AR's Digital Mediabridge [Text View]

ThyKingdomCome

05-02-06, 10:06 AM

I found the DMP3000 at brandnamez.com
The consensus from the reputation opinions are this...
You have a 50-50 chance of getting your product ontime.
The problem with this is, the negatives will be posted far more than the positives on average. HOWEVER on this product they send it to a AR dealer/distributor to ship, so brandnames doesn't directly handle this product. Remember, you won't get a shipping email with the tracking #. If you call brandnamez, I have found that a human answers, and you get your number easily enough.

I am going to study this in the next few days and have a gamut of tests to run on it vs. video capability. (srry guys, i dont have a HD monitor to test clarity on those)I have found since ordering the dmp3000, the D-link DSM-520. The 520 has been out longer. Read the LONG thread here about it. Apparently, it has most of the features this one has. The problems it seems to have revolve running some of the HD streams without changing some extensions, and some minor software snaffus. From the LIMITED reviews I have seen, the DMP3000 has the best software and user interface around. Will it be worth the near $100 difference?

Greg Haynes

05-02-06, 10:25 AM

This player certainly looks to be nice contender. I'm in the market for a media server and will be watching this one. Can this player play .TS files?

Here's a nice CNET review that I found: http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Acoustic_Research_Digital_MediaBridge_DMP3000/4514-6470_16-31749231.html

lsarver

05-05-06, 05:51 PM

It does navigate vobs.

Forgot to ask: Can it handle subtitles from ripped DVDs?

ThyKingdomCome

05-06-06, 10:12 AM

not sure about the titles yet... I will check that next week if I can get a new one back.

I ordered mine, but the network connection will not stay up (wired or wireless) for more than 20 minutes. I found that at no compression, both connections cannot play a non-compressed DVD. At 70% video compression using DVD shrink, all appears well. Needless to say, I will be RMA'ing this unit.

Perhaps a different unit will not behave the same way. Everyone else has not had this happen when using this unit.

lsarver

05-30-06, 04:15 AM

I will check that next week if I can get a new one back.

Any luck?

ThyKingdomCome

05-30-06, 06:08 PM

When I first got the unit, I upgraded the software on the client AND on the mediabridge. I think I will wait this time and only do it if its causing a problem.
I used www.brandnamez.com to order and rma the unit. It took 1.5 weeks for them to send me RMA info. I shipped it 2 weeks ago, and they have yet to acknowledge the return nor give me a shipping info of the replacement.
I won't entirely blame brandnamez as they have an arrangement to take orders and work with a 3rd party. It could be that 3rd party screwing this up.
I will see how I can help you guys out later when I get this in.

lsarver

05-31-06, 01:34 PM

When I first got the unit, I upgraded the software on the client AND on the mediabridge. I think I will wait this time and only do it if its causing a problem.
Do you mean "server," rather than "client"? (The MediaBridge is the client.)

It could be that 3rd party screwing this up.
Quite possibly: It seems that AR/Thomson is unable to deal directly with customers. Traditionally, their products are simple things hanging on a rack, requiring little contact, e.g., cables. They still haven't managed to answer my email.

The fact that it has not yet appeared in the normal channels really makes me wonder what's going on. (OTOH, I read somewhere that it not due out until June. . . .)

I had great hopes for this product, but the PhotoBridge is looking better all the time. Meanwhile, I'll just use the Xbox.

Sorry you're having problems. Hope they are resolved soon.

buz

06-09-06, 07:23 AM

Well, I just purchased one of these from Amazon.com and they had a company called UnbeatableSale.com send it out. I received it 2 days after ordering.

Physically, the box seems well constructed and sturdy. It has all the connections one would expect on it. I hooked it up to a wired network, it does have built in wifi capability, which I won't use.

Since I am a bit busy right now, I only connected it up to my Samsung 40" LCD TV via its supplied component video cables, and RCA audio. I didn't install the server software that came on the CD, I went to the website and downloaded the most recent version, and installed that. Installation was very easy. The server gui allows you to select locations for Audio/Video/Pictures which it will make available for the client box. I only had audio and pictures available on that system.

On the client, there is a switch on the back for SD/HD. I set it for HD. I turned on the client and it ran through it's setup screen. The gui was very easy to navigate. I took most of the defaults. It must detect the switch position, as it ran through a test with 480P/720P/1080i, and asked if they were visible and looked ok. It did not ask for 480i with the switch in the HD position. It setup networking, and started up.

I selected show pictures off of the main menu and it gave me an error message that the client version is out of sync of the server version. I navigated around, and found a page that allowed it to upgrade the client software, it downloaded it, and rebooted, and I repeated the menu selection of pictures, and first it scanned all the media on the server. I let it do a slideshow for about 5 minutes and stopped it.

I then selected music off of the main menu, and navigated down to an album and told it to play. I have all my albums ripped into .wav file format as I use a slimdevices slimserver and squeeze box's around my house. Because it isn't in a format that is tagged, it didn't have album/song info. Since I have everything ripped into directories by artist and album within artist it didn't matter.

Next thing I have to try is ripping some video and playing that. Of course I won't do anything illegal like ripping a commercial DVD ;) I'll use one of my own dvd's.

One of the notes above stated that this box required a computer as the server, but the manual states that the USB port is active, and can handle thumbDrives and USB hard disks, so perhaps a computer server isn't really necessary. I will try that out as well.

All in all my first impressions were quite good although I only spent a few minutes with the device.

buz

ThyKingdomCome

06-09-06, 10:43 PM

I just received my replacement unit.
I will be plugging it in tonight or tomorrow. I am anxious to know if buz's unit will play without interruption (over 20 minutes). My lan settings were defaulting from wireless to wired and back. I look forward a more studied look. Can't wait to hear how your unit is holding up after a week and 3-4 movies.

ThyKingdomCome

06-10-06, 07:33 PM

I plugged this in last night. Again, remember this is my second time to work with this unit as my 1st one was defective. Take note that these units are NEW to the market and higher percentages of problems will be seen in the first ones to be shipped.

Acoustic Research's phone support is better described as in beta stages with this product. The unit is simply too new to have a mature helpdesk. The person on the other end made the right choice in replaceing my unit and seemed eager to help. Don't expect advanced troubleshooting with these people and don't expect a manual with in depth troubleshooting tips. Call your geek friend to assist if you need an indepth look. My 1st unit had a bad network that would not stay up. My second unit shows no sign of this. The second unit is also more quiet. I cannot verify if this is due to different fan selection from the manufacturer or luck of the draw.

Brandnamez.com in which I ordered this product will do what they can to help you with your issues. They do the right thing. The right thing isn't always speedy, and since they deal with the manufacturer in a 3rd party setup, expect 3 weeks total time for resolution if you get a bad unit. A HUMAN always answered their phone and my emails were promptly answered. This alone makes it impossible for me to do anything but compliment them as I hate IVR automated answering systems. They are not the fastest, but no one can consistenly be when 3rd parties are used to ship goods and issue RMAs.

I installed this new unit last night. I already had my cat5 wired connection from my comp, and I wanted to test it without the wireless bandwidth limitations. I installed the software and pointed each of the sound, movie, and music folders to the approriate folders off my computer. I plugged it into my 5.1/7.1 receiver via Svideo and Optical cable. Once these are in place it was as easy as powering it up and pressing enter 4 times. I accepted all default settings and was up without a hitch.

Software setup, 3 minutes.
Hardware setup, (not including the running of cat5) 5 minutes.

The amazing speed that this unit worked compared to the initial defective one is outstanding. The clarity of the picture is awsome. (non hd setting was tested) I watched an entire ripped movie without a hitch with full DTS audio, along with my family picture collection and selected CD's. IF you rip a movie with the menu, you will find that it works quickly and easily, as if you were operating a physical DVD player. Your response will be faster, as there are no seek times for the disk. I found the movie will play very promptly once selected. You can hit the "menu" buton and go to the initial DVD menu and jump to each chapter or select subtitles and video extras at your option.

The DVD can be ripped in 2 ways to VOB. One with the Video TS/Audio folders and one in a single folder. Each option of ripping will place the movie under a different menu. If you use the folder method, the menu will place it in the movie section. If you place it in a single folder, the movie will appear along side of the .avi / divx video files in a separate listing.

The layout of your pictures and videos depends directly on how your folders are sorted on your computer's hard drive. You can bypass poor organization and skip it all by viewing by Year and Month created option. Name your media and sort well on your computer, and your work will be seen on your mediabridge should you view by folder. Pictures on your computer will need to be rotated in Windows viewer or similar programs if you want to see them properly oriented on your TV.

Windows Media playlists are automatically recognised by the Mediaplayer. If you have taken the time to create "Albums" or favorite playlists, these can be seen from the menu on the mediabridge and utilized. Albums with cover art ripped from Windows Media Player will appear on your AR GUI with Artists name and song.

Pros:
1. EASY installation.
2. Simple interface that allows you to select each movie or picture by date from your entire library.
3. Easy library update. (you just drag and drop on your computer and it automatically detects it)
4. Low computer requirements. The mediastreamer.exe process apeared to only use 4-8 meg of system memory (not verified under all conditions). This interprets to a gamer being able to utilize their resource intensive game while a roomate is using Mediabridge.
5. Simple software upgrade on server and client.

Cons:
1. There seems to be no fast way to advance search on divx movies (large .avi files) as you can with the VOBs that I have seen.
2. Music: I see no way to randomize your music in your queue or selection.
3. On Remote button placement is a bit awkward, buttons are small, and it is not backlit to navigate in low lighting.
4. Will not play common quicktime .mov files
5. In software, you cannot give this unit an ip address of your choosing like the "Buffalo" media center. Therefore with dhcp and some router/firewall setups you may run into an issue in a HIGHLY nailed down environment should your unit be assigned a differing IP upon power cycle.

Overall: Personally this system is an answer to everything I have been searching for in TV rack space, price and function. Nearly all cons listed were software limited and not related to the hardware on the mediabrige. This means the changes can be updated from the internet via the press of a button should AR decide to implement GUI or hardware operation at a later date.

I would encourage anyone who wants me to test my unit in Standard video or audio for compatibilty to send me a legal video/audio internet link and I will attempt to run it for them. Keep all submissions to url only (no attachments), G-PG13 rated and under 50 meg. I will post the results.

Hope this helps.

Guyute

06-11-06, 11:39 AM

Any word on the possibility of using a usb harddrive without a network connection? It would be great if I didn't need to bother with wi-fi/cat5.

ashokn225

06-11-06, 04:10 PM

Does the movie part of the UI have dvd cover art?

nirvana_av

06-11-06, 04:30 PM

Does the movie part of the UI have dvd cover art?

Yes, it does. Put a file named "jacket.jpg" in the VIDEO_TS folder.

lsarver

06-11-06, 07:56 PM

I plugged this in last night.
Thanks. The most detailed review yet.

The DVD can be ripped in 2 ways to VOB. One with the Video TS/Audio folders and one in a single folder. Each option of ripping will place the movie under a different menu.
Odd design, but not a problem. (I'd rather flag it myself--but I'm compulsive.)

The layout of your pictures and videos depends directly on how your folders are sorted on your computer's hard drive.
Ditto.

Cons:
. . . .
5. In software, you cannot give this unit an ip address of your choosing like the "Buffalo" media center. Therefore with dhcp and some router/firewall setups you may run into an issue in a HIGHLY nailed down environment should your unit be assigned a differing IP upon power cycle.
I don't quite understand this statement. Do you mean that it insists on using DHCP (not necessarily a problem), or that it selects its own IP (stepping on other nodes)?

Hope this helps.
Yes, thanks again.

Btw, do you have a display with better inputs than S-video available for testing?

mhiscock

06-11-06, 11:38 PM

Have any GUI/Interface pics/screeshots?

Greg Haynes

06-12-06, 08:24 AM

Have any GUI/Interface pics/screeshots?

I was just about to post the same thing. I heard the GUI is real nice but no one has any screen shots. Are u able to grab some real quick? Thanks.

mpjohnst

06-12-06, 11:19 AM

Have any GUI/Interface pics/screeshots?
Thirded. This unit seems perfect for me as all I'm really looking for is a nice DVD server front end. I've been scouring the few reviews online but everyone just uses the same stock photo... I would love to see some GUI photos as well.

Also, if anyone who has one of these also has an upscaling DVD player, I would love to hear how they compare. I have both the Zenith 318 and the Samsung 950 which both do a bang up job PQ wise. If this thing has a nice easy to use (and quick) interface with equal PQ, my search might be over...
-Matt

ThyKingdomCome

06-12-06, 12:44 PM

I don't quite understand this statement. Do you mean that it insists on using DHCP (not necessarily a problem), or that it selects its own IP (stepping on other nodes)?
It uses DHCP. It will not step on other IP's using this method. It means that if you want this to go on 172.16.0.35 and you apply your security firewall setting to that IP, then you reboot... dhcp could assign it 172.16.0.34 and your firewall settings wont be applied to that IP. In other media players, you can nail down an IP and you can avoid this. Rmember, only high security or larger lans may see an issue and realistically should only appear in 1 in 100 or more setups.

GUI Screenshots
This is the initial home screen
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/3882/p61200344kf.jpg
Picture folder
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7374/p61200353eq.jpg
You can drill down to Year and Month picture was taken
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/474/p61200366eb.jpg
You can then view by thumbnails that generate very quickly and seem to be stored in a buffer on the Mediabridge, so they appear to not have to generate again.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1392/p61200376nc.jpg
The picture will present fullscreen. If you have it selected to auto slide show it will do a slight fade every 3-4 seconds depending on the option you placed into settings
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5999/p61200383kz.jpg
Music Screen and Movie screen layout are similar
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1104/p61200394tt.jpg
Playlist selector from Windows Media Player are automatically transferred from host. Yes, I like Erasure and Enya, and have kids. I own all these albums on disc, so don't go there..
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/3460/p61200406fy.jpg

ThyKingdomCome

06-12-06, 01:20 PM

Movie Menu: If you Rip a movie with both Audio_TS and Video_TS folders it will appear in the View DVD's folder. If you rip it into a single Video_TS folder it will appear into the View Videos folder along with all video media that it recognizes including Divx, avi etc..
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/3019/p61200031ey.jpg
Movie with fully functional DVD Menu
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/9103/p61200011vs.jpg
Notice the working subtitles
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8430/p61200020ym.jpg
This is a homemade AVI file from my World of Warcraft guild. It was under View Videos. I could find it either using date and going to the most recent, or by viewing the hard drive folder in which it resides.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1379/p61200042wu.jpg
Network Menu
Can it get any simpler???
Wired, you select that option and DHCP will automatically give you an IP. It will listen for the MediaStreamer.exe application on its port. If it is not blocked you are ready to go. (notice you will not have the option to specify which IP address to give it manually).
Wireless, It will auto find private networks around you. You select them from a list and it listens for MediaStreamer port. If it finds it, It will allow you to select from that option.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7296/p61200413qs.jpg

You will notice the lack of HD TV. I don't belive my receiver will video downscale, and frankly that is not a proper test of the HD functionality of this unit. Nirvana_av may be able to comment on that, or others who own one of these.

I can only host these pics for another month. If someone wants to host them, download them and send me the new URL and I will update the post.

Edit: uploaded to imageshack... thanks for the tip

mpjohnst

06-12-06, 04:52 PM

Thanks a bunch! Your best bet is to host them on http://imageshack.us/. It's free and doesn't require registering. You just upload your picks and it gives you a permanent URL... I have no idea how they stay in business.

If possible, can you add one more shot of the GUI? I would like to see what the screen looks like after you select "View DVDs" but before you pick a movie... basically, the box shots of the DVDs you can scroll through. Thanks again.
-Matt

ThyKingdomCome

06-12-06, 07:00 PM

If possible, can you add one more shot of the GUI? I would like to see what the screen looks like after you select "View DVDs" but before you pick a movie... basically, the box shots of the DVDs you can scroll through. Thanks again.
-Matt

Matt, Sorry I missed that one. It is simply a screen EXACTLY like my "Pictures June 2006" menu page. You hit enter on "View DVDs" then it comes to a thumbnailed list of DVD titles. These icons are all grey boxes with DVD discs on them. I understand that should you create a logo jpg for it, it will show a picture there of that DVD. I have not personally done this personalization. Since it was a series of Grey boxes only, I didn't see the need for the pic. On the screen, once you move the selector over it, it would tell you the name of your DVD in the lower left hand corner.

Cool thing is... if you are 1/2 way into a movie and pause it or leave to a different menu, and come back at a later time, it will start exactly where you left, even if run another movie, song, or picture.

lsarver

06-12-06, 07:10 PM

It uses DHCP. . . . It means that if you want this to go on 172.16.0.35 and you apply your security firewall setting to that IP, then you reboot... dhcp could assign it 172.16.0.34 and your firewall settings wont be applied to that IP. . . . In other media players, you can nail down an IP and you can avoid this.
OK, got it. I guess that's another odd design choice.
My router/DHCP server/firewall/etc. lets me reserve IP addresses for devices, so I have the benefit of static IPs without the hassle. Even if I don't reserve it (would do so only for servers), the DHCP server holds a previously assigned address open for its device for some specifiable period. Anyway, it hasn't gotten crowded here, yet.

Thanks for the photos. This is the first I've seen of the vaunted interface. Could you post some of the configuration screens?

For everyone:
Last night I installed the software (version 1.04-193), just to try it. (I don't have the box, yet.) It has a very small footprint. It consists of two programs, each about 330KB on disk. They appear to have been written by nVidia. Hardware requirements are modest: 450MHz PII and 128MB RAM. My server is an 800MHz PIII with 512 MB. Media are stored on a 2TB RAID 5 array (500 videos, 9,000 MP3s, 1,000 photos). My main interest is video.

MediaShare will search for media or let you specify the local drives or directories to be used. It has only three categories, but is smart enough to know what belongs where. (It won't let you assign a .wav to video.) Its interface is very simple: two panes (directory tree, files) on three tabs (music, photos, video). I don't know whether this can be expanded. It stores your choices in .ini files under Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data; there is also some data in the registry, under HKLM (software version) and HKCU (drives). MediaShare does not recognized network drives unless they are mapped locally.

MediaStreamer runs as a service, so you needn't be logged in. It occupies about 4-5 MB of RAM. (I think this was already mentioned.) This may represent a "table of contents" for the box. (Or the box may cache it locally.)

Though I'd like a little more control, color me impressed.

lsarver

06-12-06, 07:16 PM

On the screen, once you move the selector over it, it would tell you the name of your DVD in the lower left hand corner.
You have to "mouse" over the thumbnails to see the titles, one at a time? I'd rather all were displayed as captions. The images don't seem large enough to identify from across the room.

ThyKingdomCome

06-12-06, 07:40 PM

I found that you have to use the arrow selector remote to go over them to identify what they are. If the rip does create a logo.jpg, it doesnt seem to populate that picture for you. (at least mine didn't) I will have to experiment with this tonight when I get home.
If these DVD's are stored in the 2 folder method (therefore under the "View DVD" section), you would almost WANT to put a jpg identifier as there is no name under the logo. If these are stored in a single VIDEO_TS folder then they would appear under the "View Video" section and you have more options under there to select by folder.
Thinking outloud, perhaps I don't have enough DVD's ripped to populate more than one screen, and therefore it doesn't have the menus that the video section does? This is pure speculation.

Isarver, When you get your network up and running, can you do an experiment for me? I was wondering if you could run this Mediastreamer.exe process on multiple PC's in the network. I want to see how the box handles these multiple streaming sources and if it incorporates all video into one DVD, Picture, Music library, or if you have to select each host and then browse its library.

ThyKingdomCome

06-13-06, 10:23 AM

Update:
Thanks to Nirvana_av, he informed me of the jacket.jpg feature which lets you put a picture of the DVD jacket in the Video_ts folder. Once this picture is in there and you change pages on the mediaplayer selection screen, your thumbnail will appear. I have a 37 inch screen TV and can tell by a glance which movie is which without the title. Don't worry about having to resize your jacket.jpg to a certain size requirement, the mediaplayer app will adjust it to look fine.

Greg Haynes

06-13-06, 12:28 PM

ThyKingdomCome, I don't know if you have mentioned this before or not but how do you have all your movies ripped. VOB, ISO, or IFO? If VOB did you rip with one large VOB or in 1GB chunks. I'm just curious to see if you did in chunks if there is a delay when the player switches between each file.

ThyKingdomCome

06-13-06, 03:37 PM

I prefer DVD Shrink. It appears to create a VOB for each chapter. I accepted default settings with it creating 2 folders per rip. I do not have a high definition display so I keep video compression to 70%. I understand that as a cutoff where most people cannot tell the difference anyway (standard displays). There is no lag or delay between chapters or vobs that I can see on this unit. In a standard DVD player I remember seeing that delay when a disk starts reading the next layer about midway through your movie.
Each commercial disk may take 4G on my hard drive with Menu and 5.1 and DTS sound. On a High Def setup I would use no compression at all so the file folders will be 7-8Gig. There is no way you should logically be using fat32 which limits file sizes on a windows based platform. Switch to NTFS via the command line and remove any file size limitations.
How to convert from fat32 to NTFS. (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/convertfat.mspx)

buz

06-14-06, 06:56 AM

I played a bit more with my 3000 last night. I ripped a couple of DVD's with DVDDecryptor. I watched one that was an hour and a half long, and it worked flawlessly.

I use the defaults in DVDDecryptor so that I get a movie_title\video_ts directory. I then use my scanner, and scan the DVD cover and save it in the video_ts directory with the name JACKET.JPG. There is a setting to change the size of the icons in the gui that get displayed. It looks like the default is medium. It does make them a bit bigger if you happen to be sitting farther back.

Oh, I also removed the crappy component video cable and rca audio cables that I had originally hooked up the unit with. I switched to a DVI<-->HDMI cable to my Samsung LCD tv. And an optical cable to my receiver for sound. When I powered the unit back up, it saw the change, and resent me through the setup wizard on the box again. I didn't write down what the resolution choices were, but they were different, and I didn't get a 1080i selection 720P was the best. I actually think 1080i looks better on my display.

I think tonights testing will involve multiple server programs running, and doing some other activities on the network to see how much it will take to get playback to glitch.

I also did some poking and proding at the box. I tried telnet/Ftp/http/ssh to the box, and the only thing which worked was ping. Everything else was non responsive.

I must say that so far I am quite happy with the box. It's exactly what I was looking for, and hoping the Roku HD1000 would have been.

buz

ThyKingdomCome

06-14-06, 03:07 PM

buz

06-14-06, 04:50 PM

Buz, this may save you some time. Go to any website selling the dvd. If there is a picture showing the DVD cover, just right click on it, save picture as, and rename it to jacket.jpg. Save it into your movie folder. I was able to update my entire library in 5-10 minutes that way.

Thanks, I know about that. The reason I was doing this was I have a bunch of DVD TV Sets where each disk comes in it's own plastic case with its own coverart. The graphics on the websites typically has just the outside package. For example, I ripped the 4 DVD set of Firefly last night. The other thing the websites do is they will have the picture be of the outside box plus all the disks that come in the set in the picture.

buz

Guyute

06-14-06, 05:25 PM

Buz, you mentioned you were going to try to run the system with a USB drive instead of using a server. Did it work?

lsarver

06-14-06, 09:13 PM

Isarver, When you get your network up and running, can you do an experiment for me? I was wondering if you could run this Mediastreamer.exe process on multiple PC's in the network. I want to see how the box handles these multiple streaming sources and if it incorporates all video into one DVD, Picture, Music library, or if you have to select each host and then browse its library.

I think tonights testing will involve multiple server programs running, and doing some other activities on the network to see how much it will take to get playback to glitch.

ThyKingdomCome, I was going to ask you the same thing. I can't perform the experiment, since I don't have a DMP3000 yet. (Still on the fence. I keep comparing everything else to a modded Xbox with XBMC.) Maybe Buz can tell us.

Btw,
1. The network has been running for years--but without a MediaBridge.
2. It's "Lsarver," not "Isarver." You're not the first. I should clarify my profile.

lsarver

06-14-06, 09:19 PM

Oh, I also removed the crappy component video cable and rca audio cables that I had originally hooked up the unit with. I switched to a DVI<-->HDMI cable to my Samsung LCD tv. And an optical cable to my receiver for sound. When I powered the unit back up, it saw the change, and resent me through the setup wizard on the box again. I didn't write down what the resolution choices were, but they were different, and I didn't get a 1080i selection 720P was the best.
Did you notice whether 480i was supported over DVI/HDMI? (for use with a processor)

It's exactly what I was looking for, and hoping the Roku HD1000 would have been.
That is exactly what I was hoping to hear, since I had planned to use the PhotoBridge for HD together with XBMC.

I tried telnet/Ftp/http/ssh to the box, and the only thing which worked was ping. Everything else was non responsive.

I hope Thomson/AR/RCA/whoever is not as nonchalant about development and support as is Roku Labs. Your experience so far suggests that the system is closed, so we may have to rely on them.

dj7675

06-15-06, 12:10 AM

lsarver

06-15-06, 02:02 AM

I was mistaken in my earlier post: MediaShare does not support mapped network drives, only local drives. This is a problem.

Another odd design decision? Developers, please rectify this oversight. (Supporting UPNP would get you off the hook.)

Edit: Heck, I'd settle for SMB!

buz

06-15-06, 06:45 AM

Ok, last night, I installed the server software on a second machine. I then went to the mediabridge, and the settings page where you scan the media. It had an extra page where you select the server you want to scan. Also when you go to the (in this case for me) video page it also presents the list of servers you want to play from and when you select one, it displays only that servers files. It does not present 1 list from all servers combined.

As for performance, I selected a video to play. I then went around my house and started 4 squeezebox players playing music which was ripped in .wav format. The server is not the same machine as the one I was playing the video from. At the same time, I repeatedly downloaded off of apple's web site hd movie trailers which are in the 150-200 megs in size each. I only did one at a time. The mediabridge never flickered for a second.

buz

06-15-06, 06:58 AM

Buz, you mentioned you were going to try to run the system with a USB drive instead of using a server. Did it work?

I haven't tried it yet, it's on my list of things to try though. Will report back when I do.

buz

buz

06-15-06, 07:09 AM

I see the mention of dvd video. Can this unit play recorded hd .ts file over a network from a windows share? It seems many units have problems with this. It seems that the linkplayer2 and the roku seem to be able to do this but others seem to have issues. I have the Roku Photobridge and it is able to play these high bitrate files very well. Anyone tes these type of files yet? I do really like the simple GUI compare to the Roku's.

Thanks

Darin

I don't have any .ts files. If you can point me at a legal location where I can download some I would certainly give it a try. I do know that the manual does not mention .ts files, it does list the file container formats and video codecs it supports on page 31.
File Container Formats
MPEG Program (ISO 11172-1 and ISO/IEC 1318-1)
MPEG Transport (ISO/IEC 13818-1)
AVI (DivX 3,4,5; DivX HD, XviD, MJPEG, DV Type 2)
ASF, WMV (Windows Media Video)
ASX, WMA (Windows Media Audio), MP3, WAV, M4A
IFO, VOB

Video Codecs
MPEG1 (ISO 11172-2) MPEG2 (ISO 1318-2)
MPEG4 (ISO/IEC 14496-2)
DV (requires wired link)
MJPEG (requires wired link)
WMV (V7,V8 Partial, V9) (Non DRM)

buz

buz

06-15-06, 07:26 AM

Did you notice whether 480i was supported over DVI/HDMI? (for use with a processor)

That is exactly what I was hoping to hear, since I had planned to use the PhotoBridge for HD together with XBMC.

I hope Thomson/AR/RCA/whoever is not as nonchalant about development and support as is Roku Labs. Your experience so far suggests that the system is closed, so we may have to rely on them.

I did move the box to another HD set in my house a Sony XBR800 I believe the model is. It has a DVI port on the back. I connected the two, and ran me through the setup wizard again. The highest resolution I got was 1920x540. The gui looked real crappy on that setting. The video's I played looked ok though. In any case it looks like when you connect up with DVI it asks the device what resolutions it supports, and presents those. The list was different than on the LCD TV I had in the other room. I don't know, and don't know if I'd be able to tell if 480i was supported over DVI without having a display device that can support it. Since all of my HD sets support 480P it might just throw the 480i out of the list.

I hope that the dev team does some upgrades to this box, but I am not holding my breath. I kind of get the feel that this is probably one of those we built it/shipped it now we are moving onto the next project type operations.

buz

dj7675

06-15-06, 11:25 AM

I don't have any .ts files. If you can point me at a legal location where I can download some I would certainly give it a try. I do know that the manual does not mention .ts files, it does list the file container formats and video codecs it supports on page 31.
File Container Formats
MPEG Program (ISO 11172-1 and ISO/IEC 1318-1)
MPEG Transport (ISO/IEC 13818-1)
AVI (DivX 3,4,5; DivX HD, XviD, MJPEG, DV Type 2)
ASF, WMV (Windows Media Video)
ASX, WMA (Windows Media Audio), MP3, WAV, M4A
IFO, VOB

Video Codecs
MPEG1 (ISO 11172-2) MPEG2 (ISO 1318-2)
MPEG4 (ISO/IEC 14496-2)
DV (requires wired link)
MJPEG (requires wired link)
WMV (V7,V8 Partial, V9) (Non DRM)

buz

Buz,

I found some samples for you to download. They are on the Nextcom website that makes the r5000hd to capture satellite sd and hd. If you could, I would appreciate testing the files listed there.

http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/samples.htm

Thanks

Darin

ThyKingdomCome

06-15-06, 01:37 PM

I was able to download all video from that page.

Results:

Passed:

All .ts files were played.
The HD stream hbo_trailer_6ksd.ts played on my SD system in SD mode. There was a white line thing at top above where an HD screen would have ended. An HD screen wouldn't have shown this im sure.

The MPEG2 streams all played, the file from the mpeg2tompeg4 comparison called dish301.ts was a bit off sync. All others were fine. I think it may have been that video??

AMAZINGly enough.. even the Sony HD camcorder extension .m2t played. Im not sure if there was some audio jitters. I would like buz to reconfirm this. The picture was incredible.

Failed:
hbo-mpeg4sd-dish.ts - The MPEG4.ts file didn't show a picture but had sound.

Summary: All videos played. .ts and .m2t with the exception of the mpeg4 .ts extension file.
I would like to get more of those mpeg4 .ts extensions to test. Anyone want to post another link for these? Oddly enough, my Nero7 or Windows Media player couldnt play that single file either. If my up to date video player computer can't play a file, i wont slight a mediabridge for not playing the same one.

dj7675

06-15-06, 01:48 PM

Thanks for the report. This may be encouraging news regarding both the .ts and mt2 files. Is there any transcoding or downresing happening on the server? I would be interested to see some tests from someone on an HD set at hd resolutions as well and see how that goes as well. The MP4 file not playing isn't a big surprise to me either. Not sure of any devices like this playing them either.

Thanks again for your testing.

Darin

nirvana_av

06-15-06, 02:24 PM

dj7675

06-15-06, 02:27 PM

Hmm, that sounds like a problem. Hopefully someone else can test HD output 720P/1080I to an HD display.

Darin

buz

06-16-06, 12:00 PM

Buz,

I found some samples for you to download. They are on the Nextcom website that makes the r5000hd to capture satellite sd and hd. If you could, I would appreciate testing the files listed there.

http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/samples.htm

Thanks

Darin

I tested many of the video files on that site. Most of the files worked perfectly. I only displayed to my sony xbr800 which is an HD set, I did not try on my Samsung LCD set though.

The file hbo_trailer_6k.ts did not work. When instructed to play, it put a failed icon infront of the file in the list.

the HBO_mgeg4sd_dish.ts file had sound, but no video.

I tried 2 of the HD videos recorded on the Sony HD camcorders. Wow the picture was fantastic.

I didn't detect any audio/video sync issues, but many of the videos were not constructed such that you could tell that. They were mostly hbo trailers where they played music and an announcer spoke over what was being displayed they showed very few people speaking scenes.

This weekend, I'll get to the USB test.

I also want to try gaining access to the box some more I have some other ideas which require a bit more setup than I have time for during the week.

I suppose I should also watch some DVD's that I have ripped. :)

buz

ThyKingdomCome

06-17-06, 12:16 PM

Additional notes:
Found that you can shuffle and repeat songs by hitting the "guide" button.

On a movie, you can make it switch from directly playing the menu to the main feature by hitting "menu" so you dont have to select it. This button toggles menu and feature.

buz

06-19-06, 06:21 AM

I attached a USB hard drive with pictures and music on it to the mediabridge. It scanned the hard disk for video/music/pictures, and made it available just as if it was another server.

buz

Guyute

06-21-06, 03:06 PM

Buz, thanks for testing the usb connection. Does this mean the system can function without having the server software installed on a pc? Did you try having the usb drive attached without any connection to the network? Thanks again.

ThyKingdomCome

06-21-06, 05:36 PM

I would like to also know if one of those external usb2.0 connected external HD's could provide the "server" connection for this. I may use one of those to connect to my PC, then if my PC ever goes down (or my router) I could just move this over to my mediabridge.

So.. buz, please do test that. It would be nice if it worked.

Mconnors

06-21-06, 06:13 PM

I just got my DMP3000 on Monday, hooked it up to the amp, internet and HDTV. Updated the firmware and then hooked up a 250gig external hd USB 2.0. Like Buz,
it scanned the drive and found all the music, pictures, and videos with no problem. It also downloaded the cover art for the albums. Worked like a champ. I did not install any software to the pc and am not planning on it. I have a mixture of MP3's and WMA lossless and it played them all fine. Pictures are in JPG and TIF. I haven't been able to get the TIF's to work yet. The manual says they should be uncompressed. So I used Photoshop to save some in uncompressed format, but they still don't display. The TIF's display fine in Windows and any other program I open them with. Gonna mess around with them again tonight.

As for the movies, my Mits only displays in 1080i HD and it appears that the DMP3000 upconverts to 720p only. So the movies only play in 480p. I do have a 720p HD in the bedroom and will be hooking it up to it to confirm this. The manual doesn't state either way. I have some 1080i movies that I download from Microsoft's site, but it wouldn't play these either.

This isn't a problem because I will be upgrading my HD in the family room to a DLP that will accept these inputs. Anyways, just some info on what I have found so far.

Mike

cytrus001

06-26-06, 09:11 AM

Well, I just purchased one of these from Amazon (dot) com and they had a company called UnbeatableSale (dot) com send it out. I received it 2 days after ordering.

.....
buz

I followed Buz (THANKS!) and orderd the DMP3000 via the same company (interesting I had to search on amazon since it is not listed on their direct website). These boxes are still hard to find which worries me a bit. Nevertheless I was desperate following a year of fruitless efforts with a Sony Roomlink/Vaio system. Never worked - Terrible investment.

Of all the boxes on the market this one seemed to have the best functionality, easiest GUI and setup and hopefully some kind of support. It is amazing that this box appears to be the only one sub $1000 that will show high definition digital photos - in a world that went digital 2-3 years ago. And from an audio component company.

I will report back on my results. I have an enthernet home network, big sony vaio server/pc, Tivo 2 (which by the way is so easy to use and does photos and music at lower res, no video, really well) and HarmonKardon media receivers in 3 rooms.

It appears that you can also get software that converts windows media tv recordings from the ms-dvr format (not supported) to others that are which cures one of the two main problems that I see (the second is that itunes playlists won't work).

I'm in the market for a high res HDTV LCD about 40". Anyone got any advice based on a combo with this box?

Jambo

06-27-06, 01:52 PM

I thought I'd mention here that it looks like you can download the Linux code for this box on the AR website as well. Therefore, by doing so, I would think AR was trying to open up the world to modding this box.

Just my $.02.

laststarfighter

06-27-06, 02:48 PM

does this unit output 480i on dvi? I wish it was hdmi :( .
also will the component output, output 480i if the unit is switched to hd?
as I don't want it to upconvert my dvds, I will have a video processer do that for me.

cytrus001

06-29-06, 05:58 PM

Having spent weeks (literally) trying to get my home network to cooperate with a Sony Vaio/Roomlink setup it was with trepidation that I opened the box on the newly delivered Media Bridge. Arrived 4 days after ordering.

Nicely packed. Opened. Plugged into the Harmon Kardon A/V receiver and my wired ethernet. Hit the on button. Powered up fine.

Next installed the software on the PC. A breeze. Extraordinarly simple and useful user interface that you can use to identify the hard drive folders containing picture, video and music files. Took under a minute out of the box.

Next set up the Media Server - actually all you do is turn it on and push a couple of buttons. AMAZING. It immediately found and cataloged all my files with NO ISSUE AT ALL. At this point I was cheering!! Great user interface. It also took all my mushc files and enabled search based on genre, album, artist you name it GREAT!!!

The amazing thing is that it worked PERFECTLY. Took under 10 minutes from opening the box to watching digitized camcorder home movies. You can look at pictures and listen to music at the same time.

I never managed to get roomlink to do any of these things after hours and hours of messing around and installing no less than four separate pieces of Sony software (none of which work together).

Doesn't play Windows Media Edition TV recording (we knew that). Doesn't play i-tunes - but long ago I exported my itunes and then reimported as MP3 so in fact works a treat.

Did not bother to update the firmware it works fine as is for what I need.

Fantastically happy with this equipment and just ordered 3 more for my other rooms. WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO FIND??? Man they should be pushing this one.

cholke

06-30-06, 10:53 AM

Sounds perfect for my new TV and surround receiver :)

Where has anyone been able to find this online? Preferably from someone that you have done business with before (and liked).

Thanks,
Craig

Ktulu_1

06-30-06, 11:09 AM

Do to the glowing reviews here I ordered one this morning (in other words... you guys are on the hook and should expect an invoice in the mail for my time and trouble if this doesn't pan out :)).

This is a perfect solution for the bedroom as I don't have the room for a PC and PC's tend to be way too noisy in the bedroom. Many a night I find myself stuck in the living room because the content I want to watch is not available in the other room. This seems like the perfect solution. We'll see.

Couldn't find it on Amazon. I found it on Amazon last week but something's changed (either my search or something at Amazon). Found a place by searching froogle for "Digital MediaBridge." I have zero experience with any of the places offered so I picked the one with the best rating. We'll see what happens. I'd sure love to find these at a more mainstream retailer.

mu71rd

06-30-06, 11:09 AM

does anyone know if it is possible to buy this unit in the UK (or Europe).

I've been quoted $141 to send it to the uk from America, which seems like a lot for a $300 unit!

any help much appreciated

Meenenator

06-30-06, 01:38 PM

I have also been looking for a replacment for my aging play@tv for a while now.
Neither if the units I have looked at have met my criterias.
This one looks promising...

Firstly I must apologize if I ask obvious questions (I just got the urge to ask you people, and did not take time to search for answers)

Am I assuming correctly that this unit will need a PC-based server software? (I.e. can not access files from e.g. a NAS device)
Will it work without the mentioned software?
How about UPNP support?

What I am looking for is something I can use to access my movies/photos/music from my NAS device.
And have a similar GUI as the play@tv
I am also interested in support for .ISO, .TS, . IFO, .VOB (i.e HD movies, ripped DVD's in various formats)
Sound is not so much of a issue. Everything I have is converted to MP3 (well, mostly)

Thanks for all help.

M.

lsarver

06-30-06, 04:25 PM

After playing with AR's server software (discussed earlier), I check out the competition: Windows Media Connect 2.0, D-Link's MediaServer 1.07 (for the DSM-520) and TVersity. I am no longer at all impressed by AR's server.

Though each of the others has its own strengths, all outperform AR's in almost every respect. In particular,
all support network drives (no local mapping necessary),
all support UPnP (unfortunately, the Digital MediaBridge does not--yet?) and
all are actively developed (don't have much hope for AR here--its up to nVidia).

Upshot: I'll wait.

PS. Check out TVersity, if you want to see what this sort of software can do: serve, transcode (batch/real-time), even stream global TV.

plumeria

06-30-06, 04:27 PM

Sounds perfect for my new TV and surround receiver :)

Where has anyone been able to find this online? Preferably from someone that you have done business with before (and liked).

Thanks,
Craig
I just bought one from http://www.brandnamez.com/

Seems to get reasonable reviews and the price was only $315+$17 shipping which seemed pretty good.

peter
ps. everyone in this group is getting these thanks to stellar reviews here and on places like ZDNet.

lsarver

06-30-06, 04:29 PM

Am I assuming correctly that this unit will need a PC-based server software? (I.e. can not access files from e.g. a NAS device)
Will it work without the mentioned software?
How about UPNP support?

Yes.
No.
None (yet).

cytrus001

06-30-06, 05:38 PM

[QUOTE=lsarver]After playing with AR's server software (discussed earlier), I check out the competition: Windows Media Connect 2.0, D-Link's MediaServer 1.07 (for the DSM-520) and TVersity. I am no longer at all impressed by AR's server.]

The d-link does NOT display hi resolution photos. Its actually inferred but not stated. It does do hi res video (limited types) but not pictures. That was a deal killer for me.

No one on this planet can convince me that anything involving the word "Windows" can possibly be user friendly. Windows Media Edition, for example, sucks. Same old propriety Microsft shovelware and formats requiring an IT department to use.

Media bridge is actually fun. As good as an ipod. IMO.

lsarver

06-30-06, 10:17 PM

The d-link does NOT display hi resolution photos. Its actually inferred but not stated. It does do hi res video (limited types) but not pictures.
Suits me: HD video is all I care about at this point. Other media are already covered.
Anyway, the issue was software.

No one on this planet can convince me that anything involving the word "Windows" can possibly be user friendly.
If you want an argument, you'll have to change the subject.
I wasn't trying to sell anyone Windows. I simply observed that WMC was more capable than MediaStreamer, which is true.
In fact, what I recommended was TVersity (http://www.tversity.com/), which is open source--about as un-M$ as can be.

Windows Media Edition, for example, sucks. Same old propriety Microsft shovelware and formats requiring an IT department to use.
What are you talking about? WMC has nothing to do with WMA/WMV. I never mentioned them. Do you mean MCE? I never mentioned it either. (Don't even have a copy.) Anyway, WMC runs under any flavor of XP.

Just to clarify, my main concerns about the MediaBridge are:
1. no access to network drives/NAS
2. no UPnP support
3. most important: AR may not be able to support/develop it, since they are not responsible for the firmware/server (Cf. Roku Photobridge: no support, but open architecture makes it unnecessary)

Media bridge is actually fun.
Glad to hear that. But I'll bet it's not as much fun as a modded Xbox [Drat! M$ again. Couldn't resist.]

plumeria

07-06-06, 03:25 PM

I just bought one from http://www.brandnamez.com/

Seems to get reasonable reviews and the price was only $315+$17 shipping which seemed pretty good.

peter
ps. everyone in this group is getting these thanks to stellar reviews here and on places like ZDNet.
Since I gave a plug to this company, I also have to say that so far my experience with them has left me disappointed, contrary to an earlier posting from someone.

I ordered last Thursday and got a confirmation email stating that I would be emailed when it shipped. So one week later (I know that July 4th was in the middle, but still) I hear nothing back. The guy I talked to today (the line was always busy yesterday) told me that the 2 remaining units they had were both damaged and that they wouldn’t be getting a new delivery until Tuesday next week. Not sure when I will get my unit.

When I asked why they hadn’t let me know the situation earlier, he mumbled something about them just finding out. (right…)

If you want good service and fast delivery, I would look elsewhere. There are a few other places online, but not many.

Peter
p.s. also there was no reply to my email asking for a status update which I sent early yesterday.

ThyKingdomCome

07-06-06, 05:50 PM

plumeria,
I can say this about brandnamez.. they are slow. They are one of the best priced and unfortunately one of the only outlets to get these units from. I cannot understand why more places don't sell these. I work with NY/NJ area workers all the time and I can tell you that promptness isn't a factor or mindset. I can tell you that they will do the right thing eventually, however Best Buy or NewEgg they ARE NOT. Think of this place like you would a mom and pop store. My unit was delivered in 6 business days, however the RMA took 3 weeks. I look back and have decided that it was worth it to me, however this is very subjective.

Any other users having issues w/Zone Alarm? I am running the non-updated software package. (my motto is, don't upgrade if it isnt broke) When Zone Alarm is up, the media bridge is blocked. I look in programs and see that both programs for the mediabridge have full access rights. Since I have a router firewall and that software one, I just turned zone alarm off. :/
I found that if the mediastream service is stopped manually, you have to go into control pannel, admin, services and manually restart it. (providing you dont want to restart your pc) Should I just give in and update the software to the latest version? It always makes me nervous to put in a change that I can't fix or back out.

lsarver

07-06-06, 08:21 PM

What's the version number?
Anyone know what it adds/fixes?

TKC: Sorry to hear about your problems with ZoneAlarm. I did not experience anything of the sort when testing.
If the server is already properly permissioned, try adding the IP of the MediaBridge itself to your Trusted Zone (on ZA's Firewall tab). This is just a guess, since I still don't have the box.

ThyKingdomCome

07-06-06, 08:43 PM

:rolleyes: Wow.. that sounds so simple. I should have thought of that.
Thanks. I will try tonight when i get home.

Edit: This works! I just inserted my trusted networks IP range.

Richard Johnston

07-10-06, 12:58 AM

buz[/QUOTE] Heyya...Seems to be quite a buzz on this little box :) anyway... Im looking to upgrade from my Play@tv, there are some features I am hoping to have on this, Somewhere I read that it supports album art.. meaning that when you pull up a cd the cover is displayed on the screen... is this true? also it states something like it wont play copyrighted (spelling?) material so does this mean it wont play the 80 gigs of mp3s I've ripped over the few years?
(backing up my own cds of course ;) ) also the Play@tv didn't play the best resolution for my Panny Projector I have, Im hoping this lil box is my answer....Thx for your help.. Rick

gmanupnorth

07-10-06, 07:55 AM

If you ripped the music from CDs it should play fine.....it won't play music that you downloaded from the iTunes store.

Gordon

buz Heyya...Seems to be quite a buzz on this little box :) anyway... Im looking to upgrade from my Play@tv, there are some features I am hoping to have on this, Somewhere I read that it supports album art.. meaning that when you pull up a cd the cover is displayed on the screen... is this true? also it states something like it wont play copyrighted (spelling?) material so does this mean it wont play the 80 gigs of mp3s I've ripped over the few years?
(backing up my own cds of course ;) ) also the Play@tv didn't play the best resolution for my Panny Projector I have, Im hoping this lil box is my answer....Thx for your help.. Rick[/QUOTE]

mlm39

07-10-06, 07:32 PM

Hi there,

I've been reading the positive reports here about Mediabridge and it seems to be what I'm looking for. I have also been looking at the Roku HD1000 but due to its limited availability and power supply problems, have been reluctant to buy it.

My main interest now it to find a unit that will do a decent job displaying HD photos while, at the same time, playing music files randomly.

I was wondering if any of you have tested the Mediabridge in this manner and
what you have found.

Foe example:
What is the transition lag between pictures for small files and larger files?
Wireless vs. ethernet?
Does the Mediabridge buffer the transition?
Can it play music and pictures concurrently?

Is there a way to play music without having the TV on?

I have a home theater setup with a Samsung DLP, surround receiver and speakers, CATV/DVR box, CD and DVD players.

Your help is appreciated.

Mike

Ewingr

07-11-06, 10:45 AM

I too would like to hear from someone playing this over Wireless/G. I'm presuming HD content (for example .ts files) may not make it due to not enough bandwidth.

Also, 2 other questions:

1. What I understood from reading this posting is that this system can only point to one source. So, If I have files on 2 different PCs, I'd have to reconfig to point to a different one if I'm moving back and forth. Is this accurate?

2. goofy question: does teh system have a timer, for auto shutoff?

[edit]

Oh, and I presume there is no way to do file management from this device, right? For example, If I play .TS recorded files from another PC, and have watched them, I'd be ready to delete them. I'd have to do that from the PC correct?

plumeria

07-11-06, 09:11 PM

FYI - this product is now impossible to find online, so don't get too excited about buying one! The only place that may have them got some very bad reviews on Reseller Ratings - Autotoys. Brandnamez is back ordered and who knows if I will get one ;-(

Hopefully it is just a temporary shortage. If anyone is selling theirs (unlikely) drop me a PM here ;-)

thanks

peter

Ktulu_1

07-12-06, 09:28 AM

I have one on order from Brandnamez. Not sure I'll ever get it.

plumeria

07-12-06, 06:26 PM

I have one on order from Brandnamez. Not sure I'll ever get it.
Brandnamez quoted me next Friday, but then again they had previously quoted me today..

What alternatives are you looking at? For me the most important things are
1) Ease of setup / use (via remote control)
2) WiFi since I don't wish to run any more cables if at all possible
3) Don't need HD video capability since the video files on my PC are all standard definition.
4) Would be nice to get photos down is the resolution possible for my TV (1080)

Do not need
1) DVD player as I already have a player and a DVD-Recorder is my setup

The MediaBridge seemed to fit the bill well, but now I am looking again.

regards

peter

Ktulu_1

07-12-06, 06:41 PM

What alternatives are you looking at?

peter

I'm not really looking at any. I wasn't in the market for a device like this until I read this thread. I'd like to be able to view some of the stuff on my file server in the bedroom. This seems like a simple solution and I like the idea of HD for when we upgrade the TV in the bedroom. I don't really want to spend another dime on stuff that's not HD resolutions. I have cat. 5 running to every room so that's not a problem.

The availability problem has kind of cooled me off to the whole idea. If I get one great, if I don't than that's ok too.

roger_richards

07-13-06, 03:34 PM

mlm39

07-13-06, 04:35 PM

I'm on the Roku contact list for the limited HD1000 product release they're supposed to have this month - Ha Ha.

Can you play music with the TV off?

Mike

Mconnors

07-25-06, 12:01 PM

plumeria

07-25-06, 02:33 PM

Saw this on page 110 talking about HDMI ports:

"The only streaming-video product equipped with an HDMI output was Thomson's Acoustic Research Digital Media Bridge (reviewed February 2006). Unfortunately, for reasons the company never explained to me, the product was pulled off the market."

Not sure if I should be glad or mad that I got ahold of one of these.

Mike
Beats me too - just cancelled my order with BrandNamez (after they told me it was delayed again.. surprise) and looking for an alternative. Looks like there are a lot of exciting new products coming out - hopefully they work out of the box like the MediaBridge did.

peter

Ktulu_1

07-25-06, 02:40 PM

I cancelled my order with them last week. I'm with Mconnors on this. I'm not sure if I'm glad or mad that I didn't get one. I guess I'll never know for sure.

What alternatives are there?

lsarver

07-27-06, 04:29 AM

Hmmm . . . . It's still on their website.

sellers

08-03-06, 10:39 PM

For the people that have the dmp3000 here is the way to use network drives.

1. Modify the shortcut to the MediaShare application to look for networked drives. To do this, Right-click on the AR MediaShare shortcut and select Properties. Change the Target command line from

"C:\Program Files\Acoustic Research\MediaShare\MediaShare.exe"

to

"C:\Program Files\Acoustic Research\MediaShare\MediaShare.exe" –netdrives.

2. Run the MediaStreamer service in console mode.

To do this, open a Command Prompt window.

Change the directory to C:\Program Files\Acoustic Research\ MediaShare\

This is the default install location. If the installation was done to a different location, change the directory to that location.

Type the following command at the prompt and press Enter:

MediaStreamer –stop

When a new command prompt appears, type the following command and press Enter:

MediaStreamer –console

A new command prompt will not appear. Do not close the Command Prompt window as this will stop the MediaStreamer service application. It can be minimized so that it does not block the desktop.

3. Open the MediaShare application by double-clicking on the modified shortcut from step 1 and select the folders to share from the network drives.

Note 1: If the computer is restarted, the MediaStreamer service defaults back to its normal mode. Only step 2 above needs to be repeated to share the networked content again.

Note 2: This set-up can be used to access content on Macintosh, Linux or Unix based computers that is shared on a network with at least one Windows PC running the AR MediaShare & MediaStreamer applications.

lsarver

08-04-06, 10:23 PM

can you spell k-l-u-d-g-e?

ThyKingdomCome

08-16-06, 07:20 PM

I have emailed :
Press Relations
Dave Arland
+1 317 587 4832
dave.arland@thomson.net

Monica Coull
+33 1 41 86 53 10
monica.coull@thomson.net

I have requested a formal explanation of this product, and its availability via email.

Sellers,

Thank you for that information. That seems like a very simple update to include in the next patch (should they so choose to do so).
If a windows guru could post a script that executes at startup for the Microsoft platform, this would be desired. If this was on the unix platform, I predict that this would only be a change to the startup services file.

plumeria

08-16-06, 07:33 PM

I have emailed :
[snip]
I have requested a formal explanation of this product, and its availability via email.
[snip]

You mean the lack of availability? It appears to have been yanked from the market several months ago.

peter

ThyKingdomCome

08-16-06, 07:42 PM

http://www.autotoys.com/x/cust/product.php?productid=6430&cat=17

This shows it on sale for $305. I am writing them for information as well.

Plum- ya.. LACK of avaliablity. I'm glad i purchased mine early. I use it every day. I am doing this research now for some friends that want one AND the fact that I am hoping for some added features down the road when new technology comes out.

lsarver

08-16-06, 08:40 PM

http://www.autotoys.com/x/cust/product.php?productid=6430&cat=17

This shows it on sale for $305. I am writing them for information as well.

I e-mailed AutoToys months ago: they didn't actually have it.

FWIW, I e-mailed Thomson (from their own website) a few weeks ago, inquiring about the product's rumored cancellation. Still no response. I can't say I'm surprised. (This just never seemed like the sort of product Thomson/RCA/whoever could deal with. What a shame.)

Also FWIW, the product is still on the www.araccessories.com website. Go figure.

ThyKingdomCome

08-16-06, 11:46 PM

Backordered at the moment. - autotoys
I wonder why its so HARD to place that on the products page itself.

Yes the only answer remains in Thompsons court. I am waiting for their reply. If I don't receive one soon, I will work up the chain.

lsarver

08-17-06, 04:28 PM

I wonder why its so HARD to place that on the products page itself.
Amen!

ThyKingdomCome

08-18-06, 06:07 PM

GREAT NEWS

Your supply worries MAY be over.
Read the following reply from Dave Arland from Thompson

The product was only produced in limited quantities.

It is selling – but it is one of those “early adopter” devices that has yet to really spark a fire at retail. Until more people are familiar with using wireless networks for something more than surfing websites from the couch, even great products like this one will be difficult to sell.

If AVSForum members are interested in buying one…or if there are questions…they can contact me directly:

Dave.arland@thomson.net

- Dave

plumeria

08-18-06, 06:48 PM

GREAT NEWS

Your supply worries MAY be over.
Read the following reply from Dave Arland from Thompson
Thanks for the posting

Too late for me and many others... too bad. I orderd a Z500 from Zensonic.

peter
p.s. I doubt this product will receive much support from Thompson down the road in the way of firmware upgrades for bug fixes, new features etc.

ThyKingdomCome

08-18-06, 07:55 PM

Plumeria- I wouldnt mind cross linking the threads on that one here. It may help others to see what the pro's and con's are if they follow this thread and get this far in.

patvr

08-19-06, 10:58 AM

Good idea about cross linking the threads. I ordered a Zensonic Z500 yesterday.

ThyKingdomCome

08-19-06, 03:39 PM

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=703132&highlight=Zensonic+Z500

This is so users can compare.

lsarver

08-19-06, 07:55 PM

Thread in AVS DVD Players (Standard Def) forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=482136)

Z500 website (http://www.z500series.com/index.php) and forum (http://www.z500series.com/forum/)
(Their download page appears to be locked!)

lsarver

08-31-06, 01:30 PM

plumeria

08-31-06, 01:45 PM

Following TKC's suggestion, I contacted Dave Arland at Thomson.

The are selling remaining inventory online directly.

Location: http://www.araccessories.com/msib21/Templates/mediabridge.html
Price: $249, plus shipping and tax (!)
Warranty: "as is"
Code: "final" (maybe not: the source is available)
Quantity: "limited"

At that price, and with performance as reported, it's very hard to carp about the rest. I've ordered one.
Thanks for the posting - I am thinking about getting one to do a side-by-side with the Z500 which has great potential, but there are still a lot of fixes needed via firmware.

So if you order one and it doesn't work - i.e. broken out of the box - then you are SOL? "As-is" implies you are taking a fairly big risk
THE MEDIABRIDGE PRODUCT IS SOLD 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. NO WARRANTY IS OFFERED OR GIVEN BY THOMSON AND NO WARRANTY SHALL APPLY. THOMSON EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, EITHER IN FACT OR ARISING OUT OF THE COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, DEALING, USAGE OR TRADE, OPERATION OF LAW, BY STATUTE OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

peter

lsarver

08-31-06, 02:54 PM

I understand your concerns, and share them. But consider this:

1. The only hardware problem we have heard about so far is TKC's dead NIC.
2. Most such clauses in fact carry no legal weight in most jurisdictions. (Sellers just hope we're too naive to realize that.)
3. It costs only $249! So, even the worst case is not so bad. (Compare that loss with buying a $3500 DVD player that is plagued by macroblocking. No, I don't have one.)

On the subject of sales tax:

Dave Arland says it should NOT apply. So we'll see.

Btw, how do you like the Z500? (I'm still interested.) Any issues with DVD playback?

Edit: Taxes evidently do apply, at least for me.

Thomson Mktg

08-31-06, 03:28 PM

As Lee and others have noted, we are now offering the remaining supply of Acoustic Research MediaBridge units for sale at a "web special" price on the ARaccessories website. Others have also noted that these last few units are being sold "as-is," and that the price has been reduced to $249.

While the AR MediaBridge is a terrific product, it may be a little ahead of its time for the mass market.

We will continue to develop products that utilize similar technology, but the final shipment of MediaBridge units has been completed.

E-mail me through the AVS Forum should you have additional questions.

- Dave Arland
Thomson Inc.

Ktulu_1

08-31-06, 03:31 PM

Thanks for the posting - I am thinking about getting one to do a side-by-side with the Z500 which has great potential, but there are still a lot of fixes needed via firmware.

I picked up a Pixel Magic HD MediaBox a few weeks ago and I'm in the same boat. It seems the software needs to catch up with the hardware. I tried to get one of these before but couldn't find one.

Laserfan

08-31-06, 03:54 PM

Oh, my--I'm not sure why you guys would want to jump on this particular bandwagon, given that the parade is over! It already has limitations (do a Google and look at the early reviews) and certainly some bugs that can only be worked-out in firmware fixes...

This was originally supposed to retail for $299-349; doesn't $249 seem a lot for something with no (read ZERO) support? :eek:

lsarver

08-31-06, 04:26 PM

There are a number of related devices with little to no manufacturer support commanding similar or even higher prices (check eBay): AudioTron (user supported), PhotoBridge (ditto), Xbox (XBMC).

The key factor seems to that they work NOW, with today's media and displays. (Of course, future development is desirable.)

Some other devices, even with support, still can't do the job they were sold to do. Maybe they are the products that actually need the active support. ("That's handled in the next firmware.") :)

Laserfan

08-31-06, 04:32 PM

The key factor seems to that they work NOW, with today's media and displays.Meaning of course, even if you had this thing shipped overnight, it might not work with Friday's media and displays! :rolleyes:

Seriously though, I might have popped for one if it worked with a UPNP server. The Helios NeoLink looks very nice, and works with my Pinnacle ShowCenters just fine. But the AR seems completely closed-up except for the Linux stuff (is it source? I didn't look) i.e. the box doesn't talk to anything else but its server, and its server doesn't serve anything but its box. I dl'ed it and couldn't find any HTTP to look at anyway.

I suppose Thomson saw support issues and aborted--I am a little surprised as it looks like a nice box. Maybe they'll sell the design to e.g. MovieBeam and it will get a new life in the future? That would be wishful thinking, but I really do hope that the guys here who bought aren't SOL. :(

lsarver

08-31-06, 07:13 PM

Seriously though, I might have popped for one if it worked with a UPNP server.... But the AR seems completely closed-up except for the Linux stuff (is it source? I didn't look) i.e. the box doesn't talk to anything else but its server, and its server doesn't serve anything but its box.

I discussed all this some time back. Interoperability and openness are certainly plusses, but their lack is not a deal-breaker. For example, I've been using several ReplayTVs for years without regretting that they speak only to each other and to any PC running DVArchive.

UPnP is itself preferable to SMB only because it has less overhead and carries HD better. As long as the MediaBridge delivers video--especially HD--to my display without artifacts, the fact that it's proprietary is secondary. (I have other devices for other media and simply don't care about the unsupported formats.) Although XBMC supports UPnP, I don't use it because it doesn't do anything better than the native interface, and some things less well. (I tested WMC, Nero's MediaHome and Tversity, as well as the server bundled with D-Link's 520.)

As for openess, the source is available and Dave Arland has said he'd see whether further documentation was available. (My fingers are crossed.)

plumeria

08-31-06, 10:02 PM

Btw, how do you like the Z500? (I'm still interested.) Any issues with DVD playback?

Ask me again once they do the 1.5 Firmware upgrade - still a lot of issues to be resolved IMHO.. some small and some big (like the slideshow is basically so bad as to be useless)

Haven't used it as a DVD player - but there is a good chance you need to firmware upgrade the DVD player as soon as you take it out of teh box as they can be super noisy without this fix.

This box is supposed to come in to its own when streaming HD content - however, I still need to crawl under my house to lay the ethernet cable so am using wireless with SD now and it does look very nice. There are some strange networking issues sometimes - not sure whether with the Z500 or my PC - and the picture can just freeze for no reason.

peter

alphatango

09-01-06, 01:20 AM

I tested many of the video files on that site. Most of the files worked perfectly. I only displayed to my sony xbr800 which is an HD set, I did not try on my Samsung LCD set though.

The file hbo_trailer_6k.ts did not work. When instructed to play, it put a failed icon infront of the file in the list.

buz

Hi Buz, did you (or anyone for that matter) ever test the file formats .ts (MYHD) and or .tp (Fusion HD) formats out of a DVI or component video at 1080i? My HD Set will not support 720P so I'm hoping someone has this set up.

fusionhdtv.co.kr/Eng/Download/Demo.aspx

Thanks in advance.

lsarver

09-01-06, 04:33 AM

Meaning of course, even if you had this thing shipped overnight, it might not work with Friday's media and displays! :rolleyes:
That's always going to be a problem, but at least it can play current media, and do it well, according to reviews. I've started accumulating .TS files (MyHD) I can now play only on a PC. That's no fun.

Ask me again once they do the 1.5 Firmware upgrade
That's what they keep saying: "It's all Sigma's SDK!"

there is a good chance you need to firmware upgrade the DVD player as soon as you take it out of teh box as they can be super noisy without this fix.
Didn't they say that the fix will void your waranty (at least if botched)?
I'd like a player that could handle WMVHD and I could use a region-free in that room, too.

lsarver

09-01-06, 04:37 AM

There are some strange networking issues sometimes - not sure whether with the Z500 or my PC - and the picture can just freeze for no reason.

peter

Are you streaming HD? WiFi can't handle it. Why not pull that cable this weekend?

On second thought, I've got the cable, why not send me your Z500? I'll let you know how it works. :D

patvr

09-01-06, 09:51 AM

Disregard post - taken out of context (I tested tp files on a Z500).

Laserfan

09-01-06, 11:22 AM

I've started accumulating .TS files (MyHD) I can now play only on a PC. That's no fun.I play my MDP-130 HDTV transport streams over-the-network with my SC200 (Pinnacle). Works great.

Not as nice-looking a box, nor does it have DVI-out, but it makes a great picture via component and plays even 19.2Mbps original files glitch-free (over wired 100Mbps ethernet). The Sigma Designs chip works with Pinnacle and others' server software too.

I might have popped for the AR if I could get it to play nice w/my other media players (I have 4), and the price was reasonable ($100?) but this is no deal.

Ktulu_1

09-13-06, 09:17 AM

Against my better judgement I picked up a Digital Mediabridge through the "we're not going to make this anymore or support it" sale. Before I received it I was starting to think that I might have bought another stinker of a media player. It arrived last Thursday and I've been able to play with it a little Monday and Tuesday evening.

The thing has a few quirks like the inability to set a static IP address (DHCP only) but otherwise I'm impressed. When compared to the Pixel Magic HD Mediabox which I also have, the AR device is much more refined at least on the software side of things. The GUI is intuitive and looks really good compared to Pixel Magic's. It's a good looking piece, even if it is silver, and it seems to work as advertised.

I have one problem that while I haven't found a resolution I think I've figured out what's going on. The box won't play 1080i ts files but will play 720p ts files. Both are recorded with the same software on the same computer with the same settings. I think it has to do with how I have the hardware set up.

I have the box connected to a component-to-VGA transcoder and a inexpensive 19" WS LCD monitor for setup and testing. The Mediabridge is set to HD, 16:9, and 720p. The monitor will not accept a 1080i signal and the Mediabridge knows this.

While it does upcovert DVD, it seems the Mediabridge doesn't scale or deinterlace HD ts files. I'm guessing it just passes them through at their native resolution. This is good as I don't expect seller deinterlacing and scaling from a $250-$350 device, but it's causing me problems in my test environment.

I'm going to try and find some more time tonight and hook the thing up to an HDTV that does accept 1080i and find out definitively if that is the problem.

Having had a few days with the box I'd say I'm very satisfied with the purchase so far. I can see why others here are so happy with this device, but I'd have a hard time recommending it only because there is no longer any support or warranty. On the other hand the Pixel Magic box I have seems to have pretty good support, regular firmware upgrades, etc. and I certainly couldn't recommend that either. If I can confirm the ts file problem is what I think it is, I wouldn't be opposed to buying another one of these. I'm starting to wish that AR/Thomson/RCA would have sold more of these so we could see improvements and maybe a newer model in the future.

kgt12

09-13-06, 12:00 PM

mlm39

09-13-06, 12:51 PM

nirvana_av

09-13-06, 01:11 PM

Can the Mediabridge play slideshows or individual photos - and music at the same time?

What is the lag time when loading the next photo...
during a slideshow?
when showing individually selected photos?

Would you recomend this unit for primarily playing slideshows?

Is there any other server software which works with the Mediabridge other than Mediastreamer?

Thanks

Yes, it can play music and show photos at the same time. Delay between slides can be set or overridden using the next button. This is an excellent slide show machine.

However, my experience has been that the unit can't really play much in way of HD files, plays IFOs very well (with cover art selection). I was never able to get it to pass DTS though. Never tried ISOs. Also, it has a very loud fan.

Ktulu_1

09-13-06, 01:13 PM

Jeff,
I have researched this unit a bit this morning and, from what I can gather, it only plays back video at a max of 720p. It displays images at up to 1080i, I believe. I could be mistaken, and given your experience in this arena, I'd be surprised if this is the issue you are facing...but I thought I'd offer up the explanation.

Bah. I went back and reread this thread and there it is. There does seem to be some kind of problem with 1080i. It looks like it might not be the fact that my display does no accept a 1080i input. I'm going to have to check this out tonight as I would like very much for this thing to be able to play 1080i HD ts files. Thanks kgt12 for pointing that out. I read this thread through a couple times and I remember the posts pertaining to 1080i but somehow I blocked that out.

Someone please chime in if you think ordering one at this point is a big mistake.

As I said without support or a warranty I can't recommend it. If you get it and find out that it doesn't do something you want it to do, Ebay may be your only recourse.

I am mainly interested in ripping my DVDs to my harddrive and then playing them on my TV without any sacrifice in picture/audio quality. A cool GUI with cover art is a plus. Full DVD navigation such as chapter/audio options is a must. I think the AR Media Bridge covers these bases...any thoughts??

It seems to perform this task quite well although the way I have it set up right now is not ideal for determining picture quality. Others may chime in but this might be something you have to see for yourself. Everyone's expectations are a little different.

mlm39

09-13-06, 01:52 PM

Yes, it can play music and show photos at the same time. Delay between slides can be set or overridden using the next button. This is an excellent slide show machine.

However, my experience has been that the unit can't really play much in way of HD files, plays IFOs very well (with cover art selection). I was never able to get it to pass DTS though. Never tried ISOs. Also, it has a very loud fan.

Nirvana-AV,

Thanks for the reply.

By lag time I meant the time spent loading the picture.
When hitting next, how long is it before the next picture is fully displayed.

Some units are buffered so that during a slideshow, the next picture to be displayed is loaded (transferred) while the current one is being viewed, thus making the transition between pictures as instantainious as possible. How is the AR is this regard?

nirvana_av

09-13-06, 03:28 PM

Nirvana-AV,

Thanks for the reply.

By lag time I meant the time spent loading the picture.
When hitting next, how long is it before the next picture is fully displayed.

Some units are buffered so that during a slideshow, the next picture to be displayed is loaded (transferred) while the current one is being viewed, thus making the transition between pictures as instantainious as possible. How is the AR is this regard?

JPEG load time is almost instant. Most other players are using the Sigma Designs SOC that doesn't perform well performing arbitrary scaling. The AR uses an nVidia graphics card that performs very well scaling images.

Ktulu_1

09-13-06, 07:43 PM

After further review my initial assumptions about this box were dead wrong. The thing simply does not play 1080i MPEG2 transport streams. If anyone knows how to do this or I'm missing something, please let me know.

In brief...

Pros:
Good looking unit (even if it is silver)
Great GUI
Good DVD player
Inexpensive
Good picture viewer
Plays 720p MPEG2 transport streams

Cons:
Does not play 1080i MPEG2 transport streams when switched to HD
Maxes out at 1920x540 over DVI
No support
No warranty
No hope

I think I'm going to keep it for DVD playback in the bedroom for the time being.

kgt12

09-13-06, 07:57 PM

[QUOTE=Ktulu_1]

Cons:
Maxes out at 1920x540 over DVI
QUOTE]

Does this mean you have to use component to achieve 720p??

GadgetEd

09-13-06, 08:44 PM

Jeff....

Although not an authoritative source, the CNET review supports your suspicions with this statement.

Over an 802.11g wireless connection (or a wired Ethernet hookup), the unit can stream video at resolutions as high as 720p and still photos at as high as 1080i.

Ktulu_1

09-14-06, 08:27 AM

Cons:
Maxes out at 1920x540 over DVI

Does this mean you have to use component to achieve 720p??

I believe so. I hooked it up to a 720p HDTV last night via DVI to HDMI. If I remember correctly, the only resolutions available to me were: 640x480, 720x480, and 1920x540. With component I could get 480p, 720p, or 1080i.

Jeff....

Although not an authoritative source, the CNET review supports your suspicions with this statement.

Over an 802.11g wireless connection (or a wired Ethernet hookup), the unit can stream video at resolutions as high as 720p and still photos at as high as 1080i.

I can certainly confirm that... and from going back and rereading this thread it's not really anything new, although it does deserve repeating.

mlm39

09-14-06, 11:46 AM

1920x540 is the resolution of each of the 2 frames of 1080i. The i means interlaced. So if you apply interlaced scanning, you end up with 1920 x 540+540 = 1080i.

Ktulu_1

09-14-06, 02:10 PM

1920x540 is the resolution of each of the 2 frames of 1080i. The i means interlaced. So if you apply progressive scanning, you end up with 1920 x 540+540 = 1080i.

Nope, it's outputting either 540i or 540p. Neither of which = 1080i.

lsarver

09-15-06, 08:28 PM

I've had the same problems over DVI/HDMI with two units and a 720p set.
Over component I got the full choice of resolutions, at least for the menus.
In no case (DVI/HDMI or component) could it render TS or WMV. All that worked was DivX-HD (Elephants Dream & SharkTale trailer).
Worse, the digital audio (both coax and optical) became so noisy after a while that I had to disconnect it.

I gather that some people have used this device successfully. Maybe they have boxes from another lot. My serial numbers are:

first (bought): JA033-G067J1166
second (replacement): JA033-G067J1108

Considering how bad menu text and graphics look at 540, i'd guess that it's 540i.

kgt12

09-18-06, 01:33 PM

My Media Bridge arrived today. I had it sent to my office, so I haven't hooked it up yet. I have installed the software, though, which is Version 1.03-312.

When I click Download Latest Version, it downloads a setup file that just removes the software altogether. Does anyone have the latest file version that they could pass on to me?

Thanks,
kgt

Ktulu_1

09-18-06, 04:54 PM

Considering how bad menu text and graphics look at 540, i'd guess that it's 540i.

Yep. You're most likely correct.

I now have the unit in it's home in the bedroom. It's switched to SD and hooked to a SD TV. It plays 1080i ts files just fine when set to SD. :rolleyes: Another little quirk is that the analog audio outs only work for music. If you want sound for videos and DVDs, you need to use S/PDIF or TOSLink. Having the unit it the bedroom really shows how loud the fan is.

Ktulu_1

09-18-06, 05:00 PM

kgt12

09-18-06, 05:03 PM

This is all I got...

http://www.araccessories.com/msib21/Templates/mediabridge.html

It's the same version that came with my box.

Thanks Jeff,

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but that download is the uninstall program, isn't it?

Thanks,
kgt

[Edit: Nevermind, somehow I missed the zip file and only saw the Uninstall icon. Thanks.]

kgt12

09-19-06, 03:29 PM

Can someone please go to this link and download the HD video - 'Fighter Pilot' and see if their media bridge can play it?

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/musicandvideo/hdvideo/contentshowcase.aspx

Thanks

lsarver

09-20-06, 01:10 AM

I tried three WMVHD clips from Microsoft's showcase.

Coral Reef Adventure (IMAX): http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/9/3/a9327df4-aeb5-46de-b438-d0f60da6fb54/Coral_Reef_Adventure_720.exe

The Living Sea (IMAX): http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/0/0/b00e8489-b4fd-490e-9e7c-19b06c7bc3ed/The_Living_Sea_720.exe

Amazon (IMAX): http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/d/6/ad6fc147-e95f-4ffd-a2e8-cbd09ca91b00/Amazon_720.exe

Two MBs couldn't play any of them, at any resolution, through either DVI or component.
(They look really nice on a PC, though.)

kgt12

09-20-06, 10:00 AM

Thanks for trying Isarver - I wonder why the MB couldn't play any of these...

When AR says the MB can play videos up to 720p, does that mean it can output at 720p or can handle 720p source material? It seems only the former is true, unfortunately.

Ktulu_1

09-20-06, 01:03 PM

In my experience the thing will play 720p ts (mpg) files when switched to HD. Might be a WMV thing.

lsarver

09-20-06, 08:46 PM

When AR says the MB can play videos up to 720p, does that mean it can output at 720p or can handle 720p source material? It seems only the former is true, unfortunately.

Those WMVHD clips are 720, not 1080.

I guess the bit-rate is just too high for the box. (Note that it played only the DivX files, which have a lower rate.)

All the ts files I tried were 1080 (from INHD or NBC via QAM). No soap.

alphatango

09-29-06, 12:28 PM

After further review my initial assumptions about this box were dead wrong. The thing simply does not play 1080i MPEG2 transport streams. If anyone knows how to do this or I'm missing something, please let me know.

In brief...

Pros:
Good looking unit (even if it is silver)
Great GUI
Good DVD player
Inexpensive
Good picture viewer
Plays 720p MPEG2 transport streams

Cons:
Does not play 1080i MPEG2 transport streams when switched to HD

I think I'm going to keep it for DVD playback in the bedroom for the time being.

Forgive the newbee question but if you wanted to have the A?R box read
files from a network drive rather than your PC is that possible?

Thanks!

lsarver

09-29-06, 06:14 PM

if you wanted to have the A?R box read files from a network drive rather than your PC is that possible?
Unlikely: the box requires its own server-side software, which must run under Windows. You could access a network drive from the PC (using the kludge described above), but I doubt that's what you had in mind.

alphatango

09-29-06, 09:44 PM

Thanks, that is fairly disappointing. Having to run the PC 24x7 is not great. Is it the AR machine or do any of the bridges support stand alone network (Ethernet) drives? SMB?
(Thanks Again)

lsarver

09-30-06, 03:05 PM

do any of the bridges support stand alone network (Ethernet) drives? SMB?
Sure, lots! From the modded (original) Xbox with XBMC to the Zensonic Z500 with many others in between.

For sheer versatility and the quality of its interface, it's hard to beat the Xbox, but it can't render HD (other than DivX), and its PQ may not be the best. The Z500 (one of many Sigma-based boxes, but using independent middleware) is said to have similar versatility.

If you can hold your breath long enough, it might be worth waiting for the next generation, which should add H.264 decoding and should have fewer bugs and better interfaces. Apple's iTV (due Q1 07) is one of these; TviX has also announced its 5101.

Edit: Forgot to mention that some NAS products can run UPnP and/or NFS servers, too, e.g. Infrant.

GadgetEd

10-14-06, 02:12 PM

Has anyone tried the Linux code that AR provided?

sevillada

10-15-06, 06:02 PM

can anyone tell me the specs of the power supply?? I can't seem to find them and I am missing the power supply.
please let me know :)

MediaBridge

10-16-06, 12:07 AM

A friend of mine just pointed me to this thread, and shame on me for not finding it earlier...

Upfront disclosure: my name is Greg Lukins and I am the product manager at the Thomson Corp. responsible for the Acoustic Research MediaBridge product. I am not here to advertise, but to try and answer some of the performance questions related to the product.

Let me address some of the questions I've seen asked:
1) HD performance.
- The MediaBridge will show still photos at up to 1080i resolution.
- HD video is presented at a maximum resolution of 720p.
- MPEG-1/2/4 & DivX can play at 720p. WMVHD files are not likely to play well, because the processing requirements can overtax the MediaBridge's processor.
- The unit does not upsample video -- the native resolution of the video stream is used.
- Tip: You can actually squeeze a little more HD performance out of the MediaBridge if you change the resolution setting to something low (like 480i or 480p) before playing an HD movie. Dropping the resolution reduces the amount of memory used internally for the menus, making more memory available for other purposes like video decoding. Remember when you switch to playing movies, the native resolution of the video is used, not the resolution of the menus. So while it's not an official feature, you should be able to play 1080i MPEG files with this trick (only MPEGs though).
2) Media files supported
- .tp and .ts files created by PC tuner cards should play just fine.
- DVD file structures (IFOs) are supported (more on this below).
- Digital camcorder files are supported (DV files).
- Anecdotally, we've seen a wide variety of results from the various MPEG encoders that are available. Some create well-formed MPEG files, but many don't. If you have problems with FFW or REW of movies, or if they freeze during playback, try a different encoder.
3) Wireless support
- Streaming HD video files over the wireless connection can work if you're reasonably close to the base station (under 50 feet) & don't have much interference. But using a wired connection will give the best performance for video (both SD & HD). Photos at 1080i are no problem over a wireless connection.
- If the server PC and the MediaBridge are both connected wirelessly, you could see streaming problems with video. This type of setup will really push your wireless network to it's limit, particularly if you have other wireless devices on the same network.
4) USB support
- Hard drives, thumb drives, and iPods are supported via the USB port on the back. (These must be formatted at NTFS devices, not FAT32.) The menu system on the MediaBridge is dynamic, so you'll see "Removable device" as a menu item when a USB device is plugged in. If there is noting plugged in to the USB port, you won't see this option. (Note: encrypted AAC files purchased from the iTunes store won't play.)
5) DVD support
- The MediaBridge was designed to play DVDs which you created from your camcorder videos or digital photos (i.e. non-CSS encrypted movies). Once you have created the DVD, copy all the files from the DVD (in their existing file & folder structure) to a new folder on your hard drive. Name this folder with the title of your movie. If you have a piece of artwork you would like to associate with the movie, save it as "Jacket.jpg" in the newly created folder. Move the new folder to a location where the PC server software can find it, and you're done. Over on the TV, the MediaBridge will recognize that there is a DVD, and will present you with a menu item "Play DVD" under the "Play Movie" menu. Again, this is a dynamic menu, so you won't see it on your MediaBridge unless you have DVD files. The MediaBridge will play the DVD just like a DVD player would, with full navigation (using the "menu" and 5-way nav buttons on the remote control).
6) Linux code
- The Linux code available on the website is not the full application. It's only the portions of the OS which are under public license that have been modified.
7) Why is there no support or warranty? Is there something wrong with the product?
- Actually, no. The products for sale are all first quality, factory original goods. It's simply being discontinued because the Thomson Corp. (which currently markets AR branded accessories) is exiting the consumer electronics accessories business.

Again, I should apologize for not finding this thread earlier and being more responsive to questions.

Although I can't change the no warranty/no returns policy, I would be happy to answer other questions about the MediaBridge.

Greg

GadgetEd

10-16-06, 02:25 AM

Greg -

Thanks for the post. I have purchased the Media Bridge and find it to be a well thought out piece of gear. It does what it was advertised to do and it does it well, at least that has been my experience. I keep finding new menu items from time to time, none of which are documented. There is a choice of Play or Scan when a USB device is detected. I understand 'Scan' well enough. My question is - If I plug a USB DVD Player into the Media Bridge and have the choice set to 'Play', can I expect it to play a commercial DVD when I put one in the tray? That is my expectation but I haven't tried it yet.

It is really a shame that this device is at end of life before it ever really got going. I have friends that have purchased these after seeing or hearing about mine. One of them has a competing unit and said it wasn't all that it was suppose to be which seems to be the case with most media servers today. Congrats on your product.

sevillada

10-16-06, 10:28 AM

Greg or GadgetEd-
Do you happen to know the specs of the power supply? I need one but can't seem to find it anywhere. I was given a lite-on power supply with it and it works, but freezes after a few minutes and I have to disconnect from power supply.
thanks

GadgetEd

10-16-06, 12:30 PM

sevillada

10-16-06, 12:37 PM

I suspect the power supply you "got with it" is the correct power supply. Mine is as follows -

LiteOn Model PA-1650-02
Input 100-240 V ac 1.6A 50-60 Hz
Output 19V dc 3.42 A

I haven't had any problems with freezing so I would try for an RMA if I were you.
thanks a lot
Crap. I was hoping that was it. I'm not home, but will check if I have the same model. I may have to say good bye to this beautiful device. I was getting ready to enjoy many hours of video on my big tv.
I also noticed that when it freezes it makes a littke whirling (or something like that) by the power supply input.
I have the RCA scenium DRC7005N media recorder, and even though it is buggy, I really love it and would recommend it to anyone.
I can swap the hard drive, so I can store the videos in the computer if full, and have unlimitted recording...
btw...
no offense to mediabridge, but has anyone seen a non-buggy RCA product (other than maybe a TV)? they usually have nice features though

MediaBridge

10-17-06, 02:38 AM

If I plug a USB DVD Player into the Media Bridge and have the choice set to 'Play', can I expect it to play a commercial DVD when I put one in the tray?

GadgetEd,

No, unfortunately, it won't play as you expect it to. The MediaBridge will only recognize devices which identify themselves on the USB bus as "mass storage devices" -- and a DVD player won't do that.

...and thank you for the compliments on the product!

Greg

MediaBridge

10-17-06, 02:52 AM

I was given a lite-on power supply with it and it works, but freezes after a few minutes and I have to disconnect from power supply.
thanks

Does it always automatically freeze after a specific amount of time (regardless of what's playing) or does it seem to freeze when you're trying to do something specific?

You referred to the power supply "you got with it" -- may I ask if you purchased the MediaBridge or if someone gave an open-box unit to you? Knowing it's origin could help me diagnose the problem -- that's the only reason I'm asking.

Thanks,
Greg

alphatango

10-17-06, 04:40 PM

A friend of mine just pointed me to this thread, and shame on me for not finding it earlier...
- Streaming HD video files over the wireless connection can work if you're reasonably close to the base station (under 50 feet) & don't have much interference. But using a wired connection will give the best performance for video (both SD & HD). Photos at 1080i are no problem over a wireless connection.
- If the server PC and the MediaBridge are both connected wirelessly, you could see streaming problems with video. This type of setup will really push your wireless network to it's limit, particularly if you have other wireless devices on the same network.
.

Greg

Thanks Greg. Are there any plans for a GIGE ethernet connection?

MediaBridge

10-17-06, 06:22 PM

Are there any plans for a GIGE ethernet connection?

Not in the current product (it's being discontinued). However, the current 100BaseT connection easily supports a large HD stream -- is the MediaBridge just the slow node on your network?

Greg

MediaBridge

10-17-06, 06:25 PM

Exile

10-18-06, 06:31 PM

chemlab

10-18-06, 07:23 PM

Any chance I can get a unit shipped to Canada? The website says it will only ship to the US.

Thanks.

technemo

10-18-06, 08:11 PM

I was asked a question offline about how to gain login access to the MediaBridge. The short answer is that the box is locked down pretty tight. The BIOS will not support a USB keyboard or a mouse, nor can you telnet/ftp/ssh/rlogin etc. to the box -- this had to be done for compliance with the digital rights managements agreements.

Greg

Greg, I for one am one very happy MediaBridge owner. I'm recommending to everyone talk to about it to get one while they can (though I of course mention the MediaBridge's orphan status and that they're on their own if they have trouble outside of the AVSFORUM)...and it's really good to have you on the forum as this is pretty much the only way I can think of to get an answer to a question on the MediaBridge.

As the risk of asking an obvious question, it's helpful to understand the intent and why the box was designed the way it was, but what good is having the source code if we can't get into the box to update it? :)

Thank you.

ptwyzard

10-18-06, 08:30 PM

Will this box allow you to stream directly from a NAS? Will i play Divx movies (with .divx extension)?

Thanks

lsarver

10-19-06, 01:16 AM

Will this box allow you to stream directly from a NAS?
Already answered: No. It requires proprietary server software.

Ktulu_1

10-19-06, 08:31 AM

Just a heads up if anyone else runs into this problem.

I've recently been having problems with the MediaStreamer service seemingly intermittently not working. The MediaBridge would say "Media server not found" and the MediaStreamer service would consume 50% of CPU usage while doing nothing.

The problem stems from when I connect to my workplace network with a VPN connection on the media server. The MediaStreamer service crashes and requires a stop and start after the VPN connection has been disconnected. It doesn't seem to work at all with the VPN connection active.

YMMV

MediaBridge

10-19-06, 10:49 AM

The problem stems from when I connect to my workplace network with a VPN connection on the media server.

Your VPN connection is playing havoc with the server software & your MediaBridge. My guess is that your computer IP address changes when you attach to and drop off your corporate VPN, and the server software and MediaBridge aren't expecting this. Additionally, corporate proxies (and home firewall software) will typically block non-standard network port traffic for security reasons. So a number of unpredicatable things could be happening, including changes in IP address (the MediaBridge might get stuck on a different subnet than the server) or port traffic could be blocked by the proxy on the VPN (preventing the MediaBridge and server from communicating).

The MediaBridge was designed to operate on much simpler (and more predicatable) home IP networks.

If you have firewall software (or have control over the corporate proxy filtering), you will need to open these networks ports:
UDP traffic on port 6070
TCP traffic on port 40001
TCP traffic on port 40002

Hope this helps,
Greg

MediaBridge

10-19-06, 10:51 AM

Will i play Divx movies (with .divx extension)?

DivX 4 & 5 will play. DivX 3.11 should play. DivX 6 will not play.

Greg

MediaBridge

10-19-06, 10:59 AM

Any chance I can get a unit shipped to Canada?

There's a legal restriction which prevents us from shipping to Canada: the packaging and manual aren't bi-lingual, so the product doesn't meet the requirements for commercial sale in Canada. I'm afraid you'll need to ask someone in the US to buy it for you, and send it to you.

Sorry,
Greg

MediaBridge

10-19-06, 11:33 AM

what good is having the source code if we can't get into the box to update it? :)

We have the lawyers to thank for the paradox you point out. On the one hand, we were obligated to publish our changes to the GPL'd Linux code. On the other hand, we we faced stringent obligations under the DRM license to make it very difficult to get into the product. So we publish the open source code which needs published, and try to protect the non-open-source code from being hacked.

I for one am one very happy MediaBridge owner.

We tried very hard to develop a product which would appeal to someone with discerning tastes in A/V equipment. So I'm very pleased to hear that you like the product, and I greatly appreciate your compliments.

Greg

MediaBridge

10-19-06, 11:55 AM

1. Is 480i output available over DVI and component?
2. It reads like you have to have .vob .ifo files and that the Mediabridge cannot read iso files. Correct?
3. I understand the warranty issue with a discontinued product, but what about DOA deliveries. Will they be exchanged?

1) 480i is available over the component output only.
2) By iso files, are you referring to disc images? If so, you are correct. It will not play iso files.
3) Officially, the policy is no warranty. Unofficially, I haven't seen a single physically defective unit yet. (We manufacture the MediaBridge at the same factory Apple uses for the iPod, and where all of the HP & Toshiba latops are made. We have been very happy with the manufacturing and quality control.)

Greg

mlm39

10-19-06, 04:18 PM

So, unofficially, what if one is the first person to receive a unit DOA?

Ktulu_1

10-19-06, 04:28 PM

Your VPN connection is playing havoc with the server software & your MediaBridge. My guess is that your computer IP address changes when you attach to and drop off your corporate VPN, and the server software and MediaBridge aren't expecting this. Additionally, corporate proxies (and home firewall software) will typically block non-standard network port traffic for security reasons. So a number of unpredicatable things could be happening, including changes in IP address (the MediaBridge might get stuck on a different subnet than the server) or port traffic could be blocked by the proxy on the VPN (preventing the MediaBridge and server from communicating).

The MediaBridge was designed to operate on much simpler (and more predicatable) home IP networks.

If you have firewall software (or have control over the corporate proxy filtering), you will need to open these networks ports:
UDP traffic on port 6070
TCP traffic on port 40001
TCP traffic on port 40002

Hope this helps,
Greg

Thanks for the info Greg. My guess is that, for whatever reason, the media server software is jumping onto the VPN network and getting lost over there. It's doesn't seem to want to play nice with a machine with multiple IP addresses. That's ok. Now that I know what's causing the problem I can work around it.

plumeria

10-19-06, 09:51 PM

So, unofficially, what if one is the first person to receive a unit DOA?
I guess you would be SOL ;-)

MediaBridge

10-21-06, 01:36 AM

So, unofficially, what if one is the first person to receive a unit DOA?

I can't change the warranty policy, but I will be as helpful as I can with any issues that might arise.

Greg

sevillada

10-25-06, 11:44 PM

Does it always automatically freeze after a specific amount of time (regardless of what's playing) or does it seem to freeze when you're trying to do something specific?

You referred to the power supply "you got with it" -- may I ask if you purchased the MediaBridge or if someone gave an open-box unit to you? Knowing it's origin could help me diagnose the problem -- that's the only reason I'm asking.

Thanks,
Greg

Thanks for replying. I was out of town, so it took me longer to reply. It would freeze apparently whatever I played, and the only way out I found was unpluging the unit. It was an open-box from a local store.
It seemed to get a little hot. After that I would leave it unplugged and try again with the same luck. Once I forgot to unplug it and it became very VERY hot, and it didn't turn ON after that
I exchanged it for another one that looked newer, and it seemed to be working fine. It has the same power supply that I was told by a couple of people in the forum that it comes with, and I was happily enjoying it, but it froze after about half an hour of playing... and again I had to unplug it. Unlike the other unit, this unit did not seem to get hot if I left it off but plugged.
do you think it is an overheating problem?
Other than that, the unit I just got would be perfect for me :)

elee532

10-30-06, 08:30 PM

Your VPN connection is playing havoc with the server software & your MediaBridge.

Is there a workaround to this issue with VPN? I'm considering a MediaBridge, but I have a VPN connection to the office that is active frequently.

Thanks.

Ktulu_1

10-30-06, 08:39 PM

Is there a workaround to this issue with VPN? I'm considering a MediaBridge, but I have a VPN connection to the office that is active frequently.

Thanks.

My solution is to stop the service before establishing the VPN connection and restarting it after I disconnect. That's probably not what you wanted to hear but that's all I got.

elee532

10-30-06, 11:41 PM

sean_w_smith

10-31-06, 04:02 PM

Definitely not what I wanted to hear. I don't think my wife would be too keen on the idea of not streaming music or a DVD because I need to dial-into the office.

I really thought I had found the right device for me. I guess the search continues. :-(

See if your IT dept will allow you to enable "Split Tunnelling" on your VPN Client...

Another alternative as to add a 2nd ethernet NIC to your PC and one ethernet NIC for VPN and the other for local traffic. This may or may not work depending on how your VPN Client works....

Sean

MediaBridge

10-31-06, 04:34 PM

sevillada,

Sorry for the slow response. I've been travelling and been without Internet access.

It was an open-box from a local store.
Can I ask the name of the store you bought it from? (That will help me track the bad unit down.)

It seemed to get a little hot. After that I would leave it unplugged and try again with the same luck. Once I forgot to unplug it and it became very VERY hot, and it didn't turn ON after that...

The units will typically get warm to the touch, but not as hot as you describe. There is a fan inside the unit to help it cool -- but without seeing the unit, I can only speculate that something was wrong with the fan. However, it sounds like the exchange solved your thermal problem.

When the unit locks up, is it playing video? Some of the video encoders available off the net create malformed video streams -- these "bad" video files will occassionally hang the MediaBridge. The test is to see if the video hangs in the same place every time.

Let me know what the unit is playing when it hangs, and if it consistently hangs in the same place when playing a file.

Thanks,
Greg

MediaBridge

10-31-06, 05:14 PM

Is there a workaround to this issue with VPN? I'm considering a MediaBridge, but I have a VPN connection to the office that is active frequently.

VPNs are problems for every media player I've come across. Even if the VPN doesn't block the ports, the traffic congestion on a corporate network typically interrupts streaming beyond the tolerance of most people.

The second NIC for your PC is a good suggestion, if you can make Windows route the network traffic appropriately.

The only other suggestions I can offer are brute force approaches:
(i) Move your media collection over to a second computer which stays on your local network. The PC requirements for the server are minimal: you can run the server software on something as old as a 500MHz P3. So just about any 'ol PC will work.
(ii) Move your media collection onto a USB hard drive. The MediaBridge will read media files directly from a hard drive on the USB port - no server PC required.

Greg

elee532

10-31-06, 08:54 PM

See if your IT dept will allow you to enable "Split Tunnelling" on your VPN Client...

Seeing as I am the IT dept, they should be pretty accomodating :-) Seriously though, I have no idea about "Split Tunnelling." Any idea whether this implementable through Windows 2003 Server? How difficult?

Another alternative as to add a 2nd ethernet NIC to your PC and one ethernet NIC for VPN and the other for local traffic. This may or may not work depending on how your VPN Client works....

I'm simply using the Windows XP VPN client. Any idea whether this approach will work with XP?

Thanks.

kgt12

11-01-06, 01:52 AM

Greg,

I am an owner of the media bridge - and while I don't have any immediate questions for you regarding the product, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post some good information and answer questions here. As there really isn't anywhere else to get this information, it is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Ktulu_1

11-01-06, 08:33 AM

Great point kgt12.

Thanks Greg.

mdesmarais

11-01-06, 12:27 PM

Is it possible to buy these units anymore?

hifigi

11-01-06, 01:20 PM

I bought one last week from the AR site. With shipping and tax it came to about $285. Haven't had much chance to play with it yet.

Was working great for the first few days but last night I tried it and it says I have no files for music or pictures on the server. I rebooted the unit and my server then checked to make sure the folders were turned on. Everything looks good but still nothing. Any suggestions?

MediaBridge

11-01-06, 02:06 PM

MediaBridge

11-01-06, 02:10 PM

Is it possible to buy these units anymore?

Yes, but they are only available directly from AR now: http://www.araccessories.com/msib21/Templates/mediabridge.html

Greg

MediaBridge

11-01-06, 02:56 PM

Was working great for the first few days but last night I tried it and it says I have no files for music or pictures on the server. I rebooted the unit and my server then checked to make sure the folders were turned on. Everything looks good but still nothing. Any suggestions?

Ok, let me ask some basic questions to start:

What message do you see on the TV screen when you try to play music (or pictures): "No content of this type found on the media server" or "No media server connected" ?

Assuming it's the "No content of this type..." message, can you play video (just not music or pictures)?

Do you have any devices plugged into the USB port?

At the risk of doing the obvious, double check there are playable files in the directories you've selected on the server side:
(i) Open the MediaShare app
(ii) Select the "Shared Music" tab
(iii) For each of the folders you have selected with a checkmark, click on the name of the folder to highlight it.
(iv) Verify that song filenames appear in the right pane of the MediaShare app. If nothing appears there, there aren't any playable files. (For example, music you've purchased from the iTunes store won't appear in that list.)
(v) Repeat for "Shared Pictures"

Let's start there...

Thanks,
Greg

MediaBridge

11-01-06, 03:12 PM

I'm simply using the Windows XP VPN client. Any idea whether this approach will work with XP?

That one's out of my league -- others on this thread can probably answer much better than I can. However, I'll try to see what I answers I can dig up.

Greg

mlm39

11-01-06, 03:55 PM

Great support for a product having no support! Maybe I should buy one.

MediaBridge

11-01-06, 06:31 PM

Seeing as I am the IT dept, they should be pretty accomodating :-) Seriously though, I have no idea about "Split Tunnelling." Any idea whether this implementable through Windows 2003 Server? How difficult?

I'm simply using the Windows XP VPN client. Any idea whether this approach will work with XP?

Ok, here's what I've learned (and I invite others to jump in and correct me since I'm no networking expert)...

As sean_w_smith suggested, split tunneling could be a solution for you because it will allow you to selectively route traffic. A second NIC is not required, because split tunneling is enabled on your VPN client. It's not something which requires configuration on the corporate server side.

I was told that split tunneling is definitely possible from within the Cisco VPN client. Its turned on as a check-box option within the client, and you provide a simple text file with the routing map. But, unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone who knew for sure about the Windows XP VPN client -- but the people I talked to did think it was possible. Check the docs and/or start googling...

So the good news is that you should be able to implement split tunneling with the tools you already have. The bad news is that it will probably require some effort to figure out how.

Please post any successes you have.

Thanks,
Greg

elee532

11-01-06, 08:24 PM

Thanks MediaBridge. A Google search turned up the following article:

http://www.isaserver.org/tutorials/2004fixipsectunnel.html

I haven't quite been able to make sense of it all, but it seems like there might be a solution in there somewhere. BTW, ISA Server 2000 is our current corporate firewall and we will be upgrading to ISA 2004 within the next two weeks.

hifigi

11-03-06, 08:44 PM

ratava

11-03-06, 10:48 PM

Greg,

Thanks for a fantastic product! As an early adopter, I was badly burned by the PrismIQ (Even bought the darned keyboard for the thing), and had looked into MythTV about a year back. There was nothing which could do what I needed, and do it well.

I took delivery of my AR Mediabridge tonight, and am extremely pleased. Even with the glowing reports in this thread, I was sceptical about the ease of setup. I was quite surprised to find that I had the thing off the ground and serving content in no time at all. Not only that, but it looks GREAT on my 56' Samsung DLP set. I could not have asked for more. I am extremely glad I took the plunge, even given the ugly disclaimer on the ordering page!

Thanks again,
-S.

ratava

11-04-06, 09:51 PM

I liked the jacket.jpg feature for dvd identification that I tried it with the music folders as well. I pulled some album art and put it in the album directory (all my music is artist\album\tracks filed) and right away, the player recognized and displayed the image (I was playing a track from the test album at the time, and by the time I got from the computer to the living room where the mediabridge was, the image was displaying).

Later that evening, however, the mediabridge stopped displaying the art, and is instead back to showing the grey music-note icon. Encouraged by my successful test, I started puting jacket.jpg images in with the tracks in each album directory. None of them display now, however.

I have done a manual rescan of the library with no change in behavior.

I know I am well out in left field in terms of documented features, but it DID work for awhile... Any idea what happened, or what I am doing wrong?

Thanks,
-S.

rmarsh3309

11-04-06, 10:51 PM

Greg,

I second the comment. You obviously care about providing value to your customers. Thanks so much for giving Media Bridge owners your time and talent.

GadgetEd

11-05-06, 07:28 PM

Greg (or anyone else that may have tripped on something)

For DVD's, the Jacket.jpg feature works great for displaying the art I have associated with my home movies converted to DVD format. Is there a way to display a description of the home movie in the DVD space. Maybe a hidden feature that looks for description.txt or something like that. At the bottom of all of the art is the DVD title which is the Directory name - any way to put a description of the movie below that? Any way to feed the dialog under the Info button on the remote description information?

Thanks

MediaBridge

11-06-06, 09:42 AM

Wireless connection...no encryption

sugnal strength is 0 says IP adrerss:Acquiring...

checked antenna connection.... good

unit is in direct sight 10 ft away from router

other units 30ft away show excellent signal strength

Ok, as you suspected your Mediabridge is not connecting to your network. Until we get this resolved, you'll continue to get the "No media server detected" message.

You're checking the right things: you've checked the antenna connection, and other devices can see the wireless network without problems. So it sounds like your home wireless network is running fine.

Since the MediaBridge worked with your server before, it sounds like something has changed (vs. not being set up right in the first place). Zero signal strength indicates that your MediaBridge is looking for a network that isn't there. So let's poke around in your network settings.

Next questions:
(i) While troubleshooting, did you choose the "Restore Default Settings" option under General Settings? This will cause the MediaBridge to forget it's network settings, and you'll need to select your network name again. Go to Settings->System Settings->Network Settings->Network and use the left or right navigation buttons on the remote to scroll through the list of visible network names.
(ii) Did the name of your home network (as set in the router) change? If so, follow the instructions in (i) to reselect it.
(iii) Did you turn off broadcast of your network name (aka "SSID")? Most routers give you the option of whether or not to publicly broadcast the name of the network (turning it off is a security measure). If you have elected to turn this off, the MediaBridge will not see your network and you will need to manually type in your network name. Go to Settings->System Settings->Network Settings->Network. Select 'Private' as the network name using the left-right navigation buttons, scroll down one item to 'Private Network' and hit the OK button on the remote. This brings up an on-screen keyboard where you can type in your network name.
(iv) Is the antenna connector on the back panel of the Mediabridge tight? I'm not referring to the antenna, but to the connector on the MediaBridge which the antenna attaches to. It should be glued tight, but I just want to make sure that the wire inside isn't being twisted because the connector somehow came loose.

Check these things, and let me know.

Once we get your MediaBridge back on the network, we can diagnose why it can't see the media files.

Thanks for your patience,
Greg

MediaBridge

11-06-06, 09:53 AM

I liked the jacket.jpg feature for dvd identification that I tried it with the music folders as well. I pulled some album art and put it in the album directory (all my music is artist\album\tracks filed) and right away, the player recognized and displayed the image (I was playing a track from the test album at the time, and by the time I got from the computer to the living room where the mediabridge was, the image was displaying).

The MediaBridge only looks for album art embedded in the music file. Adding cover art to the directory using the "Jacket.jpg" trick doesn't have any effect for music (only for DVDs). So I suspect that the album art you were seeing in the beginning was already embedded in the music files to begin with.

However, now that you have all of the cover art, there are several tools you can use to add the art directly to the music files, including Musicmatch's Jukebox and Windows Media Player. iTunes (version 7) will also download cover art and update your music files automatically (though I haven't tested this on WMA files yet). It's a manual option you have to choose from the menus.

Greg

MediaBridge

11-06-06, 10:00 AM

ratava, rmarsh3309:

Thank you very much!

Greg

MediaBridge

11-06-06, 10:32 AM

Is there a way to display a description of the home movie in the DVD space.

There is a way to do this, although it isn't elegant: Rename the folder containing the movie files with the description of the movie.

The DVD name shown by the MediaBridge is simply the name of the folder containing the video files. So, for example, if you have a folder called "Family Vacation 2004", the MediaBridge will display "Family Vacation 2004" as the name of the DVD. Since Windows lets you use really long filenames, you can add your movie description by renaming the folder with your text describing the movie. For example, you could rename the folder to:

"Family Vacation 2004 - This was our family vacation to the Badlands in South Dakota in August of 2004. This is the trip that Timmy threw up in the car every day."

The MediaBridge won't wrap the text on the screen, but it will scroll the long line after a moment's pause.

You'll be limited to the characters which Windows allows for filenames, and I believe Windows imposes a 256 character limit. (There's also no telling how other Windows programs will handle paragraph-sized directory names.) But it might work for what you're looking to do.

Greg

mlm39

11-06-06, 02:09 PM

Greg (Mediabridge),

It has been reported here that the Mediabridge will only output up to 540P over DVI. Is this true? If not, how can one get the unit to display 720P over DVI?

Mike

MediaBridge

11-06-06, 05:02 PM

It has been reported here that the Mediabridge will only output up to 540P over DVI. Is this true? If not, how can one get the unit to display 720P over DVI?

The MediaBridge will display 720p and 1080i over DVI.

Ktulu_1's report of having problems getting above 540p resolution was very surprising to me -- 540p is a PAL format and the MediaBridge is configured for North America. I'm not discounting Ktulu_1's observations here: I have had one other report of this problem from an owner. (I worked with this person offline before finding this forum, and I suspect it might have been Ktulu_1 because the data is identical). In this case, the display was a Sony KDF-E42A10 LCD projector and the MediaBridge was connected using a DVI->HDMI adapter cable. Uunfortunately I was not able to solve the problem.

I suspect there is a bug in the MediaBridge in the logic that picks which resolutions can be displayed via the DVI link. However, I've been unable to recreate the problem -- which makes it nearly impossible to fix. The DVI->HDMI adapter could be a factor, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

What kind of display do you have? Perhaps someone here is using a similar display?

Greg

mlm39

11-06-06, 06:48 PM

Thanks, Greg.

I have a DLP RP set with both HDMI and DVI inputs - but no Mediabridge (yet).
I was just trying to clarify any potential problems I might run into.
My interests are playing camcorder videos and Jpeg slideshows with mp3 music.

Mike

Ktulu_1

11-07-06, 11:40 AM

The MediaBridge will display 720p and 1080i over DVI.

Ktulu_1's report of having problems getting above 540p resolution was very surprising to me -- 540p is a PAL format and the MediaBridge is configured for North America. I'm not discounting Ktulu_1's observations here: I have had one other report of this problem from an owner. (I worked with this person offline before finding this forum, and I suspect it might have been Ktulu_1 because the data is identical). In this case, the display was a Sony KDF-E42A10 LCD projector and the MediaBridge was connected using a DVI->HDMI adapter cable. Uunfortunately I was not able to solve the problem.

I suspect there is a bug in the MediaBridge in the logic that picks which resolutions can be displayed via the DVI link. However, I've been unable to recreate the problem -- which makes it nearly impossible to fix. The DVI->HDMI adapter could be a factor, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

What kind of display do you have? Perhaps someone here is using a similar display?

Greg

Nope wasn't me.

In my scenario the MediaBridge was hooked up to a JVC HD56G786 (720p LCoS RPTV) via a DVI>HDMI adaptor. The only resolution settings available on the MediaBridge were 640x480, 720x480, and 1920x540.

Does the MediaBridge use EDID? As you said there might be something funky with the HDMI to DVI conversion or maybe it's the MediaBridge. Heck, maybe my TV is reporting EDID incorrectly.

MediaBridge

11-07-06, 03:15 PM

I have a DLP RP set with both HDMI and DVI inputs - but no Mediabridge (yet).
I was just trying to clarify any potential problems I might run into.
My interests are playing camcorder videos and Jpeg slideshows with mp3 music.

Mike,

I can't 100% promise that you won't have the resolution problem. But seeing Ktulu_1's post from last night makes me even more suspicious that the DVI->HDMI adapter is somehow involved.

Since you brought up camcorder videos, I'll mention one other thing. Raw digital camcorder files (DV files) are extremely high data rate streams -- higher than most HD streams actually -- and will exceed the capability of a wireless network. If your goal is to stream DV files, definitely hook the MediaBridge up using the wired Ethernet connection or put the videos on a USB hard drive.

Greg

MediaBridge

11-07-06, 03:32 PM

Does the MediaBridge use EDID? As you said there might be something funky with the HDMI to DVI conversion or maybe it's the MediaBridge. Heck, maybe my TV is reporting EDID incorrectly.

Yes, it does use EDID to determine what resolutions the display can handle. But it's a baffling problem. I've had a television engineer validate the DVI signal produced by the MediaBridge, and it conforms to the specifications.

So, on one hand, I'm suspicious of the DVI->HDMI adapter becuase that's the only common characteristic between the two reported incidents. On the other hand, I've used both AR branded DVI->HDMI adapters and AR branded DVI-HDMI cables without a single problem (displays were Philips LCDs and RCA Scenium DLPs).

There's also the interoperability issue afflicting HDMI as a whole (which spawned Simplay) that could be somehow involved too.

Greg

wfrantz

11-07-06, 05:59 PM

DivX 4 & 5 will play. DivX 3.11 should play. DivX 6 will not play.

As of today, there is no "DivX 6" codec. There is a DivX Player 6.4 and DivX Converter 6.2 but they play and encode videos with the same old "DX50" 4CC (4 Character Code) codec that has been around for a long time.

See http://www.fourcc.org/codecs.php
also http://www.divx.com

ratava

11-08-06, 10:46 PM

The MediaBridge only looks for album art embedded in the music file. Adding cover art to the directory using the "Jacket.jpg" trick doesn't have any effect for music (only for DVDs). So I suspect that the album art you were seeing in the beginning was already embedded in the music files to begin with.

To Greg, and anyone curious... I couldn't leave this alone and did some testing. The album art WILL display, but the file must be named "folder.jpg" as opposed to the DVD art's "jacket.jpg". The image is not embeded in the music files in any way, but rather simply resident in the album directory alongside the music files. Greg is right that many rippers create this file as part of their ripping duties, including Windows Media Player. Now all I need to do is find a way to recursively change about 500 instances of "jacket.jpg" to "folder.jpg" (on a windows host of course...) Anyone got a quick fix for that?

BTW: the player was such a hit that my WIFE suggested today that we buy another for our guestroom! That's one serious endorsement! It'll be here next week. Get em before they are gone!

-R. Scott Sutor (Ratava)

lsarver

11-09-06, 03:40 AM

I have had one other report of this problem from an owner. (I worked with this person offline before finding this forum, and I suspect it might have been Ktulu_1 because the data is identical). In this case, the display was a Sony KDF-E42A10 LCD projector and the MediaBridge was connected using a DVI->HDMI adapter cable. Uunfortunately I was not able to solve the problem.

I suspect there is a bug in the MediaBridge in the logic that picks which resolutions can be displayed via the DVI link. However, I've been unable to recreate the problem -- which makes it nearly impossible to fix. The DVI->HDMI adapter could be a factor, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

Greg

Greg,

That was probably me, not Ktulu_1. (Did you work through Dave Arland?)

For the record, the set was an LCD rear projector (Grand Wega). But the MediaBridge also behaved identically with a Sony KV-27HS420 CRT direct-view.

Thomson replaced the first unit, but the second behaved identically. They offered to replace it, too (kudos!), but I gave up, after realizing that the problem was probably in the logic.

Lee

PS. The adapter was from Monster.

MediaBridge

11-09-06, 09:11 AM

I couldn't leave this alone and did some testing. The album art WILL display, but the file must be named "folder.jpg" as opposed to the DVD art's "jacket.jpg".

Congratulations--you found a feature I didn't even know existed!

BTW, I quickly googled "DOS recursive rename" and got several hits for utilities which do batch renaming (though I haven't used any of them). Maybe one of those would work?

BTW: the player was such a hit that my WIFE suggested today that we buy another for our guestroom! That's one serious endorsement!

Now that's a compliment!

Greg

MediaBridge

11-09-06, 09:18 AM

(Did you work through Dave Arland?)

Yes. Thanks again for your patience with that first unit -- I wish I could figure how to get you beyond 540p...

Greg

MediaBridge

11-09-06, 09:30 AM

As of today, there is no "DivX 6" codec. There is a DivX Player 6.4 and DivX Converter 6.2 but they play and encode videos with the same old "DX50" 4CC (4 Character Code) codec that has been around for a long time.

Thanks for highlighting that. I should have been more clear in that original post: the MediaBridge does not support the DivX DRM which DivX has begun promoting, and which I expect to be soon associated with the DivX6 encoding/decoding tools.

Greg

goblehipcom

11-10-06, 11:55 PM

Where are you guys buying this thing? A few places I looked had it listed as out-of-stock. I found it on the AR web site, for $250...is this a good deal?

From the CNET review and the info in this thread, it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for! :)

elee532

11-11-06, 10:35 AM

Does the MediaBridge have a queue feature for music?

MediaBridge

11-13-06, 09:28 AM

Does the MediaBridge have a queue feature for music?

Yes - there are two ways to queue music:

(i) The Mediabridge will read a playlist from Windows Media Player or Musicmatch's Jukebox.
(ii) You can create an on-the-fly playlist with the remote. Start by picking a song, album or artist and hit "OK" on the remote to begin the music playing. Then go back into the music menus and select more music the same way (highlight the song/album/artist and hit the "OK" button). The MediaBridge will put your selection into the queue. Use the "Now Playing" button on the remote to see what's in the queue.

Greg

rmarsh3309

11-15-06, 09:06 PM

Greg,

I can't get the "jacket.jpg" feature to work. I've placed the files in all the directories associated with my DVD content. Is there perhaps a setting I need to activate?

Thanks again for your support.

Rich

mlm39

11-16-06, 01:24 PM

Yes, it can play music and show photos at the same time. Delay between slides can be set or overridden using the next button. This is an excellent slide show machine.

However, my experience has been that the unit can't really play much in way of HD files, plays IFOs very well (with cover art selection). I was never able to get it to pass DTS though. Never tried ISOs. Also, it has a very loud fan.

nirvana_av (and anyone else who can help),

Thanks for responding to my past posts re: the AR Mediabridge's photo capability.
One more question please.

Did your jpegs display at 720p or 1080I as it is advertised to do, or at 540p as reported by 2 other users?

Thanks,

Mike

nirvana_av

11-16-06, 01:32 PM

nirvana_av (and anyone else who can help),

Thanks for responding to my past posts re: the AR Mediabridge's photo capability.
One more question please.

Did your jpegs display at 720p or 1080I as it is advertised to do, or at 540p as reported by 2 other users?

Thanks,

Mike

I had it setup at 720p and my digital pics were very, very sharp, so I assume it was using the full resolution. As a point of comparison, I have driven this projector using a laptop setup at 1024x768 and displayed digital pics with similar sharpness.

MediaBridge

11-17-06, 05:20 PM

I can't get the "jacket.jpg" feature to work. I've placed the files in all the directories associated with my DVD content. Is there perhaps a setting I need to activate?

Hmmm....

No, there aren't any settings you need to activate.

Are you sure the file you saved is a JPEG image? A bitmap or GIF filed saved with a .jpg extension won't display -- the thumbnail file format must be a JPEG image.

Is the jacket.jpg image some huge, multi-megapixel image, perhaps?

Is the file saved in the topmost DVD directory? For example, if your directory has a VIDEO_TS or AUDIO_TS subdirectory, you don't want to put the image in one of the subdirectories.

Let's start there -- let me know if none of those are relevant.

Greg

rmarsh3309

11-21-06, 07:57 AM

Hmmm....

No, there aren't any settings you need to activate.

Are you sure the file you saved is a JPEG image? A bitmap or GIF filed saved with a .jpg extension won't display -- the thumbnail file format must be a JPEG image.

Is the jacket.jpg image some huge, multi-megapixel image, perhaps?

Is the file saved in the topmost DVD directory? For example, if your directory has a VIDEO_TS or AUDIO_TS subdirectory, you don't want to put the image in one of the subdirectories.

Let's start there -- let me know if none of those are relevant.

Greg

Solved it. I had the DVD list set to display "list" rather than "cover art".

Thanks!

graer

11-23-06, 02:39 AM

Has anyone attempted to stream content to a Media Bridge from a system other than the default server software that comes with the unit?

Is this discouraged by AR because of DRM concerns?

If not, I wonder if they (AR) would be willing to publish their network protocol, or at least some details, so that interested folks could stream media from non-Windows systems?

A cursory viewing of a dump of the network traffic to the unit didn't look particularly complicated, but it would be great to not have to reverse engineer everything just to listen to some tunes from my existing media server :)

elee532

11-25-06, 11:16 PM

Any idea whether I can stream to a Mediabridge from a Windows Vista PC?

MediaBridge

11-27-06, 04:46 PM

If not, I wonder if they (AR) would be willing to publish their network protocol, or at least some details, so that interested folks could stream media from non-Windows systems?

I had hoped to make the protocol public, but sadly I can't provide anything. The only option is to reverse engineer the protocol by capturing the packets and analyzing the data that's flowing.

As an aside, WMDRM files aren't likely to work from a non-Windows server. Microsoft has designed the DRM authentication system in such a way that a network connected device (i.e. the MediaBridge) must authenticate it's keys via a Windows XP system before the file will play.

Greg

MediaBridge

11-27-06, 04:49 PM

Any idea whether I can stream to a Mediabridge from a Windows Vista PC?

I haven't seen the insides of Vista yet, but as long as it supports services in the same fashion WinXP does you should be able to make your MediaBridge work with a Vista machine. (You would still need to install the server software.)

Greg

elee532

11-27-06, 09:07 PM

Thanks Greg. I finally decided to pull the trigger and placed my order. I'm currently running XP, but I'll be giving Vista a test run shortly. I'll report back here to let folks know how it goes.

On another note, do you know whether the MediaBridge can stream subscription music files such as those from Napster?

Thanks.

MediaBridge

11-28-06, 01:54 PM

I'll report back here to let folks know how it goes.
Thanks!

On another note, do you know whether the MediaBridge can stream subscription music files such as those from Napster?
The MediaBridge can't stream directly from the net, so Internet radio is not an option. However, if the music file is completely downloaded to your PC, the MediaBridge should be able to play it. (I say "should" because Napster seems to use a couple different flavors of WMDRM. The "Napster-to-go" music files may not play because these files are encrypted with a DRM intended only for portable devices [WMDRM-PD]. The MediaBridge has to implement a different form of the DRM [WMDRM-ND] because it is not a USB connected device. Files encrypted with one DRM may not play through the other.) Let us know on that issue too!

Thanks,
Greg

elee532

11-28-06, 02:18 PM

Thanks Greg. I do have the music completely downloaded to my PC. However, I also have the Napster-to-go type subscription. I am assuming this means that when I download files, I get them with the WMDRM-PD rather than the WMDRM-ND encryption? Once I get my MediaBridge, I'll give it a try and see what happens.

I am assuming that the issues would be the same with the Urge subscriptions? Are you aware of any online music subscription services that would allow both unlimited downloads to a portable device as well as streaming to the MediaBridge? Ugh, as if this weren't complicated enough. As it is, my wife and I each have 20gb portable players, one of which supports the To-Go subscriptions (iRiver H320) and one of which doesn't (Gmini 402). AR have any plans on the horizon to address this? :-) While you're at it, I really would appreciate a way to rip and stream my hi-rez DVD-Audio and SACD collection :-)

Thanks again,
Ed

MediaBridge

11-29-06, 05:30 PM

I am assuming that the issues would be the same with the Urge subscriptions?
I believe so.

Are you aware of any online music subscription services that would allow both unlimited downloads to a portable device as well as streaming to the MediaBridge?
No, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. It's all dictated by the distribution license that the subscription service has and their choice of DRM.

Good luck...

Greg

graer

11-30-06, 10:33 PM

I had hoped to make the protocol public, but sadly I can't provide anything. The only option is to reverse engineer the protocol by capturing the packets and analyzing the data that's flowing.

As an aside, WMDRM files aren't likely to work from a non-Windows server. Microsoft has designed the DRM authentication system in such a way that a network connected device (i.e. the MediaBridge) must authenticate it's keys via a Windows XP system before the file will play.

Greg

Hey thanks for the feedback! I am just aiming to play files ripped from my cds. The MediaBridge does not add WMDRM to non-drm files does it?

Thanks again.

MediaBridge

12-04-06, 05:19 PM

I am just aiming to play files ripped from my cds. The MediaBridge does not add WMDRM to non-drm files does it?

No, DRM is not added to -- or removed from -- any files, so your WMA files will not be modified.

Greg

elee532

12-05-06, 12:40 PM

Now that I've got my MediaBridge, I'm looking for some guidance on ripping my DVDs. I had been under the mistaken assumption that the MediaBridge supported ISO images. I understand now that it doesn't.

How are other folks handling the ripping of their DVD collection? Can anyone reccomend any good references that cover all of the options? I understand that VOB files are one option? Are there others? When ripping to VOB, is it possible for everything on one DVD to be combined into one VOB file? Is the empty Audio_TS folder necessary? Any other best practices that folks would reccommend when ripping their DVD collection?

I'm streaming to a 50" HD plasma, so maintaining the quality of the original DVD and maintaining menu navigation are my two main requirements. I own both CloneDVD2 and Nero Recode.

Thanks for any help!

MediaBridge

12-05-06, 05:21 PM

ktulu_1 & lsarver:

I learned something today which might help you with the resolution problem you're seeing (MediaBridge maxing out at 540p). Connect the MediaBridge to your TV using the DVI connection, and re-run the setup wizard (Settings->General Settings->Repeat setup wizard). Unplug any other video cables connected to the MediaBridge until you're finished with the setup wizard.

The explanation is a long, convoluted story of technobabble. The short version is that it's possible to truncate the list of available resolutions if you move the MediaBridge from one TV to another, even if the MediaBridge is unplugged. Re-running the setup wizard will clear this issue if it has occurred.

Not promising any miracles, but it might help...

Thanks,
Greg

geohec

12-05-06, 09:21 PM

Greg,

I've read this string over the past few weeks and I decided to purchase the mediabridge. I've had it for about a week and a half. After a few tries at wireless (from about 30 ft), I decided to go wired. So far, I've been really impressed with the quality of the video, music and picture functions as well as the ability to display album and DVD covers via jpg's. :) However, I have not been able to get rid of this very annoying hmm that occurs when I connect the audio via digital connections to my digital receiver (2000 Technics Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound system). :mad: The sound is a very deep and consistent hmmm. It comes on as soon as I turn up the volume to it's lowest level and it's loud from the start. You really have to crank up the volume for it not to be noticeable, but at that level you have to scream to talk to someone across the room. :eek:

At first I tried my monster optical cable that I had on a DVD player and that gave the annoying hmmm. I thought I'll try a different cable, so I bought an AR optical ($20) and still had the annoying hmm. Then I tried an AR digital coaxial ($15) and still had the annoying hmm. If I play some MP3 (stereo) music via my RCA jacks, no humm.

This problem is really killing me cause most of the things I want to listen (movies, music, etc) is through my digital connections. But I can't find a way around this issue. Originally I thought the hmm might have been related to the wireless broadcast put out by this unit, but as I mentioned before I have been wired for about a week now.

Just to let you know, the Mediabridge is located in my entertainment center with my other audio equipment. I plugged every piece of equipment into different outlet away from the mediabridge. I don't have any wireless routers or cordless bases near this unit.

I've restarted the setup wizard at least a dozen times using different combination of connections. Is there a reboot button that might solve this? Do you have any suggestions? Help!

Thanks in advance,
Hector

MediaBridge

12-06-06, 04:31 PM

Hector,

Good news -- I think there is an easy fix. I'm guessing it's a 60Hz hum issue. (I had this same problem when I added a MediaBridge to my system, only to find that my TV is the culprit.)

Try this: unplug everything from the MediaBridge except the optical video cable & the power cord. Now turn everything in your system on and listen for the hum. If I'm right, the hum will be gone. Now if you attach a video or audio cable to the MediaBridge, the hum comes back. Yes?

To fix: Use one of those adapters which allows a 3-prong, grounded plug to be used with a two-prong outlet. (I've seen them in WalMart for $0.97). Plug your MediaBridge in using this adapter and the problem should be gone.

Let me know if this works.

Greg

mlm39

12-06-06, 09:15 PM

lsarver

Have you tried the suggested DVI fix yet? Please post results.

mlm39

12-06-06, 09:42 PM

Greg,

Does AR accept payment via Paypal?

geohec

12-07-06, 12:19 AM

Greg,

Thanks for the $0.75 fix. :) I would have never guessed that by using a non-grounding plug, you could solve this problem. :cool:

Funny thing though, when I isolated the two devices (media bridge and the stereo receiver) into separate outlets before doing the two prong solution and before unplugging the video cable, I still have the problem. When I unplugged the video cables from the Mediabridge (and before your two prong solution), then the noise goes away. Everything I described above is with the TV unplugged. Is there resonant noise in the video signal or what; just curious. If you have a free moment, I would love to understand how this happens with the TV unplugged.

Thanks again for your time and more importantly thanks for the fix. :D As someone said earlier in this thread, this is the best support for a non-supported device.

Hector

lsarver

12-07-06, 04:34 PM

lsarver

Have you tried the suggested DVI fix yet? Please post results.
Which fix was that--buy a new adapter? No, and I won't. Greg tells me that the MB simply won't accept the source I care most about and have most of--1080i .ts from Comcast via MyHD MDP-130 and VideoReDo.

I got no satisfaction even over component from the first two boxes. I returned both some time ago. Recently, a third dropped out of the sky. (Greg says he knew nothing about it. Santa?) Video performance is the same as before (over DVI/HDMI--haven't tried component).

At some point in this process, I bought a PhotoBridge and solved my problem. When coupled with (third-party) MPlay, the PhotoBridge is as good a product as Roku Labs is a lousy company. It plays any sort of MPEG2 files (including .ts, .vob, RTV .mpg) very well. As for files in other formats, I have few and a modded Xbox with XBMC can handle them, as long as the bit-rate isn't too high. Both have good interfaces and can do SMB and UPnP.

At this point, I'm waiting to see if Apple's iTV turns out to be the do-all box. Apple can do hardware and software (especially interfaces) well. I think that they only major way they could screw it up would be to lock it down with DRM or force us to use iTunes.

mlm39

12-07-06, 06:57 PM

lsarver,

I was referring to Gregs message to you and ktulu - last message on page 8.

lsarver

12-07-06, 08:27 PM

lsarver,

I was referring to Gregs message to you and ktulu - last message on page 8.
I missed that post, but already tried that fix--long ago (first, in fact). I never connected an MB via component until after it wouldn't handshake properly via DVI/HDMI. None were ever connected via composite or S-video. (What would be the point?) Anyway, I just tried it again. No soap.

If I've read Greg's email correctly, the MB simply cannot do what I want, however it's connected. I knew that it could not output 1080i, but didn't realize that it couldn't input it either. I read the manual (once available for download) before purchase. If I had known, I'd have passed.

MediaBridge

12-08-06, 02:24 PM

Does AR accept payment via Paypal?

Sorry -- credit card only.

Greg

MediaBridge

12-08-06, 02:37 PM

If you have a free moment, I would love to understand how this happens with the TV unplugged.
I does seem odd that this would happen with the TV unplugged, but I can only toss out guesses. (The longer I'm in this business, the more I feel that diagnosing 60Hz hum issues can be as much an art as it is a science.) Perhaps it's something else in your video chain that's injecting noise into the system?

For example, in my home theater system my cable connection is actually a source of terrible noise. I have separate power amps on each audio channel which have a threshold detector to turn them off. If there's no audio for a certain period of time, they go into standby. However, the noise coupled into the system from the cable line through the cable box is so bad that it will keep the amps awake and audibly producing hum. I actually have to ground the shield on the cable to the earth ground on the electrical outlet to eliminate the hum. (That happens regardless of whether the MediaBridge is attached or not.)

As someone said earlier in this thread, this is the best support for a non-supported device.
I appreciate it, and hope you enjoy your MediaBridge.

Greg