Apps to stream from network hard drive and support subtitle files - Nexus Player Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

One of the main reasons I bought the Nexus Player was so I can watch videos from my network hard drive. I have been doing this in the past with my WD TV Live but it's now very slow although still does the job well.
I just got the Nexus Player today but after playing around a little I finally figured out I can access my network hard drive with ES File Explorer, although it's a little cumbersome, and load the videos there. However, the built-in media player along with Archo and MX all can not play audio from MKV files. VLC was able to play audio from MKV files but for some reason it refuse to load external subtitle files, only those built-in to the MKV file.
Anyone have any suggestions to alternatives? On my Nexus 9 I use BS Player to both access my videos on my network hard drive and watch but unfortunately it isn't available for the Nexus Player AFAIK.
Thanks in advance.

Kodi is in the Play Store now, it works quite well as UpNP.

My main solution for this issue in my house is to install Plex on my server and pay for the 5 bucks for the Plex app on the TV.
Also after you do this you can set an external player (like MX player) to be the player instead of Plex.
MX has been playing MKV files for me after You turn on hardware+ encoder.

Thanks for the replies.
After trying a few apps, I ended up using Archos Player with the extra codecs, all free. Essentially it works like BSPlayer like I'm used to and works perfectly. :good:

Related

i know of 2 apps that video streaming on home network

I use upn play and mobo player to stream video over home network.
hello
I use also iMediaShare, and Skifta (both DNLA)
why wouldn't my streamer apps (UPNP, Skifta, clear.fi etc.) not detect the mp4 files I am putting into my servers shared video folder? The apps see a my other video files, like the avi files and mpg files, but none of my mp4's show up.
Does that make any sense? Does UPNP ignore mp4 files? yet it seems like everyone converts their files to mp4 (which by the way play ok on the device if I attach and play through usb.).
I just want to convert everything to something that I can both stream and put on hard drive and take with me...

[Q] play movie from networked PC on A500

I have a bunch of movies on an external hard drive connected to my home PC.
I want to be able to play the movies on my A500 whilst connected to the TV elsewhere in the house (over wifi)
I've played with clearfi with no luck. Is there an app that will allow me to do this easily with just a few clicks ?
Cheerz
I use PS3 Media Server on my PC and Bubble UPNP on my A500. Works great.
Thanks. I'll give them a try later. Will it play .avi files ?
I'm running off Thor's ROM, but I've had no issues streaming avi files via upnp.
The easiest method is BSPlayer, it actually lets you view movies from a shared folder rather than UPnP. You might have some lag with large files, but it does the job better than trying to get UPnP functionality to work 100% of the time.
There are a lot of options for streaming from PC. The easiest I've used so far is ES file explorer and MX video player. Just go to LAN in ES and stream via smb. MX streams/plays all the formats I have thrown at it.
If you have a custom rom with a kernel supporting cifs, you could try cifs manager. It create a shared folder on a specified location. It works great for music too. I can even scan my network shared music library with the stock music player (or other) by creating a shared folder on the sd-card.
https://market.android.com/details?...wsMSwxLDEsIndzLnBsYXR0bmVyLmNpZnNtYW5hZ2VyIl0.
For movies, I also recommend MovieBrowser HD, a nice front end that scan your movie library and fetch covers and descriptions, opens with your fav movie player.
https://market.android.com/details?...GwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5hZHJlZS5tb3ZpZWJyb3dzZXIiXQ..
tantrum829 said:
There are a lot of options for streaming from PC. The easiest I've used so far is ES file explorer and MX video player. Just go to LAN in ES and stream via smb. MX streams/plays all the formats I have thrown at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, es file explorer and mx or dice works great.
I'd second Diceplayer in a heartbeat if I could actually buy the full version. The trial played everything I threw at it including 720p avi and mkv files.
I just used File Manager HD to browse to folder and BS player to stream, very easy.
I tried a VLC app and it worked pretty well. Just make sure its not the remote app.
Dexter Douglas said:
I'd second Diceplayer in a heartbeat if I could actually buy the full version. The trial played everything I threw at it including 720p avi and mkv files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to buy the full version but its saying the account is locked or something?
I'm going to spend this weekend trying all the suggestions - thanks
I ran into the same issue. I ended up giving BS Player a shot and it handled 720p mkv and avi files like a dream. Granted, it was playing them off an external HDD, but it's definitely worth a download.
Yes I think that FM HD is the best for LAN connection over wi-fi and xm player. But mx player cannot read subtitles from network drive.
Serviio for the pc (dlna server java software) and skifta on your A500.

720p mkv hi10p playback with subtitles

Hi all,
I'm looking to play 720p mkv hi10p videos with embedded subtitles on my Nexus 7. I'll probably want to be doing this by streaming it off a computer or accessing a Samba share.
Does anyone know if this is possible?. Trying to toss up my purchase with the knowledge that its easy / do-able to watch tv shows, movies and things like anime.
Cheers!
I'm just downloading vPlayer to see how it works with my Serviio server. I'll let you know how it goes.
the latest beta VLC player worked for me, was having abit hit or miss with mxvideo player but VLC just played everything i threw at it off my western digital tv live hub.
I tested a 720p hi10p video yesterday using MX Player Pro, no streaming over air.
A couple of frame drops, cannot handle panning scenes very well.
Styled subtitles however look ace, I haven't bothered to check out advanced typesetting though.
Have been exploring the ability on my phone with ES explorer and different media players. 8 bit 720p mkvs work perfectly. 10 bit just falls about for me though on a GNEX with just about every player. Obviously there is a difference in processing power though.
Keen to know if anyone gets it working / how (even if its a solution like PLEX).

[Q] Are you able to watch 1080p movies with Nexus 10?

Hi,
When I bought the Nexus 10, my original thought was to use it to watch movies. Meaning, stream video from my pc using the wifi LAN (I also thought to use it as a streamer by connecting it to my TV via HDMI, but that's another story).
However, this doesn't work right. There are many movies that appear laggy/jumpy/buggy on the Nexus 10 itself (even without connecting it to a TV via HDMI).
Especially when I try to play high quality 1080p mkv files (about 10GB-15GB per movie). I don't have issues with lower quality 720p movies/series, but half the 1080p movies I just can't play right.
I have tried the following players: MX player, BS player, VLC beta, XMBC for android.
My benchmark is Avatar (exteneded) mkv 1080p, a 15GB size file. The only player that was able to play it is BS player, and only when I set it to use the "experimental HW decoding". But even that way, the fps seems to be a bit low. All other players play this movie like a powerpoint presentation, slide by slide...
I thought that the Nexus 10 hardware is strong enough to play 1080p movies. But now I'm not sure. Is it hardware limitation? is it the players fault that doesn't use properly the N10 hardware?
I a bit frustrated here, any help is appreciated!
did you try to put the file on your N10 instead of streaming it? That will rule out any potential WIFI bottleneck which may occur with files that size. Just to be sure. I cannot offer any other advice unfortunately.
Animor said:
Hi,
When I bought the Nexus 10, my original thought was to use it to watch movies. Meaning, stream video from my pc using the wifi LAN (I also thought to use it as a streamer by connecting it to my TV via HDMI, but that's another story).
However, this doesn't work right. There are many movies that appear laggy/jumpy/buggy on the Nexus 10 itself (even without connecting it to a TV via HDMI).
Especially when I try to play high quality 1080p mkv files (about 10GB-15GB per movie). I don't have issues with lower quality 720p movies/series, but half the 1080p movies I just can't play right.
I have tried the following players: MX player, BS player, VLC beta, XMBC for android.
My benchmark is Avatar (exteneded) mkv 1080p, a 15GB size file. The only player that was able to play it is BS player, and only when I set it to use the "experimental HW decoding". But even that way, the fps seems to be a bit low. All other players play this movie like a powerpoint presentation, slide by slide...
I thought that the Nexus 10 hardware is strong enough to play 1080p movies. But now I'm not sure. Is it hardware limitation? is it the players fault that doesn't use properly the N10 hardware?
I a bit frustrated here, any help is appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried MX player's hw+ mode? Also try dice player. I have tried a higher resolution than 1080 and it worked fine in MX but it was mp4!
As I have no bluray remuxes or space on my tablet to try them, I have downloaded the test video called "Birds" from here, 40 mbps bluray remux and with MX player I can play it using HW codec with no stutter or lag. With SW Codec it has stutter and through network stream from PC with SW codec it stutters as well, and HW codec doesn't seem to work at all through network stream
I hope this helps.
Thank you all for your help!
I have made several trials according to your advices. The problem is indeed the wifi.
I have copied a movie that didn't run well through wifi to my N10 ("The Host" - 12GB), and it ran just fine with both BS and MX!
I have also tried "birds" from the post above me. When I tried to run it through wifi:
- MX player with hw+ was completely stuck on the first picture.
- BS player with experimental decoding was very bad, but a bit better than MX.
I have tried it with the N10 very close to the router, so it's not bad wifi reception.
When I copied "birds" file to my N10, it ran just fine with both MX and BS. Since it's 40mps bluray, it's much heavier than any of my 10-15GB movies in terms of mpbs.
Anyway, the problem is indeed caused by the wifi, which is a major bottleneck. Now the question is where is exactly the problem: the router (I have N type router)? N10 wifi? my computer wired Ethernet connection to the router?
How do regular streamers work with 1080p content?
Can I do anything to fix this bottleneck? Perhaps a better router?
What if I use usb OTG and connect USB DOK directly to the N10, do you think it may work?
Thanks again for your help!
Ah glad you got it to work finally. Yes the router can play a part in it, however if you are happy with your wifi setup otherwise (stability, range etc) I would not change the router just for this. There is no guarantee that a different router may indeed play your file without hiccups. It may also be that the tablet wifi is not up to the task of streaming the movies, but this is just an assumption on my part.
The cheapest solution, while not the most comfortable one, would be to use an OTG cable and a nice 64GB USB stick and just fill that with movies when you want to watch them. Maybe you can find more info on the net regarding streaming and wifi issues and solutions, but be ready to drop some cash for those routers.
EDIT: there is some good info in this thread http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=7761
EDIT2: and here http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=2755
I have the same router type N, cheap one that came free from my ISP, talktalk, and exactly the same issues when trying to play through network. I know that when trying to copy something through LAN from my PC to my tablet via ES File Explorer, it only downloads at 300KB/s, which is slower then when I download something off the internet at 1.8MB/s (which is the maximum I get from my ISP) so this leads me to believe that the problem isn't the router, because it can download fast enough for 1080p (maybe not fast enough for that "birds" test at 40mbps, though) this leaves the protocol that android uses to talk to windows PC, the Samba share or something like that.
Do you use windows as well? I'm thinking of trying to stream through a linux share, see how that goes.
I also use Windows - I've defined a user with password on windows and I connect to the workgroup on my pc with it. Perhaps you are right and this is the issue. Please update if you find a faster way to stream.
What if we use an external hdd which will connect to the router? You think it might help?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4
Animor said:
I also use Windows - I've defined a user with password on windows and I connect to the workgroup on my pc with it. Perhaps you are right and this is the issue. Please update if you find a faster way to stream.
What if we use an external hdd which will connect to the router? You think it might help?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I've made some good progress.
I downloaded an app called MediaHouse UPnP / DLNA Browser from app store and a uPnP server (I used XBMC - all I had to do to set it up after installing it was to add my movies folder under videos and then go into system>settings>services>uPnP and select share video and libraries trough UPnP) and that's it. Then I just open MediaHouse on my Nexus 10 (leave xbmc in background on pc) and browse my files... It works much better then the normal share: I can play movies that I couldn't play before with MX Player and play them using HW+ decoder. The "Birds" demo isn't great but it's much better, I had the best results using bs player, but still a bit laggy, but since you say your videos aren't quite that high in bitrate, maybe you'll get lucky.
I hope this helps. Bye
bv90andy said:
Hey, I've made some good progress.
I downloaded an app called MediaHouse UPnP / DLNA Browser from app store and a uPnP server (I used XBMC - all I had to do to set it up after installing it was to add my movies folder under videos and then go into system>settings>services>uPnP and select share video and libraries trough UPnP) and that's it. Then I just open MediaHouse on my Nexus 10 (leave xbmc in background on pc) and browse my files... It works much better then the normal share: I can play movies that I couldn't play before with MX Player and play them using HW+ decoder. The "Birds" demo isn't great but it's much better, I had the best results using bs player, but still a bit laggy, but since you say your videos aren't quite that high in bitrate, maybe you'll get lucky.
I hope this helps. Bye
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, this is indeed a very good progress. I was able to play 1080p movies!
Only problem is I can't stream .srt subtitles files along with the movie. The srt file is at the same directory of the movie. XMBC on my pc plays the subtitles, but on my N10 using MediaHouse, it's just being ignored.
Any advice?
Animor said:
Thank you, this is indeed a very good progress. I was able to play 1080p movies!
Only problem is I can't stream .srt subtitles files along with the movie. The srt file is at the same directory of the movie. XMBC on my pc plays the subtitles, but on my N10 using MediaHouse, it's just being ignored.
Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, apparently uPnP doesn't support subtitles, but I have been able to copy the sub file over, normally, using ES file explorer and then, after you load the movie via mediahouse, in mx player you can click on menu>subtitles>open and select the file from your local storage where you saved it.
I hope this works.
Don't forget to click the thanks button
Thank you. This is not so comfortable, but I guess it should work.
I have posted a question to the author of mediaHouse, perhaps there is a more elegant solution...
Animor said:
Thank you all for your help!
I have made several trials according to your advices. The problem is indeed the wifi.
I have copied a movie that didn't run well through wifi to my N10 ("The Host" - 12GB), and it ran just fine with both BS and MX!
I have also tried "birds" from the post above me. When I tried to run it through wifi:
- MX player with hw+ was completely stuck on the first picture.
- BS player with experimental decoding was very bad, but a bit better than MX.
I have tried it with the N10 very close to the router, so it's not bad wifi reception.
When I copied "birds" file to my N10, it ran just fine with both MX and BS. Since it's 40mps bluray, it's much heavier than any of my 10-15GB movies in terms of mpbs.
Anyway, the problem is indeed caused by the wifi, which is a major bottleneck. Now the question is where is exactly the problem: the router (I have N type router)? N10 wifi? my computer wired Ethernet connection to the router?
How do regular streamers work with 1080p content?
Can I do anything to fix this bottleneck? Perhaps a better router?
What if I use usb OTG and connect USB DOK directly to the N10, do you think it may work?
Thanks again for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is an alternate OTG solution that I use for HD content of all types.(OTG USB Gigabit Ethernet adapter). Just a thought. Note that the drivers for this adapter are in the stock ROM.
http://goo.gl/v2nwLa
I've found another solution:
Using MKVmerge, you can easily merge mkv and srt file. It takes only 2-3 minutes for a movie. Output file is mkv file with embedded subtitles. I've checked it and MX player shows the subtitles just fine via MediaHouse.
Download from here.
Hi!
It took a while but I read the whole thread! I'm happy that you mostly solved your issue, about the Wi-Fi issue it's caused by your LAN speed, I use my old Xoom as media server here, sometimes it becomes really laggy, I solved this problem connecting both the devices (Nexus 10 and Xoom) on my S4 hotspot, believe this is FAST! Using SuperBeam app I usually get from 35-40Mbps. I think most of the android phones with hotspot functionality may have good speeds.
I use Bubble UPnP BTW! Also, if you think too uncomfortable having to manually select your subtitle, I believe BS Player still downloads it automatically and put on auto too. It used to do this with me, I don't know if it still downloads .
Well, those are just some more alternatives you may want to try . As there are some good solutions over there!
All the best,
~Lord
Great news, people!
 @bv90andy
I have found a way to stream external srt subtitles along with the movie, using uPnP.
Apparently, only some uPnP media servers and clients support it. In addition, only some movie players can extract this information when streamed through uPnP. I've found several such uPnP media servers, but most of them require payment after a trial period. However, I've managed to find one that doesn't!
So, in order to stream videos with external srt, you need the following:
1. Serviio on you PC.
2. BubbleUPnP on your android device.
3. MX player on your android device.
4. The srt file should have the same name of the movie file, and they have to reside both at the same directory in your PC.
Enjoy!
ps:
XxLordxX said:
about the Wi-Fi issue it's caused by your LAN speed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are mistaken - read again the thread. The bottleneck is not the LAN speed or the router, it's smb/cisf protocol, which is too slow to stream 1080p videos. Using uPnP protocol instead of smb/cisf, over the same LAN and with the same router, we have managed to solves the issue.
Animor said:
Great news, people!
@bv90andy
I have found a way to stream external srt subtitles along with the movie, using uPnP.
Apparently, only some uPnP media servers and clients support it. In addition, only some movie players can extract this information when streamed through uPnP. I've found several such uPnP media servers, but most of them require payment after a trial period. However, I've managed to find one that doesn't!
So, in order to stream videos with external srt, you need the following:
1. Serviio on you PC.
2. BubbleUPnP on your android device.
3. MX player on your android device.
4. The srt file should have the same name of the movie file, and they have to reside both at the same directory in your PC.
Enjoy!
ps:You are mistaken - read again the thread. The bottleneck is not the LAN speed or the router, it's smb/cisf protocol, which is too slow to stream 1080p videos. Using uPnP protocol instead of smb/cisf, over the same LAN and with the same router, we have managed to solves the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing that.

video player help- please.

So sad to say that I broke my note 4 in my garage door. I was waiting for the note 6 (or they skipping to 7,not sure) Anyway needed a phone so i got gs7 edge.
unimpressed.
Problem I am having (one of the many) is that es file explorer won't give me the option to use bs player to play videos off my Nas.
Don't know if this is a android 6 thing or a Samsung thing. The only options it gives me are dolphin or es media player. Driving me nuts and can't find anything online so here I am.
I'm using BSPlayer with Solid Explorer and it plays videos on my LAN without problems. BSPlayer can also play videos directly, though the LAN, from within the player itself.
I use FileManagerHD to navigate to the NAS, and then it plays videos through any media player defaulted to that particular video type (in non-touchWiz version, you can have a per-use file association, Samsung seems to have taken away that flexibility).
If you want the full media player experience, install kodi on the phone.

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