Looking for Video Transcoding Box

[Schlabschi]

Hi,

I recently bought a NAS-Device (QNAP TS-419P II) to consolidate all my media. The only problem left is that the device is not powerful enough to transcode videos on-the-fly. I have several different video formats stored on disk and as every device (PS3, iPad, etc.) is only supporting a subset of formats, I am looking for a box that can do the transcoding while the file is being streamed from my QNAP.

Does anybody know of a good transcoding device that I can place in the path between my NAS and the clients and that can play and transcode every common container format? I am NOT looking for a full blown HD media player with loads of functions. All I require is the ability to sit between my NAS and my clients and transcode any video format on-the-fly. No local disk. And should be not more than 100$.

Thanks!
Schlabschi

[jagabo]

I dont' think there's any such box. You'll probably have to set up a PC with a transcoding DLNA server. Which pretty much negates the benefits of the NAS box.

[Schlabschi]

Well if this is really true (which I hope is not), is there any convenient way to convert all my videos to a format that at least PS3 and iPad can read - like MP4? I am talking about a software that I install on my PC, give it a path to the videos, configure it once and then fire and forget. That is running in the background whenever I start my PC and checking that given path for videos not yet in the preferred format and then starts to convert it on its own without user interaction.

You know, I am not interested at all to invest much time in this annoying video format problem. So I am looking either for a device that is doing transcoding on-the-fly or a software that is intelligent enough to not bother me touching any file that needs to be converted.

Thanks!
Schlabschi

[Hoser Rob]

Your thanks may be premature ... you are asking for software that does not exist. If it did wouldn't there already be a hardware solution? You're asking for a level of simplicity that you aren't going to get. There's too little standardization in digital video and that won't change.

There's another issue. If you want to encode video that will look good on a large tv screen, your ipad will quite likely not play it unless it has a retina display. Also, encoding isn't necessarily something you do "in the background". It's quite cpu intensive and it will limit other process you can do on the same machine.

There's no getting around multiple formats, and there's a limit to how much you can simplify digital video. You want something that just involves plugging in some numbers. Like operating a digital factory machine. Encoding is like what the technologists who program those machines do. It requires judgment.

[Schlabschi]

So if my requirement for simplicity is nothing that can be achieved, what would be your suggestion for a middle ground? What kind of software for video conversion would you recommend that is doing a good job without require me to be a video expert (which I am obviously not)? Or is there any cheap media player that can do the job? Like mounting a path from the NAS and playing the different video formats with a good performance and quality?

Thanks,
Schlabschi

[themaster1]

VLC (video lan) can encode and stream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=569ruE-JyCE

[Schlabschi]

Thanks for the suggestion with VLC but it seems that you are referring to streaming between two PCs (at least the video describes just that). Unfortunately this is not what I need. I need to stream my videos from the NAS box to all my other devices (PS3, iPad, PC).

[themaster1]

Yeah ? What's the matter then have you never heard of wi-fi ; although i concede 1080p over a wi-fi network (non gigabit) is a bad idea

[RBK]

What kind o computer do you use Windows PC or MAC? I know of a pretty good mac solution but I don't really have any idea about a pc equivalent.

[aedipuss]

what part of nas don't you understand? N(etwork) A(ttached) S(torage). that's all it is, a STORAGE device. the playing device reads the files off the nas. if the playing device needs a different format, then it is up to you to trancode it and then store that format on the nas.

you can't stick something in between the nas and the player, there isn't any such thing.

[deadrats]

You know, I am not interested at all to invest much time in this annoying video format problem. So I am looking either for a device that is doing transcoding on-the-fly or a software that is intelligent enough to not bother me touching any file that needs to be converted.

as far as the software you are talking about basically you want an encoder/transcoder that allows you to create a watch folder and any media file dropped into that folder is automatically converted to the target output. this software exists but a) it's expensive and b) it requires you to know at least a bit about setting up the initial target output.

i know procoder (now called carbon coder) allows for the creation of a watch folder, i seem to remember 1 or two other apps that allowed for such a thing but the names escape me at the moment. try googling for watch folder and maybe you can find something reasonably priced though i think the $100 limit will be hard to meet.

[jagabo]

what part of nas don't you understand? N(etwork) A(ttached) S(torage). that's all it is, a STORAGE device. the playing device reads the files off the nas. if the playing device needs a different format, then it is up to you to trancode it and then store that format on the nas.

His NAS probably has a DLNA server built in (mine does). He probably thought it would transcode on-the-fly but found out it wasn't powerful enough.

[Schlabschi]

as far as the software you are talking about basically you want an encoder/transcoder that allows you to create a watch folder and any media file dropped into that folder is automatically converted to the target output. this software exists but a) it's expensive and b) it requires you to know at least a bit about setting up the initial target output.

i know procoder (now called carbon coder) allows for the creation of a watch folder, i seem to remember 1 or two other apps that allowed for such a thing but the names escape me at the moment. try googling for watch folder and maybe you can find something reasonably priced though i think the $100 limit will be hard to meet.

Yes, watch folders sounds exactly what I am looking for regarding a software solution. I will have a look at it. Thanks. Would appreciate all suggestions from you guys about software that is capable of doing something like that.

His NAS probably has a DLNA server built in (mine does). He probably though it would transcode on-the-fly but found out it wasn't powerful enough.

Exactly. And I think it should be possible anyway to place another device in the path that is doing the transcoding. In that case I would not access the NAS directly but use the other device that has mounted a path to my NAS. Any suggestions about such a device?

Thanks,
Schlabschi

[jagabo]

And I think it should be possible anyway to place another device in the path that is doing the transcoding.

Of course it's possible -- in a theoretical sense.

In that case I would not access the NAS directly but use the other device that has mounted a path to my NAS. Any suggestions about such a device?

As was already said, nobody knows of such a device. And given the complexities of handling different types of video and audio, I doubt such a device will ever be made.

[themaster1]

What about this product:
http://www.vixs.com/index-ee.php/products/product/reference-designs

I can't find it on ebay or elsewhere though

[aedipuss]

a nas box transmits the video over the home NETWORK. there is nothing that can intercept the movie over cat5/wifi - stop it/re-render it/re-transmit it to the player.

[jagabo]

What about this product:
http://www.vixs.com/index-ee.php/products/product/reference-designs

I think it's a long way from that device to an automated "in line" transcoder.

[aedipuss]

what i ended up doing is having a main movie folder on the nas boxes for the main blu-ray players which contains the 1080p versions and an ipad folder with requested movies at 720p ipad spec. it takes under an hour to create them. if in the future i run out of space on the 2 nas boxes i already have i will just add another.

[Schlabschi]

What about this product:
http://www.vixs.com/index-ee.php/products/product/reference-designs

I can't find it on ebay or elsewhere though

Sounds like a cool idea. Never heard about a device like this before. But as you have to carry around your files, it is nothing that can help me with my problem.

[Schlabschi]

what i ended up doing is having a main movie folder on the nas boxes for the main blu-ray players which contains the 1080p versions and an ipad folder with requested movies at 720p ipad spec. it takes under an hour to create them. if in the future i run out of space on the 2 nas boxes i already have i will just add another.

Well perhaps I will end up with something like that too. But I am still hoping for a more convenient solution. What is your process when you create the different versions? What kind of software are you using?

[poisondeathray]

RE: Watch folders .

Adobe Media Encoder has this comes with Premiere Pro , but unless you already have it it's >$100

FFCoder is free and has watch folders as well (But I haven't tested that function, don't know how well it works)

[Schlabschi]

a nas box transmits the video over the home NETWORK. there is nothing that can intercept the movie over cat5/wifi - stop it/re-render it/re-transmit it to the player.

Yes I know. But I don't talk about intercepting a signal on the network. What I was thinking of is more like this: Many media players have either internal disks or you can attach USB-Drives. I wonder if there are devices that can mount a network path instead. In that case I would access the media player and it would serve the video as if it is stored locally. The only piece that would be still missing though is the transcoding part that would allow to play the video on any device

[aedipuss]

you can add a dlna blu-ray player at each tv. that's what i use here. then the "game" toys don't have to act as media players.

[aedipuss]

as for the transcoding mkv to ipad/other formats i use vidcoder. it's easy to set up your own presets once you get it adjusted to your liking, and it does batch encoding for multiple sources if you want to do a bunch overnight. i set it to read/write directly from/to the nas folders.

[Schlabschi]

as for the transcoding mkv to ipad/other formats i use vidcoder. it's easy to set up your own presets once you get it adjusted to your liking, and it does batch encoding for multiple sources if you want to do a bunch overnight. i set it to read/write directly from/to the nas folders.

Looks good. I think I will give it a try as long as I don't have a more convenient solution. Do you use one of the available Presets? Do you know what the Preset "High Profile" means? Is that best quality?

[jagabo]

Do you know what the Preset "High Profile" means?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Profiles

Is that best quality?

You don't want the "best" quality. You want files encoded with settings that your devices can handle.

[marioval]

Why not just install Plex Media Server (PMS) on your PC then point PMS to the NAS as your source for media?

http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/FAQ:_Plex_Media_Server_and_NAS

[Schlabschi]

Do you know what the Preset "High Profile" means?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Profiles

Holy Sh... My brain just exploded But thanks anyway. I am on my way to become a video expert. I can feel it...

[jagabo]

I'm pretty sure the iPad and PS3 support High Profile @ level 4.0 or 4.1.

[Schlabschi]

I'm pretty sure the iPad and PS3 support High Profile @ level 4.0 or 4.1.

Yes, I just tested it and High Profile preset works fine for both.