Roku Developer Program

[athirukk]

"rilex" wrote:
No, you would need to A) use a Linux MIPS-compiled version of Python and B) your Netgear would have to be running Linux (some are, some aren't) and allow you to mount the file systems in a way that would allow you to interact with them from the command line (ssh/telnet session). The only problem is, the device is going to be extremely memory-limited and may not have enough memory to run Python.

I guess you are correct. I will try with 'real' NAS...

[renojim]

It looks like you could put Python on the WNR3500L, but not the 3400 until it's been hacked by the community. Once something like DD-WRT gets ported to it, it would be more likely that clever things could be done with it. As rilex said, RAM would probably be the biggest problem, although the 3400 does have 64 Meg, which is a lot for a router.

The little plug computers work well for My Media. I use a Seagate DockStar which I got for ~$30. I don't know if they're still available for that price and it was a bit of work to get it setup, but there's a good write up of how to do it somewhere in this thread.

-JT

[athirukk]

Ok. I am going hold off running MyMedia in NAS for now.

But, I have couple of other problems...

#1: Though I convert a .mkv file into .m4v, Roku does not play it. It starts for a moment and stops. Used Handbrake to convert to .m4v, it plays fine in XP. It was ~700MB as .mkv. After conversion with the settings suggested somewhere in this post, it shoot up to ~1.5 GB. Small file converted from any format to .m4v or .mp4 plays fine in Roku. Not sure I am using the right settings to convert it. What is the setting I need to use in HB to convert it properly, so that it plays fine in Roku with best results. Infact, I tried to fast forward to some 10 mins as discussed earlier in this post, but didnt help.

#2: Browsing photos. All of my JPGs shown in the same size. Is there a config to tell 'MyMedia' to show original size or increase size?

Any inputs will improve my experience with MyMedia and Roku!

[renojim]

#1 - I use the command line version of HandBrake, so I'm not real sure how to match the settings for the GUI. My command line is pretty simple:

HandBrakeCLI -i filetoconvert.xxx -o filename.m4v -O -r 29.97 -e x264 -S <size in megabytes of the input file>

The -S parameter keeps the converted file size about the same as the original size. I'm not real particular about quality. To get a faster conversion you can omit the "-e x264" parameter which uses the ffmpeg codec, but I've had better results with the H.264 codec. I've used this for countless files and I'd say better than 90% play without any problems. Every once in a while I get a problem file, but I've never figured out what causes it. I usually just use Format Factory when that happens.

You might also want to check out this thread about an alternative to HandBrake. I tried it once and it worked, but I'm set in my ways and will continue to use HandBrake.

#2 - I think you're just at the stage of browsing photos, right? You're just looking at the thumbnails. Click on one to start a slide show.

-JT

[Timmy_Likes_to_]

I get 100% success with these settings using the High Profile preset as a base. I've also tested the settings with Large File Size and Web Optimized checked. I am also using one of the latest versions of the channel from github and running the channel from development mode.

Handbrake Settings:

Handbrake Version 0.95
- 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
- I noticed audio was out of sync and distracting
- Set B-Frames to zero (B-Frames | 0)

[Timmy_Likes_to_]

Curious...

What is the main difference in using the channel as a private channel or running the channel from development mode?

[athirukk]

"renojim" wrote:

#2 - I think you're just at the stage of browsing photos, right? You're just looking at the thumbnails. Click on one to start a slide show.

-JT

No, I am past thumbnails screen and ofcourse I have started slide show. During that slide show in full screen, all of my JPG files are in same size in my 720p HDTV. There are lot of empty black screen in both sides. I never got to see a JPG file filling my entire HDTV screen.

That is the reason I was asking whether there are some config which I can tweak.

[renojim]

"Timmy Likes to Click" wrote:
What is the main difference in using the channel as a private channel or running the channel from development mode?

None, really. The private channel was just supposed to be a little easier to install.

-JT

[renojim]

"athirukk" wrote:
No, I am past thumbnails screen and ofcourse I have started slide show. During that slide show in full screen, all of my JPG files are in same size in my 720p HDTV. There are lot of empty black screen in both sides. I never got to see a JPG file filling my entire HDTV screen.

Ah, I get it. The pictures should be pretty much filling up the screen either vertically or horizontally while maintaining aspect ratio. I don't think you'd like it if they were stretched to fill the screen. Imagine turning your camera sideways to take a picture and then having that picture stretched horizontally.

If you're really interested, I could put up a version of the channel that fills the screen with photos.

-JT

[athirukk]

Oh.....I got it.

I was actually expecting my photos displayed little bigger while maintaining aspect ratio and not stretching it. I could view the same photo bigger in Picasa channel but in MyMedia, it is small.

Yes, I would really appreciate if you could include the feature which improves the picture browsing functionality of the channel better.