[slim] Love My Squeezebox! What's The Equivalent For Video?

[Musketeer]

After a couple of months with it I can say I am extremely satisfied with
my Squeezebox 3. Probably more so than with any other piece of
electronics I have bought for a long time. It does what it does really
well.

What is the best video equivalent to the squeezebox? I mean one that is
not in beta version 0.9, one that is second or third gen and stable. I
want one that streams most common video files (like divx) from network
storage and does it really well. It doesn't need to have a million
other features, like music streaming and web streaming etc.

I don't suppose you slim guys are working on a video squeezebox by any
chance??

What do the rest of you use?

PS: I hope it's not too inappropriate posting this here, I just figured
that the kind of people that buy a Squeezebox and are in here reading
the forums are likely to be good people to ask about video streaming!


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[Gibbo]

apple tv?

http://www.apple.com/appletv/


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[barcar]

Musketeer;246181 Wrote:
> What do the rest of you use?

After a lot of research (and getting fed up waiting for a SlingCatcher
- http://us.slingmedia.com/object/io_1168286861787.html) I went for the
"Freecom Mediaplayer-350 WLAN Drive-In kit"
(http://www.freecom.com/ecproduct_detail.asp?ID=3406&CatID=8060&sCatID=1147633&ssCatID=1147633).

It connects to your TV via HMDI or composite and streams lots of video
formats wirelessly, from an internal hard disk or USB media.

The Freecom device appears to be a rebranded Mediagate MG-350HD
(http://www.mediagateusa.com/html/mg350.html) or maybe they are both
rebranded versions of something else. In any case they are the same
hardware but Mediagate is US only.

I haven't found much it can't play back yet - it takes DivX/XVid, HD
Transport Streams, DVD images, etc. Of course, like the Squeezebox,
there is no support for DRM'd files but, like the Squeezebox, that's
not a problem.

Regarding the Freecom "drive in kit" - this is the playback hardware
without an internal drive (cheaper). My intention was to stream
remotely from my PC (like my SqueezeBoxen) which works fine but I ended
up buying a PATA hard drive to mount inside it. It now works as a NAS
and my video can easily be transferred via FTP or SAMBA file sharing.

With hindsight I should have bought one of the models with a drive
pre-installed - that would have been cheaper.

Hope that helps.


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[Musketeer]

Unfortunately the Apple TV is really crippled in terms of what type of
video files it plays. In fact, it wouldn't play most of mine unless I
converted them one-by-one.

The Freecom looks promising though! What is the user interface like?


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[barcar]

Musketeer;246187 Wrote:
> The Freecom looks promising though! What is the user interface like?

UI is pretty usable - it's not up there with Tivo or the like - you
select your media location (hd, usb, lan, wlan) and media type (all,
video, music, photos) then you browse the targets which can contain
folders and long file names. Once you've selected your media, the
playback controls are just like any PVR/VCR.

In my opinion the only thing it's missing is the ability to mark files
as played or to move them into some sort of archive.

It also supports internet audio (from ShoutCast if I recall) but with
Squeezeboxen in the house I can't see why you would use that feature.


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[MillmoorRon]

barcar;246188 Wrote:
> UI is pretty usable - it's not up there with Tivo or the like - you
> select your media location (hd, usb, lan, wlan) and media type (all,
> video, music, photos) then you browse the targets which can contain
> folders and long file names. Once you've selected your media, the
> playback controls are just like any PVR/VCR.

Can you select a folder and have it play randomly from its contents?


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[barcar]

MillmoorRon;246198 Wrote:
> Can you select a folder and have it play randomly from its contents?

Not something I've used... but following a quick test - you can select
all the files in a folder, add them to a playlist and then shuffle the
playlist before playback. A bit clunky but it seems to work.


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[PaulR]

If you're into DIY and like tinkering with PCs, MythTV might be worth a
look.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythTV

I've not yet tried it myself but the thing that appeals is that it's
continuously being developed.


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[barcar]

PaulR;246189 Wrote:
> If you're into DIY and like tinkering with PCs, MythTV might be worth a
> look.

The advantage of the Freecom solution - like SqueezeBox - is that you
don't need a PC where you want to play back the media.

But if you went that route there is also the Mac Mini with EyeTV
(http://www.elgato.com/elgato/int/mainmenu/products.en.html).


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[Musketeer]

barcar;246190 Wrote:
> The advantage of the Freecom solution - like SqueezeBox - is that you
> don't need a PC where you want to play back the media.
>
>

Yeah, thats what I'm aiming for. A simple, small, quiet device that
starts up quickly and streams my video rather than a full featured PVR
device.

That said, MythTV looks heaps interesting to have a tinker with :)


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[SuperQ]

PaulR;246189 Wrote:
> If you're into DIY and like tinkering with PCs, MythTV might be worth a
> look.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythTV
>
> I've not yet tried it myself but the thing that appeals is that it's
> continuously being developed.

What I've been looking for is a hardware mythfrontend box. Some of the
media streamers support some kind of UPNP protocol that may work for
doing mythfrontend stuff.

Right now my TV is close enough that a 3m HDMI cable works.


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[patrija]

check out the d-link hd media lounge offerings. it is very slick with
video streaming, active tv integration, plus does a pretty damn good
job with music streaming. I have a few friends that have switched from
sonos or SB3 to this solution and are very happy with it. in
particular, they love single box solution, tv-driven control for all
media, and ability to control their entire library through the latest
version of windows media server.

i've been tempted to go this way myself, but have spent a lot of money
on slimdevices technology, including several SB's plus a transporter. I
love the high end audio and technical focus, and am hoping that the
logitech acquisition helps us "catch up" with family friendly
usability.


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[bpa]

>
> What I've been looking for is a hardware mythfrontend box. Some of the
> media streamers support some kind of UPNP protocol that may work for
> doing mythfrontend stuff.
>
How the the Hauppauge MediaMVP with custom s/w - it has a MythTV and
Slimserver client - not HD however.

http://mvpmc.wikispaces.com/?token=aad815d41dac0e093e1e8231f42e8a49&responseToken=174cde7e6d25dafbfe0ff07a7d7678b0


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[Peter]

bpa wrote:
>> What I've been looking for is a hardware mythfrontend box. Some of the
>> media streamers support some kind of UPNP protocol that may work for
>> doing mythfrontend stuff.
>>
>>
> How the the Hauppauge MediaMVP with custom s/w - it has a MythTV and
> Slimserver client - not HD however.
>
> http://mvpmc.wikispaces.com/?token=aad815d41dac0e093e1e8231f42e8a49&responseToken=174cde7e6d25dafbfe0ff07a7d7678b0
>

Word is that it's very underpowered for playing video.

Regards,
Peter

[bpa]

>
> Word is that it's very underpowered for playing video.
>
I found it OK to play normal SD Video off a server using NFS. It is
important to ensure video is in best format to play on MVP.


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[Peter]

bpa wrote:
>> Word is that it's very underpowered for playing video.
>>
>>
> I found it OK to play normal SD Video off a server using NFS. It is
> important to ensure video is in best format to play on MVP.
>

That's a bit fatal for me. I don't want to have to convert before I play.

Other than that a thin client for MythTV sounds good. It's built as a
client-server setup, but I have the feeling hardly anyone uses it that
way. There wasn't even a working Windows client last I looked.

Regards,
Peter

[ob_kook]

PaulR;246189 Wrote:
> If you're into DIY and like tinkering with PCs, MythTV might be worth a
> look.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythTV
>
> I've not yet tried it myself but the thing that appeals is that it's
> continuously being developed.

Or you could try Media Portal (http://www.team-mediaportal.com/)

It would also be a PC based DIY solution, and you could build a small
form factor silent PC for it.


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[jaysung]

Anyone tried the Eva 8000 of Netgear? From what I read it has good
interfaces and plays videos and stuff just using smb/cifs indexing the
library itself. That looks like a good solution if you already have a
server box sitting somewhere remote.


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[Nickolay V]

Dear Friends our discussion not full correct.

If compare wishful hypothetical VIDEO media player with Slimdevices
audio systems, that means IT WILL BE pure UPnP-DLNA system : With
MediaSERVER- With MediaRENDERER(= PLAYER) - And with intermediate
CONTROL POINT (!!! With WEB interface, but NOT ONLY with player OSD GUI
)

I also wish such player for to have great potential video multiroom
system.


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[Musketeer]

Good news:

I just read that next week's dashboard update for the xbox 360 will
give "improved video codec support". Allegedly this includes divx/xvid
support.

Its no video squeezebox, but if you already have a 360 - I do - it
becomes a quick and costless option. I wish it wasn't so noisy though!

Bad news:

I use the Readynas NV+ to store my media. I don't have the latest
firmware installed, but it is needed to use UPnP with the 360.
Unfortunately there are reports of problems using the Readynas with the
Squeezebox after the upgrade.

Damn it, I don't want to mess up the sweet Squeezebox + Readynas combo
I have working here, but I would like to be able to stream my divx
files to my xbox!


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[ceejay]

As it happens, I'm in the market for such a device (video equivalent to
SB) at the moment. I'm planning to build a new media server which, as
well as storing my music library and running slimserver, will contain
my DVD collection and a bunch of other video material. This is of
course only feasible now that 750GB+ discs are a reasonable price.

The impetus for doing this was that - having cleared my living room of
CDs some time ago - I'm getting annoyed by having a pile of DVDs build
up instead!

Candidate devices include:

Netgear EVA8000
Linksys KISS 1600 (also includes DVD player)
DViCO TViX M5100SH/M4100SH
Popcornhour Network Media Tank

Of course none of these are exactly equivalent to the SB, this is very
much an immature market. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I end up
dumping the first device I buy for something better in a year or so's
time - but the main investment is going to be in the server, and in my
time setting up the content, so I'm not too bothered about that.

It should also be pointed out that all of these devices also play
music, so are in a sense competitors to the SB: audio quality is
obviously not a priority, so I guess many current users will be happy
to keep both, but I am sure that the mass market will only want one
such device in their living room. There's yet another direction for
Logitech to be looking at...... (lets say, start with a Netgear
EVA8000, add a small display, add Slimserver support, put a half-decent
DAC in - $500 anyone?)

avforums (UK bias) covers this sort of thing, amongst many others.

Ceejay


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[TurnipMan]

Get an old XBOX and softmod it. Put XBMC on it. You can play just about
any video format out there. I think it uses mplayer.
It is not quiet but does work very well and makes me want to look into
a proper streaming video solution when funds allow. A second hand XBOX
is £40 on the high street.


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[sander]

I would put forth in the current environment there will never be
anything equivalent in the video world due to the differences in
digital video, opposite digital audio.

Companies like Apple and Slim/Logitech piggy backed on the success of
the whole digital audio ecosystem, which grew out of an environment
that no longer exists.

The biggest problem I see is the lack of anything remotely similar to
the ubiquity of MP3, and now that the content producers are intent on
DRM, it will be a long time (maybe never) that you can buy movies in a
decent format like Divx/Xvid or H.264/mkv. Instead they will shoehorn
you into some proprietary junk, that will likely only play with
extensive trans coding or some constant checking with their server.

So we're stuck with the tower of babel, both incoming (file format) and
outgoing (HDMI 1.3 and beyond). I think the issue comes down to where
you're getting your video and how you want to play it, and what your
server is.

If you want to play anything you need a beefy CPU on either end (client
or server), from what I've seen the best on the client would be some
sort of hacked PC (xbmc, hacked appletv) but you're talking a great
amount of prep time with the chance of bricking the device. On the back
end there are a number of servers each with their own set of drawbacks,
generally ranging from freedom/anonymity on one end to the ability to
play protected media/corporate tracking on the other.

More common are UPnP devices which have custom chip sets (usually Sigma
Designs) which can trans code on the server end if you run their PC
software.

I have the buffalo LinkTheater DVD player, and for what I use it for,
streaming Divx/xvid/Mpeg 2/4 it works pretty well, but most other
things it sucks. What I like is I can stream from my NAS and all the
video is done on the device which means I don't need a real server. But
without transcoding it will never play my Sony SD 550 movies or any
newer codecs, which I can live with for now.

My feeling is Asian companies will take the lead on this as they're
less worried about DRM, and don't have to deal with media companies
coming after them, like American companies do. Most of the units
mentioned in this thread are Asian units rebranded for a small US
distribution company. So there won't be a quirky Slim type start-ups
coming down the pike more like TVIX (check out the TVIX forums to see
what I'm talking about http://forum.tvixbox.com/ ).

The best forum/information source I've found on this is the AVS Forum
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=39

Good luck!


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[hoosier]

Hands down, the best video solution is a TViX (www.dvico.com). It does
for video what the Squeezebox does for audio.

They are still working on new and better hardware, so at this point, it
reminds me a lot of the original Squeezebox with the crappy VFD (before
it went bitmapped). The box aint that pretty either.

Of all of the video solutions out there, the reason the TViX stands out
is that it plays ripped DVDs (in single file .ISO or multi file
IFO/VOBs) as if they were actual DVDs (menus and all).

The TViX also makes a lame attempt at playing mp3/flac/ogg files, but
it really shines with DVDs and video.

They all play high def and newer models will also play h.264 files, but
it chokes on high bandwidth HD files encoded as VC1 or h.264 (ie Blue
Ray or HDDVD). No problems with mpeg2 (over the air high def is
fine).

I own 5 Squeezeboxen and 2 TViX players (a 5000 and a 4100). They
complement each other well.


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[Musketeer]

hoosier;246639 Wrote:
> Hands down, the best video solution is a TViX (www.dvico.com). It does
> for video what the Squeezebox does for audio.
>
>

Doesn't look too bad actually. Feature set looks nice on paper (or
LCD!), but what are the interface and usability like? Is it stable
(i.e. does it tend to crash or freeze up)?

I like the look of the 5100SH - just under $500.


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[xio]

I use a mac mini - it's as quiet as any pvr I've owned and has spdif
connection for multi channel audio and you can pretty much connect it
to anything for a display (one way or another). As it comes with a
remote and front-row built in, it's pretty much good to go out of the
box. All I did was rip the dvd's and store them on a linux server in
another room (where slimserver runs) and share the folders.


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[davidcotton]

Hi

Was just wondering what programs you used on the mini to achieve this?

Looking at something similar.


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[xio]

I use mac the ripper to rip stuff and dvd assist to get it to play
through front row. Other than that a couple of scripts I hacked
together to make sure the network connections reconnect at startup and
wakeup and that's about it.

dvd assist puts a trailer of a few seconds on the front of your movie
(pre menu) which isn't a big problem. (OK, I know that's not exactly
how it works, but it is how it appears). It is basically a quicktime
lead in that fools the mac into playing from a folder instead of an
actual dvd. The only functionality you lose is that you can't go back
to a movie that you've watched previously and carry on where you left
it. All the disc menus etc still work though. As the whole setup is
small, quiet and largely childproof (in as much as these things can be)
the WAF is quite high too.


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[tern]

What the latest situation with regard to video streaming as discussed
above? There must be some new and improved products out since the
discussion above.

Hurry up and come out with something Slim Devices, the market is crying
out for it!

Robin.


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[aubuti]

tern;323199 Wrote:
> What is the latest situation with regard to video streaming? There must
> be some new and improved products out since the discussion above.
Apple TV, or the Roku player for NetFlix


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[music_addict]

Apple TV is a very very poor choice if you want to play the different
video formats available. You can hack it but that shouldnt be the way
to go...


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platform: shuttle
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[queequeg99]

I would add the SageTV HD Extender to the list. You need the SageTV
server running on your PC but Sage offers a bundle for $250. The
advantages I see over some of the other HD extenders I see is that you
get full PVR functionality as well as a GUI that can be easily
reskinned (I have read terrible things about the GUIs for some other
extenders). I personally hate the default SageTV GUI but the SageMC
skin (free download) is excellent.

I have an HD extender and it is perfect for viewing ripped dvds. PVR
functionality is also excellent. I never use it to listen to music. I
have a fundamental problem with having to have my television on in order
to listen to music so no "video" extender will work for me in this
regard until someone decides to make one that includes its own VFC
display like the SB3.


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[PRGeno]

The new DivX Connected devices have a great UI with customizable themes,
plays more than the DivX video format, supports user community generated
plugins (sound familiar?), and is now finally available in the USA.

I've had a pre-release version for about 6 months, and it is the
closest thing to a video Squeezebox I've found yet (and I've tried
plenty). It also supports viewing pictures, plays music (but I use my
Squeezeboxes for that), and has some plugins for accessing Web content.
It has a server component similar to SqueezeCenter, but requires a
little heftier hardware platform if you're planning on streaming HD
video, or on the fly trans-coding from other formats.

http://www.divx.com/connected/explore/

(I think the DivX Connected web site assumes you have the DivX web
browser plug in installed to be able to see the videos of the UI in
action. Might be worth the install.)


http://labs.divx.com/Connected

This is the community site with a forum, and downloads for the latest
version of the server (not open source), plugins, and themes.


DLink has currently the only device available, but there is a promise
of more to come.

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-Connected-Media-Player-DSM-330/dp/B000X4F7RO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218060527&sr=8-1
http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=653


The device works very well for my purposes, and has a very easy to
navigate UI which the family loves.


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[tamanaco]

Anyone in the community using a Neuros OSD? I'd like to hear your
comments about it.

Thanks...

http://wiki.neurostechnology.com/index.php/Neuros_OSD
http://www.neurostechnology.com/


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[davidh]

queequeg99;326728 Wrote:
> I would add the SageTV HD Extender to the list. You need the SageTV
> server running on your PC but Sage offers a bundle for $250....
The newest extender (hd200?) can run standalone and pull video from
anywhere.


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[stevecross]

I use a popcornhour and it is one of the best items i have
purchased,Great for movies. I have fitted a internal hardrive and it
takes only around 15 watts and plays back nearly all video formats, so
good i shall buy the new one when it comes out in a few weeks.


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[arztde]

stevecross;450314 Wrote:
> I use a popcornhour and it is one of the best items i have
> purchased,Great for movies.

I have also a Popcorn hour but its one of the worst solutions i have
purchased in my live. Additional quality and prize is not in a good
relation by this company. Maybee was ok some years ago. But the
behaviour (also in Service) of the company let me keep in a big distance
before to buy again a product of them. I do not see any important change
in their new product they try to push on the market. The products go as
beta (or alpha) on the market and it takes a lot of time consumption to
read in the forums how to solve problems.
If you compare just usability with a Squeezebox than you know what i
mean.
Ok maybee not the topic exact but the worse audio section was the
reason to find the squeezebox at least. :-)
Reasonable is the HDI Dune Center.
I suggest to wait some time. Maybee Squueze start a slowly movie
solution. Maybee with a partnership somehow.
Otherwise the market is full in move. If there is a waiting possability
its good to wait, what happen in one year.


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[pski]

I use the same PC that's running SC to play video (from one of the
Buffalo TeraStation Pro's that also contain my music.)

The PC has an inexpensive ATI card (2600XT) with HDMI out.

CyberLink PowerDVD8 (not cheap) plays ISO's mounted with Virtual
CloneDrive (free.) This software has library functions (that I don't
use.)

Because the 2600XT won't use HW acceleration while driving two
monitors, I have used ATI Catalyst Control to make two desktop icons
that switch from the PC's "regular" monitor to the Samsung DLP TV.

Of course, you can use the DLP TV to browse and play. (I use Adesso
wkb-4000us keyboard with touch-pad. It works up to 30 or so feet away
from the CPU.)

P


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[hoosier]

Musketeer;246672 Wrote:
> Doesn't look too bad actually. Feature set looks nice on paper (or
> LCD!), but what are the interface and usability like? Is it stable
> (i.e. does it tend to crash or freeze up)?
>
> I like the look of the 5100SH - just under $500.

The interface is nothing special - the TViX is a small Linux box in
reality. The display is just the directory structure, but a well
conceived directory structure makes navigation easy. You can assign jpg
images in place of directories though, and if you look through threads
on www.avsforum.com, you will find where somebody wrote a real nice
program to make the interface more apealing.

As far as stability, I have not had any problems with DVD .iso files.
I think there are fastforward/rewind issues when playing various file
types like xvid/wmv, but all in all a pretty stable device.

Let me just finish by saying my wife thinks the TViX is aeasier to
navigate through than the squeezebox.


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[Smiley Dan]

MythTV works very nicely for me. The machine running the frontend (the
equivalent of a Squuezebox) is silent. The key advantage over just
another 'video player' is that it captures television broadcasts too so
that you can watch them later, like Tivo. It really does change the way
you think about TV.


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[dcote]

hi!

in case no body has suggested them yet:

-> Linksys/KISS DP 600/1600
-> FujitsuSiemensComputers Activy mediaplayers

good luck searching!


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[Musketeer]

Ok, I can see a number of options out there. I get the strong feeling
that this is a bad time to buy though. The video streamers out there
look like yesterday's tech in many respects.

With this much demand out there, I get the feeling that a killer device
must be around the corner.

I wonder if the Slim/Logi guys might be tempted to take a sniff at
something like this? Logitech Squeezebox Video? ;)

For now a quiet as possible, small form factor media pc is starting to
look like the best option. I'll wait and see.


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[Kaizen28]

ceejay;246354 Wrote:
>
> Candidate devices include:
>
> Netgear EVA8000
> Linksys KISS 1600 (also includes DVD player)
> DViCO TViX M5100SH/M4100SH
> Popcornhour Network Media Tank
> Ceejay

Hi

Yes, this market is significantly underdeveloped when compared to audio
streaming. I'm not aware of anything that works in the same way that the
SB runs today.

I have both a TViX and a Popcornhour. My needs are HDMI 1080P and the
ability to stream practically any format under the sun. None of these
boxes are good when it comes to audio so I see them as pure video
playback devices.

I see them as beta release products which I'm used to. If you work
within their parameters of operation though they are excellent.

I highly recommend both of the devices I have!


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[Musketeer]

Kaizen28;247097 Wrote:
> Hi
>
> I have both a TViX and a Popcornhour. My needs are HDMI 1080P and the
> ability to stream practically any format under the sun. None of these
> boxes are good when it comes to audio so I see them as pure video
> playback devices.
>
> I see them as beta release products which I'm used to. If you work
> within their parameters of operation though they are excellent.
>
> I highly recommend both of the devices I have!

Hi, just out of interest which Tvix have you got and do you have a lot
of stability issues with the popcornhour? Thanks!


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[sander]

Kaizen28;247097 Wrote:
> I have both a TViX and a Popcornhour.

How do they compare?

My concerns with each are:
Popcorn Hour, unproven, low availability.
TViX, price, reported firmware problems, ugly UI, inconsistent HD
playback.

That said they seem like the players to beat going forward.
What I really want to know, is do you think Popcorn Hour will be as
good as Tvix over time? That is when they start manufacturing in lots
larger than 50. :)


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[Kaizen28]

Hi All

I have the TViX 5000U which means no end-to-end HDMI and no support for
H.264. This is why I'm testing the Popcornhour at the moment. It's
actually destined for a relative as a gift and I want to ensure it's
stable.

You all raise very valid points about both products and I'll try to
address them. Keep in mind I'm streaming my content from an Infrant
ReadyNAS across a wired network. Wirelss and HD content don't mix
IMHO.

TViX
====
- I have had this for over a year and it has changed the way I watch
TV.
- I absolutely love it.
- It's rock solid in its performance and delivers what it needs to.
- Yes, the interface could be so much better (Apple is always wins
this) but the breadth of formats supported make it a clear winner to
me.

Popcornhour
===========
- This has a better user interface than the TViX but that's not saying
much.
- The feature list is staggering but I'm unlikely to use a fraction of
them.
- The whole HD thing works perfectly (up to 1080P) but I've not pushed
this very hard yet.
- Software still needs a few firmware releases to be completely
stable.
- For now I'm very impressed with this streamer and given the $200
price mark I'm in no position to complain.

I'm in a position to give the TViX as a gift and keep the more
feature-laden Popcornhour.....It pains me but I'm keeping the TViX.


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[ShutterShock]

ceejay;246354 Wrote:
> As it happens, I'm in the market for such a device (video equivalent to
> SB) at the moment. I'm planning to build a new media server which, as
> well as storing my music library and running slimserver, will contain
> my DVD collection and a bunch of other video material. This is of
> course only feasible now that 750GB+ discs are a reasonable price.
>
> The impetus for doing this was that - having cleared my living room of
> CDs some time ago - I'm getting annoyed by having a pile of DVDs build
> up instead!
>
> Candidate devices include:
>
> Netgear EVA8000
> Linksys KISS 1600 (also includes DVD player)
> DViCO TViX M5100SH/M4100SH
> Popcornhour Network Media Tank
>
> Ceejay

I'm planning to get a Popcorn Hour A-110 early in the new year. CNET
Review here:
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/accessories/0,39100115,49298605,00.htm


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[BiT]

You want a TVIX, Popcorn or HDX...

Or run XBMC on a machine of your choice...


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SB FTW
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[SoftPhill]

jaysung;246287 Wrote:
> Anyone tried the Eva 8000 of Netgear? From what I read it has good
> interfaces and plays videos and stuff just using smb/cifs indexing the
> library itself. That looks like a good solution if you already have a
> server box sitting somewhere remote.

I have 2 of these and was on the beta forum, they did tonnes on the
firmware over the last year and it plays loads of formats. The updates
dried up about 2 months ago because the EVA9000 is coming out. I have
high hopes for this machine when it comes to market. I have attached a
jpeg with the formats it states it can do. Basically, the shortfall of
the 8000 is that the memory was too small and the processor too slow.
This should improve that situation as it updates the tech.
Hope this helps


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: 9463-netgeardeefilesupport.jpg |
|Download: http://forums.slimdevices.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6352|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

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[sgmlaw]

The MediaMVP running GBPVR costs next to nothing
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116008&Tpk=mediamvp)(GBPVR
is FREE) and can play standard resolution video over LAN with no
problems whatsoever. With a decent tuner/capture card, you've got a
solid PVR. The trick is having a strong server system.

I run ours through a modulator into our TV distribution system. With
an RF remote kit (http://www.nextgenerationhomeproducts.com/), we have
a private HDD-based video library that you access and watch on every TV
in the house over Ch 123.


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[86atc250r]

sgmlaw;366997 Wrote:
> The MediaMVP running GBPVR costs next to nothing
> (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116008&Tpk=mediamvp)(GBPVR
> is FREE) and can play standard resolution video over LAN with no
> problems whatsoever. With a decent tuner/capture card, you've got a
> solid PVR. The trick is having a strong server system.
>
> I run ours through a modulator into our TV distribution system. With
> an RF remote kit (http://www.nextgenerationhomeproducts.com/), we have
> a private HDD-based video library that you access and watch on every TV
> in the house over Ch 123.

I've been running GBPVR for 3 years now - excellent software & great
WAF. The commercial skip abilities alone are worth the price of
admission.

We have two MVP's running MVPMC for distribution to other TVs in the
house (in fact, one of them is getting ready to be a client bridge off
a SB2 to see how well that works).

The MVP does great with SD playback - it's got a hardware MPEG2
decoder. The menus with GBPVR are a touch laggy, but it's mostly
related to the server PC because w/GBPVR the menus are actually an MPEG
stream from the server. For whoever was saying formats were a problem,
I believe GBPVR can transcode, but I've never done it, all my video is
either recorded or live TV from my hardware encoder.

There's a pretty active community of GBPVR users with Popcorn Hour
devices - may be worth checking out the forum if you're needing more
than the MVP will do.

I've heard that MythTV is a bear to get & keep working, even for
seasoned *nix guys - be aware of that if you decide to try that route.


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[Peter]

86atc250r wrote:
> I've been running GBPVR for 3 years now - excellent software & great
> WAF. The commercial skip abilities alone are worth the price of
> admission.
>
> We have two MVP's running MVPMC for distribution to other TVs in the
> house (in fact, one of them is getting ready to be a client bridge off
> a SB2 to see how well that works).
>
> The MVP does great with SD playback - it's got a hardware MPEG2
> decoder. The menus with GBPVR are a touch laggy, but it's mostly
> related to the server PC because w/GBPVR the menus are actually an MPEG
> stream from the server. For whoever was saying formats were a problem,
> I believe GBPVR can transcode, but I've never done it, all my video is
> either recorded or live TV from my hardware encoder.
>
> There's a pretty active community of GBPVR users with Popcorn Hour
> devices - may be worth checking out the forum if you're needing more
> than the MVP will do.
>
> I've heard that MythTV is a bear to get & keep working, even for
> seasoned *nix guys - be aware of that if you decide to try that route.
>


It was quite a hassle when I last did it. That's why I'm still running
that original installation.

I also bought a Popcorn Hour (actually a HDX-1000) recently and that's
my favourite. It plays MythTV recordings, so I don't really need the
Myth frontend anymore. I hardly watch live TV anyway.

I keep thinking a HDX-1000 with a built in Squeeze-client (SoftSqueeze?)
would be a killer device. Plays al your video's and music from one small
box. Use the controller for the music. I would reduce my living room
setup to three devices. TV, active speakers and HDX-1000. As simple as
can be.

Regards,
Peter

[nolan]

SoftPhill;366923 Wrote:
> I have 2 of these and was on the beta forum, they did tonnes on the
> firmware over the last year and it plays loads of formats. The updates
> dried up about 2 months ago because the EVA9000 is coming out. I have
> high hopes for this machine when it comes to market. I have attached a
> jpeg with the formats it states it can do. Basically, the shortfall of
> the 8000 is that the memory was too small and the processor too slow.
> This should improve that situation as it updates the tech.
> Hope this helps

I have one of these and I use it for pretty much all of my recorded
media now. Mainly 720p video but some 1080p as well. I'm not sure I'd
have paid the full price when new but at the price I bought mine for (GB
£150 from play.com) I think it's pretty good value.

The interface isn't perfect but it's quite useable and it will play
most things that are thrown at it.

Mine is cabled as I had problem running 1080p wireless.

The main issue is that it can't downmix DTS to stereo (codec licencing
issues I believe) like it can with AC3 so depending on the file you are
playing you may need to convert the audio. There are utils to do this so
it's no big deal.

A good solution if you already have a server for your Squeezecenter (or
a ReadyNAS or similar)


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[MikeWynneDub]

jaysung;246287 Wrote:
> Anyone tried the Eva 8000 of Netgear? From what I read it has good
> interfaces and plays videos and stuff just using smb/cifs indexing the
> library itself. That looks like a good solution if you already have a
> server box sitting somewhere remote.

Yeah, I have one of these. I bought it specifically for video playback
(.avi mostly in my case ;-))

It handles loads of video codecs and also audio and photos. I picked up
a Euro version very cheaply (€140) at www.pixmania.com.

I'm very happy with it, it does what it's supposed to do and co-exists
very happily with my (mainly) Linux setup...


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[Peter]

Musketeer wrote:
> After a couple of months with it I can say I am extremely satisfied with
> my Squeezebox 3. Probably more so than with any other piece of
> electronics I have bought for a long time. It does what it does really
> well.
>
> What is the best video equivalent to the squeezebox? I mean one that is
> not in beta version 0.9, one that is second or third gen and stable. I
> want one that streams most common video files (like divx) from network
> storage and does it really well. It doesn't need to have a million
> other features, like music streaming and web streaming etc.
>
> I don't suppose you slim guys are working on a video squeezebox by any
> chance??
>

Well, I wrote a videobox program for Windows once... ;)

http://videobox.sourceforge.net/

> What do the rest of you use?
>

I'm already running a home (linux) server anyway (for slimserver etc.)
so I prefer to use that for my video solution as well. The big
disadvantage of using a server is that it's big and noisy (if it's a
good one). This can be solved by confining it to it's own space, I have
a small utility room that's well suited for that. The audio/video signal
from the server is broadcast thru the house over the TV cable system
(with an AV modulator). That gets the picture and audio to the TV sets.

For software I use MythTV as well as mplayer and vlc. To control the
MythTV/mplayer/vlc software I use my own slimserver lirc plugin. That
way any squeezebox remotes keypresses are sent to the MythTV/mplayer
application (whenever the SqueezeBox itself is in standby). Since I have
a SqueezeBox near every TV, that completes the puzzle.

It may not be a turn-key solution (MythTV is a bit of a hassle to set
up) but it works very well for me in practice and I don't have all kinds
of unsightly and noisy boxes around the house. In fact, I don't even
have a DVD-player. ;)

Regards,
Peter

[bpa]

This site is pretty good at reviewing current hardware and also
technical info.

http://www.mpcclub.com/


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[claypole]

I use a PS3 with Twonkmedia (http://www.twonkyvision.de) as the DNLA
server, I use Ubuntu as the server (an old 1.8Ghz Compaq Evo), which is
also the Squeezecenter. Windows works well too. It supports most video
formats (I haven't had a problem with any recently) and streams HD
video very reliably over 802.11g WIFI!

I have been using this solution for over a year with no problems.

And of course the PS3 makes a great games box and blu-ray player.

This replaced my MVIX-760HD, which is a capable little box and is now
used in the kids room to stream movies.

And slightly off topic, but then you can play Little Big Planet too,
which is the most addictive game I have ever played :D


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[tamanaco]

Just ordered a Vudu box for $150. $100 for the box and $50 worth of
content ($50 credit). Does not require a local server and it's not an
open-source solution, but I could not pass up the bargain. I needed
something to play with during the holidays. Hopefully Vudu will still
be around after the new year. The video specs looked impressive...
anyone in the community using one of these? Care comment. Happy
Holidays!


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[nicktf]

I bought a Popcorn Hour A110 which I just point to my NAS - after a few
months, it's played pretty much everything that I've thrown at it ISO,
MKV, AVI and etc. I'm really impressed with it, though I only use a
fraction of its functionality. Don't expect fancy menus, unless you use
one of the jukebox skins (http://www.networkedmediatank.com/). The key
selling point for me was that it wasn't another PC cluttering up a room
and consuming unnecessary power. You can put a hard drive in it if you
want, I haven't bothered. I would recommend you keep track of your
ripped media with a sensible naming scheme that reflects resolution and
fps, though. And don't use it for music playback, but why would you,
with a Squeezebox :-)


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[Pale Blue Ego]

This TVIX looks interesting:

http://www.digitalconnection.com/products/video/tvixM6500A.asp


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[fango]

nicktf;377380 Wrote:
> I bought a Popcorn Hour A110 which I just point to my NAS - after a few
> months, it's played pretty much everything that I've thrown at it ISO,
> MKV, AVI and etc. I'm really impressed with it, though I only use a
> fraction of its functionality. Don't expect fancy menus, unless you use
> one of the jukebox skins (http://www.networkedmediatank.com/). The key
> selling point for me was that it wasn't another PC cluttering up a room
> and consuming unnecessary power. You can put a hard drive in it if you
> want, I haven't bothered. I would recommend you keep track of your
> ripped media with a sensible naming scheme that reflects resolution and
> fps, though. And don't use it for music playback, but why would you,
> with a Squeezebox :-)

.. functionality of Popcorn Hour A110? .. hm, there's only "little"
problem with functionality - wireless wont work thru walls, I guess
that piece of hardware is out-of-date, cables arround my flat, on
two-three places .. I dont think so .. people, do you have any (other)
suggestion how to easy transfer PC files
(divx,xvid,mp3,progdvb-sat.program,internet radio) without cables?

thanks!


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[agillis]

After years of people asking for a simple way to play video content on
their TV the consumer electronics industry is finally listening. The
DLNA protocol is supposed to allow you play any content on any device
over a network without any configuration.

There are a few TVs that came out last summer that support DLNA. This
means you can simply click "play content" on your remote and your
content on your PC or media server will show up. No external box for
your TV required.

Not all devices support DLNA yet. If fact most don't for now you still
need a media server like VortexBox that supports many different
protocols.


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[Pale Blue Ego]

This looks interesting, a $120 NON-NETWORKED media player that plays all
kinds of files up to 1080p HD. I don't really like the idea of having a
spinning hard drive in the media room, but this might be useful for a
kind of sneaker-net using USB thumb drives. A 16GB drive could hold a
whole season of divx shows or several full-length movies. It can also
play captured HD streams (.ts and .tp) from the HD tuner in my PC.
This would save me a LOT of time and trouble because I currently have
to encode the HD files to standard-def DVD format and burn them to
DVD-R in order to watch them on the big HDTV in the media room. With
this I could just move the raw files onto a thumb drive and play them
on the WD.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WD-Media-Player/dp/B001JZFQU4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1231695212&sr=1-8


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[tern]

Any updates on the 'Video Squeezebox' situation? Is Popcorn Hour still
the best product out there?

Anything that supports 802.11-N wireless?

Robin.


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[grum]

Hi, long term SB user here. Like many others I love what it does for
your lifestyle and wanted to do the same for video. After lots of
research and watching the video streamer scene slowly develop, I
recently bought the EGreat EG-M34A:
http://www.egreatworld.com/en/ProductShow.asp?ID=168

It's a Popcorn Hour look alike except cheaper and possibly better
built. After a bit of fun getting it working with my existing kit (I run
a Mac household, most in the PH scene are PC oriented) I'd have to say
that for the price it's fantastic. Very basic user interface compared to
SB, but because video tends to be "select one and watch for ages" rather
than the extensive browsing, playlist building, etc that SB encourages,
I don't need a fancy interface.

What it does excel at is streaming almost any video format over the
network and playing it beautifully. It also allows streaming direct from
youtube which is lots of fun.

Highly recommended.
grum


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[autopilot]

This might be worth a look -
http://redirectingat.com/?id=223X354&url=http%3A//www.xtreamer.net/


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-"don't call me Shirley."-
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[shake-the-disease]

QNAP have just released a NMT:
http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=117

It's got some nice extra features like gigabit ethernet and BT
downloader. Following QNAP tradition, I suspect it will be a very nice
product that carries a decent price premium.


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shake-the-disease

SB1, QNAP TS-239 w/ SSOTS 3.15, SS 7.3.2, MusicIP 1.8
(formally running SS 6.3.1 on a QNAP TS-101)
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[crooksy]

I recently discovered a new Java app called PS3 Media Server. This
software is fantastic I can throw anything at this software in any
format and it'll recognize it and stream it to my PS3 including FLAC
music files and even DVD ISO's. It runs perfectly on my media server
with no problems, was easy to setup and it is FREE.

It is so good that I am considering just getting a Sony PSP to use as a
controller without needing to have the TV on all the time and would
replace my long term plan on having a Squeeze Box Duet or Touch (once
released).

The software can even stream to multiple PS3's within your network.


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[Ozz]

They dropped the price of the PS3 to $299US and PMS (PS3mediaserver) is
free. I find it works pretty good IF you rip your content in acceptable
formats. PMS will transcode on the fly, you need to have a decent server
to do a good job but now days that is not hard to come by. I use the
same server to run SqueezeCenter and PMS and they seem to work fine
together. If you are going to stream 1080P movies you need to run it
wired at 1GB and not wireless. I have 40 movies ripped in .mkv files
along with MPeg4 files. It works great and looks good. It also streams
FLAC and transcodes it albeit not as well as my Transporter, but it does
support DTS and other 5.1/6.1/7.1 audio streams.

It is early in the development phase but at this point I could not be
happier for the cost.


--
Ozz

2 Channel listening Room:
Transporter, Arcam C31 and Arcam P1 Mono Blocks feeding ATC SCM19s
Cable and interconnects are both Kimber. HP media server with 4TB of
storage connected to the whole house GB network. (in media closet)
Media Room:Sony 70" SXRD, 4 NHT VT-2 Biamped (running all 4 subs) 4 NHT
VS-2. Outlaw 990 6 Yamaha MX-2000 amps 4 NHT SA-2 amps (Sub amps) PS3
with 500GB onboard and 4TB external storage.
Master BR: Sony 56" XBR4 and Yamaha YSP-4000 sound bar fed from media
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[Sike]

shake-the-disease;434509 Wrote:
> QNAP have just released a NMT:
> http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=117
>
> It's got some nice extra features like gigabit ethernet and BT
> downloader and the ability to be a NAS (not a huge surprise considering
> it's put out by a NAS company). Following QNAP tradition, I suspect it
> will be a very nice product that carries a decent price premium.

Is it realy a NMT (Networked Media Tank) or is it a new product?


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[adamslim]

autopilot;434440 Wrote:
> This might be worth a look -
> http://redirectingat.com/?id=223X354&url=http%3A//www.xtreamer.net/

Cool, just ordered one of those. I shall blame you if anything bad
happens :)


--
adamslim

You can't have too much music, but I do have too much hifi

SB+, Audion Pre, 6B4G death traps, Lowther Big Fun Horns, REL Stentor
SB+, 300B SETs, Audio Note AN-E/Ds
SB3, First Watt F3, Heybrook Sextets
Boom x 2
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[ModelCitizen]

adamslim;453195 Wrote:
> Cool, just ordered one of those. I shall blame you if anything bad
> happens :)
http://redirectingat.com/?id=223X354&url=http%3A//www.xtreamer.net/

This looks very interesting and so very cheap. Currently I connect my
laptop tp my tv via the vdu and headphone socket. I also transfer movie
files from my main machine to the laptop before viewing as I don. Trust
that a movie will stream smoothly over my wireless network. If this
xstreamer works and I can connect it to my tv via the hdmi socket and
movies (even blu-ray?) stream successfuly then it's a steal.

I'd very much appreciate it if you'd report back Adam. Also am I right
to think that 5.1 sound is not supported?

Cheers, MC.


--
ModelCitizen

On average people have fewer than two feet.

Last.fm/user/ModelCitizen
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[Archer_11]

Second the call on PS3 with PS3 Media Server. If you've got a decent
computer you can get anything you want up on the big screen - anything
your PC supports inc. IPTV - for $300. Pretty reliable solution too, at
least for me.

There are a million options and a lot of them are great. But the part I
was worred about is that there is so much focus on this space now - and
the rewards so huge for the company that nails it - that I reckon in
four or five years there could be only 2 or 3 players that are head and
shoulders above everyone else with options we haven't even heard about.
So i think cost is important when buying something now.

The other key factor is reliability - I love tweaking stuff but I've
decided that one thing I never, ever want to have to optimise or fix is
a media unit that goes funny when sitting down to watch a movie.


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[iPhone]

ModelCitizen;453296 Wrote:
>
> I'd very much appreciate it if you'd report back Adam. Also am I right
> to think that 5.1 sound is not supported?
>
> Cheers, MC.

Hey MC. From the spec sheet it says it has digital optical (Toslink)
which supports Stereo, 5.1 Dolby, and DTS. And of course it has HDMI
which is going to cover a bunch more formats. So basically no analog 5.1
as it only has stereo RCAs.

>From the Spec Sheet: "The HDMI has been configured to the 1.3a spec,
allowing full support of HD Audio pass-through for DTS HD-HR, DTS HD-MA,
Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD. The ports on the device have also
been configured, with a USB port placed at the rear panel,next to the
optical S/PDIF."


--
iPhone

*iPhone*
Media Room:
Transporter, VTL TL-6.5 Signature Pre-Amp, Ayre MX-R Mono's, VeraStarr
6.4SE 6-channel Amp, Vandersteen Speakers: Quatro Mains, VCC-5 Reference
Center, four VSM-1 Signatures, Video: Runco RS 900 CineWide AutoScope
2.35:1

Living Room:
Duet, ADCOM GTP-870HD, Cinepro 3K6SE III Gold, Vandersteen Model 3A
Signature, Two 2Wq subs, VCC-2, Two VSM-1

Kitchen: Squeezebox BOOM
Bedroom: SB3, GFR-700HD, Thiel 2.3, Second Boom
Home Office: SB3, NAD C370, two VSM-1
Home Gym: SB3, Parasound Vamp v.3, Thiel PowerPoint 1.2
House Portable: SB3, Audioengine A5
Ford Thunderbird: Duet, Mac Mini
Ford Expedition: SB3, ToughBook
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[Lewis Moon]

This thread is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. I just got a V3 and now
really want the same type of control for video. I'm looking at the
Popcorn Hour but would love to have the ability to record. Is there any
type of work around for that?


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Lewis Moon
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[JeffHart]

I'm using a Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray player that has built in DivX
support. It's not quite ready for prime time - it has a habit of
forgetting the server information. When I take the time to set it up
it streams DVD quality over wireless fine, will need to go wired to
stream HD; unfortunately my server and blu-ray player are on different
circuits so homeplug doesn't work.

The UI is basically a folder browser, pretty low tech and not great for
large collections. Hoping that future firmware releases will at least
fix the server information retention if not provide a better UI.

I do like the approach of supporting streaming from a Blu-Ray player
and would hazard a guess that this will be the way the market goes over
the next few years, until the market goes streaming entirely and we stop
buying and renting discs.

Cheers,
Jeff


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JeffHart

SBRx5, 1 Boom, 1 Controller
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[Archer_11]

Lewis Moon;453417 Wrote:
> This thread is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. I just got a V3 and now
> really want the same type of control for video. I'm looking at the
> Popcorn Hour but would love to have the ability to record. Is there any
> type of work around for that?

Popcorn Hour with record function would have been my exact purchase if
it was available. Considering the great reviews it gets there's
definitely an opportunity for them here imo.


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[FredFredrickson]

I have to add to the discussion- network video players are only useful
if they also play web content.

My favorite so far has been the xbox 360 media center, since you can
play your own files, but also netflix. If you buy playon media server
(for like $40ish), you can also stream hulu to your tv. Pretty sweet.

*I do not work for xbox or playon. I use playon daily, however.


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[Pale Blue Ego]

FredFredrickson;453722 Wrote:
> I have to add to the discussion- network video players are only useful
> if they also play web content.

Yeah, because a 320 x 240 pixel web video looks so great on my HDTV.


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Pale Blue Ego
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[JeffHart]

Web content isn't limited to 320x240. Streaming Netflix HD content from
the Samsung BD-P4600 to HDTV isn't so bad, even over DSL. Unfortunately
it's limited to stereo - surround sound.

Cheers,
Jeff


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JeffHart

SBRx5, 1 Boom, 1 Controller
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[micah]

Since the small form factor (SFF) PC has been mentioned a couple of
times in this thread, I was wondering what all the other ~$150-$250
units have in terms of hardware.

Does anyone have an idea what the processor requirements would be for a
linux based SFF MythTV solution? How much $$$ are we talking?

I'm sure the MythTV forums have countless threads on this topic and I
have lots of reading to do if I decide to go this route. I'd like to be
able to run SC and Squeezeplay, the MythTV frontend and backend, play
AVCHD files & blu-ray movies and attach it directly to my TV/stereo.
Would an atom processor (e.g. msi wind=$300) cut it?


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[epoch1970]

micah;453992 Wrote:
> ... blu-ray movies ... Would an atom processor (e.g. msi wind=$300) cut
> it?
No way.
Normally you'd look at the GPU power instead of the CPU. Since hardware
acceleration is not always available under linux, you'll have to check
carefully for the brand/type of graphics card to buy for a linux based
mythtv box.
Then again hardware acceleration will work with some limitations in
terms of formats (mpeg2, mpeg4) and bandwidth.

In case you want to decode about any format in high-def, you'll need to
use software decoders in the CPU. I think a Core 2 is ok for anything
720p and a big quad is necessary for 1080p @ very high bitrates as found
on a blu ray movie.
(A big quad won't do for a nice htpc, imho: power = heat = noise.)


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[cooppw02]

epoch1970;454147 Wrote:
> In case you want to decode about any format in high-def, you'll need to
> use software decoders in the CPU. I think a Core 2 is ok for anything
> 720p and a big quad is necessary for 1080p @ very high bitrates as found
> on a blu ray movie.
> (A big quad won't do for a nice htpc, imho: power = heat = noise.)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't video playback single-threaded,
making a big quad a little bit of overkill? Dollar for dollar, I think
you're probably better off getting a dual core with a fast clock than a
quad, especially when you also consider power consumption.

I built a MythTV box about a year ago with a e8400 (3GHz C2D) and it's
more than fast enough to handle all of the high-bitrate, hi-res video
that I've thrown at it.


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[lrossouw]

micah;453992 Wrote:
> Since the small form factor (SFF) PC has been mentioned a couple of
> times in this thread, I was wondering what all the other ~$150-$250
> units have in terms of hardware.
>
> Does anyone have an idea what the processor requirements would be for a
> linux based SFF MythTV solution? How much $$$ are we talking?
>
> I'm sure the MythTV forums have countless threads on this topic and I
> have lots of reading to do if I decide to go this route. I'd like to be
> able to run SC and Squeezeplay, the MythTV frontend and backend, play
> AVCHD files & blu-ray movies and attach it directly to my TV/stereo.
> Would an atom processor (e.g. msi wind=$300) cut it?

I've been looking at the ASRock Ion 330BD. Atom based, with blu-ray
drive small pc. Thinking about getting this for the lounge. It gets
good reviews on HD playback, has HDMI out (and optical audio). Handles
1080. The only setback is that it isn't 100% on flash based (i.e.
youtube) HD content, because the flash players aren't (yet?) using GPU
hardware.


--
lrossouw

'Last.fm' (http://www.last.fm/user/lrossouw)
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[FredFredrickson]

Pale Blue Ego;453756 Wrote:
> Yeah, because a 320 x 240 pixel web video looks so great on my HDTV.

My My! You've missed a lot. The internet's changed a bit since 1999.


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[EowynCarter]

FredFredrickson;453722 Wrote:
> I have to add to the discussion- network video players are only useful
> if they also play web content.
>
> My favorite so far has been the xbox 360 media center, since you can
> play your own files, but also netflix. If you buy playon media server
> (for like $40ish), you can also stream hulu to your tv. Pretty sweet.
>
> *I do not work for xbox or playon. I use playon daily, however.

hulu and netflix are not availible where i live :(. Silly us only
stuf.

xbmc also have a windows, linux, and mac version ;)


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[adamslim]

ModelCitizen;453296 Wrote:
> http://redirectingat.com/?id=223X354&url=http%3A//www.xtreamer.net/
>
> This looks very interesting and so very cheap. Currently I connect my
> laptop to my tv via the vdu and headphone socket. I also transfer movie
> files from my main machine to the laptop before viewing as I don't trust
> that a movie will stream smoothly over my wireless network. If this
> xstreamer works and I can connect it to my tv via the hdmi socket and
> movies (even blu-ray?) stream successfuly then it's a steal.
>
> I'd very much appreciate it if you'd report back Adam. Also am I right
> to think that 5.1 sound is not supported?
>
> Cheers, MC.

Hi there Simon (and all)

This arrived yesterday. The purchase process was easy; they sent an
email saying they would despatch on the 15th, but then I got a tracking
email saying it had been sent, and it arrived yesterday. It came from
Germany, so no problems with customs.

I currently comes with a free wifi antenna; this is just stuffed into
the outer box. The general feel of the product is really good - it's
solid and seems well built.

Setup is dead easy - plug into TV, reasonable on-screen system that is
easy to navigate, tell it my wifi settings and it was running in
seconds. Go onto network and it browses my windows network and happily
plays the video files therefrom.

Considering that my alternative is to have a 10m VGA cable from the
computer and use Windows' multiple monitor settings, and take a split
from the audio out again with a 10m cable - or get a little PC, this is
a much nicer solution and a real keeper for me. It does exactly what I
wanted.

Downsides:
No HDMI cable; currently using composite and the menus are blurry a
bit. Will report back when I have the HDMA cable
Wifi is fine for SD stuff but HD is jerky. So I will have a cable from
the computer to the TV after all! My wifi is G and not the greatest;
the Xtreamer is N, so if you have N then you may be able to stream HD,
unsure.

I'll check if these are overcome with the extra cables I need.

Quality seems fine, but again I'll report more when I've tried more
files.

BTW it appears to pass through 5.1, so if you're HDMI to the AV amp you
should be fine. Not tried as I'm not 5.1.

I think this is a great bargain and I'm really happy. Seems to do what
it says it does.


--
adamslim

You can't have too much music, but I do have too much hifi

SB+, Audion Pre, 6B4G death traps, Lowther Big Fun Horns, REL Stentor
SB+, Audio Innovations L1, Chi-Fi OTL monoblocks, Heybrook Sextets
Boom x 2
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[SlimChances]

Not sure how this would work as an HTPC and PVR but this looks
interesting.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41924&vpn=PT.SCA0X.073&manufacture=Acer
Fits behind an flat screen TV with wall mounting bracket
Wireless mouse and keyboard
wifi
Win 7 upgrade available
etc


--
SlimChances
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[RichardEvans]

peter;246192 Wrote:
>
> For software I use MythTV as well as mplayer and vlc. To control the
> MythTV/mplayer/vlc software I use my own slimserver lirc plugin. That
> way any squeezebox remotes keypresses are sent to the MythTV/mplayer
> application (whenever the SqueezeBox itself is in standby). Since I
> have
> a SqueezeBox near every TV, that completes the puzzle.
>

This seems like a good thread to ask about MythTV, rather than starting
a brand new thread.

I've started looking into the idea of using MythTV, to set up a PVR,
and I'm wondering whether I could run the back end on my music server
(to avoid running an extra server).

I'm currently running VortexBox, on a Tranquil PC, with a 1.6 Ghz Dual
Core Intel Atom processor, 1Gb RAM & 1Tb Hard drive. I'd obviously have
to use USB tuner modules, but I can't see that being a major problem.

The question would be how to get VortexBox and MythTV running on the
same machine. As far as I understand VortexBox runs on top of Fedora
(version 11), and MythTV can also run on Fedora. So would it be possible
to simply add the mythTV application to Fedora, so that it runs
alongside Vortexbox.

Hopefully somebody here may have some idea about whether this is
possible and how to go about it.

Thanks for any help.

Richard.


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[bossanova808]

The ASRock Ion 330 + XBMC Live is the squeezebox for video. It's not
far being the squeezebox for audio for that matter.

Totally awesome and if anything easier to set up than a SB.

It rocks, plays damn near anything, and is very very very pretty.


--
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[cooppw02]

RichardEvans;482184 Wrote:
> This seems like a good thread to ask about MythTV, rather than starting
> a brand new thread.
>
> I've started looking into the idea of using MythTV, to set up a PVR,
> and I'm wondering whether I could run the back end on my music server
> (to avoid running an extra server).
>
> I'm currently running VortexBox, on a Tranquil PC, with a 1.6 Ghz Dual
> Core Intel Atom processor, 1Gb RAM & 1Tb Hard drive. I'd obviously have
> to use USB tuner modules, but I can't see that being a major problem.
>
> The question would be how to get VortexBox and MythTV running on the
> same machine. As far as I understand VortexBox runs on top of Fedora
> (version 11), and MythTV can also run on Fedora. So would it be possible
> to simply add the mythTV application to Fedora, so that it runs
> alongside Vortexbox.
>
> Hopefully somebody here may have some idea about whether this is
> possible and how to go about it.
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Richard.

I haven't used it, but Vortexbox seems like a decent way to turn a PC
into something of a music-serving appliance without much Linux knowledge
or tweaking required.

MythTV isn't really in the same category. I've got it installed on a
beefy 3Ghz Core 2 Duo, and my installation has required a lot of tweaks
and Linux knowledge.

Since MythTV is much harder to get installed and properly configured
than Squeezeboxserver, I'd recommend using a MythTV-oriented distro like
Mythbuntu instead of Vortexbox.

As for tuners, in addition to USB models, I'd look into the HDHomeRun,
which is an HDTV tuner that sits on your network. It's got 2 tuners
built-in and works well with Linux. The only difficulty is that the
network utilization is really high, so you'd probably need to have both
it and your backend using wired ethernet, and preferably the frontend
too. A good 802.11n connection might suffice for the frontend, but a g
connection would create too much network congestion if you're doing HD.
Especially since the Atom probably isn't that great for transcoding.


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[RichardEvans]

cooppw02;482351 Wrote:
>
> MythTV isn't really in the same category. I've got it installed on a
> beefy 3Ghz Core 2 Duo, and my installation has required a lot of tweaks
> and Linux knowledge.
>
> Since MythTV is much harder to get installed and properly configured
> than Squeezeboxserver, I'd recommend using a MythTV-oriented distro like
> Mythbuntu instead of Vortexbox.
>

Thanks cooppw.

Looks like it is all a bit more complicated than I'd hoped, and I need
to do a bit more research/thinking. If I do go ahead with it I think
I'll have to get a new machine to run it on, as I want to keep using
Vortexbox on my music server.

As far as processing power, I was under the impression that about 1Ghz
should be find for standard definition TV, I'm assuming that the extra
processing power you are using is for HDTV. I don't yet have any HDTV
televisions, and doubt I will get any, at least until HDTV becomes
available on Freeview. That will be 2012 here in London. So I think for
now I'd be looking at only SDTV, and if I want HDTV in a few years, well
hardware will be cheaper by then.

I would like to try and keep it fanless, so I would hope to use
something similar to my Tranquil PC, so I hope that a 1.6 Ghz processor
would be fine for SDTV. I will have a look at those networked tuners, it
may well be a better option than USB tuners. Everything will be using
cabled networking, as my wireless is not reliable enough, due to
interference from neighbours wireless networks. (It sometimes even
struggles with FLAC). These days I only use wireless for my Laptop.

Well I think I have plenty to investigate and think about over the next
few weeks. Thanks for you help.

Oh and does anybody have any experience of what sort of processing
power required for SDTV.

Oh and another idea, does anybody know if there is a plugin to used BBC
Iplayer with MythTV, and how much processing power that requires.

Richard.


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[MelonMonkey]

With Myth you are either running the server in place of a client or
you're running another PC as a client. Both solutions require a PC
capable of decoding the streams you're sending to it. A decent spec CPU
for HD unless you have a chipset of GPU capable of offloading the decode
or assist. NVIDIA's ION platform has a lot of promise, but it's
over-priced and all solutions with it in a small form factor are
currently extremely costly, completely obliterating the promise it has
as a viable extender platform earlier this year (it was easy to
predict).

The most cost effective and highest performance will come from
dedicated silicon with built-in decoders such as those from Sigma
Designs. These Systems on a Chip can do pretty much everything you need
for your TV-based video playback.

SageTV and Sage's HD Theater (HD200) have been mentioned earlier in the
thread. They're currently not only the best solution for video
streaming, they're the only solution with an integrated PVR server.
This is the direction MythTV has supposedly been moving in, but there's
currently no stand-alone SoC (absolutely quiet) extenders for Myth.


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Bruno
*'Twisted Melon - Fine Mac OS Software' (http://twistedmelon.com)*
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[cooppw02]

MelonMonkey;483483 Wrote:
> With Myth you are either running the server in place of a client or
> you're running another PC as a client. Both solutions require a PC
> capable of decoding the streams you're sending to it.

A lot of the capture cards do MPEG encoding, so the backend just has to
be capable of dumping the stream to disk, doing commercial flagging, and
running the database. Just about any PC with a lot of storage would
work.

> NVIDIA's ION platform has a lot of promise, but it's (currently)
> over-priced and all solutions with it in a small form factor are
> currently extremely costly, completely obliterating the promise it has
> as a viable extender platform earlier this year (it was easy to
> predict).

Newegg has a fanless ION mobo/Atom CPU combo for less than $120. You
could put together a near-silent (or possibly even totally silent)
front-end for well under $500.


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[MelonMonkey]

cooppw02;483521 Wrote:
> A lot of the capture cards do MPEG encoding, so the backend just has to
> be capable of dumping the stream to disk, doing commercial flagging, and
> running the database. Just about any PC with a lot of storage would
> work.

I was talking about the front end, that's why I said "decode" - analog
capture cards or tuner sticks that don't have built-in MPEG2 or H.264
encoders should not be considered by anyone at any price for any reason.
For digital there's no encoding necessary as the cards are just
recording what they're receiving (clear-QAM, ATSC, DVB, etc..)

>
> Newegg has a fanless ION mobo/Atom CPU combo for less than $120. You
> could put together a near-silent (or possibly even totally silent)
> front-end for well under $500.

$500 is a ton of cash to spend on a front end, especially when you may
want 3 or 4 of them. The ION platform was promising this for under $200
and that's what all the Myth fans were raving about. Solutions using a
SoC offer sub $200 completely fanless ability today.

The "free" solutions (Myth) actually cost more than the commercial in
many setups.


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Bruno
*'Twisted Melon - Fine Mac OS Software' (http://twistedmelon.com)*
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[epoch1970]

Musketeer;246181 Wrote:
> After a couple of months with it I can say I am extremely satisfied with
> my Squeezebox 3. Probably more so than with any other piece of
> electronics I have bought for a long time. It does what it does really
> well.
>
> What is the best video equivalent to the squeezebox? I mean one that is
> not in beta version 0.9, one that is second or third gen and stable. I
> want one that streams most common video files (like divx) from network
> storage and does it really well.
AppleTV, but don't look for an equivalent of SqueezeCenter or its dev
community. You'll need to cope with hacking and "unofficial" plugins if
you want to avoid synching with iTunes, or keeping a computer with
iTunes up. I wish Apple had created an SDK for ATV plugins but it has
not happened.

Over the years, I've used pcs single and client/server, a dvico box and
today I have 2 apple TVs. For ripped DVDs/720p it is matchless. Mine are
rigged with an NFS automounter and a background WOL service. Don't try
this on DVico-class hardware.
Generally speaking I'd say PC frontends are just too noisy and messy;
unless you have extensive budget and outstanding hardware integration
skills.


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[gorman]

I'm using an XBMC enabled HTPC, which is what I would suggest if money
was not a problem.
Otherwise, my friend's Popcorn Hour does a great job.


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[MikeekiM]

The equivalent for me is the SlingBox...

I love it... I can stream the content from my 3 DVRs to any wired or
wireless client in my local area network, and can also access the
content from anywhere in the world (I love watching my local newscasts
while on international travel)...

Not an apples-to-apples equivalent...I know...


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1 SqueezeBox Duet
3 SqueezeBox Booms
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[agillis]

Some of the new TVs coming out now are DLNA complaint. That means you
can stream video or audio from your network without any additional
boxes. This seems to be the best solution. No extra boxes to buy, extra
power, or extra remotes. This is an example.

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=lcdtv&model_cd=LN46A750R1FXZA

I have been working on making VortexBox DLNA complaint for use with
xbox 360 or windows media center. I should work with a DLNA TV as well
but I haven't tested it yet.


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rip, tag, get cover art… All you do is insert the CD!

http://vortexbox.org
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[epoch1970]

agillis;367969 Wrote:
> Some of the new TVs coming out now are DLNA complaint.
Having a little fun here, Agillis will excuse me.

Personally I have a lot to complain over DNLA-compliant stuff.

(Well, I didn't try too hard. But let's say that over the 1 or 2 yrs
this "standard" was out I tried connecting various software servers to
software or hardware client to see how the transport protocol was
working. I still don't know: I've never succeeded making a connection.
Sometimes, discovery worked.)

I'd suggest using caution when DLNA compliance is advertised.


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