Panasonic Viera TV built-in media player

white_westie

Hi
Have a 42inch panasonic connected to the network at home, and am trying to playback recordings (.ts files) from my satellite stb using built-in dlna media player. STB (linux based et9000) is running a dlna server, and is sharing about a 100 recordings. I can see the server on my tv and all the recordings, BUT it will only recognise and playback some of them.
The recordings are from a mixture of fta and encrypted channels both sd and hd from the sat, and a few from saorview.
Working: all ITV HD, C4 HD, BBC HD, C5, SC4
Not Working: BBC One HD, France2 HD, TF1 HD, RAI 1/2, BBC2

I understand that panasonic tv software seems to be a bit flakey, but is there anything thats stored in the .ts file that would cause a problem for the tv player?

All the recordings playback perfectly using a patched WD media player using either dlna playback or nfs file sharing.

WW

andy1249

The problem is that DLNA has been grossly mis-sold to the general public. Most would think that having a DLNA badge or logo would mean that the device can play all or most content available over a network.

This is not the case , DLNA is merely a framework by which devices may share some content. The requirements for what type of content are laid out below ,

https://members.dlna.org/industry/why_dlna/key_components/media_format/

Note that the required formats are very basic indeed , all other content types and formats being optional and are purely down to the manufacturer to implement.

The WDTV is a media player with a very comprehensive set of installed codecs , as a result , it will play almost anything. Firmware updates are pretty regular and are continously adding obscure formats that you may come across.

Compared to a media player like that , the vast majority of TV's , DLNA certified or not , come up very short indeed , and hardly any of them have such a comprehensive set of codecs for media playback installed.

So , really , no matter what badges are on the TV set , you should not expect them to have the same performance as a dedicated media player , and if file based content is to make up a large part of your viewing , you should always count on needing something like the WDTV in your video chain.

white_westie

Thks for info, and do understand the benefits of the WDLive player, however I was surprised that the tv could not play them all, given that they where created on the same software/equipment. Basically I thought if it could play some it would play all!
Did read somewhere that you should use MediaTomb as your dlna server, and transcode on the fly to feed the panasonic tv.

WW

superleedsdub

I have a Panasonic Viera (G20) and it`s media server is very poor. I`ve tried using PS3 media player (amongst others) to transcode the media I wish to play with mixed results. I`d second the option of using the WDTV live and leave the TV to do what it does best - display an awesome picture:-)