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Should I try a different media server for a richer interface

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anderson2017

Serviio newbie

Posts: 2

Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:05 am

Post Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:18 am

Should I try a different media server for a richer interface

I'm new to Serviio in particular, and home streaming in general, so please have patience with this general enquiry, if you can.

I have Serviio running nicely to my Samsung smart TV, but really I would like a better interface, where you can pull up details of the movie before choosing to play it, Netflix-style - something similar to the bundled Mediabrowser, which is really excellent. However, the Mediabrowser is (obviously) web-browser-based and unsuitable for streaming.

I looked into Kodi, which seems to have a more Netflix-style interface, but which does not do transcoding, so that's out. Nor, I understand, can Kodi's interface be bolted onto Serviio's superior transcoding and streaming services.

Is there a way of getting a Mediabrowser-style interface with straight Servio streaming to my smart TV. If not, are there any streaming projects out there which have Serviio's transcoding and metadata/subtitle capabilities, but which have Mediabrowser-style rich interfaces? It seems a shame that this is missing from the default streaming interface, when it is clear that Serviio has access to all the network information necessary to provide a better interface.
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Sun Jan 06, 2019 7:27 pm

Re: Should I try a different media server for a richer inter

As you've discovered, the Samsung streaming media player is lousy. I stopped using it long ago. My wife prefers to use the Sony BD player, but it doesn't have the sort of interface you are seeking.

Yes, a change is necessary to get something closer to what you want. If you don't want to add an external player (which is my top suggestion), then Plex would likely give you roughly what you want. Plex does not work with Serviio, but has its own server.

However, I still recommend an external player. Why? Better control of your media using Serviio as the source, the ability to upgrade as new features are available, and support for lossless audio if that matters to you. Roku satisfies two of those (they don't support lossless audio). The Roku Media Player app offers metadata information, and if the media doesn't require transcoding you have full trick play (FF/Rewind/Resume). If your media has multiple audio tracks, you can select the desired one. Besides not supporting lossless audio, the other downside is lack of support for captions. It supports external SRT files, but will not display embedded captions based on images (which is what virtually all DVD and BD discs use).

I feel the best overall media player for the money is the Nvidia Shield. Prices are dropping on them (perhaps a new version is coming). What was $200 is now closer to $130. With the Shield, you have multiple choices for player apps. I use Kodi (which you've already looked at), but there's quite a few others available as well. I have the Shield on my Samsung 4K TV. It streams my UHD HDR rips with lossless audio perfectly. It plays everything without transcoding. About the only two things I can think of it doesn't do is Dolby Vision and YouTube HDR.
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

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anderson2017

Serviio newbie

Posts: 2

Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:05 am

Post Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:01 pm

Re: Should I try a different media server for a richer inter

Many thanks. I took a look at the Nvidia Shield - very nice! But I have just splashed out a lot of money on a new laptop and other devices, and I don't feel I can justify it. In the end, I subscribed to Plex. It's all set up, except for port forwarding (which is clearly going to be a bit of a slog with my UPC [Romanian] router, for which there is little En-language support on the web), and it provides exactly the rich interface I want. Thanks very much for taking the time to reply!
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freaknik

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 345

Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:05 pm

Location: Endor

Post Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:03 pm

Re: Should I try a different media server for a richer inter

Kodi can stream from a phone to bubbleupnp and get transcoded then play via dlna on whatever device.

That's what I'm doing. You need the pay version. As long as the kodi link or file is valid it works.
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zip

User avatar

Serviio developer / Site Admin

Posts: 17212

Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:24 pm

Location: London, UK

Post Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:38 pm

Re: Should I try a different media server for a richer inter

Serviio already sends all the metatadata when you browse on TV... but the TV DLNA player doesn't show it.

So for richer interface, you'd need a dedicated client app on the TV, like Plex (you'll need the Plex server too obvs)

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