On UPnP Servers on OS X
So a while back I purchased a Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P3LWG/DVD, which is a UPnP media device. For any Mac-heads out there, think about it as a really cheap version of the Apple TV.
The device requires a UPnP server running on a computer to stream the media to the device. There are a few contenders under OS X - EyeConnect, from el gato (the makers of my DVR); MediaTomb, a GPL UPnP server; and TwonkyMedia, a commercial application from a company in Germany.
I originally tried EyeConnect since it should be the most integrated with EyeTV, the DVR software I use. Indeed, EyeConnect was the easiest to set up and worked fairly well. However, I was using my iMac - my primary machine, as my server, and noticed a speed hit when the server was running. A little research turned up the fact that the EteConnect software was regularly using between 450 and 600 MB of real memory on my machine. This was completely unacceptable.
I emailed el gato and got a prompt response:
Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.
I think the behavior you've seen is typical for EyeConnect - similar readings were on my Mac here.
I can't say if it's incorrect, but I've passed on your comments to our engineers.
They can let me know if it's just how OS X is managing memory, or if it's something that we'll need to fix.
Hopefully I can get a report back in a few days.
Now, their EyeTV software, which is a pretty feature-filled DVR software? Uses between about 50 and 60 MB of real memory while running. A server daemon, running in the background, though, was using ten times that amount? Unacceptable.
Next on my list to try was MediaTomb. MediaTomb had the right price (free), but after three days I could never get it to see my MP4's as the correct mime type, so it was nixed. Configuration was completely unacceptable, as well.
Last night I finally broke down and purchased TwonkyMedia. A little bit of configuring and I had it serving up my recorded MPEG2 content, along with my ripped MPEG4 content. So far I have not gotten the hierarchy on the device where I want it, but at least I can enjoy the media.
Oh, and a point of comparison: MediaTomb was regularly using between 6 and 7 MB of real memory, and TwonkyMedia leads the way with between 3 and 4 MB of real memory used. That is right, 100 times less.
I sent off another email to el gato. I am curious to see if I get a response back. I will write more when I finally get TwonkyMedia set up correctly with my media hierarchy.
The device requires a UPnP server running on a computer to stream the media to the device. There are a few contenders under OS X - EyeConnect, from el gato (the makers of my DVR); MediaTomb, a GPL UPnP server; and TwonkyMedia, a commercial application from a company in Germany.
I originally tried EyeConnect since it should be the most integrated with EyeTV, the DVR software I use. Indeed, EyeConnect was the easiest to set up and worked fairly well. However, I was using my iMac - my primary machine, as my server, and noticed a speed hit when the server was running. A little research turned up the fact that the EteConnect software was regularly using between 450 and 600 MB of real memory on my machine. This was completely unacceptable.
I emailed el gato and got a prompt response:
Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.
I think the behavior you've seen is typical for EyeConnect - similar readings were on my Mac here.
I can't say if it's incorrect, but I've passed on your comments to our engineers.
They can let me know if it's just how OS X is managing memory, or if it's something that we'll need to fix.
Hopefully I can get a report back in a few days.
Now, their EyeTV software, which is a pretty feature-filled DVR software? Uses between about 50 and 60 MB of real memory while running. A server daemon, running in the background, though, was using ten times that amount? Unacceptable.
Next on my list to try was MediaTomb. MediaTomb had the right price (free), but after three days I could never get it to see my MP4's as the correct mime type, so it was nixed. Configuration was completely unacceptable, as well.
Last night I finally broke down and purchased TwonkyMedia. A little bit of configuring and I had it serving up my recorded MPEG2 content, along with my ripped MPEG4 content. So far I have not gotten the hierarchy on the device where I want it, but at least I can enjoy the media.
Oh, and a point of comparison: MediaTomb was regularly using between 6 and 7 MB of real memory, and TwonkyMedia leads the way with between 3 and 4 MB of real memory used. That is right, 100 times less.
I sent off another email to el gato. I am curious to see if I get a response back. I will write more when I finally get TwonkyMedia set up correctly with my media hierarchy.