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Streaming Hi-Quality Videos To Android With Tversity and nswPlayer

Hello everyone,
I have pieced together a tutorial to get hi-quality Video Streaming to your Android phone over Wi-Fi or 3G. For those of you using Orb Mycast for years, like I have, have noticed that the quality is unbearable and down right atrocious until I rediscovered Tversity again.
Here are some items you will need:
1: Tversity installed on PC where media is stored
2: nswPlayer installed on Android phone from market
Its the only player for Android that picks up on .mp4 files without having to download the file all the way
3: Handbrake encoder from handbrake.org for converting your movies to a lower resolution and optimizing for progessive playback
Optional: Setup your PC for Static IP and Port Fowarding if you want to stream via 3G if away from home. Go to www.portforward.com for detailed tutorials on how to set this up.
Encoding Movies for Progressive Streaming Playback
Before you begin encoding your video for playback, here are some things to look at to keep the video quality hi while making the smallest video size available. You want to look at the resolution/bitrate of the movie you are encoding and if you are like me and get your movies off of uTorrent or such, you want to keep the same quality. You want to keep the bitrate match to the resolution size by converting it such so that if you have a movie file that runs at 729kbps at a resolution width of 672, when you downsize the file to a resolution width of 320 then the bitrate should be 346kbps to match.
In Handbrake, go ahead and select iPhone legacy as the profile for encoding.
Next, check off the Web Optimized button so that the file can played progressively, if not, you will get an error message saying "illegal file".
After loading your source and destination, make sure the destination file is saved as yourmoviefile.mp4 instead of yourmoviefile.m4v because you will also get a "illegal file" error.
Under Picture, change anamorphic encoding to none and make sure "Keep Aspect Ratio" is check marked. Next, changed the width down to 320 and the height will automatically change with it.
Under Video, change to Avg Bitrate to match your width resolution like I explained above and then you are ready to encode when hit the start button. Bear in mind that this might take a little while depending on your PC's Hardware specs. If you have any issues using Handbrake, visit their forums for any fixes that you need.
Setting Up Tversity For Streaming
I will not go into detail about setting Tversity on your PC such as configuring the libraries and such but I will go over settings that need to be in place for this to work.
Under Settings in the Transcoder section, make sure under "When To Transcode" make sure its set to never. The reason behind this is I havent figured a way for Android to pickup on the stream without waiting for it to fully transcode.
Next under General Settings, under Home Network, make sure you plug in your PC's IP address so that way your phone has access to your video files.
For this part, you would have had to setup your PC for a static IP instead of being a random IP that is given when your PC gets turned on each time. If you got to www.portforward.com for detail tutorials on setting up a static IP.
Optional:Under General Settings in the Home Network Section, there is an option for "the media server should accept requests......" which will let you access your media over 3G on your phone. To set this up, after you check mark that you want access, go ahead and setup a username and password to let you login from outside your network.
As before, you need your PC setup as a static IP but also you have setup your home router to Port Forward requests from Port 41952 to your PC's Static IP. Go to www.portforward.com for instructions on how to setup port forwarding.
Install A Android Media Player That Will Pickup On Progressive MP4
So far the only media player that works for this so far is the "nswPlayer" that you can download for free off the market.
If anybody has found a better player that works for this solution, please let me know so I can test it out.
Last But Not Least, Lets Stream A Video To Our Phone!!
For Home Wi-Fi Streaming Only
Open your web browser in your Android Phone, input your PC's Static IP such as "192.168.1.XXX:41952/lib"(Replaced the XXX's with Your IP address that you previously setup), from here, you will be navigated to Tversity's mobile WAP GUI. Navigate from here where you setup your video files in your library to appear. After that, select your video file and if all is setup correctly, then either you will get a popup saying with default player would you like to use or it will go straight to nswPlayer and start playing the movie.
For Streaming Over 3G or Another High-Speed Wi-Fi Connection
The only difference here that we are going to do is navigate our Android Browser to your home's IP Address which can be found easily if you go to www.whatsmyip.org from your home PC. For example it will look like this, 98.246.64.55:41952/lib to access Tversity away from home.
WARNING: Streaming from outside your network will take a long time for your movies to buffer to nswPlayer. It has taken well over 2 minutes for the movie to play sometimes over 3G. Thats why we try to get the movie as small as possible to stream faster over 3G.
All and all, thats about it. This should get you up and running on streaming to Hi-Quality video files to your Android phone wherever you are at. I will update this tutorial with any helpful updates I get from the community on what works better or my own discoveries as time goes on.

Thanks for the wonderful tutorial. I'm using the Samsung Vibrant with nswPlayer and I keep getting "Illegal File" what am I doing wrong? Do I have to use handbrake to encode my files? I downloaded them as .avi and they run fine off my SD card.

Yes you have to encode each video to be the correct format as well as enabling it be stream byte by byte. If you want to stream while on the same network as the pc with your video files, you could use Allshare to stream via DLNA if you have Windows media player setup to manage your media library.
I am going to play with this setup to see if I can avoid pre-converting the video file because the Galaxy S has some codecs that other Android handsets dont have. Maybe I can figure out if it can stream avi containers.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Thanks for the tut. arcMedia Player will play the avi streaming formats.

the Android Movies app lets you watch Movies in HD you will need wifi or 4G though.
check it out for yourself:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.androidmovies&feature=search_result

Does anyone know why this app have been removed? I purchased this app and it did worked but lately it hasn't been working. Has anyone have this problem?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

Seems like a lot of work, but it must pay off.
As far as Android Movies is concerned i was able to watch one movie in excellent quality. I knew they would probablyl get shut down at some point. Now there is just a msg in the app saying that they will be back and to be patient. Eh, it was like renting a movie for $2 knowing the caveat would be that it may be a one time deal. I was very impressed by the quality and i wasn't even on 4g.
Hey OP, any idea about orb for Android. Months ago i heard a talk about it and a lot of people were complaining about the quality. Any experience on your end?

e-zzy1 said:
the Android Movies app lets you watch Movies in HD you will need wifi or 4G though.
check it out for yourself:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.androidmovies&feature=search_result
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the Android Movies app and now its gone. Can't find it and can't get a response from the developers.
I need the apk to redownload but I guess im out of luck.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

I would tell you to purchase "Amatsu" from the Market, but the developers are thieves and crooks.
They sold "free android movies", which was vaporware. It never functioned... Only had a date on it staying when it would be working again. It then disappeared & Amatsu took it's place. Now Amatsu doesn't work!

Update
Hey guys,
Sorry that I have been absent for some time but I have movesd on to better ways of taking your collection on the go. Right now I am part of the Alpha team over at WWW.plexapp.com which is a better way of organizing your media collection with their free server software along with a small payment for their client on Android. Go check it out, you guys won't be disappointed.

nice work!

I didn't think that there'd be a problem with this... (Nexus S / VLC / SMB / Network)

Apparently having a home network with a fileserver and a couple clients is outside the range of normalcy, now. I mean, I run a samba server from ubuntu which shares out movies, music, and what-have-you for my whole network. I have a decent-size TV downstairs that I occasionally plug my laptop into to watch movies with the fiancee. With the new Nexus S came the thought that "Hey! I can use the wifi in the house to do stuff on the laptop! Linux is linux, right? Doesn't matter who made it!"
(Insert the sound of someone realizing that he was wrong)
Friendo helped root the phone, ran me through basics like nandroid backups and whatnot, and I think I unlocked the bootloader, as well. Something like that. I can use the VLC web interface and VLC Stream and Convert (free edition) to play stuff on the server itself, or I can manually move whatever it was that I wanted to watch to the laptop and control that.
My question is this: Is there any app out there that'll let me tell the copy of VLC on the laptop to open files on the server? It's a dual-core fileserver that runs off 3gb of ram. It can't handle 1080p movies. The laptop, however, is more than capable, and I'd like to use its CPU / GPU to decode x.264 / AAC streams, rather than the Nexus or the server.
Am I just wishing for something that's impossible at this juncture?

[Q] Considering purchase of a Xoom, but I have questions

Hi everyone,
I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a Xoom since it was announced, but before launching myself into a 500$+ purchase, I would like to make sure the device does what I expect it to.
Here is a short list of what I am looking for in a tablet. If possible, could you guys tell me if the Xoom fits my needs.
Microsoft Exchange support
If yes, can I add multiple Exchange accounts? Support for calendars as well?
Video Playback
I watch a lot of 350MB (xvid) and 1.09Gb (mkv) tv shows. Is there a good player that supports playback? Is playback choppy/laggy or loses audio sync? I've seen and read a lot of bad press on this.
Video playback is potentially a deal maker/breaker. Video has to be smooth, and I'd like to avoid having to re-encode video if I dont have to. If a made in china device like the superpad can read MKV files, why not a dual core beast?
Tethering
I have an iPhone 3G and a tethering plan. I can tether to my laptop. Will I be able to tether to the XOOM?
SAMBA/SMB Share navigation
Can I browse network shares stored on my computer? Can I provide logon credentials to browse shares for a domain network? (Ex : DOMAIN\userassword or user(at)domain.localassword). Can I stream video over Wifi and network shares?
VPN
Is there support for L2TP over IPSEC? Certificate or PSK?
I'm quite computer savvy, it just seems difficult to get facts straight on tablets these days.
Thank you all in advance for reading this and taking the time to reply.

ipigi said:
Hi everyone,
I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a Xoom since it was announced, but before launching myself into a 500$+ purchase, I would like to make sure the device does what I expect it to.
Here is a short list of what I am looking for in a tablet. If possible, could you guys tell me if the Xoom fits my needs.
Microsoft Exchange support
If yes, can I add multiple Exchange accounts? Support for calendars as well?
Video Playback
I watch a lot of 350MB (xvid) and 1.09Gb (mkv) tv shows. Is there a good player that supports playback? Is playback choppy/laggy or loses audio sync? I've seen and read a lot of bad press on this.
Video playback is potentially a deal maker/breaker. Video has to be smooth, and I'd like to avoid having to re-encode video if I dont have to. If a made in china device like the superpad can read MKV files, why not a dual core beast?
Tethering
I have an iPhone 3G and a tethering plan. I can tether to my laptop. Will I be able to tether to the XOOM?
SAMBA/SMB Share navigation
Can I browse network shares stored on my computer? Can I provide logon credentials to browse shares for a domain network? (Ex : DOMAIN\userassword or user(at)domain.localassword). Can I stream video over Wifi and network shares?
I'm quite computer savvy, it just seems difficult to get facts straight on tablets these days.
Thank you all in advance for reading this and taking the time to reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A quick set of answers for you:
Exchange support - Yes
Calendars - Yes
Video Playback - unfortunately I can't answer that but I'm sure it won't be a problem with all the available apps and answers from other users regarding HD playback/re-encoding/compression
Tethering - Yes, works a treat...I'm doing it from my HTC Desire and Laptop.
SAMBA/SMB - Yes, 'Cifs Manager' from th Android Marketplace is a doddle to use. Streaming video/audio via wifi and network shares is easy.
VPN - not sure
Hope that helps.

Video playback - Yes, moboplayer
VPN - Yes openvpn just look around the fourms

Be aware that not everything (like openvpn) - will work out of the box. You will need to do some work, and possibly void the devices warranty (Unlock/root)

Costco has 90 days .... to return if you have one... Or can Order on line
(As I did)
Thats the way I went thanks and good luck

pyrator said:
Video playback - Yes, moboplayer
VPN - Yes openvpn just look around the fourms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How good of a playback are we talking about. I've been reading a lot of people (on these forums and other places as well) who are having problems playing back some video files. Stuttering, laggy, things like that.
I'm going to be using this device for personal use first and work second, so smooth video playback is important and is probably the biggest reason for the purchase of a xoom.
For VPN, I've been digging around and found a thread on the xoomforums dot com website (I cant post a link yet, I'm too green). Note that I plan to use L2TP over IPSEC, and not pure IPSEC to connect to a VPN. Apparently there is native support for that without the need for OpenVPN.
Also, does anyone know if there is a Remote Desktop app so I can connect and control windows 7/vista PCs from the tablet?
Thanks to everyone for the replies!

ipigi said:
How good of a playback are we talking about. I've been reading a lot of people (on these forums and other places as well) who are having problems playing back some video files. Stuttering, laggy, things like that.
I'm going to be using this device for personal use first and work second, so smooth video playback is important and is probably the biggest reason for the purchase of a xoom.
For VPN, I've been digging around and found a thread on the xoomforums dot com website (I cant post a link yet, I'm too green). Note that I plan to use L2TP over IPSEC, and not pure IPSEC to connect to a VPN. Apparently there is native support for that without the need for OpenVPN.
Also, does anyone know if there is a Remote Desktop app so I can connect and control windows 7/vista PCs from the tablet?
Thanks to everyone for the replies!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
350MB (xvid) ---> play beautifully using moboplayer
1.09Gb (mkv) ---> choppy as **** on any player or if the video plays smoothly, the audio is non existant.
Im assuming these are "borrowed" videos downloaded from the internet.

I just use Handbrake to convert files to my Android devices. I just run into too many problems otherwise.
And if you are trying to play MKV files with subtitles. I've found no solution for that. Rockplayer kinda works if it's 480p or less. Though sometimes the audio gets out of sync.

If the subs are in text (srt) format, HB should move them over. If they're bitmaps (vobsub/pgs) or have styles (ass/ssa/smi), they can't be converted w/o an intervening translation/OCR step, since MP4 container only accepts plain text subs.
MKV->MP4 conversion is OK if you don't watch foreign films and don't care about subs. It's a PITA otherwise.

Do a search for 'Remote Desktop' on the market place...there are a handful which all work great. I can verify blistering speeds connecting to Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit)

robbiev80 said:
1.09Gb (mkv) ---> choppy as **** on any player or if the video plays smoothly, the audio is non existant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Xoom can't decompress the audio at all? I'm not a huge fan of re-encoding video and I perfer to just drag and drop to play videos, my Desire can just about keep 20-25 fps playing 350Mb HD video, 20 minute anime series, the audio is fine as well. Why can't the Xoom play a 1Gb file with it's dual core CPU?
*edit* That's my Desire playing MKV's, not AVI etc.

For what its worth I just tested an 840mb mkv file on moboplayer and it was flawless, no issues with audio at all. I haven't tried anything over 1gb though.

Stream pictures and videos to tablet from Mac?

So I was wondering if there was a way to stream my pictures and videos from my Mac to my Transformer. I have google music for my music so that isn't really an issue, however I'd like to be able to hook my tablet to any tv and view the pictures on my Mac. I know it's probably easier done over LANwifi but it'd be nice if I could do it anywhere.
I assume once I get my mini hdmi cable it will be easy to hook it up to the TV, but getting the media is where I am stuck.

I use Subsonic (http://www.subsonic.org) to stream all my music and video's to my phone and tablet (or any other device)...
The server can be a mac, you can access your media via the web or via an android, iphone, pc widget/app... there is a lot out there...
It doesn't support image viewing (by default), but there is a mod which enables picture viewing support...
You can take a look at http://media.schattorie.nl, apps are available in the market...

does it cost monthly?

So I just got Plex, seems to work thus far. 4.99 for the app and the server on my mac is a free d/l. Just need to see if it works over 3g now...

Sync Video/Audio From PC To Android

Ok everyone something new that I am trying to setup, something to the effect of a home media streaming server.
The server it self is a laptop intel i5 6gb ram win 7 connected to tv via HDMI, I used this to play netflix, torrents, ect and basically cut off my cable bill.
What I would like to do now is to stream the video/audio via wifi to other android devices that are connected to other tv's through out the house.
for the client side, I will be useing MK802 II android 4.0. connected via HDMI,
question to everyone is ... Has anyone else already accomplish this? and can you give any pointers. I know I can simply share files, ect but I want to sync the video signal to the other televisions so If a video is on in the living room , the same exact video is playing in the kitchen.
And being I want to do this via Android Im here at xda to pick some brains
Thank you in advance

Search at playstore for bubleUpNp
Sent from my LG-P500