Sony SMP-N200 - Page 4

The backwards compatibility comes from the fact that DD+ is supposed to be a DD 5.1 (the "core") with extensions, so that the DD 5.1 part can be extracted and bitstreamed without decoding it into PCM and re-encoding to DD 5.1. People in these forums have stated that the 5.1 core isn't necessarily there, but all the Dolby literature on DD+ talks as if the 5.1 core is always present, never mentioning any possibility that it can be excluded. (The 5.1 core can be 640 Kbps, higher than the 448 Kbps limit on DDs and broadcast, but obviously not for Netflix, where the whole 5.1 DD+ audio stream is 384 Kbps). It's possible that extracting the core would require per-unit licensing from Dolby, which would explain why the Roku 2 doesn't do it.

...or cannot currently deal with the 5.1 sound stream at all (offering only the stereo), which is what the post avf5 linked to seems to say. (FYI, what the PS3 delivers is very weak compared to the bitstreamed DD+--I don't know whether it's an extracted core or created by the PS3 from the decoded DD+ stream. For whatever reason, the PS3 will not bitstream the untouched DD+ . My BD player can either bitstream the DD+ or internally decode it into LPCM, which is comparable).

ok so i went ahead and bought one

i can't find vudu anywhere in the list

that helps none at all... it shows that person's favorites menu which is a grouping of services selected by the user as favorites from the main xmb interface

if vudu is missing from that then it can't be added to favorites

The feature I love on the PS3 is the ability to playback files on local DLNA at 1.5x speed with normal sounding audio (just press FF once while watching). Can anyone tell me if this box also supports that? If so, I am definitely picking one up for my other TV.

UPDATE: To answer my own question, no it does not, but I may still keep it.

I really wish this box would get a updated netflix app, and support 1080p.

Can anyone tell me if this notices and adheres to Cinavia? Will it mux multichannel AAC to LPCM over HDMI?

just installed the new firmware and all missing services are there now...

and it decodes the 5.1ch DD+ from Vudu just fine...

still no 1080p/5.1 from netflix


don't have any cinavia titles to test with... but i did just test a 5.1ch AAC track and it worked just fine

Awesome, thanks for the response. Have one waiting to be picked up tomorrow to compare to the boxee box I just got as well.

it also seems to upscale to 1080p@60Hz w/ the new update (version M10.R.0615).

For $80 this thing is a steal. Boxee Box is going back tomorrow. Does everything I need it to do, plus more. Has the best picture quality of all the streamers I've been playing with the past two weeks or so too.

Just picked up one of these. Really nice streamer for the price.
Very attractive in physical appearance. Not sure what the negativity about the GUI is calling for... I personally don't think it was too difficult to figure out.

Been putting this through its paces for the past couple of days.
Only other streamer I am able to compare to is the WDTV Live SMP..

The Sony:
Netflix and Hulu quality not as good as the WDTV Live SMP..
Looks like the SMP-N200 is only 720p for Netflix and Hulu? Am I wrong on that?

Even though some complain of the SMP-N200 GUI, I do not mind it at all. Its fast, smooth and doesn't take too long to figure out. The Sony has a few other services that give it the advantage over the WDTV Live SMP. WDTV Live SMP wins for GUI and appearance; and local content playback..

Stability wise:
Sony SMP-N200 by a large margin over the WDTV Live SMP.
In the same amount of days that I used the Sony, I would have had to pull the power plug on the WDTV SMP 2 or 3 times to get it unfroze and to do a hard reboot of the player..

The Sony SMP-N200's are on sale at a Target local to me for $69.99

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...67&postcount=1

I think you'll find the amazon vod app now supports dd 5.1 bitstream. The Sony BD players got the updated app as did the Bravia internet tvs.

^^^
Amazon vod app seems to supports 5.1 PCM over HDMI with the latest Firmware version (M10.R.0615) - same as w/ previous FW (no change).
were you referring to dd 5.1 bitstream over optical?

No. Actually 5.1 bitstream over hdmi. Odd they updated the amazon VOD app to support this on the 2011 bd players and even my old 2010 xbr 9 sony tv. I was sure the smp-n200 would get the update but obviously not. A pity.

Just received an SMP-N200 and connected it via component cables and optical digital to my pre hdmi reciever (Denon 5803) which is connected via component cables to my pre hdmi plasma (Fujitsu 5002). All other services display HD (Netflix, Crackle, Snagfilms, etc.). Wired high speed internet not an issue. When connecting to Amazon it checks speed (display usually shows 13+ Mbps) and then downrezzes to 480 and 4:3 window, ironically with audio showing DD (and sounding 5.1). Sony troubleshot settings and referred me to Amazon, who said they would look into it and gave me a $10 credit! Has anyone else run into this? Almost sounds like a blu ray ict issue.

Thanks

Just picked up 1 (err 2) SMP-N200s on sale for $49.99 each. I've got one wired, and 1 wireless - both work as I expected (2 days now) DLNA works after a little configuring, and I don't care about surfing on it (at least not right now). Menu system is OK / no grief. At this price it does what I want.

I picked one of these up yesterday, and spent a few hours checking it out and trying to research it on the internet when it wouldn't play my mkv files.

On the box itself, Sony lists the file types it supports. But there is a footnote on the list, and it says that you can play mkv (and a couple of other file types I don't remember) ONLY through the USB port, not streaming. From my experience, this is true. However, I have seen several discussions on the net where people seem to be claiming they are streaming mkv through DLNA. I don't know if they're confused, or I am, or both.

According to the box, it won't stream them. I updated to the latest firmware, and still cannot play them (using Plex as my media streamer). I am going to try another day or two to see if I can make this work, and then take it back if I can't.

All that being said, I really like a lot of things about this player. Remote is very streamlined and intuitive, lots of internet media, and has HDMI, component, AND rca video...as well as ethernet AND wireless. To get a Roku with ethernet you have to get a more expensive model.

I am able to stream mkv files using "Serviio" ( http://www.serviio.org/ ).
I haven't tried all the files I have but all files I have downloaded recently played fine
via streaming.

Thanks. You are not the only person I have seen that said they were able to stream to this player, but by providing the serviio link you clearly are using the term "stream" the same way I am. In some of the other places I've read, people seem to use the term "stream" when they really mean just reading the file from a location and playing it. And it's pretty clear on the box that they say mkv won't stream...but it's good to hear that you are doing it. Maybe the box is not up to date with the capabilities of the latest firmware. Cheers.

Not all DLNA servers play nicely with the Sony. Sony UK recommends serviio to the point where they released their own version called Homeshare. I would give that or serviio a try.

Well, I did some more experimenting, and got it reading my UPnP NAS, but it's definitely going back. Here's why:

After a pretty thorough effort, and finding what I thought was the silver bullet device profile for Plex, I couldn't get it to stream my mkv's. Maybe I could eventually get it going, or try serviio, but I have never seen anything load so slowly. It took literally 4 minutes when I was finally able to load a movie off of my UPnP NAS.

The weird thing is this:, while I could never stream the mkv's, it would list them and correctly identify them as mkv files through Plex - it just never would play them. I have them also on a small NAS that can serve them with UPnP, and the Sony somehow sees them as mpeg files...and can play all of them. (This NAS is not transcoding, it is simply a UPnP server).

So ultimately, the fact that it won't play nicely with Plex isn't the fault of the player...but from my experience, the movies take so long to load that it isn't worth trying any further. Great price, but it's going back. The O!play is antiquated, but it plays absolutely everything...so I guess it's back to Asus for now.

With M10.R.0615 firmware I can not play DIVX files. I thought Sony
fixed this. I am able to play DIVX files on my SMP-N100.

Just purchased the SMP-N200 at Target (after noticing it's sold there for the same price as on Amazon and SonyStore)..am having trouble with it. Won't be using as a streaming device for online content (at least not right now), due to my low data cap and slow internet connection..it will be a video player for my attached mkv library (720p and 1080p)..the audio is connected from the Sony SMP-N200 to a Pioneer VSX-921K with red/white audio cable. Video is connected via HDMI (with DVI adapter) to Acer 20" monitor and/or composite cables to older Sony tv (for setup purposes).

The story is a bit long, but maybe it will shed some light on issues and resolutions..

(sorry for this, i understand if you TL;DR me)

Initially, had to connect the Sony SMP-N200 directly to my older Sony tv via composite cables (red/white/yellow) in the front panel, in order to perform setup and download/install firmware upgrade (the SMP-N200 located and connected to wifi modem/router with no issues).

I have several external USB drives (USB 2.0 & 3.0) connected via powered USB hub to an older Acer AMD laptop..which can play videos decently, using VLC, PowerDVD or ArcSoft..however, because the laptop is older, the shared CPU/GPU bogs down quickly and I need an alternate solution. Along comes the Sony SMP-N200..had seen it on sale or refurb several times over the last year or two, but ignored it b/c of the bad reviews..then I saw it again at the Sony Store and on Amazon..after reading some of the reviews, I thought it would be good to pull the trigger..

Once setup, I connected a Seagate USB 3.0 drive into the Sony SMP-N200..device not recognized..oh well..Sony SMP-N200 menu showed USB logo with line through it..(almost forgot to mention the whole time I'd been using the Sony remote and although the menu options are a little clunky, I was able to decipher the layout.)

Then connected a Rosewill external USB 3.0 enclosure to the SMP-N200..it recognized the device and added it. It also saw the directories clearly, but no files..so i disconnected and tried a different USB 2 drive..that one connected just fine and the Sony SMP-N200 saw all the video files too. I figured maybe the Rosewill USB 3 might work after all..so..

When I reconnected the Rosewill USB 3 drive, the Sony saw the directories and files just fine..very strange, but good to know. I started watching Notorious (720p) and it was amazing! No stutters, no lag..just amazing. Well, I had to keep going..stopped the movie, disconnected the drive and added some ethernet..

I followed some advice and installed Serviio media streaming server on the laptop, since it was supposed to stream vids via ethernet instead of USB (i have TB's of files on several external drives --too many to fit on one drive)..well, the install went great and after manually adding drive folders in the Serviio console, I connecting laptop and sony smp-n200 to an ethernet hub. The SMP-N200 saw the Serviio as a device (wow!) and i figured i could now play 1080p files, not just 720p..the Serviio software takes a few mins to find all the videos and add them..at first I thought it wasn't working, but it works just fine (if you have patience!)..i played the first minute or two of the original Casino Royale (1967) mkv in 1080p, but noticed the display was set to 720p instead of 1080p..

Well, the Sony SMP-N200 video settings offer HDMI, Component and RCA..I chose HDMI..the sub-menu offers AUTO or manual settings from 480i all the way up to 1080p..for some reason, AUTO would at first display 480i even when watching a 720p movie..so i manually set the video for 720p, which worked fine in the first scenario.

Since I now had the Serviio working and access to 1080p files, I decided to modify the settings..BIG MISTAKE..as soon as I chose 1080p in the HDMI manual settings, the monitor screen went black and there was a floating box that said INPUT NOT SUPPORTED..I tried manual reset of the Sony SMP-N200 via the reset button on the bottom, to no avail..

Removing the ethernet and connecting the USB had no effect..disconnecting all cables and leaving the set off for several minutes didn't work either..the video setting prevents me from seeing anything but a black screen nor can I access any menu items

I don't have a set of Component (red/blue/green) cables to fix this and my tv doesn't take red/blue/green anyway..i fear I will have to exchange it and try again, but must remember NOT to choose 1080p..what a pain in the neck! Should I get some component cables to see if that helps?

You'd think Sony's firmware would have simply showed "invalid selection" and allowed me to choose another option, rather than locking the whole box.

Perhaps there's another solution? Before I go wasting more time and gas out there..

Any help is much appreciated..thanks!

-=K=-

ps: this thing gets HOT underneath..best to keep it vertical to dissipate heat..

I would return the SMP and get a different media player if it is giving you so much trouble to set up. If you could find a Netgear NeoTV550, I will work much better and faster at playing your file. This is a discontinued model, and it sell for $85 dollars new. You can also try WDTV2, which can stream movies via USB or wired ethernet. The WDTV also streams online content such as Netflix, Vudu, etc. I bought one of these for my parents and they love it. Or you can also try AIOS, which will play pretty much anything over wired or usb hdd. I used to own one of these units. The only thing I didn't like about it was the remote wasn't very responsive, and it is a little difficult to set up a jukebox. However, AIOS has come up with a newer remote and a new media player wit Android software, and they are also supposed to come out with a new media player with XBMC.

does it do netflix1080p with DD plus? is it worth upgrading to 400? from attached ntfs hard drive can this play bluray iso with 7.1 and dts hd master?

Ebay has refurbs for $40. I grabbed one to try for USB playback of files. I have plenty of other streamers, but this seems pretty cheap. I imagine I could get most of money back if I had to resell.

If interested, item number: 200799039062
Edited by dc_pilgrim - 7/30/12 at 2:08pm