Jump to content

Computer Media Player without the need of transcoding


Recommended Posts

Hi,

I am running a central media server with stores all my movies and tv shows as full BluRay HD Audio MKV copies. The Living room has a HD Audio receiver in a 2 channel setup, a Chromecast video and a Xbox one. On the server I am running and testing a multitude of Media Server Programs like Plex, JRiver and Kodi with an SQL database.

 

For convenience the ChromeCast Video is used with Plex cast but the problem is that it doesn't support MKV and or HD audio, which requires transcoding on the Plex server which let me to upgrading the hardware. Kodi on the Xbox one is still a long way off and I did use an Android box with Kodi before but that gave me (wired) network issues.

 

I am looking to free up my hardware to build a gaming rig and use the old hardware again but need to get rid of the transcoding issue. I would like to add a media player that supports MKV playback with subtitle support and can bitstream HD Audio to my receiver. Something that can be controlled by a phone app so not to need any remote controls and or keyboards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



3 hours ago, Primare Knob said:

I would like to add a media player that supports MKV playback with subtitle support and can bitstream HD Audio to my receiver. Something that can be controlled by a phone app so not to need any remote controls and or keyboards.

That is Kodi libreelec build on a PC  or something like the powerful Nvidia Shield.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Satanica said:

So you're asking for recommendations on a standalone hardware Media Player? Something other than a PC (Computer Media Player) ?

Anything that works without the need of transcoding on the server end. A PC based setup would be preferred but price wise not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Primare Knob said:

Anything that works without the need of transcoding on the server end. A PC based setup would be preferred but price wise not.

Just go with JRiver MC. A quiet/silent HTPC without the need for gaming does not have to cost a lot and can look nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



1 minute ago, powerav said:

I wish Jriver had an operating system like kodi libreelec.

I personally need an OS underneath.

Also, some of it's best features like the WDM driver, WASAPI Loopback and Asio Line In are only available on Windows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

plenty of fanless players available capable of playing up to 4K without container type limitation either with Jriver, Plex or Kodi soft, pricewise somewhere between 50-200 bucks (depended on HW and SW), the tricky part might be the phone remote control and its integration

if you don't wanna be limited by player capabilities I would choose x86 (Intel/AMD) based HW otherwise android (ARM) should be fine as well

 

couple of examples

 

Intel based (includes Win10 home pre-installed):

Beelink BT3 PRO 4GB/64GB version

Beelink AP34 

Beelink M1

 

ARM (android) based:

Beelink Mini MXIII II

Beelink GT1

Beelink GT1 Ultimate

 

my pick highlighted in bolt...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 06/10/2017 at 11:00 AM, Primare Knob said:

Hi,

I am running a central media server with stores all my movies and tv shows as full BluRay HD Audio MKV copies. The Living room has a HD Audio receiver in a 2 channel setup, a Chromecast video and a Xbox one. On the server I am running and testing a multitude of Media Server Programs like Plex, JRiver and Kodi with an SQL database.

 

For convenience the ChromeCast Video is used with Plex cast but the problem is that it doesn't support MKV and or HD audio, which requires transcoding on the Plex server which let me to upgrading the hardware. Kodi on the Xbox one is still a long way off and I did use an Android box with Kodi before but that gave me (wired) network issues.

 

I am looking to free up my hardware to build a gaming rig and use the old hardware again but need to get rid of the transcoding issue. I would like to add a media player that supports MKV playback with subtitle support and can bitstream HD Audio to my receiver. Something that can be controlled by a phone app so not to need any remote controls and or keyboards.

 

Any PC on Linux running Kodi will work. Set the audio to passthrough. Phone app control supported.

 

You need to get specific about MKV; the file format is just a container, many codecs are supported.

 

If your MKV are hiding h.265 video, your hardware requirements will be very specific, and maybe your OS too. Not everything supports hardware acceleration for that just yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



I have bought a NUC and will probably run JRiver and the Chromecast Desktop App in the background via the JRiver audio driver.

Does anyone know if Chromecast is supported in JRiver itself.

In the end, the playback software will come down to what the family finds most easy to use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/17/2017 at 7:31 AM, Primare Knob said:

I have bought a NUC and will probably run JRiver and the Chromecast Desktop App in the background via the JRiver audio driver.

Does anyone know if Chromecast is supported in JRiver itself.

In the end, the playback software will come down to what the family finds most easy to use.

I don't think JRiver supports Chromecast. What are you trying to do? Can you not just present your media via JRiver's Theater View?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have enough HDMI ports left, so the ChromeCast is going. But that has been used to stream audio from Google Play.
There is a desktop version for ChromeCast audio, but last time I used it it was rather slow and I believe needed a specific app setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...
To Top