Playon transcodes to mpeg2?

[bialio]

When using playon it seems like the Playon server I have setup is transcoding flash video from HULU to mpeg2 - shouldn't the uPNP server in playon know that the HD200 can support that video in it's original form?

It's sucking down 1/2 of the CPU power in of the server it's on to do this, which seem unnecessary.....

[paulbeers]

The HD200 is technically not a supported device. So no, Playon would not know what capabilities the HD200 has. Secondly, this is why Playon has such high processing requirements on their website because this is the standard functionality of Playon.

[bialio]

SageTV HD Theatre is one of the devices listed on the Playon website.....

[reggie14]

The HD Theater has a folder on their forums, but I don't believe it is officially supported.

Even if it were, they don't have native streaming working on any platform yet. So, it's transcoding everything to every device for now.

The PlayOn guys seem somewhat interested in the HD Theater. Maybe if they could their hands on a free HD200 (I'd chip in) and if Sage would offer some sort of support PlayOn would officially support the HD Theater.

By the way, I assume the DLNA protocol includes a handshake where the device tells the server what media types it can play. I don't think the HD Theater is DLNA-compliant, but if it were maybe PlayOn wouldn't need to do anything special for the Hd200.

[davidjade]

So when PlayOn transcode, what does it transcode to? Is it cropping/resizing/dropping frames or anything else like that? What bitrate is it spitting out?

My understanding is the DLNA spec has a very limited set of profiles that it supports (codecs along with limited bitrates, images sizes, etc...) It is a subset of standard UPnP protocols. So if PlayOn is being a good DLNA server, they must adhere to this more limited set of profiles.

I ask because I am trying to figure out whether to use PlayOn for Netflix or get a Roku unit. I don't want to degrade the video too much if I can help it, but having PlayOn would be useful for Hulu too.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by bialio

SageTV HD Theatre is one of the devices listed on the Playon website.....

Yes it is listed, but did you read what it stated above the list?

If you are brave enough to try PlayOn with another DLNA/UPnP media device, you should take part in the Unofficial Devices forum, and share your feedback with us as well as other users. Currently, we have had reports of people using PlayOn with moderate to great success on the following devices:
DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR, HR20 Receiver
D-Link DSM-510, DSM-520, DSM-750
Pioneer Elite PRO-1140HD TV
Popcorn Hour A-100
SageTV HD Theater
XBMC
Myka

So No. It is not officially supported.

[gplasky]

I would think because of the various devices Playin supports (Playstation, Xbox, Wii, etc.) it has to transcode all to a common format that all of those players can play. I think mpeg2 fits the bill.

Gerry