.net

Well, just tried streaming a DVD directly through a DVD-ROM drive in my computer and noticed a few things. The unit crashes when loading the VIDEO_TS.VOB file. This is the intro file that includes the FBI warning label. Confirmed on two DVD's. On "the Rock" DVD, here are the results :

VTS_01_0.VOB - Main menu items, flashes through most/all menu images.
VTS_02_0.VOB - Start of movie, sound and video stutters, video bitrate is at 10k.
VTS_03_0.VOB - Plays in French, but otherwise perfectly, bitrate is 10k.
VTS_04_0.VOB - Plays English perfectly, bitrate is 10k.

Noticed that when playing this movie (non-anamorphic), it shows black bars around the entire picture on my Sony HDTV. I'll try an anamorphic DVD later tonight.

Do you have a USB2.0 DVD drive to see if the 520 can use a DVD drive the same way you can use an external HDD, ie plug it directly into the front, and pull random avi's, mpeg, divx, mp3, jpeg from a data disc?

Sorry, I don't have one available, but someone said DLink mentioned this would work. I do have an IDE-to-USB2.0 external HDD case I could try...it just might work, won't look pretty though..

After looking forever for any 1080p Divx clips, I've discovered that currently Divx is only going as high as 720p for now. Here's their take on it :

"For now, DivX has chosen to endorse the 720p standard because 720p allows for reasonably priced platforms."
http://www.divx.com/corporate/soluti.../FAQ/hd.php#13

Here's a list of some HD clips in various formats :
http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=6537

PAL vs HDV is an awesome demo, it splits the screen in half, PAL on left, and HD on right. You can clearly tell the difference in quality. Awesome demo material! 720p Approx 75 MB. Works flawlessly with the DSM-520.
http://www.hd-channel.com/videos/pal_vs_hdv.wmv

I took an h.264 1080p movie today and converted directly to divx with the same resolution ~ 8mbps, if you you have access to a mac for an hour, you should try it, the 1080 trailers offered by apple are very impressive.