NMT for Mac users
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Connecting to the NMT
Direct Connect via USB
The Popcorn Hour A-110 and some other NMT devices has a slave USB port on the back which allows for a direct connection and very fast transfer rates (~1GB/minute) when an internal HDD is installed. When connected via this port, the PH HDD acts as a USB 2.0 hard drive. However, OSX does not natively support the EXT3 file system used by the Popcorn Hour. To get support, you must install the EXT2/3 file system driver located here. If anyone finds a more up-to-date or better file system driver, please update this page.
Note: the Popcorn Hour A-100 does not have a USB slave port.
Connecting via FTP
An alternative to connecting directly is to connect via FTP. This can be done using OSX's built in functionality or with a an FTP client such as the open source Cyber Duck. Transfer rates using this method are around 6300KB/s using a laptop with 802.11n (about half as fast as the USB direct connect).
Here is the method for connecting from OSX:
From OSX Finder.:
1. From the "Go" menu, choose "Connect to Server" menu item. Or, press Command+K.
2. In the "Connect to Server" browser type in your PCH ftp server address.:
ftp://ftpuser@XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
The PCH IP Address is located in the PCH Setup--->Network preferences page.
3. Click the "Connect" button.
4. The password is "1234".
Your PCH ftp@XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX will now appear in the Mac Finder sidebar.
Note: The Finder lets you connect to FTP servers with Read-Only access so you can copy files from the server. However, to copy files to an FTP server, you will need another program.
I find that using a good FTP client such as CyberDuck is a better method because it is more versatile.
Also note: the user name and password will be the same when using an FTP client.
Connecting your Macintosh to the NMT
Via trial and error I managed to "mount" the External USB drive connected to my iMac to the NMT
1. In the setup of the PCH go to Network share
2. Press Add
3. In the share name give a name for your share (Mine is IMac)
4. In the URL you type smb://IPofyourmac/nameofyourdevice (In my case my External drive is called Terabyte)
5. In User name you give the name of your Macintosh
6. In Password type your password.
For me this looks like:
Imac
SMB://192.168.1.28/Terabyte
MyImac
Password
Viewing your Macintosh media in the NMT
You can view all the media contents from your Mac just installing and running MyiHome.
The Mac version is just a silent server (no window at all, but keep it running), and you will see in your NMT all the media stored in your /home/Music, /home/Movies... don't need to configure anything.
Other options include the llink and Swisscenter streamers.
Macintosh workflow for Getting Movies onto NMT
Currently there are only a few options for backing your movies up into a format suitable for the NMT. As of this date, the best format appears to be .ISO since functionality is missing and the implementation is buggy for VIDEO_TS playback. Thus, for most the workflow will be either:
1. MacTheRipper or RipIt to rip
2. Toast to save as disc image
3. Manually change .toast to .iso
4. Transfer file to the NMT internal HDD, or network share.
or
1. MacTheRipper or RipIt to rip
2. Handbrake to encode to avi/mkv/mp4
Note, not all file containers have the same functionality, so if you are looking for the most DVD like experience, stick with .ISO and have a lot of storage space available. Also note that .iso is currently not supported with MyiHome, it is with llink, though on a basic level. Note that .iso, .img and VIDEO_TS should play fine over SMB and NFS shares.
Media information
MediaInfo for Mac is designed to analyze and report multimedia files of any kind. MediaInfo Mac can tell you the video and audio codecs used, the settings used for the original encoding, the type and kind of container (AVI, MP4, MKV, etc) and a lot more.
Setting Up NFS Share in Leopard to be used on the NMT
Setting up an NFS share in leopard is easy. Open up the Terminal and type:
- sudo vi /etc/exports
add your share location and the network allowed to browse it: Example:
/Volumes/Media/Movies -network 192.168.1.0 -mask 255.255.255.0
Save the file by :wq!
Start NFSD:
- sudo nfsd enable
Verify that the mounts was configured correctly:
- showmount -e
Now browse your NFS Network from your NMT and see your shared folder.
