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[APP] Play on TV - simple DLNA player [Win/Mac] D/E/F/H

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:31 am
by Spooky
Windows comes with a nice option 'Play To', however it doesn't support popular file formats like .mkv, .mp4, so it's pretty much useless. Mac on the other hand has no support for DLNA.

Here's a simple app which replaces Windows 'Play To' and adds support for DLNA playback on Macintosh. The app supports all media formats natively supported by TV.

Windows:
playontv-setup-1.0.1.exe.zip

Mac 10.9 or newer
*Dead link* if anybody has it, please share

Code: Select all

http://dropbox.astrill.com/file-dsulTo5qwQkerCHOCFDhiPECCuJ9rjQIZSwAyDHi/PlayOnTV-1.0.1.dmg
Changelog:

Code: Select all

1.0.1 Mar 25, 2015
- fixed problem with playing files >2 GB

1.0.0 Feb 25, 2015
- fixed problem with unicode file names
- initial Mac OS X version
This was tested on Samsung F8000 and D7000 and it works well with many file formats (mkv, mp4, avi, flv etc.). TV needs to support file formats, the app doesn't do any video/audio transcoding.

The app supports subtitles in .srt format. You need to place .srt with the same name as movie, in the same folder.

The app has minimal interface and it's activated using 'Send To' (Windows) or 'Open With' (Mac). Simply select a media file, select Send To/Open With -> Play on TV. The app will detect all TVs so you can pick one which you want to use.

Enjoy !

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:18 am
by zoelechat
Good idea, nice little app, really useful, thanks for sharing :)

Some thoughts, if you don't mind:
-In my opinion, there would be no need to select TV on each launch (maybe a checkbox "remember choice"? Reversible by unchecking it in tray icon option for example.
-Program should exit (=close tray icon) when playback is stopped on TV level (=pressing STOP on remote)
-And maybe sending filename as video name on TV (instead of "video"), if possible

Also there's a problem with playing .ts files (they should be playable, since they're TV's own recordings, and I play them flawlessly on other DLNA servers)
Now result is always:
Clipboard01.jpg
Maybe a matter of wrong or missing mime type? (btw mime type for .ts should be "MPEG", not "MP2T", I had to patch BubbleUPNP on my Android device for such issue, only MPEG2 TS were played :). Anyway, now no .ts at all are played)

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:30 pm
by Spooky
Thanks for your feedback. Here's a fixed version which uses video/mpeg for .ts files. Also it will not prompt anymore to select device. It will do that only on start, so if you want to change device, you can just close the app and start it again.

Code: Select all

http://dropbox.astrill.com/file-57b.9NMUnDImFIPTGPFzse26hFIyrGs3OVRcd0W5/playontv-setup-1.0.0.1.exe
Here's the list of supported formats:

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  if ext='.flv' then result:='video/x-flv' else
  if ext='.mp4' then result:='video/mp4' else
  if ext='.m3u8' then result:='application/x-mpegURL' else
  if ext='.ts' then result:='video/mpeg' else
  if ext='.3gp' then result:='video/3gpp' else
  if ext='.mov' then result:='video/quicktime' else
  if ext='.avi' then result:='video/x-msvideo' else
  if ext='.wmv' then result:='video/x-ms-wmv' else
  if ext='.mpeg' then result:='video/mpeg' else
  if ext='.webm' then result:='video/webm' else
  if ext='.mkv' then result:='video/x-mkv' else // video/x-matroska
  if ext='.asf' then result:='video/x-ms-asf' else
  if ext='.mp3' then result:='audio/mpeg' else
  if ext='.wav' then result:='audio/x-wav' else
  if ext='.ogg' then result:='audio/ogg' else
  if ext='.wma' then result:='audio/x-ms-wma' else
  if ext='.mka' then result:='audio/x-matroska' else
  if ext='.srt' then result:='text/plain' else
  result:='application/octet-stream';
If any type is missing or broken, let me know.

I'll see later about other features. The first goal was to make something very simple, but useful. Later it can have playlist as well. Actually, I want to make an app where you can watch torrents directly on TV, so this app is the first step. The idea is to browse some torrent site and then open .torrent or magnet link from the browser and my app will start playing content on selected TV instantly.

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:51 pm
by zoelechat
Mmmh yes, it means program has to be resident for not to select TV each time? I don't like resident things :D
Anyway that's only up to you :) . .TS works now, but I noticed another issue: sometimes (often) sending to->play on TV do nothing at all, program doesn't even launch (and doesn't react if already launched), whatever is video format, but always the same files.

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:04 pm
by Spooky
The app uses really little resources, so keeping it running in background won't affect your system much. This is the first release, I can improve it so it would close once streaming is finished. For this it needs feedback from TV and track playback progress in realtime, so it may be less compatible with different models.

I'm not sure why you have this new problem. Does it occur with the original version (1.0.0.0) ? When you start app initially, it will scan your network for DLNA devices, this takes 1-2 secs usually. If the app is already running and you send a new file, it will send file to running instance of the app. It will take 1-2 secs before TV starts playback. I can't reproduce your problem and on my system the app works pretty well, I tried to send many files in different formats. Don't have .ts for test however. Maybe try with different file type, maybe it takes TV longer to figure out format if you use TS files, so you have impression the app does nothing and you try to send the same file again. Maybe it breaks some logic in TV firmware if you do it quickly. Try to reboot TV.

You may also have the problem you described in case you use user switching in Windows where the app is running under different account. I haven't tested this scenario. In such case the app may fail to communicate with the running instance.

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:27 pm
by zoelechat
Yes, the problem occured with previous version too, I just didn't notice it first.

Happens not only with .ts but also mp4, webm, wmv, mkv... (actually all formats I tried) but only on specific files (most of them though). Even 2 recordings of the same channel, one can work and the other not.
If program isn't opened yet, it doesn't even ask for TV. If it's already opened, it does nothing either.
Check PM in a few minutes, I'm going to attach somewhere a file that doesn't work here, to see if it's because of movie itself. :)

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:44 pm
by zoelechat
Just found that it's related to filename (and/or folder name where file is)...
For example:

Code: Select all

2015.02.23_09h53_D8 - Touche pas ? mon poste !.ts
doesn't work but if I rename it to "video" or simply replace "?" by "a" it works. It seems you have a problem with Unicode handling. Maybe no need to attach a sample video then :)

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:17 pm
by Spooky
I have fixed problem with unicode file names. The link is in the main post.

Re: Play on TV - simple DLNA app - Play To replacement [Wind

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:24 pm
by zoelechat
Ok, now works perfectly when exotic chars in filenames ;)

Re: [APP] Play on TV - simple DLNA player [Win/Mac] D/E/F/H

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 5:12 pm
by Sipy
Hi, all.

I have Vox Smart tv which uses Access co. software.
problem is that Play on TV does not "see" the TV, i.e. it is not listed on dropdown list...
any idea? :idea: