e2MoviePlayer


How to setup and run my personal video player / movie player

PLi® Plugins and the Blue button are your friends

DM500,DM500+, DM56x0, DM600, DM7000 and DM7020 users click here for your movieplayer

With the introduction of the PLi® Jade software in the summer of 2008, you are now able to make your DM box into a true DM media center client or what is also known as an extender.

Warning: do not use VLC 0.9.x for this


Use newest VLC or if bugged use version 1.0.5

The Video Player plugin will allow you to playback many different video file formats from any computer that will run the VLC application [Mac, Linux, Windows, Vista], direct to your TV or to multiple TV's [not covered in this howto]

So you can now do this from the comfort of your lounge chair with your DM remote control, without the need to convert, transcode or otherwise play with the computer before you sit down to watch a movie. All thanks to the Video Player plugin in your DM box and VLC running on your computer.

Support the PLi® team and get a cup of coffee.

Howto set the Video Player plugin up for the first time

All you have to do is follow these two simple steps.


1. VLC:

MUSTDO: Always do this VLC step when you reboot or restart your computer





Note: see the Power User section at the bottom of the page for other ways to do this

A. You should download and install the Video Lan Client from here if you not already done so for other applications that use VLC i.e. Streaming TV.
B. VLC needs to be running in the background on the computer at all times, when you use the Video Player plugin on your DM box.

If you are running a graphic user interface you simply;
If you are running VLC from shell then run VLC using the parameter --extraint=http (to enable the VLC web interface)

Remember: VLC needs to be setup and running on your computer before you use the VLC Movieplayer plugin in your DM box. If it is not set up correctly then you system will appear to hang until it times out.

Movieplayer
Or the recent VLC version running in graphic user interface: Movieplayer

Tip: Click here to see a flash movie on howto Setup VLC
Tip: Always ensure NO other service/application on your PC is running on the VLC port of 8080

2. The Video Player plugin


The first thing you need to do on your DM box is to download and have your DM box automatically install the
VLC plugin.

To do this press your Menu button - select plugins

plugins

plugins

You will see the VLC Video Player has been added to the plugins menu. Select the VLC Video Player plugin and
press your OK button.


plugins


Now we have to set up this plugin. To do this simply press the Yellow button to edit
the server you see setup above and edit the details of your PC running the VLC application shown above;

plugins

On the second page you need to setup your audio stream details


plugins

Once you have done this save the data (that was easy) and you will be taken back to the server page.
Now select the server and you should see the contents of your PC like this;

plugins

Now simply select the movie you want to play and watch it on TV


plugins


Howto use your personal Movieplayer


Great, I have now setup VLC and it is running on my computer in the background and I have setup
the other settings in the VLC Video Player plugin as you suggested for my environment. So I am ready to go.


So how do I run this new Video Player plugin?

1. Press the Blue button on your remote control and this menu will appear. Now use your down arrow key and select the VLC Video Player option and then press the OK button to continue.

Movieplayer

You can also press MENU|PLUGIN to get to the same screen


2.You should now see the Plugin, so select the server you set up and you should be connected to your computers 'media drive and directory' like this example below.

Movieplayer

You will now be presented with four 'coloured' options at the bottom of the screen which are controlled by these buttons.
  1. Press the RED button to filter (select only media files) the files on your computer
  2. Press the GREEN button to refresh the list of files on your PC
  3. Press the YELLOW button to see the server list (and change servers)
  4. Press the BLUE button to play a DVD on your server

For VLC Windows XP & Vista Power users

MS XP & Vista example


If you use the MS Windows Xp or Vista Operating Systems you can preset the VLC properties in Windows
to always have the VLC web interface open / turned on. Simply add this line of code below and VLC
will always start with the web interface turned on. See the image below.

--intf wxwin --extraintf=http
--intf qt --extraintf=http (on newer versions, 1.0 +)



Movieplayer


If you also copy VLC into your startup directory under your start menu like the example
above shows, VLC will then always start when your PC does and if you added the line of code
as shown above, you just set and forget.

TIP: If you upgrade or change version of VLC you will have to add this line back again.

From time to time, if there is an issue with the file format, VLC displays message:
"This AVI file is broken. Seeking will not work correctly.
Do You want try to repair it (this might take a long time)"
Yes/No/Cancel

and if you want streaming this file, you must press NO.

If you want not this message and automatically "press" NO, add into line below to the Target line in the
image above.

--avi-index=2 (XP, Vista)


How to see what is on Port 8080 on your PC


To check you have everything set up properly you should;
Movieplayer



For VLC Windows 7 & Other Power Users - Run VLC as a Windows Service

MS Windows 7 Example


Investigations, mostly in VLC forum, revealed that you can run VLC Web Interface as a Windows Service. This means that once set up all you must do is start PC; no manual start of VLC Application and then select "Web Interface". It is invisible to the user on the PC.

Setup Used
PC: Windows 7 Home 64
DM: DM800
VLC Version: 1.0.5 (some later versions do not work with the DM VLC Plug-in, see forum for details. Do try most recent VLC first)

Steps are:

1. PC: Right click on VLC shortcut in All Programs, VideoLan, VLC Media Player
2. Properties
3. Compatibility tab
4. Select Windows XP SP3 mode
5. Apply
6. Start Button, All Programs, Accessories, Run
7. Enter following command and OK: C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe -I ntservice --ntservice-install --ntservice-name=VLC-Win7_Service --ntservice-extraintf=http --ntservice-options="--no-qt-privacy-ask --no-qt-error-dialogs"
Include quotes
8. Allow program to make changes on PC, (Win 7 UAC Standard Unknown Publisher Screen)
9. Go to Windows Task Manager, Services, Services Button, find entry for VLC (VLC-Win7_Service) and start service.
10. Shut down and restart PC and service will run automatically on boot-up.
11. Test if Web Interface is working with: http://127.0.0.1:8080 in Firefox (or IE) on PC and Web Interface should appear.
12. DM800: Start Dreambox VLC Plug-in on DM800, ensure that the server setting is set up correctly in VLC Plug-in. (see above)
13. VLC should work on Dreambox and you should see the file listing of the shared drive or folder you setup on the PC.
14. PC: The switch to XP SP3 mode will cause the UAC screen to always pop-up when you start VLC normally on PC; the UAC screen issue can be solved by reverting back to Win7 mode; take off XP SP3 compatibility.


TIP: The Video Player plugin is only as good as your LAN is! If you LAN is mis-configured or not setup correctly, then expect issues!
TIP: Click here to learn howto stream real HDTV from any E2 DM box using VLC
Question: Does this work on Wifi? Yes perfectly if your LAN is correctly setup.
Question: Does this work on a small 10mb LAN? Yes perfectly if your LAN is correctly setup.
Question: What do you use for a LAN when you wrote this? All the above and a bridge to a 1gb CAT6 LAN
Question: Can the PLi® team help me setup my LAN as I do not have one? In short no, we can not, but you can ask in the PLi® Forums or ask a PC Technical Support and loan modification


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