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Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 1:38 am
by FlyingGold24
Im thinking about getting a Roku streaming stick and Roku Express+ for a couple of tvs and before I do, I wanted to get some experiences that some of you may have had with roku and serviio.
How does it work, Are there any issues or complications?
Does Roku have cinavia protection?
Would you recommend a completely different media streamer altogether?
I have heard good things about roku but I just had those questions in the back of my head and I couldn't find any answers online. I hope that someone can answer some of these questions and I thank you in advance for any and all help related to my post.
Thanks again in advance and have a good day :)

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 1:37 pm
by atc98092
The Roku players in general are terrific streaming platforms, with some caveats. If your media is in the proper container and uses the proper codecs, then transcoding is unnecessary and they work great. If transcoding is necessary, there are currently some issues with HD Audio transcoding.

Roku has a limited number of video and audio codecs that are supported. This site https://support.roku.com/article/208754908-how-to-use-roku-media-player-to-play-your-videos-music-and-photos has the full details, but basically they only support MKV, MP4 and MOV containers (although TS works as well), video has to be H.264/MP4 (H.265 with the 4K capable players) and audio has to be ac3/aac or a few other types. If you are using HDMI to an AVR, they will pass DTS audio though. However, right now no Roku will pass HD audio (Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master Audio).

The newest models (Premiere & Ultra) have issues with some users reporting either HDCP errors or audio "chirping". I have not experienced the audio issue, but have seen some HDCP issues with my Ultra. Roku is beta testing new firmware and my guess is they will have these issues resolved soon. The HDCP errors only seem to occur with a 4K TV, so connecting to a 1080 HD set should be fine. My Roku 4 has zero issues hooked to a Panasonic 1080 plasma.

We are hoping to have a resolution to the HD audio transcoding problem soon. Once that is resolved, Serviio will be including some new Roku profiles that should cover all the boxes.

If you are looking for a streaming player that supports the majority of codecs, and will passthrough HD audio, I only know of one player that has them all covered. That is the Nvidia Shield. It is quite pricey for just using as a media streamer, as it's built as a gaming platform. I've read on the forums that using it as a streamer works well, but the user interface isn't really designed for it and it takes more button presses to actually start playing your media. Not sure how big a deal that is, as I've never played with one.

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:46 pm
by FlyingGold24
Thanks a lot for all of this info I really appreciate it, I meet most of the needed file types so that shouldn't cause any problems, if I have too I got a nice piece of converting software so I can always meet the file types, and I wont be using the premiere or ultra so I shouldn't have chirping issues hopefully. I most likely will buy the roku now, the only thing that is still stuck in the back of my head is, if the roku has some sort of cinavia protection, if someone has some knowledge on this I would really appreciate some input on that. Thanks again atc98092 for the info it was very well written and gave me tons of info on this topic.

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:30 pm
by atc98092
FlyingGold24 wrote:Thanks a lot for all of this info I really appreciate it, I meet most of the needed file types so that shouldn't cause any problems, if I have too I got a nice piece of converting software so I can always meet the file types, and I wont be using the premiere or ultra so I shouldn't have chirping issues hopefully. I most likely will buy the roku now, the only thing that is still stuck in the back of my head is, if the roku has some sort of cinavia protection, if someone has some knowledge on this I would really appreciate some input on that. Thanks again atc98092 for the info it was very well written and gave me tons of info on this topic.


Not sure where that protection might kick in. I have 1000s of ripped DVD and Blu Ray movies and have no issues playing them back on any device, including my Roku players. Why exactly are you concerned with it?

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:55 pm
by MSGBen
I have a roku device and it works all fine. One of the finest streaming devices. I'd say 9/10. Some glitches are however balky and would occur while the connection is out or the speed is fluctuating.

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 12:18 pm
by mariad
How much did you get the Roku device for?

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 12:35 pm
by atc98092
MSGBen wrote:I have a roku device and it works all fine. One of the finest streaming devices. I'd say 9/10. Some glitches are however balky and would occur while the connection is out or the speed is fluctuating.


There will be new Roku profiles with the next release of Serviio (v1.9). Depending on your Roku you might see improved performance. The current profile is rather a sledgehammer that isn't as fine tuned for the newest Roku models.

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 8:27 am
by mariad
Should one be waiting for the new releases then?

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 12:45 pm
by atc98092
The new Roku profiles don't always do what I expect on Serviio 1.8, so I would yes waiting for 1.9 is best.

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 8:13 pm
by thymon
atc98092 wrote:The new Roku profiles don't always do what I expect on Serviio 1.8, so I would yes waiting for 1.9 is best.


Any date for the next release ?

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 11:41 pm
by atc98092
Only Zip can answer that. Depends on how the beta testing goes. ;)

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 9:32 pm
by thymon
atc98092 wrote:Only Zip can answer that. Depends on how the beta testing goes. ;)


Can't wait ! :D :lol:

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:12 pm
by trujuice
atc98092 wrote:My Roku 4 has zero issues hooked to a Panasonic 1080 plasma.


atc98092

Are you using the default serviio 1.8 Roku profile or a custom one? The reason I ask is that I have running a Roku Stream Stick 3600RW on a Panasonic 1080 and I am not getting audio for many of my MKV files here is one example.

Metadata:
encoder : libebml v1.2.0 + libmatroska v1.1.0
creation_time : 2015-07-25T05:28:03.000000Z
Duration: 00:41:58.31, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3729 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 1k tbn, 47.95 tbc (default)
Stream #0:1: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 384 kb/s (default)

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:17 am
by atc98092
trujuice wrote:
atc98092 wrote:My Roku 4 has zero issues hooked to a Panasonic 1080 plasma.


atc98092

Are you using the default serviio 1.8 Roku profile or a custom one? The reason I ask is that I have running a Roku Stream Stick 3600RW on a Panasonic 1080 and I am not getting audio for many of my MKV files here is one example.

Metadata:
encoder : libebml v1.2.0 + libmatroska v1.1.0
creation_time : 2015-07-25T05:28:03.000000Z
Duration: 00:41:58.31, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3729 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 1k tbn, 47.95 tbc (default)
Stream #0:1: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 384 kb/s (default)


Hummm, that certainly appears to be in a format that should play. I do have my boxes running through a Yamaha AVR, so I never encounter issues with TV audio. Still, standard 5.1 AC3 should be recognized by your set, as that is the broadcast standard for ATSC. Sorry, made an assumption you are in North America. But I thought AC3 was pretty much the international standard for TV audio. If you are using the "normal" Roku profile, this video should be transcoded to reduce the video bitrate and also transcode the audio.

If you have the time, could you try two things? Change to the default profile and attempt to play. Don't forget to hit the Save button at the bottom pf the page after you make the change and return to the status page. This should play it without transcoding anything and will affirm there's nothing wrong with the file. Assuming that worked, then change back to the Roku profile, but enable debug logging. Attempt to play the file, then stop it and post the log here so we can see exactly what ffmpeg is doing with the transcode command.

I am using the Roku profiles that will be coming in the next version of Serviio. There's a couple of things that may or may not work right with the current version, so I haven't published them here. With my 3600 Stick I can play ripped Blu Rays at over 40 Mbps without throttling the bitrate, although that is using a 5 GHz wireless connection. I believe it will be the same with a 2.4 GHz network, but there's always more potential interference on 2.4. I can use both the 2.4 and 5 GHz connection from the same router, and the 5 signal seems better. When the next version of Serviio is released, I'll make a post about the different versions in the profile and what they were tested on.

It might be time to create a new sub-forum for the Roku players, but that's up to Zip. I respect whatever direction he wishes to go.

Re: Some questions about media streaming

PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:26 am
by MSGBen
mariad wrote:How much did you get the Roku device for?



Check ebay or other sites. Prices vary.