PlayOn UPnP MediaServer for Netflix, Hulu, CBS, ESPN, and Amazon VOD playback in XBMC

Just for the record, I installed playon on a dual-core macbook (running windows xp only, heh), entered my netflix and hulu accounts, plugged the macbook into my router, added the UPnP source in XBMC live (acer aspire revo, dharma RC2), and once I put a security exception for flash in IE on the macbook, hulu and netflix worked perfectly! I am going to try MLB.tv as well when I get home from work.

If it works as well as it appears it will, I may actually pay the lifetime $80 subscription for playon...

http://geekswithblogs.net/mbcrump/archiv...ppets.aspx

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=87552

hopefully, between these 2 releases, our little ions will be able to handle netflix via XBMC... in about 6mo to a year...

Hi Guys,
I bought this PlayOn streaming media upnp server software the other day.
It is the closest thing I have gotten to reliable good hulu on xbmc live so far.

The upnp links don't seem to translate well to to the web interface but other then that it seems to work pretty solid.

But if you haven't tried it out it is worth the free trial

playon.tv

Anyone got anything better?

If you're just using Hulu you may want to add Bluecop's repository and download that Hulu Plugin (among others). May give you more streaming options with the others available also.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=79148

Playon with XBMC Live is fantastic. Since Netflix started grouping their television shows together under one heading for all seasons I'm able to set each Series as a source and have all seasons available listed as I would have from files on my NAS. So I've got my primary PC running XP with playon and two boxes (Zotac and Revo) in other rooms accessing Netflix through Playon via ethernet over power.

I would really appreciate some help if I can.

I have the playon server working flawlessly on the PS3 but when I try to play a video using XBMC on my pc through the playon server I get an error message saying

The media player you are using is not supported by playon.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Steve

I need some help with using the uPnP client on Frodo. I am running XBMC Frodo and Playon (with premium 1 year license) on the same machine.. I am a little lost on enabling the "uPnP client" in XBMC. I see no option. I can set my XBMC to be a uPNPserver though - but thats not what I want.

I was able to go Settings -> File Manager -> Add source and see my Playon uPnP server - I added it. But now what? How do I see the Playon as a "Add-on" under videos? Or how do I see just Disney Junior or say NFL.com videos (how to install that script in Playon is another question)?

Thanks guys! Looking forward to using PlayOn.

(2013-01-09 18:19)hedwig Wrote:  I need some help with using the uPnP client on Frodo. I am running XBMC Frodo and Playon (with premium 1 year license) on the same machine.. I am a little lost on enabling the "uPnP client" in XBMC. I see no option. I can set my XBMC to be a uPNPserver though - but thats not what I want.

I was able to go Settings -> File Manager -> Add source and see my Playon uPnP server - I added it. But now what? How do I see the Playon as a "Add-on" under videos? Or how do I see just Disney Junior or say NFL.com videos (how to install that script in Playon is another question)?

Thanks guys! Looking forward to using PlayOn.

Just because it is on the same machine, you still need to run Play on FIRST as a server, and then SECOND as a client.

FIRST, ensure your play on server software is loaded properly. Verify connectivity via their included testing software, and ensure that you enter your user name and passwords for the premium services.


then SECOND, set up your client. In Frodo, that is:

Videos / Files / Add Videos / Browse / UPNP Devices / PlayOn (whatever you named it) / OK

Then shorten the name to just "PlayOn"... ok.


At that point, you may wish to create a shortcut on your main screen... But you can't.

The challenge is that XBMC does not allow you to add a source to a main screen short-cut, as they allow add-ons.


So, you can mark it a "favorite":

Videos / Files / tab over to [PlayOn] , hit context / Add to favorites

So now on your main Frodo screen, get over to the [Star] (next to power) and when selecting it you will see [PlayOn].

Done.

If any of that did NOT work for you... then you have to double check your server portion to ensure it is setup correctly

Ahh - ok. I did not realize that I had to consider Playon as a"source" of videos.My playon server was running fine and when I went in file manager and add source, I could see my playon server and the various "channels" under it.. I just did not think of adding videos the way you suggested.
So everything that Playon can provide will be grouped in that one source. And maybe I can mark as "favorites" certain online sources like NFL/Disney junior .. cool. Will try it out today.

(2013-01-09 19:39)hedwig Wrote:  So everything that Playon can provide will be grouped in that one source.

Yes !

(2013-01-09 19:39)hedwig Wrote:  And maybe I can mark as "favorites" certain online sources like NFL/Disney junior ..

YES !

( ... I had to change my original answer.... I tested it and within Playon, you CAN select an item, and place it within favorites! )


As with all things in life, there are pros-and-cons. PlayOn does deliver a lot of content that we would consider "cable"... but the actual presentation layer sucks.

There are other items that can present content (as was mentioned earlier, BlueCop), but that has limited content , so you lose all the other "stuff" PlayOn can bring.

(ex: PlayOn lists far FAR more Amazon on demand movies & content... but BlueCop displayes them "nicer".)


This is a conversation that I have been having with my brother-in-law: He hates paying for overpriced cable / sat service... but hates the user experience of "free" content.

I still have not seen anything that really spans that "dump cable" gap well.