Trying to stream mkv files to iPad :(

[jDONE]

I've been able to setup the Filebrower app on my ipad and can view my files, but from there I either have to download the entire file to my ipad or stream it to another app which causes too much lag. I have also been successful at adding the miniDLNA plugin to freenas and am able to pick it up on my ipad, however I can't see any files. Are there any other solutions to doing this? Thanks in advance!

 

[cyberjock]

For starters, if you're trying to stream to your iPad you're using wifi. Wifi isn't the best choice for streaming. Of course, you don't have much of an alternative when thinking about an ipad. If your signal isn't strong with little interference, you will have problems streaming. I don't own an ipad, but if you can increase the buffer size on the video application you are using, you stand a fair chance of never having the buffer go empty and never having it hiccup. Of course, if your signal is just flat out too slow/weak to provide the necessary transfer rates, the only way to fix it is to have the file stored locally on your ipad.

If you have 1 room that you intend to stream ALOT of movies, you could also consider putting a wifi access point in the room connected to your wired LAN.

There is the possibility you have issues with performance because of your server, but since you have no specs at all, I'm going to guess it's wifi. Alot of people have problems with wifi.

 

[paleoN]

I have also been successful at adding the miniDLNA plugin to freenas and am able to pick it up on my ipad, however I can't see any files.

Does miniDLNA see any files? If it doesn't nothing else will.

Does the IPad play streamed .mkv files. Are you .mkv files using accepted combination of Audio/Video codecs?

 

[cyberjock]

I'm not sure, but because he said it lags I think it find the files and lets him stream them.

For the OP-

DLNA is a standardized communication. It does not guarantee the files will play just because you installed DLNA. DLNA just allows the files to be served. If your device isn't capable of opening mkv(which is what paleoN is saying is a possibility) or doesn't have the appropriate codecs(which paleoN is also asking) then the device will never be able to play them. You'd have to convert the files to a format that your device can display. I know when I used DLNA on a friend's TV it would take MP4 files and had a strict list of codecs it could use. If you didn't have an MP4 with one of those codecs, then it wouldn't work.

 

[Bever]

Look into Plex for streaming to an iPad. It will transcode for you on the fly. I don't think there is a port for FreeBSD though.

 

[Theflu]

You can use Emitt app or Airvideo to stream movies to the ipad. They support a lot of file formats. I use both of them and they work well.

 

[giantshroom]

I have had great luck with setting up a CIFS share and using Oplayer on iPad to view and play files. Most of my library is h264 inside mkv and I've not had any issues so far.

 

[sjmurdoch]

I simply set up a web server (lighttpd or Apache) in the plugins jail, and served up MP4 files. It can't do transcoding so you'd need to do that beforehand if the iPad can't handle the formats you have (try ffmpeg on the command line or HandBrake for a GUI).