I am considering buying this device. I understand that it does not transcode.
I have a basic understanding of transcoding, but am unsure how to determine what I can and can’t play on a given device and whether I should purchase this device or not.
When I test on my tablet with my full fledged PMS at home, the plex application tells me if I am transcoding and the reason. So one show I tried says “DirectPlay” so I assume no transcoding. Another, that has 5.1 audio shows that it IS transcoding because of this.
So I would reason that any content with 5.1 audio won’t play at all on my tablet from the WD Passport PMS.
I understand that I can convert content but seems a hassle and I might have to convert multiple times for multiple devices. I suppose I could come up with a compromise format, the lowest common denominator so to speak. Losing 5.1 audio would not be a big deal as none of the devices I have in my remote location have this ability.
The main use of this WD device would be streaming via Chromecast to a TV or LCD monitor.
I don’t yet own a chromecast. I would like to know how much of my content would not play via chromecast because it needs to be transcoded.
Any advice or pointers to resources would be appreciated.
I think the best option is to use the “Optimize” option for those items you want to use, then transfer to the WD.
The other thing you need to take into account is that the ChromeCast HAS to have an internet connection to load the player. (And if you have internet, why not just stream from home?)
I have internet, but it’s very expensive as it is mobile internet.
It’s fine if it just needs to be there, but don’t want the content streamed over the internet when the WD will be sitting right there.
So ChromeCast can’t work just locally connecting to the PMS on the WD device?
Ok, learning about optimize. Do you know if the WD version of PMS has the Optimize function? That way I could copy a load of content to the WD as-is, then optimize when I was off-site as needed.
Ok, learning about optimize. Do you know if the WD version of PMS has the Optimize function? That way I could copy a load of content to the WD as-is, then optimize when I was off-site as needed.
I do not think the PPW will support optimizing very well, the processor is very weak (1 GHz). There is no difference in PMS versions (from what I understand), it is just running on an Arm processor. You would need to test it.
So ChromeCast can’t work just locally connecting to the PMS on the WD device?
No, the Chromecast has to connect to the internet first to load the player.
It’s fine if it just needs to be there, but don’t want the content streamed over the internet when the WD will be sitting right there.
The Chromecast needs to be connected to load the player, but then how will you connect it back to the Passport?
Just found out that audio transcoding IS supported on the WD My Passport Pro
Finally, “remuxing” is not the same as “transcoding”. That spreadsheet says “Transcoding is not supported on ARMv7 only remuxing”. The Arm v7 is the CPU in the Passport Pro Wireless.
Per Plex’s own support pages:
Remuxing, in our context, refers to the process of changing the “container” format used for a given file. For example from MP4 to MKV or from AVI to MKV. It also allows adding or removing of content streams as needed. Remuxing differs from Transcoding in that remuxing a file simply repackages the existing streams while transcoding actually creates new ones from a source. https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201097958-Remuxing-Files-to-MKV
I don’t have my Passport yet. I do not plan on using any of my Chromecasts (going to use a Firestick) with it so I won’t even bother testing, sorry. I am just optimizing some files each day so they are ready when I it arrives. If I do it every night I can do a few movies or TV shows overnight and I don’t even notice it.
Just got my My Passport Wireless Pro. Agree with everything @rsava said above. Your best bet is to pre-transcode (I personally prefer to use the Optimize feature) your content on your primary server with the powerful CPU. Then you copy it to your Passport, connect to the Passport PMS and load your content into your library. I have so far used the profiles “Optimized for Mobile” and also a custom profile based on this default one but with the quality @ 4/720p. My understanding is that by doing this I get simple stereo audio with the higher quality video suitable for a TV which can be played without transcoding on phones/tablets/chromecasts/justaboutanything.
@BrianAz -
I love the thing. I pre-optimized some things so they were ready when I got it.
I currently have about 50 movies, over 200 TV episodes on it and 112 chess training videos. I put close to 5000 songs on it but it really bogged the thing down while it built the library. All is good now.
I have streamed a few videos with it, just to see battery life, got a good 4-5 hours out of it and it still had some juice left. The streaming on my iPad was smooth, very smooth.
My routine now is:
I leave it plugged in all the time, connected to my home network. This way it is always ready for me to move files on to it. I found out after 72 hours it runs down to 92% and just maintains that until you unplug and plug it back in.
At night I tell my main Plex server to optimize a few movies or TV seasons @ 4Mbps/720p, let that run overnight. I setup an Optimized Movies library and an Optimized TV Series library.
In the morning my videos are waiting for me to move over to the Passport using the built in FTP access. I have been thinking about scripting a routine to automatically move them over but it is no big deal to do it manually. My next big move is to put all my Bond movies on it.
My first big trial is coming up, next week I start a three week swing through Denver, then Vancouver, then Dallas. Will be bringing the Passport with me and putting it through it’s paces. I was planning on bringing my Firestick with me (already set it up and connected at home) but may buy a Roku stick instead as the Firestick was rather sluggish.
My overall impression is that it is a sweet little piece of kit. It is first gen and of course it could be better but for a first go, I think it is great. I look forward to getting some great use out of it.
@rsava said: @BrianAz -
I love the thing. I pre-optimized some things so they were ready when I got it.
I currently have about 50 movies, over 200 TV episodes on it and 112 chess training videos. I put close to 5000 songs on it but it really bogged the thing down while it built the library. All is good now.
I have streamed a few videos with it, just to see battery life, got a good 4-5 hours out of it and it still had some juice left. The streaming on my iPad was smooth, very smooth.
My routine now is:
I leave it plugged in all the time, connected to my home network. This way it is always ready for me to move files on to it. I found out after 72 hours it runs down to 92% and just maintains that until you unplug and plug it back in.
At night I tell my main Plex server to optimize a few movies or TV seasons @ 4Mbps/720p, let that run overnight. I setup an Optimized Movies library and an Optimized TV Series library.
In the morning my videos are waiting for me to move over to the Passport using the built in FTP access. I have been thinking about scripting a routine to automatically move them over but it is no big deal to do it manually. My next big move is to put all my Bond movies on it.
My first big trial is coming up, next week I start a three week swing through Denver, then Vancouver, then Dallas. Will be bringing the Passport with me and putting it through it’s paces. I was planning on bringing my Firestick with me (already set it up and connected at home) but may buy a Roku stick instead as the Firestick was rather sluggish.
My overall impression is that it is a sweet little piece of kit. It is first gen and of course it could be better but for a first go, I think it is great. I look forward to getting some great use out of it.
My testing has been very positive as well.
The only challenge I’m looking into is it appears that my son’s Managed User account was able to see all of the items in my Movies and TV libraries from his iPad, rather than the ones with appropriate content ratings I’ve allowed him (G, PG & TV-G, TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-PG). I’m going back through to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I assume this should work as this is a true PMS but I haven’t spent a ton of time digging into it yet.
I think a large portion of users will likely leverage this for family travel with the entire group connected and streaming. I’m hoping there’s an easy resolution.
