Can the Hopper replace an AppleTV/Roku used for local content?

[tropez]

I have most of my DVD's (mostly kids shows) backed up to digital file formats. For years now I've used DVDFab to rip the DVD contents, then encode the contents to AppleTV2 format using Handbrake. I then stored those files on my network. Using the AppleTV and iTunes, I could stream these locally stored movies to any of my TV's that had an AppleTV unit. I later sold the AppleTV units and changed to Roku boxes that do the same thing, but without the need for iTunes, the Roku just looks for a local web server that points to the dir that has all my .mp4 movies. I'm wondering if the Hopper system supports any local media? I would be nice to dump the Roku's and not need to have one of those sitting next to each Joey just to play my local stuff. Any ideas if playing local content is possible with the Hopper/Joey system?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The question depends on how things are ripped and what you are using for a DLNA server.

I have a lot of movies I ripped from Bluray in ISO and MKV format and the Hopper will not play those. If I try playing the MKV files using PlayOn as my DLNA server I can get audio from those HD rips but no video. However I am able to play SD rips fine.

 

[tropez]

I was just reading that. I don't have a DLNA server now, the Roku just has a good amount of built in codecs so it can read my files native without any middleware. Most of my files would have been encoded using the H264 codec for video and AAC audio. I guess it would depend on how the DLNA server software worked. Does it re-encode on the fly as it streams media to the Hopper/Joey? Or, does it just pass the data on native which would require the Hopper/Joey to do the decoding, thus needed the data presented in a format it could understand (maybe H264/AAC is fine, maybe not)?

I will dig more, it should be fun to figure out. It would truly be a badass system if it could support this as well.

 

[ammer]

The answer is no. IMO, I'd switch to the AppleTV (The new one) and install xbmc on it.

 

[tropez]

I have Roku's now, which replaced my AppleTV 2's and I love them. But, they are one more device to manage, more remotes, more cabling, etc.

From what I could find, it sounds as if the 922 has had DLNA video support for some time now: Dish Network VIP 922 DVR gets DLNA Video support – Review | Review Horizon

I'm hoping that continued to be refined since that article was posted and that the Hopper software works even better now. The thing that worries me is that I don't see anything that can clarify the DLNA support. Is it DLNA for just pictures and audio? Is full video support? etc.

More digging...

 

[jcr81]

The question depends on how things are ripped and what you are using for a DLNA server.

I have a lot of movies I ripped from Bluray in ISO and MKV format and the Hopper will not play those. If I try playing the MKV files using PlayOn as my DLNA server I can get audio from those HD rips but no video. However I am able to play SD rips fine.

So it's apparently not working with MKV? Part of the reason I purchased the Hopper (paid $200 just a little while ago) was to stream and access my bluray mkv collection within the dish receiver UI. The spec sheet said MKV was supported...

From the spec sheet:

"Home Media Formats Video- MKV, MP4; Music- MP3; Images- JPG"

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I dont have a firm answer for that, I just know using PlayOn as my DLNA server it does not play HD rips. As I said my HD MKV rips I get a black screen but hear the audio. Could be a limitation of PlayOn.

 

[tropez]

I dont have a firm answer for that, I just know using PlayOn as my DLNA server it does not play HD rips. As I said my HD MKV rips I get a black screen but hear the audio. Could be a limitation of PlayOn.

The issue you may run into is that the MKV wrapper is supported, but the video and audio within that wrapper may not be supported by the device. For instance, with my MP4 files, the wrapper is MP4 but the video is H264 and the audio is AAC. I've ran into the same issues you reported if I try to play my files on certain systems/configs that may not support that AAC audio format. At least I think that's how I recall it working when I dug into this stuff some time ago. I will know more this weekend once I have the device in hand and I'm able to test different configs and DLNA servers.

 

[Friend]

Played around this weekend with DLNA/Home Media. Best way to figure this out was installing two DLNA servers (PlayOn/TVersity). I always had PlayOn but issue with that as Scott mentioned that it always transcodes. So, for my Samsung camcoder (MP4 1080i videos) they were coming out bad as PlayOn transcoding was screwing it up. But when I installed TVeristy and disabled the transcoding my home video Looked beautiful, full HD. I tried this on both Hopper and Joey and they worked fine.

I also played one 720P MVK movie with H.264 video and Dolby audio and worked without any issue. So, for now I am going with multiple server option until PlayOn supports disabling transcoding for certain format if that device is natively supporting the playback.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Hmm may have to try tversety! Do you know if it handles ISO files? When I first started ripping my bluray collection I was ripping them as iso but now I rip them all in MKV.

 

[Faw]

You can try PS3 Media Server , it does transcoding so it will convert every format, is free and runs on Windows/Mac/Linux. Also to the ones that mentioned the Roku, what are you using to play local files? Every method I have tried was just a PITA, all my media is in a NAS running linux (Ubuntu 11.10).

I tried Plex but it was too slow (browsing the media took ages and was really buggy), tried Noknok but I need open ports and my ISP is blocking stuff. I actually like the Roku, I would love it if it had DLNA or could use Windows shares. Unfortunately the info in the Roku forums is dissapointing (no DLNA any time soon). Ill probably change it for a BoxeeBox, not as slick but more functional (tons of codecs/uses windows shares/nfs shares), or if the Hopper does DLNA well, maybe the Hopper.

 

[Friend]

Hmm may have to try tversety! Do you know if it handles ISO files? When I first started ripping my bluray collection I was ripping them as iso but now I rip them all in MKV.

Not sure but try sharing MKV files from TVersity and see if those work. I am assuming Blu-ray content will be 1080p so, not sure.

 

[sublimnl]

OK how did you guys get dlna working to begin with? Mine does not see my local PC running ps3 media server and playon. Does your hopper show broadband enabled on mydish.com? Mine does not but it is definitely online.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[Herkguy]

[GLOW][/GLOW]

OK how did you guys get dlna working to begin with? Mine does not see my local PC running ps3 media server and playon. Does your hopper show broadband enabled on mydish.com? Mine does not but it is definitely online.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Having the same issue...hopper not seeing my TVersity server on my desktop. Anyone know how to get this going? Would be great to ditch the revue...

 

[eckmanmj]

See the other thread here where others (myself included) are unable to get the DLNA features under "Home Media" working:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/hopper-zone/280049-my-quest-get-dlna-working-hopper.html

The gist is, that this feature seems to have a lot of bugs that Dish plans on addressing with a future update. I was in a chat with tech support this morning that told me that the Home Media option does not work without a Dish Network Hopper Internet Controller. I don't know if I believe that or not. I think this is just a symptom of us being early adopters.

Once it does get straightened out, I would assume that this feature will function like any other DNLA streamer out there. As others have mentioned, PlayOn and TVersity are both good options. I use one called Serviio. I like Serviio the best because it offers a Windows Home Server dashboard add-in on my server, plus it can import movie data from XBMC NFO files. My entire 1100+ movie library is already scraped in an XBMC format, so this was critical to me. Serviio already works great with XBox 360, Sony Bravia HDTVs, and the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+. I see no reason to think that it wont work just as well with the Hopper/Joey.

But even after it gets straightened out, I highly doubt there will be an option to browse a local network and natively play stored media files of any format. This actually requires quite a bit more processing power to do. Transcoding through a DNLA server is a much more realistic option, so for those of you planning on getting this going, if you dont already use PlayOn, TVersity, Serviio, or some other DNLA equivalent, I suggest you get started on setting that up, so that you can have it ready for whenever time in the future Dish releases an update that gets this going!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I do not have a Hopper Internet Connector and my DLNA works.

 

[DustoMan]

The problem is that supporting MKV is only one piece of the puzzle. There are so many variables when it comes to codec, bitrate, and resolution that it's pretty much a crap shoot as to what will work. MKV is only a container or wrapper. It's not a set file specification. I'm supposed to be able to play MKV files on my PS3, but I have get to get it to work. And some DLNA servers will stream MKVs, but others will ignore them.