I need to play local ISO files

[rubantin]

I am new to the set top box arena... I have a simple problem. I have 2+TeraBytes of DVD ISO files on my PC that I want to play through my ROKU XDS. What is the cleanest/cheapest solution? Free is best

[Gilgamesh]

I am new to the set top box arena... I have a simple problem. I have 2+TeraBytes of DVD ISO files on my PC that I want to play through my ROKU XDS. What is the cleanest/cheapest solution? Free is best

To play those on your Roku requires that you use a ch that has a server to trans-code running on a PC.

There are a few that do this: Gabby and Chaneru are two of them.

Whichever you choose the PC the server runs on needs to quite powerful.

I recommend you use something like handbrake to convert those filed to mp4 so Roku can play them without conversion.

Then most of the chs for playing local content will work and the server for that ch will not have to trans-code.

I use both Roksbox and Chaneru(without trans-coding) and Handbrake for conversion.

[gonzotek]

I am new to the set top box arena... I have a simple problem. I have 2+TeraBytes of DVD ISO files on my PC that I want to play through my ROKU XDS. What is the cleanest/cheapest solution? Free is best

To play those on your Roku requires that you use a ch that has a server to trans-code running on a PC.

There are a few that do this: Gabby and Chaneru are two of them.

Whichever you choose the PC the server runs on needs to quite powerful.

I recommend you use something like handbrake to convert those filed to mp4 so Roku can play them without conversion.

Then most of the chs for playing local content will work and the server for that ch will not have to trans-code.

I use both Roksbox and Chaneru(without trans-coding) and Handbrake for conversion.

I'm not aware of any that can transcode straight from iso to HLS on-the-fly. ISO is a disc container format. Usually you have to use a mount program like daemon tools first. I know some of the other (higher-end) hardware players can play them back directly, but not Roku. But I'd love to be wrong, if anyone knows otherwise!

[rubantin]

Thanks... but according to their sites, neither supports transcoding of ISO files...

BTW - I have a bumper sticker of your Franklin quote...

[stratcat96]

if local .iso support is what you need, sorry to say you bought the wrong box. Look at WD Live Plus.

[rubantin]

WD TV Live doesn't have wifi...

[stratcat96]

WD TV Live doesn't have wifi...

You can buy the Golden Airlink 101 adapter wireless N adapter off amazon for $15 and works like a charm. Trust me, I have it for just that purpose and my iso's with full menu support and upconverted to 1080p work great

[lancescape]

There are many sub-$100 wifi media players, most of them will easily handle iso and everything else (you'll probably want to look for wireless N, higher bitrates and 1080p will likely choke on G). Try asking google.

[rubantin]

Stratcat... will it only accept airlink wireless?

[stratcat96]

Stratcat... will it only accept airlink wireless?

no there is a long list of compatible adapters. I bought my WD off amazon and read that the airlink was compatible so I bought it at the same time. It's tiny, about the size of a thumbnail and completely inconspicuous. The price was definitely right at $15!

[Luxfero]

OP don't you read up on what you buy, seems like your expecting way too much from some thing too little. Like getting a net-book and expecting to play high-end video games. I'm not going to say it's impossible but it would be limited and you'd have to do some dev work yourself. If you don't plan on actually doing things your self, I would't hold my breath maybe when the next gen Roku comes out. I agree you might have bought the wrong box. The Boxee Box supports (MPG/MPEG/VOB/TS/TP/ISO/IFO) natively and it's wireless just 100 dollars more.

• First you need to setup a channel on Roku
• Either create a channel that can read the xml files or grab the direct link of the file from the web server
• You would need to transcode the ISO into an HTTP live stream and create a simple xml file and put it in a folder under your media server videos folder
• IIS will work fine with Roksbox, using a simple directory structure
• Convert to a supported format or find a way to live transcode it (mp4, mov, m4v, wmv).

Your best bet is to manually convert your ISO files to mp4, that can be done using Handbrake. You'll have to mount and or rip the movies first from your ISO files using virtual drive and then encode them. After you can just move them to a USB Drive and use the USB 2.0 port on XDS via Roku USB Media Player channel. Your other choice is using some thing like Rokubox to stream them on your Roku.

Some links you should take a look.

Boxee Box:
http://www.boxee.tv

Handbrake:
http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php

Guide to encoding:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=36754&start=105#p256531
http://roksbox.com/home/index.php?optio ... icle&id=70

Rokubox:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=26058

Roku SDK:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=26058&start=750

Mplay:
http://www.permanence.com/mplay

[robertm]

OP don't you read up on what you buy, seems like your expecting way too much from some thing too little.

That was only a little harsh.

[Luxfero]

However it's still possible I just think it's too much work

[krisbee]

To narrow it down again (and reiterate what everyone else said):
If you want menus/options/etc from your iso's then I would say get a boxee or wdlive and keep your content as-is. (wd live will be cheaper, I think). Spare laptop, or bought cheaply is another excellent solution ($100-150). You can convert vga to hdmi pretty cheaply as well ($30) if there isn't a tv out, and now you won't have to do anything kludgy to get things working, plus now you can get all the web content in the world (especially if you add a wireless keyboard/mouse via usb). You can even load free software that won't make it look like a computer and it will be pretty slick.

However, if you are up to converting to save space/add more titles and have movies-only, then maybe roku will be enough. Several media server/channels out there ($15 roughly for lifetime). I know people with their high-def content must convert to mp4 otherwise they'd be constantly adding more drives to their system Most people just want the film from the isos, so they are also happy with just that. You can set the batch up at night, do five a night and be done rather quickly.

And here is the opinion nobody asked for - I would be devistated if I lost all of those isos - I hope you have backups...

[robertm]

When Roku first started offering local streaming I looked it all over and decided I was not going to convert everything to a supported format. It is too much work and local streaming on the Roku came so long after the launch of the product it seemed more like an after-thought. Also, I am no ripping expert and all the people I saw struggling to get it right turned me away. Now, since then media servers have come along to make it easier for people like myself but like many I am not interested in dedicating further computer power to something that other boxes handle without such requirements.

I didn't buy the roku for local streaming, I bought a Netflix player that eventually grew into more. It would have been great if it supported as much as WDlive or Boxee Box but those guys started dedicated to local streaming first and so that is their strength. I got more than I paid for but Roku is so stupidly cheap I never once believed it would be the answer to everything I ever wanted in an STB.

I was holding out hope that eventually Roku would offer a deluxe model. Of course, they are so tight-lipped Shawn was probably interviewed in an underground garage by a cloaked man who never let Shawn see his face.