LAN Media Viewer / Streaming Media Player like WDTVLive
January 21, 2018 2:41 PM Subscribe
I need to find a way to view media on a local file server (seriously missing my WDTVLive now). So far I haven't found anything that works for what I think is a pretty basic set of needs. (no recent questions I can find, more inside)
I have a few TB of movies/ TV shows, etc stored on a local file server that I'd like to be able to watch on my TV. I don't need access outside of my local network. I'm okay spending up to a couple hundred USD for a playback device, but don't want to replace the NAS or TV.
Here are my requirements:
Can play multiple video formats, including DVD and BluRay discs copied to a directory.
Able to choose subtitle track.
Able to choose audio track.
Rewind and Fast Forward.
Environment:
Windows Server Standard 2016 64bit), 16GB RAM, AMD Athlon 845 Quad Core @3.5 GHz, RAID running on SATA3
The TV is a TCL Roku TV, 4k, with free HDMI inputs.
1GB network, hardwired to TV and NAS.
All media is playable using VLC on a PC connected to the network. All audio and subtitle channels are accessible, and video plays at full resolution without skipping. (VLC even handles the DVD menus correctly.) We can assume that encryption isn't an issue.
Assume expert level Windows, Linux, and networking experience. (I can deal with all of the technical issues that come up, but don't have the time or desire to spend hours compiling, configuring, researching, etc.)
What I've tried so far (and reasons it hasn't worked):
Plex. "We don't support DVDs stored on a file system because DVD menus are against our religion, you need to use Handbrake or something." (No, really, that's their response.) Transcoder or network (not sure which) couldn't keep up anyway.
PlayOn. Fails playing a DVD directory - I'm currently working with their tech support to figure out why. However, the transcoder/network wasn't keeping up and their player uses the embedded Roku player, which is really bad.
Serviio. Seems to perform well, but doesn't seem to handle DVD directories correctly. Plus relies on the Roku media player which is just terrible.
I don't mind buying a new playback device, like a RaspberryPi or something. But I'd really like a nice integrated remote control that doesn't require a lot of futzing about - I'm fine using a second remote, but I just want whatever I buy to plug in and work. Ideally it would be able to play from a file share, since DLNA servers don't seem to work really well.
I also don't need access/parental controls at the device level. I don't really have friends with kids, so I don't have to worry about a toddler stumbling across the Resident Evil movies.
Basically, I want an updated WDTVLive, as it used to handle all of this perfectly (WD stopped support for it a long time ago, and it doesn't support 4k anyway).
I have a few TB of movies/ TV shows, etc stored on a local file server that I'd like to be able to watch on my TV. I don't need access outside of my local network. I'm okay spending up to a couple hundred USD for a playback device, but don't want to replace the NAS or TV.
Here are my requirements:
Can play multiple video formats, including DVD and BluRay discs copied to a directory.
Able to choose subtitle track.
Able to choose audio track.
Rewind and Fast Forward.
Environment:
Windows Server Standard 2016 64bit), 16GB RAM, AMD Athlon 845 Quad Core @3.5 GHz, RAID running on SATA3
The TV is a TCL Roku TV, 4k, with free HDMI inputs.
1GB network, hardwired to TV and NAS.
All media is playable using VLC on a PC connected to the network. All audio and subtitle channels are accessible, and video plays at full resolution without skipping. (VLC even handles the DVD menus correctly.) We can assume that encryption isn't an issue.
Assume expert level Windows, Linux, and networking experience. (I can deal with all of the technical issues that come up, but don't have the time or desire to spend hours compiling, configuring, researching, etc.)
What I've tried so far (and reasons it hasn't worked):
Plex. "We don't support DVDs stored on a file system because DVD menus are against our religion, you need to use Handbrake or something." (No, really, that's their response.) Transcoder or network (not sure which) couldn't keep up anyway.
PlayOn. Fails playing a DVD directory - I'm currently working with their tech support to figure out why. However, the transcoder/network wasn't keeping up and their player uses the embedded Roku player, which is really bad.
Serviio. Seems to perform well, but doesn't seem to handle DVD directories correctly. Plus relies on the Roku media player which is just terrible.
I don't mind buying a new playback device, like a RaspberryPi or something. But I'd really like a nice integrated remote control that doesn't require a lot of futzing about - I'm fine using a second remote, but I just want whatever I buy to plug in and work. Ideally it would be able to play from a file share, since DLNA servers don't seem to work really well.
I also don't need access/parental controls at the device level. I don't really have friends with kids, so I don't have to worry about a toddler stumbling across the Resident Evil movies.
Basically, I want an updated WDTVLive, as it used to handle all of this perfectly (WD stopped support for it a long time ago, and it doesn't support 4k anyway).
I have a Raspberry Pi 3 running OSMC on my crappy old TV and am quite sure OSMC would meet all your capability and non-futzing requirements on the software side (though being based on Debian, it's also more than capable of supporting any degree of futzing you might actually care to do; mine is the house print server as well as its media player, for example). For driving a 4K display, the OSMC developers' own OSMC Vero 4K looks like a very tidy little package and gets good reviews though I have not tried it myself.
posted by flabdablet at 4:31 PM on January 21, 2018
posted by flabdablet at 4:31 PM on January 21, 2018
Thirding a raspi with Kodi/OSMC. The magic of HDMI means that you should be able to use the existing TV remote to control it with minimal setup.
posted by quinndexter at 5:28 PM on January 21, 2018
posted by quinndexter at 5:28 PM on January 21, 2018
I've been impressed with Kodi on my nvidia shield tv too. Haven't tried to play saved dvds yet but Kodi has always handled whatever I threw at it and the shield has decent hardware to work with.
posted by noloveforned at 5:32 PM on January 21, 2018
posted by noloveforned at 5:32 PM on January 21, 2018
+1 to Kodi, I have it on a small Linux PC under my TV (actually an old Mac Mini, but no longer running MacOS) - it will generally play anything that VLC can, and it does DVD menus, from actual discs or from a VIDEO_TS folder. Kodi can talk to your NAS via SMB, and it can also stream from a UPnP/DLNA server.
I initially tried to do this with a Raspberry Pi, but had lots of performance and stability problems. It wasn't until I threw a real computer at it that it was able to pass the "other people in the family will use this and I won't have to fix it every week" test. I seem to be an outlier here though, I know other people that are perfectly happy with their Pis; I think I may have just gotten a bad one.
posted by jordemort at 6:44 PM on January 21, 2018
I initially tried to do this with a Raspberry Pi, but had lots of performance and stability problems. It wasn't until I threw a real computer at it that it was able to pass the "other people in the family will use this and I won't have to fix it every week" test. I seem to be an outlier here though, I know other people that are perfectly happy with their Pis; I think I may have just gotten a bad one.
posted by jordemort at 6:44 PM on January 21, 2018
I had a WDTV Live. Replaced it with a RPi for a while, but ended up getting a Mi Box and haven't looked back. Kodi, Netflix, YouTube preinstalled, runs Android apps out of the box. Yours for just $70.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 7:02 PM on January 21, 2018
posted by obiwanwasabi at 7:02 PM on January 21, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks all for the suggestions, I appreciate it. I temporarily re-purposed a Pi3 I have and tried Kodi and OSMC. Looks like I just need to buy something like the Shield or Vero and run Kodi/OSMC - the software seemed to do everything I want, but the Pi3 wasn't quite powerful enough for some of the HD media.
posted by BenevolentActor at 8:26 AM on January 22, 2018
posted by BenevolentActor at 8:26 AM on January 22, 2018
Yeah I replaced the pi3 with the Shield TV (didn't know about the OSMC Vero 4k, that looks fantastic) as it had some issues with H.265 and some high bitrate material. Kodi continues to be awesome software (been using it since it was XBMC on the original XBOX!)
posted by defcom1 at 10:02 AM on January 22, 2018
posted by defcom1 at 10:02 AM on January 22, 2018
Kodi on a Chromebox here. Plays anything I throw at it. Replaced my WDTV with no regrets.
posted by macapes at 12:03 PM on January 22, 2018
posted by macapes at 12:03 PM on January 22, 2018
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posted by defcom1 at 3:34 PM on January 21, 2018