Solving playback issues

[PussDeLaPuss]

Let me give you an example from two other devices one of them being a smart T.V--old model.

When I plug my memory stick to the smart T.V it doesn't have the official movie/series poster but it uses a random capture of the video file and puts it as a thumbnail. Is it so hard to program that?

As I've already mentioned DLNA server is not an option because my internet connection is not reliable.  NOW the Xiaomi MI Box by Huawei does the captured thumbnails. It also plays ALL the codecs and is cheaper. And preferably has better interface but I guess that's subjective. I wish I would have bought that one, but I wanted the feature of connecting my earbuds to the remote....    

[atc98092]

A DLNA server does not require an Internet connection, other than downloading online metadata. But without that the only way to get thumbnails and metadata is by having a local info file containing the information. For a server like Plex, an Internet connection might be required, but I can't say for sure. I know that Serviio will work fine without one, as long as online metadata isn't necessary.

Yes, most any Android based player will play almost all codecs. The UI is certainly subjective. Besides the Rokus I have the Nvidia Shield, and I've seen Fire TV players as well. My subjective opinion is the Roku is easily as good as the Shield, and vastly better than the Fire TV, simply because I don't care for the Amazon-centric UI. But they all work. 

I suspect Roku keeps their codec support limited for cost reasons. Some codecs require paying a license fee, and for online streaming devices almost none of them are used. It's only when you get into playing local media that the codec issue becomes apparent. 

I do wish Roku would offer a high end player that has a Gigabit Ethernet port, supports more codecs and containers, and would bitstream lossless audio to my AVR. But for now, that's what I have the Shield players for. And the Shield is almost double the cost of the most expensive Roku, at least when the Ultra is on sale.

[PussDeLaPuss]

What do you mean that Serviio (which I have) does not require internet connection?

[atc98092]

Serviio only uses the Internet to download metadata. If you disable that function, then it will work just fine without one. It won't be able to let you know if there's an update available, but it doesn't need the Internet to provide its DLNA functionality.

I'm the author of the Roku profiles included with Serviio, and also a moderator on their forum. I do have some knowledge of how it works. 🙂

[PussDeLaPuss]

so how can it possibly stream the content from my PC to the Roku Media player?

[atc98092]

It needs a network connection, yes. But that network doesn't need to be connected to the Internet. Internet access isn't necessary to have a functional home network. You just need something on the network to handle the IP address assignments (that's called DHCP) and something that provides switching for wired connections and WiFi for wireless. A router can do all of that, and it don't have to have an Internet connection to function. Of course, without an Internet connection the network is going to be limited to only connecting to any internal devices. 

[phatuesday]

Roku don't care. Customer service is only available until you are a customer, After you buy, its by, by **bleep**.

[atc98092]

@phatuesday and exactly what does that comment have to do with the situation being discussed?

[DBDukes]

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@PussDeLaPuss wrote:

It was gifted to me ...

Is there a chance to return the product?

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Sure. Find the person that gave it to you and give it back.

[potluckman]

Have a Roku Ultra 2021 model and it gave me choice to use Kodi which I selected.  Unit finds my Western Digital dlna compatible network drive just fine and displays my movies using folder mode but when I click Play it just brings the same screen back and does not play.  Have since dumped some movies to a USB drive and tried that and same thing.  Any suggestions?  Wish someone made a simple streaming player that was intended to also play Video from both network drives and usb and include a live tv tuner so one box instead of a dozen.