Media Hub - AppleTV?

I've been disappointed with my DLink Media Center Extender for some time now. Even with TVersity to provide media server services to it, the unit just doesn't match the quality of output my AppleTV has. I have a great deal of content on my PC but can't view them on the AppleTV because the support isn't there for more of the commonly used codecs.
Yes, I know about Apple Core having a software addon available for more Codecs and other features, but I'd feel more comfortable if this type of software came from Apple themselves. Why aren't we seeing these features in software upgrades?

Welcome to the  Discussion Forums.
Apple generally doesn't provide any sort of support for third party compression types, whether that be on the Apple tv or on a mac. There isn't really any need to do so.
Apple not only supports its own .mov container but also standard compression types under the mpeg4 specifications. It doesn't support third party containers because it has no control over them and cannot guarantee compatibility. Yes you can add support for proprietary formats to quicktime on your mac/pc but you do so at your own risk. The Apple tv is a closed system which means you don't have the ability to take this risk should you want to, you couldn't really expect Apple to add this support for you.
I do not blame you for feeling uncomfortable about hacking your Apple tv to add support yourself, this is exactly why Apple don't do it themselves.

Similar Messages

Mac Mini as a Media Hub

This thread answered a lot of my questions, http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2217399, but I would like to be completely sure my idea is viable before spending the time and money on the set up.
I have the following Samsung, http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-fp-t6374x/4507-6482_7-32552703.ht ml?tag=psum. I would like to use a Mac Mini(the $800 one) as a media hub, in conjunction with a 1TB Time Capsule. The Mini would not be hard wired to the Time Capsule. I also have a MacBook Pro that would also be connected wirelessly. I'm hoping to be able to download movies from the internet, whether it's from a place like megaupload or a torrent site to my MacBook, then transfer to the Mini in order to watch the movies.
Should the above set up accomplish what I'm hoping? And will I be able to find the proper codecs to use with Snow Leopard in order to format the movies properly? I'm new to the whole operation of downloading movies in order to view. I'm open to any suggestions.

Since what you are talking about is basically piracy of movies, generally you'll be on your own when it comes to what it will take to view them. Part of the value of actually purchasing movies is the reliability of function it includes - piracy has no warranty.
If you would like to download movies in a fairly affordable and legal fashion, you should consider Netflix. They have been very good at working with different media player software makers to allow for safe, functional access to your subscribed content.
Otherwise your setup sounds good. The Samsung has the Just Scan setting you'll probably need to use to make the desktop fit properly. I recommend using a DVI to HDMI cable. If you don't have a surround sound, the 3.5mm stereo plug to RCA connections as advised in your TV's manual is what you'll need for audio input to the TV. For surround sound you should use an optical (Toslink) connection.

How do I set a guest password on my media hub?

Page 43 of the NMH405 media hub manual indicates that you can set a guest password on users. It is supposed to be under settings\system and although I see all the other settings under system, that one isn’t there. Maybe they cut the feature at the last minute. I'm running 3.18.15 of the firmware.
My ultimate goal is to have one account that I can use to write new content to the server and one that is read only for my family. I'm worried right now that they will delete the content (which they have done).
Any advice or workarounds to achieve this would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Peter
Th

Guest access can only be used if you'll be accessing the media hub remotely. Network Media Hub also lacks multiple user access.
You may refer to these articles about your Network Media Hub:
- Article ID: 19717: Accessing the Media Hub Remotely as a Guest
- Article ID: 19714: Creating a Guest Password for Remote Access to the Media Hub
- Article ID: 17571: Media Hub Lacks Multiple Users
If everyone needs to believe in something, I believe I'll have another beer..

What's Happening With This Media Hub?

I have the NMH410 version 3.18.15 purchased over 1 month ago. I'm using this hub as a storage device for my converted VHS video tapes. Some strange things are happening:
Files Listed and Not Listed:
I've used the Media Importer to load my converted VHS files onto the Media Hub and in some instances I see those files on the File Browser. However, I do not see some of those same files when I go to select them from the Video icon on the Homepage. Nor, do I find those files when I use the search tool.
Conversely, I see some video files from the Homepage icon that do not appear on the File Browser list. Yet, I know I uploaded those files at an earlier date.
I've used the "Scan" and "Refresh" buttons to no avail. What could be causing these two file problems?
What do the following messages mean?
Transferring data from "Media Hub name"?
Waiting for "Media Hub name"?
These two messages reside on the lower left side of my task bar. My cursor also appears to cycle through some sort of purge process.
Finally, is there a User Guide that can help me with many of the questions I still have concerning this product? Or, are we left to submitting these questions and hoping someone has a timely answer that is easily and rationally understood
Thanks
dutch184.

Thanks Mared1784 for taking the time to share your experience with me. But there is no way that I can "backup" almost 290GB of files to reformat the Media Hub drives. Plus, there is no guarantee that these same conditions will not happen again.
I have noticed that this condition (files listed on the file browser, but not accessible from the homepage or search engine), began with files loaded after November 12th. It seems to me that if the files are on the Media Hub (file browser) then I should be able to see and access them from anywhere within the Media Hub.
This tells me there is either a development or programming glitch that needs to have a fix made available through another firmware update. No one should have to go through the gymnastics you went through in order to correct the problem.
I appreciate you sharing your experience and suggestions with me.
Thanks
dutch184

I have purchased itunes tv series, movies and music and have transferred them onto an external hard drive and tried to play them on my tv on a media hub. The file will not load. Is there some form of blocking by itunes or another p[roblem and how d

I have purchased itunes tv series, movies and music and have transferred them onto an external hard drive and tried to play them on my tv on a media hub. The file will not load. Is there some form of blocking by itunes or another p[roblem and how do I fix it?

You can't fix it. iTunes bought content is DRM protected. so it can only be played on authorized devices. i.e devices associated with the apple Id used to purchase the content. Its copyright protection that the rights owners demand.
Circumventing it, is illegal in most countries, and as such cannot be discussed here. If you want to play the content you'll need to connect your computer directly to your TV, or use some other device you can authorize for iTunes content such as an iPad, iPhone , iPod touch or Apple Tv.

Updating Media Hub firmware *without* an Internet connection? (+ A few other questions)

Hi everyone! :-)
I recently purchased an NMH305 in the DSG retail stock clearance, which I am planning on using as a "Black hole" for my audio, video and software collections. Before I begin setting it up though, I need to check on a few things and ask a few questions. :-)
First things first, here's a brief overview of my network and some other stuff:
My network has no connection to the Internet whatsoever. I was previously online with a major UK ISP, but because of numerous connection issues and the fact that a direct connection has negative impacts on my lifestyle, I decided to get rid of it and do without.
Consequently, all of my access to the Internet (E.G: Posting here) is done through local libraries and friends connections.
Most of my systems run Windows XP, but I also have a few Ubuntu, Fedora, and OEM firmware based clients knocking around as well. Windows VII and/or a mass switch-over to Linux may occur in the future.
All network clients are wired up with 100mbps fast ethernet (No wi-fi)
My Media Hub currently has it's 500GB WD Green Caviar installed, but my plan is to replace this with two 500GB 7200rpm Hitachi drives stripped out of USB external caddies for quicker access times, greater peace of mind (I don't really trust Western Digital products) and use the more efficient Caviar as an external HDD insted.
Because I like to keep my systems as "light" as possible; I'd like to skip using the bundled set-up CD (Which'll install a lot of stuff that I don't need) and insted set-up the Media Hub manually using a web browser or terminal connection.
I consider myself to be an experienced and advanced user, and therefore I'm comfortable with the idea of configuring and operating my Media Hub via an SSH or Telnet session.
Downloading, backing-up and restoring Firmware by hand:
Anyhow...The first question I'd like to ask is How can I backup and update the firmware on my media hub using only my local network? I know full well that I can download the firmware images using just a web browser, but I cannot seem to find a direct URL anywhere on the Linksys site. The closest lead I've got so far is http://downloads.linksysbycisco.com/downloads/firmware/NMH_FW_3_18_15_B_ReleaseNotes.txt...But no logical variations of this URL that I've tried (Drop the _ReleaseNotes.txt, try .bin .img .tar .tgz and .tar.gz extensions) have resulted in success. :-(
If anyone has the direct URLs for the firmware images, I'd be most greatful. Failing that, if anyone can tell me the URL that the Media Hub uses to perform a version check (A few packets dumped via WireShark during a check will do) I can follow the HTTP chain from there by hand. :-)
Naturally, I'm assuming that there is a means by which to dump and upload firmware to/from the Media Hub (Via an SSH session, most likely) but if not, would serving the firmware update from one of my own systems (Using a record on my local DNS) work, or does the Media Hub use a secure connection for this?
Operating the Media Hub via SSH/Telnet:
As the Media Hub runs a customised version of Linux, I presume that administration via Telnet and SSH are available. I assume that the default login would be root / admin (I'm assuming the web interface also uses the root account for it's administrative logon) but is that correct...Or would I need different credentials to those for a Telnet/SSH login?
Installing new HDDs: Anything need keeping off the old one?
Finally; As I mentioned above, I'm planning to swap the OEM drive supplied with two others before use. I'm currently leafing through the users manual and am about to come across the procedure given for drive replacement, but given the size of the Media Hub's UI - Which looks to me to be pretty heavily featured - I doubt the whole lot would fit on the Hub's firmware flash...So presumably I'd need to back-up interface data and files from the OEM disk to the new disks first.
Dumping data from one disk to another isn't a problem (dd has become one of my favourite utilities over the past year) but - Thinking from the viewpoint of efficiency - Is it possible to restore the UI data and interface alone (No media lists or cache info - That's better regenerated after) without having to dump the first x sectors from one disk to another?
Also; Given the unit comes with a 5400rpm WD Green Caviar, will the Media Hub's PSU handle two standard 3.5" HDDs (Which could draw about 15-20w each) without problems? :-)
Farewell for now, apologies for the length of this post, and many thanks in advance for any help! >:-)
+++ DieselDragon +++

Check out the posts here and another one here .
Better check with the hardware tested list below for the harddrives.
NMH Series Hardware Tested List
Cheers.

Does media hub support mov video format?

Most of my video files are stored as .mov format. I just found out that none of these video files show up the media browser. I carefully checked the datasheet and user manual. On data sheet, it's shown as supported. On user manual, it's not in the list of supported video file format.
Anyone has same experience. How you solved it? Thanks a bunch.

YES, the media hub does support MOV Format. But I would like to clarify your concern when you said that "you can't see the files on the media hub". Do you mean that you can't see the files on the media browser even after copying the file to it? Or you just can't play the MOV files on the media browser even though you can see it? If it's the latter, then it might just be the plugin installed on your internet browser. Just update the plugins on your browser and you should be fine.
Answer ID 17638 Playing Video Files From the NMH
Answer ID 17686 Supported File Types for the Built-In Media Player in the NMH
If installing the necessary plugins is not an option then you can play your files through an External Application on your computer.
Answer ID 17460 Different Play Buttons for Certain Music Files

ITunes / Shadow / Import - Is there ANY way to get iTunes to work on the Media Hub 405?

Since I installed the Linksys Media Hub 405 my iTunes Library has become a mess to manage or enjoy. I'm using the latest software.
1. I have so so so so many duplicates
2. I can't use playlists
3. Some art work shows up others do not.
A. Itunes works great on my Dell Laptop w/ Vista Ultimate and on my iPod
B. The Media Hub is using Import and The Shadow keeps running but gets errors from time to time.
If the ONLY reason I bought the Media Hub is to run iTunes for 4,600 song library what should my settings and software running be to keep it up to date "automaticly" WITHOUT duplicates?
Should Shadow be on or off, and what setting?
Should Import be on or off, and what settings?
Can ANYONE answer this question is a common sense simple manner? Thank you.
Signed,
FRUSTRATED USER

If you worry about duplicate files on your Media Hub then you should use NTI Shadow. When creating a backup job on NTI Shadow make sure your choose "save your folder/file changes to the backup destination every time you save changes to your PC" then for the file versions options choose "Do not save any previous file version".
Check on Step 8 and 9 on this article.
Configure a Backup Job using NTI Shadow

Media Hub not available on windows network

I have a strange problem I've been trying to solve and really need some help. My media hub boots correctly and for a period of about 5-10 minutes, appears as normal over the windows network. I've mapped drives and can access the unit through those as well initially. After that 5-10 minutes, I get an error message when trying to access it through windows file network. The error message is usually about there not being enough system resources and occurs on any computer used to reach it. The media hub CAN BE REACHED by using the web portal or web interface. All the files are there. The web interface shows the hard disks have passed their health check as well. They are set in the Raid1 mode.
I am at a loss. What is happening to this thing to make it loose it's connection at the 5-10 minute mark???

hello there!
If your media hub was working fine before and just started acting up....perhaps this has something to do with the media hub's firmware.. since you can access it through the media browser you can check the configuration page and check if it's updated or not and update it if necessary. By the way, just make sure you are using a wired computer in updating the firmware.
+ leiram +

When will there be a software update for the Media Hub?

1. Many issues related to playing media types - Need updated or increased CODEC's - Flash, MPG, Divix, WMP should ALL play. Why don't you put ALL the CODEC's in????
2. Support for iTunes playlists. This should be a basic funtion.
3. Funtion to get rid of duplicates as common sense tells you that he Media Hub will see your iTunes LIbrary and the built in function of "Import" creates duplicates.
4. Support for better identification of iTunes related Album artwork. It's there! Wht does the Media Hub not see it as iTunes does?
5. Larger buffer options to cut back on load times for large libraies of photo files. Don't mind giving up some disk space for this too or using an external mem card!
6. Better Sony Play Station support as SP3 sees files as not compatible, yet plays them and not others.
7. When can we expect some form of software update?
8. Does the Media Hub (405) run faster with a single drive if you turn off the two drive option?

1. You have to understand that it would be close to impossible to place all the codecs in one device. As some codecs requires DRM.
2. I'm not sure what codec you are after in itunes since M3U is supported by the media hub. Supported File Types for the Built-In Media Player in the NMH
3. I strongly agree with you in this one. Duplicate files using the Import Tool should be automatically be removed. That's why I don't use the Import Tool anymore instead I just use the NTI Shadow when transferring files automatically to the hub.
4. The media hub uses AMG Server to look for album artworks. But the last upgrade of the firmware allows you to use your album arts without the interference of the AMG Server but the art must be tagged on the media file.
5. I agree with you on this one as well.
6. I always keep in mind that not all devices works as what we expect it to be. So better just bear with the Play Station support until we get some updates.
7. Only LinksysbyCisco can answer that. LoL
8. The media hub functions the same way regardless whether you are running on 2 drives or 1. But of course, there will be some minor differences on Read and Write performance when running on RAID 1 since both the drives will have to read and write the same files into it making the processor double its work.

Unhappy with media hub

hi all, ive been using media hub since xmas day, but cant get it to work the way it should. now it wont online with media import, when music is on server its all in the wrong order, with wrong composers etc i upload 10Gb and it all when wrong for the 3rd time have reset completely and still wont go on ot the network and wont import online

Hi!
Try to disable the firewalls on your computer. The media import tool has a problem communicating to the hub if the firewalls are ON. If you are not comfortable disabling your firewalls then you can create exceptions for it. With regards to the order of the media files when on the hub, try manually transferring the media files using Windows Explorer instead of going through the import tool. This way, the directory structure of the files won't get broken.
Keep us posted.

New Media Hub NMH405 - Transfer speeds

I have a brand new Media Hub with 2 Seagate 1.5 TB drives in RAID 0 (Linear 2), and the transfer and read speed are horrendous. The Media Hub has the latest software (2.17.13), and the drives are not the batch of drives that are affected by freezing/throughput issues. Maximum SMB transfers are aound 3 MB/s bidirectionally. Playback seems to be okay for the most part as long as I dont start more than one stream. The main networking device is a brand new Apple Airport Extreme which has 3 GBE and a dual band draft N accesspoint. Everything else seems to be in order, but the speeds are horribly slow.
I was going to put the device in single drive mode to see if the problem was the RAID, but I wanted to check first to see if anyone else had any ideas.
Message Edited by jedson328 on 01-24-2009 11:04 AM

I would like to get some info on your system that you are testing with - OS version, connection type (are you hardwired or wireless to your router), computer specs..etc.
How are you measuring the performance? Are you using a tool? We would love to make sure the Media hub is running at the best possible performance, and from all our testing internally and externally it is, so your issues are certainly a concern.

Mediahub - Playing songs of the media hub on the internal webpage of cisco media hub

Hi there, has anyone the same problem? I cannot play songs throught the internal webpage of cisco media hub. Error message: invalid player data received - for audio player support visit linksys.com, best Regards A.

Hi ,
Mine works well.
However, here are my two cents:
Check if the NMH has the latest firmware version (3.18.15)? Click here on how to update.
Make sure the files are supported by the media browser. Here's your reference.
Make sure you have the latest adobe flash player plug-in.
Disable security software temporarily to further isolate the issue.
Try to use another browser.

DVD Players that will Stream Movies from Media Hub

I am looking for BluRay player that I can also stream movies from my Media Hub. I was hoping that we could start a list of combinations that prople know will work. I am actually looking at the Sony BDP S370 but open to anything.
Thanks
Solved!
Go to Solution.

The Oppo BDP-83 http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/ since its Januaray firmware upgrade. DLNA is an un-advertized feature and some flavors of h.264 support was added in the latest Beta firmware release. From my experience, it seems quite tolerant of (MP4 home) movies in a MKV container; I haven't tried streaming Blu-Rays. Check out:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=b912bb7489a6adb326ed42af8defc698&t=1215071 for other experiences. When reading, keep in mind that the NMHxxx uses a TwonkyMedia server.
The BDP-83 also streams hi-res photos of the 10 Mega pixel variety and mp3s quite well but does not handle 5 channel losses audio via DLNA _yet_.
In addition to outstanding DVD and Blu-Ray playback, it also plays audio CDs, SACDs and BD-audio from disks.
Alan

Media hub - Standby mode?

Hi.
I am the unhappy owner of a Cisco media hub.
Have been looking everywhere for someone who can help with a standby mode for my media hub, but have not succeeded yet.
Can it really be true that there is no firmware with a simple standby for this model? all they cheaper model on the market have this feature.
Hope somebody could help with this problem. :-)
Kind regards
Kasper Kjaer

Hi,
I do agree with slickyworm. However if you're using an NMH4XX series, you have the option to adjust the backlight and screensaver through the LCD menu which will somehow reduce its power consumption. And as far as I know, the NMH operates at 13 watts which I guess very acceptable specification for a media storage device.

Media Hub - AppleTV?

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