Sooo Many Choices...

OK, I'm no noobie; in my time I've streamed my own video files to a Mediagate MG-35, XBMC on XBox, PS3, PCH A-110 and C-200 (different solution for audio). They all served their time and purpose, and the XBMC, PS3, and A-110 still remain (the MG-35 was my first box, and was replaced by the XBMC...and the C-200 was ahead of its time, and not really suited for me).

However, I'd like to take the next step...which for me means both online content, and also trying to focus on one solution around the house. After I tried and dumped the C-200, I decided to try my first hand at HTPC with the Dell Zino HD. I don't have the time to fiddle with the set-up that HTPCs seem to require, so that solution isn't going to work for me either.

So...that leaves me looking to what's next. The XBMC is comfortably in my Bedroom system for now, and the A-110 rests happily in the HT. So that leaves the Family Room. Believe it or not, this is where I have the most trouble, because the Bedroom just needs to play my own SD files...so XBMC works like a charm...and the HT just needs to play my own HD files, so the A-110 kicks that out. It's in the Family Room that I'd like to do it all; SD, HD, online, etc.

I don't really know what's out there, online-wise, but I suspect my focus will initially be Hulu, Netflix, Fancast, etc. The PS3 is already in the Family Room, and does too many other things to make itself obsolete...so in the interim I'm trying to bend it to serve that room. PlayOn has proved to work OK with Hulu...so far as I can tell in my limited experience...but I'm not sure which other sites it works well with, how well it does HD, and I know the My Media is a bust for me; so is it worth $40 just for Hulu? I suppose I could try some other media servers, like ps3mediaserver, but I'm not interested in changing my ripping process, and stripping down my files...and I don't have a scream-machine of a PC that I'd want to do on-the-fly transcoding from, so I don't know that the PS3 will really fill all my needs (realizing, early on, what the PS3 could and could-not do well is what drove me to a PCH A-110 in the first place).

So just as I was searching for the next thing, along comes the announcement for the PopBox. I love the A-110, and even though the C-200 didn't work out for me, I'm happy to back Syabas as my one solution around the house.

Of course, as I'm looking around, I decide to see what the XBMC on Acer Revo is all about. Hmm...I love the little form-factor of the Revo; and I have to admit, XBMC is obviously an awesome media server, and has never been anything but simple, simple, simple to use...albeit for the limited functionality of streaming my SD files to the Bedroom system.

So I'm torn, and looking for a little feedback. I know everyone has their favorite, but...can I do anything with the PS3 without bending my files too much? Is the Acer Revo going to be, basically, like my experience with the Dell Zino HD; it's a PC and HTPCs require a lot of tweaking? Or does just sticking an XBMC build on it eliminate some of that hassle with drivers, set-up, and tweaking? The PopBox looks very promising; should I just hang in there until March and give that a try?

Thoughts?

CD

LOL...you might want to peek at the new Goodbye HTPC post. As I chimed in there, I agree with that guy; HTPCs might do "everything", once you get them dialed-in just right...but IMO it's a lot of tweaking and set-up to get there.

If you have any interest in my Zino, PM me.

CD

Aiden, we've been through this before...in regards to the A-110; when you say the PopBox "does not play Blu-Ray formats"...you mean BD .ISO, yes? Certainly it will play .m2ts?

CD

No, no...sorry; not you and I personally. Just others, when talking about the PCH units. They would say "PopcornHour doesn't stream BD" and I think that causes a lot of confusion for noobies; they think "I shouldn't get a PCH because it won't play BD files".

I don't think the majority of streamers think of "BD" as the whole image in a .ISO file; they think of it as an .m2ts or .ts container, and of course PCH plays those just fine.

CD

Well...after my experience with the C-200, I'm not sure I'll jump quite so early at the PopBox. I'm excited about it...and if this is really going to have traditional retail partners, it'll have to hit the shelves at better than the beta-testing stage...but I don't know that I need to catch all the slings and arrows; it'll be there when I'm ready.

So with the money from the Zino HD attempt, I think I'm going to give something else a try in the meantime. I've never tried XBMC on anything other than my modded XBox, but I love that...and have never heard anything but praise for it on other platforms.

Right now I'd say I'm torn between trying it on the Acer Revo 1600 or the ATV. Again, here's what I'm looking for:

- I'd love to play the .m2ts rips that PS3 (which will be at the same location) can't; that's my VC-1 encoded, and lossless audio files (the Kuro at this location is only 720p, so I don't need to go any higher than that).

- Need to play SD .ISO

- Even though I am extremely happy with my Squeezebox Duets, and have one at this location...if there were a way to stream my FLACs with high audio quality, that would be a bonus

- And lastly, I really want the online content thing. Although I can use PlayOn on the PS3 for some of that, like Hulu...if I could keep from paying the $40, and just wrap it into this solution, that would be best.

Thoughts?

CD

OK, but yet another thing that many noobies will misunderstand. The A-110 can't process TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, but it passes it just fine. In other words (for the noobies), as long as you have a Pre/Pro or AVR that can decode it (which is like ANYTHING made in say the last 2 years)...you can get TrueHD and DTS-HD MA from an A-110.

CD

Well...you have plenty of options for keeping the video uncompressed, and lossless audio intact (again, as long as your AVR will decode the pass-thru). However, if you want all the menus, and extra features, etc...you're looking at either BD .ISO or file structure...and to my knowledge only PCH C-200 and the Dune player do that.

Keep in mind...if you're a true noobie...setting aside, for now, that you'll need to familiarize with the ripping process and software...if you intend to keep BDs completely intact, you'll need a HUGE amount of storage space; say @ ~40G per title...100 movies = 4T.

Just my opinion, but you should really think about whether the previews, menus, and extra features are really worth all that.

CD

EJ, sometimes people do confuse .ISO to mean "everything on the disc". .ISO is simply another file format, which keeps the file-structure of a disc intact. I think the biggest thing .ISO used to have going for it was the fact that it could be easily rendered back to a DVD or BD. I say used to because I think this is becoming less and less important, and kind of reflects an "old-school" way of thinking.

That being said, it's a format a lot of people are comfortable with and still use (I have most of my SD stuff in .ISO still). However, even if you have your reasons for going .ISO, doesn't mean you have to grab everything on the disc. If you just wanted menus, but not extras, etc., you could pull that off with software like Clown BD.

One of the reasons I think .ISO kind of became synonymous with "everything on the disc" is because some decrypting software will let you easily copy a whole disc to an image (.ISO) without the need for additional software, that would allow you to pick and choose. Again, back in the "good 'ole days", this might have been a way to go for some.

Hope that clears some things up,

CD

Well...not to split hairs, but it's not quite the same. Going lossless in audio is like going uncompressed in video; you want to keep the highest possible AQ or PQ intact.

Just because you don't want to keep the menus, extras, trailers, etc. off of a disc, doesn't mean you don't want the best video and audio out of what you do keep...what's important to you, which for me is just the movie (in most cases).

CD

EJ, to me...that's a question as old as streaming; do you rip to suit your player, or do you get a player that suits your files? Usually...if you already have a LOT of files in one format or another...you need to find something that works with those, or you're in for a lot of re-ripping

If I were just starting out...like it sounds like you are...I'd look for the player I liked, with good, broad file support, and then start figuring out the best way to rip based on that player.

For myself...in my course...I've been back and forth; you rip to one box, then you find a better rip method or format, but that player won't support it...so you get the next newest thing that does...and on and on it goes...lol.

FWIW, if I was just getting ready to jump in, I'd be the most excited about the Boxee (if it weren't so fugly...lol) and PopBox.

CD

EDIT- P.S. As far as keeping the lossy track...sure, you can keep that too. For example, (as you well know...lol) I have an A-110 in my HT, which I use to play BD movie files (.m2ts) with the lossless audio intact. It passes thru to my Integra Pre/Pro which decodes it with great ease. However, I have a PS3 in the Family Room. Now, the PS3 will play .m2ts files...natively...as long as they aren't VC-1 encoded. However, it won't play the lossless audio. So...in a perfect world, I might rip the BD to keep both the lossless (for the HT) and lossy (for the PS3) audio. Problem is...most new releases don't even have a lossy track anymore; not in English anyway. You get the lossless, and then maybe Spanish lossy, or whatever. So even though it's possible in theory, it doesn't work out so well in practice.