Solved VLC stream to TV

B

bxbzq

Hi there,

I'd appreciate an instruction for setting up VLC stream to my Sony 55X9500H TV. The TV supports DLNA. There are some instructions on internet but it seems no one cares to write a good one.
My case is very simple. The FreeBSD host machine and TV are in the same LAN, 192.168.0.x. VLC was installed via port including uPNP option.

Most of videos I want to stream are .mkv, if that matters.
 
Have a look at net/gerbera , depending on what format your source material is you might need to transcode (re-encode it) so your TV "accepts" the format which can be quite an intensive task.

Best regards,
Daniel
 
Keep in mind that minidlna (now called readymedia btw) is pretty old by now (still maintained) however it doesn't support any type of transcoding/remuxing so compatibility with video formats is completely up to the client which may be sparse. You might also run into some issues as clients might expect different responses than what it serves (unfortunately a common issue in DLNA world).
 
I think VLC does not support DLNA. But for TV, I can recommend you to install Raspberry Pi 4 with HDMI cable and install Kodi player. It can be controlled with TV's remote control.
 
VLC does support DLNA (UPNP) but not as a server, client works fine but there are better ways of sharing media in that regard. ;-)
 
diizzy said:
Keep in mind that minidlna (now called readymedia btw) is pretty old by now (still maintained) however it doesn't support any type of transcoding/remuxing so compatibility with video formats is completely up to the client which may be sparse. You might also run into some issues as clients might expect different responses than what it serves (unfortunately a common issue in DLNA world).
Click to expand...

True, you must have the latest smart TV in order to play every format (x264, x265, HDR, DV)
 
TV's normally have HDMI connectors. Nothing prevents you from plugging in a 55-inch TV and using it as the monitor for your computer (unless your computer's GPU doesn't have an HDMI connector, in which case you'd need to buy an adapter from Amazon.
 
astyle said:
TV's normally have HDMI connectors.
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Some TV's also have a VGA connector. Though, these are typically older flatscreens from about a decade ago. I know VGA isn't preferable, but it's there, and I would use it as a third option for an additional monitor. There's also DVI to HDMI adapters, which use the same video signal, but drop out the sound when going to the DVI end. I wouldn't be surprised if newer TV's have a DisplayPort connector, but I don't see any so far in advertisements.

Some TV's have a USB input, where images and short videos can be looked at.
 
So looks streaming to TV in VLC is not an option? Unbelievable.
I'll try other ways as suggested here. But HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA? Sure I can use one of these, but, come on.
 
bxbzq said:
So looks streaming to TV in VLC is not an option? Unbelievable.
I'll try other ways as suggested here. But HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA? Sure I can use one of these, but, come on.
Click to expand...
Just try either Gerbera or Plex (I think Plex might require its own app though)
I also believe there's a version of Kodi that you can install to (probably) make your life easier ;-)
 
bxbzq said:
So looks streaming to TV in VLC is not an option? Unbelievable.
I'll try other ways as suggested here. But HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA? Sure I can use one of these, but, come on.
Click to expand...
Using compatible cables is often a much simpler solution than messing with software. If you have a computer with a FreeBSD system, what's keeping you from grabbing a TV and some cables to make the TV function as a monitor for the computer? The TV doesn't care if you have FreeBSD or Windows or whatever, it will display your desktop just fine.

If you want to fuss with software: You'd still need the following:
  • A smart TV, or at least a Roku/Fire TV/whatever stick.
    • They will need to connect to your wi-fi network
    • They will need to install the Plex app (not all hardware brands do)
    • The Plex app is a streaming client. Some commercial devices insist on being a server, and that can create problems.
    • The Plex version needs to be compatible with both endpoints.
    • VLC by itself can play way more formats than what Plex even supports.
Just cut the software complexity, buy some easily available cables, and enjoy! That Roku/Fire TV stick can be easily replaced by your FreeBSD box.

If you wanna cut the cables, there's an easy way to do that: Install FreeBSD and VLC on a mini-stick, put that into any TV you like, and have it slurp the movies off an NFS share. That way, you can play WAY more formats (.mkv, .webm, Youtube, etc) than what any smart TV on the market can.
 
I'm interested in NFS, and am going to make a partition of it, even if I can't figure out how to get it to work beyond my laptop. For a filesystem to also work with Windows, then that would take Samba.

I would be reluctant to replace my Roku stick with FreeBSD. A lot of free content which only plays on a Roku player would become unavailable. Also, Crackle requires Flash player, or some other specialized software, or a Roku stick. Also, not sure of the storage capacity of a Roku stick. If someone has an extra Roku or other stick, then fine, it could be tried. Installing FreeBSD or any OS on a small device, such as a stick, doesn't seem feasible. Installing on a Raspberry Pi or Router can be done, though, that seems like too much. The Raspberry Pi being the most doable of these, as anything that has an SD slot. How would an OS be put onto a mini stick? It's only visible connection is an HDMI output. It also has Wifi. How would it be installed over WiFi or an Ethernet connection? As some streaming devices and smart TV's have an Ethernet slot.

Also, FreeBSD is limited to architectures. Unless it uses RISC-V, then NetBSD would be a better candidate for it.

Roku has apps. If there's an app that can receive from NFS or Samba, that would be better. They develop apps all the time, however, while it would work, an app like that could be blocked.
 
sidetone said:
I'm interested in NFS, and am going to make a partition of it, even if I can't figure out how to get it to work beyond my laptop. For a filesystem to also work with Windows, then that would take Samba.

I would be reluctant to replace my Roku stick with FreeBSD. A lot of free content which only plays on a Roku player would become unavailable. Also, Crackle requires Flash player, or some other specialized software, or a Roku stick. Also, not sure of the storage capacity of a Roku stick. If someone has an extra Roku or other stick, then fine, it could be tried. Installing FreeBSD or any OS on a small device, such as a stick, doesn't seem feasible. Installing on a Raspberry Pi or Router can be done, though, that seems like too much. The Raspberry Pi being the most doable of these, as anything that has an SD slot. How would an OS be put onto a mini stick? It's only visible connection is an HDMI output. It also has Wifi. How would it be installed over WiFi or an Ethernet connection? As some streaming devices and smart TV's have an Ethernet slot.

Also, FreeBSD is limited to architectures. Unless it uses RISC-V, then NetBSD would be a better candidate for it.

Roku has apps. If there's an app that can receive from NFS or Samba, that would be better. They develop apps all the time, however, while it would work, an app like that could be blocked.
Click to expand...
Y'know, when I said to replace the roku stick with a FreeBSD machine, I did not mean replacing the stick's firmware. The Roku stick is something that plugs into the HDMI port in the back of the TV. Unplug the stick, use an HDMI cable to connect the TV to the machine that has FreeBSD on it, done!

It's a bit surprising that everyone seems to only think in terms of software when it comes to thinking up solutions to problems. Hardware (like cables, which are available just about everywhere) can make things pretty simple, if you only give it a chance. 😩
 
The way, a Roku stick would be used, is with an app, if it exists, which I've said.
bxbzq said:
But HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA? Sure I can use one of these, but, come on.
Click to expand...
astyle said:
The Roku stick is something that plugs into the HDMI port in the back of the TV. Unplug the stick, use an HDMI cable to connect the TV to the machine that has FreeBSD on it, done!
Click to expand...
That's just plugging in the HDMI out to the TV HDMI in. That was already covered, by saying just HDMI and FreeBSD box. Saying this in other ways is overly wordy.
astyle said:
If you wanna cut the cables, there's an easy way to do that: Install FreeBSD and VLC on a mini-stick, put that into any TV you like, and have it slurp the movies off an NFS share. That way, you can play WAY more formats (.mkv, .webm, Youtube, etc) than what any smart TV on the market can.
Click to expand...
astyle said:
when I said to replace the roku stick with a FreeBSD machine, I did not mean replacing the stick's firmware.
Click to expand...
Some TV's have a USB input, that already accept picture/video/music formats. It's meant for short videos, but I hear they use it for full movies.

They're going to stream out of FreeBSD and the media player on a USB to the TV in the format the TV requires? The USB has a wifi or ethernet cable? Streaming is intended to come off of WiFi or the Ethernet cable.

In theory, a short wave transmission could do. It works for Hamm Radio and audio to radios. I have doubts about that for video transmissions in the frequency of the TV antennas. FCC may forbid that, and it may take expensive equipment. Though, why do that, when an HDMI or any other signal cable will do.
 
sidetone said:
I hear they use it for full movies.
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I certainly do that. Length of the movie doesn't matter, but the format does. My Samsung TV does have a USB input, so the files on my USB stick are visible. My TV can't play .mkv files, but will take a 2-hour, 1440p .mp4 no problem. The same USB stick will be no problem to play on my laptop.


sidetone said:
They're going to stream out of FreeBSD and the media player on a USB to the TV in the format the TV requires? The USB has a wifi or ethernet cable? Streaming is intended to come off of WiFi or the Ethernet cable.
Click to expand...
Why not treat the TV as a replacement monitor for the FreeBSD machine???
 
bxbzq said:
So looks streaming to TV in VLC is not an option? Unbelievable.
I'll try other ways as suggested here. But HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA? Sure I can use one of these, but, come on.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure here whether you are complaining about FreeBSD, VLC or your TV.
VLC apparently can do what you want. See here. If your TV can't see that stream, that's neither a FreeBSD nor a VLC problem. It'sa a Sony TV problem. Because of the likely potential problems, a number of people have presented a number of alternative methods to get your videos from the computer to the TV. The most obvious, and simple method is to simply run a DLNA server on your network and let your TV DLNA client see it. That may well be the result if you follow the VLC link.

My old LG non-smart TV has a built-in DLNA client. Using the TV remote it can browse directories and play music and videos from a DLNA server, so I'd expect your Sony can do similar. I've never tried it with VLC as a DLNA server because my server hardware is headless and has no GUI. It's only used a a last resort though because I chose to use a Raspberry Pi + Kodi as a cheap and much better solution, as has also been suggested earlier by others.
 
dave01 said:
I'm not sure here whether you are complaining about FreeBSD, VLC or your TV.
VLC apparently can do what you want. See here. If your TV can't see that stream, that's neither a FreeBSD nor a VLC problem. It'sa a Sony TV problem. Because of the likely potential problems, a number of people have presented a number of alternative methods to get your videos from the computer to the TV. The most obvious, and simple method is to simply run a DLNA server on your network and let your TV DLNA client see it. That may well be the result if you follow the VLC link.

My old LG non-smart TV has a built-in DLNA client. Using the TV remote it can browse directories and play music and videos from a DLNA server, so I'd expect your Sony can do similar. I've never tried it with VLC as a DLNA server because my server hardware is headless and has no GUI. It's only used a a last resort though because I chose to use a Raspberry Pi + Kodi as a cheap and much better solution, as has also been suggested earlier by others.
Click to expand...
Just use the TV as a replacement monitor for the FreeBSD box, something wrong with that???
 
I've used a TV to play DVD's and free streaming before, from FreeBSD and HDMI. No one has mentioned Blurays on FreeBSD in a long time. There were few mentions that it worked on a future version, and latest media player. Then, after that, I didn't hear about it anymore, and that was years ago.

It's ok, but sometimes, I want to use the remote, not keyboard, or the screensaver comes on sooner in the middle of a movie/show. Or, I don't want to be distracted by the desktop, and only watch movies/shows/streams. A desktop is also more limited than a Roku Stick, bc it has its own free content, and other free content won't play on FreeBSD.

They want to set up a streaming media server. I would like to see examples of that, and that compared to other ways.
 
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