Streaming video to Mediastar HDX 9100

[dve009]

Hi guys!
Does anyone with one of these media boxes been able to successfully stream video from the network to this device? I know there is a IP STREAM menu on the stb but I am not too sure which program to use on the network side of things to stream the video.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[psylencer]

Hi DVE,

I’m a representative of Crazystu.com.au - most likely the place you purchased your MediaStar.

The HDX9100 certainly does feature IP Streaming, however this feature is limited to the streaming of data between 2 or more networked MediaStar HDX9100 units. However, the true streaming functionality is something I would imagine the developers of the Mediastar’s software (ANY-X300) are working on. There is certainly potential for true IP based media streaming in the future firmware upgrades.

The closest functionality to IP Streaming you'll get with the HDX9100 is FTP. This feature enables you do connect to a remote or networked FTP server to download movie or audio files to your computer (to clear space on your HDD) and in reverse upload movie and audio files back onto the unit from an FTP archive. Given; this FTP functionality is not media streaming, but will enable you to access files elsewhere on the internet or your network. There are many free FTP servers available on the internet. My favourite is FTPZilla - an free open source project.

Admittedly we were unaware of the limitations of this feature (IP Streaming - Not FTP) until we stumbled upon a unit in Europe running the same software. I have personally tried installing PC Streaming Media Servers here without luck. Saying that, I can not 100% say streaming media to the MediaStar is not possible in the common sense of the term, just that I have not yet figured out a way to do it.

According to MediaStar, the programmers of the software are fairly pro active when it comes to firmware upgrades. Fingers crossed its on the drawing board for future firmware upgrades.

As disappointing as the lack of IP streaming from computer is, I still firmly believe the HDX9100PVR has more than enough going for it without a true streaming feature whether or not that actually turns out to be the case. Any suggestions from those more familiar to the technology - again appreciated

Regards
Dan

[ccer]

Hi Dan,

thanks for providing the response re streaming. This is very disappointing especially as it was one of the main reasons I purchased my unit. Your ebay add definelely states "PC Streaming Yes"

I have 2 other questions if I may?

1. When I connect the provided external USB drive, the menu states "no media connected". After several hours it seems to recognise it. Is that normal?

2. I have a genuine Foxtel NDS card which works fine in my Dreambox. When I install it into the HDX9100 it recognises the card, but all channels remain scrambled.
Can you confirm that the HDX9100 will read a Foxtel NDS card in either of the CA slots?

regards

George

[ccer]

Well, I sorted out my first problem. The HDX9100 will only read drives formatted as FAT32.

Which means file size is limited to 4G.

Which means no hope of playing high definition MKV files unles they are within the size limit.

Still cant get past the "scrambled program" message when trying to watch Foxtel.

So, at the moment,

1. No PC streaming
2. No NTFS file system
3. No Foxtel satellite

Not too happy so far!

[psylencer]

Hi Dan,

thanks for providing the response re streaming. This is very disappointing especially as it was one of the main reasons I purchased my unit. Your ebay add definelely states "PC Streaming Yes"

I have 2 other questions if I may?

1. When I connect the provided external USB drive, the menu states "no media connected". After several hours it seems to recognise it. Is that normal?

2. I have a genuine Foxtel NDS card which works fine in my Dreambox. When I install it into the HDX9100 it recognises the card, but all channels remain scrambled.
Can you confirm that the HDX9100 will read a Foxtel NDS card in either of the CA slots?

regards

George

George, I've very sorry for the confusion, Listing has been rectified. I should point out that due to the lack of documentation of this issue, we were left to discover the true meaning of IP streaming ourselves. If you do feel the value of the unit is seriously deminished because of this feature, please call me on monday on 1800 788 502.

HDD taking hours to recognize is definitely not normal. We use the unit here and find it takes around 20seconds to recognize a HDD once plugged in. Please make sure the HDD is FAT32 formatted, you have the correct firmware installed on your mediastar (Currently Version 024001) and you've completed a factory reset once updating the firmware.

MediaStar are the best people to call in regards to the the Foxtel NDS card. Their number is 02 9618 5777. I have been advised that the mediastar does work with foxtel, however I understand that foxtel does come in a variety of "flavours". Like I said, give them a call, hopefully they can point you in the right direction.

Regards
Dan

[ccer]

Hi Dan,

hoping you can assist with another question.

In your ad you state that the HDX9100 has Media Centre support.

Can you shed some light on how this works? I dont see any menu options for this feature and there is certainly nothing in the user manual about it.

I hope its not another "vapourware" feature.

regards

George

[ccer]

George, I've very sorry for the confusion, Listing has been rectified. I should point out that due to the lack of documentation of this issue, we were left to discover the true meaning of IP streaming ourselves. If you do feel the value of the unit is seriously deminished because of this feature, please call me on monday on 1800 788 502.

HDD taking hours to recognize is definitely not normal. We use the unit here and find it takes around 20seconds to recognize a HDD once plugged in. Please make sure the HDD is FAT32 formatted, you have the correct firmware installed on your mediastar (Currently Version 024001) and you've completed a factory reset once updating the firmware.

MediaStar are the best people to call in regards to the the Foxtel NDS card. Their number is 02 9618 5777. I have been advised that the mediastar does work with foxtel, however I understand that foxtel does come in a variety of "flavours". Like I said, give them a call, hopefully they can point you in the right direction.

Regards
Dan

Thanks for responding Dan,

I do actually have an earlier version of the firmware than the one you mentioned, so I contacted Mediastar who were very helpful and said if I send them an email request, they will email me the updated version.

Hopefully it will rectify some of the issues.

regards

George

[ccer]

' have just received the firmware update and loaded it.

Foxtel now working fine!

[Keepleft]

Mmm, I would have visions of a dual sat tuner unit (for divided C and Ku band) rather than terrestrial, might call em.

[psylencer]

Well, I sorted out my first problem. The HDX9100 will only read drives formatted as FAT32.

Which means file size is limited to 4G.

Which means no hope of playing high definition MKV files unles they are within the size limit.

Still cant get past the "scrambled program" message when trying to watch Foxtel.

So, at the moment,

1. No PC streaming
2. No NTFS file system
3. No Foxtel satellite

Not too happy so far!

George,

File size is definitely NOT limited to 4GB. I've read 18GB files on the unit without a problem. Incidently 1HR of HD = Approx 12GB. The HD feature would be largely useless if this were the case. You may want to check your source on that one.

I know you've already pointed out that foxtel works fine after firmware upgrade. I'd like to clarify this for everyone who reads this : Foxtel Satellite definitely DOES work with the mediastar.

No NTFS - Ah George this is a FEATURE of the mediastar. If the HDD were to be formatted in NTFS, the poor mac users out there would find the unit useless. FAT32 works on both PC and MAC, NTFS does not.

Regards
Dan

[ccer]

George,

File size is definitely NOT limited to 4GB. I've read 18GB files on the unit without a problem. Incidently 1HR of HD = Approx 12GB. The HD feature would be largely useless if this were the case. You may want to check your source on that one.

I know you've already pointed out that foxtel works fine after firmware upgrade. I'd like to clarify this for everyone who reads this : Foxtel Satellite definitely DOES work with the mediastar.

No NTFS - Ah George this is a FEATURE of the mediastar. If the HDD were to be formatted in NTFS, the poor mac users out there would find the unit useless. FAT32 works on both PC and MAC, NTFS does not.

Regards
Dan

Hi Dan,

again, thanks for responding.

I guess I'm a bit confused about the 4GB file size limit. Here is an extract from Seagate..

4 GB File Size Limit

Hard Drive Reports “Disk is Full” During File Save and With FAT32 Partition

The FAT32 file system has a 4 GB limit for the size of file that it can accept to be saved onto it. This means that any attempt to save a file that is larger than 4 GB will be met with an error message of “Disk is full or Not enough space” even though the hard drive may have a large amount of space still available.

In any case, I can confirm that I have succesfully recorded several HD sessions in excess of 2 hours and they have played back flawlessly.

In fact, having owned the unit for a week, I must say that after the initial disappointment of learning that it does not stream from non Mediastar devices, I am very impressed with its performance.

Satellite reception has been rock solid and the FTA reception is also excellent. It receives ONE HD without any issues. The menu system is very intuitive and there is almost no need to read the manual. As mentioned, recording from the built in EPG also works very well.

As a last word, perhaps a suggestion. I contacted Mediastar for a firmware upgrade which they provided very quickly and fixed my Foxtel reception problem. It was only later that I discovered that the same file is available from CrazyStu's site, but its presence is hidden in fine print right at the botton of the website. Perhaps a new tab for <SUPPORT> might make it easier to find?

regards

George

[psylencer]

Thanks George,

Your feedback regarding the MediaStar HDX-9100 is appreciated.

A more prominent tab for the HDX-9100 will appear on the homepage tomorrow with full instruction manual and both technical and firmware upgrade support.

Glad your sentiment is similar to mine as I truly believe the MediaStar is head of the class and will grow from strength to strength.

Regards,

Dan

[Mongy]

There is a program called SwissKnife which allows formatting of FAT32 hdds to greater size than 4G limitation. I have used it before and it worked well. Was for a OTG card reader to hdd for my camera.

Perhaps try and see if it works.

[harry.bradford]

Hello,

This is my first post having just joined. I have just purchased a Mediastar HDX9100 from Crazystu. The information provided in the dialogue between dve009 and psylencer has been very helpful....thanks.

The problem I'm having is with foxtel. I have a normal foxtel set top box with a fixed dish and that sees the satellite just fine - no receptions problems ever. The mediastar however cannot see OptusC1. It can see several other satellites and even download Optus dialogue telling me to get a licence, but it can't seem to see foxtel.

I have the mediastar number to call thanks to psylencer and I will call them tomorrow. In the meantime, if anybody has some insight to this problem I would appreciate the advice.

Cheers,

Harry

[B52]

Hello,

The problem I'm having is with foxtel. I have a normal foxtel set top box with a fixed dish and that sees the satellite just fine - no receptions problems ever. The mediastar however cannot see OptusC1. It can see several other satellites and even download Optus dialogue telling me to get a licence, but it can't seem to see foxtel.
Harry

Probably wrong LNB frequency.


In the Antenna menu select Optus C1 and change the LNB frequency from 11300 to 10700MHz.

Then there're 3 ways you can perform the channels download search.


1. Auto Scanning. select C1 and press OK. The search will bring up all of C-1 preset TP's

2. Manual Scanning select C1 and set NIT search to ON, wait a few seconds until the network provider name appears, then press OK to search.

This search will place the channel in simular order as the provider box.

3. Blind search, Takes forever, Useful for enthusiasts.

[nathsgames]

Hi,

I have been reading this thread with interest as I am looking at trading in my Topfield 7100HDPVRT on the Mediastar 9100.

Just a couple of questions to the existing owners:

1. Has FAT32 given you any limitations what so ever in recording? I don't see how it can record over hours and hours, unless it splits the files into 4GB parcels...

2. Any limitations in recordings, ie can you be recording say a FTA show, then still pause or record a second FTA show?

3. Does the dual tuner work both ways, ie record two SAT shows at once or two FTA shows at once, or is it only ONE show at once on either band?

4. Just wanted to clarify that if I am recording a show, can I still use Timeshift on the second show I am watching on either band, ie (FTA or SAT)..

Thanks guys, you see with the Toppy I can record two seperate HD shows and still be watching a third... we sometimes do have the need to record two FTA shows at once with a wife and four kids someone always wants to not miss out on something!

Thanks guys, appreciate it!

Oh also, just wanted to check the HDMI carries both 1080i Pic and 5.1 w/o needing the Optical? This is also critical.

THanks,

[B52]

Hi,

I have been reading this thread with interest as I am looking at trading in my Topfield 7100HDPVRT on the Mediastar 9100.

Just a couple of questions to the existing owners:

1. Has FAT32 given you any limitations what so ever in recording? I don't see how it can record over hours and hours, unless it splits the files into 4GB parcels...

Works well, your Topfield is also FAT32 formatted.

2. Any limitations in recordings, ie can you be recording say a FTA show, then still pause or record a second FTA show?

3. Does the dual tuner work both ways, ie record two SAT shows at once or two FTA shows at once, or is it only ONE show at once on either band?

The 9100 has 1 terrestrial and 1 satellite tuner. You can record 2 sat from same TP or 1 sat and 1 terrestrial at the same time. Whilst recording is in progress you can watch another channel from within the same TP's or from the HDD.

4. Just wanted to clarify that if I am recording a show, can I still use Timeshift on the second show I am watching on either band, ie (FTA or SAT)..

Thanks guys, you see with the Toppy I can record two seperate HD shows and still be watching a third... we sometimes do have the need to record two FTA shows at once with a wife and four kids someone always wants to not miss out on something!

You can not record Channel 9 and 10 and watch channel 7 at the same time. I would think the Topfiled wouldn't do it ether.

Oh also, just wanted to check the HDMI carries both 1080i Pic and 5.1 w/o needing the Optical? This is also critical.

Yes.

[nathsgames]

Thanks 4 the info B52, but yes with the Topfield I can record one channel, watch another then press record, and still either watch a third channel or watch a third show back from the HDD...

Also the Topfield HDD is formatted in the Linux EXT format, I know as I used to use a Ubuntu boot disk to reformat my Topfield Hard Drives....

I just don't know if this Mediastar will cut it for me.

Are there any true dual tuner PVR's with say Dual FTA Tuners and Dual SAT Tuners...?? That would be cool!

[B52]

Thanks 4 the info B52, but yes with the Topfield I can record one channel, watch another then press record, and still either watch a third channel or watch a third show back from the HDD...

Also the Topfield HDD is formatted in the Linux EXT format, I know as I used to use a Ubuntu boot disk to reformat my Topfield Hard Drives....

I just don't know if this Mediastar will cut it for me.

Are there any true dual tuner PVR's with say Dual FTA Tuners and Dual SAT Tuners...?? That would be cool!

The Mediastar is MPEG 4 Dvix, FAT 32 seems to be the norm for the ST7100 processor.

Topfield has only 2 tuners, impossible to record ch 10+9 and watch ch7 live at the same time. You can watch a 3rd ch from within the 2 TP's being recorded or from the HDD.

[nathsgames]

So could I at least have one FTA recording say CH7 then watch CH9 (just not record it), or if I record say CH7 would I then have to switch to SAT and could then be simultaneously recording something on say FOX8 at the same time as recording CH7, and then I'm done? Unless I watch something back from the HDD.... sorry about all of this, just need to get it clear in my thick head!

Thanks I do appreciate people's time ;-)