Serviio

Hey,

I've set up a serviio DLNA server from which she can stream video files on to her TV (Samsung C650 series). It works fine, but the biggest problem is that the TV has terrible streaming controls. For example, you can't fast forward more than 5s and fast forwarding like 10 minutes or so takes 2 minutes of repeatedly hitting the FF button.

She has a Nexus 7 (2012) running Lollipop, so I assume she could install something like BubbleUPnP and select the CC as a renderer. But can she then minimize the BubbleUPnP App and surf the web or even turn off the Nexus 7 and the CC will still stream the content from the serviio server?

Even after searching for more info I'm not entirely sure which device does what. ie. if the Chromecast is actually pulling the media from the source itself and the tablet/phone is basically a remote or if the tablet/phone becomes the source and the Chromecast streams from it.

That's really all
I'd appreciate some help
Thanks in advance guys

I have never played with a Chromecast, so no idea what it is capable of. Usually with a device acting as a renderer, once the stream has started the device is usually available for other uses. But does the control over the video revert to the TV once the stream has started? I have no idea.

I agree that Samsung has terrible DLNA functionality. It's bad enough I gave up more than 6 years ago trying to use the TV as the player and instead switched to Roku players, and now also use the Nvidia Shield. The advantage to using a player like this is you don't need another device, such as a tablet or phone, to control the media. The player handles everything.

Depending on the files you have, the Shield, Roku, or a Fire TV device are all excellent choices. I understand the newest Chromecast now comes with its own remote, so it might work as a standalone player as well. But again, I have no experience with them. If you have ripped 4K movies from UHD Blu Rays, the Shield is the best way to go, since it has a Gigabit Ethernet port and can play virtually anything without transcoding, including caption support.