[Cialug] DLNA

[Matthew Nuzum]

I'm not sure I'd say "avoid," rather just "be informed." DLNA is a bit of a
headache but it usually works. I have a WD NAS that has a Twonky DLNA
server built in. I've also used a desktop tool that exposed media files
over the network using DLNA.

With the same client (Sony Bluray player) the experience was very different
between the servers. The desktop server did better and would try to
auto-convert files to the right format supported by the client. It
organized the media to make it easier to find your files. Twonky doesn't do
either of these, simply presenting all media files in a huge list organized
only into groups of pictures, audio or video.

Most clients I've seen truncate filenames and hide the extension making it
tricky to tell the difference between two different formats of the same
file, for example I rip my DVDs to full res and lower-res iPod format.

Overall, the user experience is a headache, as Jeffrey said. But, it works.
Once you know your clients and tools, it gets the job done. My kids figured
out how to save videos onto the iPad for offline viewing and can watch
their shows OK. They prefer any other service when available and
essentially just use this to watch stuff from our DVD collection when going
on a trip or will be offline.

On Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 4:37 PM, Jeffrey Ollie <jeff at ocjtech.us> wrote:

> On Sat, Sep 27, 2014 at 8:52 PM, L. V. Lammert <lvl at omnitec.net> wrote:
>
> > Like to push a display image to a big screen HDMI, .. it seems like
> "DLNA"
> > is the simplest solution, but there seems to be a dearth of docs for this
> > type of application.
> >
> > Will a simple DLNA HDMI receiver work as a remote screen? Do not see a
> > package with that type of description, though there are number of other
> > DLNA ones.
> >
>
> I'd avoid DLNA (unless you enjoy headaches).  While it's a "standard" it's
> one of those standards that is very loosely specified so interoperability
> between products is very difficult.
>
> I'd suggest getting a Chromecast.  For $35 it's hard to beat.
>
> --
> Jeff Ollie
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Matthew Nuzum
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