Droid-X DLNA streaming make sure you optimize for streaming in Handbrake…

August 28th, 2010 by EvilT

In handbrakecli you need to use the –optimize flag

At least it’s the only way I’ve had any luck.

Try using Handbrake to make a streaming version with the following command arguments (remember if you have spaces in your file name or path you will have to put the input file and output file in quotes):

handbrakecli –input –output –format MP4 –markers –x264opts level=30:bframes=0:cabac=0:ref=1:vbv-maxrate=768:vbv-bufsize=2000:analyse=all:me=umh:no-fast-pskip=1:subq=6:8x8dct=0:trellis=0:weightb=0:mixed-refs=0:ref=1:subme=2 –vb 1536 –two-pass –optimize –keep-display-aspect –turbo –audio 1 –aencoder faac –ab 160 –mixdown dpl2 –arate 48 –drc 2.0 –native-language eng –subtitle-forced scan –subtitle scan

If you are having trouble setting up a DLNA server it’s real easy to pop up mezzmo and it will stream files encoded with the above command line without fail here.

Mezzmo DLNA server…

August 28th, 2010 by EvilT

Just as a FYI… Of all the DLNA servers I have played with in the effort to get the Droid-X to stream transcoded media my favorite so far is the Mezzmo DLNA server from Conceiva. The support people are “Johnny on the spot” with bug fixes so far, they actually have a profile set up for the Droid-X, and the features are coming fast and quick. It runs on Windows so transcoding is slower, but the menus etc are better than the rest and so far it has been less finicky than the others I’ve tried.

DLNA, Droid-X, and wasted time…

August 28th, 2010 by EvilT

Ok here are my experiences so far getting a DLNA server to transcode to the DroidX:
I have tried nearly every UP&P/DLNA server out there on virtually every platform (Mac, Linux, Windows).

Observations so far:

I’ve put up about 12 different DLNA server/platform combinations, so far there isn’t one that does everything I want. Mezzmo is the closest, but it still doesn’t have a few features I really crave.

Windows is the slowest at transcoding everything. So my current recommendation is to run in Linux or Mac (Linux is quickest so far)

The droid-x processor only supports MP4 natively (maybe wmv or some other format that I will not use, but MP4 as far as I’m concerned). That is the only format that will spool from a DLNA server to the phone.

Problem is that the phone requires the MP4 files to have specific data at the beginning of the file (lookup MP4 ATOMs for more detail). Well it seems that the information for some of the required ATOMs cannot be calculated until the file is converted to MP4 (it is also possible the FFMPEG could but just does not create these up front, since almost everyone uses FFMPEG for transcoding…). Most of the media servers will stream you a MP4 file that does not require transcoding. And most of the media servers will transcode the MP4 files into whatever format your other devices like. So it appears that your best convergence option is to re-encode (and take the quality hit) your video as MP4 so your phone can view it natively, then let your media server transcode for all the other systems (XBOX/TV/DVR/PS3/etc…). Note if you are using handbrake to convert, I have to set the file to enable streaming to get the phone to play it.

Other than that I’m off to my next level of convergence… The phone captures in .3gp I have one media server on a Linux VM (twonky I believe) that supports DLNA uploads. So I can seamlessly upload video to the server. Unfortunately I haven’t found one of the DLNA servers that will transcode the .3gp files… It would be really nice if I could simply DLNA copy videos and pics from my phone to the DLNA server then have them instantly available via transcode on the other DLNA clients around the house…

Anybody else have a DLNA that supports uploads or .3gp transcode?

Quick word on creating ZFS shares

July 31st, 2010 by EvilT

Ok, first make the share  (I assume you already have a pool)

zfs create -o casesensitivity=mixed -o nbmand=on (poolname)/(newshare)

zfs set sharesmb=on (poolname)/(newshare)

(to define the name for the share  zfs set sharesmb=name=(sharename) (poolname)/(newshare)

zfs set compression=on (poolname)/(newshare)

If you screw up just zfs destroy (poolname)/(newshare)

Now just set the acl’s and you are ready to go… :)

zfs set dedup=on (poolname)/(newshare)

Check the share with

sharemgr show -vp

Criminalize Credit!

June 22nd, 2010 by EvilT

I saw this and really liked it…  Interesting thought…

So let’s set rations and turn the excess over to the DEA… ;)

Funny!

June 20th, 2010 by EvilT

A guy who really loved his mother!

June 13th, 2010 by EvilT

The Story of Oedipus in 8 minutes performed by vegetables

And in Hi Def.  ;)

Wierd Al – Grammar Lessons

June 13th, 2010 by EvilT

Kayak.com – Excellent idea for a flight search engine.

June 11th, 2010 by EvilT

Kayak provides flight destination information by price and more…

Surf the web as Googlebot!

June 11th, 2010 by EvilT

Instructions here.
Apparently many sites will allow googlebot in without being a registered user too… ;)

Ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court says that cops can ticket based on seeing a car speeding.

June 4th, 2010 by EvilT

This is odd… The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled in a case that a police officer’s estimate that a car was going 73 miles an hour was acceptable enough to give the person a ticket. Even though the officer’s radar (which the court determined he was not qualified to use) read 83 miles per hour and the officer had apparently just decided to write the ticket for 79 miles per hour. I especially like the part where the ticket places the driver in a different lane than the one she claimed
to occupy.

I’d love to hear the actual details of the case as the difference between my immediate perception of what should have been decided by a Supreme Court and what was decided usually differs. Then when I hear the actual case details and the points that were argued the court’s decision makes sense. 

Excellent list of mods and tweaks for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx…

May 31st, 2010 by EvilT

From TheSilentNumber

News Flash! Sun’s behavior still strange… climate scientists still unconcerned.

May 31st, 2010 by EvilT

Strange enough though… the climate change crowd does not seem to consider inexplicable behavior associated with the source of our heat worthy of consideration as a forcing…

Solar Scientists Agree That the Sun’s Recent Behavior Is Odd, but the Explanation Remains Elusive

Now this is sweet!!!

May 30th, 2010 by EvilT

American Home Shield Swimming Pool Coverage

May 27th, 2010 by EvilT

Just want to get this out there so it is searchable for people looking for information on AHS American Home Shield and swimming pool coverage.

Make sure of what you are signing up for before you buy American home shield’s swimming pool coverage.

When I signed up with AHS I was told that the contract would cover everything associate with the pool except the liner. When my pool developed a leak I discovered that they only cover components (pump, filter, and plumbing) that are above ground (which you could fix yourself for little or no money)…

If you pay extra for the pool coverage for an in-ground pool please be aware that AHS will not cover skimmers, drains, lights, liner, steps, and any plumbing under the dirt. I have no idea if they cover the diving board, but I bet they have an exclusion for that too.

May 25th, 2010 by EvilT

exerpts from www.towelday.org

Today is Towel Day. Don’t forget your towel!

Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams, picture by Jill Furmanovsky

Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May, as a tribute to
the late author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
On that day, fans around the universe proudly carry a towel in his
honour.

I love Douglas Adams! How can I get involved?

On the 25th of May, carry a towel. Where? Everywhere!

Proudly show the world you’ve observed Towel Day and upload a picture to
Flickr, tagging it with “towelday” (most interestinglatestgroup)
or make a YouTube video (most relevantlatest). We look forward to seeing yours!

Want to help the cause? Tweet about #towelday, blog,
post in forums, share a link in Facebook, link to the site… The
more we are, the merrier!

More: FAQ

:)

May 21st, 2010 by EvilT

Everybody should stop by graphjam.com. It’s a funny site… :)

You cannot see Flash with an iPhone… ;)

May 16th, 2010 by EvilT

I may even get my guitar back out of the closet…

May 9th, 2010 by EvilT
Ok, this may be too sweet to pass up. Now I have to get an iPhone and an iRig… :)

AmpliTube iRig (trailer) – plug your guitar into your iPhone and rock out!

Motorola Droid solves Lego-encased Rubik’s Cube in 24 mind-melting seconds (video)

May 9th, 2010 by EvilT
Now that’s cool… I need to have time to play with some mindstorms stuff… :)

ARM Powered Android LEGO Rubik’s Speedcuber