New section for Media Players, NAS drives and Content Streaming

mhku

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Hello everyone we've got a new section for Media Players, NAS drives and Content Streaming.

Whether you want to share some information on a great new media player you've just bought or have a question please feel free to post here.

The range of media players available today is vast:

Boxee, Popcorn Hour, Dune HD Smart, Roku, Mede8er, WD Live, Sumvision. Zappitti, YaDis, Synology, HP Proliant N40L micro-server, Samsung hub, Plex, PS3 Media Server, Serviio, FreeNAS, xbmc, WHS...

so if you have any tips or advice to share, or need advice, please contribute to our new section.
 

Juan69

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I am contemplating buying a Nexus 7 tablet. Heard and read lots of good things about it. The lack of Micro SD is holding me back. Any comments will be appreciated. I would go for the 32GB, wifi, 3G model.
Intend to use it mainly for reading books and magazines; as well as streaming mp3 and video.
 

keenite

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Would be interested in hearing any experience people may have had with the Roku Streaming Player.
TIA for your input.
 

Juan69

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Murcia - Costa Blanca.
Juan69 said:
I am contemplating buying a Nexus 7 tablet. Heard and read lots of good things about it. The lack of Micro SD is holding me back. Any comments will be appreciated. I would go for the 32GB, wifi, 3G model.
Intend to use it mainly for reading books and magazines; as well as streaming mp3 and video.
Update. Passed on the Nexus 7 and went for a Pipo Max 9. Excellent kit. Does everything I want and has a slot for MicroSD 32GB. I am still learning all the features but so far I am impressed. A lot cheaper too.
 

ukcommando

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Would be interested in hearing any experience people may have had with the Roku Streaming Player.
TIA for your input.
It's not a bad little box. I bought mine on the spur of the moment whilst in a local Curry's store picking up a tablet I'd ordered. My main gripe is that I've found it limited in ability to play movies stored on my NAS (probably due to codec/format limitations) despite downloading just about every streaming app for it. Roksbox seems to be the best download to use though.
 

ukcommando

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Can anyone offer recommendations for me? I have a Roku media player, which seems ok for internet tv channels, etc, but I'm finding it rather limited in handling movies on my NAS. I'm looking for a box that can access my NAS either via wireless or cat5, output in HD up to 1080p, and most importantly can handle most formats/codecs thrown at it. I've had a look at some of the Netgear NeoTV devices which promise a lot, but don't seem to be commonly available in the uk. Any help appreciated.
 

Vipersan

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AZbox PrmHD + OpnbxS9HD + Skybox + DrHD F15
2x VboxII AZ-EL
2 m+ Alcoa PF + BSC421 C-Band lnbf...
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UK
I have use of many boxes and devices for accessing my huge 12 TB hombrew NAS ..
These include modified Xboxes ..
XBMC is superb and I cannot fault it ..but was limited to 720P at best..on a modified Xbox
Asus Oplay
Aldi special :- medion MD86162
A couple of older HiMedia players ..one original one clone
..and my latest purchase again HiMedia 910B ..which has a dual OS (also runs a cut down version of Android.)
Android works but is very limited.
All of these boxes (Xboxes excluded) can access and play 1080P ..and I have been more than happy with them all..

Main problems are usually support related ...a new codec is introduced ..and it often takes an age to include it in a new firmware release ..if ever.
However I do like the HiMedia boxes ..
Quiet ..reliable ..and versatile.
Usually sold on ebay and shipped from the far east.

I do not recommend however streaming 1080P or indeed any HD content over wireless ..
You get bottlenecks and freezing problems ..if there are many peeps in your house all using bandwidth .
So ..my house is fully wired with CAT cables ..
Faster and more secure.
rgds
VS
 

Lazarus

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Much else.
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What, you mean the Cat can't escape?
 

Vipersan

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My Satellite Setup
IP9000HD +
TD110 Dish and TD88 Dish in Tandem
66°East to 60°West.
AZbox PrmHD + OpnbxS9HD + Skybox + DrHD F15
2x VboxII AZ-EL
2 m+ Alcoa PF + BSC421 C-Band lnbf...
+SS2/TwHnS2-3200 pci/TBS6925 pci
1.5 Fortec Star -Gbox - HtoH Ku/Ka/C
My Location
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That's a lot of erm... material.
Not quite what you think CJ ..
Some 10 years back I made a descision not to have discs anywhere in my rooms ..with the exception of 1 or 2 specials ..like the entire extended lord of the rings on Blu-ray ..
Everything I ever bought ..DVD CD or even Blu-ray was transcoded to iso image ..or mp3 ..and put on the server ..
I don't like clutter ..thus everything accessible via media player or HTPC ..
Thus a lot of space needed ..
but that's not the whole story ..
I also keep my service manuals scanned or pdf on the server..
Plus the installation for ever piece of software bought or aquired..
Plus entire bit cloned images of both my own operating systems ...but also customers (by their request only) ..following pc or laptop repairs ..
Thus I can easily restore these images for certain customers in the event of HD failure ..
They make a one off payment for this ..added to the repair price ..but only if they request it ..and are trustworthy ..and trust me.
So you can imagine that also takes a huge amount of space.
and every image is double backed and stored in a metal case ...so more hard drives needed.
And another reason why I don't use wifi ...it's too easily accessed by intruders.
Hard wired networks are more secure ...and the NAS network is also isolated from t'internet.
Cheers
VS
 

PaulR

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-----------See sig-----------
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I use a D-Link Boxee Box. This has played every video format and container I've thrown at it (MKV, xVid, DivX, MP4, MPG, avi, VOB, FLV, MOV, etc). It ouputs at up to 1080p and has both wired and wireless network connectivity.

There are various apps that can be downloaded for it and the BBC iPlayer works well. This gives access to iPlayer radio as well - something which the Humax HDR doesn't. The ITVPlayer and Demand5 apps install but don't work - something to do with the difference between vanilla Boxee software on a PC and its implememntation on D-Link's Box I believe.

It's a hugely stupid shape. Some people find it "cool" and "funky". I do not. It's an absolute pain to put on a shelf.

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

This may be of some help - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_set-top_boxes

Finally, have you considered rolling your own with a Raspberry Pi?
 

Vipersan

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My Satellite Setup
IP9000HD +
TD110 Dish and TD88 Dish in Tandem
66°East to 60°West.
AZbox PrmHD + OpnbxS9HD + Skybox + DrHD F15
2x VboxII AZ-EL
2 m+ Alcoa PF + BSC421 C-Band lnbf...
+SS2/TwHnS2-3200 pci/TBS6925 pci
1.5 Fortec Star -Gbox - HtoH Ku/Ka/C
My Location
UK
I use a D-Link Boxee Box. This has played every video format and container I've thrown at it (MKV, xVid, DivX, MP4, MPG, avi, VOB, FLV, MOV, etc). It ouputs at up to 1080p and has both wired and wireless network connectivity.

There are various apps that can be downloaded for it and the BBC iPlayer works well. This gives access to iPlayer radio as well - something which the Humax HDR doesn't. The ITVPlayer and Demand5 apps install but don't work - something to do with the difference between vanilla Boxee software on a PC and its implememntation on D-Link's Box I believe.

It's a hugely stupid shape. Some people find it "cool" and "funky". I do not. It's an absolute pain to put on a shelf.

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

This may be of some help - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_set-top_boxes

Finally, have you considered rolling your own with a Raspberry Pi?
It certainly scores highly for versatility and connectivity Paul ..but which prat designed it ..
Talk about ugly ..and hardly would look good in a rack or at the side of your TV ..
First job if I bought one ..
Strip out its innards and mount them in a proper case that don't make it look like it fell of a shelf and landed on a slab of concrete..
lol
 

PaulR

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Fortunately the remote control works using radio, not infra-red, so the Box can be hidden away from sight. I once hugely impressed a friend who called round by stopping the Box playing and then restarting it whilst still at the front door.
 
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