Roku Developer Program

[Gunslinger2]

yes,

<type 'exceptions.UnicodeDecodeError'> at /feed
'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 2: ordinal not in range(128)

and no I didn't take mine apart to connect to serial port, all done over the network

[renojim]

I figured it out!!!! Now I just need someone to tell me if this is the right way to do it, or a total hack. I took markhood's script, with a slight modification, and added:

LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG

So now, the whole script looks like this, and I can either call it from rc.local or put it in /etc/rc.d and add it to the DAEMONS line in rc.conf:

#!/bin/sh
# Start the MyMedia server for the Roku Digital Video Player

LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG

# Kill the server.  This is a python program so killall doesn't work.
# awk also doesn't seem to work with Unslung, so use sed.
prog=`ps ax | grep rss_server | grep -v grep | tail -1 | sed -e 's/ *\([0-9]*\) .*/\1/'`

if [ -n "$prog" ]; then
kill $prog
fi

sleep 2
cd /home/roku/server
nohup python rss_server.py > /dev/null 2>&1 < /dev/null &

Putting the server stuff in /home/roku probably isn't the best place, but I don't really know all the Linux customary directories for everything. Where should it go, somewhere under /opt?

Gunslinger2, let me know if it works for you.
-JT

[el_wubo]

"Gunslinger2" wrote:
yes,

<type 'exceptions.UnicodeDecodeError'> at /feed
'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xc3 in position 2: ordinal not in range(128)

You may be running an outdated version. Jim put in a fix to the server that corrected problems like that for a few users. The developers preview release at github is currently out of date (sorry about that.) If you want to stick with the developer mode installation technique you can use Robert's custom zip: http://sites.google.com/site/robert1215 ... rmware.zip

If you want to migrate to the new private channel installation then the instructions at the top of this forum will guide you through that. You'll need to update your init scripts to run mymedia.py instead of rss_server.py. I think you may like the new install method better because you get a server that can be configured using a web browser instead of editing the config.ini file directly -- and if your server gets its IP address via dhcp (and thus changes from time to time) you can update everything by just browsing to the configuration web page, updating the ip, and then closing and opening the channel on the Roku.

[Gunslinger2]

el.wubo
I'm actually running 2 my media servers
one on this machine (windows 7 ultimate x64) using the new updated stuff & running the previous version on my Dockstar

yes the Dockstar is running an outdated version of Python I think.

JT, editing my rc.local to be like this solved the problem of accessing the my music folder.

#!/bin/bash
#
# /etc/rc.local: Local multi-user startup script.
#
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG
cd /home/roku/server
python2.6 /home/roku/server/rss_server.py > /dev/null 2>&1 &

Edit- Not a bad deal el.wubo, being able to run My Media from Linux, Windows, Mac OS & the ARM architecture via *nix....Roku should buy My Media from you and just incorporate it into the Roku box as a default channel or something

[pjm727]

Re: Constant Buffering
by pjm727 » Fri Nov 19, 2010 6:10 pm

Windows Firewall, for whatever reason had either added new restrictions or they became null. Thus by re-configuring windows firewall I am happy to say that I have had no -rebuffering for the last 4 days.
Lesson in all of this is that your Firewall has decided to play around with access to your Roku.

good-luck all

[Gunslinger2]

For those interested in the Dockstar, Plugbox / PlugApps & My Media Roku setup I've posted a complete guide on my blog http://pcfunk.wordpress.com/ now.

[comicfanman71]

Ok I've got the "MyMedia" channel on my Roku but do not know how to put media into the folders. To be honest I don't even know if I have the server set up right. I have the roku hd player, pc is running win7, and I'm using a netgear router. Any help would be great. Thank you

[Gunslinger2]

If you have the My Media channel installed on the Roku then you need to browse to your Server install location i.e ....C:\roku server\. Find the config file and point the Paths to where you have your media. The Config.ini file is located in the SERVER directory of where your My Media is located.

Here are examples of the config.ini for the older version of My Media as well as the new config.ini for the latest release of my media (as you can see their not much different, the new version of My Media allows you to edit the config via the Roku but I just prefer to edit the .ini files directly)

OLD config.ini
[config]
music_dir = where your music is i.e. C:\music
video_dir = where your movies are i.e. C:\movies
server_ip = 192.168.1.100
roku_ip = 192.168.1.103
max_folders_before_split = 10
python_path = c:\python26\python.exe
theme = default
collapse_collections = False
server_port = 8001
photo_dir = C:\Photos

NEW config.ini
[config]
music_dir = where your music is i.e. C:\music
video_dir = where your movies are i.e. C:\movies
server_ip = 192.168.1.100
roku_ip = ROKU IP ADDRESS
max_folders_before_split = 10
python_path = c:\python26\python.exe
theme = default
collapse_collections = False
server_port = 8001
photo_dir = C:\Photos
regid = ******

To ensure the server is started find the launch_server.vbs or the mymedia.bat run either one. If the server is running it will show in your Processes Tab in the Task Manger as Python.exe process

[Timmy_Likes_to_]

Since the channel just became a private one and streaming videos at 23.976 seems to work now without rebuffering...I wanted to repost my personal video encoding settings.

Again, I am reporting my optimal Handbrake encoding settings.

Handbrake Settings:

Handbrake Version 0.94
- 32 or 64-bit OS

Preset - High Profile
- Modified the settings below

Container | MP4 File

Settings according to Handbrake Output Settings tabs:

Picture
- Keep Aspect Ratio | (Checked)
- Anamorphic | None

Video
- Video Codec | H.264 (x264)
- FPS | 23.976 or 29.976 (Depends on Source)
- Avg Bitrate (kbps) | 1500
- Avg File sizes (Output):
- 20-30 min video | 250-400 mb
- 90 min video | 1 gig

Audio
- AC3 Passthrough | (Removed)
- Necessary for Roku to play sound.

Advanced (This i found was a key step in Optimizing video files)
- I noticed audio was out of sync and distracting
- Set B-Frames to zero (B-Frames | 0)

My Hardware Configuration:

- Media Server | WHS w/ Atom processor
- Network | Gigabit LAN / Wireless N
- Device | Roku HD (Wireless G connection)
- HDMI Cable
- 42" 1080p TV

Again, these were the settings that have produced great results for me. It might be slight overkill, but sound is in sync and video I would argue it looks better than DVD quality (probably due to the HDMI instead of AV cable). I have also streamed two videos simultaneously to two Roku HD (WiFi - G) devices from my WHS without any rebuffering.

I would love to hear others' results if you try out these settings.

BIG UP to the developers of this channel! It adds a superior value to this device.

[ashes00]

Is it me, or did we loose a little random picture functionality? I thought in the DEVELOPER MODE version we had the ability to watch random pictures, as well as HLS play streams .m3u8 files? Honestly I have some many nested picture folders, that its a drag to have to drill down to each picture subfolder. This is pry my main use for MyMedia. With holidays coming up, I will have many family and friends over,and would like to have random picture stream going for all to see. Any way we can setup random picture viewing? Anyways glad to see el.wubu back in the game. 🙂

-Ashes00