What actually decodes the video files?

[flyfisher]

I'm running Twonky 5.0.56 on an HP EX485. Works fine streaming .MPG videos but says it can't stream .MOV files.

QUESTION: Does Twonky actually decode and stream the video file to my DLNA device? Or does it use "other" software to decode the file and then it just sends "video" to the DLNA device? I guess what I'm wondering is, if I installed a QuickTime player on my EX485 would Twonky 5.0.56 then be able to stream the .MOV file to my DLNA device? Or does Twonky actually need to know how to decode the .MOV video file itself?

Thanks

[PeeBee]

Generally the Media Server (Twonky in this case) just streams the file in the format it is stored in i.e. mp3, mpg, jpg, whatever. The media receiver/player then has to be able to decode the format of the streamed media.

The alternative is transcoding where the server is set up to change the media from one format to another before streaming it to the player. This is used where the player cannot decode the media in the format it is stored.

PB

[flyfisher]

Interesting, and very helpful reply!

So where do I get information on transcoding? Looks like I would need to tell the server to change from .MOV format to .MPG format. Is this done from within Twonky?