Media Streamer?

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#1003147 12-Mar-2014 09:30

ubergeeknz:
trig42: If you can find a small box that you can run the Plex client on, it works really well and is easy to setup.

There is a Plex App for Samsung SmartTV - it will run on the Samsung Smart Bluray players - so if you need to get a BD player think about those (you'd also get Quickflix, TVNZ and TV3 and Colisseum Apps too).

But you need to run Plex Server as well, that's what I don't like about Plex

True, but the OP has stated they are already running a PC - Plex server is very unobtrusive and it just works.

killerkiwinz

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#1003148 12-Mar-2014 09:34

Have this issue Im thinking some thing andorid based is the future as that gives you XBMC and a netflix app

XBMC gotham beta is running extremely well on my nexus as is netflix I really just need a box with hdmi out and a remote option

garvani

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#1003151 12-Mar-2014 09:37

killerkiwinz: Have this issue Im thinking some thing andorid based is the future as that gives you XBMC and a netflix app

XBMC gotham beta is running extremely well on my nexus as is netflix I really just need a box with hdmi out and a remote option

Did you look at the link i posted a page ago? Pretty much ticks those boxes. I havn't got the device yet and will give a mini review on it once i receive it

garvani

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#1003152 12-Mar-2014 09:39

ubergeeknz: My big question: does it support playback in 24p or XBMC style "smooth playback"? This is the big problem I have with my Android stick now, 24p content plays back jerky and awful.

Not entirely sure if it will handle it any better than your android stick. Ill find out in a few weeks when it arrives i guess.

robjg63

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#1003166 12-Mar-2014 10:02

I have a playon HD mini as well - had it several years. Works Brilliantly and as mentioned above havent found anything it wont play.
I use the wifi - signal has been strong enough to work ok for me.
Have folders of content on my PC and have this shared so on the playon I just connect to that folder and navigate/play whatever I want on the TV. Easy to use once you have the network connection bit sorted. No fans or heating issues etc.
I didnt want to install media server software on my PC and you dont need to.
It does a very good job at upscaling media - even fairly average video looks good on 50" HD plasma. Most dedicated media players seem to have inbuilt upscaling. Some work better than others I gather.

The youtube and radio station (web radio) links broke a while back (never used it anyway). The 'problem' with any device will be how long they support some of the software add-ons - dont expect them to work forever. This is separate from media file handling. The boxes tend to have a dedicated chip that handles media decoding. That will keep working and decode the stuff it knows about. If someone launches a new filetype it wont be able to cope with it and software releases wont be able to remedy that though. Probably not too much of a risk - it usually takes a few years for new filetypes/codecs to become mainstream.

I hear the WD TV http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=DVAWD0005&name=WD-WD-TV-Live-Streaming-Media-Player-(Built-in-Wir is pretty good as well. This would probably be my pick if I was replacing my playon. I think I saw that there is also an active homebrew firmware community so there are even alternate firmwares for it it you were interested.

From what you said you want an apple tv and a media server is not what you want.

For the record I have a jailbroke appletv2 running xbmc working as a media player - I have set it up to just access the network shares on my PC - like the playon - works well. The appletv 3 cannot be jailbroken and you cant install XBMC on it. To be fair it was actually quite tricky to jailbreak the ATV2 anyway.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

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#1004355 12-Mar-2014 15:43

I like the look of the WD TV so thanks for pointing it out. How does this compare to a Raspberry PI set up with XBMC which has ben suggested to me? I presume the PI will require more effort to get going but could be a lot cheaper option.

I am also looking for an option to get PC content to TV. For me it is music (itunes), photos and videos of family plus the odd recorded TV programme. I have tried Plex and PS3 media server and I am not getting the results I like. Mainly content not playing.

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afe66

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#1004377 12-Mar-2014 16:10

All my dvd's are ripped using handbrake normal or high profile .mp4 and my raspberry pi plays them seamlessly either via plex client from plex server of synology NAS or XMBC off the NAS HD itself.
Ethernet cable from NAS to Pi which is connected to 46 " bravia via HMDI.

Controlled via usb wifi and keyboard. (or app on cellphone)

Unless you rip yourself, codec issues might always lerk in the background ie get old pc and run vlc.

A.

NzBeagle

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#1004398 12-Mar-2014 16:37

In a similar scenario to you, I utilise Plex on the server, and have Chromecasts on every TV. Work well, use my Android tablet to control the media to the TV.

robjg63

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#1004403 12-Mar-2014 16:43

I have a raspberry pi as well. I set it up with xbmc - look at raspbmc.com
Its really easy to set up and works fine. Last time I tried it was a little slow to start up but I gather they have optimised it a lot since.
Probably the cheapest xmbc solution you can get if thats what you *have* to have, but still, add up rpi+usb Charger+usb cable+hdmi cable+wifi dongle+SD card+diy case. Then you need a mouse or usb keyboard to navigate - you could use your smart phone of course. There is also an MPEG2 codec you may need to pay a couple of pounds for depending on your media files.

The wdtv package is pretty competitive.

I havent used the rpi for a while.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

farcus

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#1004422 12-Mar-2014 16:54

robjg63: I have a raspberry pi as well. I set it up with xbmc - look at raspbmc.com
Its really easy to set up and works fine. Last time I tried it was a little slow to start up but I gather they have optimised it a lot since.
Probably the cheapest xmbc solution you can get if thats what you *have* to have, but still, add up rpi+usb Charger+usb cable+hdmi cable+wifi dongle+SD card+diy case. Then you need a mouse or usb keyboard to navigate - you could use your smart phone of course. There is also an MPEG2 codec you may need to pay a couple of pounds for depending on your media files.

The wdtv package is pretty competitive.

I havent used the rpi for a while.

raspbmc is light years ahead of where it was even four or five months ago.
I'd recommend it for a rock solid media centre. There is no longer a need to install it onto a USB3 stick for fast navigation - a fast sd card is now fine.
You have the connection options of UPnP (DLNA), SMB shares, NFS shares or even Plex.
I use smb shares (because that it all my NAS supports) but it is fine for streaming even 1080 content wirelessly.

ADKM

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#1004633 12-Mar-2014 22:48

Thanks to everyone who offered advice. Not sure I'll reach a conclusion and some of the jargon is above me. I went into both HN and NL today but neither would let me 'try out' a unit at home.

I may go for the kaiser bass model (they seem a good crowd) and if it doesn't do what I'm after flog it off on TradeMe.

The internet component is both superfluous and a bit confusing, and may be a waste for me. I see the Kaiser Bass specs say you can use DLNA so is Twonky still needed? One wonders if it'll be any better than
connecting the LAN into the TV as we do now ? Main problem we have are some files won't play and some are
almost impossible to rewind or fast forward. Or play up after you pause them.

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farcus

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#1004648 13-Mar-2014 02:42

Main problem we have are some files won't play and some are
almost impossible to rewind or fast forward. Or play up after you pause them.

this is more likely a TV media player limitation than anything to do with DLNA.
Most smart TVs built in multimedia support is very limited, so using an external media player should be a much better experience.

farcus

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#1004649 13-Mar-2014 02:58

ADKM: This looks interesting

http://www.kaiserbaas.com/media-player/wifi-media-player

How might it compare with what others are using ?

This unit appears to get a lot of bad reviews especially around its menu navigation (unresponsiveness / lockups).
It also apparently chokes on a lot of file formats that it is supposed to support.
Personally, I'd steer clear.

ADKM

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#1004650 13-Mar-2014 03:09

Personally, I'd steer clear.

Appreciate the advice... since then this one may be a better choice

http://www.kaiserbaas.com/media-player/smartmp

Any thoughts on that that ?

this is more likely a TV media player limitation than anything to do with DLNA

You're probably right... Panasonic 55" plasma, It can be brilliant with some files but completely bomb out with others.

farcus

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#1004653 13-Mar-2014 03:52

A
Appreciate the advice... since then this one may be a better choice

http://www.kaiserbaas.com/media-player/smartmp

Any thoughts on that that ?

A quick google shows the reviews aren't great - which isn't really too surprising for an android based device.

If you are after something easy to get going out of the box and reliable - I'd go for the WD device others have mentioned in this thread.

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