Most of the information in this post is covered in various threads but I was recently looking for various options for playing video on my XOOM and found it frustrating having to look all over the place. I'd like to try and make this a comprehensive guide to playing video on the XOOM, including streaming over wifi, playing directly from the device etc.
Before you read on...
This isn't always a necessary step, but whenever you plan to interact with your device via USB you should ensure you have the latest version of the USB drivers from Motorola. In my case I was able to access the XOOM and move files to it without any specific drivers, but it's a good idea to keep them up-to-date to avoid potential frustration. Of course if you need to use ADB, you will absolutely need the latest drivers or you'll have no luck at all.
Playing directly from the XOOM
This is obviously the simplest solution, copying the video files onto your XOOM and playing them directly. This won't be the most appropriate solution for those of you with extensive digital media libraries, but we'll cover solutions for that later.
Plug your XOOM into your PC using a micro-USB to USB cable, one of which is typically provided in the box. You'll see your device pop up under "Computer" (Windows 7 & Vista) or "My Computer" (Windows XP).
Double click the device and you'll see that you're able to directly access the device's internal storage.
Double click that and you'll now be looking at all the folders and files on your device
You can now copy files to the device as though it was any other folder on your computer. Feel free to create a folder (I use one called "Files from Computer") if you'd like to keep your copied files separate from the system created stuff.
Choose your player! With all the files copied over to the XOOM, you're ready to play them but you'll first need a decent player capable of playing a range of formats. A couple of my favourites are:
vPlayer
Rockplayer
If there are others that should be added to this list, let me know.
You're all done - either of the above players should be able to play most video files, though I can't say I've really pushed them as most of my files are just XviD avi's. In my experience I've found vPlayer to be slightly better than Rockplayer especially when it comes to seeking, but Rockplayer's free version is an ad-supported full version and vPlayer's is just a temporary trial so it comes down to preference and willingness to pay for a little extra functionality.
Streaming over Wi-fi
This is going to be the preferred solution for many people, since it doesn't involve any copying/moving of files and will allow you to access that media library that you've spent so much time meticulously organising. There's a few different approaches here, I'll cover the simplest approach first.
Streaming from TVersity
If you already have TVersity set up, then you won't need to do much at all and you can skip straight to step 3. Otherwise, you can follow these directions to get it up and running.
Head to TVersity.com and grab the latest version of TVersity. I won't go through the setup and so forth as it's all pretty straightforward and is covered well in TVersity's own documentation.
Once you have TVersity set up, add your video directories to the library and (optional, but preferable) give your computer a static IP address on the network.
Open up your browser on the XOOM and navigate to "YOUR-IP-ADDRESS:41952".
You should see a TVersity page load up with various navigation options. From here it's pretty obvious how to drill down through your folders and locate any file you'd like to play. When you click a file to play it, you will be able to choose which media player you'd like to handle the file in. I've found vPlayer is capable of seeking and will play it quite nicely, but Rockplayer works well also, just without the ability to seek.
Mounting a Network Share
This is more complicated for the novice user (me, for example) but it works well enough and the end result is a little more user friendly once you get there. The major drawback with this one is you must root your device for this method. If you don't want to root your device, you'll need to use one of the other methods discussed in this post. This method allows you to mount a folder that you've shared over the network so that it can be accessed on the tablet as though it's actually a part of the tablet's file structure. This means that almost all video players should simply play the files without too much trouble (at least, theoretically; I can confirm vPlayer and Rockplayer as working with this method).
There are two apps capable of mounting shares, but before we get into that we'll need to ensure you have a CIFS module installed. If you're like me, you're probably wondering wtf a CIFS module is. When you root your device (I used the "one click" process described in this thread) you'll need to find a "cifs.ko" file that matches the particular kernal you've installed. If you use the aforementioned method, you'll find a cifs.ko file you can use inside the zip file (inside the "timat" folder).
Once you have the module use Root Explorer to copy it (or use adb to push it) to this location: /system/lib/modules/cifs.ko and then reboot your XOOM. If you have adb installed on your computer, you can use these steps to verify that it's loaded:
Code:
adb shell
lsmod
You'll be wanting to see the CIFS module in the list as a loaded module. If it's not loaded try typing:
Code:
insmod /system/lib/modules/cifs.ko
If you get an error like I did saying "exec format error" it means you've got the wrong cifs.ko for your kernal, so you'll need to poke around some more and locate the right one.
Congratulations, if you've made it this far you've completed the hardest part - the rest is easy.
Make sure you have an actual folder shared to "Everyone" on your network. Optionally, but preferably, give your computer a static IP address. If you don't do this you'll need to change your settings every time your computer gets a new IP.
Install "Mount Manager" or "CIFS Manager" from the android market. I'll give instructions for CIFS Manager but Mount Manager is just as good and works just fine if you'd rather use that.
Open CIFS Manager. You'll need to do this from the "My Apps" section of the market because for some reason it won't start from a shortcut or from the apptray - annoying!
Open the app-menu and select "Add New Share..."
Your share path should be: "IP-ADDRESS/FOLDER-NAME"
Your mount point will be the location you'd like to mount the share to on your internal memory. By default it likes to mount in "/mnt/cifs/FOLDER-NAME", but this is really up to you. Pick whatever you like here and then go to the next field.
Username/password will be a valid account you can use on the computer hosting the share. I just used my regular Windows 7 account here.
Click "Save Share".
Long-press the new share you've created and then select the option "Mount" when it comes up.
If all is well the icon on the right will turn green and you can now access your share by browsing to your mount point in your favourite video player.
Encoding video for optimal playback
-- COMING SOON --
Conclusion
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I had a lot of trouble filtering through all the different posts on this topic and it took a lot of time for me to eventually find and experiment with each of these different options. Hopefully I've saved you all some time and helped out with some of the sticking points you might encounter. If anyone has anything they think I should add, just let me know.
I do plan on adding a section for streaming over 3G, but since I haven't tried it myself (I have a wifi-only XOOM) I can't really contribute to that side of things yet.
If you catch any typos or errors in the above text, please let me know asap and I'll fix them right up. This is my first thread here, and I haven't even made 8 posts yet so I couldn't include external URLs, I'll go through and edit some useful links in as soon as I'm able.
So after updating to OTA 63, I noticed that PC Streaming outside the network using Shield Proxy was no longer working. I would have the same issues I had before I had upgrade my ISP service to over 5 Mbps which is basically the lowest you can go to achieve streaming outside efficiently.
The main issues I was having was it seemed if I connected to Steam or other game, it would launch, show for a second, and then after a few seconds disappear and say it could not continue due to network interference. I know full well that it worked before the OTA, and so I set out to fix it. I also had a problem where if I disconnected it would immediately tell me it was "busy streaming to another device" even though that device was indeed the one I JUST disconnected from.
I have not completely tested this fix, but if anybody intends to do so before the end of tomorrow and report back that would be fine. If not, I will be testing this as soon as I can tomorrow.
As another added note, the streaming lag, which was non-existent or barely noticeable was much greater even on a local network after the OTA.
This fix assumes the following:
- You have GeForce Experience 1.7.0.1
- You are rooted
- You have CWM installed as recovery
- You have updated to OTA 63 or 64
- Your Shields bootloader is Unlocked (which would be assumed if CWM is recovery)
Anyways, here is the fix:
1. Either download the attached ZIP (and extract), or go here and download and rename the files (Shield PC Streaming, TegraZone Dashboard, and Shield Services) in the following manner in a directory on your desktop:
shield_pc_streaming[1].apk - nvpgcservice.apk
shield_services[1].apk - RothProvider.apk
TegraZone_Dashboard[1].apk
2. Download ES File Explorer and Use Root explorer with "/system" mounted as R/W to delete all the above APKs in "/system/app" and reboot
3. Clear all data in the following apps under the "ALL" category in Settings->Apps:
- Shield Services
- Shield PC Streaming
- Dashboard
3. Copy the renamed APKs you put in the directory mentioned in step 1 to a similar directory on your "Internal storage" of the Shield ("/sdcard")
4. Using ES File Explorer's Root Explorer in the same manner as above, copy those APKs you just put on your internal storage in the "/system/app" directory of your Shield
5. Reboot to recovery (CWM) and wipe both cache, and dalvik-cache just to be safe, and reboot to system
6. On your computer under "Preferences->Streaming" press the "Reset" button
7. Connect to your PC and click the usual "Connect" button, and have fun!
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please let me know. If you try this and it doesn't work, please let me know what results you have, as I have been getting drastically better results.
I got the idea for this fix from this thread in which agrabren had mentioned he replaced the new Dashboard with the older one, and it seemed to work fine. Then knowing that (obviously) apps must specify a minimum (not maximum) API level, I decided to try the stock Dashboard, Streaming Services, and PC Streaming App. I am very new to XDA, and don't really post anything, I mostly use the forum to find information, but I figured there hasn't been much in the way of fixes for this, and I got anxious xD
Please understand I am very much a newer XDA member, but thought this would probably help some people.
UPDATE:
So I realized that it was not working remotely, but the local network mode was working much better.
If you'd like to have a better fix for remote streaming, check out my ROM
Hi guys,
I am facing a lot of difficulty in trying to mount a samba share on the shield TV (16gb model).
It's freshly rooted with busybox, supersu, se linux mode and patched cifs manager.
No matter how I try to mount it, via terminal or via the patched CIFSManager, I always get an error saying "cannot access a needed shared library".
su --mount-master -c busybox mount -o username=shaf,password=android,rw,noperm,iocharset=utf8 -t cifs //192.168.1.1/android /data/media/0/android
The network folder is perfectly accessible through ES File explorer & I've even tried formatting the network drive as ext4.
I have checked in proc/ and the cifs files are there but I'm not sure if I need to load a cifs.ko kernel module, I assumed it was loaded.
I would be very grateful if someone could help me out here and point me in the right direction.
Shaf_96 said:
Hi guys,
I am facing a lot of difficulty in trying to mount a samba share on the shield TV (16gb model).
It's freshly rooted with busybox, supersu, se linux mode and patched cifs manager.
No matter how I try to mount it, via terminal or via the patched CIFSManager, I always get an error saying "cannot access a needed shared library".
su --mount-master -c busybox mount -o username=shaf,password=android,rw,noperm,iocharset=utf8 -t cifs //192.168.1.1/android /data/media/0/android
The network folder is perfectly accessible through ES File explorer & I've even tried formatting the network drive as ext4.
I have checked in proc/ and the cifs files are there but I'm not sure if I need to load a cifs.ko kernel module, I assumed it was loaded.
I would be very grateful if someone could help me out here and point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Similar situation
Have shield as the server (3.0 usb edit: with a connected usb 3.0 harddrive)
edit: ive not found a suitable server app yet
I always assumed ciffs manager/mount manager worked only on jellybean and below......i assume the patched cifs app changes this.
In my search for alternatives, this ones the closest ive seen thats most recent and promissing, but have not managed to get it working, you seem like you might understand it better then i
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/script-mount-samba-cifs-shares-t2993035
Edit
if you do find a solution, i'd be much gratefull if you post it.......gd luck
hey guys. im not much on networking. trying to figure it all out myself, but i found this app awhile back called servers ultimate pro.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.serversultimatepro
they do have a 7 day trial to test things out but through this app i was able to create a smb/cifs server with windows 10 being able to map it as a network drive. At least on windows 10, i had to google and eventually found a few registry tweaks to make windows actually see it.
Currently my issue now is speed transfer isnt all that fast. its usable for my needs, but i average about 5-10MBps during transfer with an external usb 3.0 HDD plugged into the shield tv, transferring files over the network between my windows 10 machine. That is an issue im currently working on fixing, but i was at least able to create a working server with this app. The authors have a forum on xda as well but its looking more and more that it might become abandoned (servers ultimate pro) as the author(s) havent been responding to forum questions or even emails.
either way, just thought id let you guys know.
unvaluablespace said:
hey guys. im not much on networking. trying to figure it all out myself, but i found this app awhile back called servers ultimate pro.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.serversultimatepro
they do have a 7 day trial to test things out but through this app i was able to create a smb/cifs server with windows 10 being able to map it as a network drive. At least on windows 10, i had to google and eventually found a few registry tweaks to make windows actually see it.
Currently my issue now is speed transfer isnt all that fast. its usable for my needs, but i average about 5-10MBps during transfer with an external usb 3.0 HDD plugged into the shield tv, transferring files over the network between my windows 10 machine. That is an issue im currently working on fixing, but i was at least able to create a working server with this app. The authors have a forum on xda as well but its looking more and more that it might become abandoned (servers ultimate pro) as the author(s) havent been responding to forum questions or even emails.
either way, just thought id let you guys know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive actually tried that one amongst others, was one of the best tested at the time, even had, if i recall correctly, tasker support which is a must, but my shield for all intense and purposes, will be free of the google eco system, hence why i wont/cant have apps that require license check.......i dont like the artificial dependancy on other apps/services such as google services
On the lookout, hopefully, for an open source alternative with good tasker support.
banderos101 said:
Similar situation
Have shield as the server (3.0 usb edit: with a connected usb 3.0 harddrive)
edit: ive not found a suitable server app yet
I always assumed ciffs manager/mount manager worked only on jellybean and below......i assume the patched cifs app changes this.
In my search for alternatives, this ones the closest ive seen thats most recent and promissing, but have not managed to get it working, you seem like you might understand it better then i
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/script-mount-samba-cifs-shares-t2993035
Edit
if you do find a solution, i'd be much gratefull if you post it.......gd luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks buddy,
I think I had a look at that before but ignored it temporarily as I wanted to fix mounting samba shares first thereafter focus on making a script so it mounts automatically on boot but I don't see a problem with skipping straight to using the script.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to check/test the firetv script until next weekend, what problem do you have when trying to use the script?
I'm tempted to install the full android version with a tv style home launcher and check if I can connect to samba shares as this is driving me nuts lol.
Check out the thread 'nVidia Shield Android TV - Post your home screen' and see andrewthecoder's post, need to ask him if he's able to mount remote samba shares.
BTW guys, I think there's some confusion, my intention is to use the shield tv as a client, not to host a samba server lol.
Shaf_96 said:
Hey thanks buddy,
I think I had a look at that before but ignored it temporarily as I wanted to fix mounting samba shares first thereafter focus on making a script so it mounts automatically on boot but I don't see a problem with skipping straight to using the script.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to check/test the firetv script until next weekend, what problem do you have when trying to use the script?
I'm tempted to install the full android version with a tv style home launcher and check if I can connect to samba shares as this is driving me nuts lol.
Check out the thread 'nVidia Shield Android TV - Post your home screen' and see andrewthecoder's post, need to ask him if he's able to mount remote samba shares.
BTW guys, I think there's some confusion, my intention is to use the shield tv as a client, not to host a samba server lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah sorry, i did actually realise you were talking client side, i went slightly offtopic with server side talk
Honestly, i didnt really put much effort into it, just quickly tried to see if it worked first, second, third try before giving up, waiting on more info on the xda thread, or maybe even an app to do this more simply, or an alternative working method.........im playing the, keep my ears to the ground, waiting game
Plus, ive not found any confirmation on which android samba servers are confirmed working for this kind of mount, so i have the worry, that the script may work, but fail on a non standard samba server.........again, waiting on confirmation on what works and hopefully a guide.........looking it up every now and again
banderos101 said:
Yeah sorry, i did actually realise you were talking client side, i went slightly offtopic with server side talk
Honestly, i didnt really put much effort into it, just quickly tried to see if it worked first, second, third try before giving up, waiting on more info on the xda thread, or maybe even an app to do this more simply, or an alternative working method.........im playing the, keep my ears to the ground, waiting game
Plus, ive not found any confirmation on which android samba servers are confirmed working for this kind of mount, so i have the worry, that the script may work, but fail on a non standard samba server.........again, waiting on confirmation on what works and hopefully a guide.........looking it up every now and again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha no worries man, yes I'll try messing with that coming this Friday evening, did you use script manager, SManager?
Ah damn I did not even know there's different types of samba servers! ?
Lool I'm the complete opposite, too impatient to wait, that's why I'm really considering installing the full android version. It would be such a delight to have the dreamcast and gamecube roms running of the NAS drive as well as 4K files in the future.
Shaf_96 said:
Haha no worries man, yes I'll try messing with that coming this Friday evening, did you use script manager, SManager?
Ah damn I did not even know there's different types of samba servers!
Lool I'm the complete opposite, too impatient to wait, that's why I'm really considering installing the full android version. It would be such a delight to have the dreamcast and gamecube roms running of the NAS drive as well as 4K files in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used SManager
Sorry, what i meant was, that there is more then one samba server app for android.........all at various levels of development
Yep, i cant wait till i can unify network storage on android myself........one of the reasons i bought the shield.......assuming a solution ever decides to be polite........and show up
Shaf_96 said:
Hi guys,
I am facing a lot of difficulty in trying to mount a samba share on the shield TV (16gb model).
It's freshly rooted with busybox, supersu, se linux mode and patched cifs manager.
No matter how I try to mount it, via terminal or via the patched CIFSManager, I always get an error saying "cannot access a needed shared library".
su --mount-master -c busybox mount -o username=shaf,password=android,rw,noperm,iocharset=utf8 -t cifs //192.168.1.1/android /data/media/0/android
The network folder is perfectly accessible through ES File explorer & I've even tried formatting the network drive as ext4.
I have checked in proc/ and the cifs files are there but I'm not sure if I need to load a cifs.ko kernel module, I assumed it was loaded.
I would be very grateful if someone could help me out here and point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For mine I found that the utf8 bit was throwing it off. I removed that and added sec=ntlm and that worked for me. The only downside is apps can read from it but can't seem to write to it. Give it a go and see if that helps though.
gumbi2400 said:
For mine I found that the utf8 bit was throwing it off. I removed that and added sec=ntlm and that worked for me. The only downside is apps can read from it but can't seem to write to it. Give it a go and see if that helps though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhhh, now were getting somewhere
Thanks for that luvley bit of insight, and the thread maker for starting the subject in the first place........hopefully, a write solution will show up and find its way to this "network storage mounting" thread..........
Theres another potential, i stress, potential avenue to mount local filesystems beyond jellybean...sshfs
Easysshfs
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.nsu.bobrofon.easysshfs&hl=en
https://bitbucket.org/bobrofon/easysshfs
Ive attempted to test this, sshelper server on the shield, easysshfs on the tablet with no success.......im thinking theres kernel modules involved( fuse.ko) , mind you im no expert. (Easysshfs logs makes mention of "fuse.sshfs is not in proc/mounts")
If modules are indeed involved then this is not an ideal solution (unless kernel moduling becomes universally compatible somehow), as i'd prefer any future purchases of stock android to have the ability natively, minimum, instead of waiting and hoping someone can release a solution
Sshelper
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arachnoid.sshelper&hl=en
http://arachnoid.com/android/SSHelper/
Edit
Well holy moly, i got it working, i just randomly decided to put admin as username instead of leaving it blank and hey presto....mounted.........quickly tested a file manager without network support, opensource "amaze", to browse and play a video on my tab from a usb stick on my shield........excellent
So for those interested, a simple two app install plus configuring (username,pass,mount to, mount from) and you have network mounting.....on lollipop.........excellent
Shaf_96 said:
Hey thanks buddy,
I think I had a look at that before but ignored it temporarily as I wanted to fix mounting samba shares first thereafter focus on making a script so it mounts automatically on boot but I don't see a problem with skipping straight to using the script.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to check/test the firetv script until next weekend, what problem do you have when trying to use the script?
I'm tempted to install the full android version with a tv style home launcher and check if I can connect to samba shares as this is driving me nuts lol.
Check out the thread 'nVidia Shield Android TV - Post your home screen' and see andrewthecoder's post, need to ask him if he's able to mount remote samba shares.
BTW guys, I think there's some confusion, my intention is to use the shield tv as a client, not to host a samba server lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kodi has samba ability as client. Used for video and audio files. Find it in google store free
This worked for me:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tv/general/samba-network-file-sharing-nvidia-t3321522
slamride said:
Kodi has samba ability as client. Used for video and audio files. Find it in google store free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you gotten this to work? I had it working on a previous OpenELEC box and an Xbian box, but I can't get it working on KODI on the Shield.
wishx said:
Have you gotten this to work? I had it working on a previous OpenELEC box and an Xbian box, but I can't get it working on KODI on the Shield.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I am sharing a "server of sorts" (Desktop in den with video and audio files stored) with multiple setups .
Shield with Kodi
Laptop with Kodi
Laptop with VLC
Samsung Tablets with Kodi or VLC
Sharing permissions need to be set to allow "Everyone" read/write access on server
I use a "MOVIE" folder, a "TV SHOW" folder,and a "MUSIC" folder then add source under files in KODI,select scraper for tv,movie,or music and it will also add covers and details to list. Kodi will detect files and add a MOVIE ,TV SHOWS, and MUSIC tab on home screen after scanning. I also set "scan on startup" " in systems settings so I only need to reboot to update libraries.
https://kodi.tv/ use wiki if you get lost
Hope this helps
slamride said:
Yes I am sharing a "server of sorts" (Desktop in den with video and audio files stored) with multiple setups .
Shield with Kodi
Laptop with Kodi
Laptop with VLC
Samsung Tablets with Kodi or VLC
Sharing permissions need to be set to allow "Everyone" read/write access on server
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears you are sharing your media from a server to the Shield. I am trying to use my Shield with Kodi as the server. I have an external drive attached by USB to the Shield and need to connect two other computers to it. I did this previously with OpenELEC and Xbian, but I can't get them to recognize the Shield/Kodi on the network like I'm used to. Any assistance would be great. Thanks!
I should probably mention that I am not rooted and would like to not root my Shield so I can get further updates rolled out by NVidia. That's kind of the problem.
I'm trying to run a Samba server on the NVidia Shield without root that has read/write access to external storage (external hard drive).
So far, I've been able to get FTP servers running on it, but nothing allows access to my external storage. I'd much prefer SMB to FTP though.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
AFAIK it is not possible to run a Samba server on Android without root since SMB uses port numbers < 1024.
Rather than attach my external drive directly to the NVidia Shield, I attached it to the router and have all my computers (Linux and Windows boxes) and the Shield connect to the shared drive and all folders. That works great!
unvaluablespace said:
hey guys. im not much on networking. trying to figure it all out myself, but i found this app awhile back called servers ultimate pro.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.serversultimatepro
they do have a 7 day trial to test things out but through this app i was able to create a smb/cifs server with windows 10 being able to map it as a network drive. At least on windows 10, i had to google and eventually found a few registry tweaks to make windows actually see it.
Currently my issue now is speed transfer isnt all that fast. its usable for my needs, but i average about 5-10MBps during transfer with an external usb 3.0 HDD plugged into the shield tv, transferring files over the network between my windows 10 machine. That is an issue im currently working on fixing, but i was at least able to create a working server with this app. The authors have a forum on xda as well but its looking more and more that it might become abandoned (servers ultimate pro) as the author(s) havent been responding to forum questions or even emails.
either way, just thought id let you guys know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this app need root access? I saw this app yesterday and was going to try it.