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minidlna-1.3.3 on ReadyNAS Duo Sparc
Hello,
I was able to install minidlna 1.3.3 with ffmpeg-5.1.6 on my ReadyNAS Duo v1 and wanted to share my experience. The challenges started already at the beginning with ffmpeg when the produced makefile from ./configure could not be processed by the make command of the NAS. I tried multiple older versions of ffmpeg and figured out that I could simply upgrade the make command to a newer version. The next issue occurred during the building of ffmpeg, and the only solution I could find was to disable the affected feature vp9. I think it should be possible to use a newer version of ffmpeg, but since compiling ffmpeg took around a whole day on the QEMU image, I thought this version of ffmpeg was sufficient.
There were also some other minor challenges to get minidlna building and running on the NAS, but I finally managed it, and I'm quite happy with the result. I have about 700 movies managed by minidlna. Subtitles, audio, and everything else works fine. So far, I have not stumbled upon a video format that did not work with the UPnP client.
If you are interested, I have summarized more details here:
https://github.com/mfe-/ReadyNASDuoSparc/blob/master/minidlna-1.3.3/Readme.md
4 Replies
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Thanks for sharing.
Did you upgrade the RAM in the Duo? Or is it still using the stock RAM?
I am wondering what motivated this effort. Was it to get bug fixes or features that aren't in the minidlna 1.1.4 (ReadyDLNA) normally installed on the NAS?
I'm also not clear on the value of ffmpeg, as the Duo certainly can't do any real-time video transcoding (and might not be able to do much real-time audio transcoding either).
Thanks StephenB for your feedback.
Yes, my ReadyNAS Duo has 256 MB of RAM. The motivation to build a newer MiniDLNA was because it did not recognize all videos. In reality, only a small number of movies were recognized. I guess it's because the MiniDLNA was lacking support for some movie file formats.
As the FFmpeg library is a mandatory dependency of MiniDLNA, I would not be able to build MiniDLNA without the library. Its used for:
- Media Transcoding: FFmpeg can transcode media files into formats that are compatible with various DLNA clients.
- Metadata Extraction: FFmpeg can extract metadata from media files, which MiniDLNA uses to organize and present media content.
- Thumbnail Generation: FFmpeg can generate thumbnails for video files, enhancing the browsing experience on DLNA clients.
- Format Support: FFmpeg supports a wide range of audio and video formats, ensuring that MiniDLNA can handle diverse media libraries.
Some other library dependencies are indeed optional, but I tried to build them too, so that my MiniDLNA supports most of the features.
PS: is it possible that a moderator merges my old profile https://community.netgear.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/269662 to this one?
mfe-_ wrote:
Yes, my ReadyNAS Duo has 256 MB of RAM. The motivation to build a newer MiniDLNA was because it did not recognize all videos. In reality, only a small number of movies were recognized.
Makes sense. I didn't do much with ReadyDLNA on the Duo or NV+. FWIW, the OS-6 ReadyNAS NAS are running version 1.3.1. Though personally I use Plex.
BTW, if you are keeping the miniDLNA database and cache on the OS partition, I suggest relocating them to the C volume. The OS partition is only 2 GB, and could easily fill as your library grows.
mfe-_ wrote:
As the FFmpeg library is a mandatory dependency of MiniDLNA, I would not be able to build MiniDLNA without the library. Its used for ...
FWIW, I do know what ffmpeg does, and use it regularly. I was thinking you were building the executable, not the library.
Last time I checked, MiniDLNA didn't support any transcoding. I am sure that the version installed on the OS-6 ReadyNAS does not transcode. Though I have heard that there are some forks that will. Did you use the ReadyMedia source? If not, what source did you use?
That said, the Duo is far too slow to any real-time video transcoding. That requires at least an RN202 for 1080p video. So taking out VP9 won't make any difference as far as that goes. I haven't attempted audio transcoding on my own Duo (it's too small to be my main NAS, so it's now a tertiary backup that I use for some shares). But I wouldn't be surprised if the sparc can't keep with transcoding many of the newer audio formats either (for instance opus).
I get the analysis of the container and metadata part, as that is much lighter weight.
Anyway, it looks like an interesting project. We regularly see posts here from people who still have their Duo v1 or the NV+ v1 in service, and some likely would be interested in installing your package.
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