Frequently Asked Questions

Take a look here for answers to the most common questions concerning PlayOn.

Overview

What is PlayOn?
PlayOn is software that you install on your Windows PC. It allows you to use your PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, or HP MediaSmart TV to access feeds from content providers like Netflix, Hulu, CBS, YouTube. PlayOn is both browser and media server software, built into one. It browses content from various online providers, and displays that content directly on your television, instead of on your PC screen.

How does it work?
PlayOn runs in the background on your networked PC. It uses standards called UPnP and DLNA to communicate with networked game consoles and TVs, working both as an Internet browser to access online media, and as a UPnP media server to serve videos to UPnP compliant devices.

Does your software run on Mac or Linux?
Not at the present time, as PlayOn is Windows-only software. However, you can find out more information about running PlayOn in Parallels on Mac here, and it is purported to run well over VMware on Mac, and WINE on Linux. Although the porting effort to Mac and/or Linux is fairly huge, we would love to add the support. So, don't count us out yet!

Can I install this on Windows Server 2003 or Windows Home Server?
Yes, but it may require installing Windows Media Player 11 as well. See here for help with Windows Server 2003, and here for help with WHS.

Is this software free?
Nope. It's a one-time $30 licensing fee. We work really hard to earn that $30 though. The licensing is free for 14 days (sometimes longer for beta releases), and if you like it, we think it's a fair price to bring content from Hulu, CBS, Netflix, YouTube, and more. And we expect to keep adding features over time. We also offer free support, both during your trial period, as well as after you purchase a license. Although there are lots of good free and opensource media server applications out there, let's be honest: there's little, if any, support for these products. Your license fees help us keep a dedicated support staff. By paying us for our software, you are buying into a guarantee that we will continue to improve and support PlayOn, well into the future.

Do you offer support for PlayOn?
We provide free support for all installations, regardless of whether you're using the free trial period, or you've purchased a license. Our success as a company is a direct result of how many licenses we can sell. By providing top-notch support (at least we like to think so), we do our utmost to keep our users happy, otherwise we'd be going out of business!

Can I get a refund if it doesn't work?
PlayOn offers a free trial period to fully evaluate the product. We generally only offer refunds in exceptional circumstances. In all cases, you must submit an official support request that demonstrates the problem you are experiencing, so we can check your diagnostic logs.

What devices does PlayOn work with?
Officially? We are officially working with and testing on the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, and HP MediaSmart TV and MediaSmart Connect. However, that said, it will also work on a number of other DLNA-compliant devices. Just keep in mind that this is largely untested, so it's likely you'll see technical issues that haven't been addressed. If you are brave enough to try PlayOn with another DLNA/UPnP media device, you should take part in the Unofficial Devices forum, and share your feedback with us as well as other users. Currently, we have had reports of people using PlayOn with moderate to great success on the following devices:

DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR, HR20 Receiver
D-Link DSM-510, DSM-520, DSM-750
Pioneer Elite PRO-1140HD TV
Popcorn Hour A-100
SageTV HD Theater
VuNow VN1000HD Hi-Def POD, VN100SD Std-Def POD
XBMC

What content does PlayOn offer?
Currently, PlayOn supports content from Netflix, Hulu, CBS, YouTube, and ESPN. We will be adding additional content sites in the near future.

Why should I buy PlayOn when I get Netflix on my Xbox 360 already?
The November 2008 Netflix-Xbox 360 integration requires a Live Gold subscription membership, which costs more over one year than the single $30 PlayOn license. Also, PlayOn offers more content than just Netflix, and we will be adding more and more content over time -- all as free upgrades to existing users. Plus, if you have a PLAYSTATION 3 or other device, PlayOn is still potentially a great way to bring Netflix to your TV!

Does PlayOn support Netflix Silverlight accounts?
Late in 2008, Netflix started upgrading their service to use Microsoft Silverlight 2.0 to stream movies, instead of their previous Windows Media Player system. We have been working hard to support these Netflix Silverlight accounts, and so far, the latest PlayOn releases should handle Silverlight just fine. You can verify whether or not your Netflix account is using Silverlight by visiting http://www.netflix.com/WiMessage?msg=58.

When will it work on the Wii?
This is a top priority for us, and the current plan is before the end of Q1 2009. We will be using the built-in embedded browser in the Wii (the "Internet Channel", which costs a few USD to enable). Keep up to date on our blog with our progress with Wii support.

Does PlayOn work outside the US?
It depends on the content. Some content providers, such as YouTube, allow viewers from outside the US to watch their videos. However, some sites, such as Hulu and CBS, geographically restrict their viewers to within the United States.

What does "realtime transcoding" mean?
Transcoding just means converting the format of some media to another format. PlayOn is a "transcoding media server". We take media from online websites, which is often in formats like Windows Media, Flash Video, or H.264, and convert it to a format that your networked device can understand, often MPEG, as this is a reliable standard. Some devices have more advanced "codecs" -- this just means that they can play the fancier Flash and H.264 videos. Our server will know in these cases if it can just pass the video along as is, without transcoding it to another format. When we say "realtime transcoding", we just mean that the PC is downloading the video from a site like Hulu, and converting it on-the-fly to another format, and then sending it to your device. It sounds simple, but it's really not.

Features

Is there a way I can skip ads on Hulu and CBS?
No, there is not currently, nor will there be, a way to skip ads from premium content providers through PlayOn. The ads are what enable these companies to offer their content over the Internet so that services like PlayOn can bring them to any device you wish to view them on, whenever you want to view them.

Can I add my own RSS feeds?
We are working on adding this ability. The Netflix support is a bit higher priority for us (and we hope also for you!).

How come I can't see my local PC files in PlayOn?
This will be added in upcoming releases. The feature exists, but it has a few too many glitches for us to feel OK about enabling it in the beta releases.

When will you support HD clips on Hulu and CBS?
We are working on this. Keep in mind that this will require a beefy PC to handle the realtime transcoding.

Technical Issues

What are the most common issues that cause problems for PlayOn?
There are four big bottlenecks for getting PlayOn to work, and if any one of these is not up to snuff, you're in trouble, and it's time to either upgrade your system, or find another solution!

1) PC horsepower: You need a powerful processor (CPU) on your PC to handle realtime transcoding of online content. Check out the minimum requirements for PlayOn. If you're near the minimum, you may experience hiccups during playback whenever your PC is doing other tasks. Solution? Reward yourself with a new PC.

2) Home network speed and reliability: If you're using a wireless network for your PC or device, especially if it's on 802.11g, you are likely to experience problems. PlayOn requires a lot of bandwidth on the home network to pass over the MPEG video files to the device. Anything that may interrupt or slow down that video feed will result in an unhappy device, and you'll see excessive buffering. If you want to be sure that your home network isn't the issue, at least try using wired or powerline adapters, and see if this helps. It's always good to narrow down the variables.

3) Broadband speed: A super fast PC and a robust and quick home network aren't enough if your pipe to the Internet is too slow! Your mileage will vary considerably if your broadband connection is borderline (try the bandwidth test in PlayOn Settings to get an idea). Every single content provider encodes their online videos in different ways, and at different resolutions. Sometimes videos will work fine from one source, but work terribly from another. The bottom line is, the fatter your connection to the Net, the better off you'll be.

4) Security software: We have seen quite literally countless instances where security software (or firmware on a router) blocks PlayOn, either by slowing things down, randomly breaking playback streams, or even squashing PlayOn out of existence. And we can't really do a thing about it, in almost all cases. Firewalls and security software is a tricky thing. There's nothing especially odd about what PlayOn does or how it works, but the sad fact is that the majority of software security packages out there just tend to block communication at some level on a home network. Or block programs even from running at all, even when the user configures them to be allowed. Our advice is to try temporarily disabling your security software to see if it helps. You may even need to go so far as uninstalling it completely (again, temporarily, and only if you're confident you can reinstall it). If you find that your security software is holding PlayOn back, contact the company that makes that software, and see if they can help. And if you learn something, share it with rest of us on the forum!

I installed PlayOn, but my device can't see it. Why?
There could be a lot of reasons, but the absolute two most common are: firewalls, and multiple network connections. You have to make sure that your firewall and security software is allowing our media server to have access. You can check the status of your firewall and security software in PlayOn Settings (Start > All Programs > PlayOn > PlayOn Settings). See the user guide for more information. Also, you might experience problems finding the media server from your device if your PC has two network connections enabled (this may happen if you for example have both the wired and wireless connection enabled on your PC, so that your PC represents itself twice on your network, with two separate IP addresses).

I found the server, but why can't I see any videos listed at all?
Make sure you are in the Video category, especially on the Xbox 360, and even more so on the PLAYSTATION 3. We make this same mistake ourselves occasionally, by accidentally going into the Music or Photos categories on the PS3. For instructions on how to find the right server and category, consult the user guide. If you still think you're doing everything corectly, but video titles aren't showing up, you may have discovered a bug. Send us a support request through PlayOn Settings (Start > All Programs > PlayOn > PlayOn Settings) and we'll try to diagnose the issue.

Video playback is pausing and buffering all the time. Why?
This is most likely due to a networking problem or an underpowered PC. With networking, there are two main areas where things can go wrong. The first is your broadband connection. In other words, how fast of a "pipe" do you have to the World Wide Web. You can find out how fast your external network connection is by using tools like Speedtest.net or Speakeasy. The second, and more common issue, is how your home network (or LAN, for "local area network") is set up. If your networked entertainment device (gaming console/set-top box) as well as your home PC are both on wireless 802.11g, you will have a throughput problem. Your network just can't handle the bandwidth of pulling a video from the Internet to your PC, and at the same time push a realtime transcoded stream from your PC to your device. Although 802.11g is rated as running at a maximum of 54 Mbps, it is very common for data rates to be significantly lower, due to interference or other problems. We highly recommend that you have at least one of the devices (your console or your PC) be on a wired connection, or to be using wireless 802.11n. If your network seems to be in order, and the video is still choppy, you may be running with an underpowered PC, either with a slow CPU or not enough RAM. See the minimum requirements for PlayOn to make sure.

Why do I sometimes get weird error messages on my device when I try to play a clip?
This can occur for lots of reasons. Check the user forum to see if someone else has posted a similar issue. Or, send us a support request using PlayOn Settings (Start > All Programs > PlayOn > PlayOn Settings).

Why doesn't fast forwarding work?
This is a tricky problem. Online realtime streams can only of course be downloaded as fast as your broadband connection and the content provider allows, so it's impossible to fast forward beyond the latest downloaded (and transcoded) point in the media. It's analogous to watching a live broadcast with a DVR -- pausing and rewinding work fine, but fast forwarding can never go beyond "right now". Additionally, many of the devices aren't set up very well to handle when the intermediary end of the media stream is reached. In these cases, they may just give up, and exit playback with an obscure error, instead of waiting and buffering. In any case, we are working on solutions and improvements to this issue, but it's technically very challenging.

Why is my PC CPU high even after I stop watching a video?
First, it's important to understand why your PC CPU is high in the first place with PlayOn: realtime transcoding requires serious horsepower! Whenever you watch a video on your device, your PC churns along, downloading the video and converting it to a format that your device is able to play. If you stop playback on your device, no clear signal is sent to the PC, so PlayOn cannot detect whether you have only temporarily paused or stopped. In order to have the option of returning to playback, PlayOn needs to continue processing the video in the background. You can however in PlayOn Settings toggle whether videos will always be processed fully to completion, or give up after 5 minutes of device inactivity.

Why are the video titles on my Xbox 360 always in literal alphabetical order?
This is a "feature" of the Xbox 360. Even if we tell it, "Here is the list of videos, and it's in the correct order already!", it will still resort things alphabetically. If it is really driving you crazy, we suggest you contact Microsoft and the Xbox team, and ask them to offer a solution or workaround.

All the services work fine except for CBS and Hulu. Why?
This could be a firewall problem. Videos from both these services require port 1935 to be unblocked, all the way from your ISP to your modem to your router and to your PC. If you have security software or firmware installed on your PC or router, make sure that this port is unobstructed, and that you give PlayOn access. For more help, you may need to contact the technical support for your PC, security software, or router.

None of these things solved my problem. Now what?
We wish technical support was always easy! But the reality is that there are always hiccups. If you still don't know why PlayOn is not working for you, spend a little time reading our online user forum. Make sure you read all the "sticky" posts at the top, especially HOW TO GET HELP (READ THIS FIRST!). There may also be other "Known Issue" or "Fixed" posts that address the problem you're seeing.

If the forum still isn't doing the trick for you, send us a support request in PlayOn Settings. We do our best to help everyone, both during the trial period, as well as for those with a purchased license.