123
Senior Member
Hello John,
I bought a D-link DSM-510 media player after reading about it being much better than the DSM-520. I just wanted to report my experiences with this device in case others were interested in it.
The unit is very small and should be easy to hide, It is maybe 3/4 the size of a VHS tape. I tried controlling it with Cidero first to see if I could get it to playback. It seems to work very well with Cidero's controller. I set it up in Premise next, I noticed it showed up under the Upnp AV root right away.I used Tversity for the Server software and set up a media shortcut for audio and video. I was able to control audio playback reliably but not video. The videos I tried sometimes would play a few seconds and then stop and other times would not play at all. I tried playing a video right after playing an audio track and was able to get a video to playback properly but if I stop it and try and play a different video it seems to hang up the player.
I will wait and see on a new version of Teversity and maybe a firmware upgrade on this device before I would try and use it regularly. I like the fact that this player is so small you could even put behind a flat panel TV and only need to run a Cat5 run to it.
I will update this if I have any new information. I think I will try Twonkyvision and see if it makes any difference.
Wayne
======================
Thanks for the info. Did the video playback work with cidero or did you see the same behavior?
======================
Hello John,
I tried playing with the Cidero controller some more and I was able to lock up the DSM-510 by switching back and forth on video streams.
If I restart the DSM-510 and try and play a video it seems to play fine but I noticed if I stop it and switch to another video it can hang.
The D-Link DSM-510 has no indication that it is on or off but a light on my TV goes off showing no signal when it hangs. This player has not been out very long so I expect some teething problems at first.
It is a Viiv certified player so maybe they are working on standardizing all these players now. I see you uploaded an update so I will give it a try.
In my opinion this Upnp AV control plugin you wrote is awesome. I don't know if any other H/A programs have anything like this. The programs I have tried usually depend on you using a PC and a software player like Theatertek or Zoomplayer.
Thanks, Wayne
======================
Please keep us posted on any new firmware. It would be nice if they fully support remote control via UPnP. I currently have a Pinnacle ShowCenter 1000, and it appears to fully support remote control via UPnP for audio and video. I'm disappointed in D-Link not doing the same.
On another topic, does your 510 support Dolby Digital audio across the fiber link to a receiver. The 520 doesn't.
======================
I sent an e-mail to D-Link Tech support about my problems with video locking up the player when using a remote Upnp control point like Cidero, I have not yet heard back from them. I do not have a broadband Internet connection so I don't have Internet access for the Media player to get firmware updates. I should be able to update the firmware using the USB port but I could not find any firmware downloads, I have seen mention of an updated firmware on the net so I am hoping I can get it from Tech support.
I played back a HD movie with Dolby Digital Sunday using the Toslink connection so I think it should be fine. I think the video looked sharper then my old Buffalo Linktheaters also.
I read somewhere that the version 1.02 firmware for the older DSM-520 was supposed to help with using a remote Upnp control point, I read on AVSforum about people using the DSM-520 with cidero but I don't remember if they were using it with video or just audio. I thought about buying a Pinnacle showcenter but I was hoping the newer players would be able to better handle higher bitrate mpeg2 HD. I believe most of the older players use the Sigma 8620 or 8621 chip, as far as I know only the Roku with its ATI xillieon processor worked well with high bitrate mpeg2 HD. I am not sure what chip is in the DSM-510 but I may crack it open and look later,I am not ready to void the warranty yet.
I will try out one of the other new players when they become available. I am leaning towards The Netgear EVA 8000 right now. http://netgear.com/Products/Entertainment/...rs/EVA8000.aspx
I will update when I get more info.
Wayne
======================
I just wanted to add that the D-Link DSM-510 sometimes works ok with Cidero and I have been able to start and stop movies and switch back and forth between them, It does lock up sometimes and I have to unplug it and replug it in to get it to respond again. I have no
reason to believe it can't be fixed with a firmware update.
Wayne
======================
The latest 520 firmware (1.02) does support remote control via upnp. It plays audio flawlessly. The problem is with video. You can make it work if you use your remote to select a picture for viewing, then select a movie via a control point. That whole process kinda defeats the purpose for computer control, so I don't find it acceptable.
The other thing I don't like about the 520 is that the max bitrate it supports is 6M. Ripped DVDs run at 9M. I've tried down converting, but there is a noticeable deterioration in video quality. The Pinnacle plays the higher bit rate just fine (interesting since they use the same chipset).
Have you tried the latest premise control point? I found some bugs related to how a sequence of media items is played. It is possible for items to be skipped do to the renderer reporting it is stopped multiple times. The new version fixes this.
Keep us posted on your media player hunt. Assuming Viiv continues to be "rebranded" UPnP, we should be in good shape as Premise users.
John
======================
I did install the new control point but the DSM-510 is still acting the same, I hope that I hear from Tech support today. I can't Understand why they would market a High definition player that can't handle more the 6mbps Mpeg2 SD , that is just stupid. I think some of these players were counting mpeg4 ASP HD playback and not Mpeg2 HD.
I know the Buffalo player I have can handle at least 15-16mbps Mpeg2 HD just fine, It stutters on a 40mbps HD clip badly though. I believe the Roku player with the ATI chip could handle 40mbps Mpeg2.
I had stuttering problems playing a HD movie using the D-Link media server version 1.08 with the DSM-510,it came with Nero software for the server. I used Tversity and it handled the HD fine.
The new players should be out in march and I think they use a Sigma designs SMP8634 chip.
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/public/Product...8630_series.htm
l
I believe this is what the new Netgear EVA8000 and the D-Link DSM-750 use.
I think the way you got the DSM-520 to play video is close to how I got the DSM-510 to play a video using your control point, at first it would not start a video but after I would play a audio track it would then play a video file. I can start a video with Cidero just fine and I even started and stopped about 5 times switching between a SD an HD movie but then I tried later and I started a video and stopped it and the player locked up solid requiring me to cut the power to it, pulling the power also reset the video settings from HDMI output to composite. That is not acceptable behavior for a media player.
I can still use the DSM-510 for an audio player even if it never works right for video.
Thanks, Wayne
======================
I finally got the firmware updated on my D-Link DSM 510 and wanted to report that so far it seems to be working properly with the Upnp AV control point. I have started and stopped several movies without the player hanging like it used to. The old firmware version I could sometimes start a movie playing but it would sometimes hang when stopping it or even if it did not hang it might not play the correct new file I chose and instead it would play the last file selected.
I am going to watch a movie all the way through to see if it hangs,last time I tried this it hung 20 minutes in and I had to unplug it to restart it. I found out it uses the older Sigma Designs EM8620 chip. I also found out that the new soon to be released Netgear EV8000 that I want to try uses the Sigma Designs EM8622 chip and not the 8634 chip that I thought it had. The difference is I doubt the 8622 chip can handle the higher bitrate H.264 files that the 8634 is supposed to be able to play.
I just wanted to list my setup I am using. I have a dedicated media server running TVersity with HD movies I recorded with my R5000HD modded C-band 4DTV receiver. all files are run through video redo and saved as straight Mpeg2 files at a max bitrate of about 16mbps. I have Premise server on a different computer with the Upnp AV plugin module running on it.
If any problems crop up I will update everyone but everything is working right so far.
Wayne
======================
That's cool Wayne!!! Does the DSM-510 have Component Video or just HDMI. I'm out of HDMI ports on my set
======================
No it does not have component out, it only has composite out and HDMI. It does seem to have a better picture then my Buffalo Link Theater that had component out, and even better it actually works with your plugin.
I am using a DVI to HDMI adapter on my TV, works just as well except you don't get sound but I send the audio to my AV receiver anyway.
Wayne
I bought a D-link DSM-510 media player after reading about it being much better than the DSM-520. I just wanted to report my experiences with this device in case others were interested in it.
The unit is very small and should be easy to hide, It is maybe 3/4 the size of a VHS tape. I tried controlling it with Cidero first to see if I could get it to playback. It seems to work very well with Cidero's controller. I set it up in Premise next, I noticed it showed up under the Upnp AV root right away.I used Tversity for the Server software and set up a media shortcut for audio and video. I was able to control audio playback reliably but not video. The videos I tried sometimes would play a few seconds and then stop and other times would not play at all. I tried playing a video right after playing an audio track and was able to get a video to playback properly but if I stop it and try and play a different video it seems to hang up the player.
I will wait and see on a new version of Teversity and maybe a firmware upgrade on this device before I would try and use it regularly. I like the fact that this player is so small you could even put behind a flat panel TV and only need to run a Cat5 run to it.
I will update this if I have any new information. I think I will try Twonkyvision and see if it makes any difference.
Wayne
======================
Thanks for the info. Did the video playback work with cidero or did you see the same behavior?
======================
Hello John,
I tried playing with the Cidero controller some more and I was able to lock up the DSM-510 by switching back and forth on video streams.
If I restart the DSM-510 and try and play a video it seems to play fine but I noticed if I stop it and switch to another video it can hang.
The D-Link DSM-510 has no indication that it is on or off but a light on my TV goes off showing no signal when it hangs. This player has not been out very long so I expect some teething problems at first.
It is a Viiv certified player so maybe they are working on standardizing all these players now. I see you uploaded an update so I will give it a try.
In my opinion this Upnp AV control plugin you wrote is awesome. I don't know if any other H/A programs have anything like this. The programs I have tried usually depend on you using a PC and a software player like Theatertek or Zoomplayer.
Thanks, Wayne
======================
Please keep us posted on any new firmware. It would be nice if they fully support remote control via UPnP. I currently have a Pinnacle ShowCenter 1000, and it appears to fully support remote control via UPnP for audio and video. I'm disappointed in D-Link not doing the same.
On another topic, does your 510 support Dolby Digital audio across the fiber link to a receiver. The 520 doesn't.
======================
I sent an e-mail to D-Link Tech support about my problems with video locking up the player when using a remote Upnp control point like Cidero, I have not yet heard back from them. I do not have a broadband Internet connection so I don't have Internet access for the Media player to get firmware updates. I should be able to update the firmware using the USB port but I could not find any firmware downloads, I have seen mention of an updated firmware on the net so I am hoping I can get it from Tech support.
I played back a HD movie with Dolby Digital Sunday using the Toslink connection so I think it should be fine. I think the video looked sharper then my old Buffalo Linktheaters also.
I read somewhere that the version 1.02 firmware for the older DSM-520 was supposed to help with using a remote Upnp control point, I read on AVSforum about people using the DSM-520 with cidero but I don't remember if they were using it with video or just audio. I thought about buying a Pinnacle showcenter but I was hoping the newer players would be able to better handle higher bitrate mpeg2 HD. I believe most of the older players use the Sigma 8620 or 8621 chip, as far as I know only the Roku with its ATI xillieon processor worked well with high bitrate mpeg2 HD. I am not sure what chip is in the DSM-510 but I may crack it open and look later,I am not ready to void the warranty yet.
I will try out one of the other new players when they become available. I am leaning towards The Netgear EVA 8000 right now. http://netgear.com/Products/Entertainment/...rs/EVA8000.aspx
I will update when I get more info.
Wayne
======================
I just wanted to add that the D-Link DSM-510 sometimes works ok with Cidero and I have been able to start and stop movies and switch back and forth between them, It does lock up sometimes and I have to unplug it and replug it in to get it to respond again. I have no
reason to believe it can't be fixed with a firmware update.
Wayne
======================
The latest 520 firmware (1.02) does support remote control via upnp. It plays audio flawlessly. The problem is with video. You can make it work if you use your remote to select a picture for viewing, then select a movie via a control point. That whole process kinda defeats the purpose for computer control, so I don't find it acceptable.
The other thing I don't like about the 520 is that the max bitrate it supports is 6M. Ripped DVDs run at 9M. I've tried down converting, but there is a noticeable deterioration in video quality. The Pinnacle plays the higher bit rate just fine (interesting since they use the same chipset).
Have you tried the latest premise control point? I found some bugs related to how a sequence of media items is played. It is possible for items to be skipped do to the renderer reporting it is stopped multiple times. The new version fixes this.
Keep us posted on your media player hunt. Assuming Viiv continues to be "rebranded" UPnP, we should be in good shape as Premise users.
John
======================
I did install the new control point but the DSM-510 is still acting the same, I hope that I hear from Tech support today. I can't Understand why they would market a High definition player that can't handle more the 6mbps Mpeg2 SD , that is just stupid. I think some of these players were counting mpeg4 ASP HD playback and not Mpeg2 HD.
I know the Buffalo player I have can handle at least 15-16mbps Mpeg2 HD just fine, It stutters on a 40mbps HD clip badly though. I believe the Roku player with the ATI chip could handle 40mbps Mpeg2.
I had stuttering problems playing a HD movie using the D-Link media server version 1.08 with the DSM-510,it came with Nero software for the server. I used Tversity and it handled the HD fine.
The new players should be out in march and I think they use a Sigma designs SMP8634 chip.
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/public/Product...8630_series.htm
l
I believe this is what the new Netgear EVA8000 and the D-Link DSM-750 use.
I think the way you got the DSM-520 to play video is close to how I got the DSM-510 to play a video using your control point, at first it would not start a video but after I would play a audio track it would then play a video file. I can start a video with Cidero just fine and I even started and stopped about 5 times switching between a SD an HD movie but then I tried later and I started a video and stopped it and the player locked up solid requiring me to cut the power to it, pulling the power also reset the video settings from HDMI output to composite. That is not acceptable behavior for a media player.
I can still use the DSM-510 for an audio player even if it never works right for video.
Thanks, Wayne
======================
I finally got the firmware updated on my D-Link DSM 510 and wanted to report that so far it seems to be working properly with the Upnp AV control point. I have started and stopped several movies without the player hanging like it used to. The old firmware version I could sometimes start a movie playing but it would sometimes hang when stopping it or even if it did not hang it might not play the correct new file I chose and instead it would play the last file selected.
I am going to watch a movie all the way through to see if it hangs,last time I tried this it hung 20 minutes in and I had to unplug it to restart it. I found out it uses the older Sigma Designs EM8620 chip. I also found out that the new soon to be released Netgear EV8000 that I want to try uses the Sigma Designs EM8622 chip and not the 8634 chip that I thought it had. The difference is I doubt the 8622 chip can handle the higher bitrate H.264 files that the 8634 is supposed to be able to play.
I just wanted to list my setup I am using. I have a dedicated media server running TVersity with HD movies I recorded with my R5000HD modded C-band 4DTV receiver. all files are run through video redo and saved as straight Mpeg2 files at a max bitrate of about 16mbps. I have Premise server on a different computer with the Upnp AV plugin module running on it.
If any problems crop up I will update everyone but everything is working right so far.
Wayne
======================
That's cool Wayne!!! Does the DSM-510 have Component Video or just HDMI. I'm out of HDMI ports on my set
======================
No it does not have component out, it only has composite out and HDMI. It does seem to have a better picture then my Buffalo Link Theater that had component out, and even better it actually works with your plugin.
I am using a DVI to HDMI adapter on my TV, works just as well except you don't get sound but I send the audio to my AV receiver anyway.
Wayne
