[mythtv-users] dlna dmr frontend replacement.

[Michael T. Dean]

On 10/15/2012 05:54 PM, HP-mini wrote:
> Has this idea been discussed here before ?
>
> The idea is to not have a separate frontend PC attached to TV but to use
> a network connected combined BE/FE&  use dlna push rendering of the
> mythtv GUI to DMR devices.
>
> A smart phone or tablet (or long range remote IR/wireless keyboard etc)
> is used to control. (BubbleUPnP for example)
> The video compression/streaming of the mostly static GUI should not be
> to taxing.
>
> The audio content could be streamed directly to AVR/HT-amp DMR.
>
> Benefits:
> - no low power marginal FE boxes needed.
> - one remote noisy server box.
> - no good video card needed.
> - integrates with gadget ecosystem.
>
> Downside:
> - need lots of new shiny gadgets. (is this a downside?)
> - rely on TV to do scaling/de-interlacing.
> - might need to do transcoding for the DMR.

If you're doing video and audio push, too--and not just the GUI--you'll 
probably have tons of CODEC issues (i.e. your Samsung phone is happy to 
do Ogg, but your Samsung TV refuses, so DLNA doesn't let you play those 
files through your TV--and possibly similar issues with the 
very-common-in-MythTV-recordings MPEG-2).  And, it seems that DLNA will 
never be user friendly, and will always require way too much technical 
expertise.

Another option is to check out:

Miracast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracast ("open" (not buy-in) 
standard to replace AirPlay)
Wi-Fi Direct: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Direct (underlying 
transport for Miracast)
DASH: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Adaptive_Streaming_over_HTTP 
(standardized replacement for HLS)

It seems to me that DLNA is something that promises much, but delivers 
little (due to the lack of good implementations (or differences in 
existing implementations)/lack of enforcement of "must support X CODEC," 
etc.)--not to mention the "club members only" approach to the standard, 
enforced by the cost of getting the specs so you can implement it.

Mike