Playing DVDs On The MG-350HD
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: mediagate, mg, 350hd
- 5. Playing DVDs On The MG-350HD
- 6. Wireless Testing
- 7. Conclusion
5. Playing DVDs On The MG-350HD
A DVD drive can be shared on a host computer and it will show up on the MG-350HD and play files- however, Store-bought DVD disks do not play. I tried several different DVDs representing different copy protection strategies. The MG-350HD cannot handle any copy protected DVD disks. Homemade DVD disks that do not contain copy protection such as DVD backups and home movies will play. Also unencrypted VOB files (The file type associated with DVDs) will also play.
Wired Performance Tests
I ran a series of tests playing different types of files streamed back and forth from a host PC and the Mediagate MG-350HD. In order to show that the network was not a factor in the tests, I calculated the rate of Megabytes per minute for each video file being streamed based on the file size and the duration.
(The PC used in the tests was an Athlon 64 3800+ 1 GB RAM running Windows XP Professional)
| Test | Content | From | To | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DVD / DivX-SD | DVD
(43.3 MB/min) |
Networked PC DVD drive | MG-350HD | Both files played simultaneously without any discernable problems
(Total transfer rate 50.5 MB/min) |
| DivX-SD
(7.17 MB/min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | ||
| DVD / WMV-HD @ 720p | DVD
(43.3 MB /min) |
Networked PC DVD drive | MG-350HD | The HD video started a choppy, but smoothed out for the rest of the test. The DVD played fine.
(Total transfer rate 88.6 MB/min) |
| WMV-HD @ 720p
(45.3 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | ||
| VOB / DivX-HD @ 720p | VOB
(43.3 MB /min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | Both videos were choppy and unwatchable.
(Total transfer rate 68.7 MB/min) |
| DivX-HD @ 720p
(25.4 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Cyberlink PowerDVD) | ||
| WMV-HD @ 1080p / WMV-SD | WMV-HD @ 1080p
(59.74 MB /min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | Both files played simultaneously without any discernable problems
(Total transfer rate 72.2 MB/min) |
| WMV SD
(12.47 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | ||
| WMV-HD @ 1080p /
WMV-HD @ 720p |
WMV-HD @ 1080p
(59.74 MB /min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | Both files played simultaneously without any discernable problems
(Total transfer rate 105 MB/min) |
| WMV-HD @ 720p
(45.3 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | ||
| WMV-HD @ 1080p / | WMV-HD @ 1080p /
(59.74 MB /min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | Both files played simultaneously without any discernable problems
(Total transfer rate 119.48 MB/min) |
| WMV-HD @ 1080p /
(59.74 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | ||
| VOB / VOB | VOB
(43.3 MB /min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | Both videos were choppy and not comfortable to watch
(Total transfer rate 86.6 MB/min) |
| VOB
(43.3 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Cyberlink PowerDVD) |
The major problems in the testing all occurred while streaming MPEG2 clips. Knowing that MPEG2 files are large, my first impression was that the 100 base T connection was getting bogged down by the larger files. (MPEG2 VOB files are typically a little over 1 gigabyte each.) Since VOBs are large, I assumed that they were encountering a bottleneck in the network. As I investigated further though, I realized that the size of the file is not as important as the amount of data being transferred at any given time.
Using the file size and the duration of the videos I calculated the amount of megabytes that each file would go through in a minute of playback. As it turned out, at 43 MB/Min the VOB files that I tested were not as large as I had thought compared to some of the other MPEG4-based formats that I tested. I assume that the MPEG2 decoder on the Sigma Designs EM8621 is more capable decoding MPEG4 file formats than MPEG2.
| Stress Test | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Content | From | To | Result |
| H.264-HD @ 1080p /
WMV-HD @ 720p / DivX-SD / DivX-SD |
DivX-SD
(7.17 MB/min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | All files played simultaneously without any discernable problems
(Total transfer rate 124.8 MB/min) |
| H.264-HD @ 1080p /
(65.2 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Quicktime Player) | ||
| DivX-SD
(7.17 MB/min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (DivX Player) | ||
| WMV-HD @ 720p
(45.3 MB /min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | ||
I found that my 400 GB Seagate hard drive became very hot to the touch shortly after beginning the stress test. I wouldn't recommend doing too much similar multitasking as the MG-350HD does not have a fan to keep the drive cool.
| HD MPEG2 Transport Stream Tests | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Content | From | To | Result |
| HD MPEG2 (TS) | HD MPEG2 (TS)
(200 MB/min) |
Networked PC HDD | MG-350HD | The HD Mpeg2 Transport Stream video played, but it was slightly choppy and not comfortable to watch.
(Total transfer rate 200 MB/min) |
| HD MPEG2 (TP) | HD MPEG2 (TS)
(200 MB/min) |
MG-350HD HDD | PC (Windows Media Player) | The same HD Mpeg2 Transport Stream video played back on the PC smoothly without problems. (Total transfer rate 200 MB/min) |
Again, the MPEG2 decoder onboard the MG-350HD struggled to maintain smooth playback However, when the HD file was sent back to the PC, it played fine.
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this is a neat device with some flaws.
the GUI is slow, but is much better if you upgrade to the latest firmware. A lot of GUI probs are fixed.
One (big) flaw remains : i found out that some movies dont play well, they have choppy playback. About 1 out of 10 movies fails to play properly, which is way to high for my liking. An xbox1 will play everything just fine.
I emailed freecom about it: they say new (and better) software that deals with the codecs wont be in any future firmware. The decoding is in the hardware, so the 'flaw' will never be fixed.
I stick with my xbox1