Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek


#172078 11-May-2015 12:26
Send private message

I'm looking for a suitable replacement for two of these device. It plays every format, but the interface is slow and clunky, and it ignores forced subtitle flags - which is a major annoyance.

I mainly them it to stream video from my PC (mainly MKVs).

It will need to support all the formats that my WD TV Live (3rd gen) does.

What would everyone recommend?






 Home:                                                           Work:
Home Work


Create new topic
marlinz
441 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1301902 11-May-2015 12:35
Send private message

Get  a Amazon Fire TV install Plex on PC and on Fire TV   no problems with that set up for me . Not sure on what formats you would have a problem with





 

Amazon Echo

 

Amazon Dot

 

Lifx Bulbs

 

Nexus 5X
Magic TV 3600
Sony EX700

 

Unblocking service
Amazon Fire TV x 2  = Netflix USA + Amazon Prime
Lightbox






wasabi2k
2096 posts

Uber Geek


  #1301904 11-May-2015 12:36
Send private message

I have yet to find anything remotely close that supports everything the wdtv does.

We just put up with it for now - even with the issues you mention - and the fact I have to set RGB color space every time it turns on.

Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek


  #1301906 11-May-2015 12:41
Send private message

marlinz: Get  a Amazon Fire TV install Plex on PC and on Fire TV   no problems with that set up for me . Not sure on what formats you would have a problem with


I don't want to do any on-the-fly transcoding as you lose video quality. Does the Fire TV natively support MKVs?




 Home:                                                           Work:
Home Work




DamageInc
549 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #1301924 11-May-2015 13:08
Send private message

marlinz: Get  a Amazon Fire TV install Plex on PC and on Fire TV   no problems with that set up for me . Not sure on what formats you would have a problem with


Pc to fire tv is that Ethernet or wireless? Also how does said setup perform with attached hdd?




Pop! OS


marlinz
441 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1301933 11-May-2015 13:26
Send private message

DamageInc:
marlinz: Get  a Amazon Fire TV install Plex on PC and on Fire TV   no problems with that set up for me . Not sure on what formats you would have a problem with


Pc to fire tv is that Ethernet or wireless? Also how does said setup perform with attached hdd?



its via dlna i think (wireless) hard drive attached to computer and then shared on the plex server





 

Amazon Echo

 

Amazon Dot

 

Lifx Bulbs

 

Nexus 5X
Magic TV 3600
Sony EX700

 

Unblocking service
Amazon Fire TV x 2  = Netflix USA + Amazon Prime
Lightbox




DamageInc
549 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #1302113 11-May-2015 17:29
Send private message

marlinz:
DamageInc:
marlinz: Get  a Amazon Fire TV install Plex on PC and on Fire TV   no problems with that set up for me . Not sure on what formats you would have a problem with


Pc to fire tv is that Ethernet or wireless? Also how does said setup perform with attached hdd?



its via dlna i think (wireless) hard drive attached to computer and then shared on the plex server


And you don't have any hassles with the movie going from the hdd-Plex-wireless to AFTV Plex app ie hdd able to keep up?




Pop! OS


littleheaven
2130 posts

Uber Geek


  #1302145 11-May-2015 17:52
Send private message

How about getting a little Windows box, like a NUC, then just browse to the video file across the network and play it in VLC or Windows Media on the TV screen. As long as you have the right codecs it should play in whatever format the file is.

If you want a fancier interface, Plex server on the main PC and Plex Home Theater app on the Windows box should be fine. With Plex, my understanding is that it will only transcode on the fly if the receiving device isn't capable of receiving the file in the current format, so I'm assuming as long as your HTPC solution can play it, you should be fine. Here's the page that gives the full technical explanation. https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201373793-Is-Plex-Media-Server-on-a-NAS-Right-for-Me-

If you don't have time to read the whole thing, the pertinent section states:

 

"The Plex Home Theater desktop application will typically always play content directly if you're using it with a local Plex Media Server. This app can play nearly any kind of content:

 

  • mp4, mkv, avi, and other containers
  • H.264, DivX, XviD, MPEG-2, and other video codecs
  • MP3, AAC, AC-3, DTS, and other audio codecs
  • SRT, ASS, VOBSUB, PGS, and other subtitle formats
Note that if you're trying to use Plex Home Theater with a remote Server, you may still require transcoding if your network connection is not fast enough to support streaming the file in full quality."

and

"There are also situations where transcoding is required even if your media is otherwise compatible with your playback device. This can be the case when:

 

  • Using Subtitles: For many Plex apps, subtitles have to be "burned in" to the video stream but the Server. That requires transcoding to do.
  • Remote Access: When your Server is accessed from outside your home, it may not be possible to stream the content at the full quality. In these cases, the Server has to transcode the content to a lower quality in order to be able to stream without buffering."

I'm running it server side on an old 2008 Mac Pro and client side on a Minix Neo Z64 with Windows, and though I've not had time to do much testing, it appeared to run without issue on a large 1080p H.264 file.




Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.


 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
marlinz
441 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1302402 12-May-2015 06:05
Send private message

DamageInc:
marlinz:
DamageInc:
marlinz: Get  a Amazon Fire TV install Plex on PC and on Fire TV   no problems with that set up for me . Not sure on what formats you would have a problem with


Pc to fire tv is that Ethernet or wireless? Also how does said setup perform with attached hdd?



its via dlna i think (wireless) hard drive attached to computer and then shared on the plex server


And you don't have any hassles with the movie going from the hdd-Plex-wireless to AFTV Plex app ie hdd able to keep up?




I have no hassles with it streaming wirelessly, it is a good option (well so i have found for me anyway )





 

Amazon Echo

 

Amazon Dot

 

Lifx Bulbs

 

Nexus 5X
Magic TV 3600
Sony EX700

 

Unblocking service
Amazon Fire TV x 2  = Netflix USA + Amazon Prime
Lightbox




Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek


  #1302777 12-May-2015 13:46
Send private message

I'm going to give Raspberry Pi 2 a try. I have a suspicion that it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, but doesn't cost much.

robjg63
4096 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #1302799 12-May-2015 14:02
Send private message

Paul1977: I'm going to give Raspberry Pi 2 a try. I have a suspicion that it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, but doesn't cost much.


Was going to suggest that - Try OSMC (Kodi wrapped up in a friendly linux)
Have been using this the last few weeks - its using HDMI-CEC so the tv remote works on the pi.
KODI works well.

EDIT: osmc is promising a web browser as well - coming soon apparently.




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


Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek


  #1302948 12-May-2015 16:34
Send private message

robjg63:
Paul1977: I'm going to give Raspberry Pi 2 a try. I have a suspicion that it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, but doesn't cost much.


Was going to suggest that - Try OSMC (Kodi wrapped up in a friendly linux)
Have been using this the last few weeks - its using HDMI-CEC so the tv remote works on the pi.
KODI works well.

EDIT: osmc is promising a web browser as well - coming soon apparently.


It's a shame it doesn't support Netflix (yet?). Not that I currently use Netflix, and I still have PS3 and PS4 which do support it any way; but would be nice to have more of a "one box to rule them all" thing.

kiwijunglist
2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #1303013 12-May-2015 17:36
Send private message

I'd suggest a Roku 3 client and use plex server on the pc.




HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.


robjg63
4096 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #1303073 12-May-2015 19:29
Send private message

Paul1977:
robjg63:
Paul1977: I'm going to give Raspberry Pi 2 a try. I have a suspicion that it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, but doesn't cost much.


Was going to suggest that - Try OSMC (Kodi wrapped up in a friendly linux)
Have been using this the last few weeks - its using HDMI-CEC so the tv remote works on the pi.
KODI works well.

EDIT: osmc is promising a web browser as well - coming soon apparently.


It's a shame it doesn't support Netflix (yet?). Not that I currently use Netflix, and I still have PS3 and PS4 which do support it any way; but would be nice to have more of a "one box to rule them all" thing.


That's why I am hoping for a decent web browser - would cover accessing many sites.




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


Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.