[Shop-talk] tv - home theater cabling problem

[Ronnie Day]

Thanks, Ian, I'll check it out. Right now playback using the Plex app on
the TinyPC stutters slightly. Haven't tried using the Plex app on the TV.

On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 3:16 PM Ian McFetridge <shop-talk2 at mcfetridge.org>
wrote:

> Hi Ron,
>
> What issues are you having with MKV files?  I backed-up most of my
> Blu-ray’s into MKV containers, but I believe I have some 4K encoded with
> H.264 HEVC.  Have you seen this page?
>
>
> https://support.plex.tv/articles/203810286-what-media-formats-are-supported/
>
> Best,
> Ian
>
> On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 2:52 PM Ronnie Day <ronnie.day at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I found out that Plex doesn't play nice with MKv files. I may look into
>> converting them, but for the time being I can play them using VLC. IMO,
>> this just emphasizes how complex making all of this stuff can be. The next
>> step over the next couple of days is to integrate a HDMI switch between the
>> Tiny-PC and the AV receiver and the TV.
>>
>> Ron
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 10:47 AM Ronnie Day <ronnie.day at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks, Ian. I'll keep your offer in mind. I received the Tiny PC and
>>> the Monoprice scaler/switch, but haven't plugged the switch into the system
>>> yet. I'm just moving the HDMI cable from the 4K DVD player to the computer.
>>> It's best to deal with only one variable at a time, IMO. I've "added" the
>>> 4K movies and files from the other large drive to the Plex library, but I'm
>>> not getting smooth playback of the 4K files via Plex, however, they play
>>> fine using VLC! 'Splain that one to me Lucy! I figure I have some Plex
>>> configuration issues to sort out. It'll come as I learn more, I'm sure.
>>> Once I get it all working as I want I'll start  getting ready to move the
>>> hardware to my office, but no big hurry on that, unless the Boss decides
>>> she wants closets built where the hardware is right now.
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 10:21 AM Ian McFetridge <
>>> shop-talk2 at mcfetridge.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> RD, I’ve had similar challenges with evolving AV tech (4K) and I’ve
>>>> essentially done what you did (Plex server).  I’ve moved all of my movies,
>>>> DVD, pictures, etc. onto a Synology Network Attached Storage (RAID 10) that
>>>> runs Plex Server.  I have a mix of clients all over the house, everything
>>>> from mini-PCs, to Amazon Fire sticks/boxes, and Nvidia Shields.  I’m not an
>>>> expert, but I’ve been running Plex for about 10 years now if you have any
>>>> questions.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>> Ian
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Aug 15, 2020 at 3:03 PM Ronnie Day <ronnie.day at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> John & group -
>>>>>
>>>>> Things got complicated when I decided to playback 4K movie files from
>>>>> hard drives or other removable devices. I've got a couple of USB3 8TB
>>>>> drives full of movies. One is all 4K files. Some of these are formatted
>>>>> slightly differently than others and require a seperate audio codec. plus
>>>>> the TV has only 1 USB port. After posting questions to a worldwide media
>>>>> list I've been on since the late '90s when I built my first digital A/V
>>>>> editing system, the consensus was that I needed a "media player" to connect
>>>>> the two hard drives to the TV, so I ordered a MyPin M29 media player, $60
>>>>> from Amazon. It supported the file formats I needed, but it wouldn't let me
>>>>> turn off subtitles/closed captioning (bummer) and I get frequent, subtle
>>>>> "stuttering" in the audio (MAJOR bummer). If I plugged the 4K hard drive
>>>>> into either my Mac or PC and used VLC, everything worked fine, but I want
>>>>> to watch these movies on the 55 inch in our bedroom. An added problem was
>>>>> that the output of the MyPin player is HDMI and I was already out of HDMI
>>>>> ports on the TV. So, after several discussions with several folks, I
>>>>> ordered a Lenovo M75 Tiny mini PC and plan to run Plex server as the core
>>>>> of a home media server down the road. The hard drives plug into it, and
>>>>> there's plenty of room for expansion.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now, how to get these additional souces into the TV? While working to
>>>>> connect all of these input devices I noticed that TESmart has a 4 x 1 HDMI
>>>>> switch. I'm using one of their KVM switches to let me control a couple of
>>>>> Macs and a PC with a single keyboard and mouse for some time and it works
>>>>> great. I sent their tech folks a note describing my issues with 4K and they
>>>>> said try it. The switch was $25 and they offer a 30 day return.
>>>>> Unfortunately it won't work with 4K so it's going back next week. After
>>>>> talking to a Ford AV systems engineer in Austin that I've worked with
>>>>> before, I ordered a Monoprice (31057) switch/scaler that Monoprice promises
>>>>> will do what I need. It, too, has a 30 return.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sorry if i've been a bit long winded but setting up all of these boxe
>>>>> to work together, especially with 4K is a bit complex. The reason I'm going
>>>>> through all of this detail is that if anyone's not doing 4K video, all of
>>>>> the simpler routing and switching should work fine. However, if you have
>>>>> ANY thoughts of going to 4K, plan for that now. Hopefully I can save other
>>>>> folks some blood, sweat & tears!
>>>>>
>>>>> RD
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk/attachments/20200821/ca4a25aa/attachment.htm>