roksbox -Streaming Local Media Channel Available for Testing

[midnight]

Hi,

I went to the channel store today to clean up some channels I never use, and I guess it grabbed the newest version. It's saying 1.12.5.

I use the directory structure to manage videos, and it started complaining how my videos.xml file was not right, probably because I don't have one, then dropping me back to the menu with "My Photos" selected. So I went to the settings and cleared that setting out completely. Now it doesn't warn me any more, but just drops me directly to the menu after a few seconds.

This is the second time Roksbox has been broken underneath me, and I know I can't complain too loudly since it's free, but there's a certain amount of commitment I've made through encoding my library to work with this, and it's a little frustrating to have it suddenly not work due to an update that I didn't necessarily want (or that I was unprepared to try). Not to mention a little.. actually a lot... worrisome, because what if a change is made to Roksbox that breaks my setup, that the developers decide is for the best, and thus, not fix. Then the next time my wife or I go to the channel store, bam, I'm screwed. With most software, I can continue to use the same version and not update. But I don't have that option here.

Maybe that's a limitation of the Roku system, but honestly, it's like I'm constantly fixing things that aren't broken..ie, tempting fate, by updating a working system. Is there any way we can get some kind of confirmation dialog that asks if we want to upgrade? Or better yet, an option to downgrade if we do fetch an update that breaks things? If that's not possible, I think it would be a really good thing to have, perhaps on roksbox.com, an up-to-date log of versions that are posted, so we can at least know what to look for and maybe be sure to update before making plans, just in case.

As always, thank you for the work. I don't mean to sound irate, I really want to see this channel and the Roku box do well, it's a really awesome thing, and I've put a lot of faith in it, but seeing this happen for the second time is disappointing. Unless it's somehow my system (checked going to the website directly, it's fine, I haven't changed anything, etc). I really think there needs to be more testing before these updates go out the door... there's nothing amazingly different with my setup.

Thanks for reading, and I'm hoping this is an easy fix.

[terster]

HI. I'm having a new problem in the past week or so. Every movie i watch, about 58 minutes into the movie, is when the problem begins.

Roksbox keeps having to "reload" the video... and it cycles over and over and over... making it about 3 - 5 seconds further each time. It's like when a DVD skips and you hear the same 10 seconds over and over again.

I'll fast forward a minute or two and then wait as the video is cached for streaming... it will work for a minute or three and then it starts all over again.

I know have several movies with this same exact problem.

In addition, i've used various programs for converting to MP4. Handbrake, Leawo and Aimersoft are the 3 i use the most for converting.

Some movies were converted directly from DVD while othes were AVI files that were converted.

I have a home network with Server 2003. I have a dedicated 750 gig HD which is where i installed Mongoose and configured per the instructions on your new home page.

Again, this is a new problem. It only started recently and i can't figure out what is going on.

I've rebooted the server many times and that does not work.

I've restarted the movies from scratch but once i get to about 58 minutes into the movie... it starts all over again.

I've rebooted the ROKU box, refreshed the channel store, and gone back into Roksbox where it parsed the directories.... gone back to my movies... and same thing... about 58 minutes in... it starts to skip/repeat.

I'm really getting frustrated because Roksbox has become one of my favorite channels. Other than Netflix, this is the channel i watch.

Any help would surely be appreciated. Any additional information you need, please ask or i'm not sure what i need to provide in order to get help.

Sincerly,

T

[philsoft]

terster,
You need to encode your movies at 29.97fps

[terster]

HI,

I was just trying various key word searches and just found that.

Question, why?

I ask because i don't understand why it's flawless for the first hour and then... you just can't recover and it's back to the DVD.

Also, why did this recently started happening vs. starting back when i found Roksbox and converted movies?

Thanks though for the help.

T

P.S. Would upgrading the web server from Mongoose to Apache, help? Anything other than having to recode everything?

P.P.S. I went back and looked at one of my converting programs... and it is set at 29.97fps. Should the BIT RATE be adjusted? It's set at 1200 kbps. What should the bit rate be for video? how about the audio? And the encoder is set as H.264 from video and AAC for audio. Unfortunately i don't know what this all means as im still a novice trying to learn.

[WilDD]

Hi,

I went to the channel store today to clean up some channels I never use, and I guess it grabbed the newest version. It's saying 1.12.5.

I use the directory structure to manage videos, and it started complaining how my videos.xml file was not right, probably because I don't have one, then dropping me back to the menu with "My Photos" selected. So I went to the settings and cleared that setting out completely. Now it doesn't warn me any more, but just drops me directly to the menu after a few seconds.

This is the second time Roksbox has been broken underneath me, and I know I can't complain too loudly since it's free, but there's a certain amount of commitment I've made through encoding my library to work with this, and it's a little frustrating to have it suddenly not work due to an update that I didn't necessarily want (or that I was unprepared to try). Not to mention a little.. actually a lot... worrisome, because what if a change is made to Roksbox that breaks my setup, that the developers decide is for the best, and thus, not fix. Then the next time my wife or I go to the channel store, bam, I'm screwed. With most software, I can continue to use the same version and not update. But I don't have that option here.

Maybe that's a limitation of the Roku system, but honestly, it's like I'm constantly fixing things that aren't broken..ie, tempting fate, by updating a working system. Is there any way we can get some kind of confirmation dialog that asks if we want to upgrade? Or better yet, an option to downgrade if we do fetch an update that breaks things? If that's not possible, I think it would be a really good thing to have, perhaps on roksbox.com, an up-to-date log of versions that are posted, so we can at least know what to look for and maybe be sure to update before making plans, just in case.

As always, thank you for the work. I don't mean to sound irate, I really want to see this channel and the Roku box do well, it's a really awesome thing, and I've put a lot of faith in it, but seeing this happen for the second time is disappointing. Unless it's somehow my system (checked going to the website directly, it's fine, I haven't changed anything, etc). I really think there needs to be more testing before these updates go out the door... there's nothing amazingly different with my setup.

Thanks for reading, and I'm hoping this is an easy fix.

midnight - I'm very sorry you started having problems. There have been a few small changes to Roksbox lately, but nothing major, and nothing that seems like it would cause the problem you are having. What web server are you using (Mongoose, Apache, etc.)?

[midnight]

Blah. Time to eat some crow... mmm.. crow... Wait a second... this tastes horrible! Who do I complain to?

Apparently it couldn't look up the name of my web server. When I put in the IP, it started working. This is lighttpd on a Buffalo NAS. I guess my router caches it sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. Anyway, sorry for the time waste

[philsoft]

P.P.S. I went back and looked at one of my converting programs... and it is set at 29.97fps. Should the BIT RATE be adjusted? It's set at 1200 kbps. What should the bit rate be for video? how about the audio? And the encoder is set as H.264 from video and AAC for audio. Unfortunately i don't know what this all means as im still a novice trying to learn.

I find the best quality at about 1500kbs other than that, those settings sound good.

[sacoward]

Has anyone had success using a ReadyNAS stream to roksbox? I would prefer to use my NAS as the server instead of my laptop.

Any suggestions? Should I set up a personal webserver (as described here http://www.readynas.com/?p=135) or can I use one of its media streaming options (ReadyDLNA, Home Media Streaming Server, or iTunes Streaming Server)? And are there any special settings that I should be aware of?

thanks!

[WilDD]

Blah. Time to eat some crow... mmm.. crow... Wait a second... this tastes horrible! Who do I complain to?

Apparently it couldn't look up the name of my web server. When I put in the IP, it started working. This is lighttpd on a Buffalo NAS. I guess my router caches it sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. Anyway, sorry for the time waste

I'm just glad it wasn't a Roksbox problem. We do thoroughly test every change, but Roksbox supports 4 different web servers, three OSs, some NAS devices, and USB on the XR model, so sometimes a little change can unexpectedly cause a problem somewhere else. I'm glad you got yours working again.

[WilDD]

Has anyone had success using a ReadyNAS stream to roksbox? I would prefer to use my NAS as the server instead of my laptop.

Any suggestions? Should I set up a personal webserver (as described here http://www.readynas.com/?p=135) or can I use one of its media streaming options (ReadyDLNA, Home Media Streaming Server, or iTunes Streaming Server)? And are there any special settings that I should be aware of?

thanks!

It looks like the personal web server would be the way to go. Roksbox uses a web server to access your local media, so this should work. You don't need to do step 4 in the instructions unless you need public access to your NAS (not recommended for security reasons). It doesn't say what type of web server this is (Apache, Lighttpd, etc.), so there might be a problem if it isn't one that Roksbox currently supports, but we might be able to make it work anyway. Give it a try and see what happens.

[sacoward]

Has anyone had success using a ReadyNAS stream to roksbox? I would prefer to use my NAS as the server instead of my laptop.

Any suggestions? Should I set up a personal webserver (as described here http://www.readynas.com/?p=135) or can I use one of its media streaming options (ReadyDLNA, Home Media Streaming Server, or iTunes Streaming Server)? And are there any special settings that I should be aware of?

thanks!

It looks like the personal web server would be the way to go. Roksbox uses a web server to access your local media, so this should work. You don't need to do step 4 in the instructions unless you need public access to your NAS (not recommended for security reasons). It doesn't say what type of web server this is (Apache, Lighttpd, etc.), so there might be a problem if it isn't one that Roksbox currently supports, but we might be able to make it work anyway. Give it a try and see what happens.

Seems to work very well over Readynas with webserver setup. I'll post if I run into any problems.

[midiwall]

I fired this up over the weekend on the boxes in the house. Streaming from a HP WHS box to two Roku N1000's simultaneously on WiFi with no trouble. _registered_

This is a great piece of work - Thank You!

[Arwen]

Great work and easy to use!

Thank you so much for this additon. This makes the Roku player a
really great deal, (even with registering Roksbox).

Love the USB feature available with the HD XR version. Exactly what
I was hoping for when I paid extra for the HD XR version with the
USB port.


One thing I do want to ask, is that if the Internet connect is down,
will the registered version of Roksbox still work? Now and in the future?

Basically if my ISP is down, I would still want to play local media. At present
I don't have any other media players, (except DVD). In fact I may buy a
second Roku HD XR for my mountain cabin, (after it's built)), which won't
have broadband Internet.

[RoadRanger]

One thing I do want to ask, is that if the Internet connect is down,
will the registered version of Roksbox still work? Now and in the future?

I was wondering about this myself. It seems that the channel communicates with the internet before it will even start up? I'd like to be able to watch my local media (via http and usb) if the internet goes down for sure!

[Ing5]

As an experiment, I unplugged my DSL router/Internet connection. Roksbox was dead in the water - would not start up at all.
Powered up the DSL box, but unplugged the Internet. So I just had a local net. Roksbox was happy. I could get to all the content on the computer thru Mongoose. And all the content on the Roku-XR USB port.
Seems Roksbox needs a local net at minimum.