Streaming MKV files from PC to Tablet

Junetastic · May 26, 2014

Hi all,

I have been trying to stream videos from my laptop to my Note, and I haven't been able to get it running smoothly. I have tried a number of different players, but the issue is that it will either stutter like crazy or play audio without video. I can be more specific about the types of files (mkv, h264, 720p, etc.) and players (VLC for Android beta, Archos Video, MX Player, etc.).

Has ANYONE managed to stream and watch videos from their PC/laptop to this tablet successfully or is this tablet just not capable?

Many thanks!

WJThomas · May 26, 2014

I am running a plex server on my desktop and stream to several devices, including my note.

elzeus · May 27, 2014

Another vote for plex it's pretty amazing. You can get it for free after you get some free coins from the amazon app store.

no.0ne · May 27, 2014

Of course the tablet is capable of streaming video smoothly. I use MX Player to stream videos from a samba server (traditional Windows share, no special software required). The MX Player is configured to use the 'HW+' decoder. It plays Full HD mkvs no problem.

fantasmanegro · May 27, 2014

no.0ne said:
Of course the tablet is capable of streaming video smoothly. I use MX Player to stream videos from a samba server (traditional Windows share, no special software required). The MX Player is configured to use the 'HW+' decoder. It plays Full HD mkvs no problem.

+1

gilani7 · May 28, 2014

Junetastic said:
Hi all,

I have been trying to stream videos from my laptop to my Note, and I haven't been able to get it running smoothly. I have tried a number of different players, but the issue is that it will either stutter like crazy or play audio without video. I can be more specific about the types of files (mkv, h264, 720p, etc.) and players (VLC for Android beta, Archos Video, MX Player, etc.).

Has ANYONE managed to stream and watch videos from their PC/laptop to this tablet successfully or is this tablet just not capable?

Many thanks!

With MX player change it to all software decoders(audi n video). Its what I have to do with MKV Files.

Junetastic · May 30, 2014

gilani7 said:
With MX player change it to all software decoders(audi n video). Its what I have to do with MKV Files.

Thanks! This resolved my issues!

no.0ne · May 30, 2014

gilani7 said:
With MX player change it to all software decoders(audi n video). Its what I have to do with MKV Files.

That's not a good idea as a software decoder will burn through your battery, especially with HD content.
@Junetastic Can you try playing the sample videos from this site http://www.auby.no/files/video_tests/ ? I have downloaded them to my computer and then tried streaming them to my tablet using the HW+ decoder and it worked without any problems (except the 'Birds' video, which is 40mbps and is too much for my wifi network to handle reliably. Once copied to the tablet, it of course played without problems.)

gilani7 · May 30, 2014

no.0ne said:
That's not a good idea as a software decoder will burn through your battery, especially with HD content.

@Junetastic Can you try playing the sample videos from this site http://www.auby.no/files/video_tests/ ? I have downloaded them to my computer and then tried streaming them to my tablet using the HW+ decoder and it worked without any problems (except the 'Birds' video, which is 40mbps and is too much for my wifi network to handle reliably. Once copied to the tablet, it of course played without problems.)

I usually just have to use the software decoder for the Audio. Didn't really know it would take a hit on the battery. How much more will it really take? I have gone through many media players and found this to be the easiest solution.

no.0ne · May 30, 2014

gilani7 said:
I usually just have to use the software decoder for the Audio. Didn't really know it would take a hit on the battery. How much more will it really take? I have gone through many media players and found this to be the easiest solution.

Oh, I don't think you have to worry about battery life if you software decode just the audio. It's the video that takes a lot of work to decode. From what I seem to remember, software decoding of HD video can drain the battery up to several times faster (depending on brightness and other settings, which can change the relative energy consuption of the decoding process).

Junetastic · Jun 2, 2014

no.0ne said:
That's not a good idea as a software decoder will burn through your battery, especially with HD content.

@Junetastic Can you try playing the sample videos from this site http://www.auby.no/files/video_tests/ ? I have downloaded them to my computer and then tried streaming them to my tablet using the HW+ decoder and it worked without any problems (except the 'Birds' video, which is 40mbps and is too much for my wifi network to handle reliably. Once copied to the tablet, it of course played without problems.)

I just downloaded one file (Suzumiya) and it didn't work with H/W+ Decoder; however, I was successful in streaming some episodes of Silicon Valley from my PC with it (and using S/W decoder for audio).

no.0ne · Jun 2, 2014

Junetastic said:
I just downloaded one file (Suzumiya) and it didn't work with H/W+ Decoder; however, I was successful in streaming some episodes of Silicon Valley from my PC with it (and using S/W decoder for audio).

Ok, I think I know where the problem comes from - I bet you have P600, the Exynos version right?

Junetastic · Jun 3, 2014

no.0ne said:
Ok, I think I know where the problem comes from - I bet you have P600, the Exynos version right?

Yeah. Am I out of luck?

WJThomas · Jun 3, 2014

Junetastic said:
Yeah. Am I out of luck?

I have the P600. I downloaded all of the video clips to my desktop. When I stream them directly using MX player, I do get some lag and stutter. However, when I add them to my Plex library I can play all of them just fine. The Plex server handles all the transcode that is needed and I just have to click play. I don't need to worry about formats or bitrates (unless I want to). It is so simple my 5yo can use it to watch videos on her tablet. She can even sync videos for offline viewing on car trips.

no.0ne · Jun 3, 2014

Junetastic said:
Yeah. Am I out of luck?

Well, it seems that the hardware decoders are quite different on the Snapdragon vs. Exynos and since Samsung is very sparse with documentation, the MX Player developers didn't manage to optimize their software for the Exynos (this is just my guess). So you might try a different player, perhaps some will work fine. But then again, it might not. In which case you might have to abandon universal streaming and either transcode your videos or use an application that will do it for you on the fly (e.g. Plex as WJThomas proposed). The downside is you have to use a computer (and often a paid app as is the case with Plex) and can't stream your content from a NAS.

WJThomas · Jun 4, 2014

no.0ne said:
In which case you might have to abandon universal streaming and either transcode your videos or use an application that will do it for you on the fly (e.g. Plex as WJThomas proposed). The downside is you have to use a computer (and often a paid app as is the case with Plex) and can't stream your content from a NAS.

The upside is that you don't have to worry about which device supports which formats, and that you can stream content from some NAS's without a computer. If you subscribe to PlexPass the app is free, and you can use the app to sync media to your device (and then you can even stream from device to device)

Megalith · Jul 10, 2014

Can someone please explain how they're playing .mkv files without playback stopping after a few seconds?

What I'm trying to do is play full bit-rate Blu-ray .mkv rips. I am using ES File Explorer to navigate to shared folders on my Windows PC, and what happens is that the video will eventually start playing but then stop after 5 or so seconds of playback and never continue again. I've tried accessing the files via DNLA software like Servio, but I get the exact same result each time.

And bandwidth is not the problem, as I was able to stream uncompressed content just fine when I had my Surface Pro 2.

blindmanpb · Jul 10, 2014

Megalith said:
Can someone please explain how they're playing .mkv files without playback stopping after a few seconds?

What I'm trying to do is play full bit-rate Blu-ray .mkv rips. I am using ES File Explorer to navigate to shared folders on my Windows PC, and what happens is that the video will eventually start playing but then stop after 5 or so seconds of playback and never continue again. I've tried accessing the files via DNLA software like Servio, but I get the exact same result each time.

And bandwidth is not the problem, as I was able to stream uncompressed content just fine when I had my Surface Pro 2.

I use ES File Explorer to browse a 3TB networked hard drive and stream Blu-Ray .mkv files to my tablet with no problem. I use MX Player Pro (H/W decoder, H/W+ causes MX Player to force close on KitKat). No issues with playback.

Streaming MKV files from PC to Tablet

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