FireStream 4+

I got an e-mail from the developer that this is the successor to Nullriver MediaLink, which had some annoying bugs that didn’t get fixed and didn’t see any development since 2013. After getting a promise from the developer (which has now split of from Nullriver) regarding improved support and helpdesk (people got no support from Nullriver, just Google it and see) and that the annoying bugs have been fixed I decided to buy it. The annoying bugs are indeed gone, so I am happy about that (if they weren’t I would have used the refund option of the MAS).

The annoying bugs that the old MediaLink had and are now fixed by using the new FireStream:
1. After starting your Mac you had to click on 'Stop', delete the entires in 'folders', re-add them and then click on 'Start' again for Medialink folders to actually show up on any UPNP receiver, such as the Mede8er.
2. VLC for iOS wouldn’t show any files after clicking on the MediaLink UPnP server in ‘Local streams’.

Although €15 is a relative high price for apps nowadays I feel it is worth it so long the developer does not start using the ‘tactic’ that some cheaper app developers do nowadays, which is start releasing version 2, 3 etc as new apps. But seeing how the predecessor (Nullriver) never used this I feel reassured they do not start using such a tactic now. So in short: €15 is fine as long as this tactic is not used (or at least for 3-5 years per release). They can also use the Apple model, which is paid extended helpdesk support after 90 days in turn for one-time buy model (the developer also has to eat) or versions.

A very big plus is that SRT subtitles now seem to work over UPnP, which is a first (never seen it before). However, the implementation is not yet perfect as you will see underneath (you seem to lose the ability to go forward or backwards in the media file). People will know how big of a deal SRT support is, as it is still the most used subtitle format and programs such as Handbrake are not capable of burning in SRT files as of their latest version. I heard Handbrake is working on it, but even then it still requires you to give each movie file the re-code threatment which costs an hour per file even on a desktop CPU. With FireStream you can watch it without first spending an hour for each movie file (and hoping the result is good, else you can spend another hour). For most THAT will be the killer feature of FireStream and kind of strange that the developer does not highlight this more in his description.

In version 1.0 the following things are working great, apart from some minor things that I e-mailed the developer about. These relatively small issues are:
1. With the setting ‘Transcode: All Video’s ‘ enabled (which is necessary for srt subtitles to work I believe) you lose the ability to go forward and backward. So if you want to go back a couple of minutes in the movie you have to start and watch from the start again. As srt support is a big deal it creates an unwanted dilemma: lose your subtitles (which are still often provided in srt) or lose the ability to go back or forward in the movie.
2. It plays a sound whenever a new device is found. I have not tested wether this is once or happens each time. But if it is the latter can you please make sure there is an option to display this notification sound.
3. Dutch is missing as an option in the ‘preferred subtitle language’ setting. I believe MediaLink had Dutch in this menu.

Working with FireStream for a while now.
It is a reliable vehicle to get music from my MacMini to my B&O multi room sound system.
Very satisfied with the quality and the support I neded in the beginning for the set-up.

This software allows to share and stram content so you can see it in any device connected to the internal network. I recommend it.