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Netgear NeoTV 550 - Page 149

post #4441 of 6184
2/26/11 at 8:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

Well glad it is not a major issue for you but I'm still intrigued as to why it is not working. Have you tried using the server IP and the share of "shares"? For kicks, set up a folder named D:\\Test. Then on that folder, create a share called Test with no security. Place one media file in it. Then add the NFS share to the Neo using IP address and Test as share name. Your multi level folders under the main share might be the issue.

First, thanks for the advice.
Second, the issue is now moot. After flashing 3.0.308 the video stutter with high bitrate .iso has been fixed.
Tests with Startrek (2009) and the
Quote:


Thomas Crown affair > 40 Mbs show no stutter anymore.

Stutter is back, See edit

The NG developers are to be congratulated.
However the problem with Video freezing on .mkv with DB THD and subtitles enabled still has problems. It now works with avatar.mkv but still freezes with Blade Runner.mkv and 2001.mkv.

BTW the multilevel folders under share are the WHS default and since the Dune H1 reads these with NFS the Neo should as well.

Regardless, I will conduct the test you suggested and post in due time.

The Thomas Crown Affair stutters bad, unwatchable.
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post #4442 of 6184
2/26/11 at 2:25pm
Installed .308. Network test showed 80 or 81 mbps to every one of my smb shares. Iron man 2 still stutters. I paid attention to my receiver (pioneer elite sc-27), and it jumped from dts ma to displaying stereo and back constantly. It's not like it was solid playback with a stutter, but choppy signal problems keeping the dts ma track linked.
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post #4443 of 6184
2/27/11 at 4:20am
Just ordered one of these after spending ages looking at the models available. None are perfect, and as this will be mainly for the kids, I needed some features only the NTV550 offered. I'll be mainly streaming DVD rips from my WHS (VIDEO_TS folders) that already have metadata pre-scraped via Media Center Master. I might also be streaming the odd MKV with FLAC audio.

I want to use the movie wall feature to simplify things, so am just wondering which is the current best firmware to use, or is the new .308 beta worth trying.

Lastly, how do the parental control features work? Does it read the mymovies.xml file to pick up the rating, or do I need to provide different information?
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post #4444 of 6184
2/27/11 at 6:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tman247 View Post
Just ordered one of these after spending ages looking at the models available. None are perfect, and as this will be mainly for the kids, I needed some features only the NTV550 offered. I'll be mainly streaming DVD rips from my WHS (VIDEO_TS folders) that already have metadata pre-scraped via Media Center Master. I might also be streaming the odd MKV with FLAC audio.

I want to use the movie wall feature to simplify things, so am just wondering which is the current best firmware to use, or is the new .308 beta worth trying.

Lastly, how do the parental control features work? Does it read the mymovies.xml file to pick up the rating, or do I need to provide different information?
You will probably find that the way MCM scraped your VIDEO_TS folders are not going to work for the Neo. Although MCM will create the .TAG file that the Neo uses for metadata (and where the rating is stored), this is a fairly new feature to MCM. MCM does not read the my movies.xml file.

I'd suggest reading this article: Creating NeoTV TAG Files
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post #4445 of 6184
2/27/11 at 7:47am
This the NFS setup on the Dune:

network folder
Name: hpnfs
Type: NFS
Server: 192.168.15.104
Folder: /shares/Videos (shares is the root folder on the WHS)
Protocol: UDP (TCP also works)

Note: the Dune does not have entries for user and passwords.
Share and Security permissions on the WHS are set for root, Guests and ANONYMOUS down to the individual movie level. (read only)
The Dune does not require a scan, once the network folder is configured as above it just works.

NFS works on the Dune since stopping the NFS service on the WHS brings access to a halt.

A similar setup on the 550 fails to run NFS even when using the WHS login for Administrator and corresponding password.
Guest, Anonymous also fail.

It's driving me nuts. It works for almost every poster except for me and one or two others.
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post #4446 of 6184
2/27/11 at 8:53am
Power On: F00FCB04
Power Off: B04FCB04

Using Discrete Power On:
When the unit is fully powered off, the hardware only responds to the button, not . To send a discrete power on, send followed immediately by . The unit is programmed to ignore a toggle within 500 ms of a .

The above was posted in the netgear forums.
If any one could convert these to Pronto Hex format it would be appreciated.
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post #4447 of 6184
2/27/11 at 9:42am
The new .308 beta is a further improvement over the .298 test build I tried last week as far as the TrueHD in MKV issue is concerned. Playback is still not perfect yet, very few titles can still show drop outs / stuttering, but the devs are getting close to solving the issue completely. For example, Stark Trek (2009) used to stutter with .298 at a certain scene right at the beginning of the movie, but now plays back fine with .308.

Almost all TrueHD MKVs play back fine now as long as there is no user interaction. TrueHD MKV playback is less stable than DTSHD, which means that a single chapter skip or audio / subtitle track change can cause dropouts / no audio. Usually, this can be fixed by skipping the chapter again / going back. But still, TrueHD MKVs are 'less stable' than their DTSHD counterparts. Hopefully, this will be fully fixed in the upcoming firmwares, playback should be stable and reliable no matter what kind of HD audio track the MKV has.

Once that's done, MKV compatibility of this device will be very very good. It already is a good choice for those who prefer this format (like me).
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post #4448 of 6184
2/27/11 at 10:50am
Have a pronto too. If anyone knows the Pronto Hex format, please post!

Quote:
Originally Posted by adrian ballard View Post

Power On: F00FCB04
Power Off: B04FCB04

Using Discrete Power On:
When the unit is fully powered off, the hardware only responds to the button, not . To send a discrete power on, send followed immediately by . The unit is programmed to ignore a toggle within 500 ms of a .

The above was posted in the netgear forums.
If any one could convert these to Pronto Hex format it would be appreciated.
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post #4449 of 6184
2/27/11 at 11:39am
It's getting better, but I still have problems with Star Trek (m2ts) - have to change audio to AC3 to get sound (the first track, TrueHD isn't negotiating with my amp) - DTS gives me just static - moving back then to TrueHD works though. Haven't seen stuttering yet but will watch some more of the movie to find out.
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post #4450 of 6184
2/27/11 at 7:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tman247 View Post
Just ordered one of these after spending ages looking at the models available. None are perfect, and as this will be mainly for the kids, I needed some features only the NTV550 offered. I'll be mainly streaming DVD rips from my WHS (VIDEO_TS folders) that already have metadata pre-scraped via Media Center Master. I might also be streaming the odd MKV with FLAC audio.

I want to use the movie wall feature to simplify things, so am just wondering which is the current best firmware to use, or is the new .308 beta worth trying.

Lastly, how do the parental control features work? Does it read the mymovies.xml file to pick up the rating, or do I need to provide different information?
TagSuite 1.4.4 will correctly create the NeoTV 550 TAG files from your mymovies.xml files. It supports DVD folder structure (VIDEO_TS) perfectly!

Assuming your media is structured as follows:

Movies
|_____Avatar
| |____mymovies.xml
| |____backdrop.jpg
| |____folder.jpg
| |____VIDEO_TS
|
|_____Toy Story
| |____mymovies.xml
| |____backdrop.jpg
| |____VIDEO_TS

Setting TagSuite to Batch and MC mode on the Movies folder will process all you movies and create the NeoTV 550 TAG files from the mymovies.xml and fanart.jpg from the backdrop.jpg in the correct location for the NeoTV catalog. If you have a folder.jpg, TagSuite can also embed a scaled down image optimized for the NeoTV's movie wall cover art.

TagSuite will even cleanup all of Media Center Master's (MCM) bad character encodings (and there are many). Please note that MCM is a buggy software that will occasionally create bad XML files. You will notice this if the number of movies successfully processed by TagSuite does not match your actual number of movies.

I initially tried MCM on my large media library only to find out it produced worthless TAG files for DVD and Blu-ray folder structure. Unfortunately, I had invested time to customize the mymovies.xml, backdrop.jpg, and folder.jpg that MCM created for each movie and did not want to lose my customizations. So the creator of TagSuite was more than kind enough to work with me to add TAG file support for DVD and BD folder structure using the mymovies.xml, backdrop.jpg and folder.jpg files that MCM created (in MC mode).

TagSuite will also support Blu-ray folder structure (BDMV).

I am running the latest beta firmware, 3.0.308, and it has been rock solid for me since I keep all my movie only DVDs and Blu-rays in their native folder structure (VIDEO_TS and BDMV).
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post #4451 of 6184
2/27/11 at 8:29pm
Hi all,
I was an early purchaser of the 550 but had to take it back because the photo browsing was very slow and buggy. Music and movies were pretty good, but the photo browsing was a killer for WAF. Has there been any improvement with photo handling in the latest 2-3 updates? I follow the thread daily, and haven't seen any mention of music or photo performance (did they ever allow the album art wall to be sorted by artist?)
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post #4452 of 6184
2/28/11 at 6:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mifronte View Post

TagSuite 1.4.4 will correctly create the NeoTV 550 TAG files from your mymovies.xml files. It supports DVD folder structure (VIDEO_TS) perfectly!

Assuming your media is structured as follows:

Movies
|_____Avatar
| |____mymovies.xml
| |____backdrop.jpg
| |____folder.jpg
| |____VIDEO_TS
|
|_____Toy Story
| |____mymovies.xml
| |____backdrop.jpg
| |____VIDEO_TS

Setting TagSuite to Batch and MC mode on the Movies folder will process all you movies and create the NeoTV 550 TAG files from the mymovies.xml and fanart.jpg from the backdrop.jpg in the correct location for the NeoTV catalog. If you have a folder.jpg, TagSuite can also embed a scaled down image optimized for the NeoTV's movie wall cover art.

TagSuite will even cleanup all of Media Center Master's (MCM) bad character encodings (and there are many). Please note that MCM is a buggy software that will occasionally create bad XML files. You will notice this if the number of movies successfully processed by TagSuite does not match your actual number of movies.

I initially tried MCM on my large media library only to find out it produced worthless TAG files for DVD and Blu-ray folder structure. Unfortunately, I had invested time to customize the mymovies.xml, backdrop.jpg, and folder.jpg that MCM created for each movie and did not want to lose my customizations. So the creator of TagSuite was more than kind enough to work with me to add TAG file support for DVD and BD folder structure using the mymovies.xml, backdrop.jpg and folder.jpg files that MCM created (in MC mode).

TagSuite will also support Blu-ray folder structure (BDMV).

I am running the latest beta firmware, 3.0.308, and it has been rock solid for me since I keep all my movie only DVDs and Blu-rays in their native folder structure (VIDEO_TS and BDMV).

I'm learning so much from you guys! That said; I have a few questions...

1. What is the advantage of storing movies in their native folder structure (i.e. BDMV/VIDEO_TS)?

2. What tool is best used to extract the containers from a file (assuming this is the same as the folder structure). I download a tool called Daemon Tool Pro and learned for the first time what an ISO structure looks like. What is the advantage of using this structure?

3. Of all the media formats available, .mkv, mov, iso, mp4, avi, divx etc. which is the better one to use? I think I know the answer here.

I use the Tag Tool provided by Netgear. Is this not the best approach or is the approach above a way to automate this whole process?

Any help or resources to read up on this would be greatly appreciated.
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post #4453 of 6184
2/28/11 at 6:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerome8283 View Post

I'm learning so much from you guys! That said; I have a few questions...

1. What is the advantage of storing movies in their native folder structure (i.e. BDMV/VIDEO_TS)?

2. What tool is best used to extract the containers from a file (assuming this is the same as the folder structure). I download a tool called Daemon Tool Pro and learned for the first time what an ISO structure looks like. What is the advantage of using this structure?

3. Of all the media formats available, .mkv, mov, iso, mp4, avi, divx etc. which is the better one to use? I think I know the answer here.

I use the Tag Tool provided by Netgear. Is this not the best approach or is the approach above a way to automate this whole process?

Any help or resources to read up on this would be greatly appreciated.

Personally, I prefer ISO over the native folder sturcture. One ISO is much easier to file manage than a folder with a bunch of vob and ifos or m2ts files. And tagging for your movie wall is much easier. However, that said, there have been some issues with the Neo of stuttering when streaming from and ISO that does not happen in folder stucture. I've never seen this myself, and the Devs for the Neo are looking into it and may have an idea what is happening. I used to use Daemon tools but lately I use Virtual Clone Drive and ImgBurn. What you listed above are actually containers. Again, my personal preference is MKV because the Neo now supports chapters and high def audio in a MKV, however what really matters is going to be the codec used to convert the movie and the settings. I convert all my movies using VID2EVA.

Toss away the Netgear Tag Tool. It is so crippled it isn't even funny. I'd recomend TagSuite (totally free) or Media Center Master (psuedo free).

If you haven't already, read this article. http://www.havetheknowhow.com/Hardwa...0-Tagging.html
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post #4454 of 6184
2/28/11 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

Personally, I prefer ISO over the native folder sturcture. One ISO is much easier to file manage than a folder with a bunch of vob and ifos or m2ts files.

Unless your still using the DOS or Linux/UNIX command line, managing a folder is no harder than an ISO file. The difference is that you do not need any additional software to look into or play the folder contents.

Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

And tagging for your movie wall is much easier.

Definitely true until someone figures out how to TAG DVD and BD folder structure. Oh wait, it's done

Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

...
I used to use Daemon tools but lately I use Virtual Clone Drive and ImgBurn.

This is my recommendation too. They are both stable and free

Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

... however what really matters is going to be the codec used to convert the movie and the settings. I convert all my movies using VID2EVA.

Do you retain a 1:1 copy of your movies or do you down convert to a lower resolution? If you down convert, then it may explain why you have never experienced stutter with ISO.

Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

Toss away the Netgear Tag Tool. It is so crippled it isn't even funny. I'd recomend TagSuite (totally free) or Media Center Master (psuedo free).

If you haven't already, read this article. http://www.havetheknowhow.com/Hardwa...0-Tagging.html

I tossed Media Center Master too. Psuedo free is not free and too many bugs.
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post #4455 of 6184
2/28/11 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mifronte View Post

Unless your still using the DOS or Linux/UNIX command line, managing a folder is no harder than an ISO file. The difference is that you do not need any additional software to look into or play the folder contents.


Definitely true until someone figures out how to TAG DVD and BD folder structure. Oh wait, it's done


This is my recommendation too. They are both stable and free


Do you retain a 1:1 copy of your movies or do you down convert to a lower resolution? If you down convert, then it may explain why you have never experienced stutter with ISO.
I tossed Media Center Master too. Psuedo free is not free and too many bugs.

I just prefer having one folder, with all the files inside it. MoveName.iso, fanart.jpg, folder.jpg, MovieName.tag

Although TagSuite properly tags folder structure, VIDEO_TS.TAG tells me nothing about what movie it is. Plus, if I want to burn a copy, I just select my ISO, without having to worry about all the tag and art work files mucking up the original DVD folder structure. I'm just saying, it's my preference.

I do convert all my movies to MKV using VID2EVA, but I have plenty of concert DVDs which are 1:1 and in ISO format that play perfectly. They all sit on my ReadyNAS NV+ which is connected to the same Netgear GS608 switch.
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post #4456 of 6184
2/28/11 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

I just prefer having one folder, with all the files inside it. MoveName.iso, fanart.jpg, folder.jpg, MovieName.tag

Although TagSuite properly tags folder structure, VIDEO_TS.TAG tells me nothing about what movie it is. Plus, if I want to burn a copy, I just select my ISO, without having to worry about all the tag and art work files mucking up the original DVD folder structure. I'm just saying, it's my preference.

I do convert all my movies to MKV using VID2EVA, but I have plenty of concert DVDs which are 1:1 and in ISO format that play perfectly. They all sit on my ReadyNAS NV+ which is connected to the same Netgear GS608 switch.

Just recently purchased a ReadyNas Ultra 4 and Netgear GS605 and love them both!
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post #4457 of 6184
2/28/11 at 7:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

Personally, I prefer ISO over the native folder sturcture. One ISO is much easier to file manage than a folder with a bunch of vob and ifos or m2ts files. And tagging for your movie wall is much easier. However, that said, there have been some issues with the Neo of stuttering when streaming from and ISO that does not happen in folder stucture. I've never seen this myself, and the Devs for the Neo are looking into it and may have an idea what is happening. I used to use Daemon tools but lately I use Virtual Clone Drive and ImgBurn. What you listed above are actually containers. Again, my personal preference is MKV because the Neo now supports chapters and high def audio in a MKV, however what really matters is going to be the codec used to convert the movie and the settings. I convert all my movies using VID2EVA.

Toss away the Netgear Tag Tool. It is so crippled it isn't even funny. I'd recomend TagSuite (totally free) or Media Center Master (psuedo free).

If you haven't already, read this article. http://www.havetheknowhow.com/Hardwa...0-Tagging.html

Thanks!
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post #4458 of 6184
2/28/11 at 7:56am
The ISO stuttering problems only happen with Bluray ISOs streamed from SMB folders, DVDs aren't affected. Until Netgear have figured out a way to fix this, using NFS instead of SMB, or sticking to Bluray folder structures (BDMV) instead of ISO, is a proven workaround.
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post #4459 of 6184
2/28/11 at 8:30am
i'm looking into the neotv and what turns me away from it is the movie wall and all this tagging nonsense.

How easy is it to setup shortcuts to a network share (samba or nfs) and just view the files. On my dune i have an icon called "movies" and one called "tv" and they are on the first screen from boot up. I click them and browse my films or shows. How close to this can the neotv get?

I have everything organised in folders and personally i don't have the time for pretty pictures and descriptions of movies.
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post #4460 of 6184
2/28/11 at 8:38am
You can browse folders / shares, too, of course. You don't have to use the movie wall / tagging features if you don't want to. Once you've selected your shares in the setup, it takes 2 clicks to access them in folder view.

However, tagging your movie collection is very simple and (more or less) automatic with tools like Media Center Master, for example. I have organised my collection in a similar way as you, and MCM does the downloading of folder.jpgs, backdrops and tagging for me, without changing the folder structure if I don't want to. While you don't have to use tagging, it's actually pretty easy and nice, and improves WAF quite a bit.
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post #4461 of 6184
2/28/11 at 8:50am
thanks for the response, it's appreciated.

if you could describe how to access in folder view from the turn on that would be great. With these media streamers it's hard to know if one will suit your setup or not without having it to hand.

so, I turn on my neotv and......what comes up a menu with "network" or "shares"?

I'm looking online for pictures of the menus but I'm drawing a bit of a blank. all i can find is the tagging stuff.


edit - just found the manual online, so you turn it on, scroll down to "browse folders" and then you can see your shares listed? if so, sounds good!
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post #4462 of 6184
2/28/11 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmaolmao View Post

thanks for the response, it's appreciated.

if you could describe how to access in folder view from the turn on that would be great. With these media streamers it's hard to know if one will suit your setup or not without having it to hand.

so, I turn on my neotv and......what comes up a menu with "network" or "shares"?

I'm looking online for pictures of the menus but I'm drawing a bit of a blank. all i can find is the tagging stuff.

You'll turn it on, get a menu with VIDEO, MUSIC, PHOTOS, and a few other menu items. You select VIDEO, then select the FOLDER option. Browse just like Windows Explorer. Simple.
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post #4463 of 6184
2/28/11 at 8:59am
That's how the initial screen of the Neo TV550 after startup looks like:



To access your movies / TV shows in folder view, you click on the first item in the list ("Video"), and then on "Folders" in the next screen. That's it.
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post #4464 of 6184
2/28/11 at 9:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by high_definitely View Post

The ISO stuttering problems only happen with Bluray ISOs streamed from SMB folders, DVDs aren't affected. Until Netgear have figured out a way to fix this, using NFS instead of SMB, or sticking to Bluray folder structures (BDMV) instead of ISO, is a proven workaround.

Forgot the stuttering was only with BD. But except for test purposes, I only have two BD titles. I pretty much boycott BD.
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post #4465 of 6184
2/28/11 at 9:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmaolmao View Post

edit - just found the manual online, so you turn it on, scroll down to "browse folders" and then you can see your shares listed? if so, sounds good!

That's another way to do it. But that way, the Neo doesn't "filter" any files like it does by going the way described by rob and me above. By pressing on "Video" first, only video files are shown / can be accessed in folder view. The same applies to choosing Music / Photos, of course.

So if you go to "browse folders" directly, you basically use a Explorer-like interface showing all files.
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post #4466 of 6184
2/28/11 at 9:25am
thanks again! looks pretty straight forward
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post #4467 of 6184
2/28/11 at 10:11am
Does anyone know hot to get the discrete on/off commands set up in the harmony database? I would like to add them to my remote...
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post #4468 of 6184
2/28/11 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robkwil61 View Post

Forgot the stuttering was only with BD. But except for test purposes, I only have two BD titles. I pretty much boycott BD.

Another way to avoid stuttering is to hookup NEO directly to HT. No stuttering at all in my case. I tried NFs but couldn't get it to work right. Of course I'm limited to two external drives. I tried a 3 TB drive, but it didn't work either.

I really hope they can get SMb working right with BD iso's soon. Things would be so much cleaner.
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post #4469 of 6184
2/28/11 at 11:20am
mifronte,

Will tagsuite 1.4.4 create the several high resolution backdrops, folder, fanart, etc. jpgs that mcm will?
I just tried it and it created a tiny fanart.jpg only.
I only use tagging for testing so this doesn't bother me, just wanted to know.
P.S. I've tested 1.3.9 in the past and it was very slow & unresponsive (like if it is constantly hanging/crashing). I see this hasn't changed, but maybe it is the nature of the beast?
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post #4470 of 6184
2/28/11 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tman247 View Post

Just ordered one of these after spending ages looking at the models available. None are perfect, and as this will be mainly for the kids, I needed some features only the NTV550 offered. I'll be mainly streaming DVD rips from my WHS (VIDEO_TS folders) that already have metadata pre-scraped via Media Center Master. I might also be streaming the odd MKV with FLAC audio.

I want to use the movie wall feature to simplify things, so am just wondering which is the current best firmware to use, or is the new .308 beta worth trying.

Lastly, how do the parental control features work? Does it read the mymovies.xml file to pick up the rating, or do I need to provide different information?

Parental Controls do work properly if your content is tagged, and also lock the system setting menus, however.....

It is based of a timer and not the content itself. So let say you put in the code to watch a restricted rating video, and you stop it so the kids can watch something, they can pick whatever they want if it is withing an hour of the code input without having to put the code in again. I believe turning it off/on resets the code input, but i wish it was on a per play basis instead of a timer.


Also, for the general audience, been awhile since any mention of the addition of Netflix. Does anyone know if the neo passed certification, and if so when we might expect a system update?
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