Roku - can it access remote MB3 server?

[tobias-tobin 9]

Sorry if I should know the answer to this but as I read I have not seen a definitive answer so I thought I would ask.  It is clear the Roku and MB3 are designed to work on a LAN with a MB3 server.  Can I give a family member access to my MB3 remotely?  I've not tried this but I assume once it does not find a MB3 server on the local network it will prompt for an address.  If you can access remotely, what format should the address be in?  IP:8096?  or FQDN:8096 or does the port need to be specified?  is an http:// required before the address?

 

Currently the family member accesses my movies using Plex on the Roku.  The problem is certain movies are playing without audio and I am having a hard time figuring out the solution.  I can test the same shows using Plex for Pass on my android and they work fine.  Same goes for using Plex on PC.  But on Roku this problem persists.  And it is occurring with both .avi and .mkv files.  

 

So, I was wondering if maybe the MB3 app for the Roku might solve this problem.  Sure, I'd rather they use MB3 anyway since it is an excellent system but I've not attempted with these people since it is beta and they are not tech savy.  But I am willing to give it a shot if it will resolve the issue.

 

Also, does anyone know how efficient the MB3 setup is at transcoding?  And how many simultaneous transcoding sessions are possible?  The system is a i7 4th gen, 16GB ram, system drive is SSD, and media stored on network Drobo on gigabit network (Drobo maxes out at about 30MB/s).  My WAN connection is 105Mbps down and 20Mbps up.  I am just curious how many family members I can give access with the consideration of what would happen if they were all watching something at once.

 

The first part of the question is important the second part is just curiosity.   I could and should do my own testing using the android app.

 

Thanks,

tobias.

[CBers 6780]

Please read this thread:http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/594-roku-public-beta/, as it should have answers to all of your questions and is the place to ask more.

 

Also, have a read of this thread: http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/2610-media-browser-vs-plex/

Edited December 15, 2013 by CBers

[gcw07 347]

Yes, it can be accessed remotely. Not obviously the speed will depend upon your upload connection. But it can be accessed outside. Also you can now add up to 3 servers on the Roku. As for the connection fields. You need the IP address of your networked machien. The outside IP address or if your using a service like NO-IP, DynDNS, etc. then use the URL, but don't put http in front, just the url like "somesite.com". The port number is asked in a separate setup input so you don't need that in the IP address field.

 

Be sure to open up the port to the outside world on your router.

 

As for number of transcoding. It isn't something I can really answer. If you keep it set to transcode things around 3Mbps or so I'm sure you could transcode more then if you set the quality higher. Will be something you might just have to play around with.

[tobias-tobin 9]

gcw07 - thanks you summed up everything I needed to know.  Much appreciated.

 

CBers, I appreciate the links.

 

Thank you both.  Looking forward to giving this a go.  I hope this resolves the audio issues family experiencing with the Roku on certain files.  I have not been able to isolate exactly what the problem is...especially when they play fine on the android version of the Plex app.  This should be really cool having MB3 through Roku.  Great work!

 

BTW - I do use dyndns and thank you for letting me know it is ok to use fqdn and not to include the http://.  This way I won't have to worry if my IP changes through my ISP.  Exciting stuff!