Alternatives for streaming media that aren't a PC?

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PANiCnz

989 posts

Ultimate Geek

#642059 17-Jun-2012 12:19

Disrespective: I'm getting sick of flakey windows systems so would like to try something with an integrated media OS but would love it to look nice too.

Ummm.... OpenELEC or XBMCbuntu, both wipe the floor with XBMC + Windows, OpenELEC in particular if you want speed. Throw that bad boy on an SSD and watch it fly.

GBristow

178 posts

Master Geek

#642077 17-Jun-2012 13:02

Buttonmash: I'm in exactly the same boat. Moved house a month ago and got MySky which is taking care of all the recording, so the HTPC for streaming only seems overkill.

As a tide me over I've been using PS3 Media Server and it's a bit rubbish. I'm seriously tempted to order one of these:

http://www.xtreamer.net/ultra2/

This is exactly what I've been looking for. It's roughly NZ$480 for the deluxe model too. I did the math on building an HTPC from scratch and it was more in the $800-$900 ballpark.

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#642091 17-Jun-2012 13:34

It's 550 incl postage, if you get charged customs and gst will be closer to 650. You can build a more powerful htpc for this price, but it wont have the advantage of t he small form factor.

Looks like quite a good all in one deal, and has nice looking form factor, and saves you the time of building your own htpc.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

steve2222

498 posts

Ultimate Geek

#642397 18-Jun-2012 10:28

insane: I use my WD TV Live for this, as others have mentioned it's interface is basic but can coupe with any format I've thrown at it so far. I got the US version so it streams Huluplus etc with the help of unotelly.

Does the US box automatically detect PAL (as opposed to NSTC) when you fire it up in NZ?

Did you get it sent by mail from Amazon, or did you physically buy it there?

dontpanic42

1574 posts

Uber Geek

#642460 18-Jun-2012 12:11

steve2222:

Does the US box automatically detect PAL (as opposed to NSTC) when you fire it up in NZ?

Did you get it sent by mail from Amazon, or did you physically buy it there?

Yes, the US box will play pretty much everything, including PAL and NTSC stuff.
After all, the main difference between PAL and NTSC stuff is really only the frame rate and perhaps colour space. (i.e. NTSC = 30 fps, PAL = 25fps)
HDMI output wise, you can set it so that the frame rate automatically changes depending on the frame rate of the source file.

You need to purchase a WDTV Live with the US firmware for the likes of the Hulu and Netflix apps to be installed. These can only be purchased in the US.
Buy it through this Amazon US geekzone affiliate link to support geekzone :)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KOZNBW/ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=geekzone-20

I purchased one through Amazon (the same one in the link above) using the standard shipping option, and it actually came via DHL International priority (which was around 3-5 days). So you might also get lucky and be bumped up to a faster shipping option too. :)

EDIT: One Caveat - The power adaptor is 110v-240v capable, however it comes with the US type plug. All you will need to do is buy a travel adaptor to convert the US plug prongs to NZ style, and you will be set.
e.g. one of these will do it - http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Korjo-NZ-Multi-Travel-Plug-AA02?SKU=819646

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#642477 18-Jun-2012 12:45

You need to purchase a WDTV Live with the US firmware for the likes of the Hulu and Netflix apps to be installed. These can only be purchased in the US.
Buy it through this Amazon US geekzone affiliate link to support geekzone :)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KOZNBW/ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=geekzone-20

Is the US firmware different to the NZ Firmware? I ask this because I have downloaded the firmware off the WD site onto a USB stick and updated my players - and there was only one version of the firmware offered for download, it didn't seem to have different geographic firmware download options.

dontpanic42

1574 posts

Uber Geek

#642517 18-Jun-2012 13:28

JimmyH:
Is the US firmware different to the NZ Firmware? I ask this because I have downloaded the firmware off the WD site onto a USB stick and updated my players - and there was only one version of the firmware offered for download, it didn't seem to have different geographic firmware download options.

To be honest, I'm not sure.
I know what you are getting at though, as I did a bit of research about the firmware before buying mine.
I'm wondering if the regional differences are determined by the actual hardware inside the unit itself. I suppose this way you could release one universal firmware, and only have certain parts of the firmware be applied depending on the hardware it is being applied to.
Or only certain parts of the firmware are activated depending on the hardware (i.e. model number) it is being flashed to.

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