Sharing methods...UPNP/DLNA vs Airscreen...SMB support?

kiboy6

I love that browsing UPNP / DLNA is now possible.

Couple of questions / bug reports:

1.) Ideally should we expect better streaming performance via Airscreen or via UPNP/ DLNA?

2.) Sometimes when browsing a large folder with Airscreen a video will not play and I will be stuck in an empty "Grand canyon" scene. There is then no way to proceed with Skybox on Daydream until I open another Daydream App and then re-open Skybox from scratch. Is this a known bug/ any possible solutions?

3.) I usually use Mezzmo server as my UPNP/DLNA server. However when I browse a large folder (400+ files) via Mezzmo on Skybox the list of files is truncated after 100 items or so. As a result I ca';t use Mezzmo and have to run a different server. Any idea why this could be?

Thanks so much for any help - just love Skybox on Daydream...thanks for making the vital VR video player that is both so powerful and simple to use!

Andy

Hello kiboy6,

Thanks for getting in touch with us.
I am glad you are enjoying SKYBOX :)

kiboy6 1.) Ideally should we expect better streaming performance via Airscreen or via UPNP/ DLNA?

The streaming performance of AirScreen and DLNA mostly depends on the bandwidth of your local network. There isn't much we could do about the performance for now.

kiboy6 2.) Sometimes when browsing a large folder with Airscreen a video will not play and I will be stuck in an empty "Grand canyon" scene. There is then no way to proceed with Skybox on Daydream until I open another Daydream App and then re-open Skybox from scratch. Is this a known bug/ any possible solutions?

This is odd, because you should be able to return to the main hall with the 'back button' on your daydream controller no matter what. Let me know if it is still stuck at that scene after you clicked the back button.

kiboy6 3.) I usually use Mezzmo server as my UPNP/DLNA server. However when I browse a large folder (400+ files) via Mezzmo on Skybox the list of files is truncated after 100 items or so. As a result I ca';t use Mezzmo and have to run a different server. Any idea why this could be?

This should not happen, we do not truncate anything on DLNA. However what exactly do you mean by 'truncated'. Do your list just end after 100 items? or is there something else going on?

Cheers,
Andy

kiboy6

Thanks so much for the detailed response Andy.

Re # 2 , no, the back button doesn't get me back to he home screen when i get stuck in the canyon. The only way out is back to Daydream home via the home button.

Re # 3, yes list ends after roughly 100 items. Only with that server though. Can browse full lists (400+ items) in Skybox from windows inbuilt server. At the same time other clients on the network can view the full list from Mezzmo

thanks so much if you have any thoughts on these things :)

Andy

Hey kiboy6,

That is odd because we have specially set the back bottom to be active under all 'canyon' situations. Can you try to recreate the situation and send us the log file for your SKYBOX? which should be located in Android/Data/xyz.skybox.player/Files/OutLogs.txt
Send the log to contact@skybox.xyz and we will see what is wrong with it.

We will try to look more into the Mezzmo thing, as it might be under a Network protocol that is not entirely compatible with SKYBOX. I will get back to you shortly.

Cheers,
Andy

kiboy6

Thanks Andy...I'll send that lg as soon as I'm able to.

Also, any chance that we will be able to browse SMB shares from Skybox soon? That would be by far the most convenient network media browsing solution for me.

Thanks!

Andy

Hi kiboy6,

SMB does allow us to browse a broader range of file types and the user base is quite large. We get lots of requests for SMB, and it is on our roadmap :)
However we have not set a specific date for it yet, as we have a pretty much fully packed schedule til the beginning of next year. So I would ask for your kind patience for this feature.

Cheers,
Andy

mechrat

+1 for SMB support. Skybox has a much better design and feel than any of it's competitors, but SMB is a must for me!

mechrat

mechrat Just a heads up for anyone else looking for SMB support in Skybox. I just saw a comment on Reddit with an temporary workaround...

If you run Kodi media player on your phone before loading Skybox (this can also be loaded via Samsung Phonecast in VR). In Kodi set "Share my libraries" in Settings/Services/UPnP. From then on your SMB folders will appear in Skybox.